From Illegal Street Fights to Pro Muay Thai | Rites of Passage

When Naeem saw the violence around him evolve from fists to weapons, he knew that something had to change. He decided to settle disputes in the ring, not on the streets with weapons. Now, Naeem faces his biggest challenge yet as he aims to prove that street fighters can go toe-to-toe with the professionals.
00:00 Intro
1:30 Street Fight Thailand
03:32 Training for the Pros
04:35 Falling into Gang Life
7:38 The Pro's Perspective
10:14 The Arena
14:00 The Underground Scene
• World News
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#muaythai #thailand

[@alosyus]

I'm from Western Europe and I fought in Thailand for fun, even if I was training 6/7 like a pro during a couple of years. I never felt so free, I felt like I had a purpose. I miss that so much. May sounds crazy and I never got invloved in a street fight I hate free violence. But I think some people are just made to fight and we enjoy the pain.

[@kayleighohler9999]

I also trained in thailand and truly was the one time in my life I felt like I had a purpose. but as a westerner you know damn well this was a choice, a fun thing to do. The people all around the world who get into fight sports because they have no other opportunity are the ones who make it to the top. Francis Ngannu perfect example. Westerners playing in the fight game for fun is cultural appropriation. I hope you didn't get many CTE from you fun "fight" tourism, just like sex tourism you need to realize your place. Rolling steel rebar on my shins between training sessions has made my legs stronger than any other part of my body to this day. Kapunkaaaa

[@mitchellandfriend748]

Respect from Thailand Krub🇹🇭🙏🏻

[@mysterioanonymous3206]

@@kayleighohler9999 fighting for fun is cultural appropriation...? Haha. Maybe go tell that to hispanic boxers. Or Francis Ngannou for that matter. Hey, we can't all be rocket scientists right? I'm sure you meant well.

[@kayleighohler9999]

@@mysterioanonymous3206 Do you not understand what a westerner means in this context? Someone from USA or WESTERN Europe who travels to thailand because they want to take part in the CULTRAL TRADITION of thai boxing. You know of many mexicans who do this? no, they stay in mexico and box. You know of many nigerians who do this? no, they fight in their regional scene until, like francis, they get the opportunity to travel to EUROPE AKA FRANCE to train. get rekt kiddo

[@mysterioanonymous3206]

@@kayleighohler9999 but modern boxing isn't from Mexico, it's from "the west", yet you wouldn't call those mexican boxers out for appropriating western culture, would you? Or does Ngannou appropriate US/Brazilian style MMA, given he is Ghanaian? You even mention that he traveled to FRANCE... FRANCE. That isn't in Africa. And Mexican Boxers sure as hell don't stay in Mexico either you potato. You should go tell your nonsense to rich white american women doing Yoga retreats all over Asia sometime. I'd be curious how they feel about your opinion. You hypocrite. And frankly, you don't strike me as particularly sharp or educated so perhaps leave the thinking, and talking, to people better suited for it. You embarrass yourself, kiddo. Maybe you got a little too much Muay Thai'd in your head as it sounds.

[@broteinsheikh]

This is the type of videos we want to see from vice

[@screameagle876]

Yess

[@El_Cuervo404]

True this is well made

[@davidgomes928]

Agreed

[@chrisw8011]

Vice needs to put the underground fighters in the same room with the gender / feminist debaters

[@devondetroit2529]

@@chrisw8011 Please god yes

[@jackfilburne8721]

"if you hit his balls two more times you're disqualified" So I can get away with one more 😅

[@christopherclaure6689]

yo he had the biggest smile ever after kneeing his opponent in the balls

[@CrymInAction]

Nothing like Muay Thai. True warrior spirits who come from nothing, and fight for everything. You could do an entire series with all the different provinces, and still only see a fraction of the fighters Thailand has to offer. Some of the hardest, yet most humble people in the world.

[@Maya_Pinion]

My dad would tell us stories of Irish men whipping their shirts off in NYC alleys ,men yelling and betting,no 🧤,nothing fancy,and beating the crap out of each other in Depression years...that's street fighting he would say....I don't know.seems like poor guys just trying to make some $$ any way they can...

[@SF_Native]

I've trained Muay Thai for 15 years, in the US under legendary Thai fighters. I've also trained in Thailand, and love it today as much I did 15 years ago. Respect to all Thai fighters and nak muay!

[@ebkjug]

🧢

[@SF_Native]

@@ebkjug 🤡

[@redlizerad8268]

@@ebkjug what u mean Cap

[@tonyturner5024]

@@redlizerad8268 you Ard

[@Galavis.]

When I hear Muay Thai I instantly think of Rodtang,who already had 250 wins by the time he was 21. Thais are born fighters.

[@mysterioanonymous3206]

Yeah? When I was in Bangkok I always used to go past that guy right outside my MRT stop. Street food vendor. Had this little deep fry type bicycle like cart. Looked close to 50yo or so. Sometimes his wife helped too. He had those pictures up on his stall of him fighting in Lumpini stadion. I wonder how much it paid him? And if he has any physical constraints and ailments from years of fighting? Im sure he does. They all do. My hands are messed up too and I was barely an amateur. I wonder if he has his retirement sorted? But I doubt it. You'd be surprised how many guys this happens to. When the lights go out... it's a lot less glamorous than you might think.

[@kokomlemle]

I was literally thinking about how he's similar to Rodtang as well

[@user-rj5qr9sh2d]

อนาคตนักมวยไทยจากยุโรปและอเมริกาจะแข็งแกร่งขึ้น เพราะพวกเขาเริ่มฝึกจริงจังตั้งแต่เด็ก ยิ่งเก็บประสบการณืมากๆจะแกร่งขึ้นแน่นอน ด้วยร่างกายของคนตะวันตกมีขนาดที่ใหญ่กว่า กล้ามเนื้อดีกว่า และวินัยของการฝึก

[@wazakgami661]

It's ironic how in the real Muai Thai setting people bet but, in the underground fighting there is no betting and people just come to see two men duke it out.

[@Hempujonsito]

"Just Bleed" is an universal sentiment

[@Reginald-Montgomery-Astird-III]

There’s betting, they just aren’t going to speak about it on film due to the legal issues, there’s 100% gambling going on though. Source: I’ve been to Thailand and watched fights, I’m also probably the only person here that won’t try to lie and tell you they’re also a fighter that trained in Thailand 😂 (because apparently every Westerner thats ever trained in Thailand has decided to both watch and comment on this video)

[@josephmonkele5992]

​@@Reginald-Montgomery-Astird-III Well, a lot of westerners HAVE gone to Thailand to train muay thai, and it's not so far fetched to suggest that a bunch of them might congregate on an English youtube video about Muay Thai.

[@maxb6237]

nah that head-butt knock down was crazyyy

[@sadeekali5294]

Muay Thai is the original bloodsport

[@vz6715]

Nah that’s pankration

[@naeemphuphan]

Thank you for all your comments 😄

[@Maya_Pinion]

Is that a good thing? Not sure.

[@srr3097]

@@Maya_Pinion yes it is

[@iROChakri]

@@vz6715 Pankration? Get that sht out lol

[@BangkokVice]

All the foreign tourists should watch this before going to Thailand to cause a ruckus. That's one fight you don't want at 3am drunk when you get jumped by 10 of these dudes.

[@xxthatoneguyxx2602]

Finally a video from vice about muay thai

[@geekytutorials5745]

I really wanted this type of documentry on Underground fighting thanks for this VICE ❤️🔥

[@naeemphuphan]

Thank you for all your comments 😄

[@robertheisenberg6867]

You need a 2 years later following up video of thier journeys. Right after Naeem got out of military, and Peter after 2 years of professional fight. It would be such a drama.

[@JamesMcManusMrJamesMcManus]

Brilliant video Vice. Love Muay thai, been training for 2 years now, been to Thailand and trained over there for a month. Beauitul country, beautiful sport 🙏

[@thehighcommunity247]

Martial Arts is my life!! I have been training for 18 months now... kickboxing, wrestling, and no gi BJJ. I will be having my first smoker event soon, and then start my amateur career. God Bless. It gave me purpose, focus, and discipline above all else.

[@rodplays3726]

Good luck bro

[@thehighcommunity247]

@@rodplays3726 Good looks!! 💯🤙

[@user-ci5ky2ei3n]

Good luck!

[@bisaillion]

Good luck!

[@BrandonTLuong]

Best of luck 👍🏼 ✨️

[@Lucky14970]

An ass kicker with a heart of gold! It's almost like the UFC took this storyline and multiplied it by a billion!

[@chrisw8011]

First rule of underground fight club: talk to Vice about underground fight club

[@avramcs]

To everyone aspiring to be great, young and old, just know there is no starting to late. You don’t need to start young to be great nor is it a given that you will be if you start young. Take it from me, a person that started really young in their passion and never made it pro, with the amount of information accessible today, people can be outworked in a matter of years

[@stefanabreu]

Not gonna lie, I really needed to hear this brother. Thank you.

[@gabrielgarcia-fraire9504]

True you can’t be too old. But with age and injuries, your options become much more limited.

[@rohansingha1827]

The cinematography was fantastic

[@kennethmathis9815]

Naeem a beast man, wish that fight happened.

[@ebdgr]

Vice had done it again. Your journalism is top notch 👌 👏

[@davechoe6801]

More of these plz… guys killed it

[@ButWhyWasTaken]

I never knew underground fighting could be this wholesome.

[@goldminer83]

VICE has stepped their game up lately!! Keep it up!

[@patrickeddy.]

More videos like this. Well done, enjoyed it!

[@oofedz8466]

Some tough doods. Heart of giants. It’s never the size of a man but do u have heart. This guys def got heart.

[@andrewjames2617]

And the fight was “put on hold indefinitely”. Aww man ☹️ I was really looking forward to seeing that

[@WeareIF]

I know these guys and trained with a few of them. They are a good bunch.

[@helxis]

Teasing this video as "can a street fighter beat a pro" and then ending on "whoopsy, turns out we'll never know!" is reprehensible.

[@kidk007]

Street fighter: Because we are gentlemen, we stand up to fight Royce Gracie: Hold my Acai bowl

[@ChorizoFungis]

I decided to look at vice’s most popular videos and regret it, people are so down bad man 🤣

[@HELLASOLID]

Was looking forward to the fight at the end

[@KemalKaratatar]

My granddad always repeated many times; fight is the best remedy to keep your health balance ☝️

[@firstlast8258]

🤨

[@chrisw8011]

Balances the dead neurons in the left hemisphere with the right

[@KemalKaratatar]

@@chrisw8011 Lets fight believe me you will heal forever 🤫

[@naeemphuphan]

Thank you for all your comments 😄

[@jlmunny]

Great job with the language presentation

[@chrisclouds4182]

After watching a bunch of mma and muy thai vids this is is a nice way to round out the evening while eating some off brand cherrios straight from the box. I am but a simple man.

[@TheEpicload]

21:35 --> Damn this hit me!

[@cwj138]

18:13 that elbow 💀

[@mrkevinteti]

Thanks to vice for making something people want to watch again. Can we keep it that way ffs?

[@Xtino1989X]

16:33 bro crushed his whole spirit I bet he never gets in a fight again after this😂😂😂

[@lilcup5437]

You think that VICE reporter recognizes this guy from the War Room? 😂😂

[@realgoodmind]

Finally some more real stories from Vice and not nonsense.

[@BT.TTRight]

this is a Very Positive understanding of what real Men are like. The Devil and angel fight of control. Everyone faces this battle.... I like this documentary Very much.

[@geekytutorials5745]

Please upload more about Marshal art

[@erisunflower]

Fascinating !

[@CultofPinky]

Yes vice bring back the underground vice stuff more of this the nitty gritty a new series on drugs and the new ones one depth would be much appreciated by your viewers also! Great stuff vice keep it up

[@amirulhakim268]

i tell you this, you combined a tradition martial arts with strict monk like religion virtues and discipline, you have the super weapon. i mean look at Muay Thai, they respect the arts to the highest level, monk discipline, the warrior's humble, that is dangerous for those who challenges them. You never see your own fall dueling with them. And when you are fallen, they bow to you in respect of their God.

[@sombNOW]

Lol the guy dressing as clown won! Legend

[@Kiiieeechiii]

I just started learning Muay Thai

[@michaelsizemore1398]

What an absolute badass! People like this just amaze me. God Bless you.

[@olicummins1740]

Finally soem good content

[@davidgomes928]

Lets get it my Thai brothers💪🏽

[@pasthuman]

Excellent!

[@Theonewhoachieves]

Love this video

[@CynicalCynosure]

Can someone please tell me what heavy bag that is at 4:17 ?! I need this!

[@CaptainC0rrupt]

I had to quit smoking: proceeds to smoke through the video.

[@kamrul828]

Please upload.more of this type.

[@kamrul828]

@@Last_Chance. 👍

[@mikei759]

The street fights have better reffing then most sanctioned events LOL

[@jackblack7797]

Vice got some dope ass mini documentary’s better then the garbage on Tv

[@torqueandbeanssauce]

First rule of fight club is... you don't talk about fight club lol

[@kuba2pacMMABoxen]

Not tryna take anything away from the people in the video but, The "King of the streets" fights make those streets fights look tame

[@ButWhyWasTaken]

This underground fighting looks very different from what you see in movies where people usually bash each other's heads in without rules or gloves or any other protection and even if someone gets injured or killed no one but their friends and family gives a damn. This looks more like a smaller scale legal fight with protective gear, referees and proper rules.

[@markwaltersmedia6956]

Great doc

[@TheArtofBlues]

I wanna open a bar and call it “Muay Thai Elbows”.

[@SFTHFAMILY]

We're STREET FIGHT THAILAND 👊🏻

[@hamimhameem3411]

Be safe to all fighters, from all forms or martial arts & combat sports..... ...... hope leave everything in the ring & maintain sportsmanship throughout, before & after fights..... Peace be to all my fellow humans..... 🙂

[@OG_bobbi]

Interesting topic

[@gabrielgarcia-fraire9504]

What weight you think this guy is at? He’s got solid muscle

[@pomphotothailand]

Good Content....Thanks

This is Vice. Not sponsored war reportage.

[@schuletrip]

Do a documentary on KOTS in Sweden.

[@closedeyeslie]

Muay Thai is the king of martial arts

[@thearacriminal7691]

Vice any chance you make a video about kick boxing but keep the comments on this time

[@gatograsso]

is kick boxing the same as s3x offending? ;)

[@broady9493]

Why yo 1080p look like 480p bruh

[@Donsxxx]

Shout out to Naeem for fighting for his country. This fight needs to happen though....🙌

[@thomashaley1036]

Blue took a dive. His guy was right there to collect.

[@crabluva]

Great doc. Does Peter have Instagram?

[@MT_20_24]

Anyone knows the name of the beat around 2:24 ?

[@JR-ld1et]

The poor guys first fight was hard on him lol

[@connercook3480]

Why aren’t the comments disabled on this?

[@gatograsso]

To easily detect the ones that are registered on your closest offender list ;)

[@supachill1]

I was hoping to see them fight.

[@KKILLIAN]

muay thai is their national sport.. thats when you know yall hard af lol

[@samiamim4015]

You gotta love gentlemen rules

[@thedeeprot]

🔥🔥🔥

[@seanjones2261]

If anybody yells street fight party at the function I'm headed home

[@Mustard_Dispenser]

Yo why did the coach put on a headgear to hold pads?

[@wilhelmhesse1348]

Cool 💯💯💯

[@napoleonbuska]

It's so awesome to see such respect between fighers and on community level

[@potatomatop9326]

These guys are gangstas until i pull out my rocket launcher and proton cannon with infinite ammo.

[@ebdgr]

PEW PEW 🔫

[@geekytutorials5745]

And you are gangsta untill they are standing infront of you 💀

[@R8V10]

Quit playing computer games.

[@potatomatop9326]

@@geekytutorials5745 standing in front of me as atoms.

[@iirgendsonTyp]

Respect.

That’s weird, boy was enlisted to the military almost around his mid 20’s. Isn’t it common to be when boys are at the age of 18 worldwide, or this is just a Thailand tradition???

[@MuayThai-5643]

In Lethwei you can use headbutts they call it the 9 limbs

[@kalebrosenberg8294]

can we all appreciate the cigarettes after sex and sonic youth tattoos of the lady in the beginning, thats super cool to see

[@rookincharge2780]

How convenient that the military comes along. I kid, but I bet it will be a great fight when they do meet up.

[@Tony2Times1]

🙌🏽🙌🏽🔥Thailand looks amazing!

[@Chris-tm4zq]

นักสู้มวยไทยที่ดีที่สุดและแท้จริงเท่านั้นที่เกิดในประเทศไทย ความภูมิใจของคนไทยทุกคน 🥊🥊🥊🥊🇹🇭🇹🇭🇹🇭🇹🇭

[@JosVonGunderhoushua]

Interesting that they call them by their nickname plus neighborhood.

[@waterfallhunter9642]

They don't fight Seriously wtf... 20 minutes of build up and they dont fight each other

[@greyziedaddy9853]

Ill fight you

[@phenomenalfx7134]

a documentary on forex and forex trading. next. Please and thank you.

[@DD-sz1cb]

Should I take muah Thai first then go into other styles?

[@DogzOnGoTV]

Street fighting is better than dogfighting any day💯