Tiffany Van Soest is among the greatest Muay Thai fighters on the women’s circuit today. Her talent seems limitless while she’s tagging her opposition with punches, kicks and elbows yet she remains largely anonymous among the mainstream sports media. Sherdog.com recently caught up with “Time Bomb” regarding her bout Friday night at Lion Fight 27 on AXS TV.
Sherdog.com: You are fighting Ashley Nichols at Lion Fight 27 on Friday. What are your thoughts on her?
Van Soest: She’s just one more obstacle standing in the way of me and one of my goals. She’s very traditional in terms of stylistically. She’s kind of lanky with a long range and she’s pretty stationary. It should be a great fight.
Sherdog.com: You are among the best women Muay Thai fighters in the world and have been for several years. How do you maintain that dominance?
Van Soest: I definitely work harder than I ever have before because I know that everyone (in the sport) knows who I am and what I’m capable of. I have a bigger target on my back. In my own mind, I’m not that good. There are still so many things that I need to work on so it’s a constant process to always get better. It’s kind of neurotic like when I watch one of my own fights, people might think it’s amazing but I’m like, ‘Eh… it was alright. It could be better.’
Sherdog.com: Why do you think like this?
Van Soest: I don’t know if it’s a sickness or what it is, but it’s something inside of me. I mean, I’m confident in my abilities because I’ve proven myself time and time again and I know I’m a great fighter, but a lot of times in my head, I suck.
Sherdog.com: You think you suck? How do your coaches feel about this?
Van Soest: I’ve gotten better with it over the years but there are still some things that drive me nuts. In some aspects, I tend to be a perfectionist. It sometimes frustrates my coaches because I can get too in my head and get in my own way. I’m too particular over the little details and too obsessive over what I’m doing or not doing and then it ends up backfiring. But my coaches know me well and they know what to do so they bring me back into balance.
Sherdog.com: You had close losses to Caley Reece and Denise Keilholtz. What have you learned about yourself from those two performances?
Van Soest: When you win a fight, you feel good and you think that this is what you did right. There are some things you did wrong but overall, this approach was successful so I’m going to keep doing it. But with the losses, it forces you to look at yourself and realize that this is what you’re bad at because someone beat you. You learn what you need to change and do better so it goes without saying that you learn more from losing than from when you win.
The losses stick with me more, too. When I win, I expect to win and I feel happy but I don’t get overly excited about it. I’m supposed to win. It’s funny because when people ask me what my record is, a lot of times I don’t know exactly how many wins I have but I know for a fact that I two losses and a draw and it drives me freaking crazy.
Sherdog.com: Does it irk you at all to see fighters like Ronda Rousey and Holly Holm get all this press, even though you work just as hard as them?
Van Soest: Yes and no. Yeah because I work my butt off and I do some things in the ring that I’ve never seen any other female fighters do in the cage. I’m not putting them down or taking anything away from any of those girls because they are amazing. Absolutely great at what they do. But with me and this sport of Muay Thai, I wish we would get more respect and notoriety and recognition because we deserve it.
But at the same time, I really enjoy my peace and quiet and solitude. It’s really nice to be able to go into my favorite little cafe and say hi to everybody and enjoy myself without being bombarded by the fans.
Sherdog.com: What if you one day got that big?
Van Soest: Well, let’s not talk about “if” because I’m pretty sure it’s going to happen (laughs). When it happens, it will probably drive me crazy because it’ll be extremely draining. But at the same time, I know that I’m the one putting myself out there and earning it, so I’ll just go with the flow. I’ll acknowledge the fans and be nice to them and talk to them, but they’ll have to also understand that I’ll need respect and space and privacy as well. This way, I can continue have piece of mind and continue to operate on the level that I need to.
Sherdog.com: What will it take for Muay Thai and kickboxing grow into a huge sport like MMA and boxing in the U.S.?
Tiffany Van Soest: The TV deal with AXS TV for Lion Fight has been amazing and it’s helped the sport, but I think Muay Thai needs to get on a more powerful network. Muay Thai is such a traditional sport and most of the biggest stars are very grounded and humble. There aren’t a lot of really big personalities and I think that’s because of how Muay Thai is as a sport and lifestyle. There aren’t that many big egos but I think the sports needs some of that.
Sherdog.com: Do you ever really see that happening?
Tiffany Van Soest: If you look at Muay Thai and kickboxing, there is always so much action and fight fans love that. MMA fans love the knockouts the most and they always want to see the action and that’s what Muay Thai is: it’s nonstop action all day, every day from three to five rounds. It’s going to take more exposure on a bigger platform and a few larger-than-life personalities to draw new fans to it. Kevin Ross is terrific but he’s a purist and lets his talent and actions speak. Joe Schilling isn’t afraid to speak his mind and I think that has helped. We need a few more fighters like that who will get out in front of it and have a huge personality.