Azem Maksutaj[a] is a Swiss former kickboxer who had competed in the lightweight, welterweight, middleweight, super middleweight, light heavyweight, cruiserweight and heavyweight divisions. Originally from the Kosovo,[b] he relocated to Switzerland at an early age where he began training in Muay Thai at fifteen. After capturing the Swiss national title at lightweight during his first year of competitions in 1992, he then went on to win European and world honours in 1994 while fighting around the 77 kg super middleweight mark. The late 1990s saw him move between light heavyweight and cruiserweight, taking five world titles in those divisions, before eventually making the jump to heavyweight in 2001 where he spent the remainder of his career, acting as a journeyman in the K-1 promotion while also winning four other world titles.
Jörgen Ingmar Kruth is a retired Swedish professional kickboxer and mixed martial artist. He is a former two time World Muay Thai Council Heavyweight Muaythai World Champion. He is considered to be among the greatest Scandinavian kickboxers of all time.
Jeffrey Ryan "Duke" Roufus is an American former kickboxer and head coach of the Roufusport based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. He is a well-known striking coach in North America.
Ray Sefo is a New Zealand fight promoter and retired kickboxer, boxer, and mixed martial artist. He was the K-1 World Grand Prix 2000 Runner-up, is a six-time Muay Thai World Champion, and was an eight time K-1 World Grand Prix Finals tournament participant. He is the president of MMA promotion Professional Fighters League. In kickboxing, he defeated world champions Jerome Le Banner, Peter Aerts, Stefan Leko, Mike Bernardo, and Mark Hunt. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest heavyweight kickboxers to have never won the K-1 World Grand Prix. As mixed martial artist, he most notably competed in the now defunct Strikeforce in 2009 and 2011.
Dennis Raymond Alexio is an American former professional kickboxer and actor who competed in the light heavyweight, cruiserweight and heavyweight divisions. Starting out as a light heavyweight, Alexio kicked off his career with an extensive, knockout-laden undefeated streak before losing a decision to Don "The Dragon" Wilson in a World Kickboxing Association (WKA) World Super Light Heavyweight Full Contact Championship match in 1984. He rebounded from this by winning the Professional Karate Association (PKA) World Light Heavyweight title that same year before moving up to cruiserweight and taking the International Sport Karate Association (ISKA) World Cruiserweight Full Contact strap. In the late 1980s, he began his transition to the heavyweight division where he won six world titles and was considered the undisputed World Heavyweight Champion. He faced the two toughest tests of his career in 1992 against Branko Cikatić and Stan Longinidis - both of whom were heavier fighters - fighting to a controversial draw with Cikatić and losing to Longinidis via an early low kick KO which resulted in a broken leg.
Donald Glen Wilson, nicknamed "The Dragon", is an American martial artist, former professional kickboxer, and actor. An 11-time world champion who scored 47 knockouts in four decades, he has been called by the STAR System Ratings as "perhaps the greatest kickboxer in American history. He has disposed of more quality competition than anyone we've ever ranked". In 2015, he was inducted into the International Sports Hall of Fame.
James Warring is an American boxer, kickboxer and mixed martial artist. In professional boxing, he held the IBF world cruiserweight title from 1991 until 1992. In kickboxing, Warring is a four-time world champion, which included WKA world titles in 1983 and 1989. Warring alog with Troy Dorsey are the only two fighters to hold World titles in both Boxing and Kickboxing simultaneously although Warring held Kickboxing titles on the international rules level.
Stan "The Man" Longinidis is an Australian retired heavyweight kickboxer and 8-time world kickboxing champion. Born in Melbourne of Greek ethnicity, Longinidis is one of the few fighters to win world titles in four different styles of kickboxing competition: international rules, Oriental rules, full contact and Muay Thai. He holds notable victories over Branko Cikatić, Adam Watt, Peter Graham, Musashi and Dennis Alexio.
Robert Diem Kaman was a Dutch nine-time kickboxing and Muay Thai world champion. He was often called "Mr. Low Kick" because of his feared low kicks which he used to set up his devastating offensive attacks.
Stefan Leko is a German heavyweight kickboxer. He is the current WKA Super-Heavyweight world champion in kickboxing, and former Muay Thai world super-heavyweight champion and Kickboxing world super-heavyweight champion, WMTA, WKN, IKBO, IKBF, and WKA world champion, K-1 European Grand Prix 1998 champion, 1999 K-1 Dream champion and two time K-1 World Grand Prix in Las Vegas tournament champion. He fights out of Team Golden Glory in Breda, Netherlands under Cor Hemmers. Since 2011 Stefan Leko is coached and managed by Tom Trautsch and won two Heavyweight World Champion Titles.
Freddy Kemayo is a French heavyweight kickboxer. He is a three-time French Kickboxing Champion.
Ondřej Hutník is a retired Czech Muay Thai kickboxer. He is a former SUPERKOMBAT Super Cruiserweight Championship title challenger.
Tosca Petridis is an Australian former kickboxer and boxer. He was born in Melbourne, however is of Greek ethnicity. He lives in Melbourne.
K-1 Grand Prix '93 was a martial arts event held by the K-1 organization on April 30, 1993, at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan. It was the inaugural K-1 World Grand Prix, featuring an eight-man tournament fought under K-1 rules. The eight tournament qualifiers were all invited on the basis of their achievements in the kickboxing world. As well as tournament matches there was also a full contact karate bout between Andy Hug and Nobuaki Kakuda. The event featured ten fights with fighters representing seven countries. The winner was Branko Cikatić who defeated Ernesto Hoost in the final by first-round knockout, becoming the first K-1 World champion.
Andre Mannaart is a Dutch former kickboxer and mixed martial artist. He was four times world champion in kickboxing and Muay Thai, having fought against K-1 legends such as Ernesto Hoost, Branko Cikatić, Maurice Smith and Ray Sefo. He is now a trainer at the Mejiro Gym in Amsterdam, where he has coached fighters of the calibre of Peter Aerts and Remy Bonjasky.
Besim Kabashi was a Kosovar-German kickboxer who competed in the light heavyweight, cruiserweight and heavyweight divisions. He began his training in Germany after emigrating from Kosovo and initially competed as a -79 kg/174 lb fighter before moving up through the weight classes until eventually reaching heavyweight. After stints as a German and European champion, Kabashi won the WKA World Heavyweight Muay Thai title in 2008 which he held until his death in December 2011.
Dennis Alexio vs. Branko Cikatić was a heavyweight kickboxing bout that took place at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, US, on March 16, 1992, which ended in a controversial technical draw.
Stéphane Ippo Susperregui is a French kickboxer. He is the current WKN World Oriental Rules Heavyweight and former WKA K-1 World Heavyweight champion.
Filip Verlinden is a Belgian kickboxer who competes in the cruiserweight and heavyweight divisions. Verlinden was introduced to the sport at an early age and came to prominence in 2008 when he won the WKA European Super Cruiserweight Muay Thai Championship, followed by the WKA World Cruiserweight title the following year. He then took the gold medal at the 2010 IFMA World Championships in the +91 kg/200 lb division as an amateur before a short stint in the It's Showtime promotion where he unsuccessfully challenged Danyo Ilunga for the It's Showtime 95MAX Championship in June 2012. Later that year, he joined Glory.
Donald Eugene “Nakaya” Nielsen was an American kickboxer, professional wrestler, actor, and chiropractor. Best known for his lengthy tenure in professional martial arts, Nielsen was an international competitor who held the WKA US Cruiserweight Championship for much of his career and fought in one of the earliest mixed martial arts-style matches of Japan. As an alternative medicine practitioner, Nielsen played an active role in legalizing chiropractic practice in Thailand.
