The Muay Thai Premiere league aims to take over the world! And their first event is in the USA

An unprecedented Muay Thai event starring some the finest talent the world has to offer will be staging its inaugural event right here in the United States this September. The Muay Thai Premiere League (MPL) will feature 40 of the world’s best Muay Thai fighters, both male and female, who will compete in a series of 8 events in order to reach the top prize. According to The MPL’s official press release which can be viewed here, the production will be rewarding the winners with the largest monetary prize in the history of Muay Thai. A whopping 250 Million Baht, which is roughly the equivalent to 8 Million US Dollars.

Now, because the field of competitors will be divided amongst 5 different weight divisions, I am sure the final purse will be divided amongst the winner of each weight division, as I doubt they would be awarding each division winner 8 million dollars. However, it is without a doubt the largest fight purse in the history of Muay Thai and further incentive for the fighters involved to put on their absolute best showing.

The 8 events that comprise the MPL’s first season will begin with the first event in Los Angeles in September with following events set to take place in Amsterdam, Beijing, Australia, and of course Thailand.

The President and CEO of Warrior Caste Productions, the company behind the MPL, is none other than former WMC World Champion and Canadian nakmuay, Clifton Brown. In addition to Brown, the WMC’s Vice President Stephen Fox, who should be known to many from his appearance on The Contender Asia, will also be adding his knowledge and experience to the production.

Below is the list of the fighters that are confirmed to be a part of the MPL’s first season. They are divided into the weight classes in which they will be competing.

Super Lightweight Female (140 lbs/63.5 kgs)
Julie Kitchen (UK)
Chantal Ughi (Italy) *for a highlight video Muay Thai is Life and our in house production company Erive Productions did of Chantal click here
Sandra Bastian (Canada)
Miriam Nakamoto (USA)
Valentina Shevchenko (Peru)

Welterweight (147 lbs/66.67 kgs)
Andrei Kulebin (Belarus)
Saenchai Sor. Kingstar (Thailand)
Kevin Ross (USA)
Kurt Finlayson (Australia)
Liam Harrison (UK)

Middleweight (160 lbs/62.5 kgs)
Yodsaenklai Fairtex (Thailand)
Jordan Watson (UK)
Marco Pique (Holland)
Vladimir Moravcik (Slovakia)

Light Heavyweight (182 lbs/82.55 kgs)
Simon Marcus (Canada)
Kaoklai Kaennorsing (Thailand)
Jiri Zak (Czech Republic)
Artem Levin (Russia)
Danny Derdowski (Australia)

Heavyweight (210 lbs/95 kgs)
Nathan “Carnage” Corbett (Australia)
Ramazan Ramazanov (Russia)
Dzinuis Hanchanorak (Belarus)

It is important to note that there are still more names to be added to the list of participating fighters but if this roster isn’t enough to get you foaming at the mouth, then you cannot and should not call yourself a Muay Thai fan. Also, in addition to the league fights, each MPL event will also feature superfights starring more of the sports top talent from around the world.

If you have been keeping up with Muay Thai news on this site and/or the other two main Muay Thai blogs here in the U.S. then you would know that Muay Thai superstar Buakaw Por. Pramuk has been toying with the idea of fighting here in the U.S. Well, it has been confirmed that Buakaw Por. Pramuk, will in fact headline the MPL’s inaugural event in September in Los Angeles. His opponent will be the heavy hitting Russian, Dzhabar “Ghengis Khan” Askerov, who many will recognize from his appearance on The Contender Asia series.

Buakaw and Dzhabar met previously in 2007, with the Thai defeating the Russian by split decision. Both fighters have, of course, improved tremendously in the 4 years since their last meeting. This match up will serve to determine who is the most improved out of the two. Regardless of who wins, the style and passion these two fighters bring to the ring is sure to bring fireworks.

For more information and the latest news about The Muay Thai Premier League be sure to check out their main site: The Muay Thai Premier League Official Site

Also be sure to check out this recent interview with the CEO and President of The Muay Thai Premier League, Clifton Brown.

Before each event, the MPL will air a portion of their Muay Thai documentary titled “Into the Fire”, which will highlight the life and training of each of the fighters participating in the event. Below is the first official trailer of the “Into The Fire” Documentary.