The Evolution of Muay Thai | Thailand, Japan, Holland and Brazil

In 2014, the excellent sports writers Conor Ruebusch and Fraser Coffeen set out to break down Muay Thai. Their aim was to look at Muay Thai and how it has developed in different nations to develop slightly different styles. A great idea, so what was the issue? Well, for a start, they never actually finished
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UFC 264: McGregor vs Poirier III | Pre-Fight Breakdown

Conor McGregor’s record is fascinating. On paper he’s beaten Eddie Alvarez, Donald Cerrone, Jose Aldo, Max Holloway and yes, Dustin Poirier. In practise, however it seems that McGregor has fallen into the unfortunate trap that so many fighters fall into; while he has good names on his record, he appears to have fought those names
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Nate Diaz and ‘Mind Games’

UFC 263 saw new champions crowned, old champions defend, and Leon Edwards somehow lose stock with a win. Nate Diaz is a tough fighter to knock out, because generally speaking it is hard to knock out a fighter who spends 60% of a round twelve feet away from you doing the Genesis dance: Nate Diaz
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Tony Ferguson’s Wild and Wonderful Muay Thai

Tony Ferguson vs Justin Gaethje was one of those fights. A fight like Tito Trinidad vs Fernando Vargas, or Rafael Dos Anjos vs Anthony Pettis where the loser is clearly never the same fighter again. The sad truth is that combat sports are dangerous, and while no one really wants it to happen, some fighters
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A Tribute to Sangtiennoi

Unfortunately, last Sunday, 16th May 2020, we lost a legend in the Muay Thai world. Sangtiennoi Sor. Rungroj sadly took his own life age 54. A legend from Muay Thai’s ‘Golden Age’, Sangtiennoi fought a who’s who of Muay Thai greats. From Muay Thai legends such as Samkor Kiatmontip, Sakmongkol, Nokweed Devy and Namkabuan, who
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Resistance Bands for Fighters, Part 2: Pull

Last time, we gave an introduction to resistance bands as an easy way to get into resistance training and do a wide array of exercises without having to worry about weight lifting. Resistance bands are such a useful tool for combat athletes, but they’re often used in rather silly ways, rather than ways that will
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Resistance Bands for Fighters, Part 1: Push

Why use bands? Resistance bands are an easy way to get into resistance training and do a wide array of exercises with minimal equipment, and importantly weight. While you can’t very easily carry around a bag of dumbbells, nothing stops you from carrying a bag of resistance bands around with you when you go on
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Vegan and Vegetarian Nutrition for Muay Thai/MMA

Last time we talked about nutrition for fighters. In that article we gave a general view of nutrition that works for most people – however if you’re a vegetarian or vegan, there are other things you need to consider. While it’s certainly possible to live off a vegan diet, and be a fighter, supplementation is
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Top 5 Muay Thai Myths

Muay Thai in the West is an interesting beast. Despite being the national sport of Thailand, it’s actually very easy to spend years training Muay Thai in the West and never having the joy of training with or learning from boxers from Thailand. Muay Thai in the Europe and the US is also notable in
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Manga, Karate, MMA: An Interview with Tarec Saffiedine

Editor’s note: This was an interview that I conducted on my own (24/11/2017) and have sold to other websites in the past. It is not only readable at Diesel Gym London’s website, and will remain so for the foreseeable future. This was conducted after what is currently Tarec’s last fight as a professional. Tarec Saffiedine
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