Evolve MMA Factoids: Did You Know...?
You Did What For a Living???!!!
-Kru Daorung "Papa" Sityodtong used to be a bodyguard for Thailand's most famous pop singer, Thongchai "Bird" McIntyre.
-BJJ World Champion Leandro Brodinho Issa used to pick coconuts from trees for a living in Brazil.
-Kru Saknarong "Ped" Sityodtong used to work as a bouncer in Pattaya's most dangerous nightclub.
-Kru Toy Sityodtong worked his way up from bellboy to manager of a small hotel before quitting to dedicate his life to Muay Thai again.
-Muay Thai and FightShape Instructor Mitch Chilson used to be a top model in advertisements for Singapore Airlines, Singtel, and other large companies! He's almost too pretty to be a fighter!
-FightShape Instructor Lucie Benito used to be an executive at IBM.
Who Says Fighters Are Dumb???!!!
-BJJ Black Belt World Champion Rafael Gordinho Correa holds a law degree from one of the top universities in Brazil. He actually graduated from law school in the same year that he became BJJ World Champion!
-Kru Chatri Sityodtong is the only Muay Thai fighter and trainer from the legendary Sityodtong Camp in Thailand to have earned an MBA from Harvard - not bad for a guy with over 30 fights!
-WBA Boxing World Champion Yodsanan Sityodtong earned a Bachelor's degree AFTER he became World Champion. It took him 5 years to do it, but he attended classes at a local university in between his training sessions and title defenses!
-Muay Thai World Champion Nuengpichit Sityodtong is the only Muay Thai World Champion in Thailand to have attended university.
-BJJ Black Belt World Championship Silver Medalist Almiro Barros earned a Bachelors degree in Physical Education.
-European BJJ Black Belt Champion Joao Carneiro holds a Bachelor's degree in Social Communication.
You Were That Poor???!!!
-UFC Fighter Rafael dos Anjos was once so poor that he lived in the slums of Rio de Janeiro and almost considered becoming a truck driver.
-Kru Chatri Sityodtong was once so poor that he could only afford to eat 1 small meal a day and had to walk everywhere because he couldn't afford public transportation.
-WBA Boxing World Champion Yodsanan Sityodtong was once so poor that he had to sleep in the ring where he trained.
-BJJ World Champion Leandro Brodinho Issa was once so poor that his highest monthly income prior to joining Evolve was $300/month.
-Kru Daorung "Papa" Sityodtong was once so poor that he only ate a plain bowl of rice with red chillies as his only meal every day.
Really???!!!
-European BJJ Black Belt Champion Joao Carneiro lived in India in order to further his knowledge of yoga. He is a certified Yoga Instructor with over 10+ years of experience and definitely the most flexible instructor at Evolve MMA!
-MMA Instructor and Professional Fighter Brian Choi, uprooted his entire life and moved from Korea to Singapore solely to train at Evolve MMA! When he found out that Evolve had opened, he said goodbye to his family and moved to Singapore to chase a dream (without knowing if he would be accepted or not onto the Evolve Fight Team)! He literally just showed up one day at the front desk at PoMo Mall and asked to be a part of the Evolve Fight Team!
-MMA Instructor Setsuma Takeda once fought an MMA fight against a 90kg opponent while he weighed only 60kg! He took the fight because the promoter offered him double the pay and Setsuma was dirt poor. He lost on points, but won over the crowd! As the saying goes, the size of the fight in the dog is more important than the size of the dog in the fight!
-Kru Chatri Sityodtong became a self-made, multimillionaire by his early 30s. Before starting Evolve MMA at 37 years old, he went to Rwanda to trek several hours by foot into the African jungle to hang out with Silverback Gorillas in the wild; he spent an hour with a family of gorillas weighing 300-500 lbs and his only protection were 2 bodyguards with AK47 machine guns!
-Muay Thai World Champion Nuengpichit Sityodtong taught himself to play the guitar. And he is pretty good! He has always dreamed of becoming a pop singer!
-WBA Boxing World Champion Yodsanan Sityodtong was an actor in a big hit action movie in Thailand and is still a celebrity back home.
-BJJ World Champion Rafael Gordinho Correa grew up in the house next door to Renzo Gracie and that is how he got started in BJJ! They've been close friends for over 30 years! Before Evolve MMA, Professor Gordinho managed Renzo's main academy as its Program Director.
-BJJ World Champion Antonio Braga Neto is the only person in history to become World Champion in Blue Belt, Purple Belt, Brown Belt, and Black Belt in consecutive years!
-BJJ World Champion Roberto Gordo Correa is a legend in Brazil. Not only is he the inventor of the half guard, but he has also produced an astounding number of World Champions and professional MMA fighters. Professor Gordo is the older brother of Professor Gordinho and is the head of Evolve MMA Brazil.
-Evolve MMA Instructors Leandro Brodinho Issa, Antonio Braga Neto, and Rafael dos Anjos used to be roommates in a small studio apartment in the slums of Rio de Janeiro! And now they all work at Evolve MMA!
-Most of the Muay Thai Instructors at Evolve MMA like Kru Daorung, Kru Yoddecha, Kru Chatri, Kru Saknarong, Kru Kongtoranee, etc have known each other for at least 20 years and in some cases even 40 years!
Evolve Mixed Martial Arts® is Asia's premier brand of MMA academies. Evolve MMA is ranked among the best academies in the world for Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and Mixed Martial Arts.
