1. Sombat Banchamek, known by his ring name Buakaw Banchamek is a Thai professional Muay Thai fighter and kickboxer.
75 Facts About Buakaw Banchamek
1. 2.
Buakaw Banchamek won the featherweight title at Omnoi Stadium, and would later take the lightweight belt at Omnoi.
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Buakaw Banchamek entered the Japanese fighting promotion K-1 Max in 2004.
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The marketing of K-1 and its promotion on the international stage saw Buakaw Banchamek become a household name in his home country and abroad.
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Buakaw Banchamek participated in Max Muay Thai fights and in 2012 and 2011 was the Thai Fight Tournament Champion.
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Apart from his competitive career, Buakaw Banchamek has been an ambassador for Muay Thai, actively promoting the sport and helping it gain recognition on the global stage.
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Buakaw Banchamek has embarked on an acting career, starring in the Thai action films Yamada: The Samurai of Ayothaya and Thong Dee Fun Khao.
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Buakaw Banchamek moved to Chachoengsao when he was 15 and trained with the Por.
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Buakaw Banchamek has collected several belts to his name fighting in Bangkok.
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Buakaw Banchamek then proceeded to win another Omnoi Stadium title belt, this time in the lightweight division.
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In July 2004, Buakaw Banchamek became the K-1 World MAX 2004 champion beating John Wayne Parr, Takayuki Kohiruimaki and previous champion Masato in the finals.
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Buakaw Banchamek lost to Masato by unanimous decision at the K-1 World MAX 2007 quarterfinals.
13.
In 2010, Buakaw Banchamek co-starred in the martial arts movie Yamada: The Samurai of Ayothaya based on the life of Yamada Nagamasa, a Japanese adventurer who gained considerable influence in Thailand at the beginning of the 17th century and became the governor of the Nakhon Si Thammarat province in southern Thailand.
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Buakaw Banchamek defeated Imada via TKO in the second round to become the new 2010 Shoot Boxing S-Cup World champion.
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In 2011, Buakaw Banchamek had seven fights; four of which ended by way of stoppage.
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Buakaw Banchamek led the Muay Thai Combat Fan Expo to showcase the sport in Rimini Italy with Saenchai, Sudsakorn Sor Klinmee, Dzhabar Askerov and many others.
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On January 21,2012, Buakaw Banchamek headlined Yokkao Extreme 2012 in Milan Italy in front of 12,000 attendees.
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Buakaw Banchamek defeated Dzhabar Askerov by points in the main event.
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Buakaw Banchamek had been scheduled to visit Japan with the Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra for an exhibition match but it was canceled in favor of another fight.
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Buakaw Banchamek had resumed training at the "newly-built" Banchamek gym, as of March 22,2012.
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Buakaw Banchamek was scheduled to fight Mickael Cornubet at ThaiFight on April 17,2012.
22.
On March 30,2012, Buakaw Banchamek was prevented from fighting at Thai Fight in April 2012, until he filed a complaint with the Sports Authority of Thailand proving his claims of unfair treatment by Por.
23.
Buakaw Banchamek's first fight after leaving Por Pramuk Gym was a success.
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Buakaw Banchamek knocked out Rustem Zaripov at 2:45 of the 2nd round with accurate punches.
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On May 31,2012, Buakaw Banchamek told the press that he wanted to end the dispute between him and Por.
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An MMA career would have allowed Buakaw Banchamek to fight without breaching his contract with the Por.
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Nevertheless, Buakaw Banchamek returned to the ring on August 17,2012, when he defeated Abdoul Toure by way of TKO in round 2.
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Buakaw Banchamek then defeated Tomoyuki Nishikawa by unanimous decision in the tournament semi-finals in Nakhon Ratchasima on November 25,2012.
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Buakaw Banchamek fought Vitaly Gurkov in the final on December 16,2012, and won the Thai Fight tournament via decision.
30.
On March 27,2013, Buakaw Banchamek faced his friend and teammate Harlee Avison in a staged exhibition match, which was free to the public, at the brand new Beeline Arena in Cambodia.
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On May 6,2013, Buakaw Banchamek again went off script to KO Malik Watson in round two in an exhibition match at MAX Muay Thai 1 in Surin, Thailand.
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Buakaw Banchamek made his return to legitimate fighting with a decision win over Dong Wen Fei in a three-round kickboxing match at MAX Muay Thai 3 in China on August 10,2013.
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Buakaw Banchamek re-signed with K-1 in August 2013 and returned with a first round body shot KO of David Calvo at the K-1 World MAX 2013 World Championship Tournament Final 16 in Mallorca, Spain, on September 14,2013.
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Buakaw Banchamek beat Enriko Kehl by decision at MAX Muay Thai 5: The Final Chapter in Khon Kaen, Thailand on December 10,2013.
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Buakaw Banchamek defeated Zhou Zhi Peng on points after an extension round at the K-1 World MAX 2013 World Championship Tournament Quarter-finals - Part 1 in Foshan, China, on December 28,2013.
36.
Zhou attempted to turn the fight into a brawl, and despite Buakaw Banchamek doing enough to win the decision, the judges sent it to an extra round in which Buakaw Banchamek suffered a cut from a head butt.
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In spite of this, Buakaw Banchamek was able to establish dominance to take the fight and advance in the tournament.
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Buakaw Banchamek knocked out Adaylton Parreira De Freitas in round two at Muay Thai in Macau on June 6,2014.
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Buakaw Banchamek was scheduled to fight Fabio Pinca for the vacant WMC World Junior Middleweight Championship at Monte Carlo Fighting Masters 2014 in Monte Carlo, Monaco, on June 14,2014.
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Buakaw Banchamek defeated Coulibaly via unanimous decision to take the belt.
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Buakaw Banchamek was initially set to rematch Enriko Kehl in the K-1 World MAX 2013 World Championship Tournament Final in Pattaya, Thailand, on 26 July 2014.
42.
Buakaw Banchamek lost the TopKing World Series Semifinal Tournament against Russian fighter Khayal Dzhaniev in a controversial decision.
43.
Many Muay Thai journalists have stated that Buakaw Banchamek should have won the match.
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Buakaw Banchamek suffered from deep cuts in his head inflicted by Khayal's elbows while Khayal suffered broken ribs.
45.
Buakaw Banchamek fought Chinese fighter Kong Lingfeng in the main event at Kunlun Fight 62 on June 10,2017, in Bangkok, Thailand.
46.
The event didn't happen and Buakaw Banchamek fought in China at Kunlun Fight 67 where he knocked out Dutch Marouan Toutouh in the second round with punches.
47.
Buakaw Banchamek defeated French Azize Hlali by knockout in the first round in the headline bout at All Star Fight on August 20,2017, in Bangkok, Thailand.
48.
On December 10 Buakaw Banchamek was expected to fight Fabio Pinca at All Star Fight 3 held in Paris, but the Frenchman pulled out after suffering the knockout defeat against Uzbekistan's Anvar Boynazarov at Glory 47 Lyon on October 28,2017.
49.
Buakaw Banchamek faced Nayanesh Ayman in China at Kunlun Fight 69 on February 4,2018, where he won via first-round knockout.
50.
Buakaw Banchamek fought Portuguese Luis Passos on 28 of April 2018 on All Star Fight 3 in Bangkok Thailand where he won via unanimous decision.
51.
Buakaw Banchamek fought three more times in 2018 on All Star Fight events held in Hong Kong, Prague and Pattaya respectively.
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Buakaw Banchamek headlined All Star Fight: World Soldier on March 9,2019, in Bangkok Thailand.
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Buakaw Banchamek fought against Russian kickboxer, Artem Pashporin and won by unanimous decision.
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Buakaw Banchamek was scheduled to face Chris Ngimbi at MAS Fight Muay Thai under MAS Fight rules on October 27,2019, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
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Buakaw Banchamek defeated Ngimbi by technical knockout at 4:10 of the fight.
56.
In 2021, Buakaw Banchamek was named the executive director for the Kickboxing Association of Thailand.
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Buakaw Banchamek would serve as the manager for the Thailand national kickboxing team, leading them to 2 gold medals and 12 total medals at the 2021 SEA Games in Hanoi.
58.
In 2022, Buakaw Banchamek was named chairman of the Board of Development of Rajadamnern Stadium, where he would oversee the development of both Muay Thai and competition within the stadium.
59.
That year, Buakaw Banchamek participated in a series of exhibition kickboxing matches that headlined the newly launched Rajadamnern World Series promotion at Rajadamnern Stadium.
60.
Buakaw Banchamek was scheduled to face Yoshihiro Sato in a rematch of their K-1 World MAX 2008 quarter-final match, which he lost by knockout, on October 28,2022.
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Buakaw Banchamek went on to defeat Sato by first-round knockout in an exhibition match.
62.
On December 9,2022, Buakaw Banchamek faced Ukrainian fighter Oleksandr Yefimenko.
63.
Buakaw Banchamek faced Yasuhiro Kido in a kickboxing match at Legend of Rajadamnern: Last of the Generation on September 9,2023.
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The bout ended in the second round after Buakaw Banchamek accidentally headbutted Kido, opening a cut in his forehead, leading to a no contest.
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Buakaw Banchamek then faced Wang Yanlong at Grandview International Fight Super Competition on September 24,2023.
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Buakaw Banchamek was scheduled to face Nayanesh Ayman at Legend of Rajadamnern: The Revenge on December 2,2023.
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Buakaw Banchamek faced Minoru Kimura at Rizin Landmark 9 on March 23,2024.
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Buakaw Banchamek was initially expected to fight boxing legend Manny Pacquiao in an exhibition match in January 2024.
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On July 21,2023, Pacquiao and Buakaw Banchamek met in a press conference held in Bangkok, Thailand to promote their exhibition superfight in January 2024.
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Buakaw Banchamek ultimately faced the to-be tournament winner Stoyan Koprivlenski, losing via unanimous decision.
71.
On July 13,2022, it was announced by David Feldman, President and Founder of Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship, that Buakaw Banchamek had signed a deal to fight for BKFC.
72.
Buakaw Banchamek made his debut headlining BKFC Thailand 3: Moment of Truth on September 3,2022, where he defeated Erkan Varol by first-round knockout.
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Buakaw Banchamek enrolled in Rattana Bundit University's business administration, he graduated in 2016.
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Buakaw Banchamek is a graduate in Bachelor of Business Administration from Rattana Bundit University.
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Buakaw Banchamek owns a resort-style development project called Buakaw Village in Mae Taeng, Chiang Mai province, Thailand.