If one round could sum up Liam Harrison’s career, it would surely be his wild clash with Muangthai P. K. Saenchai.
Four years ago Harrison, the modern trailblazer for British Muay Thai, met Muangthai in Singapore.
In the first round Muangthai smashed Harrison over twice in quick succession, both heavy knockdowns. Yet Harrison picked himself, regrouped and staged one of the most impressive, and fastest, comebacks in the sport.
His ferocious left hook slammed Muangthai into the cage wall and deposited him on the canvas.
Another fierce exchange saw Harrison’s fists upend Muangthai again. A final assault staggered his opponent once more and Harrison put Muangthai away.
The fight, the round, came in ONE Championship at a late stage of Harrison’s career. “Although I was past my best at that point, I still got to show everyone worldwide what I was still about, dragging myself off the floor twice,” Harrison told Sky Sports.
“Some of my fondest memories, there are so many though. I’ve been all over the world, I’ve fought on some amazing cards. I’ve fought in some brilliant places and brilliant cities. I’ve met so many cool people. I met some of my heroes, I got to fight some of my heroes.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
A look back at some of Liam Harrison’s big hits during his ONE career.
From Harehills in Leeds, Harrison is a special fighter, setting a new standard for Muay Thai kickboxers from the UK.
He turned professional when he was just a teenager.
“I’ve spread the word of British Muay Thai,” he noted. “As a fighting nation I think we’re probably one of the best outside of Thailand now.”
Harrison led the way for UK fighters travelling to Thailand to compete and train. That came after a rude awakening early in his career.
He recalled: “It was just before my 19th birthday, I’d had 29 pro fights, I’d won them all, I’d been knocking everyone out.”
Then he came up against a top fighter from Thailand.
“He came over to England to fight me and I went bang, left hook, trademark shot, straight on his chin and he went down. And he bounced back up really quick,” Harrison explained.
“I remember thinking to myself: ‘They usually stay down when I hit them like that’ and he looked across the ring at me and he was smiling, he had no gumshield and he had blood all over his teeth… And I thought: ‘Oh no.’
“He just got up and he absolutely battered me for the rest of the fight.
“It was awful. I felt like I’d been in a car wreck after the fight.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Liam Harrison took some time out ahead of his fight at ONE 168 this Friday to give WWE legend Goldberg some tips in Muay Thai.
It left him wondering how he could compete with fighters like that. His solution was to travel to Thailand to train how they trained and fight in those events.
“Not many people were doing it back then. When I was fighting out there and I was trying to fight at the stadiums, there were no Westerners at my weight. It was only Thais and these Thais were killers as well,” Harrison remembered.
“I got bullied every day for six months. I got battered and beaten and kicked up and down that gym in sparring every day. And then after about six months, when we were sparring I started to realise: ‘Hang on I’m holding my own here. I’m starting to level up.’
“That was to do with the fact that I was fighting so regularly, getting experience and I was surrounding myself with other elite level fighters and training alongside them constantly.
“They were scary experiences at first when I was out there on my own just getting beat up every single day,” he added. “I had to look at myself in the mirror and think you’re not going home, you’ve come out here, this is your dream, you’re going to do it. And I did it and I’m proud to say I stayed there and it helped mould me in the man I am now.”
Liam Harrison blazed a trail for Muay Thai in the UK (Photo: ONE Championship)
He’s had many other landmark moments. Anuwat Kaewsamrit handed him the first stoppage loss of his career when they fought in Jamaica, Harrison came back to win their rematch.
“It takes a lot of grit and mental determination to not only pick yourself up and get back in the gym and fight again but I went back in and I fought that person again, who stopped me and I ended up beating him in the rematch, so I’m proud of that,” Harrison said.
“He was still really feared, he was still knocking everyone out and I beat him on points in England at the MEN Arena. Again that was an absolutely massive show and a massive card and I’m really proud of that one. That’s one of my best wins.”
There have been harsh moments too. A devastating low kick from Nong-O Gaiyanghadao took him out with a badly damaged knee in 2022. He managed to come back two years later and fought another legend Seksan Or Kwanmuang, nicknamed the “The Man Who Yields to No One,” in what turned out to be his last ONE Championship bout.
Harrison was characteristically brave, but his range and accuracy deserted him.
“I fought Nong-O and I just got my knee absolutely obliterated in the first round,” he said. “I went and fought Seksan and that ended up in disaster.
“I was terrible, my timing was off. I was just a little bit hesitant. I’d been out the ring too long.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
A look at some of the most brutal knockouts from UK fighters in the ONE Championship.
He did return to the UK for a farewell contest, beating Isaac Araya to win a WBC Diamond belt last year. But he has now retired at the age of 40.
“My Muay Thai career is over. My knee is absolutely battered. The Nong-O fight as good as ended my career,” he said. “I actually felt really good for that last fight, it was just as soon as I stopped training I realised the damage I’d now done to myself had been irreversible.
“I can’t get through a fight camp anymore,” he explained. “It’s not the fights that have done it to me. It’s the way I train. I always go flat out. [It makes the pain in his knee] unbearable. I’m gutted. It’s all I’ve done since I was 14.
“This sport, it’s the highest of the highs and it’s the lowest of the lows… This sport will keep you humble, that’s for sure.”
But he has a singular legacy.
“If someone had said to me 27 years ago when I walked into the gym for the first time you’re going to win this, do this, you’re going to have 120 fights, you’re going to fight all the best fighters on the planet,” Harrison reflected. “I couldn’t even dream of everything I’ve achieved.”
Leave a Reply