When Saifa Sor Suparut joined Evolve MMA earlier this year many were speculating that she would soon sign with ONE Championship. The promotion has the best female Muay Thai fighters in the world on the roster.
But it seems that the he 28 year old might be more interested in transitioning to MMA then continuing her Muay Thai career. She recently shared a photo of herself at a BJJ lesson:
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Early days
Saifa is wearing a white belt in the photo so is clearly at the very start of her BJJ journey. But she is following in the footsteps of some very successful Muay Thai fighters who have made the transition after joining Evolve MMA.
The most successful was Dedjamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke. He joined Evolve MMA as a Muay Thai instructor but went on to become the inaugural ONE Championship strawweight champion.
Dejdamrong has long since retired and recently opened up a gym of his own in Phuket. But it looks like Saifa could be hoping to have a similar impact on either the atomweight or strawweight divisions.
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New champion
Saifa burst onto the Muay Thai scene as a teenager and has been one of the top fighters in her weight class for over a decade. She has held the WBC and WPMF 118lbs title.
Such is her longevity that several of her former opponents in Muay Thai like Claire Baxter and Teresa Wintermyr have long since retired. She also holds a win over Martine Michieletto who would go on to sign for ONE Championship.
At the moment ONE Championship’s strawweight division is ruled by Saifa’s Evolve MMA teammate Xiong Jing Nan. But if she was able to compete at atomweight there would be a lot of opponents out there for the Thai.
Angela Lee holds the title while Stamp Fairtex is set to challenge Seo Hee Ham for the interim strap, assuming she can overcome Alyse Anderson at ONE Fight Night 10 next month. The likes of Itsuki Hirata and Jihin Radzuan are also in the mix.
Being based in Singapore she is in the perfect place to compete on ONE Championship cards. Saifa’s BJJ journey might only have just begun but fight fans will be excited to see where it takes her.
