Early life and beginning of Muay Thai career

Kampiew Sijantuek (nicknamed Piew) was born in the Nong Ki district of Buriram province on February 4, 1973. He was the youngest of his 7 siblings which included famous Muay Khao fighter (knee fighter) Namphon Nongkeepahuyuth. At first, Sijantuek would watch Namphon train at the Nongkeepahuyuth gym which was famed for producing fighters that excelled in knee striking^[1] as well as using select Muay boran techniques in real fights.^[2] He was disinterested in training Muay Thai himself after seeing Namphon's demanding Muay Khao training regimen. Namphon later pushed him to participate in a Muay Thai fight despite the fact that Sijantuek did not have formal training, resulting in a draw and an 80 baht purse straight from the audience. Sijantuek was noted to not give up during fights, prompting Pramot Hoymook, the owner of the famous Nongkeepahuyuth camp, to give him more matchups.^[3]

Despite not wanting to fight, he officially joined the Nongkeepahuyuth gym^[4] to train under Hoymook and Poot Akkarat as he was pushed to take on more opponents. Presumably around this time, he assumed the ring name of Namkabuan Nongkeepahuyuth. Namphon would become a popular fighter in the Isaan region and eventually ran out of opponents, prompting him to begin fighting in Bangkok. Namkabuan was still fighting in his local area until he ran out of opponents as well. He started fighting in different regions in Thailand^[3] until he won a paperweight (95 lbs/43.09 kg) championship in Nakhon Ratchasima province.^[5]

Rise to fame in Bangkok

At 13-years-old he would start fighting in Bangkok himself but lost the first 3 fights as he was not skilled enough. Under the advice of the Onesongchai promotion, Pramot Hoymook had Namkabuan temporarily train in the Muangsurin gym to further hone his skills for Lumpinee Stadium matchups. Namkabuan would quickly improve to be able to handle different situations in the ring and became a well-rounded fighter.^[6] In his second year of fighting in Bangkok, Namkabuan's purse reached 100,000 baht^[3] signifying that he was a yodmuay (elite fighter). He began his rise to popularity in 1988 after beating Akaradej Sitkhosa for a 100,000 baht side-bet.^[5]

In 1989, once he was considered famous in the Kingdom of Thailand, Namkabuan's level of competition would continue to grow as he was matched up against Hippy Singmanee, Kraiwannoi Sit Kru Od, Karuhat Sor.Supawan, etc. In 1990, he was famously knocked out in 33 seconds in his first fight against Wangchannoi Sor.Palangchai via a left hook.^[7] Pramot Hoymook claimed that Wangchannoi told Namkabuan to "take it easy" the day before the fight and that Namkabuan would beat him.^[6] Regardless, in the late 1980s Namkabuan would enter the competitive peak of his career but was overshadowed by Namphon's fame.^[4] At this time Namphon was fighting Samart Payakaroon, Jaroenthong Kiatbanchong, Petchdam Lukborai among other famous fighters.

During fights, Namkabuan would showcase his ability to land knees on varying spots on his opponent's bodies as well as using the taina (Thai: ไถนา; lit: "plowing") technique on his opponents.^[5] To perform a plow, Namkabuan would catch and hold his opponent's kicking leg and charged forward, putting the opponent off-balance until his opponent collided with the ropes of the ring. He would take advantage of his opponent's vulnerable state to throw an unavoidable strike.

Namkabuan was primarily a Muay Femur stylist (rope-a-dope fighter in Muay Thai). He, like other fighters from the Nongkeepahuyuth gym, also took advantage of a select number of centuries-old Muay boran techniques and properly used them in stadium Muay Thai such as various unconventional jumping attacks. He paired evasive footwork with the head movement of boxers to dodge punches or elbows, something that he used effectively against knockout artists like Jongsanan Fairtex or in his victories against Wangchannoi. In the 1990s, Namkabuan's fighting style combined with his unusual techniques was considered to be visually pleasing by the Thai audiences which resulted in his nickname of "The Ring Genius" as well as becoming one of the most well-known fighters in Thailand alongside Namphon.

Peak of Muay Thai career

From 1989 and onwards Namkabuan was only matched up against fighters who fought at the competitive ceiling of the flyweight to junior lightweight divisions except for the 2 v 1 fight where he fought 2 heavier French fighters. In December 1992, he was the favorite in his matchup against Robert Kaennorasing in Rajadamnern Stadium. Robert surprised the audiences by controlling Namkabuan's aggression throughout the fight to the point where Robert felt safe enough to taunt him; both fighters earned the 1992 Fight of the Year award. They rematched in 1994 and Namkabuan dominated the fight on points. Oley Kiatoneway and the heavier Sakmongkol Sithchuchok were 2 of the most significant rivals in his career, with Namkabuan having a record of 6 total wins and 6 total losses against both fighters.

Namkabuan was both praised and criticized for using many clinches to defeat Dokmaipa, Detduang, and Toto from the famous Por.Pongsawang gym. His 2 fights against Sangtiennoi Sor.Rungrot were praised as the best in his career^[5] with Namkabuan beating him in both fights even if Sangtiennoi was fighting at 154.32 lbs/70 kg at the time.^[6] Namkabuan also fought against Ramon Dekkers twice, losing the first time and winning their second fight in Morocco for the La Nuit des Titans promotion. In their second bout, Dekkers did not cut weight and came in at 158.73 lbs/72 kg while Namkabuan himself was at 136.69 lbs/62 kg. Despite the massive weight disparity, the French judges gave the win to Namkabuan.^[8]

In 1991, after being ranked as the #2 junior featherweight (122 lbs/55.34 kg) fighter in Lumpinee Stadium, Namkabuan could not challenge the featherweight (126 lbs/57.15 kg) title since it belonged to Namphon.^[3] He instead challenged Cherry Sor.Wanich for his Lumpinee junior lightweight belt (130 lbs/58.97 kg), a title that Cherry defended against Therdkiat Sitthepitak and Superlek Sorn E-Sarn. Namkabuan would display his best qualities in the fight, controlling and countering Cherry with various techniques, using evasive movement, and using powerful knees in clinches. Namkabuan would be awarded the title and defended it 5 times throughout 6 years. After defending it against "The Batman" Samkor Kiatmontep in December 1996, the Lumpinee officials could not find a challenger for Namkabuan in the following 6 months and forced him to give up the title.^[8] The highest fight purse Namkabuan received was 260,000 baht,^[9] making him one of the few fighters who were paid above the 200,000 baht threshold. Namkabuan would win the Yodmuaythai (Best of Muay Thai) trophy twice against Sangtiennoi and Sakmongkol despite weighing less than them.

Decline and later years

On March 11, 1995, Rainbow Sor.Prantalay fell out of the ring while plowing Den Muangsurin, something that also often happened to Namkabuan when he plowed. Rainbow collided with the edge of the ring and the concrete floor, breaking his neck^[10] and putting him out of competition for months. Plowing was banned at the end of 1995, taking away Namkabuan's trademark technique. In 1996, Namkabuan opened a mu kratha restaurant in Khorat, something that Namphon also did. He found that he could earn more money by running the restaurant than fighting, thus he shifted his focus on running the restaurant.^[3] Both he and Namphon would later open multiple Korean barbeque restaurants throughout Khorat which made them wealthy in the early 2000s.^[11][12]

Namkabuan married Khop Hoymook, the daughter of his former boss and head trainer Pramot Hoymook. The two were already together before Namkabuan retired from Muay Thai.^[5] They bore 2 daughters, one of whom is a veterinarian and the other a singer. Namkabuan's daughters were initially unaware he was a famous Muay Thai fighter and had to be informed about his past by one of their P.E. teachers.^[3]

Death

Around 4 years after Namphon passed away, Namkabuan was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer in January 2021. He passed away on 10:00 PM of April 7, 2021 at 48 years old in Maharat Hospital, Nakhon Ratchasima province.^[13] It was believed that his cancer was caused by inhaling smoke in the kitchens of his restaurants for approximately 25 years. It was also believed that Namkabuan smoked tobacco,^[14] but Pramot Hoymook denies the possibility that he ever used the substance.^[6] Namkabuan's funeral was witnessed by numerous attendants including various yodmuay such as Dieselnoi Chor.Thanasukarn, Karuhat Sor.Supawan, and Pudpadnoi Worawut.^[15]