Guest post by Evolve MMA, Asia’s premier championship brand for martial arts. It has the most number of World Champions on the planet. Named as the #1 ranked martial arts organization in Asia by CNN, Yahoo! Sports, FOX Sports, Evolve MMA is the top rated BJJ gym in Singapore.

The history of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is filled with many legendary names. These exemplary competitors have shaped the sport from a purely self-defense art back in the day to the global phenomenon that we now enjoy.

One of these competitors is the one and only Marcelo Garcia. Marcelo is a multiple-time gi and no-gi world champion. He is known for his unique and forward-thinking approach to BJJ, and is the inspiration for many modern competitors that we see today. In this article, we’ll discuss how this man rose through the ranks to become one of the best to ever wear the gi.

Background

Marcelo Garcia is a Brazilian martial artist and coach under the great Fabio Gurgel. He represents the Team Alliance banner. Marcelo had a fantastic competitive career and won many prestigious tournaments in both gi and no-gi Jiu-Jitsu. This includes winning the IBJJF World Championship (5X) as well as the ADCC title (4X). He mainly competed in the middleweight division but has also competed in the absolute multiple times.

He started his martial arts journey by training in Karate at a young age. After a while, Marcelo thought that the rigidness of Karate training might not be a good fit for him, so he stopped training after being immersed in the art for four years. 

After Karate, Marcelo switched to the Japanese art of Judo under the guidance of Judoka Fabiano de Souza. This was Marcelo’s first foray into the world of grappling. He started liking Judo and entered many local competitions during this time. In order to add more weapons to his game, he decided to also train in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu as his Judo coach was also cross-training several times a week. The two trained BJJ in the neighboring city of Devinopolis, under the tutelage of BJJ black belt Iran Brasileiro.

His development as a BJJ athlete required him to try different gyms to further expand his game. He had a pretty decent top game at this point (due to his Judo training in the years prior), but he had to also round out his style by working on his guard. He met Paulo Rezende in a tournament and began training in his gym in Poco de Caldas. Paulo gave him free accommodation in exchange for Marcelo to perform daily errands. 

Marcelo knew that this was an excellent chance to level up his BJJ, so he capitalized on the opportunity. He trained tirelessly at this point. He trained up to four times a day and was very open to absorbing new techniques. 

As his confidence grew, Marcelo also competed in more tournaments. He started competing in absolute divisions to sharpen his technique. This trait carried throughout his career as he fearlessly grappled against monsters during his championship run.

He started his winning streaks at this point, besting many local and international competitions, including the prestigious IBJJF World Championship as a brown belt. 

His then-girlfriend and now wife, Tatiana, suggested that it would be good to move to Sao Paulo as it was a hotbed for competitive BJJ. Marcelo accepted an invitation from Team Alliance’s Fernando “Terere” Augusto to become an assistant instructor in his gym. He then moved to Team Alliance’s HQ and trained under Fabio Gurgel. This move was instrumental as it helped him become the great champion he is today. 

Techniques And Influence

If you’ve watched a Marcelo Garcia highlight, you’ll notice that his game is different compared to his contemporaries. Marcelo likes to play a more dynamic style of open guard, utilizing the butterfly guard as his main base of attack. From the butterfly, he has the option of using the x and single leg x guard as secondary guards if the opponent gets too close. His submission repertoire is nasty as well. Marcelo likes to finish his matches by using a variety of chokes to submit his opponents. He is a big fan of the high elbow guillotine, north-south choke, and rear naked choke (RNC).

This video perfectly exemplifies Marcelo’s game. Notice that he likes to play the seated guard to initiate his offense. As mentioned above, he prefers a more open game, similar to how many modern grapplers approach their matches. His x and single leg x guard are great for off-balancing and sweeping opponents. These guards (especially the single leg x and reverse x guard) are also useful if you like to use leglocks. 

Another weapon that he likes to use is the arm drag. The arm drag is a wrestling technique that has a ton of offensive potential when used in submission grappling. It can be used from almost any position and creates exposure to back attacks. Kudos to Riccardo Ammendolia for this compilation.

Not only is he an exemplary athlete, but he has also blossomed into an excellent coach. His academy is regarded as one of the top schools in the United States. He has produced many world-class competitors, including stars like Gianni Grippo, Dillon Danis, Mansher Khera, and ADCC champion Matheus Diniz. 

Many top grapplers and fighters worldwide frequent his academy not only because of the quality of instruction but also because Marcelo has gained the respect and admiration of his peers. He is famous for his kind demeanor and is a champion on and off the mats. More than anything, this is perhaps Marcelo Garcia’s greatest contribution to our sport.

Conclusion

Marcelo Garcia is definitely a name you’ll hear for decades to come. His legacy as both a competitor and instructor is unparalleled. If you think about it, his game is absolutely influential to BJJ’s current meta, especially when it comes to guard play. Regardless of whether you play gi or no-gi, you’ll surely find nuggets of wisdom studying his style of BJJ.

Guest post by Evolve MMA, Asia’s premier championship brand for martial arts. It has the most number of World Champions on the planet. Named as the #1 ranked martial arts organization in Asia by CNN, Yahoo! Sports, FOX Sports, Evolve MMA is the top rated MMA gym in Singapore.

Khabib Nurmagomedov had one of the most spectacular and dominant careers in mixed martial arts. Many consider him to be the greatest mixed martial artist of all time because of his impressively perfect record of twenty-nine wins and zero losses. His style comprises primarily a mixture of Sambo, Judo, and Wrestling in the octagon.

This is a particularly unique mixture, as mixed martial arts is currently dominated by Muay Thai, Jiu-Jitsu, and Boxing. Khabib’s unique style allowed him to exploit the gaps in other martial arts and fighters by presenting them with situations they’ve not prepared for. Today, Evolve Daily shares 5 ways how you can develop a style like Khabib Nurmagomedov.

1) Pressure Through Striking

Although Khabib finished the majority of his opponents with submissions, he was quite the underrated striker. He has faced his division’s most dangerous strikers and somehow always managed to come out on top with a victory. Khabib was even able to knock Conor Mcgregor down with an overhand right, a feat that other striking specialists have not been able to pull off. Despite all of this, many mixed martial arts fans and even analysts insist that Khabib is an amateur at striking. This is most likely due to Sambo’s punch mechanics and aesthetic being compared to the mechanics of traditional boxing.

While a skilled boxer flows and shows graceful footwork, Khabib’s striking is aesthetically rough around the edges. Khabib is peculiarly skilled at closing the distance with opponents that prefer fighting on the outside. He does this by being very patient and staying in his stance while actively searching for an opening. He throws a high volume of jabs, keeping his opponent’s guard occupied and preventing counter shots while he evaluates the situation.

During the early rounds of a fight, Khabib utilizes his jab, wearing his opponents down, draining them of their physical and mental stamina. Once he feels that his opponent has lost their explosiveness, he’ll use his jabs to close the distance and initiate his grappling. Another aspect of Khabib’s striking that is often overlooked, is his power. His punches are more compact than those found in traditional boxing. This is due to his build, reach, and also his style. While fully extending on every punch may slightly increase his range, it would however drastically decrease his defensive shell. Khabib rarely extends his arms fully when punching, this allows him to perform quick combos, follow-ups, and blocks in the event his opponent counters. 

2) Clinch Game / Takedowns

Khabib’s success in mixed martial arts was primarily due to his high skill level in the clinch and efficiency at takedowns. He was able to take down skilled strikers, even those who were specifically trained in grappling defense. His fighting philosophy was taught by his father, the late Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov when he was a young child in Dagestan. In contrast to other forms of wrestling, Khabib’s sambo emphasizes the utilization of the legs and cages as a form of offense.

While other grappling arts such as American Wrestling and Jiu-Jitsu primarily utilize the arms to control the opponent and the legs to assist with submissions, this is the opposite case in Sambo. Sambo fighters utilize their legs to control their opponent’s legs and their arms to inflict damage via strikes and submissions. When shooting for a takedown, Khabib aims to get his head on his opponent’s hip, which corresponds to the leg he is shooting for.

Ideally, if he were to shoot for the left leg of his opponent, he would also get his head to the left side of their hip. This allows him to control half of his opponent’s body, going in for various trips while he works his opponent to the ground. Khabib will often body-lock his opponent, draining them of their stamina and getting them to the ground via a Judo style hip throw. This involves him stepping across his opponent’s centerline after off-balancing them with a strike or a grappling maneuver. Most fighters use the cage as leverage to get back to their feet after an attempted takedown.

Khabib reverses this philosophy and uses the cage as leverage to get his opponent off balance. Once he has his opponent against the cage, he can react to what they do. He can move to the aforementioned hip throw, or step around and secure a figure four lock on one of his opponent’s legs, simultaneously controlling one of their arms. 

3) Leg Control

One of Khabib’s signature techniques is his leg wrap. After taking his opponent to the ground, he wraps and squeezes his legs around the lower part of his opponent’s legs while extending the rest of his body towards their head.

This places immense pressure on his opponent’s knees, essentially preventing them from using their lower body to escape or generate any force on the ground. It is essential to train your legs to sustain the squeezing pressure needed for twenty-five minutes. This can be achieved through partner drills or solo rounds squeezing a grounded heavy bag. 

4) “Smesh” Ground And Pound

Khabib’s ground and pound sequence have been an unstoppable force in the lightweight division during his reign as champion. Once Khabib has his legs wrapped around his opponents, he looks for openings to finish the fight. By utilizing his legs to control his opponents, he frees up his hands to strike his opponent’s face and body, denying their attempt to defend and shrimp out of the mount.

Interestingly, Khabib seems to prefer finishing his opponent with strikes rather than a submission. These little details stylistically make it very difficult to deal with him.

5) Psychological Warfare

Khabib is known to talk to his opponents as he strikes them during his ground and pound, ordering them to give up and that he deserves the win. This demoralizes his already battered opponent greatly, often resulting in a submission.

Combining the use of tactics along with his strong mental pressure shows the dominance of Khabib’s skillset, in comparison to even the top-tier UFC fighter. 

Guest post by Evolve MMA, Asia’s premier championship brand for martial arts. It has the most number of World Champions on the planet. Named as the #1 ranked martial arts organization in Asia by CNN, Yahoo! Sports, FOX Sports, Evolve MMA is the top rated MMA gym in Singapore.

MMA began as a way to determine which martial art was the most effective, by pitting fighters from individual disciplines against one another.

In the modern-day, that’s not the case. If an athlete wants to be able to compete at the highest level, they need to be able to do it all. Their striking skills have to be backed up by their grappling game, and vice versa.

However, no mixed martial artist is a 10/10 at everything. Kron Gracie might be an ADCC World Champion, but he’s not got the stand-up skills to win a ONE Super Series World Title. Chances are that if someone has devoted their life to becoming the very best in the world at one thing, it is almost impossible for them to have developed their other skills to the same level. 

Unfortunately, it’s unlikely we will ever see an athlete who could win Olympic freestyle wrestling gold, claim the WBC boxing World Title, clean up at the Mundials, and then combine all their attributes to win an MMA World Title.

But what if we could play the role of Victor Frankenstein and take the men who lead the way in each aspect of mixed martial arts, and splice their DNA together to create the perfect competitor?

These would be the athletes to choose.

Boxing – Anderson Silva 

At the peak of his powers, there was no man more dangerous on the feet than Anderson “The Spider” Silva.

Though the record-breaking UFC middleweight champion scored some of his most famous knockouts with kicks, knees, and even a reverse elbow, the most mesmerizing part of the Brazilian’s stand-up game was his boxing.

He stood above most of his peers because he was a master of footwork and distance, his head movement left opponents swinging at air, and he could lead with both hands. He also had supreme knockout ability due to his combination of precision and power.

Silva was a sniper. At a time where many world champions still swung looping punches in search of a KO, his accuracy set him apart. Even though he did not look like he was throwing hands with full force, he could put down the most granite-chinned challengers. 

The world saw that on the big stage when Silva kicked off his unmatched 16-bout UFC winning streak with an assassination of Chris Leben. Many more opponents were made to look foolish in the next few years.

Forrest Griffin was embarrassed as Silva bobbed and weaved out of danger, and then struck with ruthless efficiency. He also took a leaf out of Muhammad Ali’s book when he slipped Yushin Okami’s best shots and put him down with an anchor punch.

“The Spider’s” records speak for themselves, but for the ultimate validation, iconic boxing coach Freddie Roach described him as the best boxer in MMA during his prime.

Kicking – Mirko Cro Cop 

Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic’s supreme kicking ability struck fear into the hearts of men. Descriptions of his trademark roundhouse usually included the refrain: right leg, hospital; left leg, cemetery. 

The Croatian sensation was an import from K-1, so as an out-and-out striker, no man could match his devastating kickboxing skills when he first set foot in the MMA arena.

As a heavyweight, it’s not much of a surprise that he possessed tremendous power. However, unlike most of his peers in Pride Fighting Championships, Cro Cop had incredible flexibility. He could launch his most dangerous weapons with lightning speed.

His leg kicks would slow rivals down quickly, or even stop them altogether. His body kicks also had one-strike fight-finishing potential. Plus, in an era of legal soccer kicks, a few unfortunate souls bore the brunt of a terrifying salvo of shots on the ground.

However, it’s the left high kick that Cro Cop is most famous for – particularly a trio between 2003 and 2006 that will live on forever in highlight reels. Igor Vovchanchyn, Wanderlei Silva, and even the gigantic Alexander Emelianenko all fell to the most spectacular strike in MMA history. They knew it was coming, but they couldn’t do anything to stop it.

Wrestling/Takedowns – Khabib Nurmagomedov

For a long time, the archetypal mixed martial arts wrestler was a strapping, muscle-bound powerhouse with an explosive double-leg shot. However, the success of Khabib Nurmagomedov has turned that idea on its head.

“The Eagle” is not the most athletic man in the lightweight division, and his pure grappling technique is not on par with Olympians like Daniel Cormier and Ben Askren. However, the way he uses his skills for MMA is unmatched in the sport’s history.

Nurmagomedov’s wrestling is like Cro Cop’s kick – everyone knows it’s coming, but they can’t do anything to stop it. He rushes and blitzes forward to close the distance, and avoids damage as he makes contact with his opponents.

Once Khabib closes in, especially against the cage, his opponents have no place to go. It might take him a little while, but eventually, he’ll get them down on the mat. He’s also a master of chain wrestling. If an opposing athlete tries to get up, you can bet he’ll have another trick or two up his sleeve to put them right back down.

Beyond his takedown ability, Nurmagomedov is also unrivaled when it comes to control. When he finally has his man where he wants them, he’s a master of keeping them there. Plus, he can isolate an arm in a way that makes them wide open to striking and submission offense.

Submissions – Shinya Aoki

Nurmagomedov’s UFC title reign may have been defined by a trio of submissions against three of the world’s best lightweight, but even he cannot match Shinya Aoki in the submission stakes.

The Japanese icon’s excellence on the mat has earned him as many wins by submission (29) as Nurmagomedov managed in his entire career. What’s more, 25 of those finishes came in the first round.

Aoki is a judo and jiu-jitsu black belt with possibly the most impressive arsenal of grappling offenses in the history of mixed martial arts. His record is like an encyclopedia of submission techniques featuring everything from flying triangles to gogoplatas.

However, though he is known as “Tobikan Judan” (The Grand Master of Flying Submissions), it’s his ruthless efficiency with bread-and-butter moves that makes Aoki so special. 

Many top-tier athletes have found themselves trapped in double-quick time. Seconds later, they have surrendered to the kinds of chokes and armlocks they would expect to survive against any ordinary adversary.

Ground And Pound – Jon Jones

Jon Jones grabs the headlines for his creative flair on the feet and incredible takedown ability, but the most impressive part of his skill set might be the way he destroys opponents on the ground. 

When “Bones” starts raining his punches and elbows down from the top position, it usually signals the beginning of the end for his opponents. His hard punches and bone-shattering elbows have forced many elite fighters to curl up and hope for a reprieve.

The American doesn’t even need to be in a dominant position to be effective. Even from the guard, his insane reach allows him to unload and land in volume. It rarely takes much effort for him to posture up and unleash the kind of salvos that cause referees to come running. 

Alexander Gustafsson, Chael Sonnen, and Brandon Vera were stopped with JBJ’s all-out ground and pound assault. The likes of Vitor Belfort were beaten on until they all but offered a submission on a plate to their conqueror.

Speed – Jose Aldo 

Speed kills, and that is why José Aldo’s achievements are still unmatched in the featherweight division.

The Brazilian star was untouchable at the top of the weight class for years as he tore through his challengers with blazing hand-speed and lightning-fast kicks. His cat-like reflexes also made him had to hit and near impossible to take down. 

That quickness helped to make him so effective with leg kicks. Before opponents saw them coming, their thighs were hit with the force of a baseball bat. 

It was also impossible to exchange with him because he’d land four punches in the time it took for his foe to throw two.

Aldo’s speed also helped him to pull off two of the most spectacular knockouts in MMA history. In WEC, he moved so fast he kneed Cub Swanson twice in the face, in mid-air, to score an unfathomable 8-second finish. In the UFC, he escaped a takedown, spun, and kneed Chad Mendes into oblivion in the blink of an eye.

Cardio – Cain Velasquez

The downfall of many heavyweights is their inability to match their explosive power with endurance. Who can forget Shane Carwin coming close to finishing Brock Lesnar in round one before he gassed out and was tapped out?

Cain Velasquez was different. The former UFC heavyweight champion maintained a high offensive output for 25 minutes – though his opponents were usually finished long before the end of the fifth round.

It’s not like the Mexican-American juggernaut ever seemed to try and conserve energy, either. He came roaring out of the gate from the first bell and kept his foot on the gas until he got his hand raised.

Whether he was attacking with relentless wrestling or launching a barrage of bombs at his unfortunate foes, Velasquez just did not stop. 

The only time his cardio was ever in question was when he did not acclimatize to the high altitude of Mexico City. However, at sea level, Velasquez did not slow down. 

Fight IQ – Georges St-Pierre

A shock KO defeat to Matt Serra was a turning point in the career of Georges St-Pierre. Before then, “Rush” was an offensive dynamo who overwhelmed his opponents with his high-level offense. 

After he was caught and lost his UFC welterweight title, things changed. First and foremost, he made the decision to ensure his challengers would barely lay a glove on him. Then he’d dismantle them where they were weakest.

His smart approach saw him go almost untouched for five years of his welterweight reign. 

GSP’s change in approach made him one of the most irresistible wrestling forces in MMA history as he neutralized the threat of dangerous strikers. His explosive double-leg took Thiago Alves, Dan Hardy, and Carlos Condit out of their comfort zones and left them desperately defending as “Rush” unloaded with ground and pound.

He still went toe-to-toe when the time was right, too. Both Josh Koscheck and Jon Fitch were dismantled over five rounds. The Canadian superstar even picked Nick Diaz apart when most fans thought the Stockton bad boy would have the edge in the stand-up stakes.

Also, he retired when he was on top – before the ravages of the world’s toughest sport took their toll on him like so many of his contemporaries. That may be the ultimate endorsement of his fight IQ.

Putting It All Together – Demetrious Johnson

No one has ever mastered all aspects of mixed martial arts and put them together with such excellence and fluidity as Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson.

Striking? He knocked out his two closest rivals – Joseph Benavidez with a single punch and Henry Cejudo with a knee to the body.

Wrestling? He could take and hold down anyone down in a division renowned for super-fast, scramble-happy grapplers.

Submissions? He made world-class BJJ black belt Wildon Reis surrender to an armbar and pulled off a unique finish by throwing Ray Borg and catching him with a decisive armbar.

The most extraordinary aspect of Johnson’s skills is that he can flow effortlessly between disciplines. He transitions from kickboxing to a double-leg, or from the clinch to a submission set-up without breaking his stride. 

Few rivals can match his expertise and application, so it’s no wonder he’s been a beacon of MMA greatness for almost a decade. 

Guest post by Evolve MMA, Asia’s premier championship brand for martial arts. It has the most number of World Champions on the planet. Named as the #1 ranked martial arts organization in Asia by CNN, Yahoo! Sports, FOX Sports, Evolve MMA is the top rated MMA gym in Singapore.

The sports of mixed martial arts (MMA) has proven to be the ultimate testing ground for martial arts. Once upon a time, you could only wonder about what would happen if you tossed a wrestler in a ring with a Kung-Fu master. Matches that pitted fighters from different combat styles were rare, so there was little data to go by when it came to analyzing the effectiveness of each system.

All that came to an end when mixed martial arts started becoming popular in the 90s. For the first time, a large audience got to watch practitioners from different martial arts compete, and it has changed the way we all look at combat.

Grapplers dominated the early days of mixed martial arts competition, some of their success was due to the fact most people had no idea how to defend against grappling techniques. It’s hard to defend against an armbar when you can’t even tell your opponent is trying to set one up.

Still, the effectiveness of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) was quite evident during the early days of MMA. The ability to control an opponent on the ground and the ability to finish fights from disadvantageous positions proved to be excellent skills for fighters to have.

It led to a boom in the popularity of BJJ classes all over the world as it proved to be one of the most effective fighting systems around. Over time, mixed martial artists became more aware of BJJ techniques, and that led to an era that was dominated by wrestlers. Eventually, sprawl and brawl fighters like Chuck Liddell started dominating the sport.

Nowadays, the sport of mixed martial arts truly lives up to its name. You will have a hard time finding a professional MMA fighter who is not well versed with all the different aspects of fighting.

The Big Three

This article will explore the three main martial arts that dominate mixed martial arts competition. If you plan to compete someday, you should be training all three consistently.

1) Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

BJJ might be the most addictive martial art in the world. It is a grappling art that focuses on escaping, reversing, and attacking an opponent from any of the major positions you can end up in while on the ground. It incorporates submissions like armbars, chokes, and pressure locks to force an opponent to submit.

The trademark position in BJJ is the guard. To an unseasoned eye, the person on the bottom during a fight is losing the contest, but BJJ teaches you a plethora of submissions, sweeps, holds, and sweeps from there. A seasoned BJJ practitioner is more than capable of ending a fight while on his back. It means a BJJ practitioner is always in a fight even if things are not going his way.

Anderson’s Silva’s comeback against Chael Sonnen at UFC 117 is an excellent example of a BJJ specialist always being in a fight. Sonnen dominated Silva for four and a half rounds, and he only needed to survive the duration of the fifth round to become the new champion. However, Silva kept looking for submissions, and he managed to lock up a submission with a little over two minutes left in the fight. The submission instantly negated everything Sonnen had done up until that point. Ironically, Sonnen had harshly criticized the effectiveness of BJJ leading up to the fight.

2) Wrestling

Wrestlers have had their fair share of success in mixed martial arts, and they continue to do so. Wrestling teaches you how to take others down and how to avoid being taken down. It also emphasizes good positional control when the fight gets to the canvas. Wrestlers are typically good at taking people down and keeping them there.

That’s a good thing as far as MMA is concerned. Takedowns and positional control score points in mixed martial arts contests, so the skills wrestlers develop translate well into mixed martial arts. They know how to dictate where the fight takes place, and dominant control wins them rounds inside a cage.

Wrestling is a physically intense activity, and it has a very competitive culture. It helps to build a strong work ethic, power, and extraordinary cardiovascular endurance. These attributes typically carry over when the wrestler starts learning other martial arts.

Wrestling is arguably the best base you can have for mixed martial arts. There are many fighters dominating amateur MMA circuits based solely on their wrestling abilities.

3) Muay Thai

Many striking styles have been tested inside cages, yet none compare to Muay Thai. Also called the art of eight limbs, it is the most complete striking system around. It prepares you for everything you have to deal with during mixed martial arts competition.

You learn how to avoid knees, kicks, punches, elbows, and trips, and how to counter with attacks of your own. It’s a fighting system that has been thoroughly tested, and it focuses on practical techniques that actually work. It certainly isn’t anywhere as flashy as some of the other styles, but you will be comfortable whenever you have to strike with an opponent.

All mixed martial arts contests start with both fighters standing up, so learning how to strike is essential. The days of one-dimensional fighters dominating MMA are long gone. Watch any top MMA fighter performing, and you will quickly notice how well-rounded their skills are.

All Martial Arts Can Be Effective Under The Right Circumstances

It turns out the legendary Bruce Lee was right. There is no perfect fighting system. A good martial artist takes what works for them from each style and mixes them all up to create their own unique fighting system. That’s the best combat style in the world, and that should be your approach to mixed martial arts.

Always be willing to learn from different styles. Judo throws work in MMA, and so do flashy Capoeira kicks when properly timed. Learning from different styles gives you a more diverse arsenal, and it makes it easier for you to detect and evade attacks.

Guest post by Evolve MMA, Asia’s premier championship brand for martial arts. It has the most number of World Champions on the planet. Named as the #1 ranked martial arts organization in Asia by CNN, Yahoo! Sports, FOX Sports, Evolve MMA is the top rated Muay Thai gym in Singapore.

Outside Thailand, there may not be a country that’s more obsessed with Muay Thai than Australia.

There’s a long list of fan-favorites who come from the land Down Under, as well as a host of athletes that have become World Champions.

A rundown of the best Aussie Muay Thai fighters could go on for several pages, so we selected just five of the elite who are considered all-time greats.

John Wayne Parr

No one else but John Wayne Parr could be first on this list.

“The Gunslinger” is Muay Thai – not just in Australia, but in pretty much every country outside the sport’s homeland. He’s seen and done it all in a 25-year career, and he is still going strong to this day.

Wayne Parr had his first pro bout when he was 16 in his motherland, but the legend of “John Wayne” took off when he went to live and train among Thai athletes.

He became a fan-favorite in The Land Of Smiles for his all-action style on the biggest stages – from Lumpinee Stadium to the iconic King’s Birthday events in front of huge crowds of up to one hundred thousand.

It was at one of these events that Parr had his finest hour, a war with Orono Por Muang Ubon, which earned him just one of the many belts he collected in his career, the IMF Middleweight World Title.

Parr is also known to casual fans thanks to his appearances on The Contender Asia, which was a breakthrough moment for Muay Thai.

Although he went on to lose the competition’s final against Yodsanklai Fairtex, he finally got a win over the Thai legend a few years later. 

Combined with his legendary rivalries with the likes of Cosmo Alexandre, Daniel Dawson, and Mike Zambidis, few athletes can boast a record so full of must-see fights.

Nathan Corbett

One look at Nathan Corbett’s résumé tells you why he’s one of Muay Thai’s greats.

With a record of 59-5 (1NC), 11 World Titles to his name, and status as one of the founding members of the WBC Muay Thai Hall Of Fame, his legacy is secure.

Once you take a look at his fights, it’s easy to see how he hit these heights.

It’s hard to imagine why anyone would want to step into the ring with “Carnage” after one look at his highlight reel.

Corbett was more than 200lb of pure power who earned his “Golden Elbows” moniker due to his habit of scoring some of those finishes with some stunning strikes. 

They were far from his only weapons, however. He was almost as likely to put his opponents on the floor with his hands, legs, and knees, too.

Overall, he claimed 44 wins by knockout for a staggering 75% KO rate that is almost unheard of in the art of eight limbs.

Steve McKinnon

With an alias like “The Smashing Machine”, you might assume Steve McKinnon would have a record filled with knockout wins. 

You wouldn’t be wrong.

McKinnon, also known as “God of War,” started his martial arts journey aged four in karate, and that meant he came to the Muay Thai ring equipped with a phenomenal kicking game.

Most of his fights ended with him winning by stoppage, and his greatest hits include a selection of spectacular head kicks.

That’s not all. McKinnon had a full complement of skills for the art of eight limbs, and his aggression made him one of the most entertaining draws anywhere in the world.

Plus, McKinnon has the hardware to validate everything he did under the lights. He was the first WBC Muaythai World Super Cruiserweight Champion and held the belt for 3,151 days. 

That helped make him one of three Aussies to be part of the organization’s founding Hall Of Fame class.

Caley Reece

Despite not competing in Muay Thai until she was 25, Caley Reece has achieved more than most.

After a distinguished amateur career, she put together a near-flawless pro run that saw her beat some of the best competitors of her era and claim some of her sport’s biggest prizes.

Reece ran out of body parts to wrap her belts around following her capture of the WPMF World Title and WMC World Championships in two divisions – along with a collection of other domestic and continental prizes.

She also beat fellow Aussie and WBC Muay Thai Hall of Famer Tiana Caverley along the way, and retired on top after defending her belt against multiple-time Muay Thai and kickboxing World Champion, Meryem Uslu.

However, that was not the end for Reece. She was tempted back into the ring within a year and authored some of her greatest achievements before hanging her gloves up for gloves.

Following a win against Tiffany van Soest to steal the Lion Fight strap, she defended her WMC featherweight crown against Chommanee Sor Taehiran to end her career on top.

Toby Smith

Combat sports purists will tell you that you can measure a fighter’s greatness by looking at who they fought and who they beat.

Take one look at Toby “The Weapon” Smith’s record, and it’s a wonder he’s not a household name.

The young Aussie’s list of victims is incredible who’s who of elite champions and pound-for-pound greats from Thailand.

They include Thongchai Sitsongpeenong, Diesellek TopkingBoxing, Superbon Banchamek, and Petchtanong Banchamek.

He’s also beaten some of the best from his homeland, including Charlie Bubb, Elliot Compton, and John Wayne Parr.

The latter victory was particularly impressive, as he employed some phenomenal clinch skills to overpower “The Gunslinger” and win the WKN World Title.

Interestingly, he also contributed to Muay Thai in Singapore by training with their national team in 2018.

Smith is still only 27, so there could still be a lot more to come from him, definitely one to watch.