The 10 greatest Muay Thai legends of all time

Watch TOP Mauy Thai Fighters gets up after getting knocked unconscious

Samart Payakaroon has a well deserved reputation for being the greatest Muay Thai fighter of all time. He won his first Lumpinee titles fighting at minimumweight (105 lbs) in 1980 and would go on to win Lumpinee titles as a light flyweight (108 lbs), super flyweight (115 lbs) and featherweight (126 lbs).

Samart won Sports Writers Fighter of the Year, the most prestigious of all the annual Muay Thai awards, in 1981, 1983 and 1988. He made his name fighting for the famous Sityodtong camp and was also a star in Western boxing, winning the WBC super bantamweight (122 lbs) title in 1986.

Samart was the master of the ‘teep’ or push kick and threw it with such speed and accuracy that his foot inevitably connected with opponents midsections, knocking them backwards and sometimes down. He retired with a Muay Thai record of 129-19-2 and a boxing record is 21-2.

Dieselnoi Chor Thanasukarn was another star of the 1980s which are regarded as being the golden era for Muay Thai. He won the Lumpinee lightweight (135 lbs) title in 1981 and held it until 1985, eventually decided to relinquish the belt and retire from the sport because there was no-one left for him to beat.

No Muay Thai fighter in history has ever used their knees to such devastating effect as Dieselnoi and standing at 6’2″ the combination of both his size and skillset made the man from Ayutthaya virtually unbeatable.

Whether or not Dieselnoi was the greatest Muay Thai fighter of all time is open to debate but he did beat Samart, in one of the biggest Muay Thai fights of all time and he retired from Muay Thai with a record of 110-10-2.

Saenchai Sor Kingstar is still going strong at the age of 34 although he tends to fight primarily against non-Thai opponents these days. He won his first Lumpinee title at the age of 15 as a super flyweight (115 lbs) and went on to win Lumpinee titles at bantamweight (118 lbs), super featherweight (130 lbs) and lightweight (135 lbs).

Saenchai was named Sports Writers Fighter of the Year in 1999 and 2008 which is testament to his incredible longevity, he was at the pinnacle of the sport for more than a decade. So superior was Saenchai to other fighters that in 2009 he was asked to fight two opponents in a single fight, beating both Sagetdao Petpayathai and Petchboonchu F.A.Group over the course of five rounds.

Saenchai is known for his flamboyant fighting style and his cartwheel kicks are particularly popular with foreign promoters making him one of the most in demand Muay Thai stars. He’s won numerous tournaments and titles and his record currently stands at 285-52-2 while he is 5-0 as a professional boxer.

Namsaknoi Yudthagarngamtorn is known as ‘The Emperor’ and he conquered all comers during a career that saw him win titles in multiple divisions and hold the Lumpinee lightweight (135 lbs) belt for nearly half a decade.

Namsaknoi also held Lumpinee titles at super flyweight (115 lbs) and super bantamweight (122 lbs) and was named Sports Writer’s Fighter of the Year in 1996. He was also known for his Wai Kru and won awards for this in both 2001 and 2006. His record of 285-15 is the best of any Muay Thai fighter in history.

Orono beat fighters like Saenchai Sor Kingstar, Yodsaenklai Fairtex and Buakaw Por Pramuk during a career that saw him win the Lumpinee super featherweight (130 lbs) title and Thailand titles at both featherweight (126 lbs) and super featherweight. He also won titles with international organizations like the WMC, WPMF and It’s Showtime. His record is 120-36-3.