A list of interesting Saenchai facts

Born Suphachai Saenpong, Saenchai is widely regarded as one of the greatest Muay Thai fighters ever. There are two reasons for this. Firstly, his stellar record speaks for itself. Secondly, he is a natural entertainer and showman. Even in close fights, he will still take risks and at times has a very flashy, exciting style. Unsurprisingly, this style has earned him many fans who see him as the ultimate Muay Thai martial artist.

In this article, we shall list a number of interesting facts about Saenchai that may surprise you. Here, we shall separate fact from fiction and show why he’s so lauded. If you haven’t check out his highlight videos as you’re sure to be entertained.

How strong is Saenchai

It should come as no surprise that Saenchai is incredibly strong for his size. Imagine training a martial art throughout most of the day with a healthy diet and lifestyle to match. Muay Thai is known for serving as a pretty strong workout on its own. Combined with brutal strength and conditioning exercises have made Saenchai ridiculously strong.

Looking at Saenchai, he doesn’t look that strong. Especially as he’s got older, his physique has declined slightly which is to be expected. Still, he has excellent functional strength and his muscles feel like iron. Remember, there’s more to strength than having the look of a bodybuilder – and Saenchai embodies this philosophy.

What is Saenchai’s record?

As of 2022, Saenchai’s record is 321-49-2. If you’re new to Muay Thai then you’ll notice that this is a lot of fights and tallies up to almost 400. If you factor in amateur fights then his record will go over 400 bouts in total. Having said this, many Muay Thai practitioners and kickboxers will go on to have hundreds of fights which isn’t too unusual. Culturally, this is the norm and it isn’t like boxing or MMA where fighters will have a couple of fights per year.

One reason for this may be that at Saenchai’s weight, you won’t take as much immediate damage compared to fighting at the heavyweights where knockouts are more serious. Often, Muay Thai fighters will also participate in Grand Prix events where they can knock out over three fights in a single night.

Combined with a lower pay scale than other martial arts, the result is that most successful Nak Muay will fight hundreds of times during their career. With this, you’d expect a few losses on the way. Again, unlike MMA and boxing, it’s basically impossible to go undefeated during a Muay Thai career.

Is Saenchai still fighting?

To date (2022), Saenchai is still active and fighting. Although his schedule has slowed down as he’s got older, he is still fighting and realistically could do so for the next 5-10 years. Obviously, this depends on his personal desires and whether he wants to continue his legacy.

In terms of his career, he stopped doing more serious fights back in 2014 but still does fights around the globe. This is possibly due to the money and lifestyle that is better than some domestic fights in Thailand. During his peak, he won the Lumpinee Stadium title which solidified his spot among the greats of Muay Thai. As Saenchai is still in good physical shape, it doesn’t look like retirement will happen any time soon either.

How old is Saenchai?

Saenchai was born in 1980 and has been fighting for over two decades. As mentioned earlier, if you’re good enough with a professional drive then this is possible in the sport of Muay Thai. You could also argue that he was born in the ‘right’ era for Muay Thai.

Having started in the late 90s and through the 00s, Saenchai was at his peak during the boom years of Muay Thai. Had he been born earlier, his career may not have received as much attention as it did. However, it’s fair to say that he’s cashed in on Muay Thai’s growing status.

What gym does Saenchai train at?

Saenchai trains at the Yokkao gym in Bangkok and has trained there for many years. When fighting, he often wears Yokkao gear which makes sense with this in mind. If you visit the Yokkao gym then you can actually have a private training session with Saenchai which costs $200.

If you think about it, this is actually a fantastic price to train with one of the world’s best. Imagine paying for a private tennis session with Roger Federer or a soccer session with Lionel Messi. As you’d expect, these would charge significantly more than $200. This is a reflection of how cheap it is to train Muay Thai which has always been an affordable martial art.

What weight is Saenchai?

Weighing in at 60kg, Saenchai is not a particularly heavy fighter. It’s also worth noting that he stands at roughly 5’4 feet which means that he’s pretty small. At the same time, as Thai people aren’t the tallest, this isn’t too surprising. As well, Muay Thai typically has lower weight classes than the likes of boxing and MMA.

What’s impressive about Saenchai though, is his ability to fight and defeat heavier, larger opponents. Throughout his career, he has never ducked a challenge and has often taken on bigger fighters. Even though his record is impressive, he could have lost substantially fewer fights had he been pickier and refused to fight outside of his weight class. This is yet another reason why so many people love Saenchai.

Did Saenchai and Buakaw ever fight?

Another Muay Thai great is Buakaw Banchamek. Over tens of years, Buakaw’s record is similar to Saenchai so it’s only natural that they are often compared together. At the same time, the pair have never fought each other in the ring. Saying this, Saenchai did spar with Buakaw in 2021 which showed the pair going at it.

Furthermore, it’s important to recognize that sparring is different from a real, competitive fight. Some people fight differently under pressure, so you shouldn’t read into a sparring session too much. The likelihood is that these two will never fight due to having a mutual respect for each other. At this point, if it already hasn’t happened then it probably never will.

Who is Saenchai’s wife?

Saenchai is married with a daughter. The name of his wife is Deena Narak who is also Thai. Historically, little is known about his wife as the pair live a fairly private life. However, from time to time he does post pictures of her on his social media. She can also be seen encouraging him during training sessions and the pair seem to have a naturally strong relationship.

What age did Saenchai start?

Saenchai started training Muay Thai at 14 years old. Typically, most professional fighters will start in their teens at the very latest. Usually, it’s almost impossible to make it if you start in your early or mid-twenties, as there’s so much to learn. Similarly, if you start training earlier on in life then you’ve got more time to improve. Although 14 years old is relatively young, there are plenty of Nak Muay who would have started training younger than Saenchai. If you’re naturally gifted though, then it doesn’t matter as much.

How to do Saenchai’s cartwheel kick

Perhaps Saenchai’s most famous move is the cartwheel kick. This has won him several fights and gets the fans off their seats in excitement. Here, Saenchai performs a cartwheel and lands it by kicking the opponent in the head, whilst his one arm is posted on the floor for balance. Honestly, you don’t need to learn this move to be good at Muay Thai and most fighters don’t use it.

The reason for this is that it’s very difficult to learn and requires a lot of athleticism. Not only this, but it’s also high-risk in terms of failure. Of course, if you’re confident and talented enough like Saenchai then it’s certainly doable.

To perform the cartwheel kick, you will need to face the opponent at a slight angle with some distance. Obviously, you cannot do it if you’re too close. When ready, you then post on the floor with your one hand and land the kick with the opposite foot. So, if you base with your left hand then you kick with your right foot. This involves cartwheeling into the opponent and then landing on your free-standing leg. Due to its unorthodox nature, if done correctly it can catch even the best opponents off guard.

What is Saenchai’s net worth?

If you look online, reports of Saenchai’s personal net worth differ wildly. Although most agree that he’s a millionaire, some valuations are suspiciously high. Still, it’s fair to assume that his net worth is worth more than $1 million. Typically, Nak Muay don’t earn as much as other fighting professionals which means he won’t have earned silly money.

Regardless, if you’ve had hundreds of fights at the highest level of Muay Thai, then it will add up. As Saenchai has the ability to earn thousands of US dollars per fight, it makes sense that his career prize money is in the millions. This includes high-profile fights in Thailand as well as fights on a global scale. When combined with seminars and private gym sessions, Saenchai will live a comfortable life in Thailand. At the same time, as Muay Thai doesn’t command the money that other martial arts do – Saenchai’s wealth won’t be worth tens of millions.