Stefan Leko
Encyclopedia
Stefan "Blitz" Leko is a German
-Croatian
heavyweight
kickboxer. He is former Muay Thai
world heavyweight champion and Kickboxing
world super-heavyweight 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
.
. Stefan left Masters Gym in 2005 and currently belongs to the Team Golden Glory
. Besides his kickboxing career Leko is also running a gym in Duisburg
named Versus Gym.
He was the first person to beat Badr Hari
in K-1 by first round knockout, though it was later avenged by Hari. Leko holds notable wins over 3x K-1 World Grand Prix champion Remy Bonjasky
, K-1 Heavyweight champion Badr Hari
, world Muay Thai champion Mike Bernardo
, 3x K-1 World Grand Prix champion Peter Aerts
(x2), K-1 legend Ray Sefo
, world Muay Thai champion Alexey Ignashov
(x2), and K-1 Grand Prix finalist Francisco Filho
.
Leko was successful in both Muay Thai/kickboxing and K-1 during the late 90's and early '00s, despite often conceding height and weight to some of the larger men in K-1. He won various K-1 tournaments and Muay Thai titles. His fortunes varied in the later stages of the '00s, though he did win various more trophies and titles after his 2005 return to the kickboxing and Muay Thai world.
and Ray Sefo
, he rebounded to win the K-1 Dream '99 tournament. By 2000, he had an 11-4 win/loss record in the world's premier stand-up fighting promotion, and was a 2x K-1 tournament champion.
and - stunningly - Peter Aerts
, with a huge right cross that knocked the former 3x K-1 World Grand Prix champion out. In the same period, Leko also lost to Ernesto Hoost
, Jorgen Kruth, Jerome LeBanner, Francisco Filho, and Mark Hunt
.
The following year, Leko eradicated this inconsistency, and by the end of 2003 was considered to be in the top 5 ranked K-1 fighters.
, whom Leko had beaten the previous year, would win the Grand Prix tournament.
Leko thus left the K-1 and kickboxing worlds, with a K-1 record of 23-11-1-1, and a total fight record of 50-12-1-1 (win/loss/draw/nc), and he decided to try his hand at another combat sport. He signed for Pride Fighting Championships, then the world's premier Mixed Martial Arts organisation. However, the striker was unable to find his place there, losing three successive fights to grapplers, and in 2005 he returned to the Muay Thai and kickboxing worlds.
Prior to his hiatus from standup fighting, he had joined Team Golden Glory, a Dutch fight camp known for such fighters as Semmy Schilt
, Alistair Overeem
and Sergei Kharitonov. He made his return to top level kickboxing with Golden Glory for Dutch major league promotion It's Showtime
, in 2005. He was booked in a grudge match with rising star Badr Hari
.
Fighting at It's Showtime
in Amsterdam, Leko beat Badr Hari
by spinning back kick in a grudge fight. Hari had trash talked Leko prior to the bout, and there was bad blood going in. Leko finished him in round 1, via spinning back kick to the liver. The fight had lasted little more than 100 seconds, with Badr throwing Leko across the ring from a clinch. Leko got to his feet calmly, and after a teep, landed his trademark spin-kick and it finished the fight. Hari stayed down for several minutes after the fight was waved off, in considerable pain.
A rematch was booked in K-1, and Hari returned the favour - bizarrely, winning via spectacular spinning back kick, the move noted for being Leko's trademark. This marks the duology as a fairly unique rivalry, in that both men finished the other with the same move, a spinning back kick no less.
, Carter Williams
and then Michael McDonald
in the final. He won all three fights that night by KO.
He drew old foe Remy Bonjasky in the first round of the World Grand Prix finals5, and lost on points in a controversial fight in which Leko landed two shots to Bonjasky's groin. Leko claims these shots were unintentional; however, Remy took a considerable time out period during the fight, one that Leko had been performing well in to that point, and after which, Bonjasky managed to win a points decision from.
A rubber match with Bonjasky occurred in 2007, but by now it was clear Leko was passing his physical prime, and he lost in round 1, after Bonjasky landed his trademark flying knee. Golden Glory claimed the stoppage was too quick, but nevertheless, Leko was out of another World Grand Prix - his last appearance in the Final 16.
By early 2009 he was considered a fading force, despite going 4-1 the previous year, with two wins in K-1. However, he had not competed in the World Grand Prix 2008, and ended the year with a loss to Freddy Kemayo
. Dropped out of almost every top 10 heavyweight rankings, Leko began to compete almost exclusively in Holland and Germany, with varying results. He returned to fight for It's Showtime
in May 2009, facing another smaller but popular big name heavyweight in Melvin Manhoef
. On the back of two consecutive losses in K-1, Leko went into the fight as an underdog, but he ended up dominating Manhoef for two rounds, picking him apart with boxing and leg kicks. Unfortunately, in the final round he broke his foot, and the fight was called off. Manhoef magnanimously admitted that Leko had outclassed him, and offered a rematch to the Golden Glory fighter.
Despite this impressive display, Leko remained inconsistent, slipping into decline. He won his final K-1 fight to date in Sarajevo, and then lost twice in a row, in Holland and Germany respectively.
in the quarter-finals. Halfway through round 2, Leko retired from the fight, with the reason given that he suffered "a dizzy spell", and lost his equilibrium. However, in the corner he seemed to be in considerable pain, and it emerged on Dutch fight forum mixfight.nl that Leko had a punctured lung.
In 2011, no bouts have yet been confirmed for Leko as of February 20, either by the fighter or Golden Glory.
Mike Passenier, owner of Mike's Gym
and trainer of fighters such as Badr Hari and Melvin Manhoef, stated in an interview with Daniel Fletcher on February 25, 2011 that Stefan Leko has retired.
, if he could string together some wins to get ranked and merit a final grudge encounter with the Moroccan.
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Kazuhiro Nakamura
| Pride 29
| TKO(Punches)
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 0:54
| Saitama
, Japan
|
|-
| Loss
|align=center| 0-2
| Ikuhisa Minowa
| Pride Shockwave 2004
| Submission(heel hook
)
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 0:27
| Saitama, Japan
|
|-
| Loss
|align=center| 0-1
| Naoya Ogawa
| Pride Total Elimination 2004
| Submission(side choke)
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 1:34
| Saitama, Japan
|
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
-Croatian
Croats
Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...
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...
kickboxer. He is former Muay Thai
Muay Thai
Muay Thai is a combat sport from Thailand that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. It is similar to other Indochinese kickboxing systems, namely pradal serey from Cambodia, tomoi from Malaysia, lethwei from Myanmar and muay Lao from Laos...
world heavyweight champion and 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....
world super-heavyweight 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
Golden Glory
Golden Glory is a Muay Thai, kickboxing, and mixed martial arts camp, as well as a management team based in the Netherlands. With their primary fighter roster based out of Europe, Golden Glory has managed fighters from all over the world, such as American former team member, Heath Herring.Golden...
in Breda
Breda
Breda is a municipality and a city in the southern part of the Netherlands. The name Breda derived from brede Aa and refers to the confluence of the rivers Mark and Aa. As a fortified city, the city was of strategic military and political significance...
, Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
under Cor Hemmers
Cor Hemmers
Cor Hemmers is a Dutch kickboxing trainer associated with the Golden Glory gym in Breda, Netherlands.Hemmers began his martial arts training in judo at the age of 6, which he studied until the age of 15 when he switched to Kyokushin Karate. In 1976, Hemmers began competing in full contact karate...
.
Backstory and summary
Leko was discovered by Klaus Waschkewitz of Masters Gym when he was 17. While being instructed by Waschkewitz, Leko won several World titles and four K-1 tournaments. His nickname "Blitz" means lightning in GermanGerman language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
. Stefan left Masters Gym in 2005 and currently belongs to the Team Golden Glory
Golden Glory
Golden Glory is a Muay Thai, kickboxing, and mixed martial arts camp, as well as a management team based in the Netherlands. With their primary fighter roster based out of Europe, Golden Glory has managed fighters from all over the world, such as American former team member, Heath Herring.Golden...
. Besides his kickboxing career Leko is also running a gym in Duisburg
Duisburg
- History :A legend recorded by Johannes Aventinus holds that Duisburg, was built by the eponymous Tuisto, mythical progenitor of Germans, ca. 2395 BC...
named Versus Gym.
He was the first person to beat Badr Hari
Badr Hari
Badr "The Golden Boy" Hari is a Moroccan-Dutch super heavyweight kickboxer, fighting out of Mike's Gym in Amsterdam. He is a former K-1 Heavyweight champion and K-1 World Grand Prix 2009 finalist. As of May 2011, Hari is ranked the #2 heavyweight in the world by LiverKick.com...
in K-1 by first round knockout, though it was later avenged by Hari. Leko holds notable wins over 3x K-1 World Grand Prix champion Remy Bonjasky
Remy Bonjasky
Remy "The Flying Gentleman" Bonjasky is a Dutch super heavyweight kickboxer of Surinamese descent. He is a three-time K-1 World Grand Prix champion, who has won the title in 2003, 2004, and 2008...
, K-1 Heavyweight champion Badr Hari
Badr Hari
Badr "The Golden Boy" Hari is a Moroccan-Dutch super heavyweight kickboxer, fighting out of Mike's Gym in Amsterdam. He is a former K-1 Heavyweight champion and K-1 World Grand Prix 2009 finalist. As of May 2011, Hari is ranked the #2 heavyweight in the world by LiverKick.com...
, world Muay Thai champion Mike Bernardo
Mike Bernardo
Michael "Mike" Bernardo is a South African former kickboxer and boxer from Cape Town. Bernardo is known as Beru-chan in Japan, where he has taken part in K-1 World GPs since 1994...
, 3x K-1 World Grand Prix champion Peter Aerts
Peter Aerts
Peter "The Dutch Lumberjack" Aerts is a Dutch super heavyweight kickboxer. He is a three-time K-1 World Grand Prix and Muay Thai World Champion. Aerts is best known for his powerful strikes and high kicks.- Biography :...
(x2), K-1 legend Ray Sefo
Ray Sefo
"Sugar" Ray Sefo is a New Zealand kickboxer, boxer and mixed martial artist. He is five time Muay Thai World champion and eight time K-1 World Grand Prix Finals tournament participant, currently living in Las Vegas, Nevada and training with Xtreme Couture.He holds notable wins in the K-1 over...
, world Muay Thai champion Alexey Ignashov
Alexey Ignashov
Alexey "The Red Scorpion" Ignashov is a Belarusian Super Heavyweight kickboxer. He is a four-time Muay Thai World champion, K-1 World GP 2003 in Paris and K-1 World GP 2001 in Nagoya tournament champion...
(x2), and K-1 Grand Prix finalist Francisco Filho
Francisco Filho
Francisco Filho may refer to:* Francisco Filho , martial artist born in Bahia* Francisco Filho , football coach born in São Paulo...
.
Leko was successful in both Muay Thai/kickboxing and K-1 during the late 90's and early '00s, despite often conceding height and weight to some of the larger men in K-1. He won various K-1 tournaments and Muay Thai titles. His fortunes varied in the later stages of the '00s, though he did win various more trophies and titles after his 2005 return to the kickboxing and Muay Thai world.
Early success in K-1: European Grand Prix & Dream tournament champion
Leko first fought in K-1 in 1997, age 22. He won the K-1 European Grand Prix tournament in 1998, and after two losses to big names Andy HugAndy Hug
Andy Hug was a Swiss Seidokaikan and Kyokushin karateka and kickboxer from Wohlen. Hug was the K-1 World Grand Prix 1996 champion and runner up in 1997 and 1998.-Biography and career:...
and Ray Sefo
Ray Sefo
"Sugar" Ray Sefo is a New Zealand kickboxer, boxer and mixed martial artist. He is five time Muay Thai World champion and eight time K-1 World Grand Prix Finals tournament participant, currently living in Las Vegas, Nevada and training with Xtreme Couture.He holds notable wins in the K-1 over...
, he rebounded to win the K-1 Dream '99 tournament. By 2000, he had an 11-4 win/loss record in the world's premier stand-up fighting promotion, and was a 2x K-1 tournament champion.
Mixed fortunes in 2000-2002 - K-1 World Grand Prix USA title
A period of huge wins and bad losses followed. Over a three year period, Leko would win the K-1 World Grand Prix 2001 in Las Vegas, and beat such champions as Remy BonjaskyRemy Bonjasky
Remy "The Flying Gentleman" Bonjasky is a Dutch super heavyweight kickboxer of Surinamese descent. He is a three-time K-1 World Grand Prix champion, who has won the title in 2003, 2004, and 2008...
and - stunningly - Peter Aerts
Peter Aerts
Peter "The Dutch Lumberjack" Aerts is a Dutch super heavyweight kickboxer. He is a three-time K-1 World Grand Prix and Muay Thai World Champion. Aerts is best known for his powerful strikes and high kicks.- Biography :...
, with a huge right cross that knocked the former 3x K-1 World Grand Prix champion out. In the same period, Leko also lost to Ernesto Hoost
Ernesto Hoost
Ernesto Fritz "Mr. Perfect" Hoost is a Dutch former kickboxer and four-time K-1 World Champion. He made his debut in 1993 at the K-1 World Grand Prix 1993, where he came just one win short of the world title...
, Jorgen Kruth, Jerome LeBanner, Francisco Filho, and Mark Hunt
Mark Hunt
Mark Hunt ; is a New Zealand kickboxer and mixed martial artist of Samoan descent, currently living in Sydney, Australia. Hunt competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and is known for his raw strength, iron chin and knockout power. He won the K-1 World Grand Prix 2001 Final...
.
The following year, Leko eradicated this inconsistency, and by the end of 2003 was considered to be in the top 5 ranked K-1 fighters.
Rise to the top in 2003 - exit from K-1, MMA debut with Pride
After a six-fight win streak in 2003 (5-0 in K-1) that included wins over multiple time K-1 champion Peter Aerts, heavyweight kickboxing champion Mike Bernardo, and K-1 World Grand Prix finalist Francisco Filho, the now top-ranked Leko was a favourite leading in to the K-1 World Grand Prix 2003. With previous champion Ernesto Hoost out, Leko was considered a favourite leading in. However, he would leave K-1 prior to the finals, after contract negotiations broke down. Former Leko opponent Remy BonjaskyRemy Bonjasky
Remy "The Flying Gentleman" Bonjasky is a Dutch super heavyweight kickboxer of Surinamese descent. He is a three-time K-1 World Grand Prix champion, who has won the title in 2003, 2004, and 2008...
, whom Leko had beaten the previous year, would win the Grand Prix tournament.
Leko thus left the K-1 and kickboxing worlds, with a K-1 record of 23-11-1-1, and a total fight record of 50-12-1-1 (win/loss/draw/nc), and he decided to try his hand at another combat sport. He signed for Pride Fighting Championships, then the world's premier Mixed Martial Arts organisation. However, the striker was unable to find his place there, losing three successive fights to grapplers, and in 2005 he returned to the Muay Thai and kickboxing worlds.
Return to K-1 and kickboxing, initial success
Leko returned to the stand-up fighting world in early 2005, becoming the WKN World Super-Heavyweight champion.Prior to his hiatus from standup fighting, he had joined Team Golden Glory, a Dutch fight camp known for such fighters as Semmy Schilt
Semmy Schilt
Semmy Schilt , also known as Sem Schilt, is a Dutch Ashihara karateka, kickboxer, mixed martial artist and four time K-1 World GP champion. He is the first and only fighter in K-1 history to win the championship three times in a row, and also shares the record with Ernesto Hoost for most GPs won,...
, Alistair Overeem
Alistair Overeem
Alistair Cees Overeem is a British born Dutch mixed martial artist and kickboxer, signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is the former Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion, Dream Interim Heavyweight Champion, K-1 World Grand Prix Champion, and made history by being the only fighter in combat...
and Sergei Kharitonov. He made his return to top level kickboxing with Golden Glory for Dutch major league promotion It's Showtime
It's Showtime
It's Showtime is a kickboxing and mixed martial arts promotion based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. It was founded by Simon Rutz in 1998 and held its first show in 1999. They are known to cross promote their events with K-1 and other European promotions from Italy, Belgium and England...
, in 2005. He was booked in a grudge match with rising star Badr Hari
Badr Hari
Badr "The Golden Boy" Hari is a Moroccan-Dutch super heavyweight kickboxer, fighting out of Mike's Gym in Amsterdam. He is a former K-1 Heavyweight champion and K-1 World Grand Prix 2009 finalist. As of May 2011, Hari is ranked the #2 heavyweight in the world by LiverKick.com...
.
Fighting at It's Showtime
It's Showtime
It's Showtime is a kickboxing and mixed martial arts promotion based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. It was founded by Simon Rutz in 1998 and held its first show in 1999. They are known to cross promote their events with K-1 and other European promotions from Italy, Belgium and England...
in Amsterdam, Leko beat Badr Hari
Badr Hari
Badr "The Golden Boy" Hari is a Moroccan-Dutch super heavyweight kickboxer, fighting out of Mike's Gym in Amsterdam. He is a former K-1 Heavyweight champion and K-1 World Grand Prix 2009 finalist. As of May 2011, Hari is ranked the #2 heavyweight in the world by LiverKick.com...
by spinning back kick in a grudge fight. Hari had trash talked Leko prior to the bout, and there was bad blood going in. Leko finished him in round 1, via spinning back kick to the liver. The fight had lasted little more than 100 seconds, with Badr throwing Leko across the ring from a clinch. Leko got to his feet calmly, and after a teep, landed his trademark spin-kick and it finished the fight. Hari stayed down for several minutes after the fight was waved off, in considerable pain.
A rematch was booked in K-1, and Hari returned the favour - bizarrely, winning via spectacular spinning back kick, the move noted for being Leko's trademark. This marks the duology as a fairly unique rivalry, in that both men finished the other with the same move, a spinning back kick no less.
Last major success, and later career
Leko's last major success to date came when he won his second K-1 World Grand Prix in Las Vegas tournament, beating Scott LightyScott Lighty
Scott Lighty is an American super heavyweight kickboxer and light heavyweight mixed martial artist, from San Luis Obispo, California. He currently trains at The Pit alongside UFC veterans, Chuck Liddell and Glover Teixeira...
, Carter Williams
Carter Williams
Carter Lee Williams is an American kickboxer, boxer and mixed martial artist, who fights out of Modesto Power in Modesto, California. He is a former North American Muay Thai champion and K-1 World GP in Las Vegas tournament champion....
and then Michael McDonald
Michael McDonald (kickboxer)
Michael "The Black Sniper" McDonald is a retired Canadian Heavyweight kickboxer. He is the former three time K-1 World Grand Prix in Las Vegas tournament champion.-Early life:Michael McDonald was born in Birmingham, England...
in the final. He won all three fights that night by KO.
He drew old foe Remy Bonjasky in the first round of the World Grand Prix finals5, and lost on points in a controversial fight in which Leko landed two shots to Bonjasky's groin. Leko claims these shots were unintentional; however, Remy took a considerable time out period during the fight, one that Leko had been performing well in to that point, and after which, Bonjasky managed to win a points decision from.
A rubber match with Bonjasky occurred in 2007, but by now it was clear Leko was passing his physical prime, and he lost in round 1, after Bonjasky landed his trademark flying knee. Golden Glory claimed the stoppage was too quick, but nevertheless, Leko was out of another World Grand Prix - his last appearance in the Final 16.
By early 2009 he was considered a fading force, despite going 4-1 the previous year, with two wins in K-1. However, he had not competed in the World Grand Prix 2008, and ended the year with a loss to Freddy Kemayo
Freddy Kemayo
Freddy "Crazy Horse" Kemayo is a French heavyweight kickboxer, fighting out of Faucon Gym in Villepinte, France. He is three time French Kickboxing champion currently competing in K-1, Local Kombat, SuperKombat and many other promotions....
. Dropped out of almost every top 10 heavyweight rankings, Leko began to compete almost exclusively in Holland and Germany, with varying results. He returned to fight for It's Showtime
It's Showtime
It's Showtime is a kickboxing and mixed martial arts promotion based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. It was founded by Simon Rutz in 1998 and held its first show in 1999. They are known to cross promote their events with K-1 and other European promotions from Italy, Belgium and England...
in May 2009, facing another smaller but popular big name heavyweight in Melvin Manhoef
Melvin Manhoef
Melvin Manhoef is a Dutch-Surinamese Muay Thai kickboxer and mixed martial artist, trained by Mike Passenier and fighting out of Mike's Gym in Amsterdam, Netherlands. In kickboxing, he is the current It's Showtime 85MAX World Champion, and in MMA he was the Cage Rage Light Heavyweight World champion...
. On the back of two consecutive losses in K-1, Leko went into the fight as an underdog, but he ended up dominating Manhoef for two rounds, picking him apart with boxing and leg kicks. Unfortunately, in the final round he broke his foot, and the fight was called off. Manhoef magnanimously admitted that Leko had outclassed him, and offered a rematch to the Golden Glory fighter.
Despite this impressive display, Leko remained inconsistent, slipping into decline. He won his final K-1 fight to date in Sarajevo, and then lost twice in a row, in Holland and Germany respectively.
2010 and onwards
Leko strung together a three fight win streak, taking him to an overall K-1 and Muay Thai/kickboxing record of 64-22-1 win/loss/draw. After beating Volkan Duzgun on Fightingstars presents: It's Showtime 2010, Leko entered the Ultimate Glory heavyweight tournament, where he drew Wendell RocheWendell Roche
Wendell Roche is a Dutch-Curaçao heavyweight kickboxer. He holds an amazing achievement in being the only man to ever defeat the kickboxing great Ginty Vrede....
in the quarter-finals. Halfway through round 2, Leko retired from the fight, with the reason given that he suffered "a dizzy spell", and lost his equilibrium. However, in the corner he seemed to be in considerable pain, and it emerged on Dutch fight forum mixfight.nl that Leko had a punctured lung.
In 2011, no bouts have yet been confirmed for Leko as of February 20, either by the fighter or Golden Glory.
Mike Passenier, owner of Mike's Gym
Mike's Gym
Mike's Gym is a kickboxing and mixed martial arts gym, founded by Mike Passenier and headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.-History:The gym was founded by Mike Passenier in 2003....
and trainer of fighters such as Badr Hari and Melvin Manhoef, stated in an interview with Daniel Fletcher on February 25, 2011 that Stefan Leko has retired.
Return to the ring
The retirement talk was officially put aside as Golden Glory confirmed that Leko would be returning to face old foe Jerome LeBanner on June 11, 2011, in Geneva. Leko was said to be serious about a return, and that the short-lived "retirement" was no longer relevant. He was even said to be intent on securing a rubber match with old foe Badr HariBadr Hari
Badr "The Golden Boy" Hari is a Moroccan-Dutch super heavyweight kickboxer, fighting out of Mike's Gym in Amsterdam. He is a former K-1 Heavyweight champion and K-1 World Grand Prix 2009 finalist. As of May 2011, Hari is ranked the #2 heavyweight in the world by LiverKick.com...
, if he could string together some wins to get ranked and merit a final grudge encounter with the Moroccan.
Titles
- International Kick Boxing Federation
- 1996 IKBF Full Contact World Championship
- 1997 IKBF Kickboxing Championship
- International Kick Boxing Organization
- 2000 IKBO Muay Thai World Championship
- K-1K-1K-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...
- K-1 European Grand Prix 1998 champion
- K-1 Dream 1999 champion
- K-1 World Grand Prix in Las Vegas 2001 champion
- K-1 World Grand Prix in Las Vegas 2006 champion
- K-1 World Grand Prix 2001: 3rd place
- World Muay Thai Association
- 1997 WMTA Muay Thai World Championship
- World Kickboxing NetworkWorld Kickboxing NetworkThe World Kickboxing Network is a professional kick boxing and thai boxing organization and is one of the largest professional sanctioning organizations in the world, represented in more than 100 countries....
- 2005 WKN Super Heavyweight Kickboxing World Championship
Kickboxing record
| Kickboxing Record | |
|---|---|
Legend: |
|
Mixed martial arts record
| Loss|align=center| 0-3
|
Kazuhiro NakamuraKazuhiro Nakamura
Kazuhiro Nakamura is a Japanese mixed martial artist currently competing as a middleweight in DREAM. His primary style is judo, in which he holds a 3rd dan black belt under Hidehiko Yoshida...
| Pride 29
PRIDE 29
Pride 29: Fists of Fire was a mixed martial arts event held by the Pride Fighting Championships. The event took place on February 20, 2005 at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.- Mario Sperry vs Hirotaka Yokoi:...
| TKO(Punches)
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 0:54
| Saitama
Saitama, Saitama
' is the capital and the most populous city of Saitama Prefecture in Japan, situated in the south-east of the prefecture. Its area incorporates the former cities of Urawa, Ōmiya, Yono and Iwatsuki. It is a city designated by government ordinance...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
|
|-
| Loss
|align=center| 0-2
|
Ikuhisa MinowaIkuhisa Minowa
is a Japanese mixed martial artist and pro wrestler currently competing in Dream as . He was a long time veteran of Pride Fighting Championships and Pancrase and has also competed in other mixed martial arts promotions such as K-1 HERO'S, Cage Rage, UFC, and DEEP. At 5'9" he is notable for taking...
| Pride Shockwave 2004
PRIDE Shockwave 2004
Pride Shockwave 2004 was a mixed martial arts event held by Pride Fighting Championships. The event took place at the Saitama Super Arena on December 31st, 2004...
| Submission(heel hook
Heel hook
Heel hook may refer to:* Heel hook, in grappling* A climbing technique...
)
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 0:27
| Saitama, Japan
|
|-
| Loss
|align=center| 0-1
|
Naoya OgawaNaoya Ogawa
Naoya Ogawa is a Japanese former world judo champion, Olympic silver medalist, professional wrestler and mixed martial artist...
| Pride Total Elimination 2004
PRIDE Total Elimination 2004
Pride Total Elimination 2004 was a mixed martial arts event held by Pride Fighting Championships. This event consisted of the first round of the 2004 Heavyweight Grand Prix...
| Submission(side choke)
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 1:34
| Saitama, Japan
|
External links
- Profile at K-1K-1K-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...
- Golden Glory Official Site