It's Showtime was a

kickboxing Kickboxing ( ) is a full-contact hybrid Martial arts, martial art and Boxing (disambiguation), boxing type based on punch (combat), punching and kicking. Kickboxing originated in the 1950s to 1970s. The fight takes place in a boxing ring, norma ...

and

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

promotion based in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. It was founded by Simon Rutz in 1998 and held its first show in 1999 and its last near the end of 2012.

History

It's Showtime events were cross-promoted with

K-1 K-1 is a professional kickboxing promotion established in 1993 by karateka Kazuyoshi Ishii. Originally under the ownership of the Fighting and Entertainment Group (FEG), K-1 was considered to be the largest Kickboxing organization in the worl ...

and other European promotions from

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

and

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. In December 2007, the first season of ''It’s Showtime Reality Show'' was broadcast on Eurosport, featuring 19 fighters from all over the world. K-1 partnership continued until K-1's deepening financial problems and Simon Rutz claimed in January 2011 that some fighters from It's Showtime had not been paid for fights in K-1. In March 2012, It's Showtime announced that EMCOM Entertainment established the new company K-1 Global Holdings Ltd. in

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

. EMCOM/K-1 Global's agreement with It's Showtime made many fighters under It's Showtime promotion sign contracts to appear in upcoming K-1 Global events. However, it was announced in June 2012 that It's Showtime was purchased by Glory Sports International, eventually to be merged in their new promotion GLORY.

Broadcast

It's Showtime events were usually broadcast live on Setanta Sports, JSports, TV Esporte Interativo and many others and aired on The Fight Network in Canada. Showtime had also signed a deal with AXS TV (formerly known as HDNet) to air shows.

Rules

Kickboxing fights were conducted under K-1 rules 3 X 3 rounds and title fights 5 X 3. It's Showtime had eight different weight classes MAX 61 kg, MAX 65 kg, MAX 69 kg, MAX 73 kg, MAX 77 kg, MAX 85 kg, MAX 95 kg and Heavyweight.

References

External links

It's Showtime Official site
{{MMA organizations 1998 establishments in the Netherlands 2012 disestablishments in the Netherlands Kickboxing organizations Defunct mixed martial arts promotions Mixed martial arts in the Netherlands

History

Broadcast

Rules

See also

References

External links