The white whale of Muay Thai fanatics and collectors was discovered recently, as footage emerged of the legendary fight between “The Sky Piercing Knee Kicker,” Dieselnoi Chor Thanasukarn, and Samart Payakaroon. Both fighters are on every short list of Muay Thai greats worth listening to, with each one regularly heralded as the greatest fighter in Muay Thai history. The release of their fight is a momentous occasion, representing not only an important moment in Muay Thai history, but giving us a glimpse into what may be the finest performance of the fabled Dieselnoi.

Tape of Dieselnoi vs Samart was found on a VHS in an old gym, before being thankfully immortalized on the internet. Muay Thai chronicler Sylvie Von Duuglas-Ittu describes the circumstances surrounding the fight:

There's very little footage of Dieselnoi online, some highlight edits from scraps of video, or "show" fights against non-peak opponents. Almost nothing of him fighting in his prime. The "Holy Grail" of fights would be his "super fight" against Samart Payakaroon, on Christmas Eve of 1982. That fight was never supposed to even happen. One of the top promoters of all time, OneSongchai, appears in a documentary about Samart's career, saying that he didn't agree with that fight and never would have allowed it himself. Indeed, Samart was the best Femeu Fighter of all time, and Dieselnoi the greatest Knee Fighter of all time, but they weren't in the same weight class. Both were unbeatable. For this fight to happen, Dieselnoi had to torture himself down to 129.7 lbs, losing 19 lbs in just a few weeks (he was 135 lbs Lumpinee Champion) and Samart weighed in at 133 lbs (he was 126 lbs Champion). This fight, in addition to being between two absolute superstars of all time, would determine who would be awarded the Fighter of the Year for 1982. Samart had won it in 1981 and Dieselnoi was undefeated as Lumpinee Champion throughout the year... it was a huge deal.

It was a super-fight to rival all super-fights. Both men were not only champions on the most prestigious stage in the sport, but had already built legacies as two of the best to ever do it.

The styles of the two fighters aligned just as perfectly as the circumstances. Dieselnoi’s aggressive Muay Khao stylings against Samart’s silky-smooth Muay Femeu footwork. There is perhaps no other style matchup that so captures the essence of Muay Thai as that between the Muay Khao (aggressive knee and clinch fighter) and the Muay Femeu (technical outside fighter). A struggle between chaotic fury and elegant grace: the Muay Khao seeks to close distance and drive a high pace, while the Femeu tries to slow the fight down and dazzle with finesse.

Dieselnoi was the Salsa to Samart’s waltz - the rapid expansion and closing of distance, frenzied motion on the inside, all designed to take away the Femeu’s graceful lateral movement and capitalize on exchanges. But there was a duality to each of their games. Amidst Dieselnoi’s frenetic attack, there was a graceful cadence. A rhythmic, balletic lilt was present in his attacks even as he swarmed Samart and smothered him with piercing volume. Likewise, Samart knew when to halt his graceful pivots and bear down in the pocket to back the swarming Dieselnoi off.

This fight is the most thorough, elucidating piece of film we have on Dieselnoi. There is no better representation of Dieselnoi as a fighter, or the Muay Khao style in general. Once thought lost forever, one of Muay Thai’s most meaningful fights (as well as one of its most impressive performances) has been recovered for future generations to study.