Bangtao Muay Thai & MMA
Bangtao Muay Thai & MMA is a Muay Thai and mixed martial arts (MMA) gym based in Phuket, Thailand.

History 

Bangtao Muay Thai & MMA was founded in 2021 by brothers George and Frank Hickman after they left their coaching positions at Tiger Muay Thai. Both of them competed in collegiate wrestling at Bloomsburg University before they eventually ended up in the MMA world. in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic occurred, Tiger Muay Thai had to temporarily shut down and the brothers started thinking about opening their own gym.

Other co-founding members of the gym are BJJ coach Alex Schild and strength and conditioning coach Andrew Wood who were also coaches at Tiger Muay Thai. All four were part of the team that coached UFC Featherweight Champion, Alexander Volkanovski. 

The gym officially opened for April 2022 after some delay. Volkanovski and number one pound-for-pound kickboxer, Superbon Singha Mawynn conducted seminars during the grand opening. 

Bangtao Muay Thai & MMA first received media attention when it was noted that Jiří Procházka was training at the gym in preparation for his fight against Glover Teixeira for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship at UFC 275 in Singapore. In addition Zhang Weili at the same time was also trained at the gym for her fight against Joanna Jędrzejczyk at the same event. This fight would determine the next challenger against Carla Esparza for the UFC Women's Strawweight Championship. Both Procházka and Zhang would go on to win their fights at UFC 275.

Zhang Weili had also selected Bangtao Muay Thai & MMA to prepare for her title challenge bout against Carl Esparza at UFC 281.

In June 2023, World Boxing Champion Tyson Fury trained at Bangtao Muay Thai & MMA for a brief period during his visit to Thailand.

Notable people

Mixed martial arts

UFC 

 Alexander Volkanovski - UFC Featherweight Champion
 Jiří Procházka - Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion
 Zhang Weili - UFC Women's Strawweight Champion
 Tai Tuivasa
 Loma Lookboonmee
 John Castañeda

ONE Championship 

 Shannon Wiratchai

Muay Thai 

 Superbon Singha Mawynn
 Sam-A Gaiyanghadao
 Savvas Michael

See also 
List of Top Professional MMA Training Camps

References

External links 
 

Mixed martial arts training facilities
Kickboxing training facilities
Kickboxing in Thailand
2021 establishments in Thailand