THAILAND

Supporters knocked for a loop by MMA ban

Spectrum, Ezra Kyrill Erker, Published on 08/04/2012

» Less than a week before muay Thai's application to the IOC and World Games, and a few days after Spectrum reported on a high-profile local mixed martial arts (MMA) competition, MMA was banned in Thailand by the Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT) on the grounds that it was hurting the image of muay Thai. MMA is a discipline fought in an octagonal cage using any number of fighting and grappling techniques. To hone stand-up combat techniques, many international competitors train in muay Thai, and for years MMA fighters have been coming to train in the Kingdom.