10 Muay Thai coaches, from Yodtong Senanan to Master Toddy and Duke Roufus, each with achievements, years active, fighters trained and nationality.
Under each of the 5 names sit the record, the span of the career, the teams and the nationality, so a national team spell is easy to tell from a lifetime at one club. How we ordered them is our own call on Muay Thai, and the FAQ below answers the rest.
If you are working through the subject more broadly, we keep the same kind of list for Muay Thai books and Muay Thai films and documentaries.
We also cover Muay Thai team names if that is where you are heading next.
Best Muay Thai Coaches:
- Apidej Sit-Hirun
- Kru Yodtong Senanan
- Dieselnoi Chor Thanasukarn
- Samart Payakaroon
- Sangtiennoi Sor.Rungroj
- Master Toddy
- Chai Sirisute
- Mark DellaGrotte
- Duke Roufus
- Cor Hemmers
#1 Apidej Sit-Hirun
- 🏆 Achievements: Considered one of the greatest Muay Thai fighters, later became a revered coach
- 📅 Years Active: Active in fighting career during the 1960s; coaching career timeframe is less well-documented
- 👕 Teams Coached: Not specific to a team; known for training fighters in Thailand
- 🌐 Nationality: Thai
Apidej Sit-Hirun is hailed as one of the greatest Muay Thai fighters of all time and brought his profound knowledge into coaching. During his fighting career, he was recognized for his powerful leg kicks which reportedly could break an opponent’s arm.
After retiring from competition, Apidej became a sought-after coach, imparting his extensive experience and technique to new generations of fighters. He has been instrumental in shaping many champions with his teachings.
While specific details of his coaching career are not well-documented in the English language, his influence on the sport and its practitioners is significant and long-lasting, making him a legendary figure in Muay Thai’s rich history.
#2 Kru Yodtong Senanan
- 🏆 Achievements: Founder of Sityodtong Camp, produced numerous champions
- 👕 Teams Coached: Sityodtong Camp
- 🌐 Nationality: Thai
Kru Yodtong Senanan was the revered founder of the renowned Sityodtong Camp in Pattaya, Thailand, which is synonymous with excellence in Muay Thai. The camp has produced a multitude of champions and is a testimony to his coaching and mentorship abilities.
As a coach, Yodtong was not just respected for his technical skills but also for his philosophy that Muay Thai training is as much about building character as it is about physical skills. His holistic approach has helped shape the lives of many fighters, both inside and outside the ring.
Kru Yodtong’s legacy is carried on through his camp, which continues to be a destination for fighters around the world seeking to learn authentic Muay Thai and to walk in the footsteps of greatness.
#3 Dieselnoi Chor Thanasukarn
- 🏆 Achievements: Legendary fighter known for his knee strikes; imparted knowledge as a coach after retirement
- 📅 Years Active: Coaching career following an illustrious fighting career that ended in 1985
- 👕 Teams Coached: x
- 🌐 Nationality: Thai
Dieselnoi Chor Thanasukarn, often referred to as “The Sky Piercing Knee,” is one of Muay Thai’s most celebrated fighters. After retiring due to a lack of competitors in his weight class, he transitioned into coaching, where his immense knowledge and experience made him a highly respected figure.
His coaching style emphasizes the importance of the devastating knee strikes that made him famous, as well as a deep understanding of Muay Thai techniques and strategies.
Dieselnoi’s transition from a feared competitor to a respected coach illustrates the natural progression for many fighters in Muay Thai, where legacy and knowledge sharing are deeply embedded in the sport’s culture.
#4 Samart Payakaroon
- 🏆 Achievements: Legendary multiple-time world champion, revered for technical skills; became a respected coach
- 📅 Years Active: Coaching career following a fighting career that spanned the 1980s
- 👕 Teams Coached: x
- 🌐 Nationality: Thai
Samart Payakaroon is considered by many as the greatest Muay Thai fighter of all time, having won several world championships and displaying a level of skill that was unmatched in his era.
After retiring from professional fighting, Samart applied his exquisite technical prowess to coaching, where he cultivated a new generation of fighters. He is renowned for his incredible understanding of timing, rhythm, and fight IQ, which he passes on to his students.
Samart’s coaching career may not be as well-publicized as his fighting career, but he remains a figure of high regard in the Muay Thai community, embodying the artistry and intelligence of the sport.
#5 Sangtiennoi Sor.Rungroj
- 🏆 Achievements: Known as “The Deadly Kisser,” formidable fighter turned coach
- 📅 Years Active: Began coaching after fighting career, which peaked in the 1990s
- 👕 Teams Coached: x
- 🌐 Nationality: Thai
Sangtiennoi Sor.Rungroj, famously known as “The Deadly Kisser,” is another legendary fighter who successfully transitioned to coaching after a celebrated career in the ring. He gained his nickname from his habit of kissing his opponents after defeating them.
His expertise in Muay Thai extends beyond his competitive accolades, as a coach he has been able to translate his ferocity and technical knowledge into a successful coaching methodology.
His commitment to teaching and nurturing new talent is evident, with many students citing his approach as integral to their development not only as fighters but as individuals, showcasing the broader influence a coach can have on their trainees.
(Note: The descriptions have been created based on known achievements and reputations within the Muay Thai community. Some specific details about years active as coaches and teams coached are not widely documented, particularly in English language sources, thus the entries remain general in those aspects.)
#6 Master Toddy
- 🏆 Achievements: Built Muay Thai gyms in England, the United States and Thailand and trained more than forty world champions across five decades.
- 📅 Years Active: About 1969 to today
- 👕 Fighters Trained: Ronnie Green, Gina Carano, Randy Couture, Tito Ortiz, Bob Sapp, Maurice Smith
- 🌐 Nationality: Thailand
Thohsaphol Sitiwatjana, known everywhere as Master Toddy, was one of the first Thai trainers to teach the sport seriously outside Thailand. His gym in Manchester in the 1970s produced the first generation of British Muay Thai fighters who could travel to Bangkok and win.
He later moved to Las Vegas, where his students included fighters crossing over from mixed martial arts. The count of world champions he has trained runs past forty across five decades and three countries.
#7 Chai Sirisute
- 🏆 Achievements: Founded the Thai Boxing Association of the USA in 1968 and introduced Muay Thai to American colleges and professional sport.
- 📅 Years Active: 1968 to today
- 👕 Fighters Trained: Erik Paulson, Dan Inosanto, Chad Stahelski, David Leitch
- 🌐 Nationality: Thailand
Sirisute arrived in the United States when almost nobody there had seen Muay Thai, and the association he founded is the reason it spread through the American martial arts scene rather than staying a curiosity. He taught at universities and even worked with the Dallas Cowboys.
His students include Dan Inosanto, who carried the material into the Jeet Kune Do world, and the stunt coordinators Chad Stahelski and David Leitch, who put it on screen. Few coaches have moved a sport into a new country as thoroughly.
#8 Mark DellaGrotte
- 🏆 Achievements: Founded Sityodtong USA and was certified by Yodtong Senanan as an international keeper of the camps style.
- 📅 Years Active: Mid 2000s to today
- 👕 Fighters Trained: Kenny Florian, Frank Mir, Stephan Bonnar, Marcus Davis, Jorge Rivera, Patrick Cote
- 🌐 Nationality: United States
DellaGrotte trained for years at Sityodtong in Pattaya before opening the American branch in Somerville, Massachusetts. That lineage matters in Muay Thai, and it is why his corner work carried weight when the sport went mainstream through mixed martial arts.
Through the late 2000s he was the striking coach behind a long run of televised fights, working with Kenny Florian and Frank Mir among others. His gym still teaches the traditional curriculum alongside the fight team.
#9 Duke Roufus
- 🏆 Achievements: Founded the Roufusport Martial Arts Academy in Milwaukee and became one of the best known striking coaches in North America.
- 📅 Years Active: 2002 to 2025
- 👕 Fighters Trained: Anthony Pettis, Tyron Woodley, Ben Askren, Jens Pulver
- 🌐 Nationality: United States
Roufus came out of a kickboxing family and turned his own competitive career into a gym that produced world champions in two sports. His striking system, built on kicks and distance rather than boxing alone, is recognisable the moment one of his fighters starts working.
Anthony Pettis and Tyron Woodley both won world titles out of Roufusport. He died in October 2025, and the gym continues under the coaches he trained.
#10 Cor Hemmers
- 🏆 Achievements: Founded the Maeng Ho gym and led Golden Glory in Breda, preparing a long line of kickboxing and Muay Thai world champions.
- 📅 Years Active: 1980s to 2012
- 👕 Fighters Trained: Ramon Dekkers, Semmy Schilt, Alistair Overeem, Stefan Leko, Gokhan Saki, Errol Zimmerman
- 🌐 Nationality: Netherlands
Dutch Muay Thai is its own school, heavier on boxing and low kicks than the Thai original, and Hemmers is one of the men who wrote it. Ramon Dekkers, the most famous foreigner ever to fight in Bangkok, came out of his gym.
At Golden Glory he prepared the heavyweights who dominated K-1 in the 2000s, including Semmy Schilt and Alistair Overeem. He left the gym in 2012 and moved into matchmaking for Glory.
FAQ
Who is the greatest Muay Thai coach of all time?
Apidej Sit Hirun is often considered the greatest Muay Thai coach ever, renowned for his exceptional training techniques and fostering multiple champions.
Who was the most successful Muay Thai coach?
Dieselnoi Chor Thanasukarn, noted for his dominance in the 1980s and for training many successful fighters, is one of the most successful Muay Thai coaches.
