The Greatest Muay Thai Fighter in History

The Greatest Muay Thai Fighter in History

In Thailand, he is called the Michael Jordan and the Muhammad Ali of Muay Thai.  The Thai media and Muay Thai historians call him a living legend.  He is Samart Payakaroon from the world-renowned Sityodtong Gym.  Considered as the Greatest ever in the history of Muay Thai, Samart Payakaroon teaches at Evolve Mixed Martial Arts in Singapore.  

For Samart Payakaroon's bio, please click here. 

Evolve Mixed Martial Arts® is Asia's premier brand of MMA academies.  Evolve ranks among the best academies in the world for Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and MMA.

The Evolve Fighters Program

The Evolve Fighters Program

In addition to its comprehensive list of courses, Evolve Mixed Martial Arts also has a Fighters Program.  It is an invitation-only program reserved exclusively for professional fighters.  The Evolve Instructor Team has over 450 years of championship experience, the most in Asia.  It has also competed and won in the UFC, the Art of War, Mundials BJJ World Championship, Lumpinee Muay Thai World Championship, No Gi Grappling World Championship, and much more.  Currently, Evolve has authentic World Champions in Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Boxing, and Submission Grappling on its staff of instructors.

Our current roster of professional fighters on the Evolve Fight Team include UFC Fighter Rafael dos Anjos, BJJ World Champion Braga Neto, Art of War Fighter Leandro Brodinho, WBA Boxing World Champion Yodsanan Sor Nanthachai Sityodtong, Muay Thai World Champion Yoddecha Sityodtong, and many other world-class fighters. 

Evolve Mixed Martial Arts® is 100% committed to producing World Champions in Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Boxing, Submission Grappling, and Mixed Martial Arts.  The Fighters Program at Evolve is completely free of charge for serious professional fighters with championship potential.  You will have complete access to all of our facilities around the world and you will be groomed by the elite Evolve Instructor Team.  You will receive the best training and instruction available anywhere in the world.  Our World Champions in each discipline will train you for your goals.  Additionally, our team of Strength and Conditioning experts will revamp your entire conditioning program and elevate your fitness levels to the highest standards of excellence.  If you would like, we can also manage all your fight bookings and career at all the major events including the UFC, the Art of War, the Mundials BJJ World Championship, the Lumpinee Muay Thai World Championship, and any other top fighting event in the world in which you wish to compete.  If you are a professional fighter and believe that you have what it takes to become a member of the elite Evolve Fight Team, please submit your application with a picture and a list of credentials to fighters@evolve-mma.com.  If you are selected from your application, we will then invite you for an open try-out session and an interview to assess your technical abilities, your athletic talent, your mental fortitude, and your potential to become a World Champion. 

For more detailed information on the Fighters Program at Evolve, please click here.


Evolve Mixed Martial Arts is Asia's premier brand of MMA academies.  Evolve ranks among the best academies in the world for Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and MMA.

Evolve Far East Square Grand Opening Week!

Evolve Far East Square Grand Opening Week!

Evolve Mixed Martial Arts® is pleased to announce the official Grand Opening celebrations for its latest location, Evolve Far East Square.  Evolve Far East Square is the largest and most state-of-the-art martial arts facility of its kind in Asia.  For pictures, please see below.

It will be a thrilling week full of festivities from January 18-22, 2010.  The Grand Opening celebrations will include:

-Live demonstrations by our World Champions and Professional Fighters in Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and Mixed Martial Arts
-An exciting Raffle Prize Drawing with awesome prizes
-Celebrity martial artists
-Cool music with gourmet food and cold beverages
-Official Evolve Ring Girls
-A hip and cool party
-Plenty of other cool stuff

Save the date and stay tuned for more details!


Pictured below is the entrance to Evolve Far East Square.

Pictured below is the Octagon MMA cage at Evolve.  On the wall is the actual photo of Evolve Instructor Rafael "Gordinho" Correa de Lima winning the 1998 Mundials World Championship.

Pictured below is part of the Muay Thai room at Evolve Far East Square.

Pictured below is part of the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu room at Evolve Far East Square

Pictured below is the Membership Lounge Area and Internet Station.

Pictured below is one of the Locker Rooms.

Pictured below is the Men's Showers Area with 15 showers.

Your Biggest Weapon

Your Biggest Weapon

If you ask any Evolve instructor what the biggest weapon in martial arts is, the answer will most likely be the same.  Whether it is a real life self-defense situation on the street, a tough training session at Evolve, or a hard fought battle in the cage, the biggest weapon is your mind.

There is a saying in Muay Thai that goes like this, "Some people kick the heavy bag beautifully.  Some people hit pads beautifully.  Some people spar beautifully.  But only a rare few can perform in a real match beautifully."  The essence of this saying is that the mind is your best friend or your worst enemy.  If you have 100% belief in yourself, you can conquer anything.  If you have doubt and fear in yourself, then you cannot conquer even the smallest of ant hills.  At Evolve, we believe that the journey of martial arts is one of continuous self-improvement:  physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.  The most difficult journey though is the mental one. 

Why?

Because we are all human.  There are days when we are lazy.  There are days that we want to quit.  There are days when we are not performing to our best.  There are days when we feel fear.  There are days when we are filled with self-doubt.  Professional sports psychologists will tell you that your mental state drives your physical ability.  If you are paralyzed with fear, it is difficult to perform up to your best.  If you are focused on how exhausted you are, it is almost impossible to give it your best effort.

Your mind is your greatest weapon.  Use it fully to your advantage.  When you are training, teach yourself to overcome exhaustion.  Teach yourself to fight through the desire to quit.  When you feel like skipping training, use your mind to overcome your laziness.  When you are hitting pads, use your mind to focus so that your technique is flawless.  When you are sparring and feel fear, learn to overcome it with mental toughness.  When you are at home, use your mind to go over the latest techniques or to review old ones.  When you are in competition, learn to use your mind to focus and concentrate on the task at hand - and not the outcome.

Fedor Emelianenko, one of the greatest MMA fighters in the world, has the strongest mind of all.   Many times, he has been outmatched during a fight and somehow manages to remain calm.  He never panics.  He simply focuses his mind on the task at hand.  You can see how calm he is before, during, and after a fight.  It does not matter if he is losing badly, if he is hurt, or if he is winning.  His mental state is the same, and hence his physical performance is the same.  He is someone who has conquered his mind.  It is no wonder that he is able to perform at such high levels consistently for such a long time.  Fedor is undefeated in MMA in the last 10 years.  

If you can achieve purity of the mind, you will be one step closer to achieving greatness within.  The great thing is that this skill applies to all areas of your life.  If you believe - truly believe - in a dream, then you will achieve it.  If you overcome your fears and doubts with your mind, then you will be one step closer to unleashing your potential as a human being.  It is simply a matter of mind over matter.   So sharpen your mind, dream big, and live life to the fullest!


Evolve Mixed Martial Arts®   Achieve Greatness Within™

Evolve MMA in the News!

Evolve MMA in the News!

Last week, Evolve Mixed Martial Arts, Asia's top MMA academy, was featured in news around the world (US, China, UK, Indonesia, Russia, Vietnam, Canada, Singapore, India, Malaysia, Brunei, Oman, Taiwan, and many other countries).  Here are a few of the publications:

Reuters News
New York Times
Yahoo! News
China Post
EuroSport
Guardian UK
ABC News
Jakarta Globe
Straits Times
Taipei Times

To view some of the articles, please click on the links below:

Evolve and the Asia MMA Revolution

The Human Tarantula

Gracie Magazine

Youth Singapore

The $6,000,000,000 MMA Gym

Men's Health Magazine Blog 


Evolve Mixed Martial Arts® is Asia's premier brand of MMA academies.  Evolve ranks among the best academies in the world for Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and MMA.

Team Evolve to fight again in the UFC!

Team Evolve to fight again in the UFC!

Rafael dos Anjos, an official member of the Evolve Fight Team, will be fighting in the UFC (the Ultimate Fighting Championship) on January 11, 2010.

He has trained hard for the fight and is in excellent shape. Rafael has a very well-rounded game of good striking and excellent ground technique. For his standup training, Rafael trained in Singapore under the famous Sityodtong Muay Thai Team with Kru Nuengpichit, Kru Yoddecha, Kru Chatri, Kru Yodrit, Kru Saknarong, and Kru Daorung. A top level BJJ Black Belt, Rafael sharpened his ground skills at both Evolve Singapore and Evolve Brazil under BJJ Legends Rafael "Gordinho" Correa de Lima and Roberto "Gordo" Correa de Lima.

Rafael will be facing Kyle Bradley, an aggressive puncher and wrestler.

Best of luck, Rafael! Bring home the gold!

Introducing the official Evolve Referral Program!

Introducing the official Evolve Referral Program!

Evolve Mixed Martial Arts® is pleased to introduce the official Evolve Referral Program!  Refer a friend who enrolls as a student at Evolve, and both of you receive a complimentary gift.

For more details, please visit the front desk of any Evolve location (www.evolve-mma.com).

Lessons from UFC 107

Lessons from UFC 107

BJ Penn is a BJJ World Champion.  Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is his foundation.  3 years after he started learning Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, he unbelievably earned a Black Belt and also became World Champion by winning the Mundials World Championship in the same year.  He was the first non-Brazilian to do so and his ascent from White Belt to Black Belt World Champion is the fastest ever recorded in history.  BJ Penn is currently the UFC Lightweight World Champion in MMA and he is on his way to becoming a legend with his unbelievable performance at UFC 107 (www.ufc.com) this past weekend.

It is interesting to note that BJ Penn did not go to the ground even once during his title defense against top ranked #1 contender, Diego Sanchez, this past weekend.  Sanchez has a brutal ground game based on his wrestling.  He uses a ground and pound approach to attain victory on the ground.  While it is most likely that BJ Penn would have won the fight anyways if it went to the ground, BJ Penn opted to exploit his opponent's glaring weakness - Sanchez has elementary striking ability at best.  BJ Penn opted not to use his feared Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu game.  He chose to keep the fight on its feet and turn it into a striking match.  Sanchez desperately tried to take BJ Penn down to the ground, but he could not do so.  As a result, BJ Penn completely dominated Sanchez and exposed him as a beginner in the standup game.  BJ Penn landed 150 strikes while Sanchez landed only 8 strikes.  BJ Penn also stuffed an amazing 27 takedown attempts by Sanchez.  Truly impressive numbers.  

In today's world of Mixed Martial Arts, BJ Penn clearly illustrated the meaning of well-rounded fighter.   He can stand and fight.  Or he can go to the ground and fight.  To BJ Penn, it does not really matter.  Even though Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is his core strength, his striking has become world-class.

So what is the main lesson from UFC 107 and BJ Penn's performance?

To be a complete fighter, you must have both strong striking and ground games.  In the modern era of MMA, it is impossible to deny the truth.  The truth is that the person who evolves is the person who wins.  You must inherit a strong standup and ground game to be considered truly proficient at MMA.  The same also rings true for self-defense situations in real life.  In a self-defense situation, you might end up on the ground on a soccer field or you might end up standing in an elevator.  You must be able to defend yourself equally well in all situations and surroundings.

The key to success in martial arts and in life is to evolve continuously.  If you do not evolve, you wither away.   So keep improving and evolving!  


Evolve Mixed Martial Arts®   Achieve Greatness Within™

Receive a Complimentary Apple iPod and more!

Receive a Complimentary Apple iPod and more!

New Gift Package at Evolve Far East Square, starting today!

Receive up to $400 worth of gifts.  You will receive a Complimentary Apple iPod, a Complimentary pair of Muay Thai gloves (or a Complimentary Gi), and a Complimentary Evolve t-shirt if you sign up for any of our standard 12 month programs at Evolve Far East Square.

The Apple iPod is a special limited edition version with "Evolve MMA" engraved on the back.   Own your special Evolve MMA-branded Apple iPod!

The offer is valid until December 31 or until supplies are gone.

One of the Best MMA Schools in the World

One of the Best MMA Schools in the World

Based in Singapore, Evolve Mixed Martial Arts is Asia's premier brand of MMA academies.  It ranks among the best academies in the world for Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and MMA.  Evolve has the highest standards of excellence and offers the highest quality martial arts instruction available anywhere in the world.  

Here are some quick facts about Evolve:

450 years of Championship Experience
The Evolve Instructor Team is the largest and most experienced team in Asia with over 450 years of championship experience.  The Evolve Instructor Team is the only team in Asia that has competed and won at the highest levels of competition in the world for Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and MMA.  It has competed and won on the world stage in the UFC, the Art of War, Sengoku, Lumpinee Stadium, Mundials World Championships, Pan American Championships, WBA Boxing World Championship, No Gi World Championship, and much more. 

World Champions in Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Boxing, and No Gi Grappling
Evolve Mixed Martial Arts has almost 40 instructors on its Instructor Team and is the only team with authentic World Champions in Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Boxing, and No Gi Grappling.  Additionally, there will be more instructors and World Champions coming to Singapore in the near future. It is also important to note that every member of the Evolve Instructor Team has actual fight experience in the ring, on the mats, and in the streets.

Elite Credentials
The Evolve Instructor Team has direct lineage from some of the top fight schools in the world: the Sityodtong Gym in Thailand, Gracie Barra in Brazil, the Renzo Gracie Academy in US, the Gordo Jiu-Jitsu Academy in Brazil, and other top schools. It also possesses instructor certifications from the Sityodtong Gym in Thailand, Gracie Barra in Brazil, the World Muay Thai Council (WMC), the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation, and much more. For more information on the Evolve Instructor Team, please click here.

Multiple locations with all-day schedules
Evolve Mixed Martial Arts currently has 3 locations with plans to add more in the future. Its flagship location, Evolve Far East Square, is the largest martial arts facility of its kind in Asia. Classes run 7 days a week in all of its locations with classes through out the entire day. Evolve has the largest schedules in Singapore.  Widely recognized as the top MMA academy in Asia, Evolve offers MMA classes, Muay Thai classes, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu classes, and much more. For more details on its courses, please click here.

Best-in-class Facilities
Evolve Mixed Martial Arts has state-of-the-art facilities with no expense spared: the highest quality grappling mats from the US, authentic Muay Thai heavy bags from Thailand, Octagon cages from the US, Muay Thai rings from Thailand, kettle bells and TRX cables from the US, rainshower facilities with lockers, juice bars, free wireless Internet access, Internet stations, and much more.  Evolve Far East Square is the gold standard of excellence for the martial arts industry around the world.

Recognition
Featured across Asia by CNN, ESPN, StarSports, Channelnews Asia, Straits Times, Men's Health, Shape, Her World, August Man, and many other publications, Evolve Mixed Martial Arts® is widely recognized as the top MMA school in Asia.

Testimonials
From complete beginners to World Champions, many people have raved about Evolve Mixed Martial Arts.  To read actual testimonials on Evolve, please click here.  

Strong Leadership
The leaders of the Evolve Fight Team are Rafael "Gordinho" Correa de Lima and Chatri Sityodtong. Rafael is a 3rd Degree Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt World Champion from Brazil. He has the honor of training, coaching, and helping professional fighters in the UFC and the IFL such as Renato Babalu Sobral, Georges St Pierres, Rolles Gracie, Igor Gracie, Gregor Gracie, Renzo Gracie, Matt Serra, and many others. Chatri is a fighter and instructor from the legendary Sityodtong Gym in Thailand. The Sityodtong Gym has produced the most number of Muay Thai World Champions in the history of Muay Thai in Thailand. It is widely respected for having the highest standards of excellence in Thailand and for producing the most technical fighters in the sport of Muay Thai. Chatri has coached and cornered many top fighters in both Muay Thai and MMA such as Rafael Dos Anjos, Rolles Gracie, Antonio Braga Neto, Leandro Brodinho, Yoddecha Sityodtong, Yodsanan Sor Nanthachai Sityodtong, and many others.

For more information, please click http://www.evolve-mma.com


Evolve Mixed Martial Arts® is Asia's premier brand of MMA academies. Evolve ranks among the best academies in the world for Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and MMA.

Half Guard Seminar by Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Legend Gordo!

Half Guard Seminar by Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Legend Gordo!

Evolve Mixed Martial Arts® is pleased to announce a special Half Guard Seminar by Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Legend and multiple time World Champion Roberto "Gordo" Correa de Lima at Evolve Far East Square.  Gordo is the inventor of the half guard in BJJ.  As a BJJ master, he has also produced many World Champions and MMA fighters such as Antonio Braga Neto, Celsinho Vinicius, Leandro Brodinho, Marcio "Pe de Pano" Cruz, Rafael dos Anjos, and many others. 

Who:  Roberto "Gordo" Correa de Lima
What:  Special Half Guard Seminar
Where:  Evolve Far East Square
Time:  700pm to 930pm
Date:  Wednesday December 9, 2009

It will be complimentary for all Evolve members.  For non-Evolve members, the seminar fee is $250.

As spots are limited, please book your spot at the front desk of any Evolve location.  Please note that all BJJ classes at Evolve PoMo will be canceled that night.

Muay Thai Seminar by World Champion Legend Samart Payakaroon

Muay Thai Seminar by World Champion Legend Samart Payakaroon

Evolve Mixed Martial Arts® is pleased to announce a Birthday Seminar by Muay Thai Legend and 4 time World Champion Samart Payakaroon at Evolve Far East Square.

Please come celebrate Samart's birthday this Saturday December 5 at Evolve Far East Square.  To celebrate his birthday, Samart will be giving a special Muay Thai seminar from 1130am to 130pm.

Who:  Samart Payakaroon

What:  Muay Thai Seminar + Birthday

Where:  Evolve Far East Square

Time:  1130am to 130pm

Date:  Saturday December 5, 2009

It will be complimentary for all Evolve members who bring a friend (It will be complimentary for the Evolve member and friend).  For non-Evolve members, the seminar fee is $250.

As spots are limited, please book your spot at the front desk of any Evolve location.

For Samart's bio, please click here.

Classes at Evolve Far East Square begin this Thursday December 3!

Classes at Evolve Far East Square begin this Thursday December 3!

Ready, set, GO!!!  Classes officially start this Thursday December 3 at Evolve Far East Square, the largest and most state-of-the-art facility of its kind in Asia.

For the Evolve Far East schedule, please click here.

Are you ready for the ride of a lifetime?

Come down to see what all the excitement is about!  Meet our World Champions and learn from the best instructor team in Asia!



Evolve Mixed Martial Arts is Asia's premier brand of MMA academies.  It ranks among the best academies in the world for Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and MMA.