UFC hopeful Top Noi Kiwram explains ritual of smoking cigarettes before fights

Top Noi Kiwram has a unique method of preparing for fights that most doctors likely wouldn’t recommend.

On one hand, it’s hard to argue with the results. The muay Thai star was victorious at the Road to UFC Flyweight Tournament this June. Kiwram won a unanimous decision over Yuma Horiuchi to advance to the semifinals and move one step closer to becoming the first male fighter from Thailand to compete inside the octagon (Loma Lookboonmee became the first Thai UFC fighter when she debuted with the promotion in 2019).

But Kiwram’s standup comedy wasn’t all that caught attention. The 30-year-old was open about the pre-fight ritual that he has carried throughout his combat sports career, one that is — to put it lightly — questionable from a health standpoint.

” “Before going to training, I smoked every single day,” Kiwram stated in an interview with Jose Youngs from MMA Fighting.

” “Before fighting, I smoke cigarettes,” he said. “When I fight, in the morning, yes, I smoke cigarettes. When I’m full, I like to have a cigarette. Sleeping, wake up, smoke a cigarette. Go to battle .”

Should Kiwram be crowned the Road to UFC Flyweight Champion and receive a contract? He said that he isn’t sure if he will be permitted to smoke before fighting, but he indicated that he was already considering switching to snus. This tobacco product is typically used to treat the gums and upper lips.

Then again, one can believe that Kiwram is willing to change his bad habits given that he’s still developing as an MMA fighter after fighting in muay Thai since he was 11 years old. And it’s not just the training, the culture of MMA is a completely different world from the one he’s known for decades.

“When you’re in muay Thai camps in Thailand, there’s a big boss, which is the gym owner, it’s so different from MMA,” Kiwram’s coach and translator Frank Hickman explained. He’s been a great coach and translator. However, the money is paid directly to the boss. They don’t know how much they earn unless they are fighting at the highest level in Thailand. But they have no life. Their life is fighting. They stay at the gym, they eat at the gym, the big boss takes 50 percent because they feed them, they house them, they do everything, they pay for everything.

” These guys don’t even know what MMA is. My wife, who is Thai, has to assist them with things like opening bank accounts, etc. They don’t have any life skills because in Thailand they’re literally like race horses. They’re owned by the gym. They cannot leave the gym to go to another .”

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The decision to move to MMA was a bit of a lucky accident. His primary goal when he first showed interest in another combat sport was to enhance his capabilities as a trainer, but he found success himself and has already competed for notable promotions such as RIZIN, UAE Warriors, and Full Metal Dojo.

“I want to try something [new],” Kiwram said. I know muay Thai. I want to know something else.”

“He was interested in learning more about MMA to help him be a better Thai fighter trainer. He never left .”

Kiwram said that there were times he was fighting in muay Thai for around $100 USD a night, so the thought of ever signing a deal with the UFC was remote. He’s now two wins away from that goal, with a semifinal bout against South Korea’s undefeated Park HyunSung up next (a date for the next round of the Road to UFC tournament fights is still to be announced).

Kiwram may face many changes, as he never imagined he would be fighting in the UFC this soon.

“I don’t think about this,” Kiwram said. “I didn’t know what my future was when I left Thailand,” Kiwram said. It’s not easy for you to go to the UFC. Before, I don’t speak English. Thai people don’t speak English. My future looks crazy for me. This is my dream

For more from Kiwram, watch his Road to UFC post-fight scrum: