Tiger Muay Thai News Archive

November 23rd, 2012

Tiger Welcomes BJJ Black Belt Eric Burdo from Richmond BJJ!

TMT welcomes Eric Burdo – head BJJ instructor of Richmond BJJ and BJJ Revolution Team representative.

Eric is a BJJ Blackbelt under 6th degree BJJ Blackbelt Julio “Foca” Fernandez under legendary Carlson Gracie Sr.

Professor Burdo has also trained with Carlson Gracie Sr., Carlson Gracie Jr., Renzo Gracie, Royler Gracie, Rodrigo Medeiros, Marcus Soares, Ricardo De La Riva, Toco Albuquerque, Murilo Bustamante, Mario Sperry, and many more.

November 18th, 2012

Three TMT Alums Fighting on November 23 in Canada & South Africa

Alums Jason Saggo, JP Kruger, and Don “Magic Man” Madge are revving up for their own MMA fights later this month as Tiger Muay Thai and MMA Training Camp Phuket, Thailand gets represented on two continents!

Jason Saggo (7-1) is a longtime friend and guest of Tiger Muay Thai. His upcoming Score Fighting Series bout against Iraj Hadin (6-4) will be televised live on The Score in Canada and AXS TV in the US at 10pm EST on Friday, November 23.

Saggo’s first-round submission victory over Eric Attard in SFS 5 back in August put the 26 year-old in the limelight as one of the top lightweight prospects in Canada. The Ontario-native is a a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and last came to TMT in January 2012. He has been coming to TMT on and off since 2007.

Tiger fighter Don Madge (1-1), who recently came to TMT for a two month training camp in August, will fight in the EFC Africa 17 event on November 23 in Carnival City, Brakpan, South Africa. He takes on Hector “The Enforcer” Britts (3-2).

The welterweight fight puts Madge, ranked as the #2 Muay Thai fighter in his weight class by the World Professional Muay Thai Federation, in prime position for a title shot. Britt is a 33 year-old fighter known for his strength as a standup fighter and will most likely try to bang with the 22 year-old Madge.

Also fighting in the EFC Africa 17 card is fellow South African JP “Tinkerbell” Kruger (2-0) who will go up against Wade “The Goat” Henderson (10-12). Kruger was last at TMT earlier this year in July polishing both his Muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu skills.

As a three-time South Africa K1 Champion, the Johannesburg-native will look to utilize his standup skills to overwhelm Henderson from the get-go.

Good luck to all of our alums!

November 14th, 2012

A Very Big Welcome to UFC Fighter James Te Huna as He Arrives at Tiger

Tiger Muay Thai & MMA, Phuket, Thailand is very happy to welcome UFC fighter James Te Huna to our training facility!

Pictured here with our resident 4th degree BJJ black belt Fernando Maccachero (left) and our MMA coach Roger Huerta, Te-Huna is originally from New Zealand but trains in Australia. He made his UFC debut at UFC 110 and last fought in July when he battled through a broken hand AND a broken foot to take out Joey Beltran.

We are honored to have him here. Keep an eye out for some training footage and more photos!

November 11th, 2012

The Martial Arts of TMT’s Rafael Lopes

Fighter. Trainer. Martial Artist.

As far as fighters go, some would argue that the best come from Brazil – specifically the state of Pernambuco, home of Sao Paulo. Rafael ‘Negao’ Lopes Pinto knows the place very well, having grown up and learned his trade in the famed land.

The 29 year-old has been training at Tiger Muay Thai and MMA Training Camp Phuket, Thailand for the past two years and has developed a name for himself in Muay Thai.

As a veteran of over 20 fights – 18 of which he has come out on top – Lopes regularly fights against Thai competitors who have been training Muay Thai since they could walk. Most of his opponents have fought well over 100 fights by the time they step into the ring with Lopes.

Most would be worried, but not Lopes.

“I just have to put my head down and train hard. The fights will come and if they lead me somewhere I will be happy,” he says.

If the Brazilian feels comfortable in the fighting Thai culture, it’s by design. The two cultures share a collective love for all things combat. Brazil is where Carlos Gracie learned and perfected Japanese submission wrestling of Jiujitsu into what is now known as Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

The martial art is considered one of the “must-haves” in a fighter’s arsenal. The need to develop one’s ground game, complete with choke holds  reversals, and mounts, is what makes Brazilian Jiu Jitsu one of the best martial arts to know – and Lopes is a monster at this.

As a brown belt in BJJ, Lopes helps develop other fighters and martial artists in perfecting their own ground game. Slowly and surely, the Brazilian has gained a knack for teaching others his first love.

“Teaching helps me learn,” he says, “only when you start teaching students, do you start to really think about the techniques you are doing. It also gives me the opportunity to meet new and interesting people from around the world and all walks of life.”

His skills translate directly to the cage, as he is currently undefeated in his professional MMA career with a cool 4-0. His first fight was in Vale Tudo in 2006 and most recently fought in China, winning by submission.

“I started fighting for many reasons. One of the reasons was to make sure i kept it good physical condition. It helped drive me to train hard and not get lazy,” he says.

Still, like a true martial artist, Lopes had to adapt to not only different styles of fighting but to the language as well. When he first came to Thailand, he could not speak a word of English and definitely not Thai. Today, he can speak conversationally in Thai and English – something that has helped him tremendously in his training.

“I had to learn English first because everyone I trained with spoke English. It also helped me learn Thai because a lot of Thai people here can speak English, so it was easier to learn from them by them telling me the English word and then translating it to Thai,” he says.

Lopes aspires to perfect the skills he has amassed, despite the relative success that could come from other avenues. His focus remains on flawless technique, not flash or fame.

“Right now, I am concentrating on getting my black belt in BJJ. I am not too concerned where my fight career is heading.”

November 6th, 2012

VIDEO SPECIAL: Tiger Trains Georges St-Pierre for UFC 154 in Montreal

Tiger Muay Thai trainers Kru Yod and Kru Lamsongkram continue to impress as they train Georges St-Pierre in Montreal for his upcoming UFC 154 fight against Carlos Condit. The media spotlight is heating up and, with it, Tiger Muay Thai in Phuket, Thailand!

Check out GSP’s media interview. He talks about the trainers around the 2:12 minute mark.

A big thanks to Georges St-Pierre and his team for making Tiger Muay Thai such a big part of his training camp! We are absolutely honored!

November 5th, 2012

The Skogn Folkehøgskole Group Returns to Tiger Muay Thai

Vidar Moe is 31 years-old from Norway and is the Head Instructor of Kickboxing at a folk high school in Norway called Skogn folkehøgskole which he started three years ago. He has a Bachelor and Master Education in Sports and Physical Education. He also has a book/ science project published: The Effect of Stretching on Muscle Force Production in Hamstring Muscles.

Vidar has been training kickboxing for twelve years. He has fourteen national medals and six international medals. Vidar is a three time heavyweight Norwegian Cup Champion with his last fight being in October when he won another championship title.

The school that he works for is sort of a bus-stop between high school and university, based on the students hobbies and specialties. It is a one year study and you have to be at least 18 years old to participate as a student.

Each year he takes his class to a study trip in Thailand. Last year was their first time at TMT they very pleased with the camp so sixteen students have returned this year. Good service, trainers and training facilities made this a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Tiger’s exposure on the series, Norway’s Best Fighter also buoyed their decision to make TMT their camp of choice.

Many of his students fought in national championships in kickboxing. Last September of this two of his students took a silver and a bronze medal. He has 16 students with him this time. WELCOME!