bangkok fight club red bull

The groundbreaking development in the MMA promotion and recognition in Thailand started with the Red Bull signing the sponsorship deal with the Bangkok Fight Club last week.

The Red Bull executive stated that the new sport of MMA is something that KratinDeng (Thai name for the Red Bull) is interested in supporting in the future. It became the major breakthrough for the Bangkok Fight Club that pioneered MMA/BJJ training in the Kingdom of Thailand and worked hard for past two years to promote the new fight sport and to educate the general public changing the perception of MMA as a violent brawl to recognizing it as a legitimate sport. Still the MMA scene is fairly small and limited in Thailand due to the sport and government officials are reluctant to support Òanything alienÓ and the MMA and grappling arts are obviously classified as alien things in their files.

The first large scale professional MMA tournament is failed to be licensed in Bangkok last year mainly due to the conflict of interest with the local Muay Thai organizations that interested in keeping the monopoly on the fight sports and wishing to keep Muay Thai as the only show in town.

Still the first MMA tournament took place September 2003. It was the amateur freestyle fighting tournament supported by the Siam Combat magazine and the Fairtex. And the event was a success. Both for the MMA recognition in Thailand and for the Bangkok Fight Club Team members who won every single fight they entered!

The Bangkok Fight Club just moved to the new location in the BangkokÕs downtown. Not to just any location but on the 31st floor right to the very top of the prestigious Serm-Mit Tower on Soi Asok! The same building where the Japanese Consulate and the Japanese Cultural Center and Commercial department of the Embassy of Spain in Bangkok are. ÒNow we are officially the highest MMA training facility in Thailand and probably in the whole South East Asia, - jokingly says Alex Berezovik and Todd Barlow the Bangkok Fight ClubÕs founders, - We still need some time to get used to the breathtaking view of the BangkokÕs city center below while training.Ó

The brand new facility of 160 square meters of air conditioned space besides the view includes the high quality grappling mats, various Muay Thai / boxing bags and equipment and the large area for stand up training. New facility is equipped with showers, bathrooms, locker area. Muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu are the main focus of the new Bangkok Fight Club.

Now having the backing of the Red Bull this first and only MMA/BJJ club in Bangkok is set and ready to step up to the new level in the mixed martial arts promotion in Thailand.

Alex Berezovik