Roger Huerta hitting the pads at Tiger Muay Thai Chiang Mai

Muay Thai Padwork is so much fun and an awesome way to both get in shape, learn technique and improve your striking.  I was really surprised when Roger Huerta told me that before he came to Thailand, even with his six fight win streak in the UFC, he knew nothing about Muay Thai.  His first trainer and pad holder was Yod from Tiger Muay Thai who has recently become George St. Pierre's Muay Thai coach.

Despite an unfortunate loss streak after leaving the UFC I have a feeling that Roger Huerta is going to make a comeback now that he is refocused.

This video was filmed at the soft opening of the new Tiger Muay Thai in Chiang Mai, Thailand.  The pad holder wasn't Roger Huerta's usual trainer and it was their first time doing pads together.  Still looked very impressive despite needing to figure each other's style out on the fly. It goes to show that you never really know what other factors are in play when a fighter steps into the ring, whether it is a big MMA fight, sparring at the gym or just hitting pads.

There can always be factors such as injuries, fatigue, overtraining, stress, and personal issues that can affect a fighter's performance.  When I was less experienced I would watch UFC fights on TV and think I knew better than they did, or even sometimes have the audacity to think I would have done better in that given situation.  But now that I've been in the ring a few times and know how difficult it is, how much I need to learn and improve myself, but also the fact that the only two people that really know and understand are the two guys in the ring fighting their hearts out.

On the left is Yod, who was Roger Huerta's first Muay Thai trainer and currently George St. Pierre's trainer. This was taken a few years ago when I first met Roger Huerta while training at Tiger Muay Thai in Phuket.

Best wishes,

Johnny
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