WEST Belfast natives Garrett Smylie and Niall McGreevy have been crowned world champions in Muay-Thai after competing for World Boxing Championship belts in separate divisions in Thailand in recent months.
In October, Garrett Smylie claimed the WBC Super Welterweight title after defeating Tristian Stauffer with a fourth round TKO to claim the title in Bangkok in front of a packed crowd which included boxing royalty in the form of Aleksandr Usyk and Katie Taylor.
Niall McGreevy was successful in defending his title back in September, after defeating Germany’s Arjan Hajdari in Glasgow as his reign as WBC Welterweight champions continues.
Niall McGreevy defended his title in September in Glasgow
But McGreevy first became World Champion over a year ago when he challenged Dirchereat Sitsongpeenong and claimed the belt in Verona, Italy, in October 2024.
The pair of champions spoke with the Andersonstown News after their recent success on the world stage. The De La Salle alumni touched on their individual journeys which brought them to the pinnacle of their sport, with Garrett's family ties introducing him to the martial arts.
"I started initially because of my older brother who got me involved in the MMA side of things about 12 years ago and I started initially with Fight Academy Ireland, but they would focus on multiple different strands of MMA," said Garrett. "The one that caught my attention the most was the nights where they focused on Muay-Thai."
The West Belfast man recalled how hard the journey to becoming the best in the world truly was, with Irish fighters rarely considered past UK borders when it came to professional bouts.
"You see people competing in Irish tournaments and fight nights but I saw them and realised I was as good if not better than a load of them. They were top guys in our gym and it's like any sport really, once you compete and you have confidence in your ability then your belief builds from there. It was probably foolish at the start to think I'd get this far, but now I'm a world champion it makes me feel justified for having that mindset.
"There is an Irish level, and once you are deemed good enough you go to England and compete in the UK competitions and from there you can then compete with guys from Europe. It is a long process to get to even competing in England, so you can imagine the work we had to put in."
Garrett opened up about how tough their journey to the top was, but recalled the faith that some of his coaches had in their ability and used their connections to get them into competitive fights.
"Jamie and Davy Mac are two of our trainers and mentors at the gym and Davy Mac had good connections as he is a Scottish native and used those connections to get us our shot, but he would not just go out on a limb. He saw our potential and knew how dedicated we were, and my point of view I think he knew we could become champions."
Niall's pathway into the sport was much different from Garrett.
"Garrett and I have been best friends since we went to La Salle, but it is actually a funny story how he got me involved in Muay-Thai," he said.
"Basically, we were in school at the time and some one had put a lit firework inside my coat hood and I almost got seriously injured and there was a few other incidents which I never really defended myself from. Garrett saw it and offered me to go down with him and start training to learn some self-defence, and from then on I caught a genuine love for it."
The 27-year-old World Champion mentioned his GAA background, but the winter break from Gaelic games gave him the chance to try something new, and it was a change which ultimately proved life-changing for Niall.
Garrett Smylie overcame the odds last month with a title win in Bangkok
"I was always a GAA guy," Niall said. "I loved all ball sports, but I played for St Paul's and it was the off-season so I switched to Muay-Thai over the winter and went from training once or twice a week and before long I realised I had a talent for it and started just phasing out the other sports and fully committing myself to Muay-Thai.
"But honestly when I was 16 and only really starting out if you'd have told me that I'd be a world champion in ten years' time, there is no way I'd have believed it.
"My belief in my own ability, knowing I could go on and do what I have done now – not only win this belt but defend it – it really was just a matter of slowly building confidence with every fight and milestone I managed to achieve and get past."
The Lenadoon man spoke about his early career when both he and Garrett had faced adversity in the form of being huge underdogs and not being given much of a chance to make waves in the sport.
"Most of our early fights we would have been viewed as big underdogs. Our first big break really came on a show called Yokkao in England which we were not fancied at all by the guys running it and me and Garrett both came out winning our bouts. We just slowly worked our way from then up."
To put it into perspective the magnitude of this achievement, London alone has over seven times the amount of Muay Thai gyms that Ireland has with the English capital boasting 750 gyms for people to learn and master the martial art, whereas the Emerald Isle has close to 100 gyms dedicated to the Thai national sport.
The friends travelled to train in Thailand over a two month period where they focus on perfecting their craft.
"We travelled to an island off the coast of Thailand and both of us went and just trained every day for a number of weeks. The opportunity came about because the guy who owned the gym was an Irish man and he invited us over just to see if we could compete with the locals over in Thailand." said Garrett.
Garrett competed last month for the Welterweight in Bangkok, and did so on the WBC's first major Muay-Thai fight card.
The Lagmore local discussed what it was like fighting for a title in front of stars such as Aleksandr Usyk and Katie Taylor, just to name a few who were in attendance.
"It was surreal to be honest, you are obviously focused on your opponent and I knew it was massive but to win the fight and be walking out of the arena and seeing someone like Aleksandr Usyk or Katie Taylor standing having watched you fight, that was just crazy."
The two super athletes have not only made their mark on the fighting world but have shown they have the skills for entrepreneurship too as they launched their own clothing brand called 'BFast'.
"We started it two-and-a-half-years-ago, and the reason we did it was because the usual shorts we had to wear when we fought were just not comfortable. The traditional Thai shorts are too high and they were uncomfortable, but we also wanted something that was a bit cooler," stated Niall.
"It was an idea because we wanted to have our own shorts that we would be comfortable to train and fight in and before long people were asking us for the gear as it was far better than what was already out there."
Garrett explained that the BFast brand has been used by Irish fight stars Paul Hughes and Lewis Crocker in recent months.
"It is not just for Muay Thai or MMA either, they are shorts and t-shirts for everyone, and we actually launched a t-shirt range recently which is for general usage, we wanted a brand that looked cool but was also practical.
"It's been going well as we made shorts for boxers like Lewis Crocker, and Paul Hughes wore the shorts in his recent MMA bout and I think that speaks volumes about how universal these shorts are multi-purpose training shorts and it is useful for any sport.
"It's been really growing a lot. Recently we have had a lot of people involved in Hyrox training so again that proves they are cool and have range for any sport or training."
The inspiration behind the name was a simple one according to Lenadoon native Niall. With the name being one that meant a lot to the two fighters in particular.
"BFast is a name that meant a lot to us," said Niall. "In Muay-Thai speed is massively important to your fighting style and we are always coached to 'Be Fast', and put that along side the fact we are Belfast boys, the name spoke for itself and it is becoming really popular and hopefully that continues."
The pair are hopeful the brand can continue to grow, and the plans don't stop with just the current range of clothing.
"It is not just about making money, but we want to grow the brand alongside our careers in fighting, and it goes hand in hand, so hopefully we have tapped into a niche market and can continue to be a success," Garrett reflected.
"The brand is a basic one, but it looks fashionable and it is the best shorts we have used to train and fight and hopefully we can expand to tracksuits and more in the future if it continues on the up."
Garrett's father, Kevin Smylie, has been the two men's number one supporter from day one. He spoke about the journey the two world champions have been on since their schooldays and credits the growth of the sport to both Garrett and Niall.
"Muay-Thai has grown considerably all over Ireland off these two guys' backs, and I mean that. Not just with what they sit with now (WBC World titles), it has grown and grown with their reputations and that has only enhanced the sport.
"Garrett turned professional when he was 18 and the pair of them have dedicated themselves to this sport. It is all they have known since they were adults."
Kevin also mentioned the belief that he had on his son from day one, even when people thought he was being over-eager about his son's ability.
"I took both of them every Saturday to and from training and even then people would ask me about his ambition and whether they had hopes of winning the Irish titles.
"I always said that he was not interested in an Irish title, because I only saw one thing and it was that one day he would become world number one. They laughed thinking that was mad to say. But I've seen fit guys all my life, these two were both different levels altogether, the very definition of elite was Niall and Garrett."
Garrett and Niall both have huge gratitude to their coaches and mentors who guided them on this journey.
"None of it would be possible without our brilliant coaches and the boys from Langka, specifically Jamie Crawford, David Macintosh, Tony Olin, Donard McNally and last but not least Yannick Magee."
The world champs also thanked their sponsors Paul Harkin, Jimmy Boyd, James McArdle and Kieran Murray for all their huge financial support on this journey to the top of Muay-Thai.
Ireland producing two World Champions in a sport far from native to Irish shores is really unlikely, what is even more unlikely is both fighters coming from the same gym based in Conway Mill on the Falls Road, Langka Muay-Thai gym.
Both champions will be back to fight in the New Year as they continue to put not only Ireland on the Muay-Thai map, but Belfast, as Niall and Garrett both intend on defending their WBC titles in 2026.
