Malaipetch Caged
November 19, 2007 by nopstar
I came across this fight the other day and thought you guys would appreciate it. It’s basically Muay Thai in a cage… This took place a couple of months ago.
For those of you who are Nak Muay’s you’ll recognize it’s none other than Muay Thai wrecking machine Malaipetch. Last time we caught up with him was his fight in LA with Jan Van Denderen.
My hat goes off to this kid Kaleo, he’s tough as effing nails. I honestly don’t know how he took so many leg kicks. These aren’t Keith Jardin legs kicks either… these are as real as they get. There were a couple of leg kicks that Kalea ate; you could see his weight being shifted from the force of the kick… Serious props you’re one tough bastard.
I’m not entirely sure of his game plan though, I don’t know why he insisted on standing with him. I don’t know shit about grappling but I would have shot on Malaipetch after about the 3rd leg kick.
My trainer Neungsiam has been rolling quite a bit. I suspect he’ll make his MMA debut in a year. He realizes his stand up will only take him so far, that anyone in their right mind would want to take him to the ground. Hopefully he won’t watch this fight. He might get the wrong idea.
It sort of bums me out when I see Nak Muay’s getting into the cage. I guess you’ve got to go where the money is…
What are you thoughts?
I hate seeing Nak Muays go to MMA. I wish they wouldn’t do it at all.
why? isnt it good if our muay thai fights can prove that muay thai is the best even in MMA world?
MMA has plenty of attention of it’s own. And the style versus style debate is as pointless and meaningless as when it first started.
BTW nice clip. I put the original one up ages ago.
Have to agree with Stack. Muay Thai fighter in MMA world is like Boxer in Muay Thai. Pretty pointless.
It’s not pointless if they make money. If you’re fighting professionally to make money then you go where the money is. It’s simple economics.
Plus, MMA is a new challenge for them. They’re probably bored with Muay Thai if theyve been fighting since they were little kids. they want some variety.
I doubt they’re bored or in a drastic need for money.
Is very bad fighters of Muay thai abandon Muay Thai to fight MMA. Which will be Muay Thai future?
damn, when you said muay thai in the cage, i figured a substantial amount of solid clinch work for once. sigh… am i ever going to see some decent clinching in MMA? well, anderson silva & rich franklin was one… but that was more like unidirectional pwnage.
id rather watch muay thai stars in the cage fight stand-up then some street brawlin tattooed good ol boy roll on the floor for 15 minutes
Some people just love fighting whether it be MMA or Muay Thai. A common problem for some nak muay’s is getting quality fights. Ask Neungsiam how many Muay Thai fights he’s had cancelled on him in the last 18 months. If he branches out to MMA to get some fights and more money and he’s focussed on learning the ground and wrestling then go for it. If you guys want to see another caged Muay Thai fight I recommend Spencer Fisher vs Sam Stout in UFC Fight Night 10.
Both of those guys are poor excuses for Muay Thai fighters of any stripe.
that was one of the best things I’ve seen all week! I hope to be a future MMA fighter and have thus far only trained Muay Thai.
Obviously at the top levels of competition Malaipetch technique doesn’t work. But it was still great to see a pure Muay Thai fighter come into the cage and whoop on his opponent!
It’s very difficult to survive just with thai boxing in the US. I think that’s why Duane Ludwig or Carl Mascarenas now compete in MMA.
I caught up with Malaipet at a fight in Fresno the other day and spoke with him a little. Yes for some of the younger Nak Muays who have been training since they were six and have over 150 fights they want to see the fame and money. And in America that comes with MMA. Dont get me wrong I love and train Muay Thai, and am actually not a fan of MMA but if you understand the Thai culture and know what it is like for these guys coming up..This is their ticket to fame and money. If Buakaw never fought in K-1 would anyone think of him as anything but another Thai?
Stack, what are you talking about? Malaipet is a damn good Nak Muay!
As for fights- MMA is probably the fastest growing fight sport right now. Sadly, Muay Thai in the US has not grown much at all and seems to even be fading as mainstream sport. I still prefer Muay Thai, but the best competition is still outside the US- besides Thailand, Europe has some good fighters as do the Japanese.
Jesus Christ, I have NO idea how that guy was still standing at the end of that fight. I bet that guy didn’t walk for a for 3 weeks after that one.
Regarding Nak Muays in MMA, I think Ernesto said it best. Thai fighters living in the states just can’t seem to get good quality fighters to commit on a regular basis. And if you can adapt/expand your game a bit to cover your weaknesses, then your standup will shine so much brighter than anyone else in the game.
On a side note, if I was forced to look at Tito Ortiz’s giant Cro Magnon head one second longer, I would’ve booked a ticket to Huntington Beach just to slap that stupid smirk off his face. Now that’s the kind shit I hate about MMA.
I don’t think there’s enough money in Muay Thai for fighters to make a decent living. And branching out seems to be a good way of earning extra $$$.
I know in Australia it’s not unusual to see a Muay Thai fighter try his hand at boxing, mma, k1 etc.
Let’s hope Muay Thai can grow and eventually provide profitable career options for a lot more fighters.
I don’t know about all this boxers shouldn’t do mma. Why not? MMA is the most well rounded style of all. Boxers and announcers bad mouth mma because they are afraid of it. It’s the future. An mma match is the closest you can get to a real fight besides the street. Muay thai is a piece of the pizza. MMA is the whole pizza. When you fight someone in the street your going to slam them on their head if you can or break their bones, your not going to clinch up stop and reset yourself. As far as striking? Muay Thai is #1 hands down no questions(in my opinion) but! Who would i bet on in a street fight mixed martial artist or thai boxer. Someone who has decent strikes and has ground game for back up or someone who can strike well but has no chance on the ground? What do you think? Better start rolling now.
I love both Muay Thai & MMA, if I had to pick one it’d probably be MMA (luckily I don’t). But yeah, it’s sad to see Muay Thai in such a bad state in the US. You might like to see a guy like Malaipet to help the sport out of the slump, but it’s not realistic to expect him to.
Quadros kept calling Malaipet a former Lumpinee champ, but I didn’t think he was. He’s always listed as former Rajadamnoen champ, but not Lumpinee.
Anyway I’m looking forward to seeing more of him.
Tong Po-
I think stack was talking about Spencer Fisher & Sam Stout
Ya, I’m sure Stack was talking about Fisher/Stout. They’re not great Thai fighters but it was definitely caged Muay Thai.
I can’t believe some of you people that are sitting there talking ish… Did anybody stop to think that maybe he is doing it for more than money? Yes, money better but if you didn’t notice he was standing the whole time. He is known for muay thai and that’s maybe what he is trying to expose to people.. show them that muay thai is the shit! Everybody knows MMGay..I can’t say the same for Muay Thai. He is not a MMA fighter but he is not stupid. I’m sure he train to get out and protect himself on the ground when he decided to go MMA.
Thanks for the post. It was pretty smart of the match maker to put him against a guy that prefers standup to grappling. An interesting match would be Malaipet against Rob McCallaugh for the WEC title. Great show and nice representation of Muaythai and nice to hear decent commentators for a change.
Why wouldn’t you want to test yourself in a different form of competition? If you are already good in your respective art, then you will dominate in that aspect when you enter the cage (where most fighters are well rounded, and not as one dimensional as they used to be). So you go out there to dominate in Muay Thai, but then… you get taken to the ground. Now you have to adapt and overcome in an area you are more than likely behind the power curve.
I think that branching out to a new sport is a brave and noble thing to do. You have a reputation you are putting on the line in a foreign place. Maybe he has grown complacent in MT and wants the new competition.
Or maybe I am full of shit. Who knows?
develop take down defence , perfect it, and ul own anyone with muay thai striking u do more dmg standing up then rolling on the ground like a smeagol
Is that English? ^
If I’m reading Alex correctly . . .
If you develop a solid take-down defense, and then take the time to perfect it, your Muay Thai will be very effective in MMA. You inflict more damage standing up, than rolling on the ground like a smeagol. . . yesss precious.
:)
I never thought I would ever see the words precious and smeagol on this site hahahaha.. great job ‘Geek’ !!..Live Long and Prosper..
imo i dont think keith jardines muay thai is very strong
Alex, I think you’re reading a lot of things into the post which aren’t there.
oh no shit i posted in the rong place LOL must of been off my dial
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