Muay Thai Finds a Home in the UFC

Muay Thai Finds a Home in the UFC

Rarely will there be a mixed martial arts fan who doesn’t love a good knockout. The thunderous clap that’s heard when a head kick lands or the perfect thud of a punch connecting when knuckles meet jaw, the knockout is just about the purest form of a finish as there is in a fight.

Muay Thai & UFC

In MMA, many of the fighters that compete at the highest levels in the UFC have backgrounds in the striking arts.  UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva grew up as a Muay Thai fighter in Brazil and actually just recently opened his own Muay Thai gym in California.

Lion Fights, a Muay Thai-only promotion based out of Las Vegas, is tapping into the carnal nature of fans who love a good striking battle where fighters can use all of the weapons at their disposal and ultimately want a great knockout.

Unlike kickboxing, where certain rules prohibit the use of elbows or certain techniques from within the clinch, Muay Thai brings striking back to it’s most basic elements of knocking out an opponent by whatever means necessary.

“If you love stand-up fighting and you love the elbows and the knees, then you have to love Muay Thai.  At Lion Fights, we feel like we’re at the right time to brand Muay Thai with Lion Fights, and bringing in these major international stars and developing our own stars it’s making a mark,” Lion Fights owner Scott Kent told Bleacher Report.

“Kickboxing is what it is. K-1 had a great run and it’s still popular in Europe, but when you start taking away weapons and you take elbows out, it has an effect on the fighters themselves.  Muay Thai fighters don’t want to fight kickboxing rules because they want to use all their weapons.  Not only in Muay Thai but in MMA.”

Numerous MMA fighters have shown their support of Muay Thai by attending Lion Fights events in the past. Urijah Faber, Gilbert Melendez, Cheick Kongo and a number of other competitors have attended Muay Thai events because not only do they train in the sport when preparing for an MMA fight, but they love the art form that goes along with a great striking battle.

“We are lucky to be at the epicenter of the UFC world here (in Las Vegas), and we’ve been able to tap into that,” Kent said.  “The response from the fighters has been great because they all train Muay Thai and they can appreciate how it’s applied.  We love the support we get from the UFC and mixed martial arts.”

Several top fighters either already train in Muay Thai or have actually fought in Muay Thai bouts in the past, but like so many great Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competitors of the past, will the best strikers of today become MMA’s stars of tomorrow?

Kent says it’s inevitable that the temptation to move from Muay Thai to MMA will always be present, but he hopes to give strikers a home where they can ply their craft and not have to go anywhere else to look for a paycheck.

“Inevitably because of the size of mixed martial arts, the questions are going to come up,” said Kent.   “I’m not aware of a Muay Thai fighter that’s been really successful crossing over into mixed martial arts that hasn’t had a lot of cross training.  Now they have an avenue to get more sponsorships and make more money and we won’t lose those fighters to mixed martial arts.”

Damon Martin is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report and all quotes were obtained first hand unless otherwise noted.

Source: www.bleacherreport.com

Last Man Standing

Last Man Standing

Please support our Kru (Instructor) who is fighting for the ISKA European Title!!
SEE KRU FOR TICKETS

LAST MAN STANDING 3K KO TOURNAMENT & SUPER FIGHTS SATURDAY
13/04/13

This years LAST MAN STANDING 3K KO TOURNAMENT under Full Thai Rules will be contested at 62KG max from Birmingham’s biggest new venue The Bingley Hall in Hockley Birmingham.

The Bingley Hall is a state of the art 2000 seat/standing venue located at the heart of Birmingham Central. The venue offers everything from onsite bars and hot food to ample car/coach parking facilities for over 600 vehicles! There are no obstructions and the ring can be clearly viewed from anywhere in the venue. The show will feature dancers, fireworks, laser lights large TV screens, chill out areas and most importantly the strongest card to take place in the Midlands to date!

A CLASS FULL THAI RULES 62KG MAX
1) Carlton Lieu (Team Tieu) ISKA English Champion & Ringmasters Champion
2) Ross George (Kaang Raang) ISKA Commonwealth Champion
3) Matt McKeown (Black Diamond) WRSA English & ISKA Midland Area Champion
4) Ricky Sewell (Liams Gym) British Champion
5) Sean Clancy (Siam Warriors) ISKA Irish Champion
6) Angelo “Devilman” Campoli (Italy) Italian no1 & Yokkao Extreme Winner
7) Anthony Ferguson (Pumped Gym) European Champion
8) Brian Totty (The Griphouse) Scottish Champion

RESERVE MATCH
9) Jack Cooper (Middlesbrough Fight Academy / Porpromin Muay Thai Thailand)
10) Jack Battershall (Shin Kick) ISKA Southern Area Champion

ISKA European Title Fight
Leigh Edlin (Chao Phraya) V Diego Santuccio (Italy)

A CLASS
Reece Crooke (Evolution) V Joseph Lasari (Italy)

ISKA Super Heavyweight Midland Area Title
Chris Cooper (Black Widow) V Andre Groce (Firewalkers)

Just added to the undercard:

Lucien Alleyne (Black Widow) V Thai Hoang (Team Tieu)
This will be a great fight between two very talented young fighters expect fireworks and a great display of Muay Thai.

Naqqash Khan (Black Widow) V Glenn Sweetman (Corefit)
Another great fight between local lads just added to the card.

We will also be releasing match ups shortly for Iman Barlow, Jose Valera, Jon Greenwood and many other top names.

Tickets are now on sale and we’ve already started selling VIP tables for this event so book yours now!

£600 VIP Table for x10 people including x3 course meal & waitress service
£60 VIP Table Seat including x3 course meal & waitress service
£30 Adult Standard
£15 Junior Standard

Doors Open at 4.00PM / First Fight at 4.30PM

Smash 3 Muaythai – Videos

Smash 3 Muaythai – Videos

Smash 3 Muaythai – James Bowen v Dean Lynch

Smash Muaythai 3 – Danny Hammer v Kev Mcalister

Smash Muaythai 3 – Joshia Gillespie v Luke Donoghue

Smash Muaythai 3 – Josh Williamson v Luke Davis

Smash Muaythai 3 – Garry Kewley v Sam Ward

Smash Muaythai 3 – Luke Imeson v Liam Nolan

Smash Muaythai 3 – Matty Shippen v Chris Cooper

Smash Muaythai 3 – Kate Stables v Ruth Ashdown

Smash Muaythai 3 – Simon Forrest v Anthony McGee

Smash Muaythai 3 – Gavin Rogerson v Danny Leadbetter

Smash Muaythai 3 – Jon Greenwood v Peter Rai