A Fighter you should all know about - Yodsaenklai Fairtex

I know this thread should be in the mma section, but this guy is too big for that now, in terms of achievements anyways.

yodsaenklai is a muay thai fighter who started his career at 112. he is known as the computer wizard in thai land due to his perfect technique. he ruled the 112 division, became lumpini champ at that weight and at 147 and at 154 (light middle- a huge achievement in muay thai)
he is currently the wbc muay thai world champ at light middle, he rules this division with an iron fist.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yodsanklai_Fairtex

i only found out about this guy this year during the contender asia (he won in 2008). in terms of skill and achievement p4p this guy is a thai version of Manny Pacquiao.

he has text book technique, his boxing for a muay thai guy is awesome. he has a great defense, both from the legs and the punches/elbows.
his composure and mental strength is something special. even though he has great defense, he is still aggressive without being fancy. this guy just stalks you, hunts you down and viciously takes you out.
he is also a very clever fighter.
for example, if he is fighting a naturally aggressive fighter, he knows how to still be boss with slugging it out, its a subtle skill. by the end of the fight its the other guy running with yod stalking. awesome fighter.
watch this fight as a good example.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=-Z9CQAcUoXU
watch his trade mark combo at the 5:05 mark. right hook to the body and right hook to the head. he does it just like iron mike.

this year he won the contender asia, all his fights except the final were knock outs.
after that he went on a tear, he knocked out 3 opponents and just 2 weeks ago, he won an eight man tournament, he knocked em all out methodically. he does it with such ease, that its awe inspiring.
usually when thai guys fight westeners, no matter how good the thai is, the westerner because of his size would manhandle the thai fighter, even though he may lose on points.
but this is never the case with yod, he can effortlessly control his opponent no matter how big and strong they have been.

At the moment he is in his prime, you dont want to miss out on such a great fighter, even if he isnt a boxer. He wants to fight baukaw. but im not too sure baukaw wants anything to do with yod. IMO yod ko'd baukaw.

It is such a shame that such a great fighter doesnt get the same recognition as boxers do. This guy is the Manny Pacquiao of Muay Thai.
A Truly Awesome Fighter!

 

Yod-San-klai

 

An update on this great fighter-

At the time when I wrote this thread, Yodsaenklai had just won a 8 man tournament in one night. Since then he has had 3 fights, won all, 1 ko and 2 decisions.

Earlier this year, yod fought the fairly unknown Takaaki Nakamura in japan. He won a unanimous decision.

He then fought a tough south african MIDDLEweight kickboxing champion named Vuyisile Colossa in France, paris.
Even though the fight went the distance, Yod showed his class with his technical brilliance.

Yodsaenklai was supposed to face the british middleweight Muay Thai champion steve wakeling, but for some reason he pulled out. He was replaced by the big 6'3 artem levin from russia (33-2) who he has previously KO'd. he too pulled out. he finally matched with Cosmo Alexandre. This guy is known for being a tough and dangerous opponent for anybody.

This guy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qe89Le3Xp0

The 6'1 brazilian dwarfed yodsaenklai who stands at 5'7. It wasn't much of a fight for the man they call "The Computer Wizard". He battered Cosmo mercilessly. From the opening bell Yod took the fight to cosmo, not giving him much of a chance to use his own offensive artilery, rather putting him in a shell.
After breaking the tough cosmo down, he takes him out with a baseball like kick to cosmo's right leg.
In this fight, Yodsaenklai showcases the use of elbows, he uses some eye catching combos, mixing in elbows. He looks so neat in doing his thing, he also posseses underrated boxing skills. Watch how he mixes up his offense and defense, how he counters, blocks and looks good doing it. Truly a one of

Yet again Yodsaenklai shows us why he is called the computer wizard, he broke this guy down with perfect precision and timing. He looked so neat in doing it.
No matter how good, powerful, and fast paced the opponent, Yodsaenklai is brilliant at slowing the fight down and totally controlling the distance/fight. He is tactically and technically in charge! I am yet to see someone just overpower this thai and set their own pace.

This guy puts boxers to shame, in the space of only 18 months he has had 14 fights, and pretty much all the opponents were world class. These days the top boxers only fight twice a year, and if the fans are extremly lucky they'll get 3 fights out of the top guys per year.


Yodsaenklai vs Cosmo Alexandre
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agLqWxYh2BQ

Peace:good

 

Yes you have a point.
Yod doesnt switch hit much like other great fighters like jomhod. He should use his right leg more, but imo he has been using it just right, not over doing it.

But obviously it works extremly well for yod, so i wouldnt change a thing. If its not broke, why fix it?

 

i like Kaew as a fighter. He mixes up his combos well, and like most thai fighters he has great precision and timing. He is another fighter i watch and learn from. Obviously not as great as yod.

Imo Yodsaenklai is the best of the best from thailand. Guys like Kaew are excellent fighters but lack that edge that makes yod so great. The mental strength, overall cleverness and skill.
unlike yod he does use his right leg often, for foot jabs. I just dont like how he lets some guys bully him around (yamamoto)