In terms of the actual fights - did MT in Thailand really decline?

[TonyK]

There's an ongoing tradition (of which I was a part of for a long time) of romanticizing the "Golden Era" and finding reasons to barely watch any new MT, but I actually think that from a pure technical standpoint, we have today (or at least had in recent years) fighters that show better skills and conditioning that 80% of the fighters in the late 80's-early 90s. I get that the purses are probably not the same and not everything gambling did to the sport is positive, but good god, a fight like (I'm just throwing a random example out there) Palangpon vs Rungnarai is amazing to watch regardless of era.

 

[Cocakillbana]

Yeah, I don't think the ability is all too different. The way in which the fights play out often are, but that doesn't mean the capabilities have dropped off the edge like a lot of people think.

The current thing is never as good as it used to be. That's how sports, generations of people, music, movies, etc... are looked at a lot of the time.

 

[Snubnoze707]

Just seemed to be more constant aggression back then, but skill wise not different IMO.

 

[DastardlyMass]

I think in terms of ability the very top guys probably are now. But outside of the very few greats of today I do not think the next step down of fighter could compete with the 2nd tier golden era guys. It is probably more a function of the depth then anything else thou

 

[anorak]

depth of competition a lot lower nowadays than what it was, many fighters in many divisions now struggle to find viable opponents, wouldn't have been the case back then and as mentioned, there a lot of fighters competing on the midweek shows that wouldn't have been able to back then. Think maybe back in the day fighters had a little more variety to there game, not so many out and out power clinchers. The fights also tended to start a bit quicker and you didn't have anywhere near as much of the waiting to the 4th round to get going style as you do nowadays.

 

[Jeffie]

that's a shame

 

[TonyK]

depth of competition a lot lower nowadays than what it was, many fighters in many divisions now struggle to find viable opponents, wouldn't have been the case back then and as mentioned, there a lot of fighters competing on the midweek shows that wouldn't have been able to back then. Think maybe back in the day fighters had a little more variety to there game, not so many out and out power clinchers. The fights also tended to start a bit quicker and you didn't have anywhere near as much of the waiting to the 4th round to get going style as you do nowadays.

Who knows better than you, that considering the sheer size/scale of this sport, you're bound to have great fights here an there in any era If you'd take 5 random fights from 2010-2016 and 5 random fights from 1987-1994, chances are that the 80-90s ones will have a faster pace, though.

But what I did notice, clinchers today seem a bit more well rounded, guys like Lamnamoon and Panomtuanlek sometimes tended to struggle badly when they couldn't force their game on the fight, more than Petboonchu or Saen.

 

[AbeRudder]

It seems that guys were more willing to throw hands back then. There seems to be a lot more hand fighting and clinching these days. Am I bsing or is there truth to that?

 

[TonyK]

It seems that guys were more willing to throw hands back then. There seems to be a lot more hand fighting and clinching these days. Am I bsing or is there truth to that?

This is not something that can be supported by facts...

 

[Jeffie]

i agree, it has declined

 

[facePuncher7]

I saw Saiyok running in Lumpini park at midday on a saturday, by himself. He didnt seem to be noticed by anyone but me.

I think in the golden age he would have been swamped by fans and/or photographers.

 

[manlyseaeagle]

Someone told me Thai's are mostly into Soccer these days ?

 

[Jeffie]

Someone told me Thai's are mostly into Soccer these days ?

yes but they are not as good at it like muay thai. nowadays they prefer a sport they are shitty at

 

[Vinzr]

Someone told me Thai's are mostly into Soccer these days ?

They are in love with it. Go to a gym in Thailand and you'll see them training in football jerseys and throughout the day in between sessions they'll be kicking a football around.

 

[kakutogi boom bap]

yeah, I think the same thing can be said for MMA. it was more aggressive and more "kill or be killed" mentality as oppose to "looking pretty" and playing points.

 

[insomniacl]

This is not something that can be supported by facts...

Sure you can, you analyze N number of fights from both eras, and do the math on the punch count. That tells you whether or not dudes punched more or less often.

 

[manlyseaeagle]

They are in love with it. Go to a gym in Thailand and you'll see them training in football jerseys and throughout the day in between sessions they'll be kicking a football around.

Sad to hear maybe MMA can feel in the void if MT is in decline.