Lanna MMA Fighter of The Week Dany Bill

Who is Dany Bill?

Dany Bill is widely regarded as the smartest and most accomplished non-Thai fighter in the history of Muaythai. For many casual fans of the sport, that title has been largely reserved for Ramon Dekkers. However, the older and perhaps more experienced fans of Muaythai will argue that Dany Bill is the better foreigner, citing his style of fighting and his wins over Dekkers to further their claim. For the most part, Dekkers has generally received more attention due to his exciting style of fighting and the timing of some of his most important wins in Thailand, like his first win over Coban.

Born in Douala, Cameroon in 1973, Bill’s actual hometown is Stains in Paris. He grew up playing soccer like most kids in France, but was drawn to Muaythai immediately after his first exposure to it on French television. With respect to the beginning of his career, his timeline looks like this:

1986: Begins his training at Nemrod Boxing Gym.

1987: First Muaythai fight at 57kg

1991: Champion of France

At 19, Bill moved to Thailand, and began his training at the world famous Jocky Gym with another French champion, Stephan Nikiema. Bill would also spend time training at Sityodtong in Pattaya.

The Dany Bill Style

Bill is a pure Muay Femur (pronounced ‘fee-meuu’). He was very slick in his movement, well-rounded at using all of the Muaythai weapons, and demonstrated an extremely high fight IQ in the ring. Bill was very good at figuring out where his opponent was lacking in skill and technique, then would exploit that weakness in later rounds. He was one of the best ‘sweep’ artists in Muaythai (see video below).

Some of Dany Bill’s most notable wins were against Nokweed Davy, Orono Por Muang Ubon, Panomrunglek Chor Sawad, Sangtiennoi Sor Rungroj, Joel Cesar and Joe Prestia.

With respect to the argument over who was the better foreigner, Bill or Dekkers, there are some important things to consider. Dekkers fought in Lumpinee more than Bill. Also, Bill never fought at Raja. However, Bill had much more success in his fights against the Thais, and used fight IQ to outsmart them at their own game. Dekkers largely had a losing record to Thai fighters. Many people are fans of Dekkers because of his aggressive, forward moving style. Many Western fans love to see knockouts, but fail to really observe the smaller, more technical nuances of a fighter like Danny Bill, and this may have contributed to him being overlooked as the more complete foreign fighters.

Regardless of who was best, Bill has left an indelible legacy on the sport of Muaythai. He is a fighter worth studying closely and with persistence, because mastering the techniques he employed are not easy. It takes time to become a Muay Femur.

Below is a great video demonstrating the Muay Femur skill, which includes Dany Bill.

Here is an exclusive video of Bill and his masterful sweeps (probably want to turn your sound off for this).

Lastly, here is a video of Bill beating Dekkers by decision.



Check out our previous Lanna MMA Fighter of The Week, Coban Lookchaomaesaitong

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Written by Ryan McKinnon, Lanna MMA Team Member and host of The Bloody Ballet Podcast, a weekly Muay Thai show that can be found at The Bloody Ballet