Dennis Alexio vs. Stan Longinidis
Encyclopedia
Dennis Alexio
vs. Stan Longinidis
was a heavyweight
kickboxing
bout that took place at the Melbourne Sports and Entertainment Centre in Melbourne, Australia on December 6, 1992. As one of the most highly anticipated fights in the sport's history, it ended in an anticlimax as Longinidis broke Alexio's leg with a low kick within ten seconds of the first round.
was the golden boy of American kickboxing
, having lost only one bout in his career (a controversial decision to Don "The Dragon" Wilson at light heavyweight
in 1984) and co-starred in the film Kickboxer
with Jean-Claude Van Damme
.
The undisputed World Heavyweight Kickboxing Champion, he held titles for all the major kickboxing associations such as PKA
, IKF
, ISKA
, KICK
and WKA
.
Stan Longinidis
, meanwhile, was the first Australia
n to win a world kickboxing title when he took the KICK
full contact
Super Heavyweight Championship in 1991, and also held the WKA
World Junior Heavyweight Championship.
Both men shared a common opponent in future K-1 World Grand Prix
winner Branko Cikatić
, who had fought the pair earlier that year. Longinidis had defeated Cikatić while Alexio's bout with him
ended in a controversial draw.
Six seconds into the fight, Longinidis hit Alexio with a left low kick, causing Alexio's fibula and tibia
to break. Officially, the fight lasted just fifteen seconds and Longinidis was named the winner via technical knockout.
called it "the greatest anti-climax in ring sport history". This bout was listed on the Guinness World Records
as "the fastest KO in kickboxing world title match".
Alexio and his manager, Bob Wall
, disputed the fight and claimed that the fracture was caused by twisting his leg on a depression in the ring floor. A rematch between Longinidis and Alexio was discussed but a promoter with enough money was never secured.
Although Alexio recovered from the broken leg and went on to fight many more times afterwards, the loss virtually removed him from contention as the world's best heavyweight kickboxer. Stan Longinidis went on be a regular competitor in the K-1
promotion, although never won a Grand Prix.
Dennis Alexio
Dennis Raymond Alexio is an American former kickboxer. He was world champion as a light heavyweight and cruiserweight before moving up to heavyweight where, for a short time, he became the undisputed World Heavyweight Champion...
vs. Stan Longinidis
Stan Longinidis
Stan "The Man" Longinidis is a retired Australian Heavyweight kickboxer and 8 time Kickboxing World Champion. Born in Australia of Greek ethnicity, Longinidis is one of the few fighters to have won World titles in three different styles, International Rules Kickboxing, Full Contact and Muay Thai,...
was a heavyweight
Heavyweight
Heavyweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Fighters who weigh over 200 pounds are considered heavyweights by the major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Association, the World Boxing Council, and the World Boxing...
kickboxing
Kickboxing
Kickboxing refers to a group of martial arts and stand-up combat sports based on kicking and punching, historically developed from karate, Muay Thai and western boxing....
bout that took place at the Melbourne Sports and Entertainment Centre in Melbourne, Australia on December 6, 1992. As one of the most highly anticipated fights in the sport's history, it ended in an anticlimax as Longinidis broke Alexio's leg with a low kick within ten seconds of the first round.
Background
Dennis AlexioDennis Alexio
Dennis Raymond Alexio is an American former kickboxer. He was world champion as a light heavyweight and cruiserweight before moving up to heavyweight where, for a short time, he became the undisputed World Heavyweight Champion...
was the golden boy of American kickboxing
American kickboxing
American Kickboxing, also known as Full-Contact Kickboxing or American Full Contact Karate, is a combat sport and a style of kickboxing in which two opponents of similar weight fight each other using full contact strikes with their fists and feet to attack the opponent, while keeping similar rules...
, having lost only one bout in his career (a controversial decision to Don "The Dragon" Wilson at light heavyweight
Light heavyweight
In boxing, the light heavyweight is a weight division above 168 pounds [12 Stone or 76.204 kilograms] and up to 175 pounds [12.5 stone or 79.38 kilograms]), falling between super middleweight and cruiserweight...
in 1984) and co-starred in the film Kickboxer
Kickboxer (film)
Kickboxer is a 1989 martial arts film starring Jean-Claude Van Damme and former world Kickboxing champion, Dennis Alexio. Like Van Damme's previous film, Bloodsport, it showcases Van Damme's martial arts fighting abilities...
with Jean-Claude Van Damme
Jean-Claude Van Damme
Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg , professionally known as Jean-Claude Van Damme, is a Belgian martial artist and actor, best known for his martial arts action films, the most successful of which include Bloodsport , Kickboxer , Double Impact , Universal Soldier , Hard Target , Timecop ,...
.
The undisputed World Heavyweight Kickboxing Champion, he held titles for all the major kickboxing associations such as PKA
Professional Karate Association
The Professional Karate Association was originally a martial arts sanctioning organization, now transformed into a martial arts promotion company....
, IKF
International Kickboxing Federation
The International Kickboxing Federation is a kickboxing sanctioning body. The IKF World Headquarters in the USA oversees IKF World Operations with the rest of the IKF World Team.-Styles:...
, ISKA
International Sport Karate Association
The International Sport Karate Association is one of the major international bodies regulating karate and kickboxing matches, and is based in the United States...
, KICK
Karate International Council of Kickboxing
The Karate International Council of Kickboxing is a sanctioning body that regulates kickboxing matches. It is considered among the more prestigious organizations that sanction professional kickboxing.-Early years:...
and WKA
World Kickboxing Association
The World Kickboxing Association is one of the oldest and the largest amateur and professional sanctioning organizations of kickboxing in the world for the sport. Its official name is "World Kickboxing and Karate Association"....
.
Stan Longinidis
Stan Longinidis
Stan "The Man" Longinidis is a retired Australian Heavyweight kickboxer and 8 time Kickboxing World Champion. Born in Australia of Greek ethnicity, Longinidis is one of the few fighters to have won World titles in three different styles, International Rules Kickboxing, Full Contact and Muay Thai,...
, meanwhile, was the first Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n to win a world kickboxing title when he took the KICK
Karate International Council of Kickboxing
The Karate International Council of Kickboxing is a sanctioning body that regulates kickboxing matches. It is considered among the more prestigious organizations that sanction professional kickboxing.-Early years:...
full contact
Full contact
Full contact may refer to:* Full-contact sport* Full Contact, a 1993 Hong Kong action film directed by Ringo Lam...
Super Heavyweight Championship in 1991, and also held the WKA
World Kickboxing Association
The World Kickboxing Association is one of the oldest and the largest amateur and professional sanctioning organizations of kickboxing in the world for the sport. Its official name is "World Kickboxing and Karate Association"....
World Junior Heavyweight Championship.
Both men shared a common opponent in future K-1 World Grand Prix
K-1 World Grand Prix
K-1 World Grand Prix, also known as the K-1 World GP, is an elimination kickboxing tournament that has been held annually since 1993 by the K-1 organization. Each year, K-1 holds various 16-men, 8-match grand prix style tournaments throughout the world to determine which 16 fighters will compete in...
winner Branko Cikatić
Branko Cikatic
Branko "The Croatian Tiger" Cikatić is a Croatian former heavyweight kickboxer, the first Croatian born fighter to achieve international success...
, who had fought the pair earlier that year. Longinidis had defeated Cikatić while Alexio's bout with him
Dennis Alexio vs. Branko Cikatić
Dennis Alexio vs. Branko Cikatić was a heavyweight kickboxing bout that took place at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA on March 16, 1992 which ended in a controversial technical draw.-Background:...
ended in a controversial draw.
The fight
The bout took place on December 6, 1992 at the Melbourne Sports and Entertainment Centre in Melbourne, Australia in front of 8,000 spectators, with the fight set for ten, three-minute rounds. Also, the fight took place under "Oriental rules" which allows leg kicks; Alexio had spent the majority of his career fighting under full contact rules which only allows kicks above the waist and requires foot pads to be worn.Six seconds into the fight, Longinidis hit Alexio with a left low kick, causing Alexio's fibula and tibia
Tibia
The tibia , shinbone, or shankbone is the larger and stronger of the two bones in the leg below the knee in vertebrates , and connects the knee with the ankle bones....
to break. Officially, the fight lasted just fifteen seconds and Longinidis was named the winner via technical knockout.
Aftermath
As the bout was the most eagerly anticipated kickboxing super fight at the time and a huge media event in Australia, it was considered a disappointment and an anticlimax. Michael SchiavelloMichael Schiavello
Michael Schiavello is an Australian sports commentator for K-1, Dream, Maximum Fighting Championship, King of the Cage and The Contender Asia. He has also written for more than 50 publications worldwide and was the long-serving editor of Blitz Magazine, and was also the editor of International...
called it "the greatest anti-climax in ring sport history". This bout was listed on the Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...
as "the fastest KO in kickboxing world title match".
Alexio and his manager, Bob Wall
Robert Wall
Robert Alan "Bob" Wall is an American actor and martial artist.- Biography :Wall is a former heavyweight world-champion kickboxer. He is featured in a number of films, most notably three appearances with martial arts master Bruce Lee. Bob Wall appeared in the film Way of the Dragon with Lee,...
, disputed the fight and claimed that the fracture was caused by twisting his leg on a depression in the ring floor. A rematch between Longinidis and Alexio was discussed but a promoter with enough money was never secured.
Although Alexio recovered from the broken leg and went on to fight many more times afterwards, the loss virtually removed him from contention as the world's best heavyweight kickboxer. Stan Longinidis went on be a regular competitor in the K-1
K-1
K-1 is a defunct world-wide kickboxing promotion based in Tokyo, Japan founded by Kazuyoshi Ishii, a formerKyokushin karate practitioner. K-1 combines stand up techniques from Muay Thai, Karate, Taekwondo, Savate, San Shou, kickboxing, western-style boxing, and other martial arts...
promotion, although never won a Grand Prix.