K-1 is a martial arts organization and martial arts brand established in 1993, well-known worldwide mainly for its heavyweight division fights. In January 2012, K-1 Global Holdings Limited, a company registered in Hong Kong, acquired the rights to K-1, and is the current organizer of K-1 events worldwide.
Andreas "Andy" Hug was a Swiss karateka and kickboxer who competed in the heavyweight division. Considered to be one of the greatest heavyweight kickboxers of all time, Hug was renowned for his ability to execute numerous kicking techniques rarely seen in high-level competition and although he was usually smaller than his opponents, standing at 1.80 m and being barely a heavyweight, weighing around 98.0 kg in his prime, he made up for his lack of size with his tremendous athleticism and speed. A southpaw, his trademark kicks included the axe kick and the "Hug Tornado", a low spinning heel kick targeting his opponents' thighs.
Yoshihiro Sato is a Japanese kickboxer competing in K-1 at middleweight (−70 kg). He is the former world champion of Muay Thai in WKA and WPKC, and he won the Japanese national tournament of K-1 twice in 2006 and 2007. His official nickname is "Mugen Sniper" which means Infinite Sniper.He is Matsuzaka Generation.
Hiroya is a Japanese kickboxer competing in K-1.
John Wayne "The Gunslinger" Parr, also known as JWP, is an Australian kickboxer and boxer, fighting out of Boonchu Gym in Gold Coast, Queensland. He is a former 10-time World Champion and was the runner up on The Contender Asia.
Seidokaikan (正道会館) is a traditional full contact karate derived from Kyokushin by Kazuyoshi Ishii. Seidokaikan organized the first professional full contact karate tournament named the Karate World Cup. The Karate World Cup had special extension rounds; if the judge's decision was deadlocked after an extension round, the rules then allowed face strikes with fighters donning boxing gloves (kickboxing).
K-1 World MAX 2003 World Tournament Final was a kickboxing event promoted by the K-1 organization. It was the second ever K-1 MAX final for middleweight kickboxers involving eight finalists and two reserve fighters, with all bouts fought under K-1 rules. The tournament fighters had qualified via preliminary tournaments, had been involved in the previous years final, or had been invited due to their achievements in kickboxing and Muay Thai. As well as tournament bouts there was also a super fight, also fought under K-1 rules. In total there were twelve fighters at the event, representing seven countries.
Yuya Yamamoto is a retired Japanese kickboxer competing in K-1 at middleweight (-70 kg). He is the former Japanese national champion of kickboxing sanctioned by All Japan Kickboxing Federation at welterweight.
Shemsi Beqiri is a Swiss kickboxer who competes in the middleweight division. Born in Yugoslavia, Beqiri relocated to Switzerland as a child and started practicing kickboxing and Muay Thai at sixteen years old. He began his career fighting as a lightweight and welterweight before eventually moving up to middleweight, winning a host of national, European and world titles at the various weight classes to establish himself as a veteran in the sport at a young age.
Lim Chi-Bin, often anglicised to Chi-Bin Lim, is a South Korean welterweight kickboxer fighting out of Khan Gym / Team Chi Bin in Seoul. He is the three times Korea K-1 MAX champion currently competing in K-1 MAX.
Houcine Bennoui is a French-Algerian Muay Thai kickboxer, younger brother of Karim Bennoui. He is the WFC World Muay Thai Champion.
Charles François is a French Muay Thai kickboxer. He is the W.P.M.F. European Muaythai Champion and former W.P.M.F. World Muaythai Champion.
Yuta Kubo is retired Japanese lightweight kickboxer. He won the Japanese national tournament of K-1 at Lightweight in 2011.
Masaaki Noiri is a Japanese kickboxer who competes in the lightweight and welterweight divisions. He began practicing karate as a young boy and had great success in both full contact karate and amateur kickboxing in his early teens, which included winning the K-1 Koshien 62 kg (136 lb) schoolboys tournament in 2009. After turning professional in 2010, he became a mainstay in the Krush promotion and was victorious in the 2011 Krush Under-22 ~63 kg (140 lb) Supernova~ Tournament.
Masahiro Yamamoto is a Japanese kickboxer who competes in the lightweight division. After beginning his career as a featherweight in 2002, Yamamoto became a mainstay in the All Japan Kickboxing Federation and first challenged for the AJKF Featherweight Championship in December 2004 when he fought to a draw with Genki Yamamoto. He then went on a hot streak in 2005, winning the IKUSA 2005 –60 kg Grand Prix in the process, and was given another chance at the AJKF Featherweight title in January 2006 when he beat Genki Yamamoto in a rematch to take the belt. The following years saw Yamamoto move up to lightweight and have more domestic success as he took the AJKF's Best of 60 kg Tournament 2007 and the Krush Lightweight Grand Prix 2009 before he emerged internationally with the It's Showtime promotion. He lost to Sergio Wielzen in his first attempt at the It's Showtime 61MAX Championship in December 2010 but came back to win the belt in July 2012 by defeating Javier Hernandez.
Abdellah Ezbiri is a French kickboxer. He is the former I.S.K.A. K-1 Rules World Champion and W.K.N. K-1 Rules European Super Lightweight Champion. As of 1 November 2018, he is ranked the #7 featherweight in the world by Combat Press.
Jan Soukup is a Czech karateka, the branch chief for International Karate Organization Kyokushinkaikan in Czech Republic, the president of the Czech Kyokushin Karate Association and the vice president of the Czech Fullcontact Karate Organization, and also a retired kickboxer who competed in the heavyweight division. Soukup's first noteworthy accomplishment was a third-place finish at the European Kyokushin Championships in 2003 and he followed this by winning the All-Japan Kyokushin Championships the next year. After finishing as runner-up in the European Championships and in third place in the European Open in 2005, Soukup had his most successful year in 2007 when he won the European Championships and lost to Ewerton Teixeira in the final of the 9th Kyokushin World Open. Beginning in 2008, he embarked on a career in kickboxing which included a stint in K-1.
Michael Thompson is an English former karateka and kickboxer who competed in the cruiserweight and heavyweight division. After a long and distinguished career in Kyokushin, in which he won the British Open four times, the Commonwealth Championships in 1988 and the European Championships in 1991 as well as competing three times in the World Open, Thompson later switched to Seidokaikan and reached the final of the 1994 Seidokaikan Karate World Cup. During his time as a Seidokaikan competitor, he also fought as a professional kickboxer in K-1, amassing a 6–5 record and becoming the WKA European Super Cruiserweight Champion.
Kaew Fairtex is a Thai kickboxer and the former WBC Muay Thai World champion at super featherweight and current WPMF World champion at super lightweight. He trains out of Fairtex Gym.
Ren Hiramoto is a Japanese mixed martial artist and former kickboxer, currently fighting in the featherweight division of Rizin FF. A professional competitor since 2015, he is the 2016 Krush and 2017 K-1 lightweight tournament runner-up.
Japanese 
