How good was Buakaw?

It's like a mix and match for who has a style they prefer over there.

Exactly.

Even though forums like Sherdog could make you think that Buakaw is mostly just famous internationally, when I'm in Thailand most "common" people have heard of Buakaw and Saenchai, probably even more of Buakaw than Saenchai I would say, while they usually don't know the most known names from the stadiums (even famous ones from back in the day) unless they actively follow the sport.

But yeah it seems people usually prefer one or the other, depending on what style they prefer watching; the aggressive, powerful and relentless style of Buakaw, or the fast, acrobatic show-off style of Saenchai.
 
Exactly.

Even though forums like Sherdog could make you think that Buakaw is mostly just famous internationally, when I'm in Thailand most "common" people have heard of Buakaw and Saenchai, probably even more of Buakaw than Saenchai I would say, while they usually don't know the most known names from the stadiums (even famous ones from back in the day) unless they actively follow the sport.

But yeah it seems people usually prefer one or the other, depending on what style they prefer watching; the aggressive, powerful and relentless style of Buakaw, or the fast, acrobatic show-off style of Saenchai.

Watching Saenchai is like watching living poetry, he moves like no one else. Watching Buakaw is like watching Dragon Ball Z.
 
He was obviously the best in K-1 because he was from Thailand.
 
If I recall, he was ranked 2nd in Lumpinee before he came over to K-1. The Lumpinee champ back then was his teammate Namsaknoi who was an absolutely brilliant fighter.

Buakaw's got some beautiful roundhouse kicks although IMO they don't pack that much power. He throws his left roundhouse like boxers throw jabs. I didn't enjoy watching him that much after the rule change and he became somewhat of a headhunter boxer. He's got some nice elbows in FTR fights though.
 
Buakaw was a top guy in his division, just not close to being a muay thai GOAT as some casual fans on youtube seem to think. Your coash was right, there were/are plenty of fighters in thailand that are better than him in muay thai. He is definitely better than Sittichai and Petrosyan in muay thai though.

In kickboxing K-1 Max, you could consider him one of the greatest.
 
My gym has had two former stadium champions as trainers over the last 6 years, one said Buakaw was the best he had seen and trained with and the other was firm that Saenchai was better. It's like a mix and match for who has a style they prefer over there.

Love me some Buakaw but come on. Saenchai is Saenchai
 
Buakaw was amazing. Still is although he's not fighting the absolute best at the moment.
2004-2008 K-1 MAX was filled with top level opponents. Buakaw pretty much fought them all.
 
Buakaw was a top guy in his division
In terms of official ranking or in terms of actual achievement? He was ranked #1 Lumpinee at one point, but that doesn't necessarily mean he was one of the best. I don't think anyone in this thread knows exactly how good Buakaw was. Jamsak Sakburiram is the #3 ranked lightweight at Raja as of November, but he's never been one of the best fighters in that division.
 
Buakaw was amazing. Still is although he's not fighting the absolute best at the moment.
2004-2008 K-1 MAX was filled with top level opponents. Buakaw pretty much fought them all.

The real Varga? :eek:
 
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In non-Thai rulesets, Buakaw used to be one of the best. Even my first kickboxing coach, who came from rural parts of Turkey with limited access to internet, told me about how his hero was paul pramuk (he wanted to say Por Pramuk, which is Buakaw's former gym lol). Buakaw has notable wins over some kickboxing greats including Zambidis, Souwer, Kraus, Parr, Sato, Holzken, and Askerov. However, Buakaw has not been fighting locally for a long time. One reason for that is of course the money. Also, I believe that Buakaw is not really a muay thai fighter anymore, he is more of a kickboxer now. He is training for different rulesets than he used to long before. He might not do, as well on thai point-system which favors leg kicks and clinching.
 
In terms of official ranking or in terms of actual achievement? He was ranked #1 Lumpinee at one point, but that doesn't necessarily mean he was one of the best. I don't think anyone in this thread knows exactly how good Buakaw was. Jamsak Sakburiram is the #3 ranked lightweight at Raja as of November, but he's never been one of the best fighters in that division.
Well nobody knows exactly how good any fighter is but that he was a top guy is just my impression i've got from people that followed the muay thai scene back then. I'd also assume in order to get matched against Sakatpet and Orono you'd have to be a top guy, not necessarily the top guy or even top of the top-tier because it seems like there were other bigger names back then like Attachai, Singdam, Anuwat, Orono. Sakatpet, Nongbee, Samkor, but good enough that i'd consider him a top guy.

To put it in perspective with todays fighters, i don't think he was as good as someone like Pet-U-Thong , but probably above someone like Panpayak Sitjatik/Sitchefboonthum. It's just speculation either way i and it's difficult to compare because they have very distinct styles. Comparing him to a muay khao in a similar weight class, i think Saen would beat 127 lbs Buakaw.
 
Exactly.

Even though forums like Sherdog could make you think that Buakaw is mostly just famous internationally, when I'm in Thailand most "common" people have heard of Buakaw and Saenchai, probably even more of Buakaw than Saenchai I would say, while they usually don't know the most known names from the stadiums (even famous ones from back in the day) unless they actively follow the sport.

But yeah it seems people usually prefer one or the other, depending on what style they prefer watching; the aggressive, powerful and relentless style of Buakaw, or the fast, acrobatic show-off style of Saenchai.

Yeah, even in the UK if I ask most people on the street who Anthony Joshua or Luke Campbell are, I'd get more people going 'dunno' than you'd think for.
 
Exactly.

Even though forums like Sherdog could make you think that Buakaw is mostly just famous internationally, when I'm in Thailand most "common" people have heard of Buakaw and Saenchai, probably even more of Buakaw than Saenchai I would say, while they usually don't know the most known names from the stadiums (even famous ones from back in the day) unless they actively follow the sport.


Buakaw is much much more famous than Saenchai in Thailand.
 
Buakaw is much much more famous than Saenchai in Thailand.

Yep especially with all the other stuff he's been doing aside of fighting the last few years like acting, commercials, charity events, launching his own fish sauce and so on.
 
Why isn't he purple for pro? Give that man a pro account
 
I remember when Buakaw was destroying people in k-1, my muay thai coach told me that there are lot of guys in thailand who's better than buakaw, but just not as popular or in limelight. I never was sure if he was serious or just in jest or just not very high on Buakaw as a fighter like some people on here.

If you ask me, Buakaw was the best out of the k-1 max lots when K-1 was the shit, and Petrosyan probably was the best next, and Buakaw vs Petrosyan in my eyes is MayMac of kickboxing, just because it was relatively in their primes, best of their generations in lower weight.

However, I don't think Buakaw and Petrosyan get a whole lot of love from muay thai fans on here...

Thoughts?

Well Buakaw did not accomplish much in stadiums and is in nobody's goat list for MT fighters.
 
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