Saifa Sor Suparut has joined Evolve MMA. The 27 year old burst onto the scene as a teenager and has been one of the top fighters in her weight class for over a decade.
Saifa has been more successful than several of the Thai stars who have gone on to find fame and fortune with ONE Championship. Last weekend Supergirl Jaroonsakgym and Stamp Fairtex both picked up $50,000 USD bonuses after their strawweight kickboxing bout at Impact Arena.
But before signing with ONE Championship they were earning closer to $100 USD per fight on the local scene in Thailand. Saifa is also likely to see her income increase significantly after accepting a job with the Singapore based gym:
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Obvious addition
It remains to be seen whether she will be competing herself. She has spent the majority of her career as a bantamweight, fighting at 118lbs so would be an obvious addition to ONE Championship’s strawweight division.
Saifa has held the WBC and WPMF 118lbs title. Such is her longevity that several of her former opponents like Claire Baxter and Teresa Wintermyr have long since retired.
Saifa holds a win over Martine Michieletto who would go on to sign for ONE Championship.
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New champion
Smilla Sundell was recently crowned as the inaugural ONE Championship strawweight Muay Thai champion. She is the first fighter to ever hold that title.
There aren’t currently any rankings available for that division. Wondergirl could be another contender but she appears to be more focused on her MMA career.
It is not clear whether Saifa is keen to continue her fighting career, she appears to have been relatively inactive in recent years. She might be too focused on her coaching commitments at Evolve MMA to put in the time needed to train for a ONE Championship bout.
Evolve MMA is already home to reigning ONE Championship strawweight champion Xiong Jing Nan, Saifa might be able to give her a few striking tips. But given her credentials and experience fans will be hoping that the 27 year old decides to continue fighting as well as coaching.
