The world’s crazy fight venues really are crazy, every fight elevated by a raucous atmosphere that rolls with the punches, cheers reigning out as blood splatters across the canvas.
They’re not dominated by flashing neon and hyped up intros, these fight venues are raw and rugged, imbued with an atmosphere that ignites mass brawls and chaos. We’ve got medieval MMA jousting with swords, thousands of hot-headed gambling locals, and a brutality that extends to the stands.
Stretched across five continents, here are the world’s ten craziest fight venues.
1. Lumpini Stadium, Bangkok
Muay Thai fighters come out to strange oriental music in the national Lumpini Stadium, the home of Thailand’s championship fights. It’s a compact venue, roars echoing off the ceiling and most spectators gambling their living wage on the outcome of a fight. While the original stadium has been pulled down and replaced with a slightly shinier version, the atmosphere continues to be amongst the most vibrant of the world’s MMA venues.
2. Full Contact Jousting in Moscow’s Aquarium
The premier venue for Russia’s M-1 Global has been enhanced in the last year with the inclusion of full contact jousting. This stadium is always packed with fiery meat-headed Russians drunk on vodka and demanding blood, making them the perfect trial audience for M-1 Medieval. Essential, two MMA fighters in medieval armor start battering each other with swords, elbows, and kicks. Strangely, it almost stunned a usually vociferous crowd. How would you react to a 13th century dual? The bemused Russians looked on, drank some more vodka, and then shouted for a kill.
3. Ginasio Jose Correa, Sao Paulo
The slopes are steep at Brazil’s premier MMA venue. This stadium epitomizes what you want to experience at a MMA fight night. It’s intimate enough to provide a furious atmosphere yet not too large that you have to watch the action on the big screens. The locals are passionate and demand action, yet they’re not going to start punching foreigners in fits of frustration (see number 9 for this). It’s hosted three UFC nights and numerous Brazilian Jiujitsu championships, and continues to be the place to watch MMA in South America.
4. Carnival City Casino, South Africa
Home to Extreme Fighting Championship Africa, Carnival City is Africa’s largest and most vibrant MMA venue. The local crowd is made up of absolute beasts; not lions, but big hairy white farmers that are going to riot if somebody doesn’t spill blood. Come here for heavyweight contests, where the continent’s biggest sluggers hit the cage. MMA is a very young sport in Africa so there’s less hype and more action here, the crowd just getting into the sport’s violence.
5. The Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles
It’s been 20 years since the Olympic was used for a boxing match and the place still stinks of cigar smoke and stale urine. From the 30’s to the 70’s this was the venue for the world’s best boxers and championship fights; they even filmed Rocky here. It’s a throwback to boxing’s heyday and although it no longer hosts fights, you can visit the stadium for an inspiring look and smell of history. Here’s what Charles Bukowski wrote about it:
“the gallery boys went ape and the fighters fought like fighters and the place was blue with cigar smoke, and how we screamed, baby baby, and threw money and drank our whiskey…”
6. Shinjuku Face, Tokyo
The Japanese get excited about anything…literally. Even Hello Kitty. So when MMA is on they’re jumping off their seats at quality local cards like Shooting Disco and Shooto. This is an intimate little venue holding about 600 so you always get close to the action. And on the nights that MMA doesn’t feature? They have Japanese women’s wrestling instead, crazed locals pulling hair and screaming as the crowd shouts their approval.
7. York Hall, England
There’s nothing like visiting East London to hear accents so thick and crew cuts so severe you’re scared for your sanity. York Hall is England’s number one amateur boxing venue, a council run gymnasium that holds 1,200 and has witnessed the rise of all Britain’s great boxers, including Lennox Lewis and Ricky Hatton. This is where city gangsters and working class locals shout from the stands and just about every night ends with a stadium brawl.
8. Rajadamnern Stadium, Bangkok
Built in the 40’s on the command of the president, this is one of MMA’s oldest dedicated fighting venues. Spectators are caged into the outer standing sections, with thousands squashed into an area meant for hundreds. You can pick up ring side seats for extra comfort but the atmosphere is alive in these cramped cages, where sweat and musty smells accompany the fights in the ring. Tension spills into the stands and surges of excitement see people crushed against the fence, which is all part of the experience.
9. Astana Sports Palace, Kazakhstan
Remember Borat, the deranged fictional character who taught the world that this place called Kazakhstan existed. It might have been stereotyping a little but there’s no doubting that Kazakhstan is a country of semi-nomadic people addicted to vodka and a little nighttime violence. The national sports stadium hosts regular M-1 Global MMA evenings called Battle of the Nomads, with fans stoically supporting their regional heroes. Fighters represent their nomadic area so the fights often continue in the stands.
10. Saitama Super Arena, Saitama
The stadium predominantly used by the Pride Fighting Championship, this 36,500 capacity beast has seen many of MMA’s most iconic fights. UFC currently uses the venue as did Yarennoka, the Japanese MMA promotion spawned after Pride was sold to Zuffa. If a fight looks mental on pay per view then it’s magnified at Saitama, where locals and foreigners shout from the stands. This is Asia’s modern and atmospheric MMA venue, a fitting finale to the list of 10 crazy stadiums to experience before you die.
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