Tiger Muay Thai is a Thai mixed martial arts and muay thai training facility located in Phuket, Thailand. It has several prominent competitors such as UFC champions Petr Yan, Alexander Volkanovski and Valentina Shevchenko.
 | |
| Est. | 2003[1] |
|---|---|
| Primary trainers | Phet Chaimanee (Muay thai) Alex Schild (BJJ) Rafael Fiziev (Striking) Eric Uresk (MMA/Wrestling) Joseph Henle (MMA) |
| Prominent fighters | Roger Huerta Alexander Volkanovski[2] Rafael Fiziev Cyrus Washington[3] Dan Hooker[4] Loma Lookboonmee Dave Leduc Kai Kara-France Valentina Shevchenko Brad Riddell Shannon Wiratchai Mairbek Taisumov Khamzat Chimaev[5] Anissa Meksen[6] |
| Headquarters | Phuket, Thailand |
| Address | 7 35 Soi Ta-iad, Chalong |
| Location | Phuket, Thailand |
| Training facilities | Phuket, Thailand San Sai District, Chiang Mai, Thailand |
| Website | Tiger Muay Thai |
History
editWilliam McNamara – an American teaching English in Darasamuth Catholic School – had previously owned a gym in Phuket consisting of only one ring to serve his muay thai training purposes.[7][8] The gym gained popularity, so with the help of investors, he founded Tiger Muay Thai in remarkably larger premises in 2003.[7][8] Subsequently, mixed martial arts program was added to the repertoire by McNamara.[9]
Since 2013, the gym has been arranging annual Fight Team tryouts where the best applicants receive scholarships to mixed martial arts and muay thai programs.[10] Among the tryout winners are Kai Kara-France, Dan Hooker, Dave Leduc, Loma Lookboonmee and Casey O'Neill.[11]
In 2015, the gym was sold to Thai businessmen and one of them – Viwat Sakulrat – became the managing director of the gym.[7][9] It has continued to grow and is one of the world's most prominent muay thai gyms.[9]
In July 2021, MMA coaches George and Frank Hickman announced they were leaving the team after an amicable split.[12] In April 2022, they opened their own gym called Bangtao Muay Thai & MMA which trained UFC champions such as Alexander Volkanovski, Jiří Procházka and Zhang Weili.[13]
Gyms
editWhile the original Tiger Muay Thai in Chalong, Phuket remains the headquarters, they opened a new facility to San Sai District, Chiang Mai in 2013.[14]
In 2019, they opened Tiger Muay Thai Beachside in Chalong.[15]
In 2023, Tiger Muay Thai is set to open a new location in Bali, Indonesia.[16]
Notable fighters
edit- Anatoly Malykhin, Current ONE Middleweight, Light Heavyweight and Heavyweight World Champion
- Fabrício Andrade, Current ONE Bantamweight World Champion
- Petr Yan, a Former UFC Bantamweight Champion
- Tang Kai, Current ONE Featherweight World Champion
- Vitaly Bigdash, a Former ONE Middleweight World Champion
- Israel Adesanya, former two-time UFC Middleweight Champion
- Alexander Volkanovski, former UFC Featherweight Champion
- Valentina Shevchenko, current two-time UFC Women's Flyweight Champion
- Antonina Shevchenko
- Dan Hooker
- Rafael Fiziev
- Tai Tuivasa
- Arman Tsarukyan
- Loma Lookboonmee, the first Thai mixed martial artist in the UFC
- Shannon Wiratchai
- Roger Huerta
- Cyrus Washington
- Brad Riddell
- Kai Kara-France
- Timofey Nastyukhin
- Dave Leduc, a Canadian Lethwei fighter and a WLC Cruiserweight Champion
- Anissa Meksen, a French kickboxer and Former Glory Women's Super Bantamweight Champion
- Mairbek Taisumov
- Alexey Kunchenko
- Khamzat Chimaev
- Kairat Akhmetov, a Former ONE Flyweight World Champion
External links
editReferences
edit- ^ "Kru Phet - Tiger Muay Thai Trainer". Tiger Muay Thai. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
- ^ "Team TMT Fighter Alex Volkanovski gets his shot in the UFC". Tiger Muay Thai. Retrieved 2020-12-12.
- ^ "Penthouse Magazine runs article on Tiger Muay Thai's Cyrus Washington". Tiger Muay Thai. 12 October 2010.
- ^ "Congrats to the Figh Team Tryout 2016 winners & welcome to Tiger Muay Thai". Tiger Muay Thai. 9 April 2016.
- ^ "Huge Update on UFC Star Khamzat Chimaev's Training and 2023 Campaign". 25 January 2023.
- ^ "TMT Fighter Meksen Anissa just signed with ONE Championship!". 25 August 2020.
- ^ a b c "Tiger Muay Thai Review". muaythaicitizen.com. September 18, 2020.
- ^ a b "The History & Evolution of Tiger Muay Thai". Tiger Muay Thai.
- ^ a b c Frances Watthanaya (April 26, 2020). "Tiger Muay Thai's Rise From Humble Gym To Global Juggernaut". ONE Championship.
- ^ "Calling All Fighters! Apply for 2014 Fight Team Tryouts now!". Tiger Muay Thai. February 4, 2014.
- ^ "Congrats to the Fight Team Tryout 2016 winners & welcome to Tiger Muay Thai". Tiger Muaythai. 9 April 2016.
- ^ "George and Frank Hickman leave Tiger Muay Thai". asianmma.com. July 3, 2021.
- ^ "'Training in paradise': Bangtao MMA gym changing the game in Phuket". South China Morning Post. 2022-04-30. Retrieved 2022-10-09.
- ^ Wannakorn Moolkam (October 18, 2012). "Tiger Muay Thai – massive Muay Thai gym to open in Chiang Mai". chiangmaicitylife.com.
- ^ "Tiger Muay Thai Beachside, our beautiful 2nd Gym located next to Chalong Beach, is opening on the 1st of February 2019!". Tiger Muay Thai. January 9, 2019.
- ^ "Tiger Muay Thai to open new gym in Bali". Asian MMA. 2023-06-09. Retrieved 2023-10-26.