Kunlun Fight (KLF) (Chinese: 昆仑决; pinyin: Kūnlún Jué), is a kickboxing promotion headquartered in Beijing, China. It debuted in 2014 and is regarded as one of the top kickboxing promotions in the world. Events are broadcast on Jiangsu Television domestically and on various regional and international channels. The first event was held in

Pattaya Pattaya ( th, พัทยา, , ) is a city in Thailand. It is on the east coast of the Gulf of Thailand, about southeast of Bangkok, within, but not part of, Bang Lamung district in the province of Chonburi. Pattaya City ( th, เมือ� ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

on January 25, 2014. The promotion has since held over 20 events each year.

History

Inaugural event

The first event in Pattaya, Thailand on January 25, 2014 included super fights and a 4-man kickboxing tournament with

Andrei Kulebin Andrei "Bullet" Kulebin (born 14 May 1984 in Neustrelitz, Germany) is a Belarusian Muay Thai welterweight kickboxer fighting out of Minsk, Belarus for Gym "Kick Fighter". He is an 18 time Muay Thai and kickboxing world champion who has won int ...

, Petsanguan Luktupfah, Guo Dongwang and

Umar Semata Umar Semata (born 20 May 1987) is a Ugandan middleweight and super middleweight Muay Thai fighter and the former World Boxing Council Muay Thai Interim Super Middleweight Champion, a title he has held since 14 June 2013. Biography Early career ...

. After the inaugural event the promotion has held events in Thailand two more times.

Signing Buakaw Banchamek

On June 7, 2015 it was announced that Kunlun Fight had signed one of the most successful and famous 70 kg kickboxers in history, 2 time K-1 World Max Champion Buakaw Banchamek to an exclusive 6-fight contract. Buakaw has continued fighting in the promotion beyond the original 6-fight contract.

Business

In March 2016, Kunlun Fight finished series B financing from Morningside Ventures, IDG Capital Partners and Northern Light Venture Capital. The round of financing valued the company at over 350 million USD, making Kunlun Fight the most valuable combat sports company in China. Prior to B+ round of financing in Q1 2017 the company was reportedly valued at over 500 million USD. Multiple Kunlun Fight branded gyms and event venues exist like the Kunlun Fight World Combat Sports Center in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...

and the Kunlun Fight Stadium in Tongling,

Anhui Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze Riv ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

70 kg tournaments

Kunlun Fight holds a yearly 70 kg world championship tournament. In 2014 the inaugural 16-man tournament was won by

Dzianis Zuev Dzianis Zuev (born April 3, 1988) is a Belarusian welterweight kickboxer. A professional competitor since 2012, he is the 2014 Kunlun Fight welterweight tournament winner. As of July 2021, he is the #9 ranked welterweight in the world according t ...

who defeated Victor Nagbe in the final. For 2015 the tournament was expanded to 64-man and Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong emerged as the champion from a field of fighters including multiple kickboxing champions and highly ranked fighters such as Marat Grigorian,

Enriko Gogokhia Enrico Gogokhiia ( ka, ენრიკო გოგოხია) (born March 26, 1991) is a professional Georgian-born Ukrainian Middleweight kickboxer. As of 26 May 2016, he is ranked the #3 lightweight in the world by LiverKick.com. In 2016 he ...

Enriko Kehl Enriko Kehl (born February 19, 1992), is a German Muay Thai kickboxer who competes in ONE Championship. He is the 2014 K-1 World Max Championship Tournament Champion. Kehl was voted German Kickboxer of the Year in 2012, 2013 and 2014. Career ...

, Davit Kiria,

Murthel Groenhart Murthel Cyrill Dwyth Groenhart (born October 10, 1986) is a Dutch-Surinamese mixed martial artist and former kickboxer. Groenhart is the 2012 K-1 World MAX World Championship Tournament Champion and former Glory Welterweight Champion. Caree ...

Andy Souwer Andy Souwer (born 9 November 1982) is a Dutch former welterweight kickboxer and mixed martial artist. He is a two-time K-1 World MAX champion (2005, 2007) and four-time Shootboxing World tournament champion as well as former It's Showtime 70MAX ...

, Yodsanklai Fairtex,

Dzhabar Askerov Dzhabar Askerov ( lez, Аскеров Жаббар Мегьамедан хва) (russian: Джабар Аскеров; born January 24, 1986) is a Russian Welterweight kickboxer fighting out of Melbourne, Australia and representing Russia. He is ...

, Superbon Banchamek, Amancio Paraschiv, Chingiz Allazov,

Aikpracha Meenayothin Eakpracha Meenayothin (thai language, Thai: เอกประชา มีนะโยธิน) is a Thai Muay Thai kickboxer. He is the Lumpinee Stadium, WMC and Thailand Welterweight Champion. He is also two times Toyota Vigo Marathon Tournam ...

and the 2014 tournament winner

. The 2016 tournament was won by Superbon Banchamek, who also beat the winner of the previous tournament Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong in the quarterfinals. The 2017 tournament champion was Marat Grigorian who beat the 2016 tournament winner Superbon Banchamek in the final. The 2018 tournament was won by Davit Kiria. The 2019 tournament was intended to be held on 31 December 2019 in

Wuzhishan City Wuzhishan (literally five point mountain) is a county-level city in the highlands of Hainan Hainan (, ; ) is the smallest and southernmost province of the People's Republic of China (PRC), consisting of various islands in the South China S ...

Hainan Hainan (, ; ) is the smallest and southernmost province of the People's Republic of China (PRC), consisting of various islands in the South China Sea. , the largest and most populous island in China,The island of Taiwan, which is slightly l ...

, but was postponed. The tournament was rescheduled for March, 8 in

, but the event had to be cancelled due to the

2020 coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

ban on live sporting events.

Kunlun Combat Professional League

On September 22, 2018, Kunlun Fight launched a new line of 2nd tier events called Kunlun Combat League. The league has 16 teams and fights are fought in 6 different weight classes. The league events are held mostly at a Kunlun Fight venue in Tongling. 71 KCL events were held during the first qualification season between September 22 and December 31, 2018. In its present format, the league begins in March with 16 teams split into 2 groups for a regular season. The highest scoring teams from both groups proceed to a knockout phase that culminates with the final event at the end of the year. In 2019 the league was renamed to Kunlun Combat Professional League (KCPL) and started its first full season on March 16, 2019. The first season was won by team Shenzhen, who beat team Shenyang in the finals held on December 24, 2019 in

Yiwu Yiwu () is a county-level city under the jurisdiction of Jinhua in Central Zhejiang Province, East China. As of the 2020 census, the city had 1,859,390 inhabitants and its built-up (or metro) area, joined with that of the neighboring Dongy ...

. For the 2020 season, the intended March start date for the league was disrupted by the

. The 2020 season was rescheduled to start in mid-May without live audiences present at the events.

Kunlun Fight City Hero

Started in 2016, a 3rd tier series of events with a mix of professional and amateur fights.

Kunlun Fight Events

Broadcast coverage

Some current broadcasters include Jiangsu Television in China,

Fox Sports Asia Fox Sports (formerly ESPN Star Sports) was a pan-Asian pay television network broadcasting in Asia, operated by Fox Networks Group Asia Pacific, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company (Southeast Asia) Pte. Ltd. It also oversaw a version of ...

and Kix in various countries in Asia, RMC Sport 4, Fight Network and FightBox in multiple countries internationally. Some past broadcasters include

Workpoint TV Workpoint TV is Thailand's television station, owned by Workpoint Entertainment, broadcasting on channel 23 of Thailand's digital television. History Workpoint Entertainment began to test their satellite TV broadcasting Channel for Workpoin ...

in Thailand, HKSTV in Hong Kong and Taiwan (2016), Anhui Television in China (2017) and

Eurosport Eurosport is a group of pay television networks in Europe and parts of Asia. Owned by Warner Bros. Discovery through its international sports unit, it operates two main channels— Eurosport 1 and Eurosport 2—across most of its territorie ...

. In 2017 Kunlun Fight MMA events were broadcast monthly in China on

CCTV-5 CCTV-5 (), also known as the Sports Channel, part of the China Central Television family of networks, is the main sports broadcaster in the People's Republic of China. CCTV-5 began broadcasting on 1 January 1995. CCTV-5 now broadcasts 24 hours ...

Rules

Kunlun Fight mostly holds fights under

kickboxing Kickboxing is a combat sport focused on kicking and punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is practiced for self-defense, general ...

rules, but also under

MMA Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incor ...

rules. Some

Muay Thai Muay Thai ( th, มวยไทย, , ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, is a combat sport that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. This discipline is known as the "art of eight limbs", as it is characterise ...

Boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

and

Lethwei Lethwei ( my, လက်ဝှေ့; IPA: ) or Burmese boxing, is a full contact combat sport from Myanmar that uses stand-up striking including headbutts. Lethwei is considered to be one of the most brutal martial arts in the world, * * * a ...

fights have also been held on Kunlun Fight events. ◾

Kickboxing Kickboxing is a combat sport focused on kicking and punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is practiced for self-defense, general ...

rules: no clinch for survival, active clinch with knees, no throws, no elbows, a yellow card forfeits 25% of the fight purse and earns a 1-point deduction, a red card is a disqualification. ◾

Mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incor ...

rules:

Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts Most rule sets for mixed martial arts (MMA) competitions have evolved since the early days of Vale Tudo. As a result of health, legal, and moral concerns, many different rulesets were created, which give different countries and promotions very d ...

◾

Muay thai Muay Thai ( th, มวยไทย, , ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, is a combat sport that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. This discipline is known as the "art of eight limbs", as it is characterise ...

rules: knees are allowed to the body, legs and the head, throws and clinch are allowed, elbows are allowed to the body, legs and head, a yellow card forfeits 25% of the fight purse and earns a 1-point deduction, a red card is a disqualification.

Weight classes

Champions

Kickboxing champions

Tournament champions

One night tournament champions

Women's lightweight champions

-60 kg (-132.3 lb)

Muaythai champions

Middleweight championship

-70 kg (-154.3 lb)

MMA champions

Middleweight championship

84 kg (185 lbs); division was formerly 79 kg (175 lbs) until 2017

Welterweight championship

77 kg (170 lbs); division was formerly 75 kg (165 lbs) until 2017

Flyweight championship

Female strawweight championship

Notable fighters

Kickboxing

67 kg (143.3 lb) and under

* Kaew Fairtex *

Wei Ninghui Wei Ninghui (; born September 15, 1993) is a Chinese Muay Thai kickboxer. He was ranked as a top ten featherweight by Combat Press between March and December of 2017. Kickboxing career At the age of twelve he went to martial arts school, an ...

Yang Zhuo Yang Zhuo () is a Chinese former Wushu fighter and current kickboxer who competes in both Featherweight and Lightweight division. A multiple time provincial and national Sanshou titlist in his home country. Yang later made the switch to kickboxi ...

Abdellah Ezbiri Abdellah Ezbiri (born 1986) is a French kickboxer. He is the former I.S.K.A. K-1 Rules World Champion anW.K.N.K-1 Rules European Super Lightweight Champion. As of 1 November 2018, he is ranked the #7 featherweight in the world by Combat Press. ...

* Fabio Pinca *

Wang Wenfeng Wang Wenfeng (; born June 20, 1993) is a Chinese Muay Thai kickboxer. He is the 2018 KLF 61.5 kg tournament winner. He was ranked as a top ten bantamweight (-65 kg) kickboxer in the world by Combat Press between June 2018 and January 2021. Ki ...

* Tetsuya Yamato *

Ilias Bulaid Ilias Bulaid (born May 1, 1995) is a Moroccan-Dutch kickboxer and mixed martial artist. Ilias was the 2016 K-1 World Super Lightweight Tournament Runner-Up, and is the former Enfusion 67 kg World Champion. He was first ranked as a top ten ...

* Saeksan Or. Kwanmuang * Taiga Kawabe * Lee Sung-hyun * Massaro Glunder * Lerdsila Chumpairtour

70 kg (154.3 lb)

* Buakaw Banchamek * Superbon Banchamek * Jomthong Chuwattana * Yodsanklai Fairtex *

* Marat Grigorian *

* Davit Kiria *

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 ti ...

Wu Xuesong Wu Xuesong () is a Chinese Sanda kickboxer. He is from Guangzhou Dragon Flying Fighting Club. As of September 2016, he is ranked the #6 lightweight in the world by LiverKick. Career On January 17, 2015, in Kunlun Fight 17, Wu Continuous beat ...

* Kem Sitsongpeenong * Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong *

Amansio Paraschiv Amansio Andrei Paraschiv (born June 25, 1992) is a Romanian professional kickboxer and boxer. He won back to back gold medals in the WAKO European Championships, and is the current SUPERKOMBAT Middleweight Champion. Paraschiv became champion on ...

* Warren Stevelmans * Vlad Tuinov *

Dylan Salvador Dylan Salvador (born 20 May 1993) is a French mixed martial artist and former Muay Thai kickboxer. A professional competitor since 2011, Salvador is a former two-weight WAKO World champion, having held the low-kick titles at light welterweight ...

Anatoly Moiseev Anatoly Moiseev ( rus, Анатолий Моисеев) is a Russian Lightweight kickboxer. He was the 71 kg- WAKO Russian and world champion, winning both titles in 2011, and the 2019 WLF 70kg Tournament Winner. He was ranked as a top ten ...

Steve Moxon Steve Moxon (born 9 November 1987) is an Australian kickboxer who competes in the middleweight and super middleweight divisions. Steve Moxon is a 2 x World Champion. Known for his speed and knockout power, Moxon captured the ISKA South Pacific ...

Mohamed Mezouari Mohamed Mezouari, better known as Hamicha, is a Moroccan-Dutch kickboxer. He is ranked the #1 welterweight in Glory. He is ranked as the sixth best welterweight in the world by Combat Press as of September 2022, and the eighth best by Beyond Ki ...

* Chingiz Allazov *

Armin Pumpanmuang Windy Sport Armin Pumpanmuang (born April 19, 1987) is a Thai Muay Thai kickboxer. He is a former WPMF World Welterweight Champion (147 lbs). Biography and career Born and raised in the Chana district of the Songkhla province, Armin practiced Muay ...

* Tayfun Ozcan *

Cedric Manhoef Cedric Manhoef (born 19 April 1993) is a Surinamese professional kickboxer and K-1 and SUPERKOMBAT fighter, where he held the SUPERKOMBAT New Heroes Middleweight Championship. He is trained by his older cousin Melvin Manhoef who inspired him to pu ...

* Chris Ngimbi * Yuichiro Nagashima * Mustapha Haida

75 - 85 kg (165.3 - 187.4 lb)

Artur Kyshenko Artur Kyshenko ( Ukrainian: Артур Кишенко, born November 14, 1986) is a Ukrainian middleweight kickboxer, fighting out of Kyshenko Gym. He is the 2015 Kunlun Fight 80 kg Tournament World Champion and K-1 World MAX 2008 Finalist. ...

* Simon Marcus *

Alexander Stetsurenko Alexander Yuryevich Stetsurenko (russian: Александр Юрьевич Стецуренко; born April 20, 1983) is a Russian welterweight kickboxer. He is a three time Tatneft Cup tournament winner, Kunlun Fight tournament winner and W5 ...

Dmitry Valent Dmitry 'Black Valet' Valent (born 13 April 1988 in Minsk, Belarus) is a Belarusian Muay Thai middleweight/super middleweight kickboxer. He is the former WKN Middleweight Oriental rules and Muay thai champion, former WMC Light Heavyweight champi ...

Vitaly Gurkov Vitaly Hurkou ( be, Вiталь Рыгоравiч Гуркоў; born March 27, 1985), is a Belarusian welterweight Muay Thai kickboxer fighting out of Minsk for Patriot Gym. He is a seven time amateur Muay Thai world champion and is the K-1 Wor ...

Alex Pereira Alexsandro Pereira (born 7 July 1987) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and former kickboxer. He currently competes in the Middleweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is the current UFC Middleweig ...

* Israel Adesanya *

Alim Nabiev Alim Nabiev (born October 10, 1994) is an Azerbaijani kickboxer, who has been professionally competing since 2010. He is the former WMC World Light Heavyweight champion. He is ranked as the third best welterweight in the world by Combat Press a ...

* Jason Wilnis *

Hicham El Gaoui Hicham El Gaoui is a Dutch- Moroccan kickboxer and K-1 fighter who competes in the cruiserweight division. Combat Press ranked him as a top ten middleweight kickboxer between November 2021 and March 2022, peaking at #4. Titles *World Fighting L ...

Too Too Too Too ( my, တူးတူး) is a Burmese Lethwei fighter and who competes in the World Lethwei Championship. He is former the WLC Middleweight World champion and is undefeated under traditional Lethwei rules, holding the 75 kg Le ...

Bai Jinbin Bai Jinbin () is a Hui, Chinese Sanda kickboxer who was born on November 1, 1985 in Heze, Shandong, China and graduated from the Beijing Shichahai Sports School. As of November 2015, he is ranked the #10 Welterweight in the world by Combat Pre ...

Vuyisile Colossa Vuyisile Colossa (born 28 June 1982) is a South African professional mixed martial artist and kickboxer, a 5-time world champion in kickboxing and Muay Thai. He has been a professional competitor in kickboxing since 2002 and a professional MMA ...

* Thongchai Sitsongpeenong * Marc de Bonte

95 kg (209.4 lb) and over

Andrei Gerasimchuk Andrey Gerasimchuk (born February 7, 1987) is a Belarusian Muay Thai kickboxer who competes in the heavyweight division. He is a three time Kunlun Fight Tournament winner. He was ranked as a top ten heavyweight by Combat Press from October 2015 ...

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, ...

* Jahfarr Wilnis *

Hesdy Gerges Hesdy Gerges (born February 20, 1984) is a Dutch kickboxer and mixed martial artist, fighting out of the Vos Gym in Amsterdam, Netherlands. He held the It's Showtime World Heavyweight title between 2010 and 2012. Gerges has competed in the K-1, ...

Tsotne Rogava Tsotne Badrievich Rogava ( uk, Цотне Бадрієвич Рогава; born 2 May 1993) is a Ukrainian heavyweight Muay Thai kickboxer, fighting out of the Captain Odessa gym in Odessa. He is the current ACB Kickboxing Heavyweight champion ...

* Felipe Micheletti *

Konstantin Gluhov Konstantin Gluhov (russian: Константин Игоревич Глухов, lv, Konstantīns Gluhovs; born January 17, 1980) is a Latvian heavyweight kickboxer and mixed martial artist of Russian descent. He is a former WPKA World Muaythai ...

Roman Kryklia Roman Olegovich Kryklia (Ukrainian: Роман Олегович Крикля; born October 11, 1991) is a Ukrainian heavyweight kickboxer currently signed to ONE Championship when he completes both Light Heavyweight and Heavyweight division i ...

Sergej Maslobojev Sergej Maslobojev; born 22 May 1987), nicknamed 'Kuvalda' ('Sledgehammer'), is a Lithuanian mixed martial artist, boxer and kickboxer, currently signed with GLORY, where he is the former Glory Light Heavyweight champion. He is ranked as the th ...

Tomáš Hron Tomáš Hron (born July 25, 1981) is a Czech kickboxer who has fought for the K-1, It's Showtime and SUPERKOMBAT promotions. Former Kings of The Ring, WKA and WKN champion and current Kings of The Ring heavyweight world champion. Career He was ...

* Mighty Mo * Ashwin Balrak * Virgil Zwicker *

Faisal Zakaria Faisal Zakaria (born 8 November 1973) is a Sudanese kickboxer, fighting out of Auckland, New Zealand. He was WBC International Muay Thai Heavyweight Champion. Biography and career Faisal Zakaria was born and raised in Sudan. He started to train ...

* Francois Botha * Sebastian Ciobanu

Women

* Valentina Shevchenko * Anissa Meksen * Wang Cong * Jemyma Betrian *

Ekaterina Vandaryeva Ekaterina Vandaryeva (born January 20, 1991) is a Belarusian kickboxer who defeated future UFC champion Joanna Jędrzejczyk in a controversial judges' decision to become the WKN champion in 2011. Career Before participating in Muay Thai, Ekat ...

MMA

Zhang Weili Zhang Weili (; born August 13, 1989) is a Chinese mixed martial artist. She is the former Kunlun Fight (KLF) strawweight champion and competes in the strawweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where she is the current ...

* Zhang Lipeng * Jumabieke Tuerxun *

Muslim Salikhov Muslim Magomedovich Salikhov (born June 9, 1984), is a Russian mixed martial artist and Sanda fighter who currently competes in welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A multiple time Wushu Sanda wor ...

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Kickboxing organizations Kickboxing in China Sports organizations established in 2014 2014 establishments in China Television in China Mixed martial arts organizations Mixed martial arts in China Entertainment companies of China Sports organizations of China Jiangsu Television original programming China Central Television original programming

History

Inaugural event

Signing Buakaw Banchamek

Business

70 kg tournaments

Kunlun Combat Professional League

Kunlun Fight City Hero

Kunlun Fight Events

Broadcast coverage

Rules

Weight classes

Champions

Kickboxing champions

Tournament champions

One night tournament champions

Women's lightweight champions

Muaythai champions

Middleweight championship

MMA champions

Middleweight championship

Welterweight championship

Flyweight championship

Female strawweight championship

Notable fighters

Kickboxing

67 kg (143.3 lb) and under

70 kg (154.3 lb)

75 - 85 kg (165.3 - 187.4 lb)

95 kg (209.4 lb) and over

Women

MMA

See also

References

External links