The Thai Government is now supporting MMA in the form of DARE Fight Sports.

The next event will be held Oct 12th at Insanity Night Club on Sukhumvit Soi 12.

The main event will be Muay Thai Legend, The Iron Fist - Ole Larson goin heads up with Strikeforce vet Joe Ray!

Joe Ray Promo

Ole Larson Promo

In a nightclub - makes it sound so legit

What do you mean exactly "The Thai government is now supporting"? Are they the main sponsor for the event?

...culture...human rights.....no.....MMA......

...she failed to mention this at any of her recent appearances....

_{so the thai govnt is condoning voilence well I never..}

its a lot less violent than the original thai boxing in temple.

The sports ministry of Thailand initially banned MMA events being held in Thailand a couple of years ago as they short sightedly claimed it diluted the purity and tradition associated with the ancient art of Muay Thai.

This was a contradiction in terms, since the global popularity of MMA has been a large driving force behind increased popularity of Muay Thai and many coming to Thailand to learn and train in MT which has become known as one of the most dominant and essential martial arts pillars in an MMA fighters arsenal. (Alongside Brazillian Ju-Jitsu: MT is used in the standing or 'striking' phase of an MMA contest, with BJJ being the 'ground game'. Having skills in both can make for a formidable combination).

So by embracing MMA, Thailand would be able to attract more tourists who come here purely for martial arts training camps and to build their MT skills at many of the Kingdom's fine training camps. The size of the market for such things is not something the TAT can ignore either, if they want to hit 2billion in tourism revenue by 2015.

I have met many professional MMA fighters, professionals and amateurs alike and can tell you that mostly they don't drink, whore and misbehave, all of their aggression is very much in check and let out in the gym - in fact, they are often some of the calmest level headed people you will meet as they have 'nothing to prove'. They are some of the ideal type of tourists you want, well behaved, respectful of culture and building the reputation and professionalism of martial arts in Thailand.

If Thailand embraces MMA and acknowledges it is not here to 'dilute MT' but in fact builds upon it and makes it even more significant on the global stage, then that is the right thing to do..

Let's also not forget that if the sports ministry embraces MMA they are also helping all of the MT camps and providing a career path to ex-professional Thai boxers whom otherwise often end up out of a career before they are 25 years old and have no source of other income apart from becoming paid thugs for loan sharks or other sad paths, due to the good money they earned fighting dries up but the family still expects the income.

I've known many of the luckier ones who have scraped together and learnt enough English to train foreigners at these camps and they are very contented, happy, fun and cheerful to train alongside. So many fighters aren't so lucky and it is a real shame - these are professional sportsmen that deserve better opportunities once they pass the peak of their fighting prowess.

I have seen a few cage fights advertised around Phuket. I haven't had the chance to attend one, I dont think they have the same rules as UFC.Can anyone enlighten me?