I’ve waited for quite sometime to see him live… I never thought it was going to be local for me.  That’s right mmt, clear you calenders.  The MSA peeps are bringing the white lotus to our shores.  It’s a long way until May 29th and a lot can happen before then… but I’m fairly optimistic that this fight is going to happen.

Buakaw will be facing Bad Companies Jordan Watson, at SENI in London’s Excel Center. Tickets go on sale March 20th!

Based on the fact that I haven’t heard anything in months it’s relative safe to assume that the Contender is long gone.

I had read some rumours that the show had difficulties finding sponsors.  Whatever the reason it’s a shame.  I don’t know what the ratings were in the States or in Europe, but the first season seemed to do relatively well.

Super pro the dutch fight promotion company looks to be picking up the ball.  They had a show last year, which I didn’t really pay much attention to.  It’s the typical format of 2 teams of 70kg fighters living, training and fighting with each other for a cash prize (40K)

From what I can tell it’s no Mark Burnett production, but beggars can’t be choosers.  The whole thing is shot in Samui at the SuperPro training camp.  There are a couple familiar faces… Gago Drago, Shane Campbell, Vuysile Collossa, Panjonsuk, and Armen Petrosyan .

I’ll start covering it when things get going. For the full details and lineup check out the SuperPro site.

Any interest?

Props to DiiMak and ZigZach for passing this one along.  Some pretty big fights happening today at Lumpini.  Who know’s when we’ll get footage from this thing, but I’ll get the results up as soon as possible.  One of my current favorite’s, Saiyok will be squaring off with Farid Villaume for the vacant Lumpini Welterweight title.  Villaume has seemed to have bounced back from his slump, but my money is riding on Saiyok.

If any of you are around you should definately be heading to this.  Hopefully DiiMak try and get some video footage!  The Individual behind this event is our friend Khun Thakoon of the Sasiprapa camp.  You can see more pics and details on the France vs. Thailand Facebook page, and you can get more info from ZigZach’s blog.

Saiyok vs. Villaume

Many Thanks to Hellfighter and Olivier Angelini for posting and sharing

1. Petchbangprang Kaewsamrit Thai 132
Albert Chey France

2. Wahaj Topking Boxing Thai 182
Coulibaly Palmares France
Vacant title TV7

3. Pornsawan Lukpra-ar-tit Thai 102
Champ Petchpracha Thai
Vacant title TV7 Mini flyweight

4. Prakaipetch Kiatpratoom Thai 105
Kengklar S.Chockkitchai Thai

5. Nuarkeeree Sitsamorthong Thai 132
Yetkin Ozkul France
Defend title Lumpini stadium Super Lightweight

6. Kongfah Auddonmuang Thai 140
Kamel Jemel France

7. Rungpetch W.Rungnirun Thai 120
Muangsi Pumphanmuang Thai
Vacant title Lumpini stadium Superwelterweight

8. Saiyoke Pumphanmuang Thai 154
Farid Villeaume France

9. Wanchalong Sitsornong Thai 108
Mongkonchai Skindiew gym Thai

10. Damien Alamos France 140
Pongsaklek Sitmorlumbud Thai

11. Sohanne Bengana France 132
Chao Sasiprapa gym Thai

A couple of weeks ago I wrote a post about how the Thai MuayThai authority wanted to “Standardize” or test instructors to insure the “quality” of MuayThai overseas.  The issue arose when a Thai trade official complained about the MuayThai scene in Toronto…. any MMT readers in Toronto?  What the hell is going on out there?  You guys rockin gi’s and mongkons?

According to the MT authority they want to punish any Thai NakMuay’s who may have assisted in the watering down of the MuayThai…  you can read the full article on muaymag.com here.  If their getting so worked up over this, I’m more concerned about them trying to prohibit western fighters from competing in major stadiums.  What I mean is that  I wouldn’t put it pass them to only allow “Sanctioned Western Gyms” to compete at the major stadiums.   It’s like any filthy sanctioning body… if you want your fighters to have access to stadium xzy, you’ll need to have your gym or trainers “Certified”.

Maybe, they aren’t that motivated… maybe this thing will lose steam.

We’re a little over a month away from out next MSA show featuring Anuwat, Bovy and Kaewklaa.  If you haven’t picked up your tickets yet, you can do so here.   Bovy’s fight was probably the one I was most looking forward to at Slamm, you could say I was a wee bit disappointed.

I’m planning on heading up for the night?  Anyone else planning on heading up?

The MSA Team has also released a 2 set dvd of the last event. You can get your copy here.

I was going to wait until I could find a clip, but it’s too big not to post.  As some of you may have already heard, Yodsanklai lost his 154lbs WBC belt this past weekend to 27-year-old South African Vuyisile Colossa.  This was part of the Boxe-Thai Guinea tournament 2 in Equitoria Guinea.

Here is a clip of their March fight.  As always, if any of you come across the clip drop me an email,( nopstar at my muay thai dot com)  or feel free to post it into the comments.

According to the banter on the forums, Yod had 1 or 2 standing counts against Colossa, and still lost the decision.  I find that extremely hard to believe…  There is a lot of talk about Yods pace in the fight, that he might have cruised the last few rounds thinking he had the win…  I guess we’ll soon see.

I first saw Chaz Mulkey fight in a brutal match with Brazillian Marfio Canoletti on a Fairtex card here in the bay. The brutal fight was hands down the fight of the night. A few months later I heard that Mulkey had been continuing his pro fighting career, having a bout with the respectable USA nak muay Chike Lindsay. I was able to talk to Mulkey on the phone and ask him about his current profession as a basher of brains.

Lucas: What weight do you fight at?

Mulkey: 154lbs.

Lucas: How old are you?

Mulkey: 29.

Lucas: How did you get into Muay Thai?

Mulkey: I just fell into it. A little over 4 years ago. I was working in a night club in Dallas. I always wanted to do something like boxing. My buddy Joe  came into work one night wearing a Muay Thai t-shirt. He was into Muay Thai and asked me to go to the gym in Dallas, it was Saekson Janjira’s place. All the stars aligned, it seemed perfect.

I wasn’t there that long, just six months although I was there twice a day. My mom was out here in Vegas so it made sense for me to be out in Vegas. I’d been in Dallas my whole life and needed a change of scenery. Saekson found out I was going to Nevada and he referred to me Master Toddy’s.

Lucas: What do you do for a living?

Mulkey: I have a small pool cleaning business but the majority of my money comes from being an instructional trainer at Warrior’s Way Training Center. I have about 7 classes a week and I do a lot of privates along with doing a kid’s class twice a week.

Lucas:What appeals to you about Muay Thai?

Mulkey:I like how raw and aggressive it is. Its fun and competitive.

Lucas: How did you start fighting?

Mulkey: I actually started fighting in Vegas. I was at Toddy’s for 3 or 4 days. I wasn’t in the fighting class, but I asked about it. I told him he I wanted to fight. A week later I was at One Kick Nick’s. One Kick Nick has a pretty big show for amateur fights and a week later I was fighting my first amateur bout.

Lucas: What made you get into the ring?

Mulkey: I didn’t fight when I was younger, although I got into scraps here and there. Usually people who have an aggressive nature do well in this sport. I feel like I have something of an aggressive personality and its something that I like to do.

Lucas: What do you think of the Las Vegas Muay Thai scene?

Mulkey: Its pretty nonexistent. Every once in a while there’s an mma show with

There’s Dennis Warner’s cards. He’s awesome. He only puts on a show every  three or four months here. Its pretty thin around here.

Lucas: How many amateur fights have you had?

Mulkey: I had sixteen or seventeen fights with a  perfect record. They start to blur together after a while though. I was fighting once every six weeks for 7 or 8 fights. Then it started to slow down. The more fights you’ve had, and the more fights you win the harder it is to match up. After 7 or 8 fights a lot of people go pro.

Lucas: What was your amateur career like?

Mulkey: It was really fun at first. It started to get frustrating because it got harder to get fights. You get to the weigh ins and something happens. The other fighter bails and  you ask yourself; “Where am I going next?” or “What am I doing?” The first half was really fun, then it got more questionable as I had to decide if I was ready for pro fights or not.

Lucas: What is the difference for you between amateur and professional fighting?

Mulkey: In amateur bouts you can break people. They haven’t had that much experience. Their spirits aren’t always strong.

Plus in amateur fighting people get weeded out. With each step up more people drop out. First there’s the smokers then amateur shows, people quit in between those stages. There is a similar jump up to the professional stage.

Professional fighters, they’re tough and smart, the two worse combinations. Its what makes pro fighters good. The guys that don’t look technical are still tough and with their experience they’re smarter. It makes the fighters harder.

Lucas: How many pro fights have you had?

Mulkey: I’ve had four pro fights. In my pro career I’m split even  2-2.  I’ve fought the notable Chike Lindsay, Marfio Canoletti on the Fairtex War of the Heroes card, Douglas Edwards and Bryce Krauss who was my last match. I actually ko’ed Krauss a minute and forty seconds in. He threw something he shouldn’t have, and ended up turning his body and I hit him with a strong knee. We locked up for a second and then I caught him with a square hook.

Lucas:What has been the most memorable fight you’ve had thus far?

Mulkey: My last fight with Bryce Krauss. It was so short. I’ve been looking for a knock out in my career but hadn’t had one yet. Everyone kept telling me that it just happens. I wasn’t trying to knock him out. He just went out. It wasn’t something that I was trying for though.

My  fight with Marfio was one of my toughest fight. I took the fight short notice and he weighed more than me. My conditioning wasn’t that good and it was a hard match. We both stepping in at the same time and he got me with an elbow that counted. The upward elbow cut me right in the middle of my forehead.

Lucas: How did you feel about your close match with Lindsay?

Mulkey: I wanted to exchange with him more but he grabbed more, body locking me. I thought that I was winning most of the fight but he caught me in the fourth with a clean elbow which gave me an 8-count. That set me back two rounds. Its not a bad loss to have. He’s fought notable people.

Lucas:What is your training here like?

Mulkey: I train twice a day for the most part. Five days a week I train twice a day and once on saturday. Each session is 2 or 3 hours. I start at 8 o’clock then train again at 5 o’clock. I run 3 days a week for about 3 miles. I do a fair amount of bag work. I used to run more but I was burning out my legs. I wasn’t kicking as sharp so I scaled back on it. Along with the bag work I do a lot of timing sparring, or light sparring with Kevin Ross. I had to back off on my pad work as I’m no longer with Toddy. It was time for me to go a separate course. Right now I’m at Warrior’s Way. I also go over to One Kick Nick’s regularly as Master Lookchang is there. He used to corner me for a number of fights when I was at Toddy’s but he went his own way about a year ago as well. Its harder getting pad work now as I have to pay for privates so I don’t do it as much except when I’m gearing up for a fight, maybe I’ll start twice a week a month before a fight.

Lucas: How would you describe yourself as a fighter?

Mulkey: I think I’m a competitive tough opponent. I think the harder people push the harder I push. I try to push the pace more or apply the pressure more.

Lucas: What is your strongest attribute?

Mulkey: I have a pretty long reach for my size. My cardio is real good. I’m technical. The three attributes are probably tied.

Lucas: What are your goals with fighting?

Mulkey: The first goal I set was fighting on a Dennis Warner card and I accomplished that. Warner’s show was the first live real Muay Thai fight that I saw. The card had Michael Mannequil fighting Ra Karma. I saw that fight and said to myself “That’s where I want to be.”

Secondly I’d like to fight in Thailand. I have that small pool business that I can’t leave for more than 7 days. Being an instructor I can’t just leave my classes, I need to find people to fill my classes. It doesn’t make sense to go over there right now. It takes a few days to adjust and then I’d have to come right back.

Presently I’m shooting for 5 pro fights this year. The pro cards seem to happen every two or three months. You take more damage with a  pro fight so it makes sense to have them a little more spaced out. Being stablemates with Shawn Yarbough and Kevin Ross should help me get on some cards that and being friends with One Kick Nick. He actually got me on my last card.

Lucas: Where do you think Muay Thai here in the states will go?

Mulkey: I think it will always be overshadowed by MMA. MMA is the new trend. Everyone wants to do it. I think people just follow it cuz its popular. In Muay Thai there’s more of a dedication you don’t see it all over the place. You have to go looking for it.

More about Matt Lucas

Born to a working class family in rural New York I grew up working like a dog and drinking Natural light in the woods. After a brief stint attempting to escape the poverty of employment via university I gave up on escaping the grind and moved to sunny California where the burritos are as generous as the weather. I work in the service industry slinging booze and food.

I got into Muay Thai as a recreational activity. I saw an interclub fight and decided to try it out, everyone has to test their mettle somehow. A few fights and a year later I was in Thailand training, and fighting.  I haven’t quit stepping into the ring since. I currently live in East Oakland and balance my time blocking punches with my head with attempting to prevent brain deterioration through writing, studying Thai; language, culture and history, and going to wild dance parties with my friends.

]]> http://www.mymuaythai.com/archives/chaz-mulkey-interview/feed/ 5 http://www.mymuaythai.com/archives/sanchai-in-america/ http://www.mymuaythai.com/archives/sanchai-in-america/#comments Thu, 21 Jan 2010 09:22:09 +0000 nopstar http://www.mymuaythai.com/?p=2754

Props to Doug for the heads up! You nakmuay’s in Socal Cali are in for a treat.  Sanchai is coming to town!  I know it’s a trek for you guys in SF/Oak but it’s the doctor himself… for those of you who never seen him in action now’s your chance.  I can’t imagine he’s going to be coming through California with any great regularity so clear you calendars and get out there.

Props to thefighgame.tv for posting this…

Anyone from the Bay going to represent?

Today I was making my way through Sanam Luang and caught a few monks and about five labourers, sitting, crouching and intently waving their arms at a tiny TV set perched on a dirty folding chair.  I stopped behind them to check out what was going on.  Ah….the weekly fights on Channel 7….

As I’m getting ready to leave Bangkok to start training in Isaan, I realize I’ve been taking a lot for granted. One such thing is the amount of high quality fights there are in this City of Angels.  Free ones included.

For those of you who are planning to hit Bangkok, I suggest checking out the free fights Channel 7 hosts in the north end of the city.   I suspect they won’t disappoint; they’re broadcasted live weekly.

The energy is good – the studio/stadium/whatever-it-is is packed with loads of shouting Thais and some Falang.  If you’re Falang, you’ll be ushered towards a ground level seating area – it’s your choice if you want to hang there or get crushed on the bleachers.  Either way, it’s a good time.

The logistics:

Channel 7 Stadium – Bangkok
Behind the old Northern Bus Terminal (Morchit), opposite Chatuchak Park

Tel: (662) 272-0201

Fight Schedule: Sundays, from 1.45 p.m., third Wednesday of each month starting at noon.
Free admission

For those of you who can’t make it to this end of the planet, there are a number of sites that stream Channel 7 live.  These are the best ones I’ve found.  Enjoy…

http://wwitv.com/portal.htm?http://wwitv.com/television/204.htm

http://www.livetvcenter.com/channel_7_939.asp

http://www.imizzu.com/thai-tv7.html

http://ch7.trueworld.net/

channel 7 website:

http://tvonline.ch7.com/#

I’m not going to front and say I know a lot about the world muay thai scene.  This includes Thailand.  I don’t know the names of a ton of fighters, I don’t know their stats, and it doesn’t help that I generally remember faces and don’t care about names.  When I check out fights, I focus on what I can learn and the rest gets filtered out.  Why am I telling you this?  Because when I hit the 2009 IMFA World Muay Thai Championships / World Amateurs out here in Bangkok, I had no idea who the hell anyone was other than a few Canadians I had previously met.

What hit me instantly was the amount of countries representing.  I was in Indonesia when the event began and hit it midway through when a lot of people had already left.  The first fight I encountered was my favourite of the day and won by a member of the Jordon team (I wish I had picked up a roster)…until that point, it didn’t even occur to me that muay thai was large enough on a world level to elicit a team from Jordon. My naiveté included a number of countries – Morocco, Cyprus, Venezuela, Iraq….it goes on…..  Perhaps it’s due to the sad state of muay thai in Canada, primarily Ontario, the province I’m from.  It’s not the fighters, it’s not the gyms – it’s the regulations of various provinces that, in my opinion, hold the entire sport back.  Currently there are no legal fights in Ontario of any kind.   Thankfully, it hasn’t held us back too much – five of the Canadians I witnessed fight won that day (namely those fighting out of Calgary and Toronto…buy why weren’t other cities/provinces representing on the team?).

What also hit me was the protection everyone was wearing.  I’ve neither sparred nor fought with most of it on, so I have no idea how it feels to move in it.  I also completely forgot people would be wearing it at the World Amateurs.  And quite honestly, it confused me.  Although I understand why it’s used, I’m not convinced it’s a good thing.  Someone I was with pointed out that people were doing things they couldn’t get away with without it – blocking poorly, feet smacking elbows, etc.  What I noticed in a fight between a Canadian and an American, was that no matter how many hard knees the American took, the kid never got laid out.  To the American’s credit, he was tough and kept getting up no matter what he was served, but I couldn’t help but wonder if he wasn’t wearing chest protection, would he have been KO’d by a knee to the sternum in the first round?  Also, the amount of padding, in my opinion completely changes someone’s game.  Easy to work around?  I don’t know.  By no means am I an experienced fighter, but I’m a chick that loves throwing body shots.  I’m assuming they would be rendered useless in this competition.

Perhaps I’m hyper critical and overly negative.  This again, could be an extension of my feeling about muay thai in Ontario.  Prior to moving to Bangkok in early 2009, I lost interest in fights in Toronto.  Although I wanted to support the scene in the city, I also couldn’t help but feel dismayed at what I was witnessing.  There were, I believe two governing bodies at the time CAMTAO (Canadian Amateur Muay Thai Association) and CASK (Council of Amateur Sport Kickboxing).  Again, my attention span was thin on this.  CAMTAO is currently defunct due to having their Provisional Sports Organization status revoked by the Ministry of Health and Promotion (if you’re really interested – details www.camtao.org).  I’m not certain why CASK is no longer sanctioning fights, I suspect a similar issue.  Ontario has been plagued with problems of this nature for years.  It seems to be cyclical.

Anyhow, I believe most of the fights I had attended were governed by CASK.  Under CASK regulations, protection was worn, elbows weren’t thrown and I believe you couldn’t knee to the face.  In addition, should a nak muay get their head thrown back three inconsecutive times, they were automatically disqualified.  Each time their head peeled back, they paused the fight.  How did this translate to me?  You want to win a muay thai fight?  Just land three solid punches to your opponents grill and you win.  I saw it happen too many times to remember but enough times to disturb me.  It changed the nature of the game.  Call me a purist, but I appreciate technique and if I go to a muay thai fight, I want to see muay thai, not a slugfest.  I can see that on the street.

Going to the Worlds reminded me of my past days in Toronto.  I heard fighters complain about the headgear – how it restricted breathing and generally annoyed.  Elbow pads kept slipping off.  I also wondered if given the opportunity to fight without gear, if some of those who had lost, would have won.  I personally get the headgear at the amateur level – the rest, I’m not sold on.

More about Laura

I’m a Canadian who decided to quit my job, sell most of what I own, pack a suitcase, and skip continents to pursue a martial art I’m not particularly efficient in. A minimalist. A modern nomad. A kid who just likes having a good time.

My attraction to muay thai is that it’s an art with no wasted motion. It has been the greatest vehicle for my continual education. It’s incredibly challenging to me – both the physical and the mental game. The latter probably more so than the former.

Currently I’m in Bangkok training muay thai fulltime. The plan is to be here for a few years, but realistically, I have no idea where this path is leading, or what the timeline is. I like change and pushing my comfort zone. A lot. Nevertheless, muay thai will be the constant among the variables.

Be prepared for updates, rambling, video content and anything I’ve learned that I think may of use to you.

This hasn’t been easy, but so far, its been a pretty sick ride.

There’s an interesting write up on Saiyok in MuaySiam, you can read it the full article on MuayMag.com.

I had some trouble find any info on Saiyok prior to seeing him fight in Holland.  It turns out Saiyok used to fight under the name Saiyoknoi Sakchainarong.  He rose through the ranks capturing several titles including one from Rajadomnern.

Apparently it all came crashing down when he lost his title to Singmanee Sor. Srisompong.  I think it’s the same Singmanee who was previously at Chuwattana and is currently at tiger in Phuket.   There’s a lot of controversy around the fight as many believe Saiyok threw the fight.

Promoters wouldn’t touch him and he was forced to leave the sport to make ends meet.  Prior to his comeback he was selling fruit for a living. (badass muaythai fruit)

He’s back on the warpath and looks as if he’s got something to prove. He’s won all of his 14 fights (9 KO) and is scheduled to fight Souwer and Petrosyan later in the year.

For all of you here in the UK and Europe… if you missed the MSA show with Sanchai, Petchboonchu, Rungravee, Howson,  Harrison and others… there going to be running it on Sky Sports for the next couple of days.

MSA Muay Thai Premier League, The De Vere Whites Hotel, Bolton

7 November 2009

You can watch the 90 minute highlight show for yourself on Sky Sports as follows:

Sky Sports 3 Digital            9 December 09        10pm

Sky Sports 3 Digital            10 December 09      1.30am

Sky Sports 2 Digital            10 December 09      11am

Sky Sports 2 Digital            10 December 09       4pm