Kaew Fairtex
Sarawut Prapraipetch | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 5, 1984 Thailand |
| Other names | Kaew Fairtex |
| Occupation(s) | Muay Thai and kickboxing athlete |
| Known for | Three-time K-1 Super Lightweight Champion; Lumpinee Stadium titles in two weight classes |
Sarawut Prapraipetch (born September 5, 1984), professionally recognized as Kaew Fairtex (), is a Thai athlete specializing in Muay Thai and kickboxing. He has held the K-1 Super Lightweight Championship twice, won the K-1 Super Lightweight World Grand Prix on three occasions, and secured titles in two weight classes at Lumpinee Stadium.
From December 2014 through July 2021, Combat Press consistently ranked Kaew Fairtex among the top ten featherweight (-66 kg) kickboxers globally for seven straight years.
Inaugural Super Lightweight Grand Prix
On September 5, 2014, Kaew was confirmed as one of the eight competitors in the single-day K-1 World GP 2014 -65kg Championship Tournament, which took place on November 3, 2014. In the quarterfinal round, he faced Hideaki Yamazaki, then the reigning Krush Lightweight Championship titleholder, and secured a close unanimous decision victory with all judges scoring 30–29. Advancing to the semifinals, Kaew delivered a second-round knockout against Yuta Kubo—a two-time Krush Grand Prix winner and former welterweight champion—landing a decisive right hook. In the final bout, he earned the championship by defeating Yasuomi Soda via majority decision (30–28, 30–29, 29–29). Kaew dedicated this triumph to his late father, who had passed away just one week earlier.
Defending the Title
Kaew encountered Minoru Kimura at the K-1 World GP 2015 -60kg Championship Tournament on January 18, 2015, where he was narrowly defeated by majority decision. Returning to his Muay Thai roots, he overcame Kenta Yamada at WPMF JAPAN×REBELS SUK WEERASAKRECK FAIRTEX on March 22, 2015, winning by unanimous decision.
Following a unanimous decision victory over Zhang Chunyu at Kunlun Fight 26 on June 7, 2015, Kaew faced Yasuomi Soda again at K-1 World GP 2015 -70kg Championship Tournament on July 4. He dominated the rematch with all judges scoring 30–26 and scoring a knockdown in the second round.
Kaew’s first defense of his K-1 Super Lightweight title occurred against Kimura at K-1 World GP 2015 The Championship on November 21, 2015, where he avenged his prior loss by stopping Kimura in the first round. His second successful defense came against Massaro Glunder at K-1 World GP 2016 -65kg Japan Tournament on March 4, 2016; despite both fighters receiving penalties for excessive clinching, Kaew secured a split decision victory.
In a non-title contest at K-1 World GP 2016 -60kg Japan Tournament on April 24, 2016, Kaew defeated Ilias Bulaid by unanimous decision with all judges scoring it 30–29.
Second Super Lightweight Grand Prix
Kaew was among eight contenders in the one-night K-1 Super Lightweight World Grand Prix held on June 24, 2016. He opened the quarterfinals by knocking out Hiroya Kawabe—the inaugural Krush Super Lightweight champion—in just 36 seconds. In the semifinals, Kaew secured a unanimous decision win over Masaaki Noiri with two judges scoring it 29–28 and one at 30–29. In the final match, he convincingly defeated Enfusion champion Ilias Bulaid via technical knockout in the second round; notably, Kaew had previously bested Bulaid by unanimous decision two months before.
Title Defeat
Kaew made his Wu Lin Feng debut against Wang Pengfei at the 2016 World Kickboxing Championship on January 14, 2017, securing a unanimous decision victory with judges scoring 30–26, 29–27, and 29–27, following a knockdown of Pengfei in the third round. On April 22, 2017, he successfully retained his K-1 Super Lightweight belt for the third time by defeating Hideaki Yamazaki, the 2016 K-1 Japan Tournament champion, with a unanimous decision where all judges scored the bout 30–28.
During his fourth defense on June 18, 2017, Kaew faced Masaaki Noiri once more but was narrowly defeated via a contentious split decision after an additional fourth round.
Third Super Lightweight Grand Prix
Following his second loss in K-1 competition, Kaew rebounded with a second-round TKO win over Liu Wei at Hero Legend 2017 on September 17. He then returned to K-1 to compete against the 19-year-old Ren Hiramoto at K-1 World GP 2018: K'FESTA.1 on March 21, 2018, where he suffered a knockout in the second round. Subsequently, Kaew lost by unanimous decision to Qiu Jianliang at Glory of Heroes 31 held on May 26, 2018.
On September 4, 2018, it was confirmed that Kaew would participate in the 2018 K-1 Super Lightweight World Grand Prix on November 3. In the quarterfinals, he faced Tetsuya Yamato—winner of the K-1 WORLD MAX 2010 Lightweight Japan Tournament—and stopped him with a head kick just 92 seconds into round one. Advancing to the semifinals, Kaew defeated Yasuomi Soda by unanimous decision after an extra round. He clinched his third Grand Prix championship by overcoming Daizo Sasaki in the final via unanimous decision, with scorecards reading 30–29 and 29–28.
Title Defeat
Kaew's first defense during his second reign took place against Rukiya Anpo, who entered the bout on a three-fight winning streak, at K-1 World GP 2019 on June 30, 2019. Anpo initially missed weight by 150 grams but succeeded on his second attempt. After three rounds, the match was ruled a majority draw; one judge scored it 29–28 in favor of Anpo. However, Kaew lost by unanimous decision following an extension round in which he was penalized one point for pulling down Anpo's head. The two fighters met again immediately at K-1 World GP 2019 Japan on December 28, 2019, where Anpo once more secured victory via unanimous decision after an extra round.
Kickboxing
- K-1
- Three-time K-1 Super Lightweight (65kg) Champion (2014) with three successful defenses
- Winner of the K-1 Super Lightweight World Grand Prix in 2014, 2016, and 2018
- Hero Legend
- Champion of the Hero Legend Asia 65 kg Tournament (2012)
- Space ONE
- Space ONE World -65 kg Champion (2024)
Honors
- eFight.jp
- Awarded Fighter of the Month (September 2013)
Muay Thai
- Professional Boxing Association of Thailand
- Thailand Featherweight (126 lbs) Champion (2005)
- World Boxing Council Muay Thai
- WBC Muay Thai World Super Featherweight (130 lbs) Champion (2006), with one title defense
- Lumpinee Stadium
- Lumpinee Stadium Featherweight (126 lbs) Champion (2006), defended once
- Lumpinee Stadium Lightweight (135 lbs) Champion (2009)
- World Professional Muaythai Federation
- WPMF World Super Lightweight (140 lbs) Champion (2014)
Fight record
| 2024-11-16 | Victory | Liu Chunrui | Space ONE Champions | Foshan, China | Decision | 3 | 3:00 | |
| 2019-12-28 | Defeat | Rukiya Anpo | K-1 World GP 2019 Japan | Nagoya, Japan | Unanimous Ext.R Decision | 4 | 3:00 | |
| 2019-06-30 | Defeat | Rukiya Anpo | K-1 World GP 2019 | Saitama, Japan | Unanimous Ext.R Decision | 4 | 3:00 | |
| 2018-11-03 | Victory | Daizo Sasaki | K-1 World GP 2018: Super Lightweight Championship Tournament, Final | Saitama Prefecture, Japan | Unanimous Decision | 3 | 3:00 | |
| 2018-11-03 | Victory | Yasuomi Soda | Semi-finals | Saitama Prefecture, Japan | Unanimous Ext. R. Decision | 4 | 3:00 | |
| 2018-11-03 | Victory | Tetsuya Yamato | Quarter-finals | Saitama Prefecture, Japan | KO (Left High Kick) | 1 | 1:32 | |
| 2018-05-26 | Defeat | Qiu Jianliang | Glory of Heroes 31 | Beijing, China | Unanimous Decision | 3 | 3:00 | |
| 2018-03-21 | Defeat | Ren Hiramoto | K-1 World GP 2018: K'FESTA.1 | Saitama, Japan | KO (Punches) | 2 | 2:18 | |
| 2017-09-09 | Victory | Liu Wei | Hero Legend 2017 | Taian, China | TKO (doctor stoppage due to cut) | 2 | ||
| 2017-06-18 | Defeat | Masaaki Noiri | K-1 World GP 2017 Super Middleweight Championship Tournament | Tokyo, Japan | Split Ext. R. Decision | 4 | 3:00 | |
| 2017-04-22 | Victory | Hideaki Yamazaki | K-1 World GP 2017 Super Bantamweight Championship Tournament | Tokyo, Japan | Unanimous Decision | 3 | 3:00 | |
| 2017-01-14 | Victory | Wang Pengfei | Wu Lin Feng World Kickboxing Championship | Zhengzhou, China | Unanimous Decision | 3 | 3:00 | |
| 2016-06-24 | Victory | Ilias Bulaid | K-1 World GP -65kg World Tournament, Final | Tokyo, Japan | TKO (Knee to the body) | 2 | 2:26 | |
| 2016-06-24 | Victory | Masaaki Noiri | Semi-finals | Tokyo, Japan | Unanimous Decision | 3 | 3:00 | |
| 2016-06-24 | Victory | Hiroya Kawabe | Quarter-finals | Tokyo, Japan | KO (Left hook) | 1 | 0:36 | |
| 2016-04-24 | Victory | Ilias Bulaid | K-1 World GP -60kg Japan Tournament | Tokyo, Japan | Unanimous Decision | 3 | 3:00 | |
| 2016-03-04 | Victory | Massaro Glunder | K-1 World GP -65kg Japan Tournament | Tokyo, Japan | Split Decision | 3 | 3:00 | |
| 2015-11-21 | Victory | Minoru Kimura | K-1 World GP The Championship | Tokyo, Japan | KO (overhand left & left high knee) | 1 | 2:55 | |
| 2015-07-04 | Victory | Yasuomi Soda | Unanimous Decision | 3 | 3:00 | |||
| 2015-06-07 | Victory | Zhang Chunyu | Unanimous Decision | 3 | ||||
| 2015-03-22 | Victory | align=left | WPMF JAPAN×REBELS SUK WEERASAKRECK FAIRTEX | Unanimous Decision | 5 | |||
| 2015–01–18 | Defeat | align=left | K–1 World GP –60kg Championship Tournament | Tokyo, Japan | Majority Decision | 3 | 3:00 | |
| 2014–11–03 | Victory | align=left | K–1 World GP –65kg Championship Tournament Final | Tokyo, Japan | Majority Decision | 3 | 3:00 | |
| 2014–11–03 | Victory | align=left | K–1 World GP –65kg Championship Tournament Semi-finals | Tokyo, Japan | KO (Right hook) | 2 | 1:52 | |
| 2014–11–03 | Victory | align=left | K–1 World GP –65kg Championship Tournament Quarter-finals | Tokyo, Japan | Unanimous Decision | 3 | 3:00 | |
| 2014–07–12 | Victory | align=left | RISE Blade event | Tokyo, Japan | Unanimous Decision | 3 | 3:00 | |
| 2014–04–06 | Victory | align=left | Thai Fight event | Thailand | TKO | |||
| 2014–02–11 | Victory | align=left | Rikix "No Kick, No Life" event | Tokyo, Japan | KO (Left high kick) | 2 | 0:44 | |
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... [Additional earlier fight records omitted for brevity] | ||||||||