Françesko Xhaja (born August 9, 1993) is an Albanian-born Italian kickboxer, currently competing in the light heavyweight division of

ONE Championship ONE Championship, formerly ONE Fighting Championship (ONE FC) until January 2015, is a Multinational corporation, multinational combat sports Promoter (entertainment), promotion founded on 14 July 2011 by Chatri Sityodtong and Victor Cui. Origi ...

. As of February 2025, he is ranked as the tenth best heavyweight kickboxer in the world by Beyond Kickboxing.

Professional kickboxing career

Early career

Xhaja faced Jan Beljajev at Number One Fight Show: Season 10 on September 22, 2018. He won the fight by unanimous decision. Xhaja next faced Mladen Kujundžić at Ultimate Fight Night on November 17, 2018. He won the fight by unanimous decision. Xhaja challenged

Guto Inocente Carlos Augusto "Guto" Inocente Filho (born May 29, 1986) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and kickboxer. A professional MMA competitor since 2005, Inocente formerly competed for the UFC and Strikeforce in MMA. He signed with Glo ...

for the WGP Kickboxing Super heavyweight (+94 kg) title at WGP Kickboxing #55 on June 15, 2019. He lost the fight by unanimous decision. Xhaja faced Igor Darmeshkin in the quarterfinals of the 2019 Tatneft Cup heavyweight tournament, which took place on July 19, 2019. He won the fight by unanimous decision, after an extra round was contested. Xhaja was able to stop Mathieu Kongolo in the second round on October 4, 2019, which earned him a place in the tournament finals, which took place on December 15, 2019, opposite Petr Romankevich. He lost the fight by unanimous decision, after an extension round was fought. Xhaja faced Strahinja Mitrić at Megdan 8: New Winners on December 18, 2020. He won the fight by split decision. Xhaja next faced Cyril Cereyon at Ultimate Fight Night on January 17, 2021. He won the fight by unanimous decision. Xhaja then faced Ahmed Krnjić at Senshi 9 on July 10, 2021. He won the fight by unanimous decision, after an extra round was contested.

ONE Championship

Xhaja faced

Rade Opačić Radomir Opačić (born June 17, 1997) is a Serbian kickboxing, kickboxer and former taekwondoist who competes in the Heavyweight division. As of August 2024, he was ranked as the 7th best heavyweight in the world by Combat Press. Biography and ...

at ONE: Only the Brave on January 28, 2022, in his promotion debut with

. He lost the fight by a second-round technical knockout. Xhaja faced

Andrei Stoica Andrei Cătălin Stoica (born May 1, 1987) is a Romanian kickboxer competing in the Light Heavyweight division. He was the first to hold the SUPERKOMBAT Super Cruiserweight Championship and held the SUPERKOMBAT record for most con ...

at ONE Fight Night 7 on February 24, 2023. He won the fight by split decision. Xhaja was expected to challenge Roman Kryklia for the ONE Light Heavyweight Kickboxing World Championship at ONE Fight Night 12 on July 14, 2023. The fight was postponed on July 1, after Xhaja suffered an undisclosed injury. Xhaja faced Massinissa Hamaili at SENSHI 24 on December 2, 2024. He won the fight by technical knockout 62 seconds into the opening round. Xhaja faced Florin Ivănoaie at SENSHI 25 on February 22, 2025. He lost the fight by a first-round technical knockout. Xhaja faced Marius Munteanu at Senshi 26 - Gladiators on May 17, 2025. He won the fight by a first-round technical knockout.

Championships and accomplishments

*Tatneft Cup **2019 Tatneft Cup Heavyweight Tournament Runner-up *Megdan Fighting **2020 Megdan K-1 Heavyweight (+93 kg) Championship

Fight record

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Xhaja, Françesko Living people 1993 births Italian male kickboxers Italian people of Albanian descent People from Sacile Sportspeople from the Province of Pordenone 21st-century Italian sportsmen