Muay Thai doesn't pay the bills

Muay Thai doesn't pay the bills is a phrase 99% of the Muay Thai fighters in the United States will tell you is true. Muay Thai, a sport that world wide has a huge following, has only a niche market in the United States. In the states it is all bout MMA, that is the money maker. Why is it that you can make a living off of MMA and not Muay Thai? Why is it that many fighters who love Muay Thai have to try their hand at MMA so that they can pay the bills?

MMA is the money maker here in the United States because of how it is promoted, it wasn't too long ago that MMA was seen as a savage sport, that had no place on television, now CBS plays host to MMA a couple of times a year, and on a monthly basis millions of people pay $50 to watch in on pay per view. How is it that MMA which at times looks like just a street brawl with rules is so popular, but a sport that is filled with tradition such as Muay Thai, and takes great amounts of technique is not popular?


The answer to that question has two parts. The first part is that Americans for the most part do not care about tradition when watching combat sports, they want to see two guys get in a ring, or cage and beat the hell out of each other. The tradition that is part of Muay Thai such as the Wai Khru is something that most Americans who do not follow Muay Thai don't care about seeing.

When attending some Muay Thai fights with friends that don't follow the sport, the only thing that kept coming up was "Why do they have to keep doing that dancing thing?", explaining to them that it was tradition didn't mean much, there response was "Were here to watch fights, get the fight going". These are people that are used to going to MMA fights, and watching fighters walk into the ring run around it a couple of times and then start fighting.

The second part of the answer and probably the biggest factor involves the way Muay Thai is promoted here in the United States. For the most part, most events are put together horribly. You show up to an event that is supposed to start at 6 PM and it doesn't start until 8 or 9 PM, many times amateurs are mixed in with the pros, which is great to get the amateurs exposure but it confuses the fans that don't follow the sport, although that amount is normally very small. Many times the amateurs don't wear any protective gear at all, they wonder why some fights allow elbows and others don't. It shouldn't have to be billed as full rules Muay Thai, it should just be Muay Thai or if not all the rules are in place then call it kickboxing or something else because then it isn't Muay Thai. In general amateurs should be on strictly amateur shows, but the promoters bring them on because they can fill a fight card and only pay 6 fighters for fighting pro. Everyone wins right? You get 9 fights, 6 amateur and 3 pro, but that doesn't work because then you see so many different faces it's hard for fighters to establish there name aside from the fact that the rules are different.

At almost every Muay Thai show you attend over 90% of the audience is there because they are supporting a fighter, you rarely see just casual fans or someone who is there to check out a new sport. There is basically no promoting that goes on, the news about Muay Thai events is pretty much spread through word of mouth. To get the sport growing here in the United States you need you bring in new fans, and that is not happening. Muay Thai is simply seen as a part of MMA by most. Get on the radio to promote, maybe even a TV commercial, or a billboard.

People also like to embrace their country, in many shows you see fighters form the United States, but not always the best ones. Why aren't fighters like  Kevin Ross, Romie Adanza, Chaz Mulkey, Shawn Yarborough, and Michael Mananquil on every card held here in the United States? You see too many different faces all the time, mainly because the promoters are trying to just bring in young fighters so that they don't have to pay them too much. Yeah that saves the promoter some money, but you don't build recognizable faces. Those names should by synonymous with American Muay Thai, but they are only fighting a couple of times a year, not because they don't want to fight but because they aren't being paid enough to fight most of the time or let alone being offered to fight, another way promoters are trying to cut corners, by not dealing with signing the best to fight so that they can save some money. Another problem is you rarely see Muay Thai on TV and when you do it looks like the fights are from the 1980's, the fighters and the sport  don't get the exposure they need. A lot of these promoters hire camera crews for many of these Muay Thai events, but you never see the fights. They need to be put on a DVD, or on YouTube at least so the talents of these fighters don't go unseen.

WBC Muay Thai heavyweight champion Shane Del Rosario has not defended is title in over two years. Why? Well when asked about it he said "Muay Thai doesn't pay the bills." He is instead fighting for MMA promotion Strikeforce, Del Rosario is now getting, exposure as a fighter, and a lot more money.

It's a shame that fighters are being forced to stray away from the sport they love so that they can earn a living. You can argue that the promoters simply aren't making enough money and it isn't their fault, but it is their fault. They are more concerned with making a quick buck rather than establishing a brand which is what is needed. Promoters, establish your promotion as a brand so that it is recognized, it's what the UFC did for MMA they established the UFC as a brand and now everyone knows about MMA. If anything the promoters are diminishing their profits, by cutting so many corners and looking for that quick buck.

Who are going to be the individuals that step up an help make these changes to bring Muay Thai to the forefront? While that question still doesn't have an answer the current fans of Muay Thai can help. Let promoters know that you want to see the best fighters, bring friends to watch the events and spread the word to those you can, because until changes are made were going to continue to hear "Muay Thai doesn't pay the bills."