The question gets asked more often now than it did ten years ago. With the UFC operating as a global entertainment brand and MMA pulling in athletes who might have once dedicated their careers to striking sports, people inside kickboxing want to know: where does the sport go from here? On the eve of SENSHI 32 Grand Prix in Varna, Bulgaria, three men who shaped the sport sat down to answer that very question. Ernesto Hoost, Sam Greco, and Ray Sefo, a combined century of elite combat sports between them, were gathered in their familiar roles as instructors at the SENSHI International Training Camp, and they had plenty to say.
You can watch the SENSHI 32 Grand Prix live and free worldwide on SENSHI's YouTube channel and TrillerTV. Viewers in the United States and Canada can tune in via Swerve Combat, while fans in Bulgaria can watch on Bulgaria ON AIR, DIEMA, and Max Sport 1.
Ernesto Hoost: "Kickboxing Will Stay"
Few people have more authority to speak on the topic than Ernesto Hoost. The Dutch fighter is a four-time K-1 World Grand Prix Champion plus holds titles in Savate, ISKA full contact, and Muay Thai, and has been a member of the KWU SENSHI board since joining the organization. His K-1 career included victories over Peter Aerts, Andy Hug, Mirko Cro Cop, Jerome LeBanner, and many others who defined the era. Hoost has long since shifted his focus from competing to teaching, and SENSHI has been a primary vehicle for that.
At the SENSHI camp ahead of SENSHI 32, Hoost was direct when asked about MMA's growing footprint. "MMA is getting bigger and bigger," he said, “but I still think that kickboxing will stay, because not everybody likes the grappling. Not everybody likes judo or something. So I'm not afraid that kickboxing will go away.”
He acknowledged the economic gravity of the UFC in particular. "When you get a chance to fight in the UFC, you can make so much money that it might be interesting for newcomers to try to do that." Hoost cited the example of his student Joanna Jedrzejczyk, noting that American market forces have a way of redirecting careers. But he drew a distinction between the US market and Europe, and the Netherlands in particular. "I don't think it will happen in Europe that fast," he said, "especially not in Holland.”
Sam Greco: "Striking Has Been Around for Thousands of Years"
Sam Greco's answer to the same question came from a different angle. The Australian-born, Kyokushin-raised heavyweight had a K-1 career that put him in the ring against the best in the world, Branko Cikatic, Ernesto Hoost, Mike Bernardo, Stefan Leko, Ray Sefo and several others. He reached third place at the 1999 K-1 World Grand Prix, won the 1994 Seidokaikan Karate World Cup, and was a multiple-time Australian Kyokushin heavyweight champion. After retiring from competition in 2005, he moved into coaching and has been part of the SENSHI instructor lineup for years.
When asked about MMA's dominance and what it means for striking sports, Greco's response was grounded in history. "Striking has been around for centuries, thousands and thousands of years," he said. "All we're doing is bringing up the new generation of fighters."
He pointed to the SENSHI camp itself as evidence of what a platform built around legends can do. "If there's a platform the world wants to be on, it's a platform like this, because you've got the legends giving their life experiences here. That's why we will succeed." His point was not simply promotional. At SENSHI 32 in July 2026, the training camp drew more than 1,600 athletes from 48 countries, guided by world-renowned instructors. Greco was among them, alongside Hoost, Sefo, Albert Kraus, Andy Souwer, and Semmy Schilt.
Ray Sefo: "It's Gonna Take Time"
The New Zealand-born, kickboxer is a six-time World Kickboxing and Muay Thai Champion and a K-1 World Grand Prix 2000 finalist. He fought in eight K-1 World Grand Prix Finals, knocking out names like Jerome LeBanner, Bob Sapp, and Melvin Manhoef along the way. After his competitive career, he moved into promotion and executive roles in MMA, serving as president of the Professional Fighters League. He made his debut as a SENSHI camp instructor at SENSHI 30 in February 2026.
Sefo was measured when asked about the future of kickboxing. "The future of kickboxing has always been great around the world," he said. "Only in the US do we need to build it, and it's going to take time, because MMA is so big there."
"The future of SENSHI is definitely big," he said. "Got a lot of potential to grow, got a lot of potential to be massive but it's gonna take time.”
But he was clear that the sport's trajectory is upward, even if it requires patience. "Kickboxing is such an exciting sport that I have no doubt in my mind it's going to continue to grow, if we build it right." He pointed to the numbers SENSHI is producing as a marker of that growth. "We've got more than 1,600 students that came over, and then you add the karate tournament, about 3,000-plus people. That never happens. Nobody really does that kind of thing."
SENSHI 32 Grand Prix brings 16 fighters from 13 countries to the beach arena at St. St. Constantine and Helena Resort in Varna for an eight-man, one-night elimination tournament at 85 kg, plus two super fights.SENSHI 32 Grand Prix takes place on July 11 at 7:30 PM EET / 12:30 PM EST.
