Brazilian Muay Thai champ who switched to Kun Khmer outraged by ban
Brazilian fighter Thiago Teixeira said he will not take the ban imposed on Thursday by the World Muay Thai Organisation (WMO) lying down, vowing on Friday to rally fans at home.
“If anyone knows how to get in touch with a Brazilian television station, please do," he wrote on his Instagram account. “I was attacked and humiliated. Everyone is aware of the true champion. Brazil needs to be aware of this fact.”
Teixeira is also preparing a statement on the WMO’s decision to strip him of his title and ban him from the sport, he said on Facebook.
Teixeira won the WMO Middleweight title on April 2 by knocking out Englishman Joe Craven in the second round of their match at the "Apex Fight Series" in Germany.
On Thursday, the WMO announced on its Facebook page that it had stripped Teixeira of his title and banned him from all future WMO activities.
“His behaviour brought the sport of Muay Thai into disrepute. His actions were politically motivated and fundamentally unsportsmanlike, [and] aimed at degrading the national sport of Thailand and inciting hate,” the WMO said.
Teixeira has been practicing Muay Thai since he was 16 years old, and the words "Muay Thai" are tattooed across his shoulder blades.
However, he has switched from a Thai to a Cambodian club, draped himself in the Cambodian flag after winning the April 2 match, and now promotes Cambodia’s Kun Khmer.
Kun Khmer is a Cambodian martial art some of whose fighters and followers insist is the source of Muay Thai.
This view is disputed. Although the two martial arts may share a cultural origin, they have diverged into uniquely Thai and Cambodian arts, many experts say.
The often-nationalistic dispute over the two martial arts escalated after Cambodia’s decision to use only the name "Khun Khmer" for matches at the upcoming Southeast Asian Games in Phnom Penh.
