The Thai sports ministry ruled this week that MMA is too brutal and it is henceforth prohibited to stage MMA events. Ministers said that mixed martial arts is causing erosion to the sport of Muay Thai and damaging the image of Thailand’s native martial art.
Muay Thai fills arenas all over the country, generates a lot of tourist traffic, airs on television a lot and provides employment for a large swathe of young men who would be otherwise unengaged.
MMA is very new to Thailand but it had the potential to steer would-be star Thai boxers into the cage instead of into the Muay Thai ring.
The Muay Thai industry is notoriously conservative, and so MMA has been dealt a crippling blow before being able to get off the ground properly. The ban does not affect MMA training, which – ironically – numerous camps are beginning to offer.
There was some suggestion in the MMA media that the report was premature, but a report from bangkokpost.com confirms that MMA is indeed banned in Thailand.
The Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT) confirmed yesterday that it has banned mixed martial arts (MMA).
“It is brutal and it is not boxing,” said SAT deputy governor Sakol Wannapong who oversees professional sports.
“It is against the 1999 boxing law.”
SAT officials met this week to discuss whether holding an MMA event was lawful or not following a request from a private company and they finally agreed that under the 1999 boxing law, it is unlawful to stage an MMA event in Thailand.
“Organising a MMA event here would hurt the image of Muay Thai,” Sakol said.
There have been two MMA events held in Bangkok and neither were approved by the SAT, according to Sakol.
He said the SAT was asking the Interior Ministry’s legal advisors to consider action against any MMA organisers.
“If you want to do this kind of business, you should do it in another country,” Sakol said.
“Organising MMA here could mislead the public into believing that Muay Thai is brutal.”
