Valdrin Vatnikaj (born September 28, 1988) is an Albanian-Belgian kickboxer who competes in the
lightweight
Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing.
Boxing
Professional boxing
The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) weight class in the sport of boxing.
Notable lightweight ...
and
welterweight
Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify th ...
divisions. In 2009, he won the WFCA European Championship before becoming a world champion in 2010 by taking the Kombat League 63.503 kg/140 lb world title.
Career
Vatnikaj is a training partner of
Albert Kraus
Albert “The Hurricane” Kraus (born August 3, 1980) is a Dutch welterweight kickboxer. He was the first K-1 World MAX Tournament Champion in 2002 and also the first SUPERKOMBAT Middleweight Champion. Kraus has also held four separate world t ...
and
Rico Verhoeven
Ricardo Verhoeven (born 10 April 1989) is a Dutch professional kickboxer who currently competes in the heavyweight division of GLORY, where he is the reigning Glory Heavyweight Champion. A professional since 2004, he also competed in the K-1, ...
at the SuperPro Sportcenter Zevenbergen in
Zevenbergen
Zevenbergen is a Dutch city which is a part of the municipality of Moerdijk. Zevenbergen is located in the northwest of the province of North Brabant near Breda.
History
Zevenbergen (literal translation: Seven Mountains) is presumably named aft ...
,
Netherlands
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. He became the WFCA European Champion in 2009 and won the Kombat League 63.503 kg/140 lb world title the following year.
He challenged Jarkko Jussila for his WAKO Pro European Full Contact Light Welterweight (-64.5 kg/142 lb) Championship at ''Fight Festival 30'' in Helsinki, Finland on March 12, 2011, losing a unanimous decision after ten, two-minute rounds. Vatnikaj hit Jussila with lighting fast counterstrikes throughout the fight, but the Finn's constant pressure and reach advantage was too much for him in the end.
After fighting on the European circuit for a number of years, Vatnikaj debuted on kickboxing's biggest stage, K-1, when he faced off with flashy karateka Kizaemon Saiga in a non-tournament bout at the '' K-1 World MAX 2011 -70kg Japan Tournament Final'' in
Osaka
is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...
, Japan on September 25, 2011. Saiga's kicks made the difference in an otherwise uneventful fight as the Japanese fighter cruised to a unanimous decision win.
He knocked out Emil Kerimov via second round left hook at ''MaxPain'' in Genk, Belgium on February 10, 2012.
Vatkinaj was a competitor in the A1 World Combat Cup's 32-man 63.5 kg/140 lb tournament held throughout 2012. After knocking out Antony Plouvier at the tournament's opening round in
Genk
Genk () is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg near Hasselt. The municipality only comprises the town of Genk itself. It is one of the most important industrial towns in Flanders, located on the Albert Canal, ...
, Belgium on March 10, he then
outpoint
Outpoint is a term frequently used in boxing to describe a situation in which one boxer is awarded more points than his or her opponent by the judges, but does not knock out that opponent.
Notes
Boxing terminology
Kickboxing terminology
{ ...
ed Mansour Yaqubi in the second round in Eindhoven, Netherlands on April 7 to book his place at the finals, featuring the eight remaining fighters and held in Eindhoven on September 22. He took a decision win over Redouane Boukerch in the quarter-finals but lost to Papuna Margvelashvili by the same method in the semis.
Replacing Rachid Boumalek on short notice, he entered the Thai Fight 2012 67 kg/147 lb Tournament and faced the eventual tournament winner
Singmanee Kaewsamrit
Singmanee Kaewsamrit ( Thai: สิงห์มณี แก้วสัมฤทธิ์; born April 14, 1982) is a Thai Muay Thai kickboxer. He is the former Rajadamnern Stadium Champion, WMC and WPMF Welterweight Champion. He is also the 201 ...
in the quarter-finals in Bangkok, Thailand on October 23, 2012. Vatnikaj opened strong in the first round, connecting with a sweep and some clean punches, but things soon became one way traffic for the Thai in the second round. Singmanee landed two rounds of brutal unanswered body and leg kicks to take home the comfortable decision win.
He fought David Codron in a WKN European Full Contact Super Lightweight (-66.7 kg/147 lb) title match in
Pernes-les-Fontaines
Pernes-les-Fontaines (; officially Pernes until 1936; Occitan: ''Pèrnas dei Fònts'' or simply ''Pèrnas'') is a commune in the southeastern French department of Vaucluse. In 2019, it had a population of 10,170. Its inhabitants are called ''Pe ...
Mohamed Galaoui
Muhammad was an Islamic prophet and a religious and political leader who preached and established Islam.
Muhammad and variations may also refer to:
*Muhammad (name), a given name and surname, and list of people with the name and its variations
...
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Singmanee Kaewsamrit
Singmanee Kaewsamrit ( Thai: สิงห์มณี แก้วสัมฤทธิ์; born April 14, 1982) is a Thai Muay Thai kickboxer. He is the former Rajadamnern Stadium Champion, WMC and WPMF Welterweight Champion. He is also the 201 ...
Bangkok, Thailand
Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...
Eindhoven, Netherlands
Eindhoven () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, located in the southern province of North Brabant of which it is its largest. With a population of 238,326 on 1 January 2022,Redouane Boukerch , , A1 World Combat Cup 63.5 kg/140 lb Tournament, Quarter Finals , ,
Eindhoven, Netherlands
Eindhoven () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, located in the southern province of North Brabant of which it is its largest. With a population of 238,326 on 1 January 2022,Mansour Yaqubi , , A1 World Combat Cup 63.5 kg/140 lb Tournament, Second Round , ,
Eindhoven, Netherlands
Eindhoven () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, located in the southern province of North Brabant of which it is its largest. With a population of 238,326 on 1 January 2022,Antony Plouvier , , A1 World Combat Cup 63.5 kg/140 lb Tournament, First Round , ,
Genk, Belgium
Genk () is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg near Hasselt. The municipality only comprises the town of Genk itself. It is one of the most important industrial towns in Flanders, located on the Albert Canal, b ...
Genk, Belgium
Genk () is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg near Hasselt. The municipality only comprises the town of Genk itself. It is one of the most important industrial towns in Flanders, located on the Albert Canal, b ...
Osaka, Japan
is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2.7 ...
Sardinia, Italy
Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label= Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, afte ...