Muay Farang in History: Although Muay Thai originated in Thailand, it has evolved into a worldwide sport that is practised and taught everywhere. In this article, we’ve searched far and wide, across decades, and around the world to compile a list of the 15 greatest Muay Farang to have ever competed in the art of eight limbs. Many fighters who were born outside of the country, known as Muay Farang, have gone on to become champions of the sport. Here is our ranking of the best 15 Muay Thai fighters who are not native to the United States, presented in no particular order.
Who Are the Top 15 Muay Farang in Muay Thai History?
1) Liam Harrison
The superstar from Leeds’ Bad Company Gym, born in the United Kingdom, is well-known in the Muay Thai community for his numerous thrilling bouts in the ONE Championship, notably the absurd one-round match he had in 2019 versus Muangthai, also known as the “Elbow Zombie.”
Harrison has experience taking on elite Thai fighters. In his career, he has met and defeated the renowned Saenchai three times, as well as the dangerous Anuwat. Harrison has won 91 of his 118 fights during this time. In the process, he has also won seven world titles, making him one of the most prosperous Muay Farangs in the sport’s history.
You might also be interested in reading this: Muay Thai Fighters Golden Era and Current Era
2) Dany Bill
The Dany Muay Farang, who was born in Cameroon Bill gained popularity in Thailand during the peak of Muay Thai, a time when Westerners were an uncommon sight in Bangkok stadiums. Bill won his first world championship in a battle against Den Muang Surin during the 1993 King’s Birthday celebration, fighting out of Bangkok’s prestigious Jocky Gym. Before Sakmongkol Sithchukchok defeated him in 1999, he fought against fighters like Coban, Nokweed Devy, and Orono during the seven years he held the belt.
Bill is well regarded for his exquisite Muay Thai technique, particularly for his deft sweeps and remarkable balance. He won an astounding 115 fights out of 126 due to his talent and intelligence quotient, many of which were against the top Thai fighters of the time.
3) Daniel Rodriguez
Born in Switzerland, Daniel Rodriguez is a true prodigy who has competed in 43 fights, most of them in Thai arenas, winning the 154-pound Rajadamnern Title prior to suffering his first loss.
Rodriguez won the coveted 154-pound WBC European championship while competing out of Dado Gym in Zurich. He then travelled to Thailand and started fighting out of Sitchefboontham in Bangkok before moving to SinbiMuayThai in Phuket.
Rodriguez faced and defeated Thai heavyweights like Rungrat, Thananchai, Santanfah, and Yodwicha (twice) during his unbeaten streak at Rajadamnern, which propelled him to the top of the WBC world rankings at his weight.
Rodriguez, who is only 25 years old, is still developing his sporting history. As fans anxiously anticipate his return to the ring, he is presently back in Switzerland, training out of Dado Gym.
4) John Wayne Parr
Australian Muay Thai royalty, “The Gunslinger,” is rarely mentioned in discussions about Muay Thai in Australia without bringing up his historic trilogy versus Yodsanklai Fairtex. Parr won ten world titles and 99 of his 135 professional fights throughout his remarkable career.
Before moving to Thailand in 1996, Parr began his professional career in Queensland, where he had a string of victories in fights that earned him many provincial championships. Parr experienced the real fighter’s lifestyle while training with “The Deadly Kisser” Sangtiennoi in Bangkok. He learned the language fluently and slept in a boxing ring next to other fighters. Parr earned the 1997 Best Farang Fighter of the Year title and the Kings Cup Tournament while he was living in Thailand. After coming back to Australia, he went on to have a successful career as a fighter for the best promotions in the world, like as Bellator, K1-Max, and ONE Championship.
5) Jonathan Haggerty
Before signing a contract with ONE Championship, the superstar Jonathan “The General” Haggerty of the prestigious Knowles Academy began his career in the UK, where he won the ISKA Super Featherweight World Title.
Following a five-round showdown with the defending Muay Thai World Champion Sam-A Gaiyanghadao, Haggerty won the ONE Flyweight World Title after defeating future champion Joseph Lasiri in his promotion debut.
His reign was brief because Haggerty moved up to Bantamweight after losing the title to Rodtang and failing to reclaim it in an instant rematch. Since then, he has gone on a seven-fight winning streak, winning another ISKA World Title, becoming a two-sport ONE World Champion, and snapping the 10-fight winning streak of Muay Thai World Champion Nong-O.
6) Damien Alamos
Damien Alamos, a Frenchman, is considered by many Muay Thai purists to be among the greatest Muay Farang of all time, if not the greatest. Early in his career, Alamos relocated to Thailand, where he fought out of Singpatong Gym most of the time.
Alamos has battled against fighters such as Capitan Petchyindee, Thongchai Sitsongpeenong, Sittichai Sitsongpeenong, and Saenchai. He is a former WPMF and WMC World Champion. In 2012, he also held the 140-pound Lumpinee Stadium Title, and he created history by being the first foreigner to successfully defend the title twice.
Alamos declared his retirement from the sport in 2014, but after making a comeback to the ring earlier this year and winning by first-round knockout, many fans are eager to know what the French legend will do in the future.
7) Damien Trainor
At the age of fourteen, Damien Trainor began his fighting career at Birmingham’s K-Star Legacy Gym. Three years later, at the tender age of seventeen, he rose to the top of the UK bantamweight rankings. After winning many European titles at the age of 21, Trainor moved to the Muay Thai homeland and began competing on a regular basis in the main arenas. Trainor won the WMC MAD and IKF World Titles upon his return to the UK, and he is regarded as one of the greatest Muay Farangs of all time with victories against fighters like Andy Howson, Rungravee Sasiprapa, and Paul Spinks.
8) Ramon Dekkers
“The Diamond” Ramon Dekkers is the first name that comes up when fighters in gyms all over the globe start talking about the greatest Muay Farang ever. Dekkers is so well-liked in the Muay Thai community that the Thai Royal Family bestowed upon him The Royal Award in 2013 in recognition of his contributions to the sport.
Dekkers accumulated 224 fights with 186 victories and 8 world titles during his career. Dekkers received praise for his accomplishments, but this was seldom. His fast-paced, unrelenting fighting style and extraordinary work ethic, which helped him establish himself in Thai arenas at a period of extremely difficult living and training conditions in Bangkok, are more likely to be mentioned by supporters.
9) Youssef Boughanem
The most decorated Nak Muay of all time is Youssef Boughanem, a Moroccan-Belgian martial artist. His greatest accomplishment is owning the Thai Stadium championships, having won the Lumpinee, Rajadamnern, and Omnoi 160lb crowns at various points in time. He has more titles than we could include on this list.
Boughanem has faced nearly every World and Thai stadium champion of the contemporary age in his spectacular career, which has now surpassed 220 fights. These fighters include Chanajon PK. Saenchaigym, Sudsakorn Sor Klinmee, Saiyok Pumpanmuang, and the legendary Buakaw.
10) Cosmo Alexandre
Cosmo Alexandre defeated some of the greatest Muay Thai champions of the current age in fights before he began his professional MMA career in 2011. During his 91 professional fights, the Brazilian boxer battled some of the top names in the middleweight class, including Yodsanklai Fairtex, Tum Madsua, Eugene Ekkelboom, and John Wayne Parr. Cosmo began his career in 2004.
11) Jean-Charles Skarbowsky
French Welterweight Jean-Charles Skarbowsky is still regarded as one of the greatest farangs to have ever competed in the art of eight limbs, even though he has never held a world title. The most notable qualities of the incredibly skilled Skarbowsky are his deadly punching force and his fighter’s mentality. He defeated several Rajadamnern Stadium Champions Robert Kaennorasing and Lumpinee Stadium Champions Orono Por Muang Ubon thanks to his outstanding work ethic. The Frenchman has fought 101 times, but his two greatest bouts came in Rajadamnern Stadium in 2003 and 2006 when he was ranked number one. He also received the coveted Sportswriter’s Fighter of the Year Award in 2000.
12) Ognjen Topic
Ognjen Topic, a Serbian-American, won the Lion Fight and MTGP World Championships before to relocating to Bangkok and joining the renowned PKSaenchaiGym, where he won the coveted Omnoi Stadium Lightweight Title in 2022.
Topic’s record may be uneven, with a number of defeats interspersed with noteworthy victories, but given his opponent’s history, which includes fights against Saemapetch Fairtex, Petchmorakot, and Saenchai, it is certain that he has competed with the greatest in the sport.
13) Yohan Lidon
Throughout his 146-fight career, Yohan Lidon, a dual sport champion, won several world titles in both kickboxing and muay thai. Lidon began his professional career in 1998, and following the capture of his first championship in 2005, he quickly became a main attraction at promotional events in Australia and Europe. Lidon didn’t live in Thailand for extended periods of time, in contrast to many of the Farangs on this list, but that didn’t stop him from competing against some of the greatest Thai champions of the time, such as multiple stadium and world champion Lamsongkram Chuwattana, Naruepol Fairtex, and Yodsanklai Fairtex. Additionally, Lidon has faced some of the most active Muay Farangs of his time, such as John Wayne Parr, Steve Moxon, Cosmo Alexandre, and Steven Wakeling.
14) Rafi Bohic
Rafi Bohic, a multiple World and Lumpinee Stadium champion, began practising martial arts at the age of 17. Motivated by Damien Alamos’s success, Bohic moved to Phuket’s renowned Singpatong gym. Since moving to Thailand, most of Bohic’s fights have taken place in Thai arenas. There, he has faced almost every well-known fighter that has competed in the super lightweight and welterweight weight classes, including Pakorn, Avatar, and Pongsiri, whom he defeated in 2017 to win his first Lumpinee title at 147 pounds.
Bohic is still fighting, and throughout the course of his past four matches, he has put on the 4 oz gloves and taken on opponents on ONE: Friday Fights, including Kulabdam and Yod IQ, in accordance with the worldwide regulations.
15) Iman Barlow
One of the most successful fighters in Muay Thai, Iman Barlow is known as “The Pretty Killer,” with only six losses in her 107 contests. The famous UK-born fighter debuted professionally at the age of sixteen, and she won the WKA Bantamweight World Title in 2009, only a year after her debut. Iman won the World Titles in Lion Fight, WBC, WPMF, and Enfusion during the course of the following 14 years, successfully defending the latter six times.
It has been said that Iman’s style is the ideal fusion of aggressiveness, cardio, and skill. She has defeated opponents like Yolanda Shmidt, Ekatarina Vandaryeva, and Hannah Brady, the current WBC Featherweight World Champion, with this lethal combination of skills.
These are the Top 15 Muay Farang in Muay Thai history. Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.
