Best of BKK Muay Thai: fights you missed, fights coming up: vol 1 (Oct 2020) (Patreon)

With the passionate support we've gotten from patrons we are always looking to find ways to give everyone better, in-depth content, and also to help support others who are passionate in their work in Muay Thai. As an experiment we're starting a "Bangkok Muay Thai" column, written by Phan Kế Sơn who covers Bangkok Stadium Muay Thai on Twitter (follow him for the latest of what's happening in the stadia, and highlights: @MTLevG). We want you to be able to jump right into the best fights that recently happened, and be able to look forward to what to watch coming up, giving everyone a better sense of the divisions and top talents. This Patreon does a lot to record the legacy of Muay Thai, but that legacy will not survive unless people enjoy today's stadium Muay Thai as well. Let us know if this is something you enjoy! It's free for everyone, patrons and non-patrons alike.

• See the best fights you missed
• See where to watch the best upcoming fights
• Learn about the best fighters in the best divisions

This calendar tells you when up coming shows are happening, and how to watch them. 

Volume 1 | Mid October

Introduction:

In this article, I will be breaking down my three favorite fights from the two weeks between the 4th of October to the 17th of October and my three most anticipated fights between the 26th of October to the 8th of November. Lastly, I will discuss the state of the 112lbs division and why it is so exciting.

Look back (all fights are linked at the end):

My first choice is Suesat Paeminburi vs SaoTho Sitchefboonthum from the big cross-promotion MuayR1 card on the 5th of October.

In this fight, SaoTho replaced Ekalak Sor.Samangarment - who dropped out of the fight - on a week’s notice.

SaoTho is the Rajadamnern Stadium 118lbs Champion. Last year, he ran through 8 high ranked opponents across 3 divisions until he faced Kumandoi Petcharoenvit, one of the toughest Bantamweights in Muay Thai. He had just beat Ekalak (the fighter he replaced on a week's notice) less than a month before he was scheduled to face Suesat. He is undoubtedly one of the best 118lbs fighters of the moment, losing only to the best of the best (Kumandoi is currently P4P top 10). SaoTho has a clinch heavy style specializing in clinch locks and knees.

Suesat, on the other hand, is on a hot 7-0, 4 (T)KOs run and had just brutally dominated Wanchalong P.K.Saenchai (a favorite of gamblers) to the point that the referee had to save Wanchalong in round 4. In beating Wanchalong, he claimed the 118lbs Channel 7 belt. Suesat is arguably the best (Super) Bantamweight fighter in Thailand, he has a unique style in the clinch where he would mostly focus on the upper part of the clinch while keeping great defense from knees, he is also adept at striking from distance which plays a major role in his style.

It was a clash of two current major champions, two elite clinchers with different specialities. It’s rare to have this kind of matchup at this high level and the only reason it was able to be made was because of the cross-promotion, adding in the action of the fight itself, this is a fight that should not be missed.

My second choice is Puenkon Tor.Surat vs Phetsommai Sor.Sommai, the online main event of Sia Boat’s (the head of Petchyindee Academy) Birthday Show on the 9th of October. I had a lot of hesitation in choosing this fight as one of my 3 of the last 2 weeks, mainly because of the incredibly controversial decision. But, it didn’t take away from the incredibly high-paced action.

Unlike the other two choices, there were no problems in the build up, it was just a fight between two top 115-118lb fighters with surprisingly deceiving records.

Phetsommai is an incredible technical fighter who was on a 3-1 run with wins over Phetsomjit, Phetsuphan and a close-to-perfect performance over Chanalert. Three major champions and top ranked fighters, one cannot overstate how good this run was for Phetsommai. His only loss in the run comes from a controversial decision against Phetsomjit in one of the first shows back after the Covid lockdown. As previously mentioned, Phetsommai is an incredible technician, specializing in sweeps. He has a great teep, cross-handed leg catch to sweep and can strike well at any distance. His only weakness is his inside striking defense against strong clinchers.

On the other hand, as of this fight, Puenkon is coming off a win against contender, Yodpot Nor.Anuwat, but was on a 2 loss streak just before against P4P top 3, Rungnarai Kiatmuu9 and Kongchai Chanaidonmuang, 18-year-old OneSongchai  superstar, currently on a 11-1-1 run.

Puenkon is a good, well-rounded fighter with a notably good kick and step-in knee. But, perhaps his best quality is his “ruup”, the concept of “composure” in a fight, not wearing the damage, a poker face if you will [Sylvie note: that covers the whole body my Technique Vlog on Ruup & Composure]. It is a big part of scoring in Stadium Muay Thai.

This is my last choice and the longest one by far. I’m cheating a bit by choosing two fights but stick with me, the fights are connected and the incentive proved successful as neither fights went to a decision.

Back in late September, two Flyweight (112lbs, 51kg) fights were announced by the Kiatpetch promotion, scheduled for the 4th of October’s Muay Jet Si show at Channel 7 Stadium. It was stated officially that whoever of the 2 winners who had the “most impressive” performance would get a shot at the 112lbs Channel 7 Stadium belt.

Initially, the fights were: Nompraew Toratchatan vs Sueyai Chor.Hapayak and Sakaengam Jitmuangnon vs Kaosanit Sor.Dechapan. But then, just barely one week prior to the event, due to unknown reasons, Nompraew dropped out of the fight against Sueyai and the organizers scrambled to get the show back on track. It was announced the day after that Kaduaklek will be taking over. But, the fights were switched, Kaduaklek would be fighting Kaosanit and Sueyai would be facing Sakaengam.

I picked these two fights not only for the quality of the fights themselves and at risk of spoiling the results, let’s just say that the incentive of a title fight worked on both occasions.

Now, about the matchups and fighters.

Starting with Kaduaklek vs Kaosanit.

Kaosanit is, without a doubt, the least impressive of these four. As of this fight, he was on a four fight losing streak but it was against some of the best of the division, namely, Yod and Tubtimtong.

Kaduaklek is a great backfoot fighter with an exceptional jab, teep, short elbow and generally good footwork but perhaps his biggest weakness is his almost non-existent use of head movement. As a result of this, he tends to take telegraphed rear crosses. As of this fight, Kaduaklek was 6-1 in his last 7 fights with the most notable win over Channel 7 Champion, Yod Parunchai.

Finally, on Sakaengam vs Sueyai. 20-year-old Sakaengam Jitmuangnon is currently on a hot 9-2 run and as of this fight, had just won the Maabin Tournament in an upset against one of the best of the division, Banluerit Siwatcharatchai. He is an exciting, aggressive fighter with a strong right hand. His main strengths are his punches, adept distance management and his size.

On the other hand, Sueyai is a veteran in the stadiums having fought for much longer than the majority of his opponents. Through the years, he has endeared himself to fans and gamblers alike for his great fighting spirit and fan-friendly style. Sueyai, ironically meaning ‘Big Tiger’ has been greatly outsized by most of his opponents and despite his size being barely average for a 105lb fighter, he had always shown a great fighting spirit. In 2017, after he lost to Nong Rose (the Trans fighter who was making waves 2 years ago), he went on to lose another 7 fights out of 8 but he did not give up. He then went on a 10-2 run and had seemingly refined his punching-heavy style and used his experience to win. He is one of very few Muay Mat fighters who have thrived - albeit against weaker competition than Sakaengam - in a division of young fighters.

This fight was a matchup of two aggressive, exciting punchers, a young and big fighter against a smaller but more experienced pressure fighter.

Links to the fights:

• Suesat (red) vs SaoTho (blue)

Puenkon (red) vs Phetsommai (blue)

• Kaosanit (red) vs Kaduaklew (blue)
• Sakaengam (red) vs Sueyai (blue)

Looking Forward:

For this part, I will be choosing 3 of my most anticipated fight in the two week period between October 26 and November 8.

My first choice is Sakaengam Jitmuangnon’s upcoming rematch against Banluerit Siwatcharatchai scheduled for October 31 on the Suk Jitmuangnon show. In their last fight just two months ago, Sakaengam beat Banluerit in the Final of the 7th annual Maabin Tournament at Siam Omnoi Stadium. It was a moderate upset as Banluerit had much more experience.

Sakaengam is a well-rounded puncher with an exciting pressure style. Something that makes him almost unique from most other Nak Muays is his willingness to change levels while punching, he would go to the body with a hook then throw a cross up high. In this way, he is similar to Rodtang but much less aggressive and more patient.

Contrary to Sakaengam, Banluerit is much more slick with his striking and movements. Banluerit poses several problems to Sakaengam. For one, he is a southpaw with a particularly good left kick and mid-ranged clinch striking. He is also adept at fighting while going backwards. In the clinch, he would routinely knee the leg and kick, then post his leg against his opponent’s hip to keep striking after breaking away from a clinch exchange.

In fact, Sakaengam used this to land a huge right cross on Banluerit in their last fight. In round four, after breaking away from the clinch, in a heated exchange that Banluerit was winning, Sakaengam posted his lead arm against Banleurit’s neck then moves the glove up at the last moment, almost like a blind, then threw a big right hand which visibly rocked Banluerit. This moment won him a previously losing battle in round four and consequently, the fight as he had won round three.

This fight is not only good because of the matchup and history behind it, it could also play a role in deciding the future challenger for the 112lbs Lumpinee Stadium title since Samuanthep, the current champion, has moved up to the 118lbs division.

My second choice is another fight in the 112lbs division, Nov 1st. Tubtimthong Sor.Jor.Lekmuangnon vs Nompraew Toratchatan for the 112lb Channel 7 Stadium title that had been vacated by Yod Parunchai just a few weeks ago.

Sakaengam was supposed to fight for the title but since Jitmuangnon and Sor.Jor.Lekmuangnon are “brother gyms”, the two camps agreed that they will not fight each other.

Tubtimthong is an aggressive fighter and is one of the most proficient elbow fighters of his division. In his last fight, he squared off against Petchyindee’s Flyweight diamond, Praewprao, 108lbs Rajadamnern Stadium and WBC Muay Thai Champion. Despite Praewprao being a big favorite, in a thrilling two-round war, Tubtimthong knocked him out with a big elbow in round two and earned the promised 100 thousand baht KO bonus, while cementing himself as the new top contender in the Kiatpetch circuit.

Both men are clinch lock specialists with lethal elbow strikes and are both adept knee clinchers. In their last fight against each other, they went knee for knee, kick for kick, and elbow for elbow against each other in a very close and thrilling battle which Nompraew ultimately won.

No matter how this next fight plays out, there will be guaranteed action.

My last choice and perhaps the fight that I am most excited for, Boonlong PetchyindeeAcademy vs Fahpennueng P.K.Saenchaigym that will be the co-main event on the SAT Series show on November 7. (These are both big, powerful gyms.)

This fight is a cross-promotion fight between P.K.Saenchai, represented by Fahpennueng, and Petyindee, represented by Boonlong.

Boonlong is currently on a very good 4-1 run with 4 KOs. His last two fights ended by arm kick stoppage. He is arguably the hardest kicker today but he isn’t only a one-trick pony. Boonlong is good with his punches, he is willing to go to the body with his hands, something that is not done by many fighters. He also has a great teep, head movement, and can pivot out from the ropes while the opponent is coming in. His aggressive style always makes for a fun fight.

In contrast, Fahpennueng is much more of a clincher. He is currently on a three-fight win streak with 2 KOs, against Kompetch Sitsarawatseua, Chatpetch Sor.Poonsawat and Teptaksin Sor.Sonsing, admittedly, better competition than Boonlong. Fahpennueng is a long clincher with generally good outside striking but his clinch locks are his main weapons. Fahpennueng can overpower his opponents in the clinch to land knees. He also has a good kick. But, his defense is much more falible than Boonlong’s, he has little in the way of head movement and his guard can be sliced open with straight punches though he uses these moments to clinch his opponents..

This fight will be  determined on if Boonlong can escape from the clinch or stay out altogether and also if Fahpennueng can deal with Boonlong’s striking.

Both promoters have stated that these two have trained very hard for this upcoming fight. Sia Boat (Petchyindee) and Sia Kaek (P.K.Saenchai) have both guaranteed their respective fighters 100 thousand baht prizes for them to win the fight. It will surely by an exciting contest.

Links:

• Sakaengam vs Banluerit
• Tubtimthong vs Nompraew 1

The Scene:

The last few months have been especially eventful for the 112lbs division. From the Maabin Tournament, to the upcoming fight for the Channel 7 belt, to the Lumpinee belt probably will be vacated by Samuenthep after he has moved up to 118lbs. In this year, it has been the fastest moving division and it has been very exciting.

The Maabin Tournament pitted some of the best 112lbs fighters under the Kiatpetch promotion against each other and a new star arose. Sakaengam, only 20 years old, has been fighting in Bangkok ever since he was 13 and despite being the best puncher under 112lbs save Satanmuanglek, he had only ever won the Siam Omnoi Stadium belt at 105lbs in 2018. He beat established perennial top 5 contender, Banluerit to win the tournament.

Just two months ago, Satanmuanglek had his revenge against his worst rival, Rungnarai Kiatmuu9, former P4P King. Satanmuanglek was previously 0-4 against Rungnarai with the last fight back in 2016. But, he finally got his chance this year and showed his massive improvements with his elbow set-ups and his boxing, knocking down Rungnarai in round 4 with a huge elbow which sealed the fight. (In those 4 years, since their last fight, Satanmuanglek moved into Western Boxing for a while, winning a couple titles under Chatchai Sasakul's tutilage; then he returned to Muay Thai with Petchyindee.)

Then, Tubtimthong who had just thrown the division rankings into a frenzy by knocking out Praewprao, will now get a chance to fight for his first ever title against Nompraew.

Additionally, relative giant, Samuenthep, who stands at 1m75, has moved up to 118lbs and will probably vacate his Lumpinee title.

All of this has blown the division wide open and even though it is not sustainable and will return to a more neutral state eventually, this year, the Flyweight division is arguably the best and undoubtedly the most exciting division in Muay Thai.

- Phan Kế Sơn 

This calendar tells you when up coming show are happening, and how to watch them.