Did You Know...?
Here is the new and updated version of some random and funny factoids about the Evolve Instructor Team, Asia's most decorated professional fighting team:
You Did What For a Living???!!!
-BJJ World Champion Leandro Brodinho Issa used to pick coconuts from trees for a living in Brazil.
-Kru Daorung "Papa" Sityodtong used to be a bodyguard for Thailand's most famous pop singer, Thongchai "Bird" McIntyre.
-Kru Saknarong "Ped" Sityodtong used to work as a bouncer in Pattaya's most dangerous nightclub.
-MMA Champion 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!
-Assistant MMA Instructor Judd Sanchez used to be a military officer.
-Muay Thai World Champion Yoddecha Sityodtong was forced into child slavery by a mafia gang when he was just a 7 year old orphan.
-Submission Grappling Instructor Aring "Ben" Frondoso used to work as an investment analyst in the finance world.
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!
-Muay Thai World Champion Kru Muangfalek "Bang" Kiatvichian lived in Japan for 10 years and speaks better Japanese than he does English!
-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!
-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.
-Submission Grappling Instructor Aring "Ben" Frondoso earned a college degree in economics.
-Muay Thai World Champion Lamnamoon Sor Sumalee is self-taught in the English language. He learned how to read, write, and speak English on the fly. Quite impressive for a 4 time World Champion with over 300 fights!
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.
-Kru Kongtoranee "Chart" Payakaroon was orphaned when he was 11 years old and had to survive on rice boiled in sea water as his only daily meal.
Really???!!!
-World Championship Silver Medalist Almiro Barros has a tattoo of the Ubatuba flag (his hometown in Brazil) inside his mouth on his lower lip! Can you imagine how painful it must have been to get done?
-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!
-Muay Thai World Champion Kru Namsaknoi "Must" Yudthagarngamtorn owns the highest win percentage (94.6%) of any Lumpinee Muay Thai World Champion in the history of Muay Thai. The Thai media named him the Emperor of Muay Thai. He is widely regarded as one of the top 5 Lumpinee Muay Thai World Champions in history.
-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!
-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.
-Muay Thai World Champion Kru Kongtoranee Payakaroon is one of the greatest Muay Thai World Champions in history, winning an unheard of 5 world titles in 5 different weight categories in Lumpinee Stadium, the pinnacle of Muay Thai. The Thai media routinely lists him among the top 3 greatest fighters to have ever lived.
-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 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!
-WBA Boxing World Champion Yodsanan Sityodtong owns one of the highest KO ratios in history for any Boxing World Champion with 48 KOs in 58 victories.
-The best cooks on the Evolve Instructor Team are Professor Rafael "Gordinho" Lima and Kru Daorung "Papa" Sityodtong. In fact, one of Professor Gordinho's greatest passions in life is cooking. And Papa Daorung is one of the most prolific eaters on the Evolve Fight Team!
-Most of the Muay Thai Instructors at Evolve MMA like Kru Daorung, Kru Yoddecha, Kru Chatri, Kru Saknarong, Kru Chart, etc have known each other for at least 20 years and in some cases even 40 years! In fact, Kru Papa Daorung was Kru Chatri's first Muay Thai teacher at Sityodtong Camp almost 25 years ago!
-BJJ Instructor Almiro Barros and BJJ World Champion Leandro Issa have been close friends since they were in the early teens in the small beachtown of Ubatuba, Brazil.
-Muay Thai World Champions, Kru Lamnammoon "Yo" Sor Sumalee and Kru Namsaknoi "Must" Yudthagarngamtorn fought each other before as did Kru Yoddecha "Lui" Sityodtong and Nuengtrakan Por Muang Ubon. The brotherhood (or sisterhood) of warriors runs very deep with mutual respect and admiration after you compete against someone. Today, they are all close friends!
Evolve Mixed Martial Arts® is Asia's premier brand of MMA academies. Evolve MMA ranks among the best academies in the world for Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and Mixed Martial Arts.
