guys like Haggerty are very Prominet in the Muay Thai world, I just don't see why a country (America) that has such a big mma/martial arts fanbase can't churn out more killers like Joe Schilling and Kevin Ross. it just seems like a shame is all.
There are several reasons to this IMO and
@SuperLuigi and
@MAlexander22 pointed out some of the main reasons.
Here's what I think:
1. There isn't enough legit instruction in the US for Muay Thai. You need more proper coaches with tons of experience fighting at the top of the sport and ideally from Stadium Muay Thai. They don't necessarily have to be Thai, even though that usually helps, but even some very successful farang fighters who are now coaching would be a good start (think of someone like Skarbowsky who has his own gym in Paris, Dany Bill, John Wayne Parr, Liam Harrison, or even some younger fighters who had great success at the top of MT like Rafi Bohic).
2. US is a big country and the talent pool is small and spread out in MT, meaning that it's tricky to get a lot of good MT sparring in regularly and same with getting skilled fights regularly. You'd have to probably visit MMA gyms for solid sparring but that ends up being MMA striking or Kickboxing more so than traditional MT sparring.
3. Not many American fighters are willing to live the Muay Thai life in Thailand, living there for a long time and getting fully immersed in the culture and intricacies of the sport for a long period. Even if they do go there, they usually leave after 6 months or a year, you don't really come across many Americans who are committed and stay there more than 4 or 5 years like some of the greats of Europe, Australia, Brazil, etc. Part of that is maybe cultural because the US lifestyle is just too comfortable and too different from the lifestyle in Thailand while the money just isn't appealing enough. It's important to note, like many have said before who trained there for several years, that the Thais don't tend to fully dedicate themselves to coaching you and teaching you everything they know until you show full commitment and train and fight there at a decent level for several years.
4. MMA and Boxing are too big in the US and the money is so much greater even at entry pro level that most fully dedicated and committed fighters will usually be drawn towards those sports rather than Muay Thai which is almost non existent in the US and doesn't really allow you to live from.