Review of Muay Thai Fights in
Koh Phangan, Thailand

One of the boxers at a muay thai fight in Koh Pha Ngan, Thailand

Last updated on April 19, 2012
All information below is subject to change

The first thing my boyfriend reacted to when we landed on Koh Phangan harbor was not the beautiful view, but to a trailer with loud speakers promoting that night's muay thai game!

Since I try to be a good girlfriend, I thought why not? ;-)

We bought the ringside tickets through Had Yao Beach Resort.

Price: 800 B per person (ringside), 600 B for ordinary seats

Since this was our virgin trip to a muay thai game in Koh Phangan, we didn't know what to expect.

When we arrived at Thongsala outdoor stadium, we noticed that the audience was mostly foreign. On the leaflet, we saw that some of the big stars were actually Western muay thai boxers (Germany, Sweden, Australia, Switzerland and France).

The audience at a muay thai fight in Koh Pha Ngan

Two Thais ready to fight in a muay thai game in Koh Pha Ngan, Thailand

First thing first: we bought Chang beer (100 B for a big bottle). Then we tried to find ourselves some good seats near the ringside. Our neighbor was an Australian man who had watched too many muay thai fights in his life.

Our last impression of that night's boxing fight was mixed.

Most of the fights were uneven - you could easily see that some of them had a lot more training experience.

First round was a match between two Thai kids. It was heartbreaking to see kids in such a brutal fight.

Then it was two adult Thais fighting.

Watch my video clip from the muay thai fights in Koh Phangan:

After that - fights between foreigners and Thai locals were on the program. Just imagine a tall European against a short Thai.

And I remember the last fight very well: it was a match between a Thai boy and a French girl. According to the leaflet there was supposed to be a "girl match".

I guess they had to improvise and put it in a boy instead. As I said - very uneven!

Foreign fighter at a muay thai fight in Koh Phangan

All in all: it was entertaining.

Our Australian neighbor advised us to watch a muay thai game in Bangkok if you wanted the real stuff. Apparently this game wasn't the real stuff for him.

He told us that many of the Western boxers that night had a lot of boxing experience because they had been traveling around for a longer time than the Thais. It's apparently common for boxers to just travel around and join muay thai fights as they come.

The winner that night was actually not a Thai but a German dude I think.