Muay Thai vs Kickboxing - The Fight That Revolutionized MMA 

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How can you claim one art is better than another, when you are fighting with rules that limit your opponent from using their art?

They should have scheduled two fights. One with American kickboxing rules and one with muay Thai rules.

If they were fighting with Muay Thai rules, it would have been over a lot sooner. Seeing these guys and girls practising their low kicks, it seems like they could kick all day they have that much stamina, and power! It crazy

For me any kind of martial art is a way of protecting everyone you care for, and also for depending yourself.

Thanks for sharing. As a Thai, I am glad that Muay Thai is accepted around the world as the art of boxing.

And this was without the elbows and knees. I'd like to see what would have happened under Muay Thai rules.

- So, you took care of it? - Yes sir. Prohibit elbows, knees, clinching and throwing! - And low kicks? - Fuck!!

That American guy had SO MUCH heart, dear lord. I thought it was over in round 2 but he kept fighting, what a warrior. Muy Thai is definitely the more complete art, that isn’t hard to understand when they use all limbs and also takedowns

I found it hilarious that Roufus' brother dismissed the Muay Thai boxer by saying it doesn't require much skills to kick the legs. Well, his brother Roufus had all the opportunities to unleash his skills at the Muay Thai boxer, while the latter was denied the use of knee kicks and elbow strikes. If the Muay Thai kickboxer was allowed to use ALL his arsenals, Roufus could very well be in a much worse situation. For the first time, the Americans realized the strengths of Muay Thai exponents. It is never too downgrading to learn from others before announcing to the world that your kickboxing is the very best in the world. In one word: humility.

Limit the Muay Thai fighter to 50% of his normal repertoire by prohibiting elbows, knees and clinches and still he kicks the cr@p out of a kickboxer. Can you imagine if this fight would have been unrestricted and truly style vs style? The kickboxer would not have survived round 1. What a joke.

Thank you for the video as a Mauy Thai guy I think it is more devastating thank kick boxing but I kid Mauy Thai with boxing and bjj for mma. Greetings from TMT in Las Vegas

Low kicks are not fancy, flashy...but they do requiere skill: precision, speed and power.

Low kicks to the legs are absolutely devastating. If you have little defense against them and cannot throw them as well as your opponent, there is a good chance you lost the fight before it began. Had this Muay Thai fighter been allowed to use his entire arsenal, this fight would have been ended a lot sooner. Southeast Asia has many martial arts and fighting styles other than Muay Thai.

I always thought it was hilarious that when Rick was going for the knockout in the first round the announcers were all for it, then in the fourth after all them leg kicks the announcers were all this is an exhibition after all 🤣🤣🤣

The stomp and the throw are valid attacks in muay thai

I train both styles since 2012, if people ask what's the difference between those 2 styles, just answer like this: Muay Thai focus on close range combat, while Kickboxing focus on long range combat.

After denying the Muay Thai fighter several of his key techniques, the brother of the defeated ex-champion stated that the winner didn’t demonstrate much skill.

This fight changed my life. I was doing kickboxing at the time and the sheer fact that Changpuek was only using a fraction of the art made me realise just how superior Muay Thai was. I sought out a club and travelled 60 miles each week to attend. Still kept up Kickboxing in my home town, but ended up doing an extra 30 mins training at the end of each session on MT techniques. Limited with the same kickboxing restrictions in fights as in the video but so absorbed by it that I still (try to) practice to this day.

What is the name of song for the music played at the end of video?

Crazy part is that he boxed his face off and almost knocked him out.

Muay Thai has so much tradition and rich history. It’s not just a combat sport but it is spiritual and sacred. Muay Thai warriors fought off enemies during war and fighters wear headgear and armbands that have been blessed for protection. There’s a deep history to Muay Thai and it is not kickboxing.

After watching it multiple times, i can whats underrated is the fact that thai was knocked down early in the fight twice. It would take out the spirit of most fighters but this guys was mentally very tough. And his body is built like iron

Here is some information about the fight. “Roufus knocked Changpuek down twice with his fists in the first round, causing him a broken jaw, during the break Chanpuek's corner spilled a bucket of water and ice in the ring trying to buy time for Changpuek to recover, finally Roufus lost by TKO in the fifth round due to the culmination of low kicks that he was not prepared for. Roufus had found out the same day of the fight that they would fight with leg kick rules. After the fight, the Roufus brothers sought out Thai experts to learn the art of kicking and kick control.”

Leg kicks aint no joke. Checking a kick is your best defense, it probably hurts more but it keeps your legs in tact better.

Man, my legs started hurting after watching this.

The announcers went from ...this should be a cake walk for Roufus ...to .....this is only an exhibition fight, they should stop this before Roufus gets really hurt! I used lived in Thailand .... I saw how the Thai fighters train ...it's brutal! If CK was allowed his full arsenal the damage to Roufus would have been far worse! 🦂🙏 ....... 🍺

Does anyone knows the soundtrack of the video?

Rick displayed unsportsmanship behavior by kicking Changpuek who was down with gloves touching canvas. This caused anger to Changpuek who stomped Rick later when he himself was down. Apart from the rules, Rick had huge advantage in weight and physique.

I've seen this fight before, the bias of the announcers is hilarious, and the pretense that they allowed Muay Thai rules when in actuality the Thai fighter was ltd to low kicks. No elbows, knees or throws and he still won.

นักมวยไทยฝึกความแข็งแกร่งของร่างกายและชกเป็นอาชีพตั้งแต่เด็ก ร่างกายคือ อาวุธ แม้ว่าตัวจะเล็กแต่สามารถเอาชนะคนต่างชาติที่ตัวสูงใหญ่ได้ ขอบคุณที่รักมวยไทยนะคะ 🙏🏼🇹🇭

This fight was an eye opener to the world of stand up fighting.

For Rick’s brother Dick to not acknowledge the phenomenal talent level of the great Thai fighter is beyond absurd. Each time a low kick lands it’s like getting hit with a bat. And if you sit between rounds hematoma’s begin forming in your legs making you not only less mobile but under intense pain.👏 👏 to both fighters & this fight played a big role moving forward from this point as fighting evolved

Watched this fight many times. Roufus was feeling those leg kicks in the first round. Knocking out Kitsongrit was his way of ending the fight early to avoid more of those leg kicks.

Props to Changpuek for his skills, stamina, and iron leg kicks. He proved to have the superior art despite the near defeat and limitation of his strikes. He is a true warrior.

Been to Muay Thai fights in Thailand. It’s a national sport there. Young boys fight full contact before main event. The spectators get into the excitement. There are rituals prior to fights and lots of gambling, it’s loud. It’s brutal.

@LawrenceKenshin 3 years ago Muay Thai vs. Kickboxing: "The Legendary Fight That Changed History" This bout forever changed the landscape of kickboxing, Muay Thai, and MMA in North America. You'll find no other fight that is as dramatic, with both fighters displaying tremendous heart. Welcome to striking history. Strongly recommend you to watch Lawrence Kenshin Striking Breakdowns, you are going to admire his accurate analysis 🤪🤪🤪🤪😝😜🤪🤪🤪

I'm a former black belt in Tae-Kwon-Do. Our school sparred daily and hard. One time we had a Muay Thai student come in and spar. I'll never forget the kicks. It hurt to even try and block them. The power was far superior. Fast forward 20 years ....My son does BJJ but his next stop will be a Muay Thai gym. Just visited one yesterday and we'll be making the hour drive cause it's that effective.

Fighting limiting someone's techniques are a JOKE!!!!

The leg kick at the last fight was so funny he was running out of pain😂

"I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who had practiced one kick 10,000 times" Bruce Lee.

ผมเป็นคนไทย เคยดูวีดีโอนี้มาน่าเกิน 2 ครั้ง เป็นวีดีโอที่ยาวมาก แต่ก็ดูไม่เบื่อ มีคอมเมนต์มากมาย ที่แสดงความคิดเห็นต่อการต่อสู้ ซึ่งส่วนมากไม่ใช่คนไทย แต่ส่วนมาก หรือแทบจะทั้งหมด เห็นใจ และเข้าใจนักมวยไทย อีกทั้งยังเข้าใจอาวุธที่ร้ายแรงของมวยไทย การที่นักมวยไทย ต้องขึ้นพิสูจน์ความเป็นนักสู้ โดยถูกจำกัดวุธที่รุนแรง และร้ายแรง เป็นเรื่องที่น่าพอเห็นใจมาก ไม่ใช่ผมเพราะผมเป็นคนไทยนะ เป็นชาติไหนก็แล้วแต่ ถ้าให้ชกมวยไทย แล้วไม่ให้จับคอตีเข่า ไม่ให้ฟันศอก ก็ถือว่าเป็นการเอาเปรียบไปแล้วครึ่งทาง ผมและภูมิใจ ที่ทั่วโลกในการยอมรับมวยไทย และต่างชาติเข้ามาเรียนมวยไทย จากครูมวยไทย ที่อยู่ในประเทศไทย และอยากจะชกกับนักมวยไทยในประเทศไทย ถ้าพูดตามหลักความจริง การต่อสู้ทุกอย่าง เป็นศิลปะที่น่านับถือ และของคุณเจ้าของศิลปะการต่อสู้ของแต่ละชาติ แต่การต่อสู้ของมวยไทย ที่ใช้ระยะประชิดตัว รุนแรงมาก คือ เข่ากับศอก โดยเฉพาะศอก หลายคนกรามหัก จมูกหัก หลายประเทศในยุโรป ห้ามใช้ให้ศอก เพราะเขามองว่าเป็นอันตรายมาก ก็เข้าใจ เพราะว่าเป็นเช่นนั้นจริงๆ ขอบคุณทุกความคิดเห็น ที่เข้าใจในเรื่องของมวยไทยเป็นอย่างดี

In the USA. I remember as a kid during the 90s I was studying Muay Thai, and there were many gyms already, low kicks and how to stop them was one of the first things I did learn. They hurt as hell and can put you on a wheelchair if wasn't because they put rules in the sport fights. I think even during the 70s even before I was born Muay Thai was knowed in Europe. I remember Kick Boxing in videogames such as Street Fighter. The point is you must be crazy to think you can defeat a martial art that evolved during the war and includes eldbow or hammer hits that can kill you, you learn it in the Army too, by kick boxing. By the way Van Damme made a movie about this fight, called kickboxer if you are interested. He really understimaded the most effective combat method, it's martial art but also a sport, but mainly a real martial art created to kill in combat. If there were no rules, trust me, the guy could have been killed. By the way @5:50 was more a "returning the favour", because when the Muay Thai fighter was KOed for the second time, he was hitted too. The kick boxer has been kinda cocky because usually the first round you don't go for KO. The first round usually is to give a "show" to the paying people. You go for the KO at the 2nd or 3th round. He showed to be a good fighter for lasting so long, but also a fool because he risked a lot. A regoular guy would have lasted from 3 seconds to 5 seconds against those kicks in the legs. Keep in mind a low kick is often comparated to a baseball mace hitting you in the legs at 90Km/h if well done.

Kyokushin low kick is so popular that's why Changpuek used Kyokushin low kick in this fight which happened in the 80's 🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪

Legend has it that Rick Rufus's legs are still recovering 😂👉🦵🦵

He took a damn truckload of these kicks…. very impressive

I remember this, but it wasn't muay Thai, because I was actually using muay Thai against bullies on the playground😅

Believe me those whip kicks to the thigh hurt like hell after 3 or 4.If you dont know how to counter ie check,move in or step back your opponent is said to own your thigh and its only a matter of time before you fall,exactly what you see in this fight.

Even though I cheer the Thai boxer, I have to hold my breath every time the low kick landed on Rick. That kind of kick go beyond sport move. It's a lethal weapon.

If they wanted to show which martial art is the more effective, then both of them should fight with all the arsenal. In this case probably Rufus will take a nap on the first round.

While trying to evade the low kicks, you end up receiving them at full speed !

when you play tekken against this guy who keeps spamming same button and still manage to win

Give me a place to stand and I can move the world. - Archimedes .."what if you can’t stand?" - Changpuek

I remember seeing this fight when I was a kid. The Thai fighter kept eating right hands, but the kickboxer was completely unprepared for those leg kicks. It ended kind of embarrassing; I remember feeling embarrassed for him.

My mans not even doing Tiger Knees and Tiger Uppercuts.

It's hard to describe how much these kicks hurt. So many, so powerful must be devastating. Respect to the american guy for taking so many of them!

American kickboxer was running around like a chiken in the 4th round...

I always attack legs and joints specially right between front of shoulder and chest. In one of my early fight someone punch me just in the right spot and it was painful for me to punch with that hand 😂

To use a phrase I saw recently - asymmetric tactics. Attacking where your opponent is least expecting, and where he can least defend. Muay Thai is ruthless in its execution and relentless in exploiting weakness. The Muay Thai fighter was willing to take some really good hits and did not sway from his fight plan to attack the knee joint and leg muscles. Anyone who's ever taken a serious kick to the thigh will know that you simply don't want to take too many of those type of kicks 🙂. Great video.

Limiting a Fighter's Art with rules clearly defined to give another Fighter an advantage demonstrates weakness in the other Fighter.

The deadliest part of a MT fighter is their elbows and knees and they werent allowed. That fight would have ended much sooner if they had been permitted.

Fun fact, that low kick has a nickname; tire-flatting.

Still wonder how Changpuek survived that first round. Those Muay Thai fighters are tough.

Chang puek weight was 79kg., While Rick was a heavy weight fighter weight 93 kg. Also elbows were not allowed.

Kyokushin low kick is so popular that's why Changpuek used Kyokushin low kick in this fight which happened in the 80's 🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪

I've ended alot of sparring sessions with Low Kicks, they break the foundation of your opponent. They can't kick when hurt, the punches lose power, and their hands drop a lot to try and protect the hurt leg. They generally become sloppy opponents that lack any fighting spirit.

The fact that Kietsongrit wasn't allowed to use his knees, elbows and throws says it all!

I love how the announcer downplays Changpuek, saying he's not used to be hit that hard. Poor Changpuek had 75% of his arsenal taken away, while Rick had 100% of his. Still though amazing fight.

The most entertaining exhibition match in the human history... You took my elbows my knee but i managed to kick your ass pretty nastily ... Solid Kick punches but endurance dominated

It's hard to avoid being hurt by kicks from a Thai fighter if you haven't trained your legs by kicking down trees.

Leg kicks don't just hurt, they stop your legs from WORKING. Takes your whole "base" away. Can't kick OR punch w/o your legs. The PAIN does make you run away...and keeps you from thinking about ANYTHING ELSE BUT STOPING MORE LEG KICKS.

Not one head kick thrown by the Thai. He didn't want to knock the kickboxer out cold. He wanted to punish him 😱

This could have been the first MMA fight.

Crazy muay thai kicks. This is why today muay thai is widely used in ONE/UFC and often regarded as #1 striking hahaha

Mad respect to RR as he is obviously a bad mo foe. But he shoulda done his homework. The Thai's have tree trunks for legs for a reason. Not being able to use his full repertoire of strikes: basically the Thai fighter fought with one arm tied behind his back. Muay Thai will kick kick boxing's ass every time. I won't even mention boxing. Much more action than Jiu Jitsu. It's not like the announces weren't a bit biased. 55555

I did some kyo back in mid school, most of us hardly ever went for low kicks since the risk reward just wasnt worth it. You gotta hit em lots to really do damage but they only gotta catch you good once with the knee block, then its over. Ofc a high level thai must have shins of steel but still, a knees a knee, i hit a few back then, didnt want any more

Thanks! Proves a point I made on another podcast that The Muay Thai fighters are some of the toughest, strongest fighters in the world. It's actually interesting how Bruce Lee recommended low kicks which were hard, fast and direct rather than high kicks in real life.

I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.--Bruce Lee

I mean, it's more about the actual fighter than the style.

Rufus was one of the baddest kickboxers of his time and if rules wasnt limited it might of been over sooner.

Respect to the American. Those leg kicks ,man...Great heart on him to keep coming bck like that.

BIG difference roufus had pads on his feet…the Thai fighter didn’t. He was at a huge disadvantage. Facts!

imagine being knocked out not by head or liver.

Why is he not using his knees or elbows?

honestly. fair to Rick Roufus, A for taking those baseball hits to the legs for so long, and then having the good sense to learn from it, all warfare is about mobility

In 1984, Benny Urquidez fought Ivan Sprang in Amsterdam under modified Muay Thai rules (no elbows), winning by 6th-round TKO. His ring career largely came to a halt after 1985, and he retired after facing Yoshihisa Tagami at the age of 41. Don the Dragon Wilson also fought muay thai fighters

Original Muay thai like Changpuek knocked out Rick Refus, then Rick studied muay thai and destroyed all boxers 🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪😝😜🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪😝😜🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪😜🤪

Excellent lesson for kickboxer who underestimated his opponent 😂

Man this fight should be played at least once a year.

imagine you cant use your elbows and knees like you were trained to do all your life and still destroy rick roufus in his own sport and set of rules lol

Original Kyokushin, Japanese and Dutch kickboxers are knocking out Thai men since the 60's by Punching and using Kyokushin low kick and everybody knows these now 🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪

He kick him around like a football😂

The biggest, tallest, strongest tree, is brought down by simply cutting it low on it's base.

Original Kyokushin, Japanese and Dutch kickboxers are knocking out Thai men since the 60's by Punching and using Kyokushin low kick 🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪

He obviously didn't learn Mr Miyagi's "one legged Crane kick" like Daniel san did

Yo those legs kick are crazy 🔥🔥

I'm not a fighter, but in my mind I'm questioning why Rick did not change his strategy and keep away from the kicks early on, knowing that he was going to be kicked repeatedly if he didn't do something different. Keep doing what you're doing while expecting different results is a measure of insanity.

This fight was responsible for transforming kickboxing into a more effective style. If you look at kickboxing today, it looks just like Muay Thai.

Muay Thai is not a sport it is a war weapon.

First I was "Ew dude lost to a half-fighter" then I later realised why, he just wanted to show the world how good Muay Thai kicks and well-placed kicks and good kicks were