Interesting American style kickboxing vs muay thai fight from 1988

[I'm Shawn Spencer]

Usually I wouldn't post a vid like this here, but I found this really interesting as one of the building blocks in pre-NHB era martial arts, that went toward forming the modern mma we all know. Plus it looked like a barn burner of a fight.

In 1988 Rick Roufus (brother of Duke) was an undefeated American style kickboxer (28-0). He fought a thai boxer to prove they couldn't compete against somebody like him in the ring. And the thai boxer had limited techniques he could use, like no elbows and no clinch work....although they did allow low kicks for this fight.


This video was pretty well done. But I'll try to find the full fight because I really wanna see it now!

Anyway, thought you guys might find this interesting too, if you've never seen it before.












Full fight, courtesy of @scottjoebob

 

[SteveColdStone]

I remember watching this a few years ago. Goes to show important low kicks are and how they can wreck anybody’s world who doesn’t know how to defend against them.

 

[I'm Shawn Spencer]

Also, this fight HAD to be the basis for the Van Damme Kickboxer movie, right?

The fight happened in 88, and Kickboxer came out in 89.

 

[DatSamboKid]

Yes and the incredible thing is that Kiatsongrit wasn’t allowed to clinch or throw knees and elbows.

 

[Deleted member 512089]

Saw this around ten years ago or more.

I'm asking myself if it was a turning point for Muay Thai to explode in popularity internationally ? Anyone has expertise in the subject ? Maybe ask some guys from the standup forum

 

[KillerIsBack V2]

Usually I wouldn't post a vid like this here, but I found this really interesting as one of the building blocks in pre-NHB era martial arts, that went toward forming the modern mma we all know. Plus it looked like a barn burner of a fight.

In 1988 Rick Roufus (brother of Duke) was an undefeated American style kickboxer (28-0). He fought a thai boxer to prove they couldn't compete against somebody like him in the ring. And the thai boxer had limited techniques he could use, like no elbows and no clinch work....although they did allow low kicks for this fight.


This video was pretty well done. But I'll try to find the full fight because I really wanna see it now!

Anyway, thought you guys might find this interesting too, if you've never seen it before.

Ban.
reported.
This isn't UFC, Pride, or strike force, or wec related in any way shape or form.
Attention whore.

 

[Iron Nick]

Interesting video and fight, reminds me of this one:

 

[DatSamboKid]

Saw this around ten years ago or more.

I'm asking myself if it was a turning point for Muay Thai to explode in popularity internationally ? Anyone has expertise in the subject ? Maybe ask some guys from the standup forum

It totally did. Prior to MMA, martial arts was a very debated subject. In the west, Kickboxing and Karate were mostly regarded as the best stand-up martial arts. This fight and a couple others is what put Muay Thai on the map.
Rick Rufus was no joke, he was a very talented kickboxer. The way Kiatsongrit neutralized him with one attack (right low kick) shocked a lot of kickboxing / karate fans. It shook up the martial arts world.
In hindsight, this fight was like if an Aikido master flew in to America and started making Olympic American wrestlers do backflips.

 

[eiyuu]

Been posted before, but still always worth watching.

Especially for Duke Roufus' whining about the leg kicks afterwards, only to adopt that style of kickboxing later!

 

[bigconan]

Yes and the incredible thing is that Kiatsongrit wasn’t allowed to clinch and throw knees or elbows.

knees are huge in muay tai...that's taking away one of their huge weapons of choice.

 

[Slatersan]

Not sure why but Duke Roufus rubs me the wrong way. Him and his brother seem like the douchey american martial artists in 80s martial art movies.

 

[Uber_Noober]

I never heard of Duke until the UFC era, I watched Rick fight a lot back in the day. He had a long run.

 

[scottjoebob]

Usually I wouldn't post a vid like this here, but I found this really interesting as one of the building blocks in pre-NHB era martial arts, that went toward forming the modern mma we all know. Plus it looked like a barn burner of a fight.

In 1988 Rick Roufus (brother of Duke) was an undefeated American style kickboxer (28-0). He fought a thai boxer to prove they couldn't compete against somebody like him in the ring. And the thai boxer had limited techniques he could use, like no elbows and no clinch work....although they did allow low kicks for this fight.


This video was pretty well done. But I'll try to find the full fight because I really wanna see it now!

Anyway, thought you guys might find this interesting too, if you've never seen it before.

 

[I'm Shawn Spencer]

Right on! Thanks man

 

[DatSamboKid]

knees are huge in muay tai...that's taking away one of their huge weapons of choice.

Muay Thai has 5 main weapons:
-Punches
-Kicks
-Knees
-Elbows
-Clinching

Kiatsongrit beat one of the goat American kickboxers with 2/5 of his weapons.

This is what happens when you don’t eliminate 3 of the 5 weapons:

 

[Medulla Omoplata]

Awesome video, thanks.

Highlights the flaw of styles arbitrarily deciding to avoid entire move sets.

 

[greenseeker]

If you set up a fight with someone from another discipline to prove whose style is the best, and the first thing you do is tell them they can't use a bunch of the techniques their style is known for, then you've already admitted whose style is best.

 

[mikesparrow]

Saw this around ten years ago or more.

I'm asking myself if it was a turning point for Muay Thai to explode in popularity internationally ? Anyone has expertise in the subject ? Maybe ask some guys from the standup forum

Yes. This is also a fight named as a "Fight that changed the history". There are similar fights that are harder and harder to find where is a world champion Kiokhushin karate master totaly destroyed by a thai fighters low kicks alone. Comparison fights between kickboxers and MT are always very limited and takes out many arsenal of weapons from the MT fighter (mostly elbows, clinch and repeated knee strikes - see K1 for example).

 

[SandisLL]

There are similar fights that are harder and harder to find where is a world champion Kiokhushin karate master totaly destroyed by a thai fighters low kicks alone.

Interestingly.
TMAs almost always does have low kicks and even dirty stuff too.
KK too, BTW.
If some entertainment artist had been destroyed, I doesn't matters that even more modern KK doesn't knows this.
---
Prizefighting is entertainement business, not real life.
America isn't only U.S= there.

 

[mortal]

Why the kick boxer was wearing footpads (or w.e. they're called)?