How to Follow Muay Thai & Kickboxing

[Iactus Inferus]

Hello! This is inspired by an old thread by @jtwarwagon4life. I have chosen not to include social media pages since some folks do not have/want to create a social media account just to follow a sport. Feel free to add them below if y'all would like to, though.


News, Rankings, Results, and Event Schedules:
Beyond Kickboxing -- News, Rankings, Results, Articles, Interviews, and Event Schedules for Kickboxing as well as some articles covering Muay Thai
Muaythai2000 -- News, Results within the last week, & Event Schedules for Muay Thai in Thailand; rankings have not been updated since February of 2020
Combat Press -- News, Rankings, Articles, Interviews, and Results for Kickboxing, Muay Thai, & MMA
Siam Fight Mag -- Articles & Interviews for Muay Thai
WMO Muay Thai -- International Rankings for Muay Thai (thank you @SuperLuigi)
Grabaka Hitman -- Event Schedules for Kickboxing, Muay Thai, Boxing, Bareknuckle Boxing, & MMA (thank you @Tayski)

Promotions often have their own rankings, as well as event schedules, on their websites too:
Kickboxing --
GLORY Rankings / Schedule
RISE Rankings / Schedule
K-1 Rankings / Schedule
ONE Championship Rankings / Schedule

Modern Muay Thai & Entertainment Muay Thai --
Modern Muay Thai --
Rajadamnern World Series (RWS) Rankings / Schedule
ONE Championship Rankings / Schedule


How to Watch / What to Watch:
Kickboxing
Top Level Promotions --
GLORY (YouTube Link)
RISE (YouTube Link)
K-1 (YouTube Link)
ONE Championship (YouTube Link)
Wu Lin Feng
Kunlun Fight (YouTube Link 1, YouTube Link 2)

International / Regional Level Promotions* --
RCC Fair Fight (YouTube Link)
Enfusion (YouTube Link)
Krush (YouTube Link | ctrl+f, search 'Krush')
KNOCK OUT** (YouTube Link)
King of Kings (KOK) (YouTube Link)
Shoot Boxing*** (YouTube Link)
Senshi (YouTube Link)
WGP Kickboxing (YouTube Link)
Colosseum Tournament (YouTube Link)
Dynamite Fighting Show (YouTube Link)

Traditional Muay Thai --
Petchyindee (ctrl+f, search 'PETCHYINDEE')
Muaymunsananmueang (ctrl+f, search 'MUAYMUNSANANMUEANG')
Muaymunwunsuk (ctrl+f, search 'MUAYMUNWUNSUK')
Muay Thai Palangmai (ctrl+f, search 'พลังใหม่')
MuayDeeVitheeThai (ctrl+f, search 'วิถีไทย')
TorNamThai Kiatpetch TKO (ctrl+f, search 'เกียรติเพชร')

Modern Muay Thai & Entertainment Muay Thai --
Modern Muay Thai --
Rajadamnern World Series (RWS) (YouTube Link)
ONE Championship (YouTube Link)
MTGP (YouTube Link)
KNOCK OUT** (YouTube Link)

Entertainment Muay Thai --
Thai Fight (YouTube Link)
LWC Super Champ (YouTube Link)

* = Promotions that sometimes have world class talent, but are mostly filled with regional or intercontinental level fighters
** = KNOCK OUT Red is Muay Thai, KNOCK OUT Black is Kickboxing
*** = Shoot Boxing technically isn't Kickboxing or Muay Thai, but it is really cool and has a lot of crossover with Kickboxing fighters


If there is anything I missed, please let me know and I will get it added here!

 

[Nova44]

Awesome work dude.

 

[Iactus Inferus]

Awesome work dude.

Thanks man!

 

[SuperLuigi]

Great thread bro. If anyone is trying to make sense of who are the best fighters WMO is a good resource: https://www.wmomuaythai.org/male/

Though the best resource is probably just to ask us.

 

[Tayski]

Top post my friend @Monte Moku, very thorough and clear.

I'd also recommend this website to keep up with all upcoming events: https://grabakahitman.com/

Not only it lists pretty much all upcoming Kickboxing and Muay Thai events (both international and local) but also MMA, Boxing and Bare Knuckle Boxing.

My only very tiny criticism is that I get a bit tickle when I see One FC and especially Rajadamnern World Series listed as "entertainment Muay Thai" next to promotions like Thai Fight (which definitely is entertainment Muay Thai), but I also understand why you did so. I think "International Muay Thai" or "Modern Muay Thai" is probably more appropriate for those two promotions.

 

[Doctor Grudge]

Nice summary of the current scene.

 

[Iactus Inferus]

Top post my friend @Monte Moku, very thorough and clear.

I'd also recommend this website to keep up with all upcoming events: https://grabakahitman.com/

Not only it lists pretty much all upcoming Kickboxing and Muay Thai events (both international and local) but also MMA, Boxing and Bare Knuckle Boxing.

My only very tiny criticism is that I get a bit tickle when I see One FC and especially Rajadamnern World Series listed as "entertainment Muay Thai" next to promotions like Thai Fight (which definitely is entertainment Muay Thai), but I also understand why you did so. I think "International Muay Thai" or "Modern Muay Thai" is probably more appropriate for those two promotions.

Thank you for that link man! And I understand what you mean regarding RWS and ONE. I feel like "Entertainment Muay Thai" is kind of a spectrum right now and a bit of a broad term -- RWS and ONE are genuine competition with high level nak muay, but with a ruleset/bonus incentive structure that leads to big wars. Thai Fight leans heavily into the entertainment side, and stuff like MTGP and LWC Super Champ are in this weird middle zone where it definitely isn't traditional, but it's usually three round fights with the sarama playing and it's Thai vs farang or farang vs farang fights. Now that I think about it, I can see where I was injecting my own biases with the naming it "Entertainment Muay Thai" there. I'll alter the name once I get back to my computer

 

[SuperLuigi]

Isnt entertainment MT just MT where they change the format and scoring to try and make it more entertaining? You could argue RWS is not entertainment MT because I'm sure you can find local shows around Thailand where the ring is a bit smaller and they have 3 round fights every now and then. Their biggest quirk is open scoring which isnt traditional but also doesnt seem like it has anything to do with entertainment. ONE I would argue is a much more entertainment oriented product than Thai Fight or anything else I've ever watched. Scoring a KD making it mathematically impossible to lose on points unless you also get knocked down, small gloves for more KOs, having KO bonuses triple their purse, Im not really sure what else they could do.

 

[Iactus Inferus]

Isnt entertainment MT just MT where they change the format and scoring to try and make it more entertaining? You could argue RWS is not entertainment MT because I'm sure you can find local shows around Thailand where the ring is a bit smaller and they have 3 round fights every now and then. Their biggest quirk is open scoring which isnt traditional but also doesnt seem like it has anything to do with entertainment. ONE I would argue is a much more entertainment oriented product than Thai Fight or anything else I've ever watched. Scoring a KD making it mathematically impossible to lose on points unless you also get knocked down, small gloves for more KOs, having KO bonuses triple their purse, Im not really sure what else they could do.

It feels like a tricky line to walk in terms of what to call it. Originally, I had all of them blanketed under 'Entertainment Muay Thai', but I have since altered it to 'Modern Muay Thai & Entertainment Muay Thai' after reading the comment from @Tayski. I feel like the tricky thing with ONE is that they are dishonest on pretty much every level, to the point where assessing what exactly they are trying to accomplish with their product is pretty difficult. Is it for entertainment? Yes. Are they posturing themselves as the premiere Muay Thai organization with all of the top talent? Also yes. Is their matchmaking completely nonsensical? Mostly yes, but sometimes it is great. Their promotional material is just off-brand UFC stuff, which makes things that much more convoluted.

On the other hand, I feel like something like Thai Fight is classic Entertainment Muay Thai. It's all lopsided Thai vs farang matchups, it's got the kard chuek aesthetic to make it look "hardcore", etc. RWS and Thai Fight seem to be firmly on opposite ends of this new era of Muay Thai, and ONE can kinda fluctuate between where it is based on the matchup. At least that's how it looks to me

 

[Doctor Grudge]

Isnt entertainment MT just MT where they change the format and scoring to try and make it more entertaining? You could argue RWS is not entertainment MT because I'm sure you can find local shows around Thailand where the ring is a bit smaller and they have 3 round fights every now and then. Their biggest quirk is open scoring which isnt traditional but also doesnt seem like it has anything to do with entertainment. ONE I would argue is a much more entertainment oriented product than Thai Fight or anything else I've ever watched. Scoring a KD making it mathematically impossible to lose on points unless you also get knocked down, small gloves for more KOs, having KO bonuses triple their purse, Im not really sure what else they could do.

If you're knocked down in a 3 round fight, then it's mathematically impossible to lose on points if the judges aren't dumb in a 10-9 system. The only difference is in ONE there aren't any draws.

 

[BoxerMaurits]

@Monte Moku awesome work brother!

 

[Iactus Inferus]

@Monte Moku awesome work brother!

Thanks man!

 

[SuperLuigi]

If you're knocked down in a 3 round fight, then it's mathematically impossible to lose on points if the judges aren't dumb in a 10-9 system. The only difference is in ONE there aren't any draws.

The would-be draws are auto-wins for the guy with the KD though, which is the novel element if I didn't articulate that properly.

 

[Paolo Delutis]

Hello! This is inspired by this old thread by @jtwarwagon4life and a recent, super long comment I left on reddit to help a new person get into the sport. I have chosen not to include social media pages since some folks do not have/want to create a social media account just to follow a sport. Feel free to add them below if y'all would like to, though.

News, Rankings, Results, and Event Schedules:
Beyond Kickboxing -- News, Rankings, Results, Articles, Interviews, and Event Schedules for Kickboxing as well as some articles covering Muay Thai
Muaythai2000 -- News, Results within the last week, & Event Schedules for Muay Thai; rankings have not been updated since February of 2020
Combat Press -- News, Rankings, Articles, Interviews, and Results for Kickboxing, Muay Thai, & MMA
Siam Fight Mag -- Articles & Interviews for Muay Thai
WMO Muay Thai -- Rankings for Muay Thai (thank you @SuperLuigi)
Grabaka Hitman -- Event Schedules for Kickboxing, Muay Thai, Boxing, Bareknuckle Boxing, & MMA (thank you @Tayski)

Promotions often have their own rankings, as well as event schedules, on their websites too:
Kickboxing --
GLORY Rankings / Schedule
RISE Rankings / Schedule
K-1 Rankings / Schedule
ONE Championship Rankings / Schedule

Modern Muay Thai & Entertainment Muay Thai --
Modern Muay Thai --
Rajadamnern World Series (RWS) Rankings / Schedule
ONE Championship Rankings / Schedule


How to Watch / What to Watch:
Kickboxing
Top Level Promotions --
GLORY (YouTube Link)
RISE (YouTube Link)
K-1 (YouTube Link)
ONE Championship (YouTube Link)
Wu Lin Feng
Kunlun Fight (YouTube Link 1, YouTube Link 2)

International / Regional Level Promotions* --
RCC Fair Fight (YouTube Link)
Enfusion (YouTube Link)
Krush (YouTube Link | ctrl+f, search 'Krush')
KNOCK OUT** (YouTube Link)
King of Kings (KOK) (YouTube Link)
Shoot Boxing*** (YouTube Link)
Senshi (YouTube Link)
WGP Kickboxing (YouTube Link)
Colosseum Tournament (YouTube Link)
Dynamite Fighting Show (YouTube Link)

Traditional Muay Thai --
Petchyindee (ctrl+f, search 'PETCHYINDEE')
Muaymunsananmueang (ctrl+f, search 'MUAYMUNSANANMUEANG')
Muaymunwunsuk (ctrl+f, search 'MUAYMUNWUNSUK')
Muay Thai Palangmai (ctrl+f, search 'พลังใหม่')
MuayDeeVitheeThai (ctrl+f, search 'วิถีไทย')
TorNamThai Kiatpetch TKO (ctrl+f, search 'เกียรติเพชร')

Modern Muay Thai & Entertainment Muay Thai --
Modern Muay Thai --
Rajadamnern World Series (RWS) (YouTube Link)
ONE Championship (YouTube Link)
MTGP (YouTube Link)
KNOCK OUT** (YouTube Link)

Entertainment Muay Thai --
Thai Fight (YouTube Link)
LWC Super Champ (YouTube Link)

* = Promotions that sometimes have world class talent, but are mostly filled with regional or intercontinental level fighters
** = KNOCK OUT Red is Muay Thai, KNOCK OUT Black is Kickboxing
*** = Shoot Boxing technically isn't Kickboxing or Muay Thai, but it is really cool and has a lot of crossover with Kickboxing fighters


If there is anything I missed, please let me know and I will get it added here!

Wow thats an awesome breakdown of information, this is great ....
.
Thank you for this

 

[Mickf]

It feels like a tricky line to walk in terms of what to call it. Originally, I had all of them blanketed under 'Entertainment Muay Thai', but I have since altered it to 'Modern Muay Thai & Entertainment Muay Thai' after reading the comment from @Tayski. I feel like the tricky thing with ONE is that they are dishonest on pretty much every level, to the point where assessing what exactly they are trying to accomplish with their product is pretty difficult. Is it for entertainment? Yes. Are they posturing themselves as the premiere Muay Thai organization with all of the top talent? Also yes. Is their matchmaking completely nonsensical? Mostly yes, but sometimes it is great. Their promotional material is just off-brand UFC stuff, which makes things that much more convoluted.

On the other hand, I feel like something like Thai Fight is classic Entertainment Muay Thai. It's all lopsided Thai vs farang matchups, it's got the kard chuek aesthetic to make it look "hardcore", etc. RWS and Thai Fight seem to be firmly on opposite ends of this new era of Muay Thai, and ONE can kinda fluctuate between where it is based on the matchup. At least that's how it looks to me

I would call thai fight. zenophobic muay thai since its main purpose is to prove Thai's are beter at muay thai. Bizarre match ups / some foreigners who look like they have barely thrown a punch in their lives / what look like some dives.
Im a fan of One but its a bit all over the place. Also shows some favourtism to foreigners at times. With weights / easier access to contracts / shorter win streaks to title fights.
RWS although not traditional has some great fights and matchups. Also some weight/ size disadvantages to Thais at times.

 

[Crash Lance]

This thread is epic. Excellent work, Monte Moku.