Andre Martins vs Fernando Amaya
In a contest befitting a World Cup year, it was Brazil’s Andre Martins who triumphed over Argentina’s Fernando Amaya to secure a spot in the semi-finals.
Amaya started strongly, working quick and slick combinations to the body and head, which was punctuated by a three-strike salvo that sent Martins to the canvas in the first round.
Martins managed to bounce back from hitting the canvas, the second round saw him pressure the Argentine and force him to fight at close range where he could use his boxing to tattoo the body and head.
Behind on the judges’ scorecards entering the third round, Martins came out again with relentless pressure, noticeably landing two and three punch combinations compared to Amaya who could only manage single shots.
They couldn’t be separated on the scorecards so they both went back to their corners to prepare for an extra round. Three final minutes of war saw Andre Martins get his hand raised in an incredibly competitive contest.
Matheus Machado vs Heliazir Estefani
Coming into this fight with an unfashionable 7-5 record, Mateus Machado proved any doubters wrong as he overcame Heliazir Estefani after an extra round to see him through to the semi-finals.
In a cagey opening round, Machado sparked the fight in motion by walking forward and attacking Estefani with a brutal combination of punches, not wanting to be outdone Estefani mirrored his man and fired back with his own brutal barrage of blows, finishing off with a spinning back kick to the body.
Estefani must have tasted something he didn’t like in the first round as the second saw him be much more cautious and focused on his defence, showing a very tight guard that Machado struggled to penetrate.
The third saw the fight become a battle of will as well as skill, with both men clearly tired it was Machado who kept up his pressure as he continued to work his boxing.
He thought he had the fight won as the final seconds of the third saw him land a spinning backfist that sent Estefani to the canvas, but the judges disagreed and felt one more round was needed to separate the two.
The final round was too much for Estefani who stayed defensive and failed to land anything of note as the fight drew to a close, Machado initiated the exchanges and continued to have success with his boxing to take the extra round and book his passage through the quarter-finals.
Jones Coliseu vs Matias Garcia
Jones Coliseu returned for a second crack at the K-1 World MAX Grand Prix qualifier, defeating his first opponent Matias Garcia after three rounds of action.
The much shorter man in the ring, Coliseu looked to nullify any potential reach advantage by pressuring Garcia in the opening frame and using a boxing heavy style.
By contrast his Argentinian adversary was incredibly light on his feet and looked to snipe from the outside with stylish kicks, but it was the substance of Coliseu that took the opening round, as he controlled the ring well and had success with his boxing.
Garcia’s sniping style was unable to penetrate the defence of Coliseu, despite throwing flashy kicks he was often pinned against the ropes as the Brazilian marched forward throwing punches.
With the pressure on, the Argentine did up his output in the third round, but it wasn’t enough to negate the work Coliseu did earlier in the fight. By a judges’ decision Jones Coliseu advanced to the semi-finals.
Ariel Villalba vs Marcio de Jesus
In the battle of youth vs experience, it was Ariel Villalba who triumphed as the young man outworked Marcio de Jesus to book his spot in the semi-finals.
The young Paraguayan was not intimidated by the bigger man’s experience as he attacked with a boxing heavy style which often forced de Jesus back against the ropes.
Aggression was a clear tactic from the start for Villalba as he constantly pressured de Jesus to engage, with his Brazilian foe struggling to find the key to unlock his own offence.
Nothing stopped Villalba from pressing forward and he would punish de Jesus on the inside whenever the two got close.
Maintaining a tight and high guard throughout the fight, Villalba was comfortably able to block any high kick attempts de Jesus threw his way and was a deserved winner on all the judges’ scorecards.
Semi Final 1: Andre Martins vs Matheus Machado
After an all out war in the quarter-final with Fernando Amaya, Andre Martins managed to secure another victory to send him to the final and dash the hopes of Matheus Machado for this year at least.
Both men were forced to fight an extra round in their quarter-final match ups, making the energy levels for this fight lower than would be expected if they were fighting fresh.
Nonetheless they both gave strong accounts of themselves, Martins with his power punching style and Machado with his combination work.
Despite his opponent landing his combinations, the power of Martins carried him through those final gritty moments.
Semi Final 2: Jones Coliseu vs Ariel Villalba
Jones Coliseu secured a highly technical victory over Ariel Villalba to secure his place in the final against Andre Martins.
Both men looked fresh coming into this contest despite both having to go to decisions in their quarter final matches.
That freshness allowed for both men to try and impose their own gameplans in the first round, with neither man being afraid to try and impose their will on the other with constant pressure.
Coliseu was sharper than his young foe, snapping his head back twice in the first round and continuing to force Villalba to work throughout the fight.
Villalba fought well, mixing up his offence with spinning attacks and refusing to back down to his opponents pressure, but as the fight progressed he started hesitating just a fraction too much and waiting for his opponent to strike in order to counter.
Down on the cards and with time running out, Villalba decided to have one final stand as he gestured to Coliseu to slug it out to the end, but the Brazilian thought better of it and stayed technical to secure his spot in the final.
Final: Andre Martins vs Jones Coliseu
Jones Coliseu was the last man standing as he defeated Andre Martins to secure his place in the K-1 World MAX tournament later this year.
Immediately Coliseu began whipping kicks high and low in an effort to punish Martins, feeling as if he was the much fresher fighter and had the opportunity to exploit the fact Martins had already fought eight rounds of tournament action.
Even after all the punishment Martins had taken across this tournament, he refused to back down to anyone, no matter how tired he was or how much punishment he had taken, he continued to walk forward.
Coliseu whipped and stabbed with kicks but there is nothing that would make Martins slow down.
Knowing his adversary wasn’t going to be moved by anything short of a natural disaster, Coliseu kept at Martins with relentless kicks, in particular his front kick kept his opponent off him and didn’t allow for him to utilise is best weapons.
Eventually the gas simply ran out, those hard rounds of battle caught up with Martins and he could not have the impact he needed to overcome the odds.
The decision was unanimous, Jones Coliseu avenged his demons of 2025 and secured the victory to become the K-1 World MAX 2026 tournament winner, sealing his place on the plane to Japan where he has the chance to win it all and settle a few scores at the same time.
Other Results
Lucas Rafael def. Marcos Carvalho by TKO in R4 | WGP Super Middleweight Title:
Leo Corrales def. Matheus Vinicius by Decision
Paulo Santiago def. Teodoro Ruiz Diaz by Decision
Thel Henrique def. Aaron Alvarez by Decision
Ana Victoria Bore def. Suellen Santos by Decision
Watson de Castro def. Jackson Elitelmo by Decision
Jaqueline Pesadao def. Roberta Tanque by KO in Round 2
