Muay Thai Pound-For-Pound Rankings: February 2024
Muay Thai Pound-For-Pound Rankings: February 2024
Ranking the top ten fighters in Muay Thai.
I’ve gotten lots of questions about who the best fighters in Muay Thai are, but as of yet haven’t found a great resource to point to. So I’ve decided to maintain my own pound-for-pound list.
I’ll only be considering fighters and contests under stadium rulesets or entertainment Muay Thai promotions like Rajadamnern World Series that change the scoring criteria but leave the ruleset mostly intact. So fighters who spend most of their time in ONE Championship won’t be included here, as that ruleset is essentially a different sport.
Under each entry you’ll find a playlist collecting their recent fights, an overview of recent accomplishments, and a brief description of their style, as well as links to any fights I’ve written about.
1. Chaila Por.Lakboon
Playlist
Chaila’s recent win over View (#3) for the Rajadamnern 126lbs Championship cemented his place as the top fighter in Muay Thai. He beat the best competition of anyone in Muay Thai last year, going 4-1-1 with elite wins over Yothin (#10) and Focus, solid wins over Somraknoi and Narak, and a shocking headkick loss to Comeback (#5). The one draw with View was recently settled (albeit in a very close fight that could’ve gone either way).
Chaila is an aggressive southpaw with powerful kicks and quick hands. He has a well rounded skillset, but his signature is putting his punches and kicks together in combination. He tends to get around slick defensive Femeus by drawing their check with his kick and smacking them in the head when their leg is in the air to set up another kick, and clinchers end up walking onto his kicks at long range and his hands in the pocket.
Chaila Fights We’ve Covered
2. Kumandoi Petchyindee
Playlist
Kumandoi had time last year to both put together one of the best resumes in Muay Thai and make the finals of the RISE 54kg world series, beating Shiro in kickboxing before losing to eventual tournament winner, Toki Tamaru. In Muay Thai, he won the Rajadamnern 118lbs Championship over Pangtor in January, with wins last year over Oleylek, Paeyim, and another win against Pangtor.
An aggressive brawler with heavy hands, Kumandoi has been reined in a bit since joining Petchyindee a couple years ago. Since then, he’s been able to add some defense and patience to his aggression, which has seen him to his current seven-fight winning streak under Muay Thai rules. His biggest weapons are his powerful and slick lead hook and his lead-leg body kick. The body kick is used well to set up his hands, and in recent years he’s improved his footwork, regularly using lateral movement to turn opponents into his power punches.
Kumandoi Fights We’ve Covered
3. View Petchkoson
Playlist
So far this year, View’s only fight has been a razor-thin loss to our pound-for-pound #1, Chaila Por.Lakboon. In 2023, he took three kickboxing fights in ONE and Japan, leaving him with only three fights under Muay Thai rules. But he made the most of those three fights, beating Yothin (#10) and Comeback (#5), and drawing with Chaila (#1).
View is a slick Femeu with beautiful footwork and a lovely defensive style. He’s an excellent counter kicker, favoring quick lead-leg body kicks and lean-back counters off his rear leg. He has solid boxing as well, with a consistent controlling jab that has translated well to his kickboxing matches.
View Fights We’ve Covered
4. Khunsueklek Boomdeksian
Playlist
Khunsuklek is a surging prospect on a 29 fight win streak who started fighting top competition for the first time last year, and he passed with flying colors. In his last three fights, he has wins over top fighters in Pangtor and Paeyim, and a win over Han Phetkiatphet who had just beaten Rajadamnern 122lbs Champion, Chalamdam Nayokathasala.
Khunsuklek has a classic Femeu style with excellent footwork, positioning, and defense. His timing on his kicks is unparalleled, and he pairs them with punches well off the backfoot. He’s also a great defensive fighter, using a knee guard with his shin held accross the opponent’s hips to block them from returning after a kick lands. When opponents get aggressive and look to storm past his kicks, he’ll walk them onto crafty counter elbows.
Khunsueklek Fights We’ve Covered
5. Comeback T.K.Yuttana
Playlist
Comeback’s biggest claim to fame is his recent knockout win over Chaila (#1) via head kick. He went 6-1-1 last year, with wins over Porsanae Sor.Phumiphat and Chayakorn Por.Lakboon and a draw with Komphet Fairtex, losing only to View (#3).
Comeback is a fairly typical southpaw sharpshooter, with a skillset that would likely translate quite well to Kickboxing. He has a strong open side rear kick and left hand and an upright stance that allows him to deploy them at a moment’s notice as opponents step toward him. He also has strong elbows in close and has picked up a few finishes with them lately.
6. Kompatak Or.Achariya
Playlist
Kompatak is 6-2-1 since the start of 2023, with wins over top fighters in Samingdet, Thanupetch, Thongnoi, and Somraknoi. His only losses were a close split decision with Petchdam in Rajadamnern World Series, and a loss to Thanupetch that he avenged twice in immediate rematches. While Kompatak doesn’t have a big signature win lately that would put him higher on the list, he’s dominated a solid 130lbs division and beat plenty of top level competition doing it.
Kompatak is a very well rounded fighter, but his standout weapon is his deft lead leg. He combines lead leg teeps and round kicks to the legs, body, and head, mixing up his setups and throwing them all in combination. He likes to set up on the outside and use his lead leg to juggle his man off and punish them for stepping in, using intercepting knees if they charge at him. He’s an excellent defensive fighter as well, with strong balance to check kicks off both legs and great defensive clinching.
Kompatak Fights We’ve Covered
7. Lamnamoonlek Or. Achariya
Playlist
Lamnamoonlek has been one of the top fighters in Muay Thai for years, winning the Sports Authority Fighter of the Year award in 2021. Recently, however, he’s been stuck on Rajadamnern World Series cards mostly beating up no-hopers. He’s 8-1 in Muay Thai rules since the beginning of 2023, but only his three wins against Samingdet and Buakhiao were worth anything. RWS has seemingly even run out of no-hopers for him to dunk on, as his last fight was a rematch with Renta Wor.Wanchai, who he easily dispatched last year. Lamnamoonlek is still obviously one of the best fighters in the sport, but he needs to start beating better competition soon or he’s in danger of falling further down this list.
Lamnamoonlek is a patient Femeu with strong positioning and defense. He has a solid rear kick and excellent sweeps. His fights against top level opponents can often be fairly slow due to his patience and focus on neutralizing his opponent’s weapons. Recently he’s improved his offensive boxing, as his poor competition in RWS has allowed him to take a much more offensive focus in fights.
Lamnamoonlek Fights We’ve Covered
8. PetchSiam Jor.PatreeyaKelaSiam
Playlist
PetchSiam is one of the newer additions to elite Muay Thai, as he just had his breakout year. He went a whopping 10-1 last year and just beat Wuttikorn for the Rajadamnern 122lbs Championship this month. He hasn’t yet fought strong enough competition to match the top fighters on this list, but has good wins over Wuttikorn, Chalamdam, and Narak.
I’m not super familiar with PetchSiam, but from what I’ve seen he’s a well rounded fighter with a strong kicking game, and slick elbows that he’s picked up a few recent finishes with.
9. Phetsaman Sor.Samangarment
Playlist
If you’d asked me about Phetsaman a year ago, I would have scoffed at the idea of putting him on a pound-for-pound list. The former Channel 7 122lbs Champion ended 2020 on a six-fight losing streak and only won a handful of fights in the next few years. But he returned to his previous elite form in 2023, going 4-0 with strong wins over Parnthep, Decho, and Diesellek. Diesellek was the strongest win on his recent resume - a pound-four-pound candidate himself before his recent losing streak, with top wins over Phetsila and Phetmuangsuang.
Phetsaman is a tricky southpaw kicker who plays off the threat of his rear kick well. He has all sorts of tricky setups for the kick and will feint it into marching punches and knees, or play with angles to turn opponents into his rear kick.
10. Yothin FA Group
Playlist
Yothin has been a top fighter since 2016. He only had four fights last year, going 2-2 with losses to Chaila (#1) and View (#3). His recent win against the elite Ronachai Tor.Ramintra last year is keeping him on the list for me, as Ronachai is a pound-for-pound level talent himself, only kept off by his recent loss to Yothin and inactivity.
Yothin is an aggressive clinch fighter known for his excellent elbows and knees. He’s a great transitional fighter in the clinch, flowing between locks and and frames to maneuver around his opponent’s hands and set up big elbows. He’s also fairly well rounded, capable of marching forward to put pressure on his man or playing a more Femeu game off the backfoot.
Notable Omissions
Superlek Kiatmoo9, Prajanchai P.K.Saenchai, & Komphet Fairtex
All three of these fighters are among the best in Muay Thai, but at this point they’ve all spent years fighting mostly or entirely in ONE Championship. That means that their fights aren’t taking place under Muay Thai rules, and they mostly aren’t fighting top Muay Thai fighters, making them inelligible for this list. If Superlek were to come back to Muay Thai rules, he would likely be the best fighter in the world.
Nadaka Yoshinari
Nadaka recently became a two division champion, winning the Rajadamnern 112lbs and 115lbs titles last year. His most recent win was a dominant performance over Praewprao to win the 115lbs belt. The reason he hasn’t made it onto this list is that his competition has been weak.
The only elite opponent he’s beaten in years is Waewaw Wor.Klinpathum, who he beat for the 112lbs belt before moving on to 115lbs. Waewwaw is now 1-2 in his last three, with losses to KaenUbon and Jaguar, who Nadaka hasn’t fought. At 115lbs, his competition has been even weaker, as his only notable win was Praewprao. While Praewprao had the Rajadamnern belt, he was on the bototm end of the top ten or outside of it, having lost three times in his division after winning his 115lbs title. Kumandoi (#2), Khunsuklek (#4), and Pangtor Por.Lakboon are around Nadaka’s weight, and he will have to beat one of them to make this list.
Thananchai Sitsongpeenong
Thananchai went 8-1 in 2023 , winning the Rajadamnern World Series 154lbs tournament with wins over Phetmorakot and Yodwicha, his only loss coming via split decision to Dani Rodriguez. The reason he’s not in consideration for this list is that he fights at 154lbs, which I don’t consider to be a real division in Muay Thai. The competitive divisions top out at 140-145lbs and at weights higher than that, there’s nobody but older Thais whose primes were a decade ago and one or two solid farangs. While Nadaka has a chance to break into the top ten with an elite win at 115-118lbs, there’s no elite competition for Thananchai to fight at his weight.