Connor O'Reilly Muay Thai Interview: 2x Irish Champion
Connor O'Reilly is a 2x Irish Champion who fights out of Suay Muay Thai in Perth. We filmed this at Empire Fight Series Legacy back in March, before his two fights in the 64 kg tournament: a stoppage of Facundo Bodach in the semi, then the final against Trent Hodgkinson. Connor was first up for Series 1, so this is where Phat Chats started. Here are his 3 extra minutes.
Connor O'Reilly and the Empire Legacy 64 kg tournament
Empire Fight Series Legacy ran on Saturday 28 March 2026 at Motormall Prestige & Performance in Wangara, Perth, with a four-man 64 kg tournament. Connor stopped Facundo Bodach of Kickass MMA in the semi-final, Bodach's corner pulling him out in round 2, and met Trent Hodgkinson of Kao Sok Muay Thai in the final (Aus Muay Thai results; WA Combat Sports Commission results sheet). Trent has his own Phat Chats episode, as does Noah Combes of Monsters Inc., the other semi-finalist, so three of the four in the 64 kg bracket have an episode.
Connor is Irish-born and fights out of Suay Muay Thai in Perth. His favourites are Samart Payakaroon, for the technical Muay Femur style he tries to bring into his own game, and Nong-O, for the aggressive forward style. In the quickfire he picks aggressive.
Phat Chats is our quickfire series. A pro fight runs 5 rounds of 3 minutes; Round 6 is the 3 extra minutes after the bell: 17 questions, one clock, the fighter picks who's next. We filmed Connor's at the show on 28 March 2026, before he fought, so the leg-kick stoppage he calls his last fight came before this tournament, not in the final.
The 3 extra minutes
Hardest you've ever been hit?
Connor: The hardest I was ever hit was Lentong in training. At the beginning of the year he hit me with a head kick and I think he made me forget memories from my fifth birthday. But yeah, that was probably the hardest I've been hit.
Scariest opponent you've ever faced?
Connor: The scariest opponent would be AJ Walsh a couple of years ago in Ireland. He was a big southpaw, heavy here, heavy hands. I wasn't afraid of going in there but after I was quite afraid of him.
Best knockout of your career?
Connor: I would say so far the greatest knockout or TKO I had was my last fight against Luke Di Scerni. It was with leg kicks. It was a big statement and it was a big show and I was able to get it done quite early. So I was pretty proud of that performance.
Favourite fighter of all time?
Connor: I'd say my favourite fighter would either be Samart Payakaroon or Nong-O. I love Nong-O for his aggressive forward style but I also love the Muay Femur. Samart's Muay Femur style is also something that I try to bring into my fight game.
Best fight you've ever seen?
Connor: The best fight I've ever seen was probably, again, it was boxing, but it was Tyson Fury vs Deontay Wilder. Fury got knocked down and it looked like he was written off and everybody was writing him off and he was able to get up and continue on and smash it. So yeah, that was probably the best fight I've seen.
Most up & coming Muay Thai fighter right now?
No answer on the cut.
Muay Thai to you in one sentence?
Connor: In a phrase, I would say it's discipline, and it can really show you a great way of life and it can bring a community together where you can really develop skills as well as develop as a person.
Quickfire: punch, kick, elbow or knee?
Connor: Kick.
Quickfire: clinch or range?
Connor: Range.
Quickfire: body kick or head kick?
Connor: Head kick.
Quickfire: teep or low kick?
Connor: Low kick obviously.
Quickfire: pads or sparring?
Connor: Sparring.
Quickfire: fight in Thailand or at home?
Connor: Thailand.
Quickfire: power or speed?
Connor: Speed.
Quickfire: aggressive or counter fighter?
Connor: Right now I'd say aggressive.
Biggest Muay Thai advice to your younger self?
Connor: The advice I give to myself, if I was my younger self or anyone I guess starting out in Muay Thai, is just give it time. Be consistent and don't expect too much too soon. It's a long game. You don't get rewarded quickly. Anybody you ever see who's ever made it really big in Muay Thai has been doing it a very long time. So I would say stick to it, be consistent and don't compare yourself to other people. Everyone's journey is different and you'll definitely get to where you want to get to eventually.
Who should do Round 6 next?
Connor: Reece Corrigan from Suay Muay Thai.
What Connor fought in
Every fighter on the Legacy card was in Supa Phat: Ghost Series Muay Thai Shorts in Mint Green and Electric Blue, and Sentinel Boxing Gloves. The shorts are microfibre, so they don't hold sweat, and Connor's pick is the kick, which lands cleaner off a dry leg. The gloves are cowhide with a wrist strap that locks the hand in, the thing reviewers mention first.
More Phat Chats
Who's next in the chair? "Reece Corrigan from Suay Muay Thai." Reece, you're up for Round 6. Two calls from one gym: Connor's teammate Jayden Panucci picked Reece too. The rest of Series 1 is live: Matt Deisel of Pursuit Muay Thai, Shawah Jin of Lovett Muay Thai, plus Trent and Noah above. Watch every Phat Chats episode in one place, and follow @connororeilly_mt.
Connor's advice to his younger self: "give it time" and "be consistent". For what a consistent week looks like, start with how often you should train Muay Thai.
Filmed and cut by Robbie Mars for Supa Phat, Perth, March 2026.
