Sorin Mihai Căliniuc (born 12 July 1996) is a Romanian professional

kickboxer 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, gener ...

and Olympic boxer, and former kempo practitioner. He currently competes in the Lightweight division for Glory. A professional competitor since 2018, Căliniuc formerly competed in the Colosseum Tournament, in which he was the reigning champion of the lightweight and super lightweight divisions. Căliniuc is a multiple national boxing champion and 2016 Kempo World Champion. As of 4 January 2023, Căliniuc is ranked the #16 lightweight in the world in the kickboxing/Muay Thai combined ranking by Boxemag.

Professional kickboxing career

Early career

Căliniuc practiced

judo is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponica, "Judo") ...

from 4 to 15 years old. He then started kickboxing at the age of 17, but not at a professional level. Căliniuc worked simultaneously as a casino

security guard A security guard (also known as a security inspector, security officer, or protective agent) is a person employed by a government or private party to protect the employing party's assets (property, people, equipment, money, etc.) from a variety ...

until he met coach and promoter Estéfano Tănăsescu Popescu who enrolled him to a gym.

Wins over Milea, Salvador and Dzhaniev

With a background of being IKF world kempo champion, Căliniuc began his kickboxing career by winning his first four fights by decision. He initially fought for SAS Gym (a Bucharest-based kickboxing promotion), where he won the SAS Gym 01 and the SAS Gym 02 tournaments. Căliniuc faced Bogdan Costan on November 2, 2018, in the semifinals of the Lightweight Tournament at SAS Gym 01. Căliniuc won the fight via unanimous decision to progress to the final round of the tournament. He then faced Colosseum Tournament World Lightweight Champion Cristian Milea in the finals. Căliniuc defeated Milea via unanimous decision. Căliniuc faced former Glory lightweight championship challenger

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 a ...

on June 13, 2019, in the semifinals of the Lightweight Tournament at SAS Gym 02. Căliniuc won the fight via split decision to progress to the final round of the tournament. He then faced

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 ...

standout Khayal Dzhaniev in the finals. Căliniuc defeated Dzhaniev via unanimous decision.

Colosseum Tournament

In December 2020, it was announced that Căliniuc had signed a multi-fight deal with Colosseum Tournament. Căliniuc faced Colosseum Tournament world lightweight champion Andrei Ostrovanu on December 18, 2020, at Colosseum Tournament 22. Căliniuc defeated Ostrovanu via unanimous 3-round decision to become the inaugural Colosseum Tournament World Super Lightweight Champion.

Two-division champion

In January 2021, it was officially announced that Căliniuc next bout would be against former

ISKA The ISKA (originally International Sport Karate Association, later also called the International Sport Kickboxing Association) is one of the major international bodies regulating sport karate and kickboxing matches, and is based in the Unite ...

world middleweight champion

Gabriel Bozan Gabriel Bozan (born 15 January 1993) is a Romanian professional kickboxer. He currently competes in the Welterweight division in the Colosseum Tournament. Bozan is a former ISKA World Middleweight Champion. A professional competitor since 2011, h ...

for the vacant Colosseum Tournament World Lightweight Championship on 26 February at Colosseum Tournament 23. Căliniuc dominated the fight and won via unanimous 5-round decision to become the Colosseum Tournament World Lightweight Champion. In April 2021, Colosseum Tournament announced that Căliniuc would make his first defence of his lightweight title against former KOK lightweight champion Vitalie Matei at Colosseum Tournament 25 on 31 May in Cluj-Napoca. He won the fight via unanimous 5-round decision.

Căliniuc vs. Koprivlenski

Căliniuc was scheduled to defend his title for the second time against former Glory Lightweight Contender Tournament Winner Stoyan Koprivlenski on September 20, 2021 at Colosseum Tournament 27. He retained his championship, being declared the winner via split decision. Căliniuc was scheduled to defend his title for the third time against former Kunlun Fight World MAX Tournament Champion

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 ...

on April 8, 2022 at Colosseum Tournament 30. However, due to the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. ...

, Zuev removed from the card and he was replaced by Andre Mannaart's Sami Lamiri. Căliniuc dominated the bout, taking Lamiri down in the third round. He defeated Lamiri via unanimous decision. Căliniuc was finally scheduled to make his third title defense against former

Wu Lin Feng Wu Lin Feng (), also known as WLF, is a martial arts competition televised by Henan Television. It is the longest running martial arts program in China. Since 2007 the competition has become more international in nature, bringing in more challe ...

World Championship Champion Nafi Bilalovski ( Filip Verlinden Gym) on June 23, 2022, at Colosseum Tournament 33. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Căliniuc was once again scheduled to defend his title against WKN World Super Welterweight Champion Jordi Requejo, in September, 2022, at Colosseum Tournament 35. He won a unanimous decision, dominating Requejo. On October 30, 2022, his team announced on social media that Căliniuc parted ways with Colosseum Tournament. Subsequently, Căliniuc signed a multi-fight contract with Glory on 13 December 2022.

GLORY

In his Glory promotional debut, Căliniuc is expected to face former

World Light Middleweight Champion Arman Hambaryan on February 11, 2023, at GLORY 83.

Personal life

Căliniuc is a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

. He said his model is Daniel Ghiță. Căliniuc is inspired by

Abdulrashid Sadulaev Abdulrashid Bulachevich Sadulaev ( rus, Абдулрашид Булачевич Садулаев, , ɐbdʊɫrɐˈʂɨts sədʊˈɫa(ɪ̯)ɪf, av, ГІабдулрашид Булачил Садулаев; born 9 May 1996) is a Russian freestyl ...

. He is a fan of

Steaua București Steaua or Steaua București may refer to: * CSA Steaua București, a Romanian multi-sports club * CSA Steaua București (football), the football team of the multi-sports club * Fotbal Club FCSB, a football team that used this name between 2003 ...

Championships and accomplishments

Kickboxing

* Colosseum Tournament **Colosseum Tournament World Lightweight Championship (One time) *** Four successful title defenses **Colosseum Tournament World Super Lightweight Championship (One time) *SAS Gym ** SAS Gym 02 Lightweight Tournament Championship ** SAS Gym 01 Lightweight Tournament Championship

Kempo

* International Kempo Federation **2016 IKF World Kempo Championships Full-Kempo Rules −75.0 kg **2017 IKF European Kempo Championships Full-Kempo Rules −80.0 kg

Boxing

*Romanian Boxing Federation **2022 Romanian Boxing Cup −75.0 kg **2021 Romania National Boxing Championships −80.0 kg **2020 Romania National Boxing Championships −75.0 kg **2020 Romanian Boxing Cup −75.0 kg

Professional kickboxing record

, - style="background:#fbb;" , 2023-02-11 , , Loss , , align=left, Arman Hambaryan , , GLORY 83 , ,

Essen, Germany Essen (; Latin: ''Assindia'') is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and Do ...

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Bucharest, Romania Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

, , Decision (unanimous) , , 5 , , 3:00 , , 10-0-0 , - ! style=background:white colspan=9 , , - style="background:#cfc;" , 2022-04-08 , , Win , , align=left, Sami Lamiri , , Colosseum Tournament 30: Căliniuc vs. Lamiri , , Malmö, Sweden , , Decision (unanimous) , , 3 , , 3:00 , , 9-0-0 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 2021-09-20 , , Win , , align=left, Stoyan Koprivlenski , , Colosseum Tournament 27: Căliniuc vs. Koprivlenski , ,

Oradea, Romania Oradea (, , ; german: Großwardein ; hu, Nagyvárad ) is a city in Romania, located in Crișana, a sub-region of Transylvania. The seat of Bihor County, Oradea is one of the most important economic, social and cultural centers in the western part ...

, , Decision (split) , , 5 , , 3:00 , , 8-0-0 , - ! style=background:white colspan=9 , , - style="background:#cfc;" , 2021-05-31 , , Win , , align=left, Vitalie Matei , , Colosseum Tournament 25: Căliniuc vs. Matei , , Cluj-Napoca, Romania , , Decision (unanimous) , , 5 , , 3:00 , , 7-0-0 , - ! style=background:white colspan=9 , , - style="background:#cfc;" , 2021-02-26 , , Win , , align=left,

, , Colosseum Tournament 23: Căliniuc vs. Bozan , ,

, , Decision (unanimous) , , 5 , , 3:00 , , 6-0-0 , - ! style=background:white colspan=9 , , - style="background:#cfc;" , 2020-12-18 , , Win , , align=left, Andrei Ostrovanu , , Colosseum Tournament 22: Ostrovanu vs. Căliniuc , ,

, , Decision (unanimous) , , 3 , , 3:00 , , 5-0-0 , - ! style=background:white colspan=9 , , - style="background:#cfc;" , 2019-06-13 , , Win , , align=left, Khayal Dzhaniev , , SAS Gym 02, Final , ,

, , Decision (unanimous) , , 3 , , 3:00 , , 4-0-0 , - ! style=background:white colspan=9 , , - style="background:#cfc;" , 2019-06-13 , , Win , , align=left,

, , SAS Gym 02, Semifinals , ,

, , Decision (split) , , 3 , , 3:00 , , 3-0-0 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 2018-11-02 , , Win , , align=left, Cristian Milea , , SAS Gym 01, Final , ,

, , Extra round decision (unanimous) , , 4 , , 3:00 , , 2-0-0 , - ! style=background:white colspan=9 , , - style="background:#cfc;" , 2018-11-02 , , Win , , align=left, Bogdan Costan , , SAS Gym 01, Semifinals , ,

, , Decision (unanimous) , , 3 , , 3:00 , , 1-0-0 , - , colspan=9 , ''Legend'':

References

External links

Sorin Căliniuc
at GLORY *
Sorin Căliniuc at Tapology.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Caliniuc, Sorin 1996 births Living people Sportspeople from Bucharest Romanian male kickboxers Middleweight kickboxers Romanian male boxers Middleweight boxers Light-heavyweight boxers Kenpō Romanian Christians Kickboxing champions Glory kickboxers