Muay Thai For Life: #1 Scandinavian Combat Sports Event
Muay Thai For Life History and Highlights.
Muay Thai For Life (MTFL) is the leading muay thai promotion in the Scandanavian region. Launched in 2021, it is quickly growing into a world-class event that’s now attracting top fighting talent from Scandinavia and around the world.
Muay Thai For Life Fast Facts
Lingnoi Promotions
Muay Thai For Life is produced by Lingnoi promotions, which was founded in 2018 by Swedish entrepreneur and former muay thai fighter Patrick Thomsen.
As for where the name Lingnoi comes from — that’s Thai for ‘Little Monkey.’ It was the nickname that Patrick’s Thai trainers gave him when he lived in Bangkok for more than five years.
The MTFL Philosophy
In the Muay Thai For Life Series, Lingoi chooses athletes based on merit, character, humility, and their respect for fellow human beings. They salute athletes who give it all in the ring, never give up, and still maintain a grounded persona.
They do not employ trash-talkers, bullies, or influencers with no athletic backgrounds. Genuine fighters put their hearts into the life of being a fighter, and they chase their dreams of becoming champions. MTFL is for them and for everyone that loves combat sports.
MTFL History
When Muay Thai For Life Series (MTFL) premiered on October 31st, 2021, Scandinavia had been without a major muay thai promotion for years. The last was in 2018 — around the same time that Lingnoi Promotions started.
Of course, in the meantime, there had been plenty of competitions in the minor leagues. Most, however, either had little success or simply lacked the ambition to take the sport to the next level. But it didn’t have to be this way.
Thaiboxing, or muay thai, is an amazing sport with over a thousand years of history and traditions that reach across time, from ancient Siam to modern-day Thailand. And, as a full-contact sport with sharp elbows, knees, and hard kicks as its signature techniques, the entertainment value of muay thai is enormous.
But entertainment value alone does not make for a successful promotion.
This is where Lingnoi Promotions saw an opportunity to bring the Scandinavian region the muay thai promotion it so desperately needed. They knew that with accurate matchmaking and the right presentation, they would be able to create a global platform showcasing the most formidable muay thai fighters from Scandinavia and around the world.
Setbacks
Since its founding in 2018, Lingnoi Promotions has faced two significant challenges.
The first was cancer. During the startup period, Lingnoi´s mother got cancer, and he nursed her almost full-time for over a year. Unfortunately, she passed away in 2019, which inspired MTFL to begin work on creating Muay Thai Against Cancer — an upcoming project that MTFL will launch once they have found a steady footing and are strong enough to give back.
Following this, the second challenge was, by no surprise, the Coronavirus pandemic. As a result, it was illegal for Muay Thai For Life to conduct business for almost two years. But they not only made it through the tough times, but also built character whilst managing to establish themselves in the combat sports community as a consistent player producing high-quality events.
Undoubtedly, this success has a lot to owe to the MTFL founders’ backgrounds in the ring permeating their life as entrepreneurs. With a “never give up; no matter how hard you fall” attitude, they are always ready to get back up stronger and wiser, ready to face any obstacle to come.
MTFL Today
After starting with zero capital and facing many unforeseen setbacks, Lingnoi can stand proud of what it has achieved with Muay Thai For Life. But the budding muay thai promotion is only just getting started.
Now, MTFL’s ambition for the next five years is to grow the series into the world’s premiere muay thai organization, with enough capital to employ the best of the best. But money is not everything, and above all else, MTFL will continue to stand for the sort of integrity that inspires young fighters and people from all backgrounds and social classes to follow their dreams.
Key People
Patrick Thomsen
The CEO of Lingnoi Promotions is Patrick “Lingnoi” Thomsen. He is a former professional muay thai fighter that had a successful career in the ring. With more than 30 fights under his belt, he has fought in Rajadamnern Stadium in Bangkok, is a former Swedish champion, and won a bronze medal at the world championships.
After retiring from the ring, Patrick became an academic and studied International Relations in Australia, and worked with research and teaching. He eventually moved back to Sweden and pursued a Ph.D. in Political Science.
But one day, everything changed. While managing and training professional fighters as a side-gig, Patrick accompanied one of his fighters to a meeting with a major promotor in Sweden. During the meeting, the promotor offered him a job as project manager for one of his shows. After working as a consultant, organizing national championships in muay thai and MMA, and producing events with boxing and K1, he realized he could do this alone, and Lingnoi Promotions was born.
Until recently, the entire organization has pretty much been a one-man operation, with Patrick having a hand in every single aspect of the show.
Nicole Schmidt
Nicole Schmidt volunteered at the first Muay Thai For Life show and left such an impact on the CEO that she became Floor Manager for MTFL 2.0. She successfully executed the role with great passion, loyalty, discipline, and work ethic, and now plays an integral part in the organization as Executive Assistant to the CEO.
Trusted Advisors
Muay Thai For Life Series is the fastest growing muay thai promotion in Europe and Scandinavia´s premiere combat sports event. Patrick Thomson, MTFL’s CEO, acknowledges that it would never have been possible without strong personal relationships with sponsors and the muay thai community.
For this reason, Thomsen is humbled by the invaluable support and advice from sponsors such as the Issa family of Askari Fight Wear, Leif Bahnam from Förebygg, and Daniel Högström from Bulldog Media Group. His most trusted and valuable advisor is, however, his old coach and former president of the Swedish muay thai federation, Mr. Johan Risberg.
