Sambo and Muay Thai both are one of the deadliest fighting styles, and are also regarded as the greatest tools for self-defense. So one question that can raise from your mind can be :
Who will be the winner if a sambo fighter meet a muay Thai fighter ?
Of course as you can imagine, The Answer to this question is a difficult task because none can predict the future or say anything about the unseen matchups. But let’s suppose an ideal situation where there is no reach or height advantage to anyone, there are no weapons.Just two fighters fighting with the rules of their native fighting styles in an ideal environment where there are a referee and judges to tackle this match where both the fighters can only use the strikes and or chokes allowed in their respective fighting styles, the sambo fighter wins the fight.
So let us dig it more to see how Sambo fighters will win!
Background of Sambo and Muay Thai
Muay Thai or Thai boxing is attached to Thailand’s war history. And now, it is touched with the cultural influence being the National sports of the country.
A few centuries ago, Muay Thai was used by King Naresuan as a close-combat weapon.
And it played a big role in librating Thailand from Burmese rule of almost sixteen hundred years.
For this reason, Muay Thai was – and still is – attached to a specific region or demography. Muay Thai answered the Burmese fighting styles Lethwei, which they were using as a war weapon. But nowadays, Muay Thai is just raising as a sport and self-defense tool, which also helps in maintaining health and fitness.
Background of sambo
Sambo is also a war based fighting styles specially designed for war purposes for the Russian army who can continue fighting even after being unarmed.
So because both the fighting styles are related to the war battleground. It means both of these disciplines will not be just like any normal fighting discipline designed to tackle a street fight or a normal confrontation with bullies or goons.
People also ask : Is sambo a good martial art?
Now let us have a look at different strikes and pieces of training of both the fighting styles
Legal Strikes and Training of Muay Thai and Sambo
Muay thai vs Sambo : The use of eight limbs
In Muay Thai, a fighter uses his arms and legs as swords and spikes and that is why it is called the art of eight limbs – fists, elbows, knees, and feet – Almost every punches and kicks we see in other fighting styles are included in Muay Thai and strikes with elbows and knees are added features of this fighting style.
Muay thai vs Sport or combat sambo ? Where are the differences?
In Sambo, there are two versions, Sport Sambo and Combat Sambo.
What is Sport sambo?
Sport Sambo is just an exhibition fighting style designed for demonstration purposes in the Olympics and World games etc, where there are strict rules applied to reduce the damages to fighters and entertain the audience.
What is Combat sambo and the advantage VS Muay Thai?
On the other hand, Combat Sambo is one of the most brutal fighting disciplines with no discipline. Almost every strike and grappling is allowed in Combat Sambo to maximize the damage to the opponents.
Even headbutt and hitting on the groin is allowed in Combat Sambo.
A Combo fighter is not only a good striker but also has a great chin to absorb the punishment during a confrontation. Getting a huge punishment is also a part of training in Sambo.
So due to these additional strikes and iron chin, Sambo fighter has advantages over the Muay Thai fighter. A headbutt makes Sambo an art of nine limbs where hitting with the head is also used as a weapon.
Furthermore, killing the opponents is allowed in war and battlefield and a Sambo fighter is trained for killing and being killed during a confrontation. So in this comparison, a fighter is trained for a street fight and the other is trained for war, so there is a huge difference between the fighters and fighting styles.
Offense and Defense in Muay Thai and Sambo
Tactis that can be used by a Muay thai fighter vs Sambo fighter
We know, Muay Thai is a fighting style where the offense is enwrapped into the offence. A Muay Thai fighter throws a flurry of strikes and different combos in a come forward fashion where the opponent is left with no option other than going into the defensive mode and could barely throw and counter strike.
A Muay Thai fighter cuts the ring – reducing the distance with the opponent by chasing him in a way where he stays in the range of strikes or punches – and then, keeps slowing down the opponent with an occasional strike followed by a combo or two, which usually ends in a knockdown or a knockout cold to end the matter quickly.
Limitation of Muay Thai vs Sambo
But there is a limitation in Muay Thai.
Because a fighter keeps moving or dancing to gain the rhythm while having eyes on the opponent. In this situation, a Muay Thai fighter rarely throws a strike but usually keeps dancing to maintain and sustain the rhythm before unleashing the flurry and combos.
This is a crucial time for a Sambo fighter who is always ready for a war and does not wait for the best moment but makes it by slugging and manhandling the opponents at the very beginning of the confrontation.
The advantage of Sambo against the muay thai
Sambo fighter is trained well to face the armed opponent or opponents, so he can easily handle a group or gang of the opponents. There is a mindset difference as well.
In Muay Thai, winning a fight is everything, while in Sambo, a fight is not stopped until the battle is over. So beating or even killing an opponent is just a small part of the war, the real destination is to win the battle for the country, and this little unarmed confrontation is just a breather.
So an unarmed confrontation or a street fight is a small fraction of the war, so a Sambo fighter is supposed to do more and keep marching forward.
A Sambo fighter, who is well trained to take punches and different strikes and can land his counter ones at any stage to win the fight.
Sometimes, a Sambo fighter offers his face or head to the opponents to let them open up for the counter strikes, and once they are opened, he punches to the chin or throat and sometimes a lever shot.
This trap of offering the opponent a chance to land a strike or two can result in a brutal knockout, or sometimes it can result in a dead body on the ground with a well-timed hook to the throat or stomach.
Final Words: Sambo or Muay Thai fighters; Who wins?
Since we have seen a well-trained Sambo fighter is fully equipped with all the fighting tactics needed to tackle a war scenario, where hurting or even killing the opponent is as simple as another day in office.
So Sambo fighter can beat a Muay Thai artist with ease. We have also seen that Muay Thai is not that cruel now as it was in the past when it was related to war purposes.
Now it is taught almost everywhere in the world let alone in Thailand.
So its generalization has made it common to everyone and people have seen different combos and flurries by a Muay Thai fighter, so a fighter can understand or even predict the next move of the opponent, on the other hand, Sambo is not generalized to the public and its trainers and coaches are not available around the globe.
Sambo is firmly bonded with the Russian culture and army who are trained to sustain in any temperature and any condition.
So the simple answer is a Sambo fighter will beat a Muay Thai fighter during a street fight.