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Amateur fighter, 20 year old clerk Yutthasin Thebamrung, taunts his opponent, an aspiring actor nicknamed Nick Sadday, during an underground martial arts event by “Fight Club Thailand”, at a youth sports centre in the Klong Toey slum, Bangkok, Thailand, 23 July 2022. Inspired by the Hollywood movie “Fight Club”, a group of young martial arts enthusiasts decided to start their own fight club to give regular people, with regular jobs, a place where they can come test themselves against one another or simply release some steam at the end of their work week. Founded in 2016 mainly as a group of youngsters putting up fights in secluded locations, the group decided to incorporate rules to make it safer and protect the fighters. Today, the Fight Club Thailand events showcase Muay Thai fights and Boxing bouts. All fights have only one 3 minute round, where grappling or slamming one's opponent to the ground is not permitted, and elbow strikes, hitting behind the head or neck, are also not allowed. There is medical personal on stand by, and an ambulance ready should there be a serious injury. Although the name may insinuate violence, and the events are certainly filled with it in every fight, the purpose and aim of Fight Club Thailand is to forge friendships through fighting. Fighters leave it all in the 3 minutes they face each other, but once it is over, they are “Fight Club brothers”. (Photo by Diego Azubel/EPA/EFE)
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