Muaythai & MMA Cross Fighting

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Muaythai  & MMA Cross Fighting

By Cameron Fraser

Nobody can deny that Mixed Martial Arts is a phenomenon that has gained popularity faster over the past 10 years than any other sport in North America. MMA has gone from an obscure pay per view cage match to a refined, highly lucrative industry. The mix of striking and grappling makes for an incredible display of athleticism and skill, as well as an impressive and exciting show.

I have had the privilege of attending several MMA events over the past few years, as well as many Muaythai events. The similarities of both events are obvious in many ways, but none more so than the fact that at both MMA and Muaythai events, the crowd loves to see striking. It’s actually incredibly common to see MMA fighters wearing Thai shorts, showing where their strength and passion lays – Muaythai. 

Hard punches, cracking leg kicks, and clinch knees get the crowd standing every time. Unfortunately, those crowds are drawn to MMA events in much greater numbers. Many MMA fans say outright that they would not attend a Muaythai event, even though they prefer the striking aspect of MMA.

To gain some perspective from the side favouring Muaythai, I caught up with K-1 superstar Michael "The Black Sniper" McDonald. Michael is a three-time K-1 World Grand Prix Las Vegas champion, holds WKA and WKC championships, and has tried his hand at MMA against the likes of Lyoto Machida and Rick Rufous.

"I think they love MMA more in North America than in, say, Japan because we do things differently here.  The Japanese do things in a way where they start having big freak show fighters who are huge against smaller, more technical fighters, so when the fight goes to the ground it does get boring because it’s one-sided action. The ref will stand the fighters up a lot more often in Japan because the fans want their money’s worth. In North America we’ve got the UFC pumping millions of dollars into the MMA industry, and it shows. The matches are intense."

"I think the MMA hype is bigger in North America than anywhere else. Coaches and trainers are telling Muaythai fighters they should try MMA, and the draw is there because the salary is bigger than any other fighting sport. A lot of the new fighters in UFC are offered $20,000 to fight, and their win bonus is another $20,000. You never see that sort of money in Muaythai fights."

What Michael said resounds loudly with almost every MMA fighter I’ve spoken with who got their start in Muaythai. The money is unfortunately a very big attraction. Even more unfortunate is that the lack of opportunities for Muaythai fighters coupled with the abundance of MMA events is encouraging more Muaythai fighters than ever to make the transition into MMA.

Many well-known MMA fighters in North America did just that. Names like Sam Stout, Shawn Tompkins, Syd Barnier, Mark Hominick, Markhaile Wedderburn, and Mark Holst are well-known in the MMA community, but they all got their start in Muaythai and kickboxing events.

The two sides are split down the middle – many fighters see MMA as the more challenging and well-rounded sport. On the other hand, an equal number of fighters find Muaythai to be the more entertaining and rewarding of the two disciplines.

Carlos "The Ronin" Newton provided me with a different angle – he says MMA really isn’t a new phenomenon, and appeals to our society the way gladiators appealed to the Roman Empire. Carlos is a seasoned MMA veteran, having fought in the UFC, Pride, K-1, IFL, and W-1, holding many championships throughout his career. 

"For me the MMA phenomenon is something that was expected. MMA was truly the first Olympic sport ever. MMA is a sport that holds no cultural boundaries. North America doesn’t represent the world, this is a worldwide sport. Here people like to see striking, in other places people like to see grappling."

"People like to stick to what they’re used to, and people here just aren’t used to Muaythai or kickboxing. Boxing is still a big part of American sports, but in other areas of the world it’s completely obsolete. At the end of the day, when it comes down to a sport that represents human potential in its entirety, it’s MMA."

"Muaythai is a tough sport, they’re tough guys.  I think a lot of them just want to try something different. There’s easier ways to make a living...I really don’t think that anybody would choose MMA just for the money."

That may be true for some, but many others see no other viable choice if they want to make enough money as a fighter to support their family. Many pro fighters have other full-time jobs, training at early morning and late at night every day, taking fights whenever they can.

Such is the case for Markhaile Wedderburn, a strong Muaythai fighter from Hamilton, Ontario who decided to try his hand at MMA but never lost his passion for Muaythai.

"I’ve been training Muaythai since I was 14. I was, and always will be a Muaythai fighter.  MMA is simply more mainstream and it pays my bills. There are more events and more money involved, and that’s the bottom line."

"The UFC has a reality show on primetime TV that gets a lot of exposure. MMA is more accessible in North America than Muaythai is."

Markhaile makes a good point.  Even gyms that used to teach strictly one or two martial arts disciplines are now advertising that they teach MMA.  Gyms are hiring Muaythai and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu instructors to appeal to the desires of new students. Many people join these gyms with no intention of ever competing, and may not even have known about Muaythai before joining an MMA gym.

Ultimately, nearly every MMA athlete will learn Muaythai during the course of their training.  And MMA fans will see Muaythai in nearly every fight. 

Muaythai is becoming popular in a very subtle way – through the rapidly growing MMA industry. MMA is bringing Muaythai into the mainstream, although Muaythai as a sport itself is far less popular. I believe it’s only a matter of time before Muaythai events happen with more frequency and even more popularity, and that will happen as the MMA industry grows. For now, I don’t mind tuning in to an MMA event knowing that Muaythai is still being shown to everyone else watching, even if they don’t know it.  WMM

World Muaythai Magazine

WMM 07 Issue