On 31st May 2009 (17 years ago), I had my first fight against Tawatchai Budsadee…..a bout that went on to become the most talked about and controversial of my career.
The controversy came down to the judges’ decision. Out of the three judges, two awarded the fight to me, while the most senior judge scored it for Tawatchai.
He then took it upon himself to overrule the other two and give Tawatchai the decision.
After the fight, the other officials reviewed the scorecards and realised they didn’t add up. Following a lengthy discussion, I was brought back into the ring and awarded the win.
There was a lot of debate afterwards about who people felt deserved the decision. Many believed I was the rightful winner….though some still felt I should have lost.
A few months later, a rematch was set. This time it was a very one-sided affair. I gave Tawatchai three eight-counts during the fight and secured a unanimous points victory.
If you’re interested, you can watch the full fight on YouTube and come to your own conclusion.
And if you’d like a more in depth breakdown of what happened, check out my blog post titled A Controversial Decision over at
#muaythai #mma #kickboxing #martialarts
**THE REMATCH!**
After the controversial ending to my first fight with Tawatchai Budsadee, a rematch was set just a few months later.
If you’re not familiar with what happened in our first bout, here’s a quick recap:
The fight went the distance, which meant it was left to the judges’ scorecards. Many believed I’d done enough to secure the win, but to everyone’s surprise, Tawatchai was announced the winner.
These things happen—but what came next is what stirred the controversy.
One of the officials reviewed the scorecards and discovered that two of the judges had scored the fight in my favor. However, the third judge—who was designated the “head judge”—had given it to Tawatchai. He decided to overrule the other two and awarded the win to Tawatchai.
Even if he thought I lost, that’s not how judging works. The majority decision should stand—that’s the whole point of having three judges. After much debate among the officials, the decision was reversed, and the win was rightfully given to me.
Still, the situation cast a shadow over the result. Arguments broke out online, with fans divided over who really won. For me, the moment felt tainted—like my enjoyment of the victory had been taken away. So when a rematch was offered, I didn’t hesitate.
Here’s a quick highlight from our second fight—you can catch the full video on my YouTube channel. Hope you enjoy it 👊
Want to see the full fight and decide for yourself? Head over to my YouTube channel.
For a more detailed breakdown of what happened, check out my blog post “A Controversial Decision” at
#muaythai #mma #kickboxing #boxing #martialarts
In this video, you’ll see that I draw my opponents teep out by edging forward. I then parry their teep with my lead arm.
As you gain more experience in training, you’ll learn how to control your kicks even when they miss. That’s why you’ll notice Rungchai doesn’t lose much position after I parry his kick.
Defending the front kick with my lead arm does leave me vulnerable to a straight right hand.
With that in mind, I intercept his right cross with my left body kick. This works well because people often expose their ribs when they throw punches. Your leg is also longer than their arm, so as long as your timing and distance are right, you’ll stay safe 😊👍
#muaythai #kickboxing #martialarts #defenceandcounters #mma
Someone sent me this after I posted my switch hitting combo….I think it looks really cool
Thanks to @5uper5shadowken for sending it (they’re not on this platform)
#muaythai #aiart #kickboxing
I was tagged in a post asking what my view was on the Superlek v Dayakaev today.
This was my response:
“I haven’t watched the fight yet, but from my understanding of ONE’s scoring system, there can’t be a draw. If the first round was 10-8 to Dayakaev (because of the knockdown) and the next two rounds were 10-9 to Superlek, that would make it even overall. So the judges would then look at the other parts of the scoring criteria to determine a winner... which, in this case, would likely favour the knockdown.”
What’s people’s view on this?
#muaythai #onechampionship #superlekvdayakaev
A young aspiring fighter, hoping to one day make a name for himself.
I think this was taken around ’95, in Aston, at the block of flats I used to live in.
The gym was situated three miles away from home. During the weekdays I’d finish school, come home, grab a quick snack, then walk to the gym, train, and walk back. Weekends were the same…..just without school.
Regardless of the weather, I always made my way to the gym. I’d often turn up looking like a drowned rat if it had been raining 😂
Having a dream or a goal is a must, and one of the main things you need to achieve it is discipline.
When I first started competing, it was mainly to challenge myself. As I got better, I competed to become someone. Once I got established, I competed to be remembered.
On your journey, there will be a few hiccups along the way, but as long as you stay focused, determined, and put the work in, you’ll reach your destination.
#muaythai #kickboxing #inspiration #dreams #goals
Switch hitting:
When competing or sparring, it’s very important to pay attention to how your opponent reacts to certain techniques. This allows you to land your strikes more effectively.
Take blocking a kick for example. If I throw a left body kick and my opponent blocks with their leg… take note. Continue the spar or fight and throw it again to see if they react the same way. If they do, it usually means they’re very comfortable defending that technique in that particular way. So no matter how hard or fast you kick, 9 times out of 10 they’ll probably defend it successfully.
If you keep kicking into their block, it’s eventually going to become painful for you — so you need to find a way around it.
In this video, I show one way to get past the block in order to land the kick.
Combo:
• Switch feint (now you’re southpaw)
• Left cross
• Right hook
• Left body kick
The switch is there to trigger their defensive reaction to the kick. From there, fire the left hand straight down the middle to knock them off balance. You can either throw the kick immediately after, or like I do in this video, add an extra punch before finishing with the kick.
If you watch the fight footage, you’ll see my opponent lift his left leg as he prepares to cross block the kick. The punches force him backwards and make him put the leg down to regain balance — which then allows me to land the body kick.
For more practical drills, check out my 7 full-length instructionals on the @warriorcollective marketplace (link in bio).
#muaythai #mma #kickboxing #switchhitting
Here’s a great angle to clearly show the difference between a direct kick and one that’s too round.
Below is an analogy that explains why kicking direct generates more power than kicking too round:
A few people mentioned a baseball bat analogy in the comments to argue that a more rounded motion would produce more power.
The baseball bat analogy is actually great — but it doesn’t support the case for kicking too round. Let me explain:
Imagine you’re holding a bat at arm’s length and swing it with full force. Sure, you’d get a bit of sting behind it, but it wouldn’t be your most powerful swing. This is similar to kicking too round.
Now picture how a baseball player cocks the bat back behind their head, using that full range of motion to drive through the ball. That’s the equivalent of the direct kick…..it gives you better leverage and allows you to drive your hip through for maximum power (check the video for reference).
As I always say, there’s a textbook way to perform every technique. Master the fundamentals first…..once you have them down, then you can start adapting and adjusting based on the situation.
Learn the rules well before you break them. 😉
If you want to learn everything from the ground up, check out my full-length instructional, Muay Thai Training – Developing World-Class Striking, available now on the @warriorcollective marketplace (link in bio).
#muaythai #mma #kickboxing #fundamentals #tooroundvsdirect
Train with Damien Trainor 🇹🇭
A multiple-time world champion and one of the UK’s most respected Muay Thai coaches and fighters, known for his technical style, sharp fundamentals, and high-level fight experience.
Whether you’re a beginner looking to sharpen fundamentals or an experienced fighter wanting to level up your technique, this seminar is for you.
📆 Saturday, 30 May 2026
⏰ 11AM – 1PM
📍Bangtao Muay Thai & MMA
💰 2,000 THB
Limited spots available.
Book online or at the front office 🔗 Link in bio
Day by day I’m getting a little bit stronger and a little bit fitter.
I’ll still probably struggle when I’m in Thailand, but hopefully I won’t look like a complete mess in training 😂
I’m really looking forward to moving around at @bangtaomuaythaimma along with the seminar. It’s been over 3 years since I last trained in Thailand, and 15 years since I’ve been back to Phuket.
A huge thank you to @bymxstafa for the work this evening
#muaythai #kickboxing #mma #training #muaythaipadwork
“Fighting – Think of it as you need a hundred answers to one question.” Damien Trainor
In combat sports It’s very important that you always have a number of options available to you. This is because if one technique doesn’t work then you still have a few tricks up your sleeve to can shock your opponent.
It’s no good trying constantly pull off the same attack or counter over and over again if it isn’t working. “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results.” Albert Einstein.
In this video where I fight the Japanese No1 Arashi Fujihara, you can see me switch through a number of different counters to the left body kick until I find one that works.
Counter No1: Double block the kick and counter with a right kick. This didn’t work at the time due to Fujihara’s power. His kick knocked me off position which put me out of range with my own kick.
Counter No2: Double block the kick counter with a right cross. This didn’t work at the time due to Fujihara kicking at range.
Counter No3: Jumping in left hook as the opponent left kicks. This didn’t work at the time due to me starting my hook a little too early.
Counter No4: Kicking the support leg...Bingo, we had a winner.
Try to put some of these counters in to your Arsenal because if one doesn’t work then you can pull a few more out the bag.
Below is a snippet from a blog a wrote entitled Fighting – Think of it as you need a hundred answers to one question.
Make sure to jump over to damientrainor.com to read the full article.
“Having a game plan is important but you can’t just rely on one because if it doesn’t work out you’re going to be in a lot of trouble. You should try and look at it as you need a hundred answers to one question. You need to be able adapt during the fight as nothing is certain, you may of done your homework on them but remember they’ve probably done their homework on you to.”
#muaythai #fightIQ #martailarts #kickboxing #
