Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu specialists like Royce Gracie dominated the early days of mixed martial arts, but it didn’t take long for strikers to figure out how to defend against takedowns and force these grapplers to stand with them.
The success of the first generation of sprawl-and-brawlers led to an influx of strikers from various backgrounds, such as boxing, Dutch kickboxing, Karate, and Muay Thai, into mixed martial arts. MMA provided a platform for all these strikers to test their skills against one another, and Muay Thai emerged as the most effective striking-based martial art.
Muay Thai’s Influence On Global Mixed Martial Arts: A Knockout Combination
While Muay Thai fighters often grin when the effectiveness of their style in MMA is brought up, the truth is its rules share some similarities with the rules of mixed martial arts, which gives fighters trained in it an edge in MMA.
Muay Thai allows punches, kicks, knees, elbows, clinch throws, leg catches, and trips, all legal techniques in MMA. Meanwhile, other striking-based combat sports, like boxing, only allow for the use of punches. It’s easy to see why Muay Thai fighters have often dominated strikers from other styles in mixed martial arts since MMA allows them to use most of the techniques they train. The only new things Muay Thai fighters must learn when transitioning to MMA are takedown defense and ground fighting. Strikers from other styles have to learn a lot more than that.
Anderson Silva‘s two fights for the UFC’s middleweight title are an excellent example of how far ahead Muay Thai fighters are compared to other strikers.
Muay Thai was developed in the 13th century for warfare, so it’s designed to be a no-nonsense fighting system that teaches how to incapacitate foes with one or two strikes. Many techniques used in Muay Thai, like flying knees, are designed to leave your adversary unable to continue fighting.
Anderson Silva’s title reign highlights the dominance of Muay Thai in mixed martial arts. Since then, it’s almost become standard for all mixed martial artists to train in the art of eight limbs as it emerged as the only striking-based combat style that prepares fighters for all the striking threats they face inside the cage. As the popularity of MMA has increased, so has the popularity of Muay Thai.
The Striking Revolution
Some of the ways Muay Thai has had a global impact on mixed martial arts include:
1) Mixing Up Punches And Kicks
Muay Thai fighters are adept at mixing up punching and kicking techniques. Many combinations used in modern MMA, like the jab–cross–roundhouse combo, have been used in Muay Thai for centuries.
2) Elbows
Elbows are one of the weapons used in Muay Thai and have become standard in mixed martial arts. Elbows are typically used in Muay Thai to slice opponents open but can also lead to knockout blows. Elbows are compact, stealthy weapons that have been proven highly effective inside the cage.
3) Knees
Knees are another technique brought over into mixed martial arts from Muay Thai. These strikes have led to some of the most impressive finishes in mixed martial arts history, like the flying knee that ONE Championship flyweight champion Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson used to avenge his loss to Adriano Moraes during their second fight.
One cool thing about knees that makes these strikes so effective is how much power you can generate by running at your opponent and lunging at them with your knee aimed at their head or torso.
A solid argument can be made about knees being even more effective in mixed martial arts because of the use of takedowns. Fighters have to lower their heads when shooting in for takedowns, leaving them vulnerable to knees. Ben Askren learned that lesson the hard way when he squared off against Jorge Masvidal.
4) Shin Kicks
Modern MMA fighters tend to favor the mechanics of a Muay Thai kick over how kicks are thrown in traditional martial arts. Styles like Karate teach students to throw their kicks in a whipping manner and make contact with their feet. Doing so leads to a faster kick but reduces the force it lands with.
Muay Thai, on the other hand, teaches students to make contact with their shins, which happens to be the hardest part of the leg. They are also taught to follow through on their kicks as if trying to slice through their opponents. This leads to a slower but more powerful kick. Muay Thai’s kicking style is so powerful that fighters often spin 360 degrees when they miss their target.
5) Thai Plum (Clinch)
The effectiveness of Silva’s Thai plum led to many MMA fighters adding it to their training. Most modern mixed martial artists today have a thorough understanding of the position. Today, the Thai plum is almost as commonly used in MMA as it is in Muay Thai, thanks to how dominant the position can be if you know what you’re doing.
You can elbow, knee, punch, throw, and trip opponents from the Muay Thai plum, making it one of the most advantageous striking positions you can secure. Some MMA fighters have also mastered shooting for takedowns from the Thai plum.
6) Calf/Low Kicks
Kicks aimed at the calves or thighs weren’t that popular during the early days of mixed martial arts, but low kicks are now one of the most used techniques in MMA because of how effective they can be. It only takes one or two hard shots to the legs to drastically hinder an opponent’s ability to put weight on their leg or move around the cage freely.
It’s also an effective way to reduce a wrestler‘s ability to shoot in for takedowns since they have to put weight on their legs when going for them.
Muay Thai’s Impact On Global MMA Is Undeniable
Muay Thai has heavily influenced the techniques used in mixed martial arts, and you’ll need to understand its fundamentals if you plan to compete. Thanks to MMA, accessing Muay Thai classes has never been easier as gyms pop up everywhere. Today’s best mixed martial artists are also highly skilled Muay Thai fighters.
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