“I’m just loving being here,” Volkanovski said. “What a spot. I’ve always loved training in Thailand, but sometimes it can get pretty hard bringing the family. I could only go by myself.
“Where we are now, it’s like a holiday. I’m having a holiday and I get to train at the same time. It’s such a beautiful spot, and all the boys are such good training partners, so it’s good vibes.”
The gym was set up by several prominent members of Volkanovski’s coaching team – wrestling and MMA coaches Frank and George Hickman, BJJ coach Alex Schild, and strength and conditioning coach Andrew Wood – who made a big decision to go out on their own after years of coaching at the Tiger Muay Thai gym in Chalong’s famed “Fight Street”.
Leaving that strip – where training at the various gyms that line either side of the road has become a rite of passage for fighters from all over the world – was a tough decision for the team. But the onset of the pandemic gave them food for thought.
“This is something that has been years in the making,” George Hickman told the Post.
“We’ve all been at Tiger for quite a while. Even the first year I was here in 2014, we all talked about the idea of one day opening our own gym, and the time has finally come.
“There’s been so many different stages of this whole process. But one day in 2020, September or October, I was training Loma [Lookboonmee, UFC strawweight] in Alex’s front yard and it was the second time the gym [Tiger] had closed.
“He just kinda said, ‘Hey, we’ve gotta have a meeting. Guys, this is the time.’ Alex was really the spark that got us going. He’s done heaps of work through this whole process, from finding different properties … we’re all very thankful for that.
“I love Tiger still. It’s really helped my fighting career. I found my wife because I lived in Thailand, and I have a lot of friends that are still there. I gave a lot and I received a lot from that gym, so I’ll always hold Tiger dear, but it was just time to move on.
“Now we have a world-class facility to train fighters in, which is what we’re passionate about. But also just training normal people that come for fitness holidays. It’s a fitness destination. We’re super-excited. It’s been quite a journey but we’re ready to go.”
ONE Championship featherweight kick-boxing champ Superbon was another who was on hand to give a seminar last weekend, as part of the gym’s grand opening celebrations, and was impressed with what he saw – so much so that he plans to come back.
“The gym is pretty good for training,” Superbon – regarded by many as the world’s No 1 pound-for-pound kickboxer – told the Post.
“You can live around here, train, eat, sleep, lie down at the beach, travel – everything is perfect here. I’m gonna try to come and train MMA here.”
Volkanovski and Superbon also attended last Saturday’s raucous opening party, with hundreds in the community turning up for a night of fights and frivolity.
The fun may be over but the stars have not stopped turning up, with former UFC strawweight champion Zhang Weili arriving with her team this week to prepare for her looming rematch against Joanna Jedrzejczyk in Singapore.
Superbon wants to give MMA s hot, UFC’s Volkanovski keen to train him
Jiri Prochazka, who will challenge Glover Teixeira for the light heavyweight title on the same UFC 275 card at Singapore Indoor Stadium, is also set to head to Bangtao to fine-tune his preparations.
Bangtao Muay Thai & MMA certainly has everything to cater to all levels – from aspiring and professional fighters to those who just want to shed a few pounds.
Visitors are in good hands, with three separate facilities housing classes catering for jiu-jitsu, MMA sparring, wrestling, Muay Thai, boxing, fitness, and strength and conditioning.
There have also been a couple of world-class coaches added to the mix, in Master Yod – former coach of ONE bantamweight champ Nong-O Gaiyanghadao – and multiple-time IBJJF world champion Josh Hinger.
“We’re able to do things our way and put in the culture of our team and the people that come here and make it a great experience and change their lives,” George Hickman said.
“People are now starting to see that it’s much more than an MMA area. It’s a world-class facility with a cafe that serves all the healthy food you need, a fitness facility, Muay Thai and boxing facility and obviously the MMA.
“It’s really cliché, but we’re living the dream. For a world-class athlete and a normal person as well to be able to come here and have healthy food and nutritionists on hand, and get everything they need under one roof …
“Everyone that’s come here, even our closest friends, didn’t realise what we had envisioned. To tell you the truth, even I didn’t envisage it being this great.”
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