Leaderboard

These are older links, not all of them will be functioning. It is highly unlikely that there will be another Muay Khao Summit. We can never say never, but it just isn't feasible at this point or the foreseeable future, unfortunately. It was a beautiful, one-time thing.

A number of the fighters we interview talk about lack of opponents, the lower frequency of fights makes training and cutting weight much more difficult, an overall feeling that they're "done" in the sense of just not feeling as strong or willing to go through the intense fatigue and work that's required to be a top fighter; some get distracted after reaching a top level - Kaensak was Fighter of the Year for 2 years in a row, then started losing at a high rate just after. I asked him why and he said he had a girlfriend and spent all his time with her rather than focused on training (usually this is a soft implication to a fighter becoming sexually active, as this whole men-have-to-abstain-in-order-to-have-power belief is STRONG here). Some just lose the passion. Most I've talked to talk about just being tired. If they're at the top level, even in their mid or late 20s they're facing rising stars in their late teens or early 20s; that's hard. It's pretty crazy that Suk fought into his 50s and Wichannoi and Chamuakpet were downright old men, retiring in their 30s. Saenchai is a fogie by Muay Thai standards. If we're talking about women it's a completely different story. Yes, lack of opponents but from a much, much smaller pool. Hormones change and the body changes. Women retire much earlier. Some go to school to get a career so they can support their families because there's no such thing as a female fighter who is earning what even mid-level male fighters earn. Women have children pretty young here (male fighters also start families but that's obviously a different process). Lommanee is the oldest female fighter (Thai) I can think of, at 31. Sawsing at 24 is unusual, for sure... and a mother as well.

Current UFC Straweight Champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs Duannapa Mor. Rattana Bundit World Muay Thai Angels 2013 Quarterfinals Action begins at 7:40 - I include this fight here because I only just realized it ever happened, two very high profile fighters on one of the biggest promotions for female fighters in Thailand; though, at the time, I had no idea who Joanna was and probably few outside of Europe did either. For those who don't know, Duannapa was widely considered the best female fighter in Thailand a few years ago, though at the time of this fight she had become fairly inactive and her weight was an issue, and commonly discussed in the male Muay Thai gossip circles. In fact, she was disqualified from this all-female tournament in the finals a few months later (still fought, but could not win) because she did not make the 57 kg weigh in. (So she competed but could only come in last regardless of fight outcome.) This fight is really interesting because it shows how different Thai Muay Thai is from much of the kickboxing of the world, and also how styles (and matchups) make fights. Joanna, who has been called "a force of nature" or "an animal" as a striker in the UFC, is more or less stymied in this fight by Duannapa's defensive, countering posture. Joanna surely grew as a fighter in the year and a half, but still the fight is instructive. It should also be pointed out that Duannapa significantly outweighed Joanna here. Duannapa barely cut down to 57 kg, or maybe not even, and Joanna now fights at 52 in the UFC. This is a big deal, even for striking - it can determine confidence, but also how impactful strikes look to the judges. A point of comparison is that the two UFC fighters Joanna recently overwhelmed were I believe smaller than her, both Esparza and Penne, and non-strikers. Also, it's important to know that low-kicks do not score in Thailand unless they affect the opponent, so almost all of Joanna's low-kicks are non-scoring. Also, punches need to rock your opponent to score. Duannapa takes all three rounds in my opinion, with incredible poise, in the Thai style. Count her kicks landing to the body. She basically scores and then neutralizes. For those who don't follow Thai Muay Thai closely, the retreating, defending fighter is usually perceived to be in the lead. This is World Muay Thai Angels, a tournament style all-female promotion, which has only 3x3 rounds instead of the typical 5x2 rounds for female fights. The breaks seemed really long.