The Greatest Muay Thai Fighters of All Time

A short history of Muay Thai

Muay Thai grew out of older Siamese bare-hand fighting known simply as muay, and Thai royal chronicles record kings and soldiers who boxed. Thailand marks March 17 as Muay Thai Day in honour of Nai Khanom Tom, a war captive said to have beaten a string of Burmese fighters after 1767, although scholars suggest the story owes more to 20th-century nation-building than to documented fact. The art flourished under King Chulalongkorn (Rama V), who came to the throne in 1868 and staged tournaments across the country.

The modern ring sport took shape in the early 20th century. British boxing entered the curriculum of Suan Kulap College in 1913, the first permanent ring in Siam was built there in 1921, and a three-rope ring with padded corners followed at Suan Sanuk Stadium in 1923. Under King Rama VII (1925–1935) the rules were codified, referees were introduced and rounds were timed. After a death in the ring, fighters also swapped their hardened rope bindings for gloves.

Two national stadiums became the centre of the sport. Rajadamnern Stadium staged its first bouts on 23 December 1945, and Lumpinee Stadium, run by the Royal Thai Army, opened on 8 December 1956; their championship belts carry the most prestige in Muay Thai. Both venues were long closed to women: Lumpinee held its first female fight card in November 2021, and Rajadamnern staged its first women's bouts in July 2022.

International growth came through the amateur federation IFMA, founded in the early 1990s, which adopted the one-word spelling "Muaythai" to satisfy international sport rules on country names. The International Olympic Committee gave the sport provisional recognition in 2016, it made its World Games debut in 2017, and it received full IOC recognition in 2021. Muay Thai is not on the Olympic program, but it now sits inside the Olympic movement alongside Thailand's professional stadium circuit.

• ✦Fighters strike with fists, elbows, knees, shins and feet, and may use sweeps and the clinch.
• ✦Clinches are not broken up quickly as in boxing; much of the knee and elbow work happens there.
• ✦Bouts are won by knockout, technical knockout or on points if the fight goes the distance.
• ✦Under IFMA amateur rules a strike scores only if it lands clean, not on the opponent's glove, forearm, shin or foot.
• ✦Before the bout, fighters perform the wai kru ritual, often wearing the mongkol headband presented by their trainer.