From Training Camp to a Surprise Knockout

I went to Koh Lanta to prepare myself for my upcoming fight on May 28th. Although it’s still some time away, I knew I had to start early because my fitness level was honestly still far from fight-ready.

I chose Koh Lanta after doing some research. Compared to other parts of Thailand, it’s a quiet island with almost no distractions—no crazy nightlife, no shopping malls, no party scenes, no night markets. Just training, eating, resting, and repeating. Exactly what I needed.

I decided to train at Nicha Muay Thai Gym because their Instagram looked authentic and old-school. To be fair, I wasn’t even 100% sure yet since I hadn’t trained there before. But Koh Lanta is a small island, and there aren’t many gyms to choose from anyway.

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First Day: Bad Timing, Bad Decisions

I reached Koh Lanta at around 2:30pm and had my late lunch at 3pm. Big mistake. The evening training session starts at 4pm, but I was starving, so I had a proper meal.

At 4pm, I joined the training. Everything felt good—until it was my turn to do pad work with their Head Trainer, Kru Adam.

First round of pad work, I already felt like my food was coming back up. I almost vomited. But luckily I didn’t. Hahaha.

After three rounds of five minutes pad work, we went into clinching. And guess what? I got paired with the biggest farang in the gym—probably close to 2 meters tall and over 100kg.

Thankfully, I was more technical, so I didn’t get manhandled. It was actually pretty fun.

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Small World in Thailand

After training, Kru Adam told me there was a Singaporean guy fighting at Lanta Boxing Stadium on Friday and asked if I knew him. He showed me a photo—and of course, such a small country, I knew him.

The next morning, I saw him at training. His name is Fairuz, and he trains out of Tiger Muay Thai in Singapore. We recognised each other instantly and started chatting. It’s always nice bumping into Singaporeans in Thailand. Feels like home.

At the end of the session, while I was casually talking to Fairuz, Kru Adam suddenly came over and asked me:

“Do you want to fight on Friday?”

Without hesitation, I said yes.

Fairuz was shocked by how spontaneous I was. But to me, fighting in a small Thai stadium is something fun. There’s really nothing much to overthink.

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Fight Day Mindset

Finally, fight day arrived. Friday.

I’m not new to fighting. I know exactly how I’m going to feel throughout the day. I know how to deal with myself.

On fight day, I usually stay alone. I listen to music the whole day, avoid people, avoid work, just stay calm and focused.

I was nervous—but normal nervous. Nothing crazy.

The whole day, I kept visualising the fight. I knew I wasn’t fight-fit yet, so I told myself I had to knock him out early.

Ideally within the first two rounds. Because if it dragged into the third round, I knew I would be out of breath.

I already had a plan:

My clinch and knee game is my strength. I was going to knee him in the face. That would rock him and eventually knock him out.

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At the Stadium

At 8pm, all three of us met at Nicha Muay Thai Gym:

• Me

• Fairuz

• Christian, a fighter from UK making his debut

We reached the stadium at 8:30pm and started preparing. There were 7 bouts in total:

• Fairuz: Bout 5

• Christian: Bout 6

• Me: Bout 7

Kru Adam taped our hands, and then we went to the massage room to get oiled up with Namman Thai (Thai oil).

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Bout 5 – Fairuz

This was Fairuz’s professional debut. He looked confident walking into the ring and performed his wai kru.

First round was slow. Not much action.

Second round, he managed to sweep his opponent beautifully with a feint.

But then everything went downhill—he got caught by an elbow on the top of his head. Blood started flowing everywhere. He couldn’t even see properly because his eyes were covered with blood.

Unfortunate ending.

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Bout 6 – Christian

Christian’s first ever fight. Not even amateur. Straight into professional.

He looked strong and brave. He came all the way from England—definitely not just to “try”. He wanted to win.

His techniques weren’t very clean, but that’s normal for a first fight.

He won via KO in the third round and went crazy celebrating in the ring. He was so happy.

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Bout 7 – My Fight

While Christian was fighting, I went to look for Fairuz because I needed to borrow his groin guard. I found him in the massage room—and my opponent was there too.

Perfect moment for some psychology.

I smiled at my opponent to show I wasn’t scared. Took the groin guard and went back to wait.

Then my name was called.

I stepped into the ring and performed my wai kru. I love wai kru—it always calms me down and helps me stay composed.

We stood in the center:

• Same weight, he might be slightly heavier

• I was taller by about 5–7cm

• He was thicker and more solid

The bell rang.

He was southpaw, so I started with a light low kick to his inner thigh. He rushed in with punches, I blocked with long guard, and we clinched.

Immediately, I could feel it—I was way better in the clinch.

That made me happy, because my whole game plan was to finish him with knees.

I pressured him towards the ropes. I could see the worry in his eyes.

Then I set the trap:

Cross.

Low kick.

He rushed in to clinch.

Boom.

One knee to his chin.

Second knee straight to his face.

Referee stepped in. KO. Fight over.

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Afterthoughts

It was a nice experience, but honestly, I wasn’t fully satisfied. The fight ended too quickly—I wanted more time in the ring.

After the fight, Kru Adam offered me another fight in Phuket on 19th March. Very tempting. But it falls during the same week as Hari Raya, so I told him I needed time to think.

At the end of the day, the three of us went back to our hotels with experiences and lessons.

Win or lose, it’s just a game. Nobody should judge a fighter by wins or losses. Stepping into the ring itself already makes you a winner.

I’m still considering the Phuket offer. Very tempting.

But I also need to make sure my gyms in Singapore—Chana Muay Thai and Prime Fight Gym—are okay without me.

I will plan.

If not Phuket, then the next one is clear:

May 28th — Indonesia.

I will training at both my gyms at Chana Muay Thai and Prime Fight Gym. Come and train authentic muay thai with me and my team of dedicated trainers. Both gyms have trial sessions available every single day!