Upcoming Events

By Jenypher Lanthier On an unnecessarily cold Saturday night in November, I had the privilege of having two of my fighters fighting on Kru Trevor Smandych’s Journey Fight Series event in Calgary, Canada. Lucky for me, my fighters fought early in the evening and that left the rest of the fights for me to enjoy with my team. The card had some great North American talent on it including a fast paced bout between Jessica ‘Thumper’ Gladstone and Alexis Rufus. I watched the height disadvantaged Rufus enter the ring confident and strong. Jessica entered the ring calmly with a long and lanky build resembling that of Julie Kitchen. In a five round fight where the action never stopped, I witnessed the shorter (by three inches) Rufus wear down Gladstone relentlessly with a barrage of punches and elbows. As a typically shorter-than-my-opponents fighter myself I appreciated the strength and aggression it took to over power someone taller. Rufus was impressive. The tables are about to turn where Rufus is the taller opponent and more experienced of the two but she faces a tough challenge in Tiffany Van Soest. Lion Fight Promotions is back at it again with another stacked fight card and as always it boasts some of the top names in Muay Thai. I am anxious to see fellow Canadian Shane Campbell make his Lion Fight debut along with seeing Yodsanklai, Malapiet, and of course the return of “The Soul Assassin” Kevin Ross. I am particularly excited about the co-main fight between Van Soest and Rufus. Credit goes ...

Glory continues to cement itself as the top kickboxing promotion in the world. With a roster featuring most of the world’s top talents and what seems like, up until now, an intelligent business plan in order to continue it’s impressive growth, Glory is establishing itself as the pinnacle of Kickboxing, and the promotion where many up and coming fighters will no doubt dream to compete. As Muay Thai and Kickboxing continue growing in popularity worldwide, the U.S. is no longer falling behind and is also prepping a steady stream of top class athletes to represent the red, white, and blue inside the Glory ring. Ky Hollenbeck and Michael “Chase” Corley were the first Americans to head overseas and fight at Glory. Recently, A fight between Joe Schilling and Steve Wakeling has been all but confirmed for a Glory card in London on March 23rd, 2013. This alone is an amazing match up since Joe Schilling has been hungry to fight the UK standout for some time. While most people would probably like to see a Schilling vs. Wakeling fight contested under Full Muay Thai rules, this fight is going to be without a doubt one of the most anticipated fights of 2013, no matter if it’s contested under Muay Thai rules or K-1 rules. If having two hard hitting top American talents such as Joe Schilling and Ky Hollenbeck weren’t enough to convince you that Glory is trying to make inroads into the American Muay Thai/Kickboxing scene, we ...

The East Coast has been in a state of disarray for the last week. Hurricane Sandy left much disaster in it’s wake and many of our close friends in the Muay Thai community have been left with nothing other than the task of picking up the pieces, rebuilding, and pushing on. Some of our fighter friends are still without power, some had their homes destroyed or severely damaged, and some even lost the gym where they used to train – which as many of you would know, is like a second home. Two Muay Thai events which were scheduled to take place last week in New York and New Jersey: Friday Night Fights and Warriors Cup respectively, were cancelled due to the storm. However, the Muay Thai community on the East Coast will push on and it will persevere. The first attempt for the East Coast Muay Thai community to get back on track will be Take On Production’s “Muay Thai at the Mecca 2″ event, which will be the promotions second venture into the confines of the historic and legendary Madison Square Garden in New York. Muay Thai is Life, will once again by on hand to cover the event and provide the ringside commentary alongside The Wat’s Phoenix Carnavale. The event will feature a truly exciting match up between the explosive and exciting Cyrus Washington and the talented Chike Lindsay. Chike Lindsay is one of the Southeast’s best and most accomplished fighters and Cyrus Washington is ...

It has been a rough week for us at MTiL, once again computer problems and other such nonsense delayed us from posting more about the upcoming Lion Fight 7 event scheduled for this Saturday, October 13th, 2012 in Las Vegas, Nevada. For this reason we have officially declared this week, “Lion Fight 7 week”. Make sure to check out our Facebook page and “like” it because we will be posting pics, videos, and other interesting media highlighting some of the fighters that will be fighting on Lion Fight 7! Also, after the event, make sure to click the Lion Fight 7 banner in the content slider on the main page to get the full results of the nights action. If you are on the West Coast and can make it out to Vegas this Saturday, make sure to get your tickets by checking out Lion Fight Promotions main page and check out the show, live and in person! If you can’t make it to the event, make sure to support the sport and check out the live stream for the event which will air on GFL.tv As you should know right now, Eddie “Showtime” Walker from Atlanta, will experience the stiffest test of his young career as he faces off with the very dangerous and very exciting Joe “Stich’Em Up” Schilling. In a recent interview, Joe spoke about how the love he gets from his widening fan base motivates him to train and fight harder. All but guaranteeing a win, ...

It can’t be denied. Muay Thai is definitely making some huge strides in America. And while there is still much room left to grow for the sport, America’s left and right coasts are the definitive hotbeds for Muay Thai action in the United States. This weekend, the action takes place on the east coast as Friday Night Fights presents the 4th installment of their annual 8-man tournament. The 8-man tournament has been a breeding ground for some of the east coast’s top Muay Thai talent as pros such as Troy Sheridan, Marcus Fisher, Liam Tarrant, Ognjen Topic, Turan Hasanov, and many more have let fists fly as part of this tournament in the past. Tonight (09/28) in NYC, 8 of the countries top amateurs will once again face off in the ring and one talented fighter will battle his way through 3 opponents to become this years FNF 8-man tournament champion. And if the tournament weren’t enough, tonight’s FNF event will feature a pro main event bout between Tony Manoharan and Mohammed Lemjerdine! Below are the names of the fighters scheduled to take part in tonight’s 8-man tournament: Geoffrey Then (Danbury, Connecticut) Daniel McDonald (Huntington Beach, California) Benson Virtucio (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) Cody Moberly (Wichita, Kansas) Anton Potecki (Cambridge, Ontario, Canada) Josh Wyles (Kernersville, North Carolina) Joe Cox (St. Louis, Missouri) Eric Luna (San Jose, California) ————————————————- If one night of face blistering Muay Thai action isn’t enough for you, then Christian Tran and his Warrior’s Cup team have provided you with the perfect solution to your problem ...

UPDATE – RESULTS AT BOTTOM OF POST! During these past Olympic Games, one of the most talked about stories in the media was the success of the U.S. women’s teams compared to the lackluster performance of the men. More often than not, the women of the U.S. national team raised their gold medals high while the men had to make due with silver, bronze, or nothing at all. In almost every sport besides basketball, the U.S. women’s teams prevailed yet the men floundered. The U.S. women’s relay team set a new world record. The U.S Women’s soccer team? Gold. The U.S. Women’s water polo team? Gold. Beach Volleyball? Gold. Gymnastics team finals? Gold. And where were the men’s teams in all of this? In every one of the aforementioned sports, they didn’t even make the podium. Female athletes everywhere have made a statement that anything a man can do, they can do just as well. And let it be known that combat sports are no exception. Using the past Olympic games as an example once again, while the U.S. men’s boxing team failed to advance past the round of 16, the U.S.A’s Clarissa Shields won gold in a sport that had no Olympic women’s division until these games. In Judo, none of the U.S.A.’s men got better than bronze while American Kayla Harrison not only became the first American woman to achieve Olympic Judo gold, she was the first American to ever attain Olympic Judo gold…period. ...

Once again Take On Productions has proven that it is on track to become one of the biggest Muay Thai promotions in the United States. While their fight cards have not featured as many Thai and/or international names like those that have appeared on Lion Fight Promotions, M-One, or Push Kick Promotions, they have made up for it with a consistent effort to put on exciting cards featuring regional fan favorites and striking deals with big name companies to grow their brand. Take On Productions president, Eddie Cuello informed Muay Thai is Life yesterday that the burgeoning U.S. promotion has secured a deal with Comcast and that Saturday’s (August 11th, 2012) “Battle at the Bally’s II” event will be aired on Comcast SportsNet on October 13th at 8 pm. However, if you want to catch the event live you can always check out the event on GFL.tv This new deal with Comcast is yet another victory for the NY based promotion as it has recently secured deals with Yokkao Boxing and Madison Square Garden. Saturday’s event at the Bally’s Hotel & Casino will mark the promotions second visit to Atlantic City and it’s second Full Muay Thai rules event. The promotion has also announced that their second trip to NYC’s Madison Square Garden is scheduled to take place on November 10th, 2012. Muay Thai is Life will be on hand in Atlantic City to cover the lead up to Battle at Bally’s II and yours truly will once again serve as ringside ...

We’re back! Muay Thai is Life was MIA for a bit as we were working on a few things outside of Muay Thai that had not allowed us to dedicate as much time to the site as many of our fans were used to, but now we are back in full force trying to bring you as much Muay Thai content as we can. As had been reported previously by our associates at The Muay Thai Media Network New York’s Take On Productions has joined forces with up and coming Muay Thai juggernaut Yokkao Boxing to bring you the next installment of “Battle at the Bally’s”! Because the state of New York continues its crusade against MMA, the use of “Full Muay Thai Rules” (elbows) in Muay Thai fights held in NY continues to suffer. For this reason, the fastest growing NY-based Muay Thai promotion, Take On Productions, decided to occasionally venture to the neighboring state of New Jersey, where Full Thai Rules are allowed. Take On Production’s first venture into the state of New Jersey proved successful with “Battle at the Bally’s” held at the Bally’s Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. It was the first “Full Muay Thai Rules” card to be held in Atlantic City and provided fight fans with some great full Thai rules matches that included Jay Matias vs Jake Mainini and Justin Greskiewicz vs Eddie Martinez. On August 11th, 2012, Take On Productions heads back to Atlantic City for “Battle at the ...

So pardon the cheesy Dutch centric header graphic but honestly I had it lying around in my personal library of utterly pointless designs. And given this weekends back to back K-1 style/Dutch Kickboxing events, it was apropos. Needless to say, Peter Aerts will not be fighting this weekend and I’m pretty sure he won’t be kicking any Dutch women wearing traditional garb in the head,…well at least not that I am aware of. Also, while not all of this weekend’s kickboxing festivities are taking place in Holland, they do feature some of the world’s best kickboxers including many from…you guessed it…Holland. The excitement kicks off tomorrow in Stockholm, Sweden as Glory presents their Glory World Series 16-man Elimination Tournament. Here is a list of the incredible face-melting match-ups that will be on the Glory World series card: Glory 16-Man Tournament – May 26th – Stockholm, Sweden 70kg tournament fights: Giorgio Petrosyan (Italy) vs Fabio Pinca (France) Max Vorovski (Estonia) vs Sanny Dahlbeck (Sweden) Robin van Roosmalen (Netherlands) vs Dzhabar Askerov (Russia) Ky Hollenback (USA) vs Michael Corley (USA) Yoshihiro Sato (Japan) vs Shemsi Beqiri (Switserland) Dennis Schneidmiller (Germany) vs Qi Chenglong (China) Kem Sitsongpeenong (Thailand) vs Cosmo Alexandre (Brasil) Albert Kraus (Netherlands) vs Mohamed El Mir (Denmark) Super Fights: Nieky Holzken vs Alex Harris (Sweden) Semmy Schilt (Netherlands) vs Errol Zimmerman (Curacao) Luckily for all of you combat hungry fight fans, a live internet stream for the Glory World Series event will be available. And because at MTiL we’re so damn nice…you can grab that stream here! For those of you in the states, the stream will begin ...

Muay Thai is Life has learned that Rami Ibrahim was forced to pull out of his upcoming bout with Ognjen Topic at the CSC 33 event in Richmond, VA on June 2nd due to a knee injury. Unfortunately, injuries during training are all too common in the sport of Muay Thai and we wish Ibrahim a speedy recovery and hope to see him step back in the ring as soon as possible. Stepping in to replace the injured Ibrahim against New Jersey’s Ognjen Topic is Ibrahim’s talented up and coming teammate Jay Matias. As you may recall, MTiL has consistently rated Matias as one of the most exciting prospects to come out of the East Coast. An exciting and technical fighter, Matias will without a doubt be a great match up for the equally exciting and skillful Topic. Jay Matias who was training for an upcoming fight in Thailand, changed his plans and jumped at the opportunity to face Topic when he learned of Ibrahim’s inability to take the fight. While Topic has already had a handful of pro bouts, this will only be Matias’ second fight. For many Muay Thai fans on the East Coast a Matias vs Topic bout has always been of considerable interest due to the skill of both fighters. On June 2nd, Muay Thai fans will see their wish come true as both of these fighters will face off for the first ever WKA Full Rules Pro Title. Also on the CSC ...

The first time Joe Schilling and Simon Marcus were set to face each other, the Muay Thai community erupted as both fighters engaged in some pretty memorable pre-fight smack talk that eventually saw the stakes beings raised and each fighter’s purse being put on the line in a “winner takes all” mega bout. While the build up to the fight was exciting, the fight itself ended in some controversy and for some, it left many questions unanswered. This Saturday, May 12, 2012, Lion Fight Promotions, which was recently named by the WBC as “2011 Promoter of the Year”, presents “Schilling vs Marcus 2″. An event that will feature the highly anticipated rematch of what is now a full blown rivalry between two of North America’s biggest stars. While neither fighters purse is on the line this time, what is on the line is most likely of much more value. Whoever’s arm is raised on Saturday night secures themselves a bout with WBC World Light Heavyweight Muay Thai champion, Artem “The Lion” Levin on June 9th in Bangkok. For Marcus, the fight will serve as an opportunity to assure Schilling and his fans that the first win was a legitimate demonstration that he is the stronger fighter and more deserving of a June 9th run for the WBC world title. For Schilling, the fight will be a chance at redemption and to prove to his detractors that the first loss was a fluke. For both fighters it ...

UPDATE – RESULTS AT END OF POST! Push Kick Promotions is back! And highlighting their return is the announcement of their upcoming event, Muay Thai World Standoff “Thailand vs The Americas”. The event will feature a few of Thailand’s top fighters, such as Aikpracha “The Hitman” Meenayotin, Lerdsila “Mr. Lightning” Chumpairtour, Neungsiam “The Rock” Samphusri, and Rung Reung Chai facing off with a few of America’s top and rising talents. Standing across the ring from these Thai champions will be some of America’s top talents from both the east and west coast of the United States. Facing off with Aikpracha Meenayotin will be none other than top ranked San Francisco based fighter, Ky Hollenbeck. Hollenbeck recently scored an impressive first round knockout over Cyrus Washington at the Legends Muay Thai event in San Francisco and will be looking to score what would be yet another huge win over one of Thailand’s toughest and most aggressive fighters. Meenayotin recently defeated French star Fabio Pinca and continues to remain active in the Thailand fight scene. The Thai will once again be a incredibly stiff test for Hollenbeck, who must be, by now, accustomed to people informing him that his choice of upcoming opponent will be, “the most difficult he has ever faced”. In the other highly anticipated bouts, east coast based fighters Ognjen Topic and Rami Ibrahim will clash with Neungsiam Samphusri and Lerdsila Chumpairtour respectively. Both Topic and Ibrahim are among some of the top east coast fighters in ...

For months now, we have had heard rumors regarding the return of K-1. Then there came the news that K-1 and current kickboxing powerhouse It’s Showtime struck a deal whereby both promotions would join forces in order to put together some of the biggest kickboxing bouts since the K-1′s glory days in Japan. Finally, we heard rumors of a show sometime later this year as well as a press release stating that K-1 is looking to make its way stateside during the 2012-2013 season to help further promote kickboxing here in the United States. Now, whether or not all of these statements hold up in the long run remains to be seen but what we do know now is that kickboxing heavyweight Badr Hari has signed a deal with K-1 and will return to the kickboxing ring in addition to continuing his quest for boxing glory. In addition to the news regarding Badr Hari, K-1 has now released the full lineup of K-1 Rising, their heralded comeback event which will be held on May 27th in Madrid, Spain. The event will feature the return of the K-1 MAX 70kg/154 lb. Final 16 as well as a few heavyweight super fights. Check out the match ups below. K-1 MAX Final 16: Mike Zambidis vs. Chahid Oulad El Hadj Andy Souwer vs. Abraham Roqueni Artur Kyshenko vs. Su Hwan Lee Xu Yan vs. Yasuhiro Kido Gago Drago vs. Andy Ristie Yuji Nashiro vs. Reese McCallister Harut Grigorian vs. Murthel Groenhart Longern Superpro Samui vs. Chris Ngimbi Heavyweight Superfights: Badr Hari vs. Anderson ...

East Coast (USA) Muay Thai standouts Rami Ibrahim and Ognjen Topic will clash on June 2nd, 2012 at the CSC 33 event in Richmond, Virginia for the WKA USA’s first ever Full Thai Rules Pro Title. Ibrahim and Topic are two of the East Coast’s top nakmuays and this is definitely a bout many fight fans will be looking forward to. It will definitely be interesting to see how Topic pinpoint accurate and traditional Muay Thai style will match up with Ibrahim’s relentless pressure and boxing prowess. As you may recall Topic was MTiL’s 2011 breakthrough fighter of the year and in 2012 Topic has looked to continue his rise through the Muay Thai ranks, most recently defeating Josh Sampo at Friday Night Fights in NYC. Ibrahim on the other hand has yet to see any Muay Thai action in 2012; His last bout being a decision loss to Coke Chunawat in what was a hard fought 5 round battle at Battle in the Desert 4 back in November 2011. As for the rest of the CSC 33 card, it has yet to be announced but we are sure that as usual for CSC, it will feature top amateur and pro talent in both Muay Thai and MMA. For more info regarding the event, make sure to keep checking back here at Muay Thai is Life!

On Saturday, April 28th, World Team USA Muay Thai will present a Muay Thai and MMA supershow in San Francisco, California to celebrate both Songkran and the Lao New Year. The main event of the evening will feature top ranked American Muay Thai and MMA fighter Ky Hollenbeck against the always dangerous Cyrus Washington. Ky Hollenbeck suffered the first loss of his professional career back in November 2011 as he was bested by Dutch standout Nieky “The Natural” Holzken. However, always the humble and hard working fighter, Hollenbeck stated in a recent interview that losing to Holzken was one of the best things to happen to him. He indicated that due to his undefeated streak, his mentality had become one of fighting to “not lose” rather than fighting “to win”. Ky Hollenbeck looks to get back on the winning track against Cyrus “Black Dynamite” Washington. Coincidentally, Washington also faced off with Nieky Holzken recently at a Muay Thai gala in Suriname, suffering a TKO loss to the Dutch fighter. This will definitely be an interesting fight as both fighters bring explosive unorthodox styles to the ring. Hollenbeck is definitely a powerhouse that never seems to tire, while Washington has loads of experience fighting in all corners of the globe. The co-main event will be just as exciting as Female WBC Muay Thai World Champion Miriam Nakamoto will face Canadian Sandra Bastian for the WMC World Title. Nakamoto has spent a year on the mend after ...

The much anticipated rematch between U.S.A.’s Joe “Stich’em Up” Schilling and Canada’s Simon “Bad Boy” Marcus is set to occur on May 12th in Las Vegas. Once again these two heated rivals will step in the ring, put all talk aside, and let their fists, elbows, knees, and kicks do all the talking. However, while their first encounter included a much publicized “winner takes all” bet that would send the defeated fighter home with just $1, this bout will bring the victor an opportunity that may in fact be more important than their opponents purse money. Joe Schilling and Simon Marcus will be fighting for the opportunity to face Light Heavyweight World Champion Artem “The Lion” Levin on the WBC’s “Battle of the Belts” event on June 9th in Bangkok, Thailand in a world title bout. Both Joe Schilling and Simon Marcus have been very vocal about their desire to face Artem Levin and potentially become world champions. While the first bout between Marcus and Schilling ended with Marcus winning a decisive, yet to some a controversial TKO, Marcus agreed to face Schilling again in order to put the matter to rest. Since their bout, the usually outspoken Schilling has remained unusually quiet, by most accounts choosing to focus all of his energy on training for his upcoming rematch with Marcus. Meanwhile, Simon Marcus has kept himself busy recently defeating Kaoklai Kaennorasing in Bangkok to win a WPMF World Title and fighting in China. The fight ...

The WBC has announced the official lineup for the June 9th “Battle of the Belts” event taking place at the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand. An amazing seven WBC Muay Thai world titles will be on the line at this incredible event. As would be expected, the fight card features an incredible line up of some of the world’s absolute best in Muay Thai in each of their respective weight classes, however one champion, Artem Levin, is still waiting on his potential opponent. Canadian superstar Simon Marcus will once again face off with hard hitting American Joe Schilling in a rematch at Lion Fight Promotions on May 12th, 2012 to decide who will fight Artem “The Lion” Levin for the world title. Marcus defeated Schilling by TKO in February, but for some the fight ended much to abruptly and with too much controversy. A rematch was demanded and Marcus obliged, convinced that he will defeat Schilling again. The usually vocal Schilling has since been very quiet, no doubt concentrating all of his efforts on defeating Marcus in the rematch and getting one step closer to reaching his goal of becoming world champion! the card will also feature many more notable names in the world of Muay Thai, such as Saenchai (now Saenchai Sor. Seanchai), Kem Sitsongpeenong, Ramazan Ramazanov, Jomtong Chuwattana, Big Ben, and many more! The quality of Muay Thai that will be taking place the next couple of months is absolutely phenomenal. The temperature is not ...

The sleeping giant of Muay Thai continues to rise. This past weekend legendary dutch fighters Bas Rutten, Ramon Dekkers, and Golden Glory head honcho Cor Hemmers, stepped into center ring at the Glory World Series “Zimmerman vs LeBanner” event to announce the lineup for an upcoming 70 kg/154 lb. tournament. The first round of the 16-man tournament will take place May 26th in Sweden and will also feature a few heavyweight superfights starring the likes of Semmy Schilt, Gokhan Saki, Errol Zimmerman, and Sergei Kharitonov. Like the K-1 tournaments of old, the 16 fighters will fight in order to be narrowed down to a final pool of 8 fighters. In the end the last man standing will take home a check for 300,000 U.S. Dollars. For our American fans, possibly the most exciting part of Glory World Series announcement was that among the names that are scheduled to fight at this 16-man tournament are two rising American stars: Michael Corley (will replace Chaz Mulkey) and Ky Hollenbeck. Hollenbeck and Corley will no doubt have their hands full as the other names that make up the current roster for the event feature a who’s who of kickboxing talent. The line-up as of the announcement is as follows: 1. Giorgio Petrosyan (Italy) 2. Ky Hollenbeck (USA) 3. Michael Corley (USA) 4. Dzhabar Askerov (Russia) 5. Yoshihiro Sato (Japan) 6. Robin van Roosmalen (Netherlands) 7. Fabio Pinca (France) 8. Nonsai Sor. Sanyakorn (Thailand) 9. Alex Vogel (Germany) 10. Denis Schneidmiller (Germany) 11. Maxim Vyrovsky ...

Possibly one of the most anticipated fights of the year is the upcoming clash between arguably two of the best kickboxers in the world. Artur Kysehnko and Giorgio Petrosyan will face off this Saturday, March 24th at Fight Codes Oktagon “La Sfida” in Milan, Italy. Giorgio “The Doctor” Petrosyan has not lost a fight since 2007 and every one of his bouts is a pleasure to watch as the Armenian-born Italian displays what can only be described as absolute artistry in the ring. Petrosyan’s style is a unique amalgamation of slick boxing skills and Muay Thai prowess that has made even the most talented fighters look like novices when they face him. “The Doctor”, a nickname Petrosyan earned due to his ability of picking apart his opponents with surgical precision, makes the sport of kickboxing look effortless. He has defeated the likes of Andy Souwer, Cosmo Alexandre, Dzhabar Askerov, Naruepol Fairtex, Mike Zambidis, Kem Sitsongpeenong, and many more of the world’s best fighters. On March 24th, Petrosyan will look to add another top name to his list as he faces off with Ukranian wunderkind, Artur Kyshenko. Like, Petrosyan, Kyshenko has been on a tear, defeating some of the best kickboxers in the world during his 8-year professional career. However, possibly one of Kyshenko’s only flaws is that while Petrosyan paces himself throughout his fights, Kyshenko pressures his opponents from the opening round, outworking them but sometimes foregoing picking his shots in favor of all out aggression, sometimes ...

  This Friday, March 16th, the sport of Muay Thai will enjoy yet another historic moment in its continuing growth in America when it steps into the confines of the sport and entertainment Mecca that is Madison Square Garden. For the first time in history “The Garden” as it is commonly called, will play host to the beautiful and deadly “art of 8 limbs”. Muay Thai is Life’s own Eric Rivera will be providing the ringside fight commentary for Go Fight Live alongside the beautiful and knowledgeable Phoenix Carnavale from The Wat in NYC. The event will feature a total of 15 bouts of which 10 will be amateur and 5 will be pro. The amateur bouts however will include two title match ups including the final of the Rising Stars 155 lbs. Amateur 8-Man Tournament and the Take On Super Middleweight title. The pro bouts will include many popular names in the Northeast Muay Thai scene including Andy Singh, Eric Ruiz, Brett Hlavacek, Sean Hinds, and Rigel Balsamico. The local boys will be looking to defend their home turf against formidable opponents such as Ohio’s Ryan Madigan, North Carolina’s Chris Clodfelter, and Arizona’s Thiago Azeredo. Aside from the fights, just the simple fact that the event will be taking place inside one of the most famous venues in sports history is enough to make any Muay Thai/Combat Sports enthusiastic. Probably one of the most enthusiastic about the MSG event finally taking place, is none other than ...

Just because the Muay Thai action slows down stateside doesn’t mean that it slows down for the rest of the world. Tomorrow, Sunday, March 11th 2012, MTiL cover girl (at least that’s what we call her) Julie Kitchen looks to defend her world title against Holland’s Aleide Lawant. Many of you may have not heard of Lawant, but she is definitely a talented up and coming female Dutch kickboxer that has looked impressive as of late. Both Lawant and Kitchen were favorites to contest the final of the Enfusion reality show finals in Prague but an unintentional headbutt from Canada’s Maria Bastasin, cut Kitchen’s night short. Bastasin advanced to the finals to face Aleide Lawant after Lawant defeated Sweden’s Hanna Mjolberg. Aleide Lawant would go on to win the Enfusion finale and is also coming off a very close decision win over American Lindsay Scheer at the MPL event in the Netherlands. It goes without saying however that Lawant will be facing the stiffest test of her career in Julie Kitchen. Kitchen is a 13x World Champion who uses her height and reach to keep opponents at a distance and break them down with her solid technique. The fight will take place in Julie’s home of Cornwall, England with her students, gym mates, friends, and family cheering her on while Lawant looks to play the part of spoiler. Lawant has a typical hard hitting and aggressive Dutch style so it will be interesting to see how ...

New York City’s longest running Muay Thai series is back with yet another installment of hard hitting Muay Thai action! Justin Blair and the team at Friday Night Fights are all set and ready to go for tonight’s event which will feature a very anticipated and explosive matchup between the West Coast’s Shawn Yarborough and Canada’s Joseph Valtellini. Yarborough and Valtellini are two fighters that are known for their unrelenting styles and knock out power. Who will prevail in the main event? Will it be the young Canadian who has to come to be known as “Bazooka Joe”. Or will Yarborough give Valtellini his first taste of defeat and represent for the west coast? Whatever happens this is definitely a East Coast vs West Coast match up we are really excited to see! In the co main event of the evening New Jersey-based, Bosnian-born Muay Thai tactician, Ognjen Topic will face off with Missouri MMA practitioner Josh Sampo. Ognjen Topic is a very skilled and technical fighter that is quickly making a name for himself as one of the most exciting prospects in the North American Muay Thai scene. Topic was our 2011 breakthrough fighter of the year for a reason. With his smooth technical style and his accurate striking Topic is definitely a fighter to keep your eye on. Sampo is a talented MMA fighter with a solid record and will definitely bring a pace and style to the Muay Thai ring that ...

As many of us in the North American Muay Thai community know, the fallout from the highly anticipated Joe Schilling vs. Simon Marcus match up at Battle in the Desert 5 has not been pretty. Fans of both parties have been engaged in an all out war of words to protect the integrity of their fighters reputation. Some have said Simon Marcus’ Muay Thai takedown that eventually set Schilling up for the KO that would end his night, was illegal, while others contend that it was a completely legitimate Muay Thai technique. Some of the sports biggest stars have come out defending the technique, stating that while the technique may have appeared illegal it was in fact legitimate or simply fell into a gray area in the sport where sometimes borderline illegal techniques are allowed to slide. However, the consensus among many of the sports finest is that the sport of Muay Thai is about ultimately inflicting damage on your opponent. And when in a fight, anything, even an unfortunate incident such as getting hurt from a fall can ultimately cost you your purse and also your interim title. According to a recent article in Thailand’s Bangkok Post, Schillings loss to Simon Marcus, will now give Marcus the opportunity to challenge Artem “The Lion” Levin for the WBC Light Heavyweight World Title. The event which is tentatively set for June 9th, 2012 in Thailand will feature Jomthong Chuwattana, Saenchai Sor Kingstar and Thai Fight superstar Kem Sitpongseenong. Also ...

If the world does come to an end in December 2012, rest assured that I will die I happy man. While I am sure that my emotional state of being during the end of days will most likely be the last thing on your mind as you attempt to survive the zombie apocalypse, nonetheless if the thought about whether or not I am feeling okay does cross your mind, you can remember these words. 2012, although still in its opening stages, has already given us an incredible amount of Muay Thai action to discuss. We have already seen such highly anticipated match-ups as Fabio Pinca vs Saenchai Sinbimuaythai 2 and Simon Marcus vs Joe Schilling. On March 17th, Fabio Pinca will step back in the ring to face off with yet another of Thailand’s top nakmuays and this time it will be none other than the ever popular Buakaw Por Pramuk. Both fighters have looked incredibly solid and in top form since last year. Pinca is coming off a controversial but still commendable win over Muay Thai tactician Saenchai Sinbimuaythai, while Buakaw is coming off a win over Dzhabar Askerov. Buakaw has looked in top form as of late, however aside from Askerov, Buakaw has not fought a formidable opponent in sometime, and certainly not a fighter of Pinca’s caliber. And although Pinca has looked very dangerous recently, Khem Sitsongpeenong still reminded many that Pinca did have some flaws in his game as he outpointed the ...

By now you should already know that I am a huge fan of Dutch Kickboxing and pretty much anything coming out of the Netherlands, including but not limited to pannekoeken, which is the Dutch variation of Pancakes. They are so incredibly delicious that the Beastie Boys even referenced them in their song, “Super Disco Breakin” with the line, “When I am in Holland, I eat the pannekoeken”. Other things that I love about Holland are wooden shoes, tulips, windmills, the Edam and Gouda variety of cheeses which come from the Dutch cities of the same name, their local HERBS and spices, and of course their propensity and talent to dish out pretty brutal beat downs on any and all potential opponents that call their Muay Thai and Kickboxing prowess into question. With that said, I’m really excited to announce the “Nederland vs. Thailand” Lineup for the upcoming Slamm show scheduled for May 27th in Amsterdam. Slamm has definitely always been one of my favorite promotions because of the fact that they always look to have the best fighters from Holland and Thailand square off, thereby having the two top Muay Thai nations face off against each other in a battle of national pride but with the respect the sport deserves. When Slamm stopped putting on shows a few years back, I feared the worst…I covered my room in old Slamm posters, bought myself a 6 pack of Amstel Light (Light because I’m trying to watch the pounds), and played “We ...

Before there was Its Showtime, Lion Fight Promotions, M-One, or the MPL, the absolute top dog in the world of Full Muay Thai rules promotion was without out a doubt Slamm! In their previous 6 events, Slamm allowed us to witness the mind melting match ups that wear Tyrone Spong vs Kaoklai, Andy Souwer vs Yodsaenklai, Saenchai vs Fabio Pinca I, Anuwat Kaewsamrit vs Mosab Amrani, Orono Wor Petchpun vs Willaim Diender, Bovy Sor Udomsorn vs Faldir Chabari, and many more! In my opinion, outside of the Thais, the Dutch are the best in kickboxing and Muay Thai, and it would be honestly hard to argue otherwise. I’m a huge Dutch kickboxing fan and was besides myself with excitement when I caught wind that the absolute badassery that is Slamm’s Holland vs Thailand events were making a comeback. On May 27th, 2012, the new and improved Slamm will return with their 7th installment of the Holland vs Thailand series! And as was always customary with every Slamm event, the amount of talent and firepower they will bring along is second to none. So without further ado, here are just a few of the fighters that are scheduled to step into the ring at Slamm VII. FIGHTERS: Mootje Khamal Miles Simon Pornsane Sitmonchai Ilias el Hajoui Bovy Sor Udomsorn Anthony Kane William Diender Nonsai Sor Sanyakorn Giga Chikadze Saiyok Pumphanmuang Nieky Holzken Faldir Chabari And so far these are just a few of the names that will probably appear on this card. As Muay Thai continues to grow here in the U.S. and worldwide. ...

Few things that are described as “epic” these days are truly worthy of being called so. Unfortunately, in this day in age the term is overused to make what are mostly trivial events seem massive and much more important than they truly are. When looking at the definition of the word epic, the dictionary tells us that it is both an adjective and a noun. As a noun, epic is defined as a “long poetic composition, usually centered upon a hero, in which a series of great achievements or events is narrated in elevated style.” When I think of the word epic, it conjures up memories of my high school days when I was required to read Homer’s The Iliad and The Odyssey, stories that told of great adventures whose heroes possessed superhuman abilities and engaged often times in glorious battles. In Dante Alighieri’s The Divine Comedy, our hero Dante, travels through the 3 realms of the dead. He sees the horrors of hell and the indifference of purgatory guided by the ancient roman poet (and author of an epic himself titled Aeneid) Virgil before finally meeting with Beatrice (his perfect woman) and venturing to the nine realms of Heaven before meeting the Triune God. Yes…ornate, lengthy, and powerful stuff. Everything we associate with the word epic. As an adjective, the word epic is used to describe something, either an event or an object, that is massive, impressive, and/or great, majestic, and often heroic. It is with this definition ...

On Friday, January 27th, Take On Productions once again heads to their usual stomping grounds at the 7 Train Theater in Flushing, Queens for what will be their 11th event at the now infamous Queens establishment. The evenings fight card will feature an exciting line-up starring some of the grittiest and most talented young amateur fighters in the Tri-State area, as well as an anticipated pro main event clash between Sean Hinds and Turan “The Tornado” Hasanov. Hasanov, who recently ruffled a few feathers out on the West Coast by calling out Chaz Mulkey, will have to get by the very tough and crafty veteran in Sean Hinds first before he can step in the ring with the likes of Mulkey. Mulkey and his crew however have made it clear that they would not be opposed to a Mulkey and Hasanov match-up down the line. We shall of course see what the future holds. The Take On event, slated for tomorrow, Friday January 27th will, without a doubt, be another firecracker of a show and will be broadcast via GFL.tv, so make sure to check out all the action! Usually, Muay Thai is Life is on hand at every Take On event to provide GFL.tv viewers with the ringside commentary. However, on this occasion, we will be heading to NYC once again but to take pics of some the action and take a few videos. Either way you can expect some great content about Take ...

So much has been said already about Lion Fight Promotions upcoming “Battle in the Desert “5 event on February 25th, that as a newly coined “Muay Thai Journalist”, I have found it difficult to conjure up anything new and exciting to bring to the masses that hasn’t otherwise already been said somewhere on the “internetz”. And just whenIi thought I was fresh out of new ideas, MTiL’s intrepid West Coast director, Galen Okazaki calls me up and tells me that he is heading to The Yard in Los Angeles to snap a couple of training pictures of Joe “Stich’Em Up” Schilling and do a short interview with him. My reaction to such news can best be described by using Charlie “Tiger Blood” Sheen’s now iconic phrase: “Winning!” So with all that said, below you will find our most recent interview with Joe Schilling as he discusses his upcoming fight with Canada’s Simon Marcus and responds to some of the things Marcus said in his interview with Greg Boasberg at Totalmuaythai.com Needless to say, as our good friend and contributor John Wolcott indicated on our MTiL Facebook Page (Like Us!)that “if you guys aren’t excited about this fight, you might not have a pulse!”. Well said, John, well said. Echoing, John’s sentiments, this truly is going to be, not only one of the biggest and most anticipated bouts this year, but the entire card of Lion Fight Promotions “Battle in the Desert 5″ is going to be, up until now, the year’s ...

Friday Night Fights has long been a staple of the New York Muay Thai scene. Many of the East Coast’s top Muay Thai talent have at one time or another stepped on to the Friday Night Fights canvas and shed blood, sweat, tears, or all three. And while Friday Night Fights may no longer be the only show in town, they are certainly one of New York City’s original fight night promotions and have definitely been there longest running. This Friday, January 20th, the promotion will kick of their 2012 season with a stacked fight card featuring some of the top amateur and professional talent on the East Coast. One of the most exciting fights of the evening will no doubt be the main event between Tampa’s Alex Berrios and Travis Lechern out of Hoboken, New Jersey. Originally, Berrios was set to fight New Jersey’s Ben Case under full Thai rules in what would be the first full Thai rules bout in Manhattan. However, as is the norm in the fight game, situations changed and Berrios’ would now be scheduled to face off with the equally dangerous Travis Lechern in a modified Muay Thai rules bout. Both fighters are arguably among the top 10 fighters in their weight class in North America and both fighters are looking to punch, kick, and elbow their way into the upper echelon of their weight class and maybe at some point down the line, challenge the two men currently at the top,…Joe ...

KMT Promotions based in Tampa, Florida has just announced that the second installment of their Tampa Fight Night series is scheduled for Friday, March 16th in, well… where else…Tampa, Florida. MTiL (Muay Thai is Life), as you should know by now, is based in Florida and Khanomtom Muay Thai a.k.a. Tampa Muay Thai (the gym behind KMT Fight Promotions) has long been one of the true authentic Muay Thai gyms in the sunshine state. Home to professional fighters Ray Cole and Alex Berrios (who is preparing for his bout with Travis Lechern next weekend January 20th, 2012 at Friday Night Fights as we speak), Tampa Muay Thai has always been on the front lines in the attempt to promote Muay Thai in the MMA-saturated state that is Florida. Having brought in some of the biggest names in Thai boxing such as Jongsanan Fairtex & Attachai Fairtex to conduct seminars, the next logical step in Tampa Muay Thai’s goal of bringing real Muay Thai to Florida was to begin promoting Muay Thai events of their own. As you may or may not recall, Muay Thai is Life was at the inaugural “Tampa Fight Night” event this past October. Needless to say it was an exciting event that brought out many of Florida’s local Muay Thai gyms and their fighters, in order to showcase local Muay Thai talent and help build the sport. Always looking to keep things authentic, KMT Promotions gave all fighters on the card the opportunity to perform the ...

Muay Thai is Life’s Galen Okazaki traveled to Muay Thai America Gym in North Hollywood, California to snap a couple of pics of rising Muay Thai star Sheldon Gaines as he prepares for his bout with Scotty Leffler at the upcoming Battle in the Desert 5 event set for February 25th. If the previous installments of the Battle in The Desert series didn’t convince you that Lion Fight Promotions is probably one, if not THE top, Muay Thai promotion in the Unites States then the rumored card for their upcoming show should finally set you straight. Not only will the card feature the young and athletic Gaines who, as we have all seen from this infamous photo, has ups that would make Blake Griffin blush; but it will also feature probably the biggest star in the current American Muay Thai landscape, Joe Schilling. Schilling will be facing arguably his toughest test to date as he squares off with highly regarded Canadian nakmuay, Simon Marcus. In addition a rubber match between Coke Chunhawat and WMC North American Champion, Matt Embree, is also rumored to be part of the evenings excitement. Below are a few of the other match-ups currently in the works for Battle in the Desert 5 and the gallery of Sheldon Gaines doing his thing as he gets ready for Scotty Leffler. Additional Match-ups: Chaz Mulkey vs. Gregory Choplin Kit Cope vs. Jose Palacios Vivian Leung vs. Tiffany Van Soest Anthony Castrejon vs. Francisco Barragan

Before I get to the rest of the article, can I just say that I was blown away by how ridiculously amazing WBC International Champion Jemyma Betrian looks in the poster for the “Klaar Om Te Bossen 3″ event which will be held this Friday, December 23rd in Paramaribo, Suriname? I seriously wish I could be on this card just to share the card with her. Anyway, roughly over a year and a half ago I was given a chance to fight in Suriname alongside now professional American female Muay Thai standout Lindsay Scheer. Now, I travel to South America regularly because my family is originally from Colombia, but what I found upon arriving to Suriname was that it is a country unlike any other on the South American continent. A former Dutch colony, Suriname is home to a very diverse group of people consisting of descendants of African slaves and Chinese, Javanese, and Indian immigrants. Aside from Dutch, the people of Suriname speak a variety of different languages, the most important being a creole language called Sranan Tongo. “Fawaka”, which means “what’s up”, was the only bit of Sranan Tongo I was able to pick up before I was knocked into an alternate state of consciousness by Dutch-Surinamese fighter, Jairzinho “Bigi Boi” Rozenstruik. But what I came away with from the whole experience was that Suriname is a haven of Muay Thai and Kickboxing passion that has slipped under the radar for most of the world. ...

Muay Thai is Life was on hand to photograph the weigh ins for Take On Productions’ “Rising Stars 8-Man Tournament” Event which will take place tonight Friday, Dec. 16th in New York City. If you are not able to make it out to the event at the 7 Train Theater in Flushing, Queens you can catch all the action on GFL.tv here. Muay Thai is Life’s Eric Rivera will be providing the ringside fight commentary for GFL.tv alongside The Wat’s Phoenix Carnevale. The event will have over 12 bouts featuring the Northeast’s top amateurs, as well as the Quarter and Semi-Finals of the “Rising Stars 155 lbs. MAX 8-Man Tournament”, and a 154 lb. WKA Northeastern Title matchup between Osvaldo “June” Dominguez and Stoney “Catfish” Morales. Both fighters are talented B-Class amateurs with a lot of experience and skill, which should make for a very exciting match up. Both fighters come out of very reputable camps in Sitan Gym Philadelphia and Pin Point Muay Thai respectively. They will definitely be bringing their A-Game, so this one is not to miss! Below are a few pictures from the last night’s weigh-in’s…

When it comes to North American Muay Thai badassery, names such as Kevin Ross, Joe Schilling, Ky Hollenbeck, Chaz Mulkey etc…come to mind. But for every Chaz Mulkey, Gabriel Varga, Rami Ibrahim, or Justin Greskiewicz…their are hundreds of young unknown fighters putting in work everyday to make it to the top and follow in the footsteps of their favorite fighters and Muay Thai idols. While other media outlets may choose to completely ignore amateur Muay Thai coverage (for whatever asinine reason), at MTL we realize that the only way to continually improve on the stock of nakmuay’s coming out of North America is to give the young, up and coming talent a chance to shine, a chance to showcase their skills, and a chance to at least at one moment or another become the center of attention. Whether they are fighting on the under card of a Lion Fight Promotions event, or at Friday Night Fights, or as part of the under card at a Warrior’s Cup event, amateur fighters are there not only to gain experience, but also to show case their love for the sport and help it grow in America. The only way Muay thai will grow in America is if we, as real fans and media, support the Muay Thai movement wherever it takes place, whether that be a smoker event at your nearest Muay Thai gym or a major event at Club Nokia in Los Angeles. Yesterday, MTL’s Galen Okazaki wrote a great piece about ...

It really is no secret that NYC’s Take On Productions has been grinding hard, making moves, and is one of the fastest growing Muay Thai promotions in the country. When critics pointed their fingers at the NYC Muay Thai scene and declared that New York fighters were either afraid or didn’t know how to fight Full Thai Rules; Take On Productions was one of only two promotions in the Tri-State area that silenced the critics by staging some truly impressive and highly anticipated Full Thai Rules events in the more elbow-friendly neighboring state of New Jersey. When other promotions could only dream of partnering up with sports entertainment empires like Madison Square Garden and MSG Sports, the boys at Take On have actually put their nose to the grind and made it happen, as MSG Sports has already partnered with Take On on two occasions. And while Muay Thai still has a ways to go before attaining the mainstream exposure all of us die hard nakmuays would like it to have, Take On has been one of those promotions doing big things to promote the sport not only on the east coast, but in the U.S. On the heels of their successful Atlantic City venture in the form of “Battle at Bally’s”, Take On Productions heads back to their original stomping grounds in Flushing, Queens for another stellar night of Muay Thai action. Now, as some of you may know, I have been lucky enough to be selected by the gentleman ...

The return of Kit Cope was not to be. I can’t say I’m not disappointed by the latest news that Kit Cope was not granted a license to fight for this Saturday’s “Battle in the Desert 4″ card. We haven’t heard any details as to why Cope wasn’t given a license to fight, but this isn’t the first time Cope has had issues with the Nevada State Athletic Commission. As some of you may recall, Cope tested positive for steroids following his submission loss to “Razor” Rob McCullough at the WEC in 2007. Now while I doubt Cope was denied a license due to an issue with banned substances, his absence from “Battle in the Desert 4″ leaves us all with question regarding how the charismatic nakmuay turned MMA fighter would fare in a return to the Muay Thai ring. As I mentioned in my lead-up article to “Battle in the Desert 4″, Cope is still relatively young enough to have another go at Muay Thai contendership. With a 23-1 Muay Thai record, Cope was no slouch when it came to fighting in the science of 8 limbs. And with a personality that you will either love to hate or hate to love coupled with the fact that Cope has already enjoyed some mainstream TV exposure, Cope stepping into the ring would definitely put some butts in seats. The minds at Lion Fight Promotions most likely had the same thought process when they booked Cope to fight the up ...

The holiday season definitely seems to be upon us. Being the Muay Thai journalist I claim to be, I usually scour the internet and various social media sites to see what is being said about upcoming Muay Thai events, bouts, fighters, etc…but November has so far been quite a slow month for Muay Thai chatter. This doesn’t mean there hasn’t been an abundance of events for Muay Thai fans to drool over, after all the MPL did once again put on some exceptional fights at the start of the month and for Kickboxing fans we saw Giorgio Petrosyan come back from an injury to win a majority decision over a very interesting prospect in Zeben Diaz. Being a site based in the U.S. however, it seems as if the U.S. Muay Thai contingent has been gearing up for the holiday season and has been a little quiet in regards to their Muay Thai fervor. But before you sit in front of your computers on Cyber Monday and spend countless amounts of money you don’t have on things you probably don’t need, make sure you check out Lion Fight Promotions “Battle in the Desert 4″! When it comes to Muay Thai promotions in the U.S. there are a handful of fight promotions that are coming up and representing the sport of Muay Thai incredibly well. But if we were to compare them all based on the sheer implications and anticipation of the bouts on their cards, Lion Fight Promotions “Battle in the Desert” ...

As you all should know by know, I am a huge Kickboxing fan. Well, obviously I’m a huge fan of any sport in which two people hit each other in the face and kick each other in the head. I’m a simple man with simple tastes and I find that Kickboxing and Muay Thai satisfy those simple needs. It’s a simple sport to understand yet contains very elegant and complex underlying techniques that take years of practice and/or study for anyone to truly appreciate. Giorgio Petrosyan is simply one of those fighters that understands all of this sport’s complexities and executes all of its techniques with absolute perfection. Petrosyan is so good at what he does that he makes all Kickboxing techniques seem absolutely effortless. He systematically breaks fighters down, yet looks like he has barely broken a sweat while doing so. In Muay Thai, fighters like Buakaw Por Pramuk and Saenchai Sinbimuaythai come to mind as they are two of many fighters that make Thai boxing look much to easy. Subsequently, they also make many of the seasoned fighters who face them look like novices. In the world of Kickboxing (K-1, Its Showtime, Dutch Kickboxing) Giorgio Petrosyan is their equivalent. The only kink in Petrosyan’s armor, seems to be his ability to break his own hand on everyone of his opponent’s head and/or faces. He seems to injure his hand in pretty much everyone of his fights as of late, the most recent ...

Remind me never to process photos when Im half asleep. I apologize for the misplaced and annoying placement of the Muay Thai is Life watermark on all the horizontal pictures. With that said, below are photos of Muay Thai is Life’s coverage of the weigh in for tomorrow’s “Battle at the Bally’s” event being organized by Take On Productions at the Bally’s Resort & Casino in Atlantic City. Once again, make sure you guys tune into the live Pay-Per-View stream of the event as Muay Thai is Life’s Eric Rivera will be providing the live ringside fight commentary with The Wat’s Phoenix Carnavele. The event will be headlined by an exciting matchup between Justin Grekiewicz and rising star Eddie Martinez. Also on the card are the much anticipated pro debuts of NYC’s Jay Matias and Boston’s Jake Mainini as well as a bout for the first ever Take On Championship Title belt between Canada’s Jessie Cronier and The Wat’s Nick Vaughan. Below are the pics from the weigh in:

As our West Coast Muay Thai is Life contingent prepares to cover all the action taking place at tonight’s M-One Grand Muay Thai “USA vs. Thailand” event in Los Angeles; our East Coast contingent, consisting of yours truly, is currently at the Bally’s Resort & Casino in Atlantic City preparing for Take On Production’s “Battle at Bally’s” event which will be taking place tomorrow evening. Take On is looking to pull out all stops for this event. Not only is this the first Full Muay Thai rules event ever to be held in Atlantic City, it is also the first time amateurs will be able to compete under Full Thai Rules in the state of New Jersey. If that wasn’t exciting enough for Take On Productions and it’s lotal fans, Take On promoter Eddie Cuello has just announced that the Jesse Cronier vs Nick Vaughan co-main event will be contested for the first ever Take On Championship belt. Canada’s Jessie Cronier and NYC’s Nick Vaughan will be the only amateur fighters on the card to not only compete under Full Thai Rules but will also be able to fight sans shinpads or headgear (another first for New Jersey)! The fighters will however be required, as per the New Jersey State Athletic Commission, to wear elbow pads because of their amateur status. The belt you see in the picture above is the title belt that will be given to the winner of tomorrow night’s co-main event. The belt was ...

Today, the fighters competing at M-One’s “USA vs Thailand” event will be weighing in en route to their anticipated bouts tomorrow evening at Club Nokia in Los Angeles, California. For those of you that will not be able to make it to the live show and are instead opting to catch the event on GFL.tv make sure to tune in early because as was previously stated the event will be broadcast in Thailand and for this reason the Pro bouts will show earlier than usual. Below is the official line-up of the event as recently brought to our attention by M-One officially. Also for those of you unable to catch the event either live or on Pay-Per-View, Muay Thai is Life will be offering a live play-by-play of the event on our official Facebook page while MTL’s own Galen Okazaki will be ringside snapping pics!   Below is the official line up as per M-One Grand Muay Thai and the MTAA: First bout begins at 6:00 pm SHARP Eduardo Alavarado vs. Carlos Otiniano Gaston Bolanos vs. Roman Garido Professional bouts start at 7:00 pm SHARP Rungravee Sasiprapa vs. Andres Martinez WBC Muay Thai Super Lightweight Kevin Ross vs. Sakkedao Petchpayathai MTAA Muay Thai Light Heavyweight World Title Joe Schilling vs. Kaoklai Kaennorsing MTAA Flyweight World Title Romie Adanza vs. Langsuanlek Sasiprapa Daniel Kim vs. Nate Chambers Remainder of Amateur bouts Jessie Magusen vs. Oscar Sanchez Josh Aragon vs. Alex Numinski We can’t tell you enough about how big this weekend is for Muay Thai in the U.S. as 5 events are set to take place here in the ...

Call your friends, grab some beers, and hook up your PC or Laptop to the TV this weekend because it’s going to be an action packed weekend chock full of complete Muay Thai madness. Muay Thai continues it’s exponential growth in the U.S. as not one, not two, but FIVE Muay Thai events are taking place this weekend here in the good ol’ U.S. of A and will be showcasing some of the top names from North America and Thailand! 3 of these events will be available via GFL.tv so after reading the event descriptions below, check out the links at the bottom of the post for direct access to the live stream purchase page as well as some recent posts you may want to take a look at to prep for this weekend’s events. Help support Muay Thai by buying the live Pay-Per-View streams. You can purchase all 3 Pay-Per-View streams and still pay less than what you would pay for an entire UFC event! So don’t be lame! Check out the links below to purchase the live PPV streams for each event: M-One Grand Muay Thai “USA vs Thailand” live from Los Angeles, CA. *Make sure to tune in exactly at the start of the event. Due to the event being broadcast in Thailand, all pro matches will be first. Take On Productions “Battle at Bally’s” live from Atlantic City, NJ Journey Fight Series Finale – live from Calgary, Alberta, Canada Related Posts: “Into the Fight” Vol. 3 feat. Joe Schilling” “Into the Fight” ...

The Final of the Journey Fight Series takes place on October 22nd, an already stacked weekend for Muay Thai, and will feature the all-Canada final of the 10,000 8-man tournament between Josh Palmer and Matt Embree. Below is the latest press release from the Journey Fight Series regarding the upcoming event…plus the big announcement that the Palmer vs. Embree main event will now be for the WMC North American Title! —————————————— After starting with 8 of the top 140lb professional Muay Thai fighters in North America, the field has been narrowed to two! In an all Canadian final, Toronto’s Matt Embree takes on Josh Palmer of Halifax. Both fighters have been very active in 2011 and are looking to get their hands on the $10 000 winner’s fight purse! As an extra incentive the bout will be for the vacant WMC North American Title, the first ever North American WMC belt awarded! This event will also feature hometown athlete “Nasty” Nate Smandych against Mark Deluca. These accomplished athletes battled once before as amateurs with Smandych winning. Deluca looks to even the score as a professional! Regular Fight of the Night winner Jessica “Thumper” Gladstone steps into the ring bringing her nonstop, action packed style to the fans against Celeste Saenz of Tijuana, Mexico. “Shotgun” Sean McKinnon and Billy “Kung Fu Panda” Kim round out 5 professional bouts! A full undercard of local amateurs will complete the card as Calgary’s Chris McMillan continues to climb the rankings and attempts to avenge a loss to Edmonton’s hard hitting Jamie ...

The Muaythai Premiere League is back in action as this time they head to Padova, Italy for the second leg of their 8 city journey across the globe. The fighters who won their first bouts at the MPL’s inaugural event here in the U.S. are no doubt paying attention to the results of this leg, as well as taking a look at what their next potential match-ups will have in store for them. While this leg of the MPL will be devoid of big names such as Julie Kitchen, Nathan Corbett, Artem Levin, and Buakaw, just to name a few, the MPL is still packing plenty of star power for their venture into Italy. World renowned fighters such as Liam Harrison, Jordan Watson, Chantal Ughi, Saiyok Pumpanmuang, and Kaoklai Kaennorasing are just a few of the big names looking to make their MPL debuts in Il Bel Paese (The beautiful country). For the American fan base, San Francisco’s Ky Hollenbeck will be the sole US representative on this leg of the MPL card and will definitely face the sternest test in his career against the UK’s Jordan Watson. The MPL once again does not pull any punches when it comes to the talent and match-ups they are putting on display, and if this event is anything like their recent visit to the U.S., Muay Thai fans that are able to catch the event will certainly be in for a treat. For thos of you wondering where you can catch ...

Take On Productions has just announced that New York’s Eddie Martinez will be stepping in as a replacement for California’s Sheldon Gaines in a match up against Cool Hearts Muay Thai’s Justin “The Purple People Eater” Greskiewicz. Martinez, who recently turned pro and last fought to a draw against Turan Hasanov in Take On’s “Battle at the Beacon” event in July, will be taking a big leap facing the much more experienced Greskiewicz who just defeated Hasanov on September 23rd. Martinez is an exciting and technical fighter that shows a lot of promise, however it remains to be seen if he will be able to overcome the gap in ring experience as Greskiewicz comes into the fight with 26 pro fights while Martinez comes in with three. The aforementioned bout will be just one of the many pro Full Muay Thai (FTR) rules fights scheduled for Take On’s inaugural FTR event on October 22nd at the Bally’s Resort & Casino in Atlantic City. Aside from the headlining pro FTR bouts, the event will also feature an action packed amateur undercard that is highlighted by the fact that it will be the first time New Jersey will allow Full Thai Rules for amateurs. Amateurs nakmuays will be able to use elbows (with elbow pads of course) during their bouts on October 22nd. Take On’s FTR event is shaping up to be another solid show for the NYC based promotion and will be just one of a slew of different top ...

There is no doubt that Joe “Stich’em Up” Schilling is one of the rising stars in the American Muay Thai scene. There is also no doubt in our mind that he is a star in the making on the international scene as well. With a devastating and aggressive style that often times leaves his opponents face down on the canvas or bloodied up due to one of his vicious elbow strikes, Schilling is the real deal. Besides his exciting style in the ring, Schilling has an equally interesting persona outside the ring. A straight talking, no BS type of guy, he pulls no punches and says what he feels no matter if people like it or not. Some people may love him, some people may hate him, but the bottom line is that when Schilling talks people listen. He has a polarizing personality, a violent and entertaining fight style, and a great back story; qualities that many sports greats, past and present, have possessed. Its if for this reason that we believe that Joe “Stich’em Up” Schilling may be a fighter that helps bring Muay Thai in America out of its niche status and gets others in the country to stand up and take notice of the sport we all know and love. Schilling may not want all this responsibility or even the “STAR” title -he doesn’t seem to be too much of a limelight craving individual- but it is exactly for this reason that he ...

So before you read M-One’s official press release with the final lineup, as well as the announced undercard bouts, we feel it is our duty to tell you that if Muay Thai is Life held a competition for the year’s best Muay Thai fight posters (hint, hint), M-One’s poster for their Oct. 22nd event would be incredibly close to taking the crown. As you may all have noticed, Muay Thai is Life not only tries to be a news site, we try to make everything we do look clean, engaging, and -what’s the word the kids use these days?- fresh. It’s our belief that the fight game is all about advertising and media materials, which is why we try to make our blog look good and take notice when a promotion puts together a solid media package such as posters, videos, flyers, etc…With that said, M-One definitely has their ducks in a row with these latest posters. Just thought we would point that out. Below is the official press release from M-One. Also, tickets for this incredible event have now gone on sale via Ticketmaster, get’em before they’re gone! –M-ONE GRAND MUAY THAI OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE– Thai Boxing Inc. and M-One Grand Muay Thai proudly bring to you “USA vs. Thailand” on October 21st at Club Nokia, Downtown Los Angeles. This follows a historic event for M-One, who brought us living legend Saenchai Sinbimuaythai to fight against America’s poster boy, Kevin Ross, for the first-ever WBC Muay Thai Diamond belt. ...

Bangkok Fight Night has gone under the radar a bit too long in our opinion. The Atlanta-based promotion is already approaching it’s 11th show and only looks to continue to grow on it’s success. The hybrid Muay Thai & MMA promotion has enjoyed quite a bit of success in the Peach State and have been both home and breeding ground for some of the U.S.’s top nakmuays. Chike Lindsay, Stephen Richards, Anthony Nieves, and Alex Berrios are among some of the bigger names in the sport of Muay Thai that have stepped under the Bangkok Fight Night lights. Khunpon Dechkampu, essentially the man behind the curtain of Bangkok Fight Nights, recently spoke with Muay Thai is Life about their upcoming event and announced a few changes, as well as a few other fights that will be on the card. In the main event, Stephen Richards will now be facing off against Cyrus Washington, who comes in as a replacement for previously announced opponent, Chase Green. A veteran of the sport who has spent his time as of late bouncing around Thailand and the U.S., Washington is an always game fighter that has faced off with some of the world’s best and definitely never seems to shy away from any fight. Washington, was also part of the cast of “The Challenger Muay Thai”, a Muay Thai-themed reality show that pretty much took over from where 2008′s “The Contender: Muay Thai” left off and is now airing throughout Europe and Asia. ...

M-One Grand Muay Thai has really been making moves! After helping promote one of the most anticipated match ups in U.S. Muay Thai history with the Kevin Ross vs Saenchai fight, M-One continues to put U.S. Muay Thai on the map with their announcement of the next M-One Grand Muay Thai show featuring Joe Schilling vs Kaoklai, Kevin Ross vs Sakkedao Petchpayathai, Romie Adanza vs Luangsanlek Sasiprapa, and Rungravee Sasiprapa vs Yetkin Ozul. The show, which will take place at the Nokia Center in Los Angeles on October 21st is yet another incredible Muay Thai card in what has been an explosive year for U.S. Muay Thai. And if the aforementioned fights weren’t explosive enough, M-One just announced the addition of a new pro match-up between Daniel Kim of Fairtex (Mounatina View) and Nate Chambers of Las Vegas. Daniel Kim last fought against Carlos Ramirez in August, winning his fight with a big KO from a left hook in Rd. 3. M-One also recently began releasing a series of interview/promo videos of the fighters participating in the upcoming M-One Octber 21st card. The videos, produced by award winning photographer Jeff Dojillo, will give insight into the fighters training regimen as well as their thoughts up until the fight. Below is the first video in the series titled “Into The Fight”, this episode featuring top U.S. Muay Thai fighter Romie Adanza. Stay locked here on Muay Thai is Life as we will be releasing all episodes of “Into the ...

As always here at Muay Thai is Life, we think it is absolutely imperative that you, as a Muay Thai fan, should know about the top Muay Thai events taking place around the globe. For this reason we decided to put together this handy weekend guide highlighting the events that will be taking place this weekend from Friday, September 23rd to Sunday, September 24th. It’s is going to be an action packed weekend of fighting action whether you are an MMA fan or Muay Thai fan. However, if you want to up your coolness factor with the ladies, we think it is a far cooler and more unique choice to follow the best Muay Thai action around the world rather than throwing on your favorite Affliction shirt, heading to your local bar, being surrounded by loud obnoxious people, and crushing beer cans with your forehead anytime someone scores a takedown. Of course, that’s a horrible generalization of MMA fans but then again we here cause we love Muay Thai! So take a look at the guide below and make sure to stay tuned to Muay Thai is Life (either on Facebook or Twitter ) for all the results of the unrivaled Muay Thai badassery taking place this weekend. IMPORTANT LINKS: For the Its Showtime stream head to: http://www.showtimefights.com For the Thai Fight stream head to: http://www.thaitvonline.net

Article by Mark Deluca… The full lineup has now been announced for Brian Calder’s SuperShowdown Muay Thai event to be held on Nov. 5th, 2011 in Glasgow, Scotland. Not only does the show have an 8 man 59kg tournament that could headline any show, but it also has a main card filled with big names in UK Muay Thai such as Andy Thrasher, Davy Macintosh, Jordan Calder, Gordon Smith etc. Andy Thrasher is going from strength to strength in his stint out in Thailand, most recently winning the Toyota Marathon 8-man tournament. Andy first faced a Ugandan opponent and then a Mexican fighter in his second fight, winning both bouts on points. In the final, he faced Lumpini No. 1 ranked fighter Prakeyseng Sit Or and won by KO in round 2! Andy is now 300,000 Baht richer and more confident than ever for his upcoming bout with another famous Thai fighter in Samingprai Kiatphontip. Jordan Calder is one of the biggest prospects coming out of Scotland. At only 18 years of age, Jordan moved up a weight class and had an impressive win over K-Star’s Carl Copestake to capture the ISKA Commonwealth Title. Gordon Smith, a stablemate of Jordans, recently defended his STBA Scottish title with a KO win over Wullie Dempster. The 8-man on this show will be an exciting one to say the least. A lot of interesting potential match ups depending on the draw. It’s a tough one to call, especially with it being a tournament that is full Thai rules where a fight can ...

It’s official, the start of something great is upon the horizon. KMT Fight Promotions, LLC will be ushering in the genesis of Muay Thai in Tampa ,Florida with its premier event, Tampa Muay Thai Fight Night. In recent years there has been an abundance of amateur kickboxing shows in or around the Tampa Bay area that have all fallen short of the expectations of many Muay Thai enthusiasts and competitors alike. Issues ranging from scoring and rules have limited fighters from performing to their full potential which is essential to cultivating a strong Muay Thai scene anywhere. Although this is an amateur event which means there will be no elbow strikes allowed the rules of engagement will be as close to the authentic experience as possible. Traditional Thai music will be played during the rounds and Thai style clinch techniques and throws will be allowed. This event is scheduled to host 15 matches made up of the toughest and most skilled Thai Boxers in the state of Florida including a rematch for the USMTA Welterweight title between Elite Muay Thai’s Patrick Ellison vs. Florida Muay Thai’s Robert Mosier. These two fought it out for the title last month resulting in a very close decision in favor of Pat Ellison. For more information visit: www.tampamuaythai.com Tampa Muay Thai Facebook

Take On Productions has just announced that the co-main event of its first Full Muay Thai rules event, which takes place Oct. 22nd at the Bally’s Resort & Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, will be between California’s Sheldon Gaines and Philadelphia’s Justin Greskiewicz. Justin who will be facing Turan Hasanov on September 23rd at Friday Night Fights before his bout with Gaines, is coming off a loss against the UK’s Liam Harrison. His rubber match with Hasanov (both fighters have one win a piece) will serve to be Greskiewicz’ chance to get back on the winning track and look to continue the momentum going into the fight with Gaines. Sheldon Gaines is coming off a great win over Borzoo Honargohar at Stand Up Promotions’ “Krause vs. Oblonsky” event, where he showcased not only huge improvement but that he’s definitely hungry. Oh, and he also showcased he can get a lot of air when he wants to land a jumping head kick (just see the picture above taken by our own Galen Okazaki). Take On Productions first Full Thai Rules event is starting to shape up and they are definitely putting together some very interesting fights featuring some great names in U.S. Muay Thai. For more information about the Take On Productions “Battle at the Bally’s” event on Oct. 22nd, 2011 stay locked here on Muay Thai is Life. Also check out our Facebook page or follow us on Twitter @muaythaiislife.

M-One Grand announced the full line up of their upcoming Muay Thai event on October 21st and needless to say it is yet another incredible card in what has been an already stellar year in American Muay Thai. The main event will see rising U.S. superstar Joe “Stich’em Up” Schilling face off against what will most likely be the toughest test of his career as he faces off with Thai standout Kaoklai Kaennorasing. Schilling recently fought in August at “Battle in the Desert 3″ where he knocked out Brandon Banda with a vicious knee in Round 1. Schilling has rapidly become a draw in his very young Muay Thai career. His straight forward persona, aggressive fighting style, and his ability to finish fights in devastating fashion, have all lead to his meteoric rise in the U.S. Muay Thai scene. Schilling needs just one big win against a name international opponent in order to start getting more international fight opportunities. A win against Kaoklai will do just that. Can Schilling defeat the more experienced Kaoklai? Well, I’m not going to make any predictions, but I will say that Schilling is an explosive no nonsense fighter that can definitely give Kaoklai a lot of headaches and end the Thai’s night early. This is definitely a fight to watch. If the main event isn’t enough to wet your appetite, M-One offers up a co-main event that is equally impressive. Kevin Ross, everyone’s favorite American nakmuay, who is ...

First of all, the image to the left is in no way, shape, or form the official poster of Take On’s upcoming event on October 22nd in Atlantic City. It is simply a small piece of artwork I pieced together with whatever smidgen of artistic inspiration one can muster at 2:00 am. However, with that said, Take On productions insiders have just informed Muay Thai is Life that the main event for the first ever Full Muay Thai Rules event to take place at the Bally’s Resort & Casino will be between NYC’s Sean Hinds and Hawaii’s James Martinez. If you saw the Contender Muay Thai reality show, then the name James Martinez should sound familiar to you as Martinez was the only U.S. representative on the show. Martinez has been in the ring against a few big names including K-1′s Gago Drago and most recently Thai legend, Sakmongkol Sitchuchoke. Martinez, who is originally from Hawaii, now trains in Albuquerque, New Mexico and has been more active in MMA as of late than in Muay Thai. His last Muay Thai fight was the aforementioned bout with Sakmongkol on June 24th, 2011, where Martinez lost to the Thai by TKO in Round 3. Sean Hinds, a veteran of the east coast Muay Thai scene who began his Muay Thai training under the likes of Edgerton Brown, Coban Lookchaomaesaitong, and Phil Nurse, now trains and teaches Muay Thai at Mushin MMA in NYC. A strong and talented fighter with over ...

Muay Thai action returns to the ATL with the 11th installment of Bangkok Fight Night! And like all of their previous events, this Bangkok Fight Night’s line-up will have no shortage of top tier talent squaring off in center ring and showing off their skills in the “Art of 8 limbs.” BFN promoter, Khunpon Dechkampu, recently confirmed with Muay Thai is Life that the main event of BFN 11, which takes place October 22nd at Atlanta’s Center Stage Theater, will feature Stephen Richards and Chase Green. Stephen Richards last fought on August 2010 when he faced off with Shaw Yarborough for the IKKC International Light Heavyweight title. In the 3rd round of the fight Yarborough connected with a vicious right kick that broke Richards arm. Richards nonetheless fought on and won the fight by unanimous decision. Since recovering from the injury, Richards has not fought, however he recently used his talents to aid fellow Georgia fighter Chike Lindsay as he prepared for his August bout with Malaipet. Chase Green on the other hand, suffered the first loss of his career on March 2011 when he faced uman buzzsaw and rising international talent, Joe Schilling. Green, who now holds a professional record of 10-1, is most likely looking to get back into the ring and claw his way back to another shot at Schilling. However, before he can do that, he will have to face a tough opponent in Richards. It will be interesting to see ...

Tonight Take On Productions’ September Showdown event will be streaming live online for all of you that want to see some of the best New York Muay Thai & Kickboxing action. The event will feature a great main event between Philadelphia’s Rami “The Arabian Nightmare” Ibrahim and Canada’s Philippe Allaire Landreville! Landreville trains out of Montreal’s Tristar Gym, home of UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre, while Ibrahim trains of Sitan Gym’s satellite gym in Philadelphia. Landreville brings an extensive record to the ring, with most of his fights being fought overseas against some very tough opposition. Ibrahim, who has asked to be given fights against top opponents is sure to have his work cut out for him. The co-main event will feature the talented Tim Amorim from NYC against Derrick Henriques of Canada in a rematch of their fight during the semi-finals of the TBA Muay Thai Classic in June. Both fighters are soon to make their pro debuts as they are two of North America’s toughest upcoming prospects. This one is sure to be a cracker! You can view the live stream of the event at USTREAM.TV Also on the event will be Muay Thai is Life’s own Eric Rivera providing the ringside commentary alongside The Wat’s Phoenix Carnevale! We are going to be sure to educate fans on the ins and outs of Muay Thai! So tune in! Below are our exclusive photos from last nights weigh ins!

Friday Night Fights had recently announced that they were scheduling two back to back events featuring a long list of some of the best in Muay Thai talent in the Northeastern U.S. The event scheduled for September 16th and September 23rd, will feature fan favorites such as Chris “The Polish Punisher” Kwiatkowski, Harris Norwood, Eric Utsch, Chris Mauceri, Liam Tarrant, Ognjen Topic, and a slew of other fighters that I simply can’t remember off the top of my head. Needless to say, you would be a fool to miss these two events. NYC has always been a hotbed of Muay Thai talent but has recently enjoyed a boom as the top promotions in the tri-state area have been on an all out marketing push to get their individual events on local TV, regional TV, as well as broadcast online. The upcoming back-to-back events promoted by Friday Night Fights come on the heels of an already explosive summer season of Muay Thai. And if you thought the summer was an exciting time for Muay Thai, then we are happy to announce that the trend will continue into the fall and beyond! Of the many explosive matchups announced for the two upcoming Friday Night Fights, there are a few that look to be some incredible barn burners. The first bout that stands out is the third meeting between NYC’s Turan “The Tornado” Hasanov and Philadelphia’s Justin Greskiewicz. With one win a piece, both fighters will walk into this fight looking to ...

Report by Mark Deluca… Following the recent success of the first Supershowdown in February 2011, Scottish promoter Brian Calder is set to unleash another star studded event on November 5, 2011. This event will take place at the Playdrome in Glasgow and will host a prestigious 59kg 8-man tournament with some fantastic international talent. The 8-man lineup is as follows: Loz Reilly (Hanuman) England Jonno Chipchase (MFA) England Jose Varela (KO Bloodline) England Keith McLachlan (Eclipse) Scotland Carl Copestake (K-Star) England Darren O’Connor (TMAS) England Stephen Meleady (Bridgestone Gym) Ireland Ilias El Hajoui (Team Gunyar) Holland The main card will be announced shortly in addition to: Kyle Stewart (Caledonian Muay Thai Glasgow) vs Mark Bryson (SMTC) in a 67kg B class bout. Andy Thrasher (England) vs Samingprai Kiatphontip (Thailand) A class Andy Thrasher is currently in Thailand training and fighting out of Jitti Gym in Bangkok. He recently won the WPMF World Title against Olan Kaewsamrit on the Queens birthday show August 11, 2011. He may be fighting in the Toyota 8 man tournament Sept. 23rd live on Ch 7. This will definitely be a crowd pleasing main event! The 8 man alone would be enough to headline any show let alone some of the superfights set for this event. Brian Calder pulls out all the stops and will continue to grow the sport with amazing events such as this one. Stay tuned for the full fight card!!! *This event is the Scottish leg of the Celtic Championship Challenge

Muay Thai is Life was the first website to break the news that NYC’s Take On Productions was planning its first ever full Muay Thai rules event in New Jersey. At the time of our previous announcement, the details about the event were scarce as the planning was still in its beginning stages. However, we are happy to announce that Take On Productions’ promoter Eddie Cuello recently let Muay Thai is Life in on the full details of what looks to be another epic event for Muay Thai on the east coast and the country in general. Take On Productions, in association with Madison Square Garden and Bally’s Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, is proud to present a night of full Muay Thai rules action on October 22nd. The promotion also announced that for the first time in the northeast, amateur bouts will also be contested under full Muay Thai rules. He specified that only those amateurs with previous ring experience will be allowed to compete according to full Muay Thai rules, therefore fans can expect a night featuring advanced amateurs and seasoned pros. Eddie Cuello of Take On Productions stated that amateur fighters will not be required to wear shin pads or headgear, but will be required to wear elbow pads. The first match confirmed for the event is between NYC’s Jay Matias and Boston Muay Thai’s Jake Manini. This fight will be Matias’ long awaited pro debut. Also scheduled to fight on the pro ...

There was a time not too long ago when Muay Thai in the United States was seen as a joke by most of the sports serious practitioners. American Muay Thai was drowning in a sea of confusing rules, varying and erroneous definitions about what constituted “real” Muay Thai, and a slew of officials & commissions, most of them lead by former Karate or Tae Kwon Do practitioners, with absolutely no experience in the sport of Muay Thai. However, even though terrible decisions are not yet a thing of the past, the sport has grown leaps and bounds in the U.S. and many American nakmuays have demonstrated that the U.S. is no longer behind and some of our fighters can definitely hang with the best in the world. I’m quite sure most of you are saturated with post fight news concerning the recent Kevin Ross versus Saenchai fight (M1 Grand Muay Thai Championship) and the Lion Fight Promotions’ Battle in the Desert 3 event. If you want to hear a recap of both of those fights, I invite you to listen to the Muaythai Preservation Project’s Muay Thai Radio Episode #9, where the panel and I discuss the finer points of what went down at those two events. However, what these two events proved was that the U.S. Muay Thai scene is growing exponentially and that the talent of many of the American fighters, who sacrifice so much to represent us within this sport, can no longer be ignored. With that ...

So I’m sitting here in Bogota, Colombia stuffed full of arepas, empanadas, yuca, chorizo and other Colombian delights while watching the results of yesterdays first fight of the Isuzu Cup in Bangkok…which Ikuysang K. Rungthannakiat won by decision. Even when in a far off and distant land, I find it important to take the time and let Muay Thai fans such as yourselves know about what’s going on. Unless, you have been living under a rock, than you know that this Friday, September 2nd, the most historic event to ever come to the U.S. is taking place in California. Yes, I am talking about the San Francisco pin collectors convention at the Hard Rock Cafe…wait…that’s not right. Sorry, I got my Muay Thai agenda mixed up with my personal agenda. Totally awkward. The Muay Thai Premier League kicks off with it’s first event of the season this Friday, September 9th at the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, California! Seriously, if you didn’t know that some of the biggest names in Muay Thai are facing off this weekend in California, you need to be beaten to death with an over-sized fish carcass. I’m a strong believer that a persons death should be equally ridiculous to their final actions in life. So not knowing about this epic event is equally ridiculous to the demise I just mentioned. But I digress! There are three ways to catch this epic event. You can either be there live, which would of course ...

Let’s be honest, this past Tuesday, a lot of people on the eastern coast of the United States felt the ground shake a little and proceeded to act like the world as we know it was coming to an end. I was watching CNN, most likely in a failed attempt to look somewhat informed, and was completely blown away by the incredibly dramatic, over the top, coverage. From the pictures I saw on both Facebook and Twitter, it seems as if the earthquake had a bone to pick with the food retail industry (my own fancy way of describing what is commonly referred to as a “supermarket”) since most of the damage I saw was limited to falling cereal boxes, crushed cans of stewed peas, and spilled soda. And while some people went on camera and described the earthquake as “the most terrifying shaking sensation in the history of civilization”, others claimed to barely have felt it at all. So who to believe? The gentleman with the interestingly shaped tinfoil hat on his head and stained blue jumpsuit? Or the people that were able to acknowledge the earthquake and subsequently continue to live their lives? So what does this have to do with the Take On Productions show on September 9th in Queens, New York you ask? Well aside from the fact that both the earthquake and the event are in New York City, absolutely nothing. I was just trying to kill some time while my crock ...

Okay, first of all, don’t get confused, the poster to the left is to promote the upcoming Take On event scheduled for September 9th, however more on that later! For now, it’s time for some BREAKING NEWS! Muay Thai is Life has just been informed by sources within Take On Productions that the growing New York based Muay Thai promotion is currently looking to put on a full Muay Thai rules event in Atlantic City sometime in mid-October. The venue for the event is yet to be announced, but our Take On source has announced it will be a “massive casino in Atlantic City”. Because the event will be held outside of New York City, Take On will be able to promote the show under full Muay Thai rules, which will be a first for the promotion. The show will be sanctioned by the New Jersey State Athletic Commission(NJSAC) and the WKA. The event will be a mostly pro fight card with a few amateur fights, but as of yet no fights have been announced. The event will once again be held in association with Madison Square Garden and will benefit from the same amount of promotion and publicity as their recent event held at the Beacon Theater in Manhattan. Also, as we mentioned previously, Take On was rumored to be close to securing a deal with a major company in order to broadcast their events. Take On is still keeping the name of their broadcasting partners close ...

A couple of years ago a Muay Thai tournament was held in Thailand titled the “Five Star Fried Chicken Tournament”. Now to people with no knowledge of Muay Thai, the name of the tournament sounds like an event where Paula Deen would be an “expert” judge. However, the tournament was in fact a fighting tournament and not a fried chicken eating challenge where Adam Richman tried to exact his dominance over deep fried poultry. I bring this up because I have always found it humorous that the Muay Thai scene in Thailand always integrates their sponsor brand into just about everything, whether it be logos on shorts, names of tournaments, or even going as far as having your sponsor name as part of your ring name. Consider this years participant in the 22nd Isuzu Cup, Noppakrit Namplatrahoymuk. His fighting surname translates into Hoy Muk Fish Sauce, which just reaches all sorts of new levels of awesomeness. Also in this years lineup is Petchasawin Seatransferry…which is far more self explanatory. Either way, I really feel that the UFC should follow suit and have their fighters take on surnames representative of their sponsors. I think all sorts of hilarity would ensue and would serve to bring in an entirely new era of sponsorship opportunities for the UFC. Imagine tuning into Fox Sports (The UFC and FOX just struck a deal making FOX and FX the new home of the UFC on TV) and watching UFC promos advertising ...

The highly anticipated September 25th It’s Showtime “Fast & Furious” event has finalized the lineup for it’s 70 kg 8-man tournament and superfights. The event has undergone a few changes since being announced. It was initially scheduled to be the stage for an anticipated match up between Dutch-Moroccan heavyweight sensation Badr Hari and Romanian star Daniel Ghita, however the bout fell through. Also, 2-time K-1 MAX champion Giorgio Petrosyan was set to be a part of the 70 kg 8-man tournament, however the Italian-Armenian’s nagging hand injury once again lead to him having to drop out of an upcoming fight. He has since been replaced by Dutch wunderkind Robin Van Roosemalen. The 8-man tournament features a who’s who of top 70 kg Kickboxing talent so be sure to stay locked on Muay Thai is Life for all results and info about the It’s Showtime “Fast and Furious” event. Below is the event’s full lineup: 70 kg 8-man Tournament Lineup: QUARTERFINALS: Fight A Artur KyMuay shenko vs. Gago Drago Fight B Andy Souwer vs. Harut Grigorian Fight C Murat Direkci vs. Chris Ngimbi Fight D Robin Van Roosemalen vs. Chahid Oulad El Hadj SEMI-FINALS: Fight E Winner Fight A vs Winner Fight B Fight F Winner Fight C vs Winner Fight D FINAL: Winner Fight E vs Winner Fight F Superfights: Moises Baute vs. Rustemi Kreshnik Murthel Groenhart vs. Artem Levin for the 77kg It’s Showtime World Title Marat Grigorian vs. Kenneth Van Eesvelde Arman Hambaryan vs. Ali Abrayam Sonny Dagraed vs. Abdel Fakiri Ahmed Zragoua vs. Yavuz Kayabasi – Tournament Reserve Fight Andy Ristie vs. William Diender – Tournament Reserve Fight

A historic and active year in U.S. Muay Thai continues as we put the epic event that was the M1 Grand Muay Thai Championship behind us and prepare for Lion Fight Promotions “Battle in the Desert 3″. The event, which will feature not one but four title fights as well as a fight between Thai legend Sakmongkol and rising Muay Thai star Cosmo Alexandre, takes places this Saturday, August 20th, 2011 in Primm, Nevada. If you are unable to make it out west to see the fight live, you can order the PPV online stream at GFL.tv for the low price of $9.99. If you are still unable to order the stream, you can follow the Muay Thai is Life play-by-play on both our Twitter page and/or Facebook page. We have received excellent feedback from all of you about our play-by-play coverage of both the Warriors Cup XII and M1 Grand Muay Thai Championship. Therefore, we will continue to offer the play by play to all of you that cannot make it out to Primm to see the fights or are unable to purchase the online stream. Just another way Muay Thai is Life is dedicated to bringing Muay Thai & Kickboxing to YOU, the loyal fans of the sport. Below is the updated card of the event: Professional bouts: Cosmo Alexandre (Deerfield, FL/Brazil) vs. Sakmongkol (Denver, CO/Thailand), 155 lbs Ky Hollenbeck (San Francisco, CA) vs. Simon Chu (Leeds, England), 160 lbs Chaz Mulkey (Las Vegas, NV) vs. Remy Bonnel (Miami, ...

You know what I love about NYC? I love the fact that there are about 1,000 Ray’s Pizza places and all of them claim to be the original. I love the fact that (as David Cross once so truthfully pointed out) while walking down the street in Manhattan, you can simultaneously see both the most beautiful woman in the world and probably the craziest guy in the world. I also love a lot of the comment’s my best friend Vinny makes on a daily basis in his thick New York accent. Now Vinny is from Bensonhurst. Which is completely crazy because whoever heard of a guy named Vinny coming from Bensonhurst (if you know something about New York, you would understand the joke). Anyway, one of my friend Vinny’s favorite sayings is “if it’s free it’s for me”. And honestly, who could argue! So, it goes without saying that Vinny would probably be pretty happy with Friday Night Fights latest act of Muay Thai generosity, as they have put together New York’s first, absolutely free Muay Thai event! Tomorrow night from 7:00 – 10:00 PM, Muay Thai promoter extraordinaire Justin Blair and Friday Night Fight’s present Rumble on The River at Pier 84 on 44th Street just off the West Side Highway. You would be a fool to miss it! What else would you be doing on a Thursday night besides preparing for another day at your rather mundane office job. Inject some Muay Thai ...

Few things really impress me, unless of course it’s seeing Vida Guerra in bikini or watching Jessica Alba actually attempt to act. But besides the few incredibly asinine things that impress me, the one thing worth any merit that truly blows me away, is watching Buakaw Por Pramuk fight. Now I know that Buakaw, contrary to some popular, uninformed belief, is not the best Muay Thai fighter that has ever lived. But his demeanor and the absolute textbook perfection with which he throws every single strike, always reminds me of why I love Muay Thai. I feel that few could argue with the fact that Buakaw makes Muay Thai look easy and that every time he fights it just looks so incredibly pretty. He’s like a Muay Thai robot, programmed to throw everything with the absolute perfect stance and technique, while making all of us aspiring Muay Thai mortals feel dejected and inconsolable because we will most likely never reach that level of perfection. So imagine my joy and amazement when I saw Thai Fight Extreme’s upcoming card in Japan on August 7th; that includes not only Buakaw Por Pramuk, but the equally impressive Yodsaenklai Fairtex, Saiyok, and Sudsakorn Sor. Klinmee. Also on the card is the always exciting Fabio Pinca and his compatriot Yohan Lidon. All of the aforementioned fighters will be facing off against a lineup of local talent from the land of the rising sun. Now unless these Japanese fighters have some sort ...

If you would have told me a year ago that there would be two Full Muay Thai rules events in the U.S. featuring legends of the sport such as Saenchai, Rungravee, and Sakmongkol, I would have probably punched you in the face because I don’t like liars. But you would have been absolutely right and I would have felt like a completely insensitive idiot. Being that today is August 1st, I felt it was only right to highlight the fact that this month marks a truly momentous occasion for the sport of Muay Thai in the United States. This month, two events will feature incredibly exciting match ups starring Muay Thai legends facing off with both American or America-based talent. Both Stand Up Promotions and Lion Fight Promotions, the two companies responsible for putting together these events, have done an amazing job of bringing together some of the sports top talent from all corners of the globe. And because of your support, Muay Thai is Life, will be present at both events to get coverage of all the action. Just another way Muay Thai is Life is dedicated to helping the sport of Muay Thai grow in America. With that said, let’s take a look at the two events slated to take place this month: Stand Up Promotions’ M1 Grand Muay Thai Championship – August 14th, 2011 The Stand Up Promotions crew has put together an all pro fight card featuring talent from Thailand, Japan, and the US. But ...

I woke up quite nervous this morning. The feeling was suprisingly similar to when you wake up after a long night of partying; head still in a haze from copious amount of booze, and ears ringing from the loud bass, courtesy of the crappy music at some smoke filled club you thought would be cool but was nowhere remotely close to being anything that could be called cool. You wipe the sleep from you eyes, turn over and realize you are sharing a bed with someone you don’t remember ever having met. That’s when the nervousness hits; your palms sweat, your stomach tightens, and you try your best to remember how you got into this situation and who this person is. Now, mind you I have never been in this kind of situation, because when it comes to meeting women, I have been on the receiving end of a lot more knockouts then outright victories. However, I can imagine such a situation is nerve wracking and I feel that the feeling would be frighteningly similar to what I was feeling this morning, right? For some reason, every time there is a Muay Thai event, I get nervous. Maybe it’s because I want to fight; Or maybe it’s because my friends are fighting and I am excited for them; Or maybe it’s because I’m weird. Nonetheless, the reason I felt such nerves this morning is because today marks the beginning of an action packed Muay Thai weekend here in ...

An unprecedented Muay Thai event starring some the finest talent the world has to offer will be staging its inaugural event right here in the United States this September. The Muay Thai Premiere League (MPL) will feature 40 of the world’s best Muay Thai fighters, both male and female, who will compete in a series of 8 events in order to reach the top prize. According to The MPL’s official press release which can be viewed here, the production will be rewarding the winners with the largest monetary prize in the history of Muay Thai. A whopping 250 Million Baht, which is roughly the equivalent to 8 Million US Dollars. Now, because the field of competitors will be divided amongst 5 different weight divisions, I am sure the final purse will be divided amongst the winner of each weight division, as I doubt they would be awarding each division winner 8 million dollars. However, it is without a doubt the largest fight purse in the history of Muay Thai and further incentive for the fighters involved to put on their absolute best showing. The 8 events that comprise the MPL’s first season will begin with the first event in Los Angeles in September with following events set to take place in Amsterdam, Beijing, Australia, and of course Thailand. The President and CEO of Warrior Caste Productions, the company behind the MPL, is none other than former WMC World Champion and Canadian nakmuay, Clifton Brown. In addition to Brown, ...

Stand Up Promotions presents another quality card starring some of the West Coast’s best Amateur and Professional talent. The main event of the evening features an MTAA Super Welterweight Title bout between Shane Oblonsky and Bryce Krause. Bryce Krause is looking to get back in the ring after a layoff of over a year due to an elbow injury, while Shane Oblonsky is looking to protect his 154 lb MTAA Super Welterweight Title at all costs. Oblonsky, is coming off a Unanimous Decision win over Xu Yan in Las Vegas where he put on a stellar performance. Having had the privilege of seeing both of these guys fight, this bout should be a war between two exciting fighters. The main event may have a lot to live up to as Jose Palacios and Artem “The Russian Experiment” Sharoshkin face off in the center of the ring ready to exchange leather, shin bone and patella pie in the co-main event. Both Jose and Artem are coming off impressive performances, with Jose winning his previous bout with a brutal KO at 0:25 of Round 1 while Artem Sharoshkin fought a cracker of a bout with Borzoo Honargohar that ended with a decision in his favor. Meanwhile, in the 3rd Pro fight of the evening Borzoo Honargohar looks to rebound from the loss at the hands of “The Russian Experiement” when he squares off with Sheldon Gaines. Below are the rest the fights confirmed for the card. Professional Bryce Krause vs. ...

So as the title on the photo above reads…”stuff” just got real for the upcoming welterweight tilt between Bad Company UK’s Liam Harrison and Cool Hearts Philadelphia’s Justin Greskiewicz. Now this isn’t to say that it wasn’t going to be a REAL treat to see these two fighters go at it in what will be Harrison’s first foray into the Muay Thai scene on this side of the pond. But now Warriors Cup XII Promoter Chris Tran and the WBC just upped the ante. The battle between these two Muay Thai personalities will now be for the vacant WBC Muay Thai Welterweight International Title. Now, the odds heavily favor the hard-hitting Brit from Bad Company UK, whose recent loss was at the hands of non-other than Muay Thai celebrity Saenchai Sor Kingstar. But that isn’t to say that Justin Greskiewicz, who just lost his recent semi-final bout to Josh Palmer at the Journey Fight Series in Calgary, isn’t coming hungrier and angrier than ever, ready to fight tooth and nail for the belt. Now that the stakes are higher, expect both fighters to come in and fight with a little extra spring in their step and fury in their strikes. It’s going to be a good one! The stage is set for Saturday, July 23rd at the Robert J. Collins Arena in Lincroft, New Jersey. Also on the card is an exciting co-main event featuring Pittsburgh’s Mark Deluca facing off against Philadelphia’s Rami Ibrahim. Other Pro Matchups include: Ognjen Topic ...

As we mentioned yesterday the much anticipated Take Productions-Madison Square Gardens event that is set to take place at the Beacon Theatre in Manhattan was moved to July 8th. Which means the Tri-State area is going to enjoy not one, but two, Muay Thai megashows in July. Take On Productions has just informed us that along with the Turan Hasanov vs. Eddie Martinez Pro matchup we mentioned yesterday, they have also confirmed an additional 4 pro bouts for the occasion. The Pro Fight Card is as follows: Omar Ahmed vs Jake Mainini Sean Hinds vs Douglas Edwards Eddie Martinez vs Turan Hasanov Eric Ruiz vs Andy Singh WKA North American 132lb Title Bout Boom Watthanaya(Thailand) vs Rami “The Arabian Nightmare” Ibrahim (USA)

New York has always been known for being one of the most progressive states in America. Usually at the forefront of everything entertainment and fashion, the Empire State really dropped the ball when they decided, erroneously, to not allow elbows in Muay Thai or regulate MMA. However, in some sort of great irony, New Jersey, the state New Yorkers have long made the butt of many jokes and always dismissed as some sort of ugly red headed step child, has stepped up and made them look like fools. Yes, my beautiful elbow happy Muay Thai fans, Full Muay Thai rules has finally made it’s way to the East Coast! After all the comments made by our left coast brethren about the east coast’s lack of the seventh and eighth limbs in the science of 8 limbs, Weapons 9 promotions decided to stand up and in Roberto Duran-esque fashion say, “NO MAS!”. On July 23rd, Weapons 9 promotions presents Warriors Cup XII (that’s 12, for those of you who like me, get confused when people use letters to represent numbers). Warriors Cup XII is the first WBC Sanctioned Full Muay Thai rules event on the east coast. And in order to live up to the Full Muay Thai rules billing, the event will feature some of the countries top nakmuays, as well as a huge name from across the pond. In the WBC Main Event, world renowned British fighter and WMC and WAKO World Champion Liam “The Hitman” Harrison will ...

Take On Productions much anticipated Muay Thai event, which is being organized in conjunction with Madison Square Garden, and will be taking place at Manhattan’s Beacon Theatre, has been moved to July 8th. This will be, without a doubt, the biggest Muay Thai event in NYC history as it will mark the first time a premiere sport entertainment organization such as MSG Sports will support a Muay Thai event. The show will enjoy TV, Radio, and Web promotion from the same media outlets that promote some of NYC’s biggest professional sports teams such as, the New York Knicks, The New York Rangers, and the New York Liberty. Take On Productions has said the event will feature a stacked Pro fight card showcasing some of the countries top Muay Thai fighters. The full fight card has yet to be announced, but one match-up that is pretty much confirmed will feature two of New York’s toughest up and comers, Turan Hasanov and Eddie Martinez. As more bouts are confirmed you can be sure you will find the most up to date information here at Muay Thai is Life!

Take On Productions has truly made a name for themselves in the NYC area for putting on high quality and action-packed Muay Thai shows featuring some of the cities local Pro and Amateur talent, as well as fighters from around the U.S. and the world. While contending with NYC’s rather asinine decision to not allow Full Muay Thai rules, Take On Productions still manages to organize very exciting events and stay true to the spirit of Muay Thai. On May 13th, Take On Productions is back with yet another exciting event that will be sure to have local fight fans screaming at the top of their lungs for their favorite Big Apple warriors. The night will feature a massive amount of fights, as 50 fighters will go toe to toe in a fight card that features a total of 25 bouts. Many of the fighters on the card are very talented amateurs with quite a bit of experience who will most likely be making their pro debuts within the coming months. As with most Take On Productions cards, the card will feature a slew of fighters from local Muay Thai powerhouses such as Sitan Gym, 5 Points, The Wat, Weapons 9, Cool Hearts Muay Thai, and many more. Some of the most exciting local fighters will use this opportunity to continue to cement their names in the local Muay Thai community, as well as putting their names on notice for future ventures into the pro ranks. The main ...

Lion Fight Promotions, Pro Muay Thai’s newest fight promotion, is back with their second “Battle in the Desert” event adequately titled…well, “Battle in the Desert 2″. After Chaz Mulkey made a few statements about the credibility of Muay Thai on the East Coast and “invited” some of the regions fighters to step up and represent their coast, it seems Lion Fight smelled the potential for a stellar unofficial “East Coast vs West Coast” event and jumped on it. The main event and one of the 3 unofficial “East Coast vs West Coast” bouts of the evening, pits 2010 Muay Thai Fighter of the Year and Las Vegas’ own Kevin Ross against Mark Deluca of Pittsburgh. This fight has the potential to be a firecracker. Chaz Mulkey’s comments about the East Coast focused on the fact that fighters in New York rarely fight with elbows and thus, in Mulkey’s opinion, don’t practice TRUE Muay Thai. However, Mark Deluca, clearly doesn’t fall into that group since the majority of Deluca’s fights have been Full Muay Thai Rules. Deluca is far more comfortable and effective fighting Full Muay Thai rules than the K-1 style he has to sometimes compete in when fighting in the Big Apple. Both fighters are coming off decision losses and are looking to get back on the winning track. Ross, dropped a split decision to Thai fighter Sittisak in what was a bloody elbow battle at the previous Lion Fight Promotions “Battle in the Desert” event. ...

The long awaited rematch between the UK’s Liam “The Hitman” Harrison vs Saenchai Sor Sinbi is set to take place April 9th, 2011 at the Doncaster Dome in the UK. Fight Sport Industries “Duel At The Dome” promotion will serve as the stage of this epic rematch! Saenchai took the first fight on points, but I have to say that having seen the first fight, I think Liam put on what is possibly one of the best performances I have seen from any foreign nakmuay that has had the honor of facing off with the Muay Thai great. In the first fight, the pair went toe to toe in a very technical and exciting fight that saw Liam Harrison matching Saenchai’s infamous cartwheel kick with one of his own! There is a lot of mutual respect between these guys. Saenchai has stated that Liam Harrison is currently one of his favorite foreign nakmuays and knows that Liam always comes prepared and ready to fight. You can be sure both fighters are training incredibly hard in preparation for this long anticipated rematch! In my opinion, Liam Harrison is currently one of the best foreign nakmuays on the planet and if anyone can give Saenchai some problems, it’s Liam. Expect fireworks, as Liam goes for the KO with his always dangerous hands and crisp Thai style, while Seanchai looks to solidify his already legendary status of Muay Thai deity! Either way, this is a fight featuring two of the sports greatest! Other fights ...

Possibly one of the best international cards of the year takes place this Saturday, March 12th in Milan, Italy. Oktagon and Fight Code present “La Sfida” (The Challenge), a fight card that will feature Current K-1 MAX Champion, Giorgio Petrosyan in a K-1 Rules bout against Brazilian Muay Thai star Cosmo Alexandre. Cosmo Alexandre has made a name for himself fighting primarily under Full Muay Thai Rules winning the King’s Cup Tournament in 2009. He has fought very well against some of the sports top names such as John Wayne Parr, Yodsanklai Faitrex, Naruepol Fairtex, Wanlop Sitpholek, and more. Recently, Cosmo has also made a name for himself fighting under K-1 rules for the It’s Showtime promotion where he currently holds the 77kg World Title. Giorgio Petrosyan is currently the man to beat at 70 kgs/150 lbs. Having not lost a fight since 2007, Petrosyan who is current and 2x K-1 MAX Champion, looks to continue his undefeated streak. The fight will be fought under K-1 Rules where Petrosyan is without a doubt, at his most dangerous. In the co-main event and the only Full Muay Thai Rules bout of the evening, Thai Fight Champion and current WBC World Champion at 63.5kg/140 lbs faces off against dangerous Belorussian Andrei Kulebin. Kulebin is currently WMC Featherweigh World Champion and has one the I-1 Grand Prix in Hong Kong a record 4 times. Considering this is the only Full Muay Thai Rules bout of the evening and is ...

Adding to the exciting cards happening stateside this weekend, the Muay Thai action heads east as It’s Showtime presents a stellar card featuring some of the world’s best kickboxers at both the lightweight and heavyweight classes. One fight that is, without a doubt, going to be nothing but fireworks from start to finish is the 70kg match-up between K-1 MAX Ukrainian superstar Artur Kyshenko and Armenian-Dutch spark plug Gago Drago. Expect lot’s of heavy artillery and primal screams! In the heavyweight division Dutch It’s Showtime World Title holder Hesdy Gerges faces of with K-1 Veteran and former Romanian Secret Service agent Daniel Ghita. Both Gerges and Ghita are very technical heavyweight fighters with a lot of power, so don’t expect this fight to go the distance. Also on the card, former K-1 MAX and Shootboxing World Champion, looks to bounce back from a loss against Spanish Kickboxer Abraham Roqueni at El Desafio in Malaga, Spain this past February. His opponent is Morocco’s L’houcine Ouzgni. IT’S SHOWTIME MAIN CARD: Robin van Roosmalen vs Chahid Oulad el Hadj Rachid Belaini vs William Diender Danyo Ilunga vs Wendell Roche Artur Kyshenko vs Gago Drago L’houcine Ouzgni vs Andy Souwer Daniel Ghita vs Hesdy Gerges FIGHTING STARS MAIN CARD: Younes El Mhassani vs Errol Koning Warren Stevelmans vs Mohamed Medhar Ricardo van den Bos vs Raymond Bonte Leroy Kaestner vs Ramzi Tamaditi Romano Morjoner vs Mo Ben Nasser Rico Verhoeven vs Jamal Ben Saddik Marc de Bonte vs Morad Salhi UNDER CARD: Ronnie Roomeijer vs Moenhim Hazioun Kay Bult vs Ferry Moein Hosseini vs Yassir Kaderi Steve Poort vs Kevin Hessling Jamie de Vries ...

Opening up a solid weekend of Muay Thai Action, New York City’s Friday Night Fights once again delivers another installment of their monthly action-packed fight series. The cards main event will feature Cool Hearts Muay Thai’s Rigel Balsamico vs. Former WCL Kickboxer turned MMA Fighter, Ryan Madigan. In the co-main event, Chris Kwiatkowski looks to use his heavy hands to once again end a challengers night early. However, his opponent Harris Norwood, always comes to fight and is looking to put a stop to Kwiatkowski’s knockout ways. Below is the full card for the evenings fistic festivities: Pro: Ryan Madigan vs. Rigel Balsamico Omar Vega vs Max Chen Harris Norwood vs. Chris Kwiatkowski Phillip Sehenuk vs. Ognjen Topic Kevin Horowitz vs. Anthony Ford Amateur: Slyvie Von Duuglas-Ittu vs. Angela Hill Eric Heegaard vs. Elijah Clark Richard Huang vs. Stephane Smarth Chris melillo vs. Chris Edmund Francisco Hernandez vs. Sofia Gegovic Josh Danis vs. Jimmy Besselman Miguel Santos vs. Omar Estevez Miguel Rivera vs. Oscar Arizmendy Diarmaid Mcgregor vs. James Mahoney ——————————————————————————————————————————— On Saturday, March 5th, we switch coasts as Stand Up Promotions presents their “2011 National Muay Thai Championship”. The main event of the card features MTAA National Champion Joe Schilling vs. Saekson Janjira disciple Chase Green in what should be an extremely exciting match up. The fight will be for the WBC Middleweight Title. In another exciting match-up, Melchor Menor protege Artem Sharoshkin continues the pursuit of the American dream through Muay Thai as he looks to improve his Pro Record to 2-0 against another Saekson Janjira student, Borzoo Honargohar. Here is a list of other ...

The 2011 North American Muay Thai scene has been on fire! We’ve seen an amazing season opener by Friday Night Fights, an awesome Lion Fight Promotions event, and Chaz Mulkey unleashes a tirade that spawns an East vs. West coast Muay Thai debate that is most likely going to set up a slew of dream match ups that all of us at MTL are hoping will further help push Muay Thai into the limelight here in the U.S. In all, I think so far it’s going to be a year to remember in the sport of Muay Thai. With that said the action continues this weekend with the beginning of Canada’s Journey Fight Series. An 8-Man Tournament that will be held on 3 different dates with the quarterfinals taking place this Saturday, March 5th, 2011 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The lineup will feature some of Canada’s best Pro Muay Thai fighters against some of the best nakmuays from here in the U.S. Although this event isn’t being billed as a U.S. vs Canada event, you can be sure that the fans in Calgary, as well as those that will accompany the American contingent, are going to be real clear about where their loyalties lie. But it’s in all in good fun, as here in the U.S. we are always looking for an opportunity to do battle with our brothers to the North and I’m sure the inverse is also true. One change to the poster you see ...

The fight world is abuzz today as both the MMA and Muay Thai scene are offering up not one, not two, but three great events featuring top talents from both sports. Now, because we are not an MMA site we will leave aside the much touted fight between Fedor Emelianenko and Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva in favor of the two big Muay Thai match ups that are taking place today. Overseas, Muay Thai superstar Buakaw Por. Pramuk steps back into the ring against Youssef Boughanem of Belgium. Boughanem is coming off a very solid showing at last years Thai Fight tournament in Bangkok. The 20-year old Boughanem made it to the finals of the Thai Fight tournament where he lost to the always impressive Fabio Pinca of France. Buakaw is also coming off a very strong showing at this years Shootboxing S-Cup where he came away with the Shootboxing World Championship Title. Although Buakaw is a huge step up in competition for the young Boughanem, I’m confident the young Belgian will give Buakaw a good enough fight to make it a very entertaining bout. And needless to say it is always a pleasure to see Buakaw fight. Here is an interview (in French) with Buakaw about tonight’s event (Sorry, I don’t speak French and can’t translate, but I’m sure what he talks about is pretty awesome) BUAKAW POR PRAMUK en France en FévrierUploaded by PARIS_FIGHT. – Discover the latest sports and extreme videos. Stateside, today is the much anticipated ...

On February 12th, 2011, Muay Thai continues its growth in the United States with a card presented by Lion Fight Promotions and featuring some of the countries top Muay Thai talent versus some always dangerous Thai opposition. The main event of the card, which will be held at Buffalo Bill’s in Primm, Nevada; will feature San Francisco’s own Michael Mananquil versus Malaipet in a much anticipated rematch. The card will also feature recent North American Muay Thai Fighter of the Year award winner Kevin Ross (Muaythaiislife.com, Muaythaiauthority.com, and the Muay Thai Preservation Project got together and selected Ross as this years winner) in a bout with Thai fighter Loh-Ngern Pittakkruchaiden. Also on the card: Chaz Mulkey (Las Vegas) vs. Douglas Edwards (San Francisco) Remy Bonnel (Miami) vs. Thiraphong Saengdaeng (Thailand) Amy Davis (Idaho Falls) vs. Emily Bearden (New York) Scotty Leffler (Las Vegas) vs. Coke Chunhawat (San Francisco) Shawn Yarborough (Las Vegas) vs. Brandon Banda (Concord) The event definitely has no shortage of talented American nakmuays as those listed are among some of America’s best Muay Thai fighters to date. Also, take a look at the two videos below featuring the always humble and classy Kevin Ross talk about being named North American Muay Thai fighter of the year, what needs to be done to increase the exposure of Muay Thai in the U.S., and his take on his upcoming fight on Feb. 12th Good luck to Kevin and all of the nakmuays and muay ying on the card helping to promote the beautiful sport of Muay Thai ...

The holiday season has come and gone and all we are left with now are the mounting credit card bills and expanding waistline. But now it’s time to shake yourself out of that food coma, throw away the brick-like fruitcake, re-gift those terrible gifts you received from your in-laws, and get ready for some Muay Thai action! Friday Night Fights NYC, New York City’s longest running fight promotion is kick-starting the 2011 Muay Thai season with an epic card, featuring some of the nations top Muay Thai talent. So if you are in NYC on January 15th, head on over to the Hall at St. Paul’s at 60th Street and 9th Avenue, and release all of the frustration from the work week woes by cheering for some top class athletes as they unleash the fury of Muay Thai on one another for your enjoyment! On the card, 2 of our good friends from Pittsburgh Muay Thai, Mark DeLuca and Marcus Fisher, look to make The ‘Burgh proud as they face off against two of NYC’s toughest, Kevin Molina and King Opaku respectively! Also on the card: the Muay Thai wrecking machine from the Caucuses, Turan Hasanov takes on UFC veteran Roli Delgado; Jessie Cronier of Canada takes on NYC’s Pascal Jean-Michel; Eric “The Hooligan” Utsch makes his return to the ring; and Ashley Nichols takes on Alexis Asher in a female flyweight bout! To top it all off in the co-main event, Chris “The Polish Punisher” Kwiatkowski takes on Mike Erosa, while in ...

If you have nothing better to do this weekend, I would advise that you stay online glued to your computers (especially the MTL website) as this weekend is chock full of Kickboxing and Muay Thai action. Besides the K-1 WGP Finals in Japan, Take On Productions of NYC is putting on yet another quality Muay Thai show, and It’s Showtime put’s on their last show of the year! Below are the posters and Fight Card of each event. Amateur Fights: Justine Williams vs. Rosie Choi David Miqui vs. Nick Avalos Russel Bennett vs. Omar Browne Youyung Cho vs. Jonathan Browne Kesten Jemerson vs. Rodrigo Costa Chris White vs. Omar Estevez Ariel Abreu vs. Andrew Espling Evaristo Hernandez vs. Calvin Curtis Peelo Deonarain vs. Sylvie von Duuglas-Ittu (Anticipated Rematch) Gaius Ebratt vs. King Opaku (NE Regional Title Fight) Pro Fights: Jamal Wahib vs. Sacha Hijazi Kevin Molina vs. Omar Ahmed   Fight Card: Rafal Dudek vs. Chahid Oulad el Hadj Yavuz Kayabasi vs. Gago Drago Masahiro Yamamoto vs. Sergio Wielzen Tomas Hron vs. Alexey Ignashov Pajonsuk Superpro Samui vs. Andy Souwer Chris Ngimbi vs. Murat Direkçi   Full Card: Tsutomu Takahagi vs. Hidekazu Kimura Ewerton Teixeira vs. Errol Zimmerman Mighty Mo vs. Peter Aerts Semmy Schilt vs. Kyotaro Gokhan Saki vs. Daniel Ghita Alistair Overeem vs. Tyrone Spong Hesdy Gerges vs. Yusuke Fuijmoto Semi-Final 1 Semi-Final 2 Sergey Kharitonov vs. Singh Jaideep Final

So I hope everyone had their fill of holiday delights during the Thanksgiving festivities, because I know I did! I stuffed myself with more holiday fare than Kristy Alley at an all you can eat buffet. So far I calculate total weight gain to be in the realm of 15 pounds of turkey, fried chicken, macaroni & cheese, mashed potatoes and so on. As enjoyable as it was, I am now faced with the horrible realization that I have 15 extra pounds to cut for an upcoming fight in February. So as beautiful as the supposed story of Pilgrims breaking bread with Squanto and the Patuxet tribe is, all I have to say is damn you Thanksgiving for my distended belly and heartburn! But enough about me and eating until hating myself because this past week was full of quality Muay Thai events all over the world. From the UK to Dubai, some of the world’s best nakmuays were kicking, punching, kneeing, and elbowing their way to some big wins during some big fights. First event on the list was the War On The Shore 3 event held at the Dusit Thani hotel in Dubai last week. The event was part of the Thailand vs Challengers series created by Tolis Makris of Elite Boxing Promotions in Thailand. This event was billed as a Thailand vs Middle East event with 3 Middle Eastern fighters taking on fighters from Thailand. However, due to injury, Vashit Roshani of Iran was not able ...

Taking a brief respite from covering some of the pro shows worldwide, we take a moment to highlight the hard work of the up and coming Muay Thai fighters and future champions in Muay Thai Is Life’s home state of Florida. This Saturday, November 20th, our good friends at Legacy Fitness present their second installment of their Legacy Fitness Fight Night series. The card will feature 7 bouts of amateur Muay Thai action featuring fighters out of Florida’s top gyms. I think it’s always important to recognize that the top fighters in the world began their careers in local events like these and that it is important that websites and news outlets such as Muay Thai is Life and other Muay Thai blogs do their best to highlight the hard work some of these new fighters put in, simply trying to make it in the fight game. Whether they choose to go on and compete at a higher level or simply return is really not that important. What is important is that they overcame fear, stepped in the ring, and chose to engage in what is, in my opinion, one of the toughest and most mentally taxing sports in the world. They really are what this sport is all about! So with that said here is the fight card for Saturday’s event. 1) Cameron Wells (9 Round Boxing) vs. Nick Strates (Siam #1) 2) Vy Panyasith (Legacy Gym) vs. Johany Alaya (Siam #1) 3) Richard Martinez (OSC Martial Arts) vs. Warren ...

So its been a crazy weekend. Having just come back from the MMA World Expo in NYC where I was asked to help out the great folks from Namman Muay, I realized I had gone a couple of days without letting Muay Thai fans know about some of the big stories coming out of the global Muay Thai scene. So I decided to put together the first edition of a new series called “The Rewind”, which is pretty much going to be a lightening round-type of an article that recaps the latest news, results, and event updates from around the world. Also we have decided to add a couple of new article series to the MTL website. One such series will be the “Product Spotlight” series, which will review Muay Thai related products that we have tested and recommend you get your hands on. Of course, as you can already tell, the first product in our spotlight was none other than the now ubiquitous (at least within the Muay Thai community) Namman Muay. Take a look at our article and also check out the promo that we (Erive Productions and Luka Photography & Design)developed for Namman Muay. So without further ado, here are a couple of the top stories from the Muay Thai world. - This weekend, Bad Company Gym’s own Jordan Watson will face off against Shinya Ishige for the ISKA Super-Welterweight Muay Thai title at the Doug Ellis Center in the UK. Check our ...

Well, yes and no. Let’s just say I stumbled upon a great opportunity to help out our good friends of Namman Muay Thai Liniment at the exhibitors booth they will have setup at the expo. You can be sure that I will do my best to get interviews with interesting people in both the MMA and Muay Thai community, as well as taking some great pics of the event. It’s what I do! Anyway, besides the expo itself, Take On Productions and The Wat will be staging a 165 lb. amateur tournament during the expo in which the winner will not only get bragging rights as the best amateur 165 lb fighter in the Big Apple, but will also take home a round trip ticket to Thailand! The Namman Muay booth where yours truly will be representing both Namman Muay and Muay Thai is Life, will be right in front of the Muay Thai ring (booth #227). Which means I will also get a good look at the action so I can have a great write up for all of you Muay Thai fanatics later in the week! Here is the line up of the tournament, plus the super fights. 4-Man 165 lbs Tournament: King Opaku (Sitan Gym NY) 165 lbs Light Middleweight 4-MAN TOURNAMENT Brett Hlavacek (The Wat) 165 lbs Light Middleweight 4-MAN TOURNAMENT Jessie Cornier (OAMA/Renzo Gracie Ottawa) 165 lbs Light Middleweight 4-MAN TOURNAMENT FIGHTER TBD 165 lbs Light Middleweight 4-MAN TOURNAMENT Super Fights: NICK HAINES (MASTER BAKARY/COMBINED MA) 130 lbs VS. JOHN NOFER (SITAN GYM PA) 130 ...

If you are at all interested in watching the Final of K-1 MAX, which you very well should be if you are reading this website, then head to the link below provided by the good people from Free Fight Fever K-1 MAX Final Live Stream The show should be airing in about 7 hours or so live from the Ryogoku Kokugican in Tokyo, Japan. If you are interested in learning more about the line-up of the finals then check out the previous posts about the event.

Friday, November 5 · 7:30pm – 11:00pm Hall @ St Paul’s. 9th Avenue between 59th and 60th Streets in Manhattan November 5th is the 9th Installment of the 2010 Series! Rigel Balsamico (23-5) takes on Elonzo Harvey (15-0). After over 3 years off, Rigel’s chosen a tough opponent in the extremely tough, extremely tall Etzler. Robert Blake (5-2) takes on Justin “The Purple People Eater) Greskiewicz in the Co-Main event. Blake is coming down from 165lbs and at that weight he was tough as nails! Greskiewicz will have his hands full with Blake for sure! The experienced veteran Andy Zerger (27-3) Takes on Turan “The Tornado” Hasanov in a classic battle of experience vs youth. Undercard includes: Jesse Handler vs Jimmy Besselmen Srijian Munier vs Tom Ni & many, many more! Stay tuned as we post the rest of the card here and on our fan page… Tickets are available at the following locations: Church St Boxing Gym NYC, NY Cool Heart’s Muay Thai Philadelphia, PA Evolution Muay Thai NYC, NY American Top Team Long Island Choksaibai Gym NYC, NY CT Combat Sports Center Prospect, Connecticut North Jersey Muay Thai Lodi, New Jersey 5 Points Academy NYC, NY And online at www.fridaynightfights.com

Okay, so to cut my usual long winded diatribe short, this is THE Muay Thai fight card of the year! At least in my humble, most likely meaningless opinion. Anyway, every year the Thais celebrate the birth date of the King of Thailand by putting on one of the biggest Muay Thai shows of the year. The show features a variety of superfights as well as an 8-man tournament featuring fighters from all over the world and Thailand. This year, that line-up can easily be described with one word, Freakingsuperawesomazingness!!! If I had to sit on a flight with 150 swiss yoddlers wearing lederhosen, while yoddling Justin Bieber covers in order to get to Bangkok and see this event, I would. That’s how great this card is. Just take a look at the fight poster posted above. It’s a who’s who of top Muay Thai talent! First off you have one of my favorite Dutch Muay Thai fighters and WMC Intercontinental Champion, Marco Pique. Then you have non-other than “The Computer Wizard” himself, Yodsanklai Fairtex. Also on the card, 2008 WMC European Champion and Contender Asia star, Dzhabar “Jabba” Askerov. An interesting addition is South Africa’s Vuyisile Colossa, who owns a controversial win over Yodsanklai last year and who I am sure was brought in to rematch the Thai superstar. But wait there’s more! The best Brazilian Muay Thai fighter in the world and last years King’s Cup champion, Cosmo Alexandre is also on ...

I woke up early this morning to catch the live feed from the Thai Fight Isuzu Tournament and realized that some way, some how, my amazing math skills had once again duped me into thinking the fights were much later than they really were. So by the time I woke up, powered up my laptop, threw on my favorite t-shirt (which happens to be a vintage shirt emblazoned with a Mr. Bubbles cartoon), and served myself up a bowl of Cap’n Crunch Berries, the fights had already concluded. I subsequently checked my e-mail and low and behold a friend of mine, who also helps me keep up to date with Muay Thai happenings worldwide, had sent me the results. A sports journalists nightmare fulfilled; I had missed the big event. As promised, I am still delivering all of you the results of the event. Although, a little later than usual, because well, after flogging myself repeatedly like the weird albino monk in The Da Vinci Code after this mornings transgression, I didn’t feel like writing much. Then add to that a brutal Muay Thai training session in the evening…I just didn’t know if I could do it. But alas here are the results! Thai Fight Stage 2 Results: Fabio Pinca (France) def. Rafi Zouheir (Spain) by Decision Liam Harrison (UK) def. Soishiro Miyakoshi (Japan) by KO in Rd 3 (Elbow) Petchmunkong Petchfocus (Thailand) def. Vitaly Gurkov (Russia) by Decision Youssef Boughanem (Belgium) def. Anthony Kane (Netherlands) by Decision But wait my maniacal Muay Thai ...

The Second Round of the Isuzu Thai Fight 16-Man tournament takes place this Saturday, October 23rd, in Bangkok, Thailand. One of this years biggest international Muay Thai tournaments, the Isuzu Thai Fight tournament brought together 16 fighters from around the globe, including Thailand. The tournament would consist of 3 stages, ultimately narrowing the field down from 16 fighters to 4. At stake, is a 2 million Baht (66k US) grand prize, as well as a brand new Isuzu D-MAX 4×4 valued at 1 million Baht (33k US). The first stage of the Tournament was held on August 29th with 8 fighters being sent home early. Below are the results: Fabio Pinca (France) def. Sharos Huyer (Italy) by KO in Rd. 1 Liam Harrison (UK) def. Behzan Rafighdoust (Iran) by TKO in Rd. 2 Petchmunkong Petchfocus (Thailand) def. Zhou Hongzhang (China) by KO in Rd. 1 Anthony Kane (Netherlands) def. Salahdine Ait Naceur (Morocco) by Decision Youssef Boughanem (Belgium) def. Jason Lea (Australia) by Decision Vitaly Gurkov (Russia) def. Jong Hyun Ko (Korea) by KO in Rd. 3 Rafi Zouheir (Spain) def. Bartosz Koscielniak (Germany) by Decision Soishiro Miyakoshi (Japan) def. Fikri Arican (Turkey) by Decision With these results the 8-men for the 2nd stage of the event was set. Here are the match ups: Fabio Pinca (France) vs Rafi Zouheir (Spain) Liam Harrison (UK) vs Soshihiro Miyakoshi (Japan) Petchmunkong Petchfocus (Thailand) vs Vitaly Gurkov (Russia) Anthony Kane (Netherlands) vs Youssef Boughanem (Belgium) Stay tuned for the results of the fight, here at Muay Thai is Life. In the meantime check ...

As much as I love K-1 MAX, this year K-1 made a critical mistake not securing the services of Andy Souwer and Buakaw Por Pramuk for their MAX tournament. Not having these two fighters in a tournament that is supposed to crown the top fighter in the world at 70kg, leaves the fans with to much room to speculate on whether the outcome would be different if these two would be involved. It’s like a Wimbledon without Nadal or Federer , or a PGA Tour without Tiger. Although the incredible and seemingly unstoppable Giorgio Petrosyan (last year’s MAX champ) is in the finals of MAX once again, without Buakaw or Souwer there to possibly stop him, I don’t really see the MAX title changes hands this year. But K-1′s loss is S-1′s gain! Now for those of you unfamiliar with S-1, it is a shoot boxing tournament which allows its contestants to kick, punch, throw, and even use standing submissions. Yeah, submissions are allowed, but only in the upright position. In case you didn’t already know, Andy Souwer, who I might add has won the S-1 World Tournament four times, recently defeated Japanese fighter Hinata by standing rear naked choke! This year the S-1 World Tournament or S-Cup, has invited 2-Time K-1 MAX Champion, Buakaw Por Pramuk to participate in their event which will be held on November 23,2010. Therefore, Buakaw and Souwer could meet for the 4th time giving Por Pramuk the chance to avenge his ...

Friday, October 22, 2010: STRIKEZONE MUAY THAI FIGHT NIGHT CARD CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS AND INFO MAIN CARD: 1 Rhys Hor (Daddis Fight Camps) vs Ryan Tuno (Choice Martial Arts) 2 Ariel Abreu (Camp Undefeated) vs Miguel Perez (The EDGE Ultimate Martial Arts) 3 Ian Smith (Daddis Fight Camps) vs Jon Wright (Total Performance Sports) 4 Derek Kenny (Nak Muay Gym) vs Josh Saper (Choice Martial Arts) 5 Ilya Shtulman (Legacy Martial Arts) vs Micah Sederholm (AC MMA) 6 Adonis Malachowski (The EDGE Ultimate Martial Arts) vs Jaime Cartagena (Legacy Martial Arts) 7 Tom Bailey (Tri-State Martial Arts Academy) vs Roland Nichols (AC MMA) 8 Josef Pearson (Generation Martial Arts) vs Mark Jones (Black Feather Muay Thai) 9 Jesse Bator (AC MMA) vs Alex Azrilevich (Legacy Martial Arts) 10 Dwayne Richards (Five Points Academy) vs Steven Ford (Impact Martial Arts Academy) 11 Phil Dasilva (Total Performance Sports) vs Chris Berrocal (Impact Martial Arts Academy) 12 Greg Rowe (Five Points Academy) vs Anthony Yuan (Nak Muay Gym) 13 Scott Krampetz (Tong Dragon Mixed Martial Arts) vs Diarmaid McGregor (Boston Muay Thai) 14 Julio Pena (Boston Muay Thai) vs Mike Rose (AC MMA) 15 Derick Young (Boston Muay Thai) vs John Lancaster (North Jersey Muay Thai) 16 Missy Russoman (Impact Martial Arts Academy) vs Watthanee Sriboonruang (Team Coban) ALTERNATES: 17 Brian Daily (Daddis Fight Camps) vs Frankie Perez (Ricardo Almeida Jiu-Jitsu) 18 Justin Jones (Daddis Fight Camps) vs Robert Sanchez (Unattached) 19 Jesse Handler (Five Points Academy) vs Alfred Beckette (ICAT Academy Boxing & Martial Arts)