Liam “The Hitman” Harrison, England’s Muay Thai Legend
In Leeds, England on October 5th 1985, about five years after Ronnie “Machine Gun” Green became the first British fighter to fight in Bangkok, future Muay Thai champion Liam Harrison was born. If you would’ve told anyone in Leeds at that time that he would grow up to be one of the most prolific Muay Thai champions in all of Britain and even the entire world, they probably would’ve just looked very confused. At that time, Muay Thai had a very small presence in Britain and very few people would know the traditional Thai style of fighting by name, if at all. In contrast, full contact karate was a very prominent fighting sport in Britain in the 70’s and 80’s. Not only that but figures such as Bruce Lee were drawing many towards traditional chinese arts such as Kung Fu.
As Muay Thai Masters began teaching in Britain, students of true martial arts, including the former kickboxing champion Ronnie Green were bound to find an art so rich in raw fighting technique as well as history. With the backing of an already made champion who wanted to do more and a fighting history that couldn’t be ignored, slowly but surely Muay Thai crept its way into the heart of Britain. Eventually Muay Thai completely integrated itself with the various other styles of sport fighting like Boxing, and Kickboxing.
Liam was 13 years old when he discovered his love for Muay Thai after joining the Bad Company Gym. There he started training under his still current coach, Richard Smith, a successful former kickboxer with multiple championships on his resume. Smith saw talent in Harrison, who was larger in size than most kids his age. After successfully competing in an amatuer bout with no head contact at the age of 14. Liam competed in a professional Muay Thai bout before he turned 15 years old, beating Martin Shivnan by knockout in the first round. If it wasn’t obvious that the young man had power in his hands before, it was obvious at that moment.
Check out Liam’s tips on catching the body kick below!
After fighting in multiple local competitions in Britain, Harrison got the opportunity to fight for the S.I.M.T.A Muay Thai Northern Area Title winning the title by knockout, again in the first round. Liam earned his nickname “The Hitman” going on an undefeated run in his next 19 recorded fights, and earning two more titles while doing it. He won the WAKO Pro Kickboxing Championship due his original opponent falling out with an injury. Although he originally planned on fighting in a Muay Thai bout, the change in rule set did not stop The Hitman as he delivered a technical knockout to Emmanual Di Profetis. Liam then defeated Mohamed Ajuou in his very next fight to win the European S.I.M.T.A Lightweight Title, you guessed it, by knockout.
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After a few more fights in Europe and a knockout win in Japan, Harrison would go on to lose his first fight in his debut in Thailand and his following fight back in England. Liam didn’t let those setbacks affect him as he came right back in a series of fights to win both the Patong Stadium Muay Thai Super Welterweight Title in a victory over Dzhabar Askero and the W.P.M.F Muay Thai World Title. Liam would win the W.P.M.F title after defeating the reigning champion Masamitsu Hirashima. He then went on to defend both titles, win multiple other titles and fight many well known Muay Thai stars including Saenchai, Anuwat Kaewsamrit, and Singdam Yokkao Saenchaigym.
Liam has since signed with ONE Championship, competing in the ONE Super Series Muay Thai events as well as in other large Muay Thai competitions such as the YOKKAO events. Having fought all over the world including Japan, Thailand, China, Italy, Jamaica, England and more, Liam Harrison boasts a record of over 100 fights with 48 knockout wins and only 24 losses. He has captured 8 world titles on his fight resume and is largely considered to be one of the top Muay Thai fighters ever to come out of Britain. The Hitman has won his last 3 fights in a row and is currently 3rd in the WBC Muay Thai rankings.
As a Muay Thai fighter, Liam Harrison is the real deal. Not only is Harrison a great fighter, but he's a passionate teacher also. When he is not training, he spends a lot of time coaching. The Hitman has worked with Dynamic Striking to put out his “Power Muay Thai” instructional. This way anyone, anywhere, can learn from Liam and get a proper understanding of the ancient Thai fighting art.