Tag: muay thai

Exclusive: BKFC President David Feldman Previews Massive Muay Thai Clash Between Buakaw and Saenchai

BKFCBKFC President David Feldman can’t wait to deliver one of the most anticipated Muay Thai fights in the history…

BKFC

BKFC President David Feldman can’t wait to deliver one of the most anticipated Muay Thai fights in the history of the sport on November 4.

Emanating from Pattaya, two legends in the art of eight limbs, Buakaw Banchamek and Saenchai will step inside the squared circle for a special rules Muay Thai matchup at BKFC Thailand 5. It’s a contest fight fans never thought they would live to see, but Feldman, the founder of Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship, prides himself on delivering the fights that nobody else can.

“I think what I try to specialize in is doing things that everybody says you can’t do and doing things that people don’t do and everybody said that Saenchai and Buakaw would never fight,” Feldman said in a LowKick MMA exclusive interview. “I’m like, ‘Oh yeah? Watch.’ We were able to do this and like I said in my last interview, the reason we’re doing it as a special Muay Thai rules is because I think it’s not doing the fans, the fighters, or anyone justice if we limit those guys to only their knuckles.

“Let’s let them do the elbows, the knees, and the kicks. No throwdown. No real clinch. It’s gotta be action and I think it could be something where we change the Muay Thai world a little bit and take the boring part of the Muay Thai out of it and make it complete excitement. Long story short, I’m super excited about that. I think it’s going to be a very widely viewed event and I can’t wait for it.”

How Did the BKFC Manage to Book Buakaw vs. Saenchai?

Asked how they managed to bring the two Thai icons together, Feldman indicated that it ultimately came down to the almighty dollar, but he also believes that Buakaw and Saenchai are eager to deliver to fans one of the most debated fantasy matchups in Muay Thai history and finally answer the question of who would win.

“This is a chance for them to really prove themselves,” Feldman added. “They always wanted to do this, but nobody could make it work. We paid them good. We paid them something they haven’t been paid before and I think they’re just excited to prove themselves because everybody says Buakaw would beat Saenchai, or Saenchai would be Buakaw, and guess what? On November 4, we’re gonna find out.”

Buakaw enters the contest as one of the most celebrated athletes in the history of the sport, carrying 240 career wins and a plethora of world titles. Buakaw is a former multi-time WMC Muay Thai champion, a former WBC Muay Thai champion, and a two-time K-1 World MAX Champion.

His opponent, Saenchai, has been competing for more than 35 years and has amassed an incredible 327 career wins. During the course of his three-and-a-half-decade run, Saenchai has claimed titles under the WPMF, WBC, WMC, and PABA banners. He is also a six-time Lumpinee Stadium champion.

BKFC Thailand 5 will air live from the Pattaya Exhibition and Convention Hall on Saturday, November 4 at 9:00 a.m. ET, 6 a.m. PT via the BKFC app.

Exclusive: John Fury marvels at the brutality of Thailand’s Muay Thai scene: ‘The whole place is built on violence’

FuryGearing up for his showdown with Francis Ngannou on October 28, Tyson Fury headed to Phuket, Thailand alongside his father and coach John Fury. The reigning WBC heavyweight champion is slated for a scrap with the former UFC titleholder in the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh. Ahead of their massive crossover contest, ‘The Gypsy King’ […]

Fury

Gearing up for his showdown with Francis Ngannou on October 28, Tyson Fury headed to Phuket, Thailand alongside his father and coach John Fury.

The reigning WBC heavyweight champion is slated for a scrap with the former UFC titleholder in the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh. Ahead of their massive crossover contest, ‘The Gypsy King’ took a trip to The Land of Smiles over the summer. While there, Fury was seen partying and taking in a few fight cards at Rajadamnern Muay Thai Stadium.

Speaking about his experience traveling to Thailand with the heavyweight champ, John Fury appears to have fallen in love with the country known for its sweltering weather and brutal Muay Thai events.

“All the men are warriors over there. All the women are warriors, never mind the men,” John Fury an ambassador for Free Bets said in a LowKick MMA exclusive interview. “They all love fighting, don’t they? The whole place is built on violence, isn’t it? They’re lovely people to speak to. We enjoyed it there. It was fabulous. We got received very well, but you can see the only thing that the people have got on their mind is fighting and gambling. Gambling and fighting, what a combination!”.

“I enjoyed Thailand. It was an eye-opener for me. The weather was very hot over there. It’s a totally different way of life than the one we live here. They’re a lot tougher race. I went to a few of the Thai boxing events and my god, it was brutal. Big guys made of titanium just getting the p*ss and sh*t knocked out of each other. It was an unbelievable experience for me to watch it. To be honest with you, I felt like a p*ssy out there”.

Both of John Fury’s Boys Will Be in Action This Month

John Fury will be a very busy man this month as both of his sons will be in action. First, undefeated standout Tommy Fury will return to the squared circle for a matchup with social media star KSI as part of Misfits Boxing’s ‘The PRIME Card’ on October 14 in Manchester. Two weeks later, ‘The Gypsy King’ will meet Francis Ngannou in a heavyweight showdown in the Middle East before reportedly returning to the country two months later for a long-awaited title unification bout with Oleksandr Usyk.

Watch the full interview below and on LowKick MMA’s official YouTube channel.

Muay Thai Stance: Everything Explained

Muay Thai StanceSomething that goes unnoticed in Muay Thai is the stance. The Muay Thai stance is an extremely important part of the fighting style, which must be routinely practiced. Here is a breakdown of how to properly stand in a Muay Thai stance. Read below to learn the important tips for holding a Muay Thai stance […]

Muay Thai Stance

Something that goes unnoticed in Muay Thai is the stance. The Muay Thai stance is an extremely important part of the fighting style, which must be routinely practiced.

Here is a breakdown of how to properly stand in a Muay Thai stance. Read below to learn the important tips for holding a Muay Thai stance and the benefits of developing a good one.

Is There a Muay Thai Stance? 

To the untrained eye, there doesn’t look like much of a Muay Thai stance in Thai boxing. The stance in Muay Thai is unique to the martial art/sport and enables the patented strikes.

The Benefits of a Good Muay Thai Stance

A good Muay Thai stance is everything in Thai boxing. Here are the benefits of holding a good Muay Thai stance.

Do All Muay Thai Styles Use the Same Stance?

All Thai boxing styles mostly use the same Muay Thai stance. They may differ on the preferred striking methods, but there’s nothing really different about the fighting stance.

How to Stand

You will continuously drill your Muay Thai stance when developing your Thai boxing skills. Here is how you stand in a proper Muay Thai stance.

Feet Placement

In proper Muay Thai, your feet are placed at or slightly smaller than shoulder-width apart. Your lead foot will be placed slightly ahead of your back foot.

Light Feet 

You must keep your feet light to have a good Muay Thai stance. If you train with heavy feet, your movement will be slowed and telegraphed. That’s why you must stay light on your feet while practicing Thai boxing.

Heels Up

A way to stay light on your feet is to try and remember to keep your heels off the mat. Not tip-toeing, but your heels are slightly up with your weight on the soles of your feet.

Muay Thai Punch

How to Move in a Muay Thai Stance

Moving in a Muay Thai stance is simple but requires training. Here’s a basic guide for moving in a Muay Thai stance

  • Move Forward: Your lead foot steps for, and your back foot follows. Try to keep your feet light and try not to drag your back foot.
  • Move Backward: To move backward, your back foot moves first, and your front foot follows. The tips for moving your foot also pertain to moving your back foot.
  • Move Left: Your left foot moves first, followed by your right foot. Keep space between your feet; don’t let them touch or cross.
  • Move Right: Your right foot moves first, followed by your right foot. The tip for moving your left foot also goes for your right.
  • Turn: Turn your lead food in the direction you want, then turn your body with your back foot following behind. The same rules for not dragging your feet also apply to turning.
  • Side Shuffle: To shuffle out of danger in a Muay Thai stance, stand square and shuffle in the direction you wish.  Don’t let your feet touch or cross.

How to Practice Your Muay Thai Stance

There are ways you can practice and improve your Muay Thai stance. Here are ways you can practice your Muay Thai stance.

Shadowboxing 

The classic way of practicing and improving your Muay Thai stance is by doing rounds of shadow boxing. Visualizing that you’re in a fight as you move and perform different techniques.

To improve your stance, you can do rounds of Muay Thai shadow boxing focusing on your movement with no punches. Just moving around the ring or mat, focusing on properly moving in a fight.

Footwork Drills 

You can do numerous types of footwork drills to improve your footwork in your Muay Thai stance. They can be as simple as drilling out to step forward to connect all of the movements together. Watch the video above for some of the best Muay Thai footwork drills.

Hybrid Shadowboxing/Footwork Drills

Trainers often blend together shadowboxing and footwork drills to improve the stances of their fighters. They might instruct their students to focus on a certain movement during shadowboxing rounds.

Muay Thai Kick

How Do I Choose My Muay Thai Stance?

For new Muay Thai students, you choose your Muay Thai stance by what hand you write with. Right-handed students make their backfoot their right and vice-versa if they’re southpaws.

As you gain more experience, you may choose how you stand depending your best attacks. If you’re left-handed but have a good right kick, you may choose to stand in a conventional Muay Thai stance.

The Benefits

A good stance is everything in Thai boxing. It allows you to move fluidly and react faster. Everything from your strikes, movement, and defense will improve from having a good Muay Thai stance.

Important Tips to Rember

The Muay Thai stance is everything in Muay Thai. Here are the important tips and details to remember.

  • Feet Placement: In a Muay Thai stance, keep your feet around should-width a part or less.
  • Keep Space Between Feet: Keep space between your feet in a Muay Thai stance. This will enable you to be balanced and move faster.
  • Don’t Stand Flat-Footed: Never stand flat-footed in a Muay Thai stance. Always keep light feet to react quicker.
  • Heels Up: Try not to keep your heels off the mat to enable you to move and react quickly.
  • How To Move: Remember the basics of moving in a Muay Thai stance. Move your lead foot first to move forward, and move your back foot to move backward. Also, turn your lead foot in the direction you want to turn.
  • Knees Bent: Keep a slight bend in your knees in Muay Thai stance and try not to stand straight up.
  • Don’t Cross Feet: Never let your feet touch or cross while in your stance. You’ll be unbalanced and easy to hit.

Superlek lands unanimous decision win over Muay Thai star Rodtang in brutal superfight – Highlights

Superlek defeats Rodtang in all out war at ONE Championship superfight decision winThai striking sensation, Superlek has landed one of the biggest victories of his professional combat sports career to date, dropping ONE Championship flyweight Muay Thai champion and face of the sport, Rodtang Jitmuangnon in a unanimous decision effort atop a ONE Friday Fights 34 card from the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium. Superlek, the current ONE flyweight […]

Superlek defeats Rodtang in all out war at ONE Championship superfight decision win

Thai striking sensation, Superlek has landed one of the biggest victories of his professional combat sports career to date, dropping ONE Championship flyweight Muay Thai champion and face of the sport, Rodtang Jitmuangnon in a unanimous decision effort atop a ONE Friday Fights 34 card from the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium.

Superlek, the current ONE flyweight kickboxing world champion, entered tonight’s monstrous showdown with compatriot, Rodtang off the back of a stunning nine-fight winning run, fought back from some real adversity in the first frame, dealing with a series of cuts and lacerations on his hairline — turning his bleach blonde hair an unsightly red.

However, midway through the second frame, rallying against Jitmuangon Gym staple, Rodtang, the Thai striker recorded a knockdown on the latter, sending him to the canvas with a counter step-in elbow at the ropes, drawing an official count from the ring official.

And managing to counter well and fight from the ropes throughout the third frame, Superlek would emerge with a unanimous decision win over Rodtang on all three judge’s scorecards, in a memorable superfight for the ages.

Below, catch the highlights from Superlek’s decision win over rival, Rodtang

Buakaw vs Saenchai – Muay Thai legends collide at BKFC Asia 5 on November 4

Buakaw vs SaenchaiThe long-awaited bare-knuckle bout between Muay Thai legends Buakaw vs Saenchai is back on according to BKFC Asia promoter Nick Chapman. Fight fans were sent into a frenzy when Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship revealed that, not only had they signed both Buakaw and Saenchai, but that the two masters in the art of eight limbs […]

Buakaw vs Saenchai

The long-awaited bare-knuckle bout between Muay Thai legends Buakaw vs Saenchai is back on according to BKFC Asia promoter Nick Chapman.

Fight fans were sent into a frenzy when Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship revealed that, not only had they signed both Buakaw and Saenchai, but that the two masters in the art of eight limbs would step inside the squared circle for a bare-knuckle brawl. Originally announced for March 18 in Thailand, the bout was eventually called off after some confusion arose regarding the rule set and what would be allowed by the Boxing Authorities of Thailand.

Buakaw vs Saenchai

It was an unfortunate turn of events, but it now appears that the Buakaw vs Saenchai is back on and scheduled for this fall. According to the CEO of BKFC Asia, the fight will go down on November 4 at BKFC Asia 5. The event will emanate from the Royal Cliff Hotels Group in Pattaya, Thailand with tickets being made available starting on August 17.

The bout is being advertised as a special rules bare-knuckle Thai fight between the two combat sports icons.

Buakaw vs Saenchai Will Be a Battle of Two Thai Legends

Buakaw Banchamek and Saenchai are by far and away, two of the most accomplished Muay Thai practitioners in the history of the sport. The pair have more than 550 career wins combined and nearly 60 years worth of experience between the two.

Much of that comes from the side of Saenchai who began competing in Muay Thai in 1988 when he was just eight years old. During his legendary run, Saenchai has accumulated 317 victories and is a multi-time Lumpinee Stadium champion. He has also captured world titles with the WMC and WBC. Under the THAI FIGHT banner, Saenchai won the King’s Cup three years in a row and went on an incredible 52-0 run.

Not to be outdone, Buakaw Banchamek has established himself as perhaps the greatest Muay Thai fighter in the history of the sport. With 240 wins, Buakaw is a two-time K-1 World MAX champion in addition to being a multi-time WMC titleholder. He also captured the WBC Muaythai Diamond World Championship in 2014.

In September, Buakaw made his BKFC debut, competing in a bare-knuckle bout against Erkan Varol at BKFC Thailand 3. Buakaw scored himself a first-round knockout and has since added another win to his illustrious record, defeating Rukiya Anpo at RIZIN 42 in May.

We can’t wait til November when we can finally see Buakaw vs Saenchai and see who will be the victor between these two Muay Thai legends.

Boxing super fight between Manny Pacquiao and Buakaw Banchamek reportedly set for January 2024

PacquiaoRetired boxing legend Manny Pacquiao is set to face Muay Thai icon Buakaw Banchamek in a super fight slated for January 2024. Bebangpakong (Worathep Makapokha), a renowned Thai sports insider, revealed in a post on Facebook that Pacquiao and Banchamek would square off as part of a mega-sized sports event called ‘The Match 3’ early […]

Pacquiao

Retired boxing legend Manny Pacquiao is set to face Muay Thai icon Buakaw Banchamek in a super fight slated for January 2024.

Bebangpakong (Worathep Makapokha), a renowned Thai sports insider, revealed in a post on Facebook that Pacquiao and Banchamek would square off as part of a mega-sized sports event called ‘The Match 3’ early next year. The information reportedly came from Vinij Lertratanachai, the CEO of Fresh Air Festival Co Ltd, who will be promoting the matchup.

On July 21, a press conference is scheduled to take place at 4:00 p.m. ICT where more details will be announced, including an official contract signing ceremony between the two combat sports stars.

Fresh Air Festival is best known for booking the Manchester United and Liverpool football match dubbed ‘THE MATCH Bangkok Century Cup 2022’ last year. In March, the company also hosted a six-red snooker tournament billed as ‘The 2023 Pathum Thani Six-Red World Championship’, otherwise known as ‘The Match 2.’

Buakaw is one of the most decorated Muay Thai practitioners in the history of the sport, competing in more than 270 career bouts. He is a former WMC and WBC Muay Thai world champion and has won the K-1 World Max tournament on two separate occasions. Buakaw walked away from the sport in 2019 but has since competed in exhibition bouts and kickboxing matches, including an appearance for Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship in 2022. He scored a first-round knockout against Erkan Varo at BKFC Thailand 3 in September.

His next appearance inside the squared circle will come against another legend in the art of eight limbs, Saenchai. The two men are scheduled to scrap at BKFC Asia 5 on November 5.

Manny Pacquiao, of course, needs no introduction. ‘PacMan’ is one of the most beloved boxers in the history of the sport, becoming the first and only eight-division world champion while capturing 12 different titles during his illustrious career. He was also the first boxer to win the lineal championship in five different weight classes. Pacquiao actively competed for more than 25 years but has since put more focus on his political career, serving as a Senator of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022.

Pacquiao went 62-8 in his career, his last appearance coming against Yordenis Ugás in August 2021. ‘PacMan’ came up short in the contest, suffering a unanimous decision defeat. A month later, he would announce his retirement from the sport. “My boxing career is already over. It’s done because I’ve been in boxing for a long time and my family says that it is enough,” Pacquiao told Toni Gonzaga in a September 2021 interview.