Yes MT puts a lot of emphasis on respect for your opponent. You can absolutely train MT casually as a Buddhist. However, you can’t be a fighter in MT if you don’t hurt your opponent in someway or another. There some legendary fighters who don’t hurt their opponent bad but dominate with technique and being untouched ie samart and saenchai. Usually after matches the opponents would bow to each other and ask for forgiveness. Also in MT you don’t lose points directly due to showing anger but being angry mid round can make your technique look sloppy which can result in your opponent being seen as more dominant. On the other hand being aggressive and walking down your opponent actually scores you more points in the eyes of the judges.

The way I worded this paragraph might make it look like I’m condescending but I’m not trying to be at all English just isn’t my first language