 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Kickboxing promotion |
| Founded | January 2014; 11 years ago (2014-01) |
| Founder | Jiang Hua  |
| Headquarters | Beijing,China |
Key people | Jiang Hua (founder) |
| Owner | Kunsun Media |
Kunlun Fight (KLF) (Chinese:昆仑决;pinyin:Kūnlún Jué) is akickboxing promotion headquartered inBeijing,China. It debuted in 2014 and is regarded as one of the top kickboxing promotions in the world.[1] Events are broadcast onJiangsu Television[2] domestically and on various regional and international channels.
The first event was held inPattaya,Thailand on January 25, 2014. The promotion has since held over 20 events each year.[3][4]
The first event in Pattaya, Thailand on January 25, 2014 included super fights and a 4-man kickboxing tournament withAndrei Kulebin, Petsanguan Luktupfah, Guo Dongwang andUmar Semata.[5][6] After the inaugural event the promotion has held events in Thailand two more times.[7][8][9]
On June 7, 2015 it was announced that Kunlun Fight had signed one of the most successful and famous[10] 70 kg kickboxers in history, 2 time K-1 World Max ChampionBuakaw Banchamek to an exclusive 6-fight contract.[11][12] Buakaw has continued fighting in the promotion beyond the original 6-fight contract.
In 2015, the promotion organizedKunlun Fight 25 inBanská Bystrica,Slovakia.[13] The event included a Lethwei superfight at between Burmese Lethwei starToo Too and local Slovak fighter Igor Danis at 75 kg in the event organized in partnership with theSlovakia Lethwei Association. The event was billed as theEuropean Premiere of Lethwei marking the first Lethwei fights hosted in Europe. Too Too dominated the match and inflicted heavy damage to his opponent. The match was ruled a draw underTraditional rules.[14]
In March 2016, Kunlun Fight finished series B financing fromMorningside Ventures,IDG Capital Partners andNorthern 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.[15][16][17] Prior to B+ round of financing in Q1 2017 the company was reportedly valued at over 500 million USD.[18][19]
Multiple Kunlun Fight branded gyms and event venues exist like theKunlun Fight World Combat Sports Center inBeijing and the Kunlun Fight Stadium inTongling,Anhui,China.
Kunlun Fight holds a yearly 70 kg world championship tournament.
In 2014 the inaugural 16-man tournament was won byDzianis Zuev who defeated Victor Nagbe in the final.[20]
For 2015 the tournament was expanded to 64-man andSitthichai Sitsongpeenong emerged as the champion from a field of fighters including multiplekickboxing champions and highly ranked fighters such asMarat Grigorian,Enriko Gogokhia,Enriko Kehl,Davit Kiria,Murthel Groenhart,Andy Souwer,Yodsanklai Fairtex,Dzhabar Askerov,Superbon Banchamek,Amancio Paraschiv,Chingiz Allazov,Aikpracha Meenayothin and the 2014 tournament winnerDzianis Zuev.[21]
The 2016 tournament was won bySuperbon Banchamek, who also beat the winner of the previous tournamentSitthichai Sitsongpeenong in the quarterfinals.[22]
The 2017 tournament champion wasMarat Grigorian who beat the 2016 tournament winnerSuperbon Banchamek in the final.[23]
The 2018 tournament was won byDavit Kiria.[24][25][26][27]
The 2019 tournament was intended to be held on 31 December 2019 inWuzhishan City,Hainan,China,[28] but was postponed. The tournament was rescheduled for March, 8 inWuzhishan City,[29][30] but the event had to be cancelled due to the2020 coronavirus pandemic ban on live sporting events.
The 70 kg tournament was announced to be coming back for 2024. It is scheduled to start April 27 onKunlun Fight 97 in Beijing.
On September 22, 2018, Kunlun Fight launched a new line of 2nd tier events called Kunlun Combat League.[31][32] 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 inTongling. 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.[33] The first season was won by team Shenzhen,[34] who beat team Shenyang in the finals held on December 24, 2019 inYiwu,China.[35]
For the 2020 season, the intended March start date for the league was disrupted by the2020 coronavirus pandemic.[36] The 2020 season was rescheduled to start in mid-May[37] without live audiences present at the events.[38]
Started in 2016, a 3rd tier series of events with a mix of professional and amateur fights.[39][40]
Some current broadcasters includeJiangsu Television andByteDance platformsDouyin andXigua Video.
Some past broadcasters includeFox Sports Asia andKix[41] in various countries in Asia, RMC Sport 4,Fight Network,[42][43]FightBox[44] in multiple countries internationally,Workpoint TV in Thailand,HKSTV in Hong Kong and Taiwan (2016),[45]Anhui Television in China (2017)[46] andEurosport. In 2017 Kunlun Fight MMA events were broadcast monthly in China onCCTV-5.[47]
Kunlun Fight mostly holds fights underkickboxing rules, but also underMMA rules. SomeMuay Thai,Boxing andLethwei[48][49] fights have also been held on Kunlun Fight events.
◾Kickboxing 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 rules:Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts
◾Muay thai 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 | Kilograms(kg) | Pounds(lbs) |
|---|---|---|
| Strawweight | 51 | 115 |
| Flyweight | 57 | 125 |
| Bantamweight | 61 | 135 |
| Featherweight | 66 | 145 |
| Lightweight | 70 | 155 |
| Welterweight | 77 | 170 |
| Middleweight | 84 | 185 |
| Light Heavyweight | 93 | 205 |
| Heavyweight | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Weight Class | Champion | Runner-up | Event | Date | Tournament Bracket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4-Man 67 kg tournament |  Petsangnuan Luktupfah |  Andrei Kulebin | Kunlun Fight 1 | January 25, 2014 | 67 kg tournament bracket |
| 4-Man 80 kg tournament |  Simon Marcus | Vehas Topking | Kunlun Fight 2 | February 16, 2014 | 80kg tournament bracket |
| Female 52 kg tournament |  Jemyma Betrian |  E Meidie | Kunlun Fight 3 | March 30, 2014 | Female 52 kg tournament bracket |
| 4-Man 95 kg tournament |  Massinissa Hamaili |  Ivan Bartek | Kunlun Fight 4 | April 27, 2014 | 95 kg tournament bracket |
| 4-Man 70 kg tournament |  Victor Nagbe | Li Zikai | Kunlun Fight 5 | June 1, 2014 | 70 kg tournament bracket |
| 4-Man 100 kg tournament | Andrei Gerasimchuk |  Dmitry Bezus | Kunlun Fight 6 | June 29, 2014 | 100 kg tournament bracket |
| 4-Man 75 kg tournament | Xu Zhenguang | Kiryl Chanka | Kunlun Fight 8 | August 24, 2014 | 75 kg tournament bracket |
| Female 60 kg tournament |  Valentina Shevchenko |  Irina Mazepa | Kunlun Fight 9 | August 31, 2014 | Female 60 kg tournament bracket |
| 4-Man 95 kg tournament | Andrei Gerasimchuk | Wang Chongyang | Kunlun Fight 10 | September 13, 2014 | 95 kg tournament bracket |
| 4-Man 65 kg tournament | Yang Zhuo | Phosa Nopphorn | Kunlun Fight 12 | October 26, 2014 | 60 kg tournament bracket |
| 4-Man 75 kg tournament | Nuerla Mulali | Wang Yuhu | Kunlun Fight 34 | November 21, 2015 | 75 kg tournament bracket |
| 8-Man 61.5 kg tournament | Saeksan Or. Kwanmuang | Wang Wenfeng | Kunlun Fight 66 | November 5, 2017 | |
| 8-Man 100+ kg tournament | Roman Kryklia |  Iraj Azizpour | Kunlun Fight 80 | February 24, 2019 | |
| 8-Man 75 kg tournament | Vitaly Gurkov | Saiyok Pumpanmuang | Kunlun Fight 81 | July 27, 2019 | |
| 8-Man 61 kg tournament | Ali Zarinfar | Jianglong Li | Kunlun Fight 94 | January 19, 2024 |
-60 kg (-132.3 lb)
| No. | Name | Event | Date | Defenses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Wang Cong def.Valentina Shevchenko | Kunlun Fight 33 Changde, China | October 31, 2015 | |
| 1 | Valentina Shevchenko def. Irina Mazepa | Kunlun Fight 9 Shangqiu, China | August 31, 2014 | 1. def. Chali Bassinah atKunlun Fight 11 on October 5, 2014 |
-70 kg (-154.3 lb)
| No. | Name | Event | Date | Defenses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Buakaw Banchamek def.Dylan Salvador | Kunlun Fight 53 Beijing, China | September 24, 2016 |
84 kg (185 lbs); division was formerly 79 kg (175 lbs) until 2017
| No. | Name | Event | Date | Defenses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wang Sai def. Sergey Proskuryakov | Kunlun Fight 36 Shanghai, China | January 9, 2016 | 1. def. Horiuchi Yasuhiro atKunlun Fight - Cage Fight Series 6 on October 21, 2016 |
77 kg (170 lbs); division was formerly 75 kg (165 lbs) until 2017
| No. | Name | Event | Date | Defenses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Zhang Lipeng def. Beibit Nazarov | Kunlun Fight 37 Sanya, China | January 23, 2016 | 1. def. Takashi Noto atKunlun Fight 43 on April 26, 2016 |
| 1 |  Beibit Nazarovdef. Bruno Amorim | Kunlun Fight - Cage Fight Series 2 Almaty, Kazakhstan | April 4, 2015 | 1. def. Wu Haotian atKunlun Fight - Cage Fight Series 3 on June 7, 2015 2. def. Massimo Capusella atKunlun Fight - Cage Fight Series 4 on October 4, 2015 |
| No. | Name | Event | Date | Defenses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Oscar Suarez Fleitasdef. Zhang Meixuan | Kunlun Fight MMA 14 | August 28, 2017 |
| No. | Name | Event | Date | Defenses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Weili Zhang def. Maira De Souza | Kunlun Fight 53 Shanghai, China | September 24, 2016 | 1. def. Karla Benitez atKunlun Fight MMA 7 on December 15, 2016 |
Buakaw BanchamekSuperbon BanchamekJomthong ChuwattanaYodsanklai FairtexEnriko Gogokhia
Marat Grigorian
Murthel Groenhart
Davit KiriaAlbert KrausAndrei KulebinWu XuesongKem SitsongpeenongSitthichai SitsongpeenongAndy Souwer
Amansio ParaschivWarren StevelmansVlad TuinovDylan SalvadorAnatoly MoiseevSteve Moxon
Mohamed Mezouari
Enriko KehlDzianis Zuev
Chingiz AllazovDzhabar AskerovAikpracha MeenayothinArmin Pumpanmuang Windy Sport
Tayfun OzcanCedric ManhoefChris Ngimbi
Yuichiro NagashimaMustapha HaidaProfessionalmixed martial arts organizations | |||||
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