Inside Tiger Muay Thai: Episode 2 - Fried with Sauce

MMA Mania’s Andrew Richardson is back with the second installment of his MMA training diary from one of the world’s largest combat sports gyms. This time he’s hitting the mats for some Tiger Muay Thai BJJ.

Team Alpha Male fighter and MMA Mania writer Andrew Richardson spent a few weeks in Thailand earlier this year, with the intention of putting together some solid training at one of the world’s largest combat sports gyms. In 2020, Tiger Muay Thai has much more to offer than just the art of 8 limbs. The massive campus in Phuket hosts all the core components any fighter would need to put together a rock solid MMA career, and has been the launching pad for more than a few fighters on their way into the UFC.

Episode 1 saw Richardson get his first impressions of the campus, and confront his first tough training sessions in the sweltering heat after a little time off and relaxation. In Episode 2 the ‘Pride’ hit the mats to do some intense BJJ work.

Now, as a guy with a jiu-jitsu background, I’m likely biased. Still, I loved the way they were run — straight to the point. After a brief warm up to get a sweat going, which required little effort in Phuket’s heat and humidity, we would go directly into live grappling. 10-15 athletes would take the middle and start in a dominant position like back mount, side control, or even just top of guard. The fighter in the better position tried to finish, and the bottom man could win by escaping, sweeping, or submitting.

Winner stays in ... until he eventually loses.

There were more standard jiu-jitsu classes with a focus on instruction available at Tiger as well, but for professionals who know their stuff, that’s a perfect class!

He and SBNation videographer Case Harts then took a trip to the night market, hoping to score some authentic Thai cuisine. Check out the whole episode above.