Fans echo Liam Harrison’s gripe with fighters padding their records

Fans supported Liam Harrison’s theory about social media being a blessing and a curse for fighters.

Harrison, a ONE Championship bantamweight Muay Thai contender, has been around the block when it comes to fighting. The Leeds native has competed in Muay Thai bouts worldwide and has never turned down a challenger.

During a video recently posted on Instagram, ‘Hitman’ shared some wisdom about the new era of fighters that pad their record with easier opponents. He had this to say:

“You get a lot of fighters these days fighting for all the wrong reasons. I call them Instagram fighters. I’ve got a lot of crazy stories because I just used to fight anyone, anytime, anywhere. If I got offered a fight, me and my coach, we couldn’t go on Instagram looking at it going, ‘Oh, f*cking hell he’s good. Do you know what I mean? We just had to take what we could get and that’s why I’ve had like 120 professional fights.”

Liam Harrison continued by saying:

“People worry too much about their record and padding it out, they don’t just take fights. They don’t just like jump in ever other week, which is what I would do. I just wanted to get as much experience as possible. Social media is a gift for fighters. It’s great to help build your profile, but it’s also a curse as well because it turns a lot of fighters into p*ssies these days.”

‘Hitman’ is associated with a dying breed of fighters that made a name for themselves before social media. With that said, Liam Harrison’s fans agreed with his point of view, including some commenting on their support on his Instagram video:

“This is how I lost my love of the sport when I was competing in MMA. The higher ranked fighters I would try to fight wouldn’t fight me but take the easier fights.”

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“Was just telling some of my students about the Muay Thai scene back in the day...fighters did all the talking in the ring. I get the need to promote nowadays but too many "fighters" scared of losing followers instead of focusing on their craft.”

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“Real talk. Back in my days it was fighters fighting. Now it’s athletes learning fighting techniques fighting. Look at 1/2 the TKO’s, it’s guys literally just quitting mid match. Not the same mind & heart anymore in most.”

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After winning two consecutive Muay Thai bouts in ONE Championship, Liam Harrison earned a bantamweight Muay Thai world title shot against then-world champion Nong-O Hama in August 2022. Nong-O imposed his will and secured another world title defense with vicious leg kicks that took out ‘Hitman.’

Since then, Liam Harrison has been recovering from a knee injury caused by Nong-O, leading to surgery earlier this year. He recently returned to hosting Muay Thai seminars and plans to fight again in September.