BANGKOK - Clad in a pink tank top and shorts, her face made up with rouge and red lipstick, transgender Muay Thai fighter Nong Rose Baan Charoensuk is a formidable opponent.

Just ask Karun "Priewpak" Kaemlam, a male fighter who lost a thrilling five-round match to Rose, as she is generally known, earlier this month.

"I wasn't able to fight her strength and big build," Priewpak said. "She fights like a man because she is really a man," added Priewpak, who sustained a gash above his right eye in the fight at the capital's Rajadamnern Stadium.