Why no fighters from Thailand in MMA?

[Luckyme]

It occurred to me today that Thailand isn't very well represented in MMA. Heck, I don't think I've ever seen a fighter based out of Bangkok.

That's surprising considering how important Muay Thai is in MMA and the large number of MMA fighters who train in Thailand.

You would think some professional Muay Thai fighters, with their excellent standup, would have crossed over into MMA by now yet Thailand hardly produces any talent. Tiny Dagestan with a fraction of Thailand's population (2.9m to 69m) has a bigger MMA footprint. Is this due to lack of popularity of MMA in Thailand or some other reason?

 

[Hellowhosthat]

There's Loma Lookboonmee in the UFC and Stamp Fairtex has moved over in ONE.

I think overall it's just such a muay Thai culture that it's hard to get past.

 

[Finding Deebo]

They're sprawl training for the next 5 years before they cross over and take all the belts....Hope you enjoyed it...

 

[MikeyB]

Aren't muy thai fighters considered washed up at 22? It seems like a meat grinder there for the most part.

 

[Hellowhosthat]

Aren't muy thai fighters considered washed up at 22? It seems like a meat grinder there for the most part.

Yeah they turn pro when they're basically kids in most cases.

 

[Arnold Palmer]

real question is why did Cyborg hide in Thailand when USADA came knocking ?

i think there is two fighters 1 male 1 female



maybe they soft like a ball of sticky rice

 

[Slatersan]

Wrestling and jits isnt even remotely popular there aside from the popular mma tourist gyms. Even at those places the Thais stick to teaching muay thai. There are a few that are starting to but it is still such a new thing to them. Its also hard to tell someone that has 300 muay thai fights that they need to learn jitz on the ground for the next ten years after they have been fighting since they were a kid.

Source: I am a former tourist at tiger muay thai for three months.

 

[Deleted member 512089]

There's already a lot of money in Muay thai here. Gambling on Muay thai fights is freaking huge in thailand, even on kids fights. They don't really need to go mma to earn a living. Plus they're nakmuay since 6 years old, lots of habits to unlearn and new things to learn to gain maybe marginally more money. Not worth it for them

 

[Luckyme]

Wrestling and jits isnt even remotely popular there aside from the popular mma tourist gyms. Even at those places the Thais stick to teaching muay thai. There are a few that are starting to but it is still such a new thing to them. Its also hard to tell someone that has 300 muay thai fights that they need to learn jitz on the ground for the next ten years after they have been fighting since they were a kid.

Source: I am a former tourist at tiger muay thai for three months.

Thanks for the 1st hand perspective. Would think the better pay in MMA would lure Thai fighters (similar to kickboxing) but I guess the situation there is similar to China where certain TMAs are an integral part of the culture.

 

[Memeojima]

They're too elite at striking to go into a boring grapplers sport where people hump legs to win. They go into kickboxing or boxing at the most.

 

[Sticko]

Someone said a while back that Muay Thai is not actually all that popular in Thailand, it's kind of a niche sport I guess? And maybe MMA is even less popular?

Plus any Thai MMA fighters would be more likely to pursue a career in ONE than in an American promotion. ONE does have several MMA fighters from Thailand but from what I understand ONE also puts on MT and kickboxing fights, not just MMA, so perhaps there's not the same incentive to cross over?

 

[Reign009]

This question gets asked a lot and it's because Muay Thai is EVERYTHING in their culture and MMA is nothing.

 

[Guy LeDouche]

Aren't muy thai fighters considered washed up at 22? It seems like a meat grinder there for the most part.

This is a huge factor. They start these kids from basically when they can walk and start destroying their bodies. By the time they get to their supposed competitive potential they are already breaking down physically. And then you have be successful, that is if you even make it to the upper echelons of Muay Thai to where anyone even knows your name.....and again that in itself is very slim.

Plus....grappling is a huge factor, most pure Muay Thai proficient kickboxers tend to not have any semblance of grappling. MMA is just not as big

 

[Sticko]

Thanks for the 1st hand perspective. Would think the better pay in MMA would lure Thai fighters (similar to kickboxing) but I guess the situation there is similar to China where certain TMAs are an integral part of the culture.

Does MMA actually pay better tho

 

[europe1]

Someone said a while back that Muay Thai is not actually all that popular in Thailand, it's kind of a niche sport I guess? And maybe MMA is even less popular?

I suspect that it's more that Muay Thai is considered "low-class". It's a sport centered around violence and gambling. Not really a sport for families or citizens of good social standing.

 

[Luckyme]

I suspect that it's more that Muay Thai is considered "low-class". It's a sport centered around violence and gambling. Not really a sport for families or citizens of good social standing.

I've heard that too. Tae Kwon Do is supposedly more popular than Muay Thai with the more educated population in Thailand.

 

[Dreyga Hates You Sherbums]

It occurred to me today that Thailand isn't very well represented in MMA. Heck, I don't think I've ever seen a fighter based out of Bangkok.

That's surprising considering how important Muay Thai is in MMA and the large number of MMA fighters who train in Thailand.

You would think some professional Muay Thai fighters, with their excellent standup, would have crossed over into MMA by now yet Thailand hardly produces any talent. Tiny Dagestan with a fraction of Thailand's population (2.9m to 69m) has a bigger MMA footprint. Is this due to lack of popularity of MMA in Thailand or some other reason?

The amount of fighters the UFC have from various regions/countries is directly related to the value that specific market contributes to the UFC’s bottom line.

For example, the United States is the number one source revenue dollars for the UFC and because of this it is UFC policy that 50% of the roster is made up of American fighters at all times.

Brazil is the second biggest region when it comes to MMA spending as such there are 88 Brazilian UFC fighters in the roster.

Behind Brazil, are Canada, the UK, and then Russia which have roughly 20 fighters on the roster.

The UFC is trying to expand into the Chinese market. So expect more Chinese fighters to find their way on the roster. The company plans to have a quota 75 Chinese in the coming years.

Thailand on the other hand doesn’t generate massive money for the UFC so they don’t have a lot of Thai fighters in the roster.

 

[Better Every Day]

I expect that there would be more female Muay Thai fighters from Thailand reaching the UFC if the UFC had an atomweight division. Loma Lookboonmee, who fights as a strawweight in the UFC, should be fighting at atomweight instead. But, in order to be in the UFC, she has to fight bigger women than is ideal for her. If she were able to become a UFC atomweight champion, with the money that would come with that, I expect that kind of prize money would lure a lot of Thai female Muay Thai fighters.

 

[NikLuk]

Does MMA actually pay better tho

According to this link it does.

“Muay Thai fighters make around 10,000 to 15,000 baht which is about $300 – 450 per fight. The top fighters make up to 60,000 baht that is around $4000. Fighters of the lower rank make even less which is around $100 per fight.”

https://wayofmartialarts.com/how-much-do-muay-thai-fighters-make/

 

[FIGHTING TALK]

Bare in mind that many pro thai fighters fight every week.
If they only fight twice in a month then they risk being sent back home, where they make nothing.