World Kickboxing Network

Last updated
World Kickboxing Network
AbbreviationWKN
FormationOctober 1994
FoundersStephane Cabrera
Olivier Muller
Billy Murray
Founded at France
Region served
Worldwide
Official language
English
President
Stephane Cabrera
Website www.worldkickboxingnetwork.net
RemarksWKN initially founded as a subsidiary of International Sport Karate Association. The organizations split in 1998.

The World Kickboxing Network (WKN) is an international Kickboxing governing body established in 1994. [1]

Contents

History

In 1994, the World Kickboxing Network was founded as a subsidiary of International Sport Karate Association (ISKA) to capture new markets. The ISKA's operations were concentrated in the North American market, while WKN was focusing in Europe. In the 1990s there was strong competition between kickboxing federations. [1] Both organizations split in late 1998 due to minor disagreements. The newly created team was chaired by Frenchman Stephane Cabrerra, Billy Murray and Olivier Muller. [2]

On September 19, 1998, WKN became the first organization to promote a world championship in Muay Thai on the same event as a boxing world championship. Jérôme Le Banner vs. Espedito Da Silva for the WKN World super heavyweight Muay Thai title was sanctioned on the undercard of Evander Holyfield vs. Vaughn Bean for the WBA and IBF heavyweight titles at Georgia Dome in Atlanta. [3] The event was organized in collaboration with promoter Don King whom raised the hand of Le Banner, [4] crowned new WKN Muay Thai world champion after knocking out Da Silva in the first-round. [5]

On October 22, 2004, WKN made history in kickboxing by promoting the first kickboxing world championship bout in Romania. Samir Mohamed vs. Alexander Kozachenko for the WKN World super lightweight title headlined the Eurosport and Pro TV televised event Local Kombat 10 in the city of Brăila.[ citation needed ] The local Kombat promotion later developed into the Superkombat Fighting Championship, [6] [7] with its winners competing for the WKN titles. [8] [9]

In January 2011, International Vale Tudo Championship (IVC) announced its return with a new ruleset based on the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts. [10] On August 20, 2016, WKN brought IVC back to the international scene by co-promoting Micheletti Vs. Ortiz for the WKN World super cruiserweight World title [11] in the main event of IVC 15 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. [3] The event also included MMA bouts. [12] [13] Micheletti defeated Ortiz and took the title by knockout in the first round. After IVC 15, there were no more events and the organization is currently on hiatus. [14] After IVC 15 there were no more events and the organization is currently on hiatus. [15]

In 2014, WKN launched a world series of international kickboxing events named Simply the Best which was broadcast on FOX Sports [16] and SFR Sport 5. [17]

WKN World Cup

WKN World Cup 2009 Paceville, St. Julian's, Malta

The event took place in St. Julian's, Malta on September 19, 2009 with up to 13 countries partaking, including Malta, Corsica, Belgium, Egypt, France, Poland, UK, among others. [18]

WKN World Cup 2019 Auckland, New Zealand

The event was held from November 28 to November 30, 2019, as an amateur championship contested by international athletes in their respective weight classes. It took place at The Trusts Arena in Auckland, New Zealand with up to 60 countries participating. The event marked the first time kickboxing and mixed martial arts world championships were contested at the same event in New Zealand. [19] The WKN World Middleweight MMA title bout between Kelvin Joseph and Roan Carneiro [20] [21] as well as the WKN World Super Heavyweight championship bout between the champion Gregory Tony and former UFC Heavyweight title challenger and former Cage Rage World Heavyweight champion Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva were expected to headline the last day of competition. [22]

The fight between Tony and Silva was cancelled, as Silva was not medically cleared after being knocked out in his previous bout. [23] Carneiro won the fight against Joseph and took the title by submission in the first round. [24]

WKN World Cup 2017 Tehran, Iran

The event was held in Tehran, Iran on March 10, 2017 with 12 countries participating. [ citation needed ]

WKN Champions

[25]

Champions by weight class

WKN uses the following weight divisions.

Weight class nameUpper limitFull Contact ChampionsKickboxing ChampionsOriental Rules ChampionsK-1 Rules ChampionsMuay Thai Champions
Flyweight117 lb (53.070 kg)VacantVacant Flag of Spain.svg Samvel BabayanVacant Flag of Spain.svg Stella Ortiz
Super Flyweight121 lb (54.885 kg) Flag of Argentina.svg Ignacio Capllonch VacantVacantVacantVacant
Bantamweight125 lb (56.699 kg) Flag of Italy.svg Emidio MolinariVacant Flag of Argentina.svg Ignacio Capllonch Vacant Flag of Spain.svg Carlos Coello
Super Bantamweight129 lb (58.513 kg) Flag of Poland.svg Gerard Linder Flag of Croatia.svg Sinisa Kovavic Flag of Croatia.svg Marin Vrdoljak Flag of France.svg Brandon Vieira Vacant Flag of Argentina.svg Federico Roma
Featherweight133 lb (60.328 kg) Flag of Malta.svg Keith Azzopardi Flag of France.svg Gaylord Montier Ulster Banner.svg Jay SnoddonJay Snoddon Flag of Thailand.svg Yordniyom Yuttakangumtorn
Super Featherweight137 lb (62.142 kg) Flag of Georgia.svg Sultanishvili Tsotne Flag of France.svg Brandon Vieira Flag of France.svg Karim Bennoui Vacant Flag of Thailand.svg Benphet Asontep Phromsorn
Lightweight142 lb (64.410 kg) Flag of France.svg Yannick Reine Flag of France.svg Bryan Lang Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Emile Hanna Flag of Spain.svg Khyzer Hayat
Super Lightweight147 lb (66.678 kg) Flag of France.svg Kamel Jebir Flag of France.svg Mohamed Galaoui Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Emile HannaVacantVacant
Welterweight154 lb (69.853 kg) Flag of France.svg Bruce Codron Vacant Flag of South Korea.svg Lee Sung-hyun Vacant Flag of Russia.svg Arbi Emiev
Super Welterweight161 lb (73.028 kg) Flag of France.svg Ludovic Millet Flag of France.svg Christian Berthely Flag of Spain.svg Jordi RequejoVacant Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Youssef Boughanem
Middleweight168 lb (76.204 kg)VacantVacant Flag of Slovakia.svg Milan KratochvilaVacant Flag of Australia (converted).svg Toby Smith
Super Middleweight175 lb (79.379 kg)Vacant Flag of France.svg Dylan Colin Flag of France.svg Yohan Lidon VacantVacant
Light Heavyweight182 lb (82.554 kg)VacantVacantVacantVacant Flag of Cape Verde.svg Steven Mendes Furtado
Super Light Heavyweight189 lb (85.729 kg)VacantVacant Flag of France.svg Gregory GrossiVacant Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Rahmani Madani
Cruiserweight196 lb (88.904 kg) Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Mohammed Al-AzzawiVacant Flag of France.svg Corentin Jallon Vacant Flag of Russia.svg Artem Levin
Super Cruiserweight203 lb (92.079 kg) Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Riyadh Al-Azzawi Vacant Flag of New Zealand.svg Bob Dhcamad Armstrong Flag of Brazil.svg Felipe Micheletti Flag of Germany.svg Gerardo Atti
Heavyweight230 lb (104.326 kg)Vacant Flag of Russia.svg Vladimir Mineev Flag of France.svg Stephane Susperregui VacantVacant
Super HeavyweightUnlimitedVacantVacant Flag of Poland.svg Tomasz Sarara Flag of France.svg Grégory Tony Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Yassine Boughanem

See also

Sources

Books and articles

Related Research Articles

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References

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