Kritsada Kongsrichai

Kritsada Kongsrichai (Thai: กฤษดา คงศรีชาย; born 1991) is a Thai mixed martial artist who most recently fought for ONE Championship, competing in their Strawweight division. He made his ONE debut in 2016. He has also competed for DEEP, making his debut in 2020. Kongsrichai is also a former Greco-Roman wrestler who has won a silver medal and a bronze medal at the 2009 Southeast Asian Games and 2013 Southeast Asian Games respectively.

As a mixed martial artist from Thailand, Kongsrichai has distinguished himself from other Thai fighters with his extensive wrestling background that makes up most of his fighting style. Prior to turning to MMA, he was trained in both freestyle wrestling and Greco-Roman wrestling, competing in over 200 combined matches, in addition to participating in the Southeast Asian Games and Asian Games as a Greco-Roman wrestler.

Kritsada Kongsrichai was born in Nakhon Si Thammarat in the South of Thailand on 1991.

At an early age he was eager to learn Muay Thai, as many of his neighbors were practicing the sport. However, his mother was hesitant in letting him get involved. In the beginning, he would train and fight in secret. Eventually, he'd amassed 200 Muay Thai fights and was later crowned Southern Thailand Muay Thai Champion.

Kongsrichai's interest in Muay Thai was short-lived, however, and he began to seek out other sporting endeavors. With the help of his cousin, who was a wrestler, he went to the Srisaket Sports School to learn wrestling.

At the age of 15, he was selected to the Thailand national wrestling team. He started out with only freestyle wrestling but later picked up Greco-Roman wrestling as well, where he would compete under both styles.

Kritsada Kongsrichai would go on to represent Thailand in Greco-Roman wrestling at the 2009 SEA Games, competing in the 50kg event. He would finish second and won the silver medal in the men's 50kg Greco-Roman wrestling event.

Kongsrichai was one of 5 Thai wrestlers selected to participate in the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, China. However, he would only make it to the tournament quarterfinals, losing to Japan's Kohei Hasegawa, and did not win any medals.

Kritsada Kongsrichai returned at the 2013 SEA Games to compete in Greco-Roman wrestling, where he finished in third place to win the bronze medal.

Kongsrichai is a highly accomplished wrestler at the national level, being a 13-time Thailand national wrestling champion and having a combined wrestling record of 180–20.

On August 23, 2014, Kritsada Kongsrichai made his MMA debut at Full Metal Dojo 2: Protect Your Neck, where he lost to Kichong Tran by second-round submission via rear-naked choke.

He would pick up his first professional victory on November 22, 2014 at Full Metal Dojo 3: No Sleep 'Til Bangkok with a first-round submission of Manachai Promsawad via rear-naked choke.

On March 6, 2015, he lost to Caleb Lally by TKO at Sena Combat: Pattaya Fight Night.

On August 22, 2015, he defeated Detchadin Srosirisuphathin by TKO at Full Metal Dojo 6: For Those About to Rock... to capture the vacant Full Metal Dojo Bantamweight Championship.

Kongsrichai would then defeat Pakorn Isarat by submission via rear-naked choke in the first round at Full Metal Dojo 10: To Live and Die in Bangkok on March 19, 2016.

ONE Championship

With his success and title win on Full Metal Dojo, Kongsrichai was eventually contacted and signed by ONE Championship.

Kritsada Kongsrichai made his ONE Championship debut on May 27, 2016 at ONE Championship: Kingdom of Champions, where he defeated Kev Hemmorlor by first-round TKO.

His next fight saw him facing future ONE Strawweight World Champion Joshua Pacio at ONE Championship: Heroes of the World on August 13, 2016. Kongsrichai lost the fight by submission via rear-naked choke.

On March 11, 2017, Kongsrichai faced Adrian Mattheis at ONE Championship: Warrior Kingdom, where he won via first-round TKO after dominating with his wrestling-based grappling.

On December 9, 2017, Kongsrichai defeated Rabin Catalan by first-round TKO at ONE Championship: Warriors of the World.

Next, Kongsrichai was matched up with Robin Catalan, Rabin Catalan's brother. On March 24, 2018, the two faced off at ONE Championship: Iron Will. Kritsada Kongsrichai appeared to win the fight by TKO after executing a suplex on Catalan. However, after the fight, reviews determined that the suplex was illegal and the result was reversed to a disqualification loss for Kongsrichai.

On June 29, 2018, Kritsada Kongsrichai faced Jeremy Miado at ONE Championship: Spirit of a Warrior. After the fight went the distance for three rounds, Kongsrichai was awarded the unanimous decision victory.

DEEP

After over a year away from mixed martial arts action, Kongsrichai is scheduled to return to face Kosuke Terashima at DEEP 94 Impact on March 1, 2020. He lost by second-round submission due to strikes.

Like most Thais trying their hand in mixed martial arts, Kritsada Kongsrichai has some considerable experience in Muay Thai, which is considered to be the foundational martial art for many Thai MMA fighters. However, Kongsrichai's style is primarily rooted in grappling, particularly wrestling. Unlike most Thai mixed martial artists, Kongsrichai has an extensive Greco-Roman wrestling background, which is usually evident during his fights. He often uses his high-class wrestling to dominate his opponents before implementing strikes, whether while standing or on the ground, in order to go for a KO or TKO. He oftentimes combines his Muay Thai and wrestling styles in his fights with great effectiveness, taking his opponents down with wrestling-based grappling before attempting to finish them off with ground and pound.

Wrestling

• Southeast Asian Games
  • 2009 Southeast Asian Games Men's Greco-Roman 50 kg – second place
  • 2013 Southeast Asian Games Men's Greco-Roman 55 kg – third place

• Thailand National Games
  • 41st Thailand National Games (2012) – Men's Greco-Roman 55 kg – first place
  • 42nd Thailand National Games (2013) – Men's Greco-Roman 55 kg – first place
  • 46th Thailand National Games (2018) – Men's Greco-Roman 60 kg – first place

Mixed martial arts

• Full Metal Dojo
  • FMD Bantamweight Championship