Muay Thai is a popular combat sport that more and more people are taking up and spectating.
However, outside of knowing that it is a kind of martial art, not a lot of people actually know that much about Muay Thai as a sport.
As a result, you may be unsure how long a fight can last in Muay Thai – is it the same as boxing, the sport which Muay Thai is often compared to?
Here, we are going to be discussing Muay Thai fights including how long they last, how many rounds there are, and how the time length differs from other similar sports like boxing.
So, let’s jump in!
How Long Does A Round Of Muay Thai Last?
A fight in Muay Thai is made up of rounds, kind of like a boxing match.
However, each round lasts a total of three minutes during which each competitor tries to strike the other to score a point.
Once the three minutes are up, both competitors move to take a break.
So, most Muay Thai finds include rounds that last a total of three minutes each but in some amateur fights, the rounds will last two minutes each.
In Women’s Muay Thai, some fights will also be two minutes per round but most of them still play the traditional three minutes instead.
This means that some Muay Thai fights are shorter than others because they have shorter rounds but this all depends on the dojo or tournament the competitors are in.
Most Muay Thai fights have rounds that traditionally last three minutes.
How Many Rounds Are There In A Muay Thai Fight?
Most Muay Thai fights are made up of five rounds of actual combat, with breaks interspersed between each round.
This means that in most Muay Thai fights, there is a total of fifteen minutes of actual combat.
However, in some amateur tournaments, there are only three rounds.
These fights are also the ones that usually have shorter length rounds so in these fights, there will be a total of six minutes of combat.
Whether or not this is the case depends on the dojo or tournament the amateur is competing in.
How Long Are Breaks In Muay Thai?
In between each round in Muay Thai, the fighters are allowed to break for a total of two minutes. Then, the next round will begin.
This means that there will be a total of four breaks in a traditional Muay Thai fight, with a combined time length of eight minutes.
In amateur fights, there will only be four minutes worth of break time split between the rounds.
So How Long Is A Muay Thai Fight?
How long a Muay Thai fight lasts depends on who is playing.
Amateurs usually perform for shorter fights while more professional fighters have better stamina that allows them to fight for longer periods of time.
Traditional Muay Thai fights are longer because they are made up of five rounds of combat that total to fifteen minutes altogether with an additional eight minutes for breaks.
This means that on paper, a Muay Thai fight should last around twenty-three minutes but with a little leeway for coach discussions, the time it takes to the competitors to leave the mat for their break and come back, you can expect a Muay Thai fight to last for around half an hour or thirty minutes.
If you are watching an amateur match, then you can expect the fight to be much shorter in length.
Amateur fights usually take around fifteen minutes – that’s half as long as a traditional Muay Thai fight!
This shorter length of time is usually reserved for amateurs and beginners, child students, and some women’s fights although most women fight’s follow the same time periods as traditional Muay Thai.
This all depends on the tournament or dojo the fight is taking place in as there are now more and more modified Muay Thai fights occuring in the present day.
Boxing Vs Muay Thai: Which Fight Is Longer?
Muay Thai is often called Thai boxing’ due to the similarities between the two sports but there are actually quite a few differences that distinguish the two from the other.
While traditional Muay Thai fights are around thirty minutes in length and are made up of five rounds of combat, with two minute breaks in between each round, boxing fights are built a little differently.
Most boxing fights are made up of twelve rounds of combat although these rounds are traditionally three minutes in length, just like with Muay Thai.
However, the breaks in between these rounds are much shorter in boxing as they only last a minute each – but boxers do take breaks between each round like with Muay Thai fighters.
Overall, this means that the average boxing fight lasts for nearly forty five minutes with a total of 36 minutes on average of combat, with eleven minutes of breaktime.
Some matches do touch the fifty minute mark, especially when knockouts are involved.
On the other hand, these fights can come to an abrupt end due to safety concerns or fighter injuries.
Also, like with Muay Thai, most gyms and tournaments will set modified time rules on their boxing fights to limit the match’s length.
This means that some boxing fights will contain fewer rounds than others but this only applies to things like the level of experience of the fighters and their sex.
Some women’s boxing fights are shorter than men’s, lasting a total of ten rounds of two minutes of combat.
With breaks included, women’s boxing matches can last around thirty minutes instead – roughly the average time of a traditional Muay Thai fight.
So, traditional boxing fights are much longer than Muay Thai fights although it’s easy to see the similarities between the structure of the two sports.
Conclusion
So, a traditional Muay Fight will last around thirty minutes but this can be longer or shorter depending on the tournament and dojo you are fighting at.
This is a lot shorter than the average boxing match but both sports use a similar structure for their fights, which is another reason why they are often compared to one another.
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