The Top 5 Greatest Muay Thai Fighters of All Time: Thongchai's Choices (Patreon)

above, Thongchai's choices.

We have continued our interview poll of great fighters and legends of Muay Thai, asking them who are the best 5 fighters in history. The purpose of this list isn't to come up with a definitive GOAT, but rather to create a broadbrush picture of Thailand's Muay Thai greatness. Before we started this poll the general picture of great Muay Thai fighters was in English dominated by just a handful of names that get passed back and forth, a lot of it due to who had highlights on YouTube, and repetition. We wanted to hear from the fighters themselves, people who had actually been in the stadia and watched fighters fight. A huge portion of Muay Thai history just hasn't been preserved, and the history gets very distorted as time goes on. Not only does the limited video record filter out many great fighters (for instance there is bias towards OneSongChai promotion fighters because he produced DVDs that made it to YouTube), political gym powers also shaped who got favorable matchups, had chances at titles, awards, etc, things we don't know a lot about now.

What's beautiful about the list and these questions is that this isn't really the kind of thing that Thais think about often. The Top 10 mentality seems to be a Western one, so what you get is very quick impressions, fighters that come to mind to them fairly quickly. The more and more fighters we ask, the richer the portrait of Muay Thai greatness becomes.

We just filmed with (and published) our session with the legend Thongchai Tor Silachai. Above is our filming of his votes and him briefly stating why. Below you can go and study the men he chooses (we've not yet filmed with Anuwat). This is what the Muay Thai Library is about. Creating the broad picture of Thailand's incredible history and variety in greatness:

1. Samart - prince of Muay Femeu, study him here in the MTL

2. Langsuan - Muay Khao terror, study him here in the MTL

3. Cherry - Muay Khao clinch legend, study him here in the MTL

4. Samransak - Muay Maat powerhouse, study him here in the MTL

5. Anuwat - very heavy handed Muay Maat, - yet to film with him!

You can study FOTY Thongchai himself here: #145 Thongchai Tor. Silachai - Muay Maat & Lowkick Legend (96 min)

The Greatest Muay Thai Fighters of All Time

The up to date tallies of our ongoing interviews and poll:

Beside each name near the top in parentheses is the number of first place votes they've gotten. Also, this list is weighted, such that if you've been voted in the Top 5 by someone then your vote counts for double. (The reason for the weighting is so that as the poll expands it will still be focused on core knowledge, the fighters that spent the most time in the ring with under the greatest conditions.) Also, keep in mind that for Thais "greatness" includes many aspects. Public image, respect for those before you, personal, first-hand experience, all can play into how they feel about a fighter's greatness. It's not as abstract a concept as it is in the West. That is why the best thing about this list is the bigger picture it presents. Fighters to discover and to study. Don't get too caught up on who is above whom, or even who has been left off. Many great fighters haven't come to mind to these men when we happened to ask them.

Here is a YouTube Playlist of all the great fighters making their votes. It's best to watch their votes because you can see how they feel and are thinking about their choices:

go to the Top 5 Playlist Interviews here

A huge aspect of the Muay Thai Library is documenting the muay of the great fighters of Thailand. We Thongchai's addition we now have 17 (!) FOTYs in the MTL, in 31 sessions. You can see their fighter portraits below and the number of sessions in the Library:

go to study them here:

The 17 Fighters of the Year in the Library:

Yodwicha  (2012): #10 The Clinch Techniques of Yodwicha - Session 2 (34 min) watch it here and #4 Yodwicha - Clinch and Muay Khao (Knee) Specialist (35 min) - watch it here and #99 Yodwicha Por Boonsit 3 - Spearing the Middle, Fighting With Rhythm (66 min) watch it here

Singdam  (2002): #22 Singdam Kiatmoo9 - Making the Basics Beautiful (71 min) watch it here

Thongchai (2001): #145 Thongchai Tor Silachai - Muay Maat & Low Kick Legend (96 min) watch it here

Namsaknoi (1996): #65 Namsaknoi Yudthagarngamtorn - Sharking The Angles (67 min) watch it here  and  #73  Namsaknoi Yudthagarngamtorn 2 - Overcoming Distance (61 min) watch it here

Wangchannoi (1993):  #93 Wangchannoi Palangchai #1 - Deadly Step Counter Fighting (70 min) - watch it here, #95 Wangchannoi Sor. Palangchai #2 - The Secret Powers of a Cool Heart (77 min) watch it here and #134 Wangchannoi Sor Palangchai #3 - Powerful, Advancing Counterfighting (74 min) - watch it here

Jaroensap (1992): #91 Jaroensap Kiatbanchong - Silky Power (63 min) watch it here, #141 Jareonsap Kiatbanchong 2 - Optimizing Distance & Balance (1 hr, 20 min) watch it here

Samson (1991):  #41  Samson Isaan 1 - The Art of Dern Fighting (64 min) watch it here  and   Samson Isaan 2 - Muay Khao & Western Boxing Excellence (59 min) watch it here  and #116 Samson Isaan 3 - Dern Pressure Fighting & Defense (44 min) watch it here #123 Samson Isaan 4 - Secrets Of His Pressure Fighting (122 min) watch it here

Kaensak (1989, 1990):  #24 Kaensak Sor. Ploenjit - Explosive Defense (55 min) watch it here

Samart (1981, 1983, 1988):  #34 Samart Payakaroon - Balance, Balance, Balance! (81 min) watch it here

Langsuan (1987):  #45 Langsuan Panyutapum - Monster Muay Khao Training (66 min) watch it here

Panomtuanlek (1986): #131 Panomtuanlek Hapalang - The Secret of Tidal Knees (100 min) watch it here

Chamuakphet (1985):  #49 Chamuakpet Hapalang - Devastating Knee in Combination (66 min) watch it here  #81  Chamuakpet Hapalang 2 - Muay Khao Internal Attacks (65 min) watch it here

Kongtoranee (1978, 1984):  #37 Kongtoranee Payakaroon - Power In The Hands (89 min) watch it here

Dieselnoi (1982):  #48 Dieselnoi Chor. Thanasukarn - Jam Session (80 min) watch it here  AND  #30 Dieselnoi Chor Thanasukarn 2 - Muay Khao Craft  (42 min) watch it here  AND  #3 Dieselnoi  Chor Thanasukarn  - The King of Knees (54 min) - watch it here #76 Dieselnoi Chor Thanasukarn 4 - How to Fight Tall (69 min) watch it here

Padejseuk (1979): Padejseuk Pitsanurachan - Old School Greatness (67 min) watch it here

Pudpadnoi (1975) - Pudpadnoi Worawut - The Basics from the Legend (72 min) watch it here

Sirimongkol (1972):  #54 The Late Sirimongkol and Lertrit Master General Tunwakom (81 min) watch it here