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Just saw Sylvies fight number 259 which was Kard Chuek. Kevin on his commentary spoke familiar sentences. "The ref is breaking the clinch immediately", "they are not letting clinch happen in this fight". Thankfully Sylvie won the fight despite the referee! Knee and clinch fighting known as Muay Khao, are Sylvies expertise, but are the one aspect of fighting, and the only part that can be interrupted soley at the discretion of the referee !! If the ref does not want Sylvie to win, or does not like clinch fighting, or thinks it is boring, then he can, by constantly seperating the contestants influence the outcome of the fight! In Sylvies case it can mean an unecessary loss! If a referee would interrupt kicking or boxing or elbows he would be booed out. Hence Muay Thai cannot honestly be called the art of 8 limbs anymore! Sylvie should be allowed to clinch undisturbed in a fight, and unfortunately this tendency and the propensity to shorten fight lengths to only 3 rounds are making many contests basically kickboxing matches with elbows. When fights are rushed down to 3x3 minute rounds, technique goes out the window, so the only thing that counts are offensive weapons and the ability to clobber your opponent as fast as possible. My suggestions: Muay Thai was not always fought with boxing gloves, so hemp bandaging(Kard Chuek style) or mma type gloves are a great option and should be left open to the agreement of the contestants. Fight durations should be viable and agreed upon by the contestants, not the promoter- why not have 3 x 5 minute contests or a 6 rounds of 3 minutes or 7x 2minutes. Having someone of clout such as Dieselnoi or Karuhat write a letter to the Muay Thai authorities to stop discriminating against Muay Khao stylists and reversing the trend evident in Max, Thai Fight, One Superseries, of shortening fights and not allowing any clinch action.