Some Kickboxing fights to watch for Boxing/MMA fans

A few other really great kickboxing fights I rewatched recently.

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Ahahahaa. TMLT showing his noob colors. Glory is entertaining? You should be banned from commenting on boxing for such a statement.

 

This was a really good fight, too. Robin Van Roosmalen wasn't the best fighter in the world, but he always gave really exciting fights and Dzhabar Askerov was the perfect foil for him.

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This fight was great, too. Nieky Holzken vs Karapet Karapetyan. It was kind of like the kickboxing verison of Jon Jones vs Alexander Gustafsson. The first two rounds razor close. I gave them both 10-10 rounds. Karapet wins the third comfortably and is on his way to winning the fourth. Then he hits Holzken with a right hand but gets brutally countered with Neiky's left hook. Niekzy almost takes him out and then goes on to dominate the fifth round. This one doesn't have the pure violence that some of these other fights, but the high level technique makes up for it. Great fight.

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Here's another great kickboxing fight. Fabio Pinca vs Bovy. It was an incredibly dirty fight with horrific officiating. But if you can get past that, it's an absolutely incredible fight.

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This guy is one of the best!

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That knockout at 1:12 was brutal. Being trapped up against the ropes like that and eating two switch kicks to the head like that. He was fortunate that uppercut didn't land before that.

 

Watch Andy Hug fights, he's not only master, especially kicking, but a unique sportsman in the ring, the guy never hurt his opponent more than needed and was very respectful.

 

Gokhan Saki vs Daniel Ghita was an awesome heavyweight kickboxing fight. It was a great clash of styles. Ghita battered Saki's body with his left switch kick and landed some really good right leg kicks. He worked the inside leg kick as well and even kicked out Saki's legs a few times making him fall. He landed some double switch kick combos which were just beautiful. He got his jab to work just a little bit towards the end of the fight, but it was too little too late.

Saki had the much more balanced approach, though. He was landing right leg kicks to Ghita's thigh. He ripped left hooks to the body and followed up with overhand rights. He countered Ghita's straight punches and kicks with his left hook to the head. Sometimes, he would double up with the body-head and head-body left hooks combinations. He also had the presence of mind to throw some jabs and front kicks to the body to disrupt Ghita's rhythm. He even landed a spinning back kick to Ghita's throat. He would switch to southpaw occasionally to land that lead right hook and even landed some front kicks to his knee. He did a little bit of everything.

They both tired towards the end and their strikes lost a lot of power. But they never stopped throwing which made it a lot of fun to watch. There was also some really high level counter fighting with kicks in the middle portion of the fight that you rarely see from heavyweights.

It was a close fight, but I think they were right to give it to Saki. He wanted it more down the stretch and just poured on the pressure. Ghita and Saki both seem like guys who get forgotten about among the great crop of K1 heavyweights, but they were both high level operators in their respective styles and were very dangerous. I would definitely recommend giving this one a watch if you haven't seen it.

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Jonathan Di Bella vs Zhang Peimian was a very fun fight. It started off with Zhang evading Di Bella’s southpaw lead right hook and then countering with his own lead left hook. They kept trading inside and outside leg kicks, but Zhang seemed to be more consistent with it. Di Bella kept trying to land his left roundhouse kick to Zhang’s head, but Zhang always had his guard up to block then and then would immediately counter back with his own right leg kicks.

In the second round, Di Bella made an adjustment and started to fire his left cross and started tagging Zhang. He realized that if he kept him on the edge of his left cross and his stiff jab, it would nullify Zhang’s left hook and he took the round because of it. Di Bella would also double up with the left hand a few times in the fight which helped him.

However, in the third round, Zhang started to really throw his own straight right hand so it became a battle of his right versus Di Bella’s left. Zhang also started landing some body shots, especially a left hook to the body. But he also landed some right straights to the body. He also got his left hook to the head working again now that Di Bella had to worry more about other strikes. The leg kicks seemed to be adding up, too, for Zhang. Di Bella was landing his share but he was definitely getting beat by Zhang’s output.

Neither guy really used much lateral movement in this fight but Zhang seemed to use just enough to make Di Bella’s left occasionally miss. He seemed to edge out the round and take control back in the fight.

In the fourth round, Dibella did a good job slightly leaning forward and just popping the left hand off and extending it into Zhang’s face. Zhang continued with the left hooks and leg kicks. But Di Bella got his right hook, left straight combo going a bit as well. Di Bella came on strong at the end of the round, so it might have gone either way.

As the fifth round starts, it seems like both guys have seen everything in their opponent’s arsenal. There’s no major tactical adjustments left to make, and it’s just down to fighting. Zhang landed four huge leg kicks in a row. Di Bella threw a left straight, shifting into an orthodox stance. Then he tries to throw a right hand and gets countered hard with Zhang’s left hand and eats and right body shot. Zhang lands another right hand, and it looks like he’s going to run away with the fight.

Then suddenly, Di Bella misses to the outside with a left hand and eats a hard leg kick to the inside of his thigh. Then as Zhang backs up into his stance, Di Bella touches the side of his head with his right hand, frames with his left hand and fires off a left head kick that drops Zhang to his back. He had been trying to land a head kick for the entire fight and finally does.

The ref gives Zhang more time than he should to recover, telling him to walk towards him as Zhang is unsteadily backing away at the end of the ten count. Then Di Bella just pours it on with boxing combinations and a few knees as the round ends.

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Artur Kyshenko vs Jordan Tai was a great fight back in 2008. If you’ve never seen it before, I’d recommend giving it a watch because it’s everything that great about kickboxing. It had everything you could want. Speed, power, combinations, countering, good jabs, body punching, leg kicks, step up knees, flush head kicks, body kicks, etc. I’m gonna post a little write up of the fights highlights just cause I feel like, and I’ll link the fight down below.

Kyshenko would use the jab to set up hard right leg kicks. Both men are landing good legs kicks and body kicks and are putting an emphasis on landing their left hook to the body. There’s an awesome back and forth flurry at 6:41 where Kyshenko lands a crushing left hook and right hand to the body. Tai landed a blazing double 1-2 combination. Tai lands some really nice leaping uppercuts in this round and throughout the fight.

At 8:08 in the video, Jordan Tai tried to feint with the left jab to set up his right cross but he got brutally intercepted with Kyshenko’s right head kick right across the jaw. Jordan's glove barely catches a piece of the kick before the blow lands, probably saving him from a knockout. Kyshenk then pressured Jordan into the corner and landed a right uppercut, left vertical jab and right cross combination. He missed with the follow up left hook but landed hook. They both exchanged jabs and missed with their overhand rights, but Jordan Tai seemed to get the worst of it. This flurry definitely secured him the round.

At 11:42, Kyshenk threw stepped into a southpaw stance and threw a left knee around Tai’s high guard, catching him on the right side of his jaw. As he retracted his left back into his stance, he caught Jordan with a left cross that was corking downward causing the fighter to wipe his nose. Then as Jordan tries to circle out, followed him and pushed him back against the ropes. Artur quickly switched to a southpaw stance and immediately fired a step up left knee right to Tai’s chin. These step up knees proved a very effective weapon that Kyshenko used throughout the rest of the fight, and it was one that Jordan had no answer for.

However, at 11:57, Kyshenko got greedy and tries the southpaw knee and to the left cross combination again. Kyshenko landed the knee but this time Jordan countered over the top with an overhand right that sent him falling to the canvas on his ass. Then after the knockdown, Tai landed a partially blocked right head kick but some of the power got through. Tai landed threw a right cross to the head and then dropped one down to the body before landing some hard hooks with Artur trapped in the corner. But Kyshenko fought back and threw a hard right knee to the hip then grabbed a muay thai clinch and landed a left one to the side of his head. Tai came on strong with a double 1-2 combination to punctuate the round.

With Tai getting a 10-8 round in the second, Artur needed to win the third to force the fight into a fourth-round overtime. Kyshenko started strong throwing left switch kicks to Tai’s right side, some of them getting blocked and some landing to the body. At 14:16, Tai lands a brutal left hook to the body which Kyshenko tries to counter with his own left hook. But then Tai landed a right head kick over the top against Kyshenko’s dome but he tanks it. They trade legs kicks but Tai again blasts him with a leaping left uppercut. He lands a right uppercut and left hook but Kyshenko shells up to block the follow up punches. Artur misses with a left knee but lands with a right head kick on the back of Tai’s head that pulls him down to the ground. The refs signals no knockdown.

Kyshenko misses a right hand but then blasts him with a left hook and right cross. It’s anybody’s fight now. Kyshenko feints a jab and then catches him just on the end of a spinning backfist. He throws a left kick to Jordan Tai’s head but he blocks it. Tai actually did a pretty good job of blocking a lot of Kyshenko’s head kicks and offense in general but it just wasn’t enough.

Tai throws a right head kick but this time Kyshenko blocks with his left bicep while reaching over with his left glove to catch his Jordan’s foot. Artur pulls the foot down and throws it off to the side which unbalances Jordan allowing him to throw his own left head kick against the side of the Australian’s head. The kick landed with the end of the foot, so it didn’t land with full power but it still did some damage. Kyshenko tries a 1-2-3 combination but each shot misses its mark. But then Kyshenko steps forward into a southpaw stance and again fires that step up left knee to Jordan Tai’s head. It lands flush but Tai again tries to counter with a right hand which sails harmlessly behind the back of Artur’s head.

Jordan pops him with a jab. He hits him with a right cross and a sweeping hook to the body but then gets countered with Kyshenko’s right uppercut. Kyshenko lands a nice left hook, right hand combo that forces him back. Tai steps forward missing with a left jab, right uppercut and gets countered with Kyshenko’s right. This time Artur throws a right knee around Tai’s guard hitting him on the chin which he grunts as he absorbs. Kyshenko lands another left hook to close out the round leaving now doubt who won the round.

At 18:56, Kyshenko lands a crushing left switch kick to Tai’s body. He then steps forward with a hard left knee to his solar plexus. Kyshenko follows up with a beautiful left hook and then sweeping right uppercut to Tai’s body. And then a shoft lead right hook from the southpaw stance. At 19:23, Tai lands a left hook to the body and right roundhouse kick to the head. It was a nice combo, but you can tell that he doesn’t have much power in his shots anymore. Jordan throws a jab that’s blocked by Kyshenko’s right glove and his follow up right hand falls short, so Kyshenko makes him pay for it with a hard right leg kick when all Tai’s weight is sitting on that front leg.

Tai lands a rear right uppercut and left hook and Artur counters with a sweeping right. Kyshenko lands another step up knee at 20:00 which Tai counters with a short right hook and then Kyshenko counters again with a left switch kick catching him with the toes. Artur uses a jab to set up a brutal left hook to the body, then a right hook and a left knee from the muay thai clinch. Tai lands some left hooks to the body and the head but there’s nothing on them now. Kyshenko lands two left hooks in a row from the southpaw stance. After some missed punches, Kyshenko uses the D'Amato shift to land a right hook across Tai’s jaw. Tai is wincing in pain now. The fight ends at 21:24 with Kyshenko missing a punch of punches but landing a brutal leg kick and then a left hook and right headkick as the bell rings.

Kyshenko takes the fight. Artur Kyshenko is clearly the superior fighter but Jordan Tai gave him stiff resistance in this fight and made him gut out the victory.

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Today, I want to revisit Nieky Holzken’s fight against Karim Ghajji in 2013. This was a really fun fight between Holzken an orthodox Dutch kickboxing style against the Karim Ghajji’s high volume combination style from the southpaw stance.

The fight starts with Holzken landing a hard right kick as Karim switches to southpaw and Karim returning a body kick of his own. At 5:23, Holzken throws a lead leg front kick that skims off Karim’s body but follows up with a hard knee to the body. Holzken steps back to throw a head kick but Karim blocks it and Holzken losses his balance. However, as Holzken is falling Karim soccer kicks him right in the face. The move was perfectly legal but Holzken looks pissed. Karim lands a southpaw kick to the body but Holzken kicks the leg before it returns to it stance and then lands a left hook as Karim follows up with a left leg kick.

Karim starts landing his left straight to the body and the head now, while continuing to attack Holzken’s lead leg with outside low kicks. Holzken doubles up with the left hook to the body and then the head. But then Karim blasts Nieky’s body with a hard kick at 6:20 and then follows up with a left knee to the body. At 6:35, Ghajji’s land a nice left straight, right hook, left straight and then left leg kick. Karim uses the jab to set up a left straight, double right hook to the body, rear left leg kick combination at 6:48. Nieky is having trouble with Karim’s activity and fluid combinations. If Karim starts getting his right jab and right hook going in addition to his left kicks to the body and left straights, Nieky could be in trouble.

Karim is pushing Holzken back with right jab, left straight combinations and finishing with leg kicks. Nieky lands a right straight to the body and then doubles up with a right knee. They both land rear hooks around the guard but Karim lands a solid right hook as well. They trade body kicks back and forth but Karim’s left straight is winning this round for him. Karim lands a right jab, straight left, right uppercut, left straight and then a right hook but his finishing left high kick is blocked.

Nieky lands a sweeping left hook to the body. Then he steps forward, lands another left hook to the body and then follows up with two clubbing left hooks to the head. Karim fires and lands some punches back but Holzken again goes body-head with his left hook and lands a rear right front kick driving Karim back as the round comes to an end. 1-0 Karim Ghajji.

Karim starts off the second round with a switch kick, a jab and then a jab, overhand right from an orthodox stance now. But he quickly goes back to southpaw. They trade leg kicks and then Holzken goes back to his favorite left hook to the body. Karim lands a hard right hook to the body which Holzken counters with a left to the head. Karim measures him before landing a left and a right hook. Nieky lands a straight right which Karim returns with a left.

Karim lands a left kick to the body which Nieky responds with a left hook to the body. Karim is blasting Holzken with hard right hooks and left straights to the body but Holzken keeps disrupting his combination with left hooks to the body. Holzken lands a hard knee to the body but gets blasted with a hard left hook. Ghajji is having success with that lead right uppercut. Karim and Neiky keep battling with their rear straights. Both guys are mixing in knees to the body and lead hooks as well. A lot of the shots aren’t the hardest but they’re landing with a lot of volume. This is a dog fight. Ghajji keeps using the jab to land straight lefts and lands a solid left body kick near the end of the round. Ghajji won the round again, going up 2-0. Holzken needs to do something now.

The third round starts with Ghajji landing some straight lefts and kicking Holzken’s body on each side. But Holzken rips him with a left hook in response. Holzken lands a brutal left hook to the body followed by a 1-2 combination. Ghajji lands some leg kicks as Nieky pops him with the double jab. At 13:55, Karim backs Nieky up with a left straight to the body, a right hook to the side and then a left uppercut to the beltline. Niekzy pushes him away in a clinch as Karim fails to land a knee.

Karim lands a right jab, left straight, right jab through Holzken’s high guard then follows with a right hook to the body. Karim keeps touching Holzken with leg kicks, straight punches. At 14:21, Holzken lands a right uppercut to the head, left hook to the body and right roundhouse kick to the head. Then steps back and pops him with the jab. They trade in blows in the middle of the ring but Karim’s shots are pitter patter and Nieky is mixing in some hard hooks and kicks to the body.

At 15:17, Holzken slips to the outside of Karim’s jab while countering him with a straight right. Holzken rolls underneath left rear hook. Nieky misses with a left hook and Karim backs up. Nieky teeps Karim in the stomach to keep the pressure on, forcing him to take a step backwards. Holzken uses a throw away jab to land a right uppercut, then follows it up with a left hook and then a right hook. Holzken eats a right hook in the exchange but he doesn’t care. Karim lands a straight left across Holzken’s forehead at the same time that Nieky snaps his head back with a left jab. Holzken follows up immediately with a right cross that that sends Ghajji stumbling to the canvas. Beautiful knockdown. Ghajji’s nostrils are painted red with blood.

At 15:50 misses with a jab hook but then steps forward while landing a right knee to the body. Rather than retracting his leg back into his orthodox stance, he steps forward into a southpaw stance at close range and a sweeping left to Ghajji’s temple. Then another left hook as he steps back into orthodox. Nieky lands a knee to the body and a few more punches as the round comes to an end.

After three rounds, the judges rule it as a draw which sends the fight into an overtime round. They both start the round throwing set up punches to land their leg kicks. Ghajji lands a right hook but Nieky pierces him with a straight right. Ghajji uses his leg right hook to pull down Nieky’s guard and land his straight left and then follows up with a left switch kick to the Dutchman’s leg. He steps back and feints with a right jab and blasts him with a straight left.

Holzken lifts his as if feinting a teep but then launches forward with a right knee into Karim’s stomach as the French-Morrocan falls short with a left hook. Karim is landing feints with a jab to land a straight left and right hook to the body but there’s not much steam on those punches. Ghajji lands a right hook. But Holzken slips his head to the outside of Karim’s right jab and counters with a straight right. Karim keeps landing his right hook and

Holzken feints with a right uppercut but instead of goes with a left hook to the body and then catches him to the side of the head upstairs. He again feints the right uppercut and lands another left hook to the liver. Karim tries to circle to his left but Nieky continues the combination with a left hook to the head and drops down with another hook to the body. Niekzy lands a knee to the side of his opponent’s neck from a southpaw stance and follows up with a left straight.

At 21:26, Holzken fires a rear right knee to Ghajji’s face, instantly splitting him open with a nasty cut. Karim instinctively tries to wipe away the blood as Holzken raises his hands knowing the fight is over. The doctor takes a quick look as the cut that’s pouring blood down into Karim’s eyes and instantly stops the fight.

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This is a great heavyweight fight between Jerome Le Banner and Cyril Abidi. Although the scoring was lopsided, it was incredible competitive. It keeps you on the edge of your seat the entire time wondering if somebody will drop or if the doctor will stop the fight due to Le Banner’s brutal hematoma. The technique gets quite sloppy at some points, but there are also some moments of brilliance as well.

The fight starts off with both fighters throwing roundhouse body kicks and inside leg kicks with their rear legs. However, Jerome is so much stronger that he’s continuously pushing Cyril to his back after his opponent lands a kick. Jerome lands a nice left body kick while Abidi counters with a right leg kick to Le Banner’s supporting leg. But as Cyril tries to retract the kick, Le Banner blasts him with a stiff right jab that sends him to his canvas. No knockdown, though. At 8:39, Cyril feints with a jab and throws a right cross, but Le Banner slips to the outside and counters with a short jolting right jab. Abidi stumbles back but then fires a hard inside leg at the charging Jerome. Cyril misses with a right hand and then blocks a left head kick but then Le Banner charges and smacks him with a right hook as he tries to move away.

It's apparent right off the bat which fighter is physical stronger and has more striking power. Jerome lands an inside leg kick with his left and then an outside leg kick with his right, tenderizing Cyril’s front left leg. Abidi comes back with a good right body kick. But Le Banner sends him flying back with a left hand. At 9:19, Cyril uses a throw away left hook to set up a beautiful right head kick which lands flush against the side of Jerome’s dome. But then Le Banner immediately comes back with a right jab that sets up a hard left straight. Le Banner fires another left straight set up with the jab that sends Abidi stumbling back. Cyril tries to clinch up and push him back but Jerome just smacks him with another right hook. Cyril keeps trying to land a right high kick, thinking he can put him down with it but Jerome is blocking them now. Jerome lands a left switch kick and then a left hook to the body and Abidi responds with a right roundhouse kick to the body. Le Banner wins the round 10-9.

Cyril starts the second round missing a 1-2 combination and gets countered with Jerome’s right jab. Cyril keeps up the pressure, though, missing over the top with his left hook. At 11:37, he follows up with a right head kick which lands and then throws a left switch kick to the head which also lands but not as clean. Jerome just counters with his own left kick to the body. Cyril’s head kicks are landing but they aren’t visibly hurting Jerome. Cyril lands an inside leg kick and gets countered with a left.

A sloppy exchange where neither fighter lands a punch but instead clash heads results in Cyril getting pushed to his back but the referee calls it a knockdown. The ref momentarily stops the fight to have the doctor take a look at a cut along the inside of Le Banner’s eye brow and the left side of the bridge of his nose. The doctor says he’s okay.

Jerome uses a right jab, left straight to set up a right hook to the body. Cyril lands another right head kick. It’s clear that if Cyril is going to win this fight, he’s going to have to knock out Le Banner with a right head kick. As he retracts his kick, Cyril throws a right straight that misses but then follows up with a left hook that catches his opponent. Jerome pushes him in the corner but Cyril lands another inside leg kick. They both roll under each other’s lead hooks. Cyril misses a lead hook and Le Banner counters with a left straight to his chest. They both starts throwing a lot of punches, missing most of them. But Cyril lands a few solid hooks and Le Banner lands a hard right uppercut. Both fighters are showing some decent defense here. At 13:48, Jerome throws a left that misses and uses the punch to shift into a southpaw stance. e sticks out his lead left hand and lands a hard right hook with his opponent trapped in the corner.

Jerome rolls a hook and lands a left roundhouse kick to the body and then a right lead jab. That combination has been working really well for him in this fight. Cyril lands a right hook to the but Jerome comes back with a brutal right hook to the body. Jerome seemingly lands a right head kick and follows up with a left uppercut and a left hook to the body. Jerome lands another right hook to the body. Cyril lands some short straight punches with nothing on them as he’s pushed into the opposite corner, but Jerome comes back with a hard right hook. They continue to fight as Le Banner pressures Abidi into the opposite corner, missing most their punches. But they land a few here and there, with Le Banner seemingly getting the best of it. They also mix in a few kicks along the way.

At 15:02, Cyril throws a lead left hook and then a rear right hook but Le Banner rolls underneath both of them. Le Banner counters Abidi with a lead right switch kick against the side of the jaw. Le Banner pushes Cyril against the other side of the ring up against the ropes and batters his legs a bit with kick as the round comes to an end. Unfortunately, with the bad knockdown call, you have to give Le Banner the round 10-8. But it should have been a Le Banner 10-9 round, though both fighters did good work. Incredible round.

As both fighters come out for the third round, there is a notable hematoma growing on the right side of Le Banner’s forehead. Although Le Banner is clearly winning this fight on points and damage, he now has sense of urgency to end this fight as soon as possible. Both the cut and the hematoma on the right side of his face could stop this fight at any time. Abidi charges right towards Le Banner and lands a right straight down the pipe. Le Banner slips under Abidi’s left and right hooks again and counters with a right low kick. Both fighters are landing kicks to the body and legs now while taking a breather. Abidi lands another right cross. He lands another cross but gets countered with Jerome’s right hook. Cyril tries for another right head kick but get countered with Jerome’s right jab.

Jerome feints with his right jab and lands a left straight with Cyril against the ropes, but his opponent counters with a right hook to the body. Cyril lands a good jab. He’s thrown far too few of those. At 17:41, Abidi takes a step back and misses with a straight right. Le Banner counters with a lead right hook that sends Abidi that folds him over and sends him falling to his back for another knockdown. Abidi beats the count. He also seems to have bad swelling on the left side of forehead above the eye but nothing compared to Jerome’s hematoma.

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Both guys are exhausted now. Jerome lands a hard right jab, left straight that nearly knocks him down again. At 18:30, Le Banner lands a left leg kick and then doubles up with it to the head. Cyril manages to block it but because he’s hunched forward, a lot of the power of the blow still gets through the guard as his head snaps back. Le Banner goes inside and outside with kicks to Abidi’s lead left and then Abidi attacks back with a right leg kick of his own. Le Banner stands another left straight, Cyril backs up and lands a right kick to the body. He backs up into the ropes and then Le Banner lands another crushing left straight, piercing through Abidi’s guard. Abidi throws some punches and tries to follow up with a left head kick but there’s nothing on them and they all miss the mark.

At 19:06, Cyril lands a little left hook but Jerome clinches and then whacks him with another lead right hook. Cyril stumbles back into the corner, grabbing the ropes to keep from falling down. The referee should have called this one a knockdown unlike the first one. Le Banner leaps forward with another right hook. The round ends with both guys exhausted, missing blows. Even without that being called a knockdown, I would have scored that round a 10-8. However, the swelling of Jerome’s hematoma has grown even worse. Both fighters are in big trouble for different reasons.

The fourth round starts with Abidi using the jab to set up another right straight down the middle. Le Banner jabs Cyril again as he tries to kick. This time, Le Banner uses his jab to set up a left cross. Both guys ae missing in the corner. Jerome pushes Abidi back but Abidi lands a right head kick to the top of Jerome’s head. But Jerome comes back with a right hand. Both guys trade legs kicks. Cyril misses a right but then flips it back landing a small backfist. Don’t see that too often. They both land some punches. Jerome lands a right hook and then after Abidi misses some punches, the Frenchman goes back with his right switch kick to the body.

At 22:07, Cyril lands an uppercut going backwards. Then when he gets into the corner, he lands another right head kick on Le Banner. It’s incredible he hasn’t gone down from any of these. Cyril lands a hard right straight but Le Banner pushes him back into the corner, misses some and then lands a right hook again. Abidi has no answer to the right hook. Le Banner lands a right jab and then the referee separates them to give Cyril a standing 8 count. This officiating has been atrocious in this fight. Cyril throws another right head kick. This one is partially blocked but the power still gets through. Cyril blasts him again with the right straight but he just can’t hurt this guy. Cyril lands a right leg kick to Jerome’s back right leg. But then Jerome steps into an orthodox stance and immediately responds with a left leg kick to Cyril’s left leg. Cyril drops from it. This could have been ruled a knockdown. Cyril is visibly limping.

The referee stops the fight to take another look at Jerome’s hematoma. This might be the worst hematoma I’ve ever seen in combat sports, rivaled only by Hasim Rahman in his fight against Evander Holyfield or Mark Hominick against Jose Aldo. Even the commentators are saying it’s too big, and they should stop the fight. Amazingly, they let it go. They both land hard rear body kicks. Cyril comes on strong landing good hooks trying to stop the fight as the round comes to an end. It’s another 10-8 round. It was a bad call on the standing 8 but the leg kick probably should have been called a knockdown so it evens out.

Jerome parries Cyril’s right straight and lands a right hook at the beginning of the fifth round. Cyril falls short with a 1-2 and Le Banner snaps his head back with a right jab counter. Cyril tries for another head kick. Jerome lands a brutal left leg kick. Then he lands a hard right leg kick. Cyril again tries for the 1-2 and gets countered with Jerome’s right jab. Abidi is too slow at this point to land much of anything. Jerome lands another left. Cyril lands couple good right body kicks. But Le Banner just pressures Abidi lands another snapping right jab. Every right jab is hurting him. Abidi lands a right body kick, then Jerome uses the double jab to set up a left body kick.

Cyril lands another hard body kick. But then Jerome lands his left. I can’t believe Abidi is still standing. The referee gives Cyril a yellow card for holding. This guy is awful. Jerome lands another hard right jab. Le Banner lands a couple more right jabs and then pushes Cyril off his feet and the ref stops the fight. The fight could have easily been stopped at numerous points, but he chooses to stop it when he gets pushed off his feet. Anyway, regardless of the bad officiating, this was an excellent fight.

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I found an a really fun old kickboxing fight that I want to share with you guys. This was between Peter “Hurricane” Smit and Rob Kaman for the All Japan Kickboxing Federation Light heavyweight title on June 30, 1990. This is unique because this was a 12 round fight, if I’m not mistaken. The fight goes into the tenth round at least. This is very rare because of the structure of modern kickboxing fights, you usually only get 3, 4 or 5 round fights now. It was really enjoyable to see a prolonged battle like this. The scorecard was too lopsided for this to be considered a “great” fight but Kaman provided enough resistance and back and forth to make it a fun fight to watch.

This fight consisted of a lot of beautiful clinch fighting and dirty boxing from the single collar tie. They both battered each other with very heavy legs kicks, Smit periodically landed some very solid spinning back kicks into Kaman’s body which I think helped break him down over the fight. They both mixed in some roundhouse kicks to the body as well. Kaman really had no answer for Smit’s aggression. Smit would drive Kama backwards with punching combinations and then finish the combination with additional jabs and right crosses that would catch him cold.

In the seventh round, Smit leans forward landing a sweeping right hook to the side of Kaman’s head while Kaman returned fire with a hard right leg kick against his front leg. However, as Kaman backs up into the ropes, Smith measures Kaman with his lead left hand and then fires a right cross that pierces right through Kaman’s guard. Kaman is visibly hurt and stumbles to his right out of the corner and begins to fall. But Smit blasts him with one more right cross before Kaman falls down. You can see this combo at 14:30 of the video. Smith scores another knockdown towards the end of the round and Kaman just barely beats the count.

The rest of the fight was Smit completely taking over and dominating Kaman from both long range and in the clinch. Kaman is a legend in kickboxing and an all-time great heavyweight. But Smit came to fight that night and thoroughly kicked his ass.

Peter Smit knocks out the legend Rob Kaman in the closing seconds of the tenth round at 22:58. He misses with a 1-2 combination but pushes Kaman back into the opposite corner. As Kaman is backing up, Smit throws another set up jab, and then follows up with his right hand that crashes into the side of Kaman’s jaw sending the fighter crumbling to the canvas. It’s an incredible finish to mark off a fun light heavyweight championship fight.

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