America At A Glance – A series of articles, videos, interviews and more highlighting American Muay Thai, then and now

by Eric Rivera

Unfortunately, Muay Thai in the U.S. is still in its infancy and is far from reaching the popularity that it currently enjoys in both Europe and Asia. However, the last few years have been pretty big for Muay Thai and the opportunities to help the sports of Kickboxing and Muay Thai flourish in America are now many. For many years American Muay Thai fans could only voice their opinions about the sport at their local gyms and small events where they were either spectator or participant. Now, with sites such as Muay Thai is Life, Muay Thai Authority, Liverkick, Total Muay Thai, My Muay Thai, and more, fans finally have places where they can share their thoughts and or learn about what is going on in the North American Muay Thai scene, as well as the rest of the world.

Kevin Ross talks about the historic year that 2011 has been for Muay Thai in America and his plans for 2012

Kevin Ross was a major part of the big year that was 2011 for Muay Thai. He fought two of the world’s best fighters and helped continue to push Muay Thai in America. We took some times to catch up with Kevin about the year that was 2011 as well as what he has planned for 2012. 

Kevin gives his thoughts on Saenchai and Sakkedao as well as addresses the recent news that full rules Muay Thai will now be allowed in New York. He also talks about potentially fighting Omar Ahmed who has recently expressed interest in fighting Kevin, as well as possibly heading back to Thailand.

MTA: Kevin this was a big year for Muay Thai in America, looking back at the year what are your thoughts?

Chris Kwiatkowski talks about his upcoming fight in the Big 8 Belarus Tournament

This week when families get together to celebrate Thanksgiving, New York's Chris Kwiatkowski will be 4,000 plus miles away from his family. He will be representing America on November 26th at the WKN Big 8 World Tournament in Belarus. The tournament will feature some top fighters from around the world, including Andrei Kulebin and Samkor Keatmontep who are considered the favorites to make it the tournament finals. 

Despite this being the toughest test of his career and coming in as an under dog, he knows this is his opportunity to make a statement and he is ready to seize it. In the tournament format anything can happen, Chris will be looking to make that "anything" happen. Despite being busy making his final preparations before he left to Belarus, Chris took some time to address a few questions about the upcoming tournament for Muay Thai Authority.

From the Brink and Back: Chaz Mulkey

Muay Thai is still in its infancy in the United States, it is starting to develop a larger following, and too many it seems there is boom. The growth that is occurring is great for the sport; these are not the dark ages of Muay Thai like the late 90’s and early 2000’s were. If Muay Thai does becomes a mainstream sport it is probably safe to say that many of the established fighters today will be on their way out by that time. We will be left with memories of fighters that helped push the sport to the next level and helped it gain recognition in the United States because they were able to stand up and compete with some of the best around the world. One of these fighters that will likely not be forgotten is Chaz Mulkey.

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

Video: Kevin Ross reflects on his fights against Sakkedao and Saenchai as well as the state of Muay Thai in America

Kevin Ross is the most recognized American Muay Thai fighter and has built quite the following as Muay Thai continues to grow in America. In this two part interview he sits down with Joseph Maylish and reflects on his last two fights against Sakkedao and Saenchai. In addition he addresses the state of Muay Thai in America.

12 Rounds with Kevin Ross

by Flip English

On October 21st Kevin Ross will be fighting the dangerous Sakkedao Petchpayathai, the last man to beat his previous opponent, Muay Thai legend Saenchai SinbiMuayThai. No doubt this fight will be another grinder for Ross, a gritty test for his rugged reputation. Anytime a fighter is coming off a loss there is that added pressure to win the next one to keep the career afloat, but if your last fight was with Saenchai and your next bout with Sakkedao, I can imagine how this could be for Ross like a tornado dropping him on the path of torrential typhoon, or exiting a burning building only to enter a raging street riot outside. But before Ross crosses the Green Zone and into combat again, he is still in the eye of the hurricane, still in the calm between the old storm that was Saenchai and the new struggle that will be Sakkedao. So how is he doing? Is this training period enough time to repair the damages and prepare retaliation for a loss? We will see. Two weeks before his next performance at the M-One event at the Nokia Club in Los Angeles, Kevin grants MuayThaiAuthority.com an interview where he and I go for a dozen rounds of questioning.

The Challenger Muaythai blog - Michael Corley

by Michael Corley

After spending close to two years in Thailand working and competing I returned home to Houston, Texas late April 2011. I was happy to get back to Texas and enjoy some time off relaxing and eating some American food! So after about 2-3 weeks being in the States I got the call to be on The Challenger Muaythai Reality Show. I had made an alright name for myself competing in Thailand in The Challenger Qualifier 8-Man in Pattaya and competing in events like the Toyota Cup, and was really excited to get out and test myself against some top international fighters.

I think I was kind of a wild card getting on the show, so I was on a flight 3 days after I got the call and headed to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. When all the fighters arrived at the house I noticed some world champion competitors for the show Jordan Watson, Marco Pique, Madsua, Franki Giorgi, Colossa etc… then I also noticed 2 competitors that I had fought before in Thailand Jason Woodham and Faizal Ramli. Lastly I saw my friend Cyrus Washington and him, me, Rhyse Saliba, and Jesse Miles all roomed together. We all got along and were pretty chilled and a relaxed room.

Ky Hollenbeck joins the Muaythai Premier League

American standout Ky Hollenbeck has filled the last slot in the Muaythai Premier League's middleweight division. Hollenbeck joins a stacked division that already includes the likes of Yodsanklai, Yohan Lidon, Jordan Watson and Marco Pique to name a few. He is in group B along with Watson, Pique and Nieky Holzken.

Hollenbeck is currently set to defend his interim WBC Muay Thai middleweight world title against Simon Chu on August 20th at Lion Fight Promotions "Battle in the Desert 3" before entering the premier league. In what has been a marquee year for Hollenbeck, he defeated Vuyisile Colossa to set up his title shot with Gregory Choplin who he then defeated to claim the interim title. The actual WBC Muay Thai middleweight world champion is Yohan Lidon who resides in group A of the Muay Thai Premier League.

Reality TV Muay Thai show set to take place in the United States

Muay Thai Authority has confirmed with sources close to the situation that Atma' Sphere Entertainment and the International Muay Thai Federation are working together to produce a new reality TV Muay Thai show. The title of the show is "In Search of America's Muay Thai Team".

The premise of the show will be to to build a five man team to represent the United States and compete internationally. Not many details are known at the moment except that tryouts for the show will begin in the next few weeks. Currently there are no fighters confirmed or rumored to be participating on the show.

Ky Hollenbeck defeats Vuyisile Colossa

American Ky Hollenbeck faced the toughest test of his career when he stepped into the ring to take on Vuyisile Colossa for the WCK middleweight world title. Colossa is a highly ranked veteran fighter who has faced world class competition his entire career such as Yodsanklai Fairtex, Dmitry Valent, and Armen Petrosyan.

Entering the fight Hollenbeck was the under dog but as he told Muay Thai Authority "come fight night I'm gonna be the best Ky Hollenbeck I've ever been in the ring." When it was all said and done Ky Hollenbeck walked away with a decision victory over Vuyisile Colossa. The fight was bigger than most might think. A win over such a highly ranked opponent doesn't just help Ky Hollenbeck's career it helps the entire American Muay Thai scene, because Americans beating highly ranked international fighters brings us a little more respect in the world Muay Thai scene.