Fighting out of Las Vegas, Mulkey has carved his spot in American Muay Thai by taking on all challengers. Mulkey wasn't raised on Muay Thai, his path to it actually starting by chance. As unlikely as it sounds, a t-shirt plays a major role in Mulkey finding Muay Thai. He grew up in Texas, where one night he noticed a friend’s shirt, a Saekson Janjira Muay Thai shirt. Mulkey inquired about the shirt and then went to check the gym out. Muay Thai would come to play a pivotal roll in his life ever since. Currently the WBC Muay Thai middleweight international champion, Mulkey didn't start with the intentions of becoming a world class fighter, but now just a few days away from his first title defense against Simon Chu at Lion Fight Promotions "Battle in the Desert 4," that is exactly what he is.
"When I started I really didn’t know where I wanted to go with Muay Thai other than a workout and getting the chance to hit people. My intentions quickly changed as I picked up the techniques very fast. I knew I wanted to compete at some level."
Not long after starting his training, Mulkey made the move from Dallas, Texas to Las Vegas, Nevada. His family had relocated there and Mulkey followed. Two weeks later he had his first amateur fight. Saekson Janjira had set him up with Master Toddy and Mulkey quickly found a new home with others that had similar goals (Kevin Ross, Mark Beecher, Patti Teran). After his first fight, he knew he wanted to continue to compete and see how far he could go with Muay Thai.
"During the fight I was thinking, "this is what I was nervous about?" this is nothing and I’m better than this guy.....after the fight I immediately knew I wanted to fight as often as I could, and see how far I can run with this," said Mulkey. "I was also thinking I finally found something I like and am good at again, soccer being the last thing I was competitive at in high school."
How did Mulkey go from Soccer to Muay Thai? It wasn't an easy road, but long and painful. As a teenager he felt invincible, liked partying, and in his mind, getting in trouble wasn't possible. In a span of six years he was arrested 10 times, spent one year in prison, did drugs, drank a lot and survived a car accident. The end result was the broken heart of his mother and sister and the severed relationships with friends. For someone who was on the fast track to self destruction, Mulkey has completely changed his life around and he credits Muay Thai with helping to accomplish that. It's the perfect example of opportunity meeting preparation -- being prepared to make the changes he needed in his life, Muay Thai was an opportunity that presented it self and Mulkey took it.
"I think you can only be lucky for so long when it comes to breaking the law and doing things you shouldn’t, eventually you're going to get caught and get into trouble. That's what happened with me, I think all the bad shit that I kept doing eventually just caught up to me and my luck ran out. I just kept taking more and more risks and started getting into trouble every time." said Mulkey. "I had gotten so used to doing the wrong thing that in my mind I didn't think it was that wrong and it took me six long years, getting arrested probably 10 times, spending a year in prison, lots of drugs and alcohol, a car wreck, breaking my mother and sisters heart, losing good jobs, friendships, and who knows what else for me to change my way of thinking and want to focus on something positive. That thing turned out to be Muay Thai, it turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to me and gave me a new life."
Mulkey is happy with his life now and to him it has been a result of Muay Thai. A better life doesn't come without its difficulties, as it was mentioned before; Muay Thai is still in its infancy here in the United States. To be top level fighters out of the United States, let alone any other country, sacrifices have to be made. Mulkey works a 40-hour work week like anyone else, Tuesday thru Friday, working ten hours each day, 8pm to 6am. As much as he loves Muay Thai, he keeps his head pretty level. He realizes that despite loving the sport of Muay Thai, it is only his hobby. This means that he doesn't get to dedicate as much time as he would like and can only imagine if he was able to train full time and have Muay Thai as his only focus. Modest, Mulkey credits his success to being lucky.
"I work 40 hours a week Tues - Fri and its crazy hours between 8pm-6am....as much as I love Muay Thai I still have to remember that it is just my hobby, a very important hobby, but none the less I still have to make a living for my girl, my dogs, and myself. I just juggle it the best I can, which sucks because I don't get to put the time or energy into the sport that I need to," said Mulkey. "A lot of times I wonder how much better I could be if I could train full time instead of just a couple hours a day because I've gotta get ready for work. As far as training part time and competing at a high level, just lucky I guess."
The fact of the matter is right now it is difficult for a fighter to make a living fighting Muay Thai only. As with anything, there will be pioneers, fighters that helped break down the barriers and lead Muay Thai into a new era. They might not reap the benefits at the moment, but they are setting up the foundation so that fighters for years to come can. Mulkey doesn't think he will be fighting when the day comes that the Muay Thai fighter in North America can make a decent living solely from fighting Muay Thai. In the mean time his focus is on doing what he loves. He dedicates his time and is motivated to be like his heroes in Muay Thai. His friends, family, and training partners add to his desire to compete.
Coming into his bout with Simon Chu at Lion Fight Promotions "Battle in the Desert 4", Mulkey doesn't think about it too much. He knows Simon Chu is a good opponent and he just needs to be prepared for whatever is presented to him.
"Actually I try not to think about the fight too much, I try and concentrate on my training and keeping it consistent and hard. I feel that if you think about a fight too much you put pressure on yourself that isn't needed. Training dieting and everything leading up to the fight is stressful enough I try not to add more," said Mulkey. "With that said, I'm very happy to be fighting Simon and someone of his caliber. Simon is a world class fighter and it's very satisfying to be competing with someone who is as skillful as he is and has done as well in their career as he has. I think our styles will make for an exciting fight, so everyone wins it’s a good fight for both of us, and will be a good show for the fans."
With Muay Thai barely beginning to hit its stride in North America, Mulkey might not be competing anymore by the time it is in full swing. Regardless, the impact he has had in helping move the sport in the right direction can't be denied. When older Muay Thai fans are talking to the new generations of fans, talks will likely consist of "back in the day" and when they mention the fighters that stood out Chaz Mulkey will surely be one of them.