“There’s no point in trying to be something you’re not.” Those were the words of Kira Matsutani following her first successful title defense—a statement of authenticity that defined her year. In a landscape marked by the departures of icons like Koyuki Miyazaki and Miyuu Sugawara, and compounded by the unexpected stumbles of stalwarts like Arina Kobayashi and KANA, Matsutani’s words resounded. At just 22 years old, she has emerged as the preeminent force in women's kickboxing, challenged perhaps only by the formidable Saho Yoshino.
The global upheaval in the sport was palpable this year. With European promotions like Enfusion shifting their focus and GLORY officially placing its women’s super-bantamweight division on hiatus, the matchmaking environment in the West grew increasingly sparse. However, these industry shifts do nothing to diminish our winner's accolades. While the likes of Phetjeeja, Tessa De Kom, and Antonia Prifti all turned in notable performances, none could match the consistency and narrative weight of Matsutani’s campaign.
For years, Matsutani lingered in the shadows of her RISE Girls Power contemporaries, Kobayashi and Miyazaki. But 2025 was the year the Tokyo native finally seized the spotlight. Training under the meticulous eye of Koya Urabe at ALONZA ABLAZE, she capitalized on K-1’s steadfast commitment to the atomweight ranks. As the old guard stepped away, Matsutani stepped up, authoring a definitive breakout year.
The pinnacle of her season arrived during a grueling tournament for the vacant K-1 Women’s Atomweight Championship. Facing a surging Aki Suematsu, Matsutani secured the gold in a razor-thin majority decision. When skeptics initially labeled the victory a fluke, Matsutani did what champions do: she silenced them.
Their September rematch was an instant classic—an absolute war that pushed both athletes to an exhausting extension round. Matsutani displayed veteran-level championship mettle to emerge with a split-decision victory, forever cementing her status as the new face of the division and perhaps K-1.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
In a similar vein, Debora Evora found much success this year after a very active, but hit-or-miss year in 2024, the Portuguese native found much success, ending the year undefeated with three wins. One of those wins being a career defining win with a stoppage victory over pound-for-pound ranked Martine Michieletto, handing the Italian fighter her first stoppage loss in almost a decade to claim the ISKA K-1 World Featherweight title. Although the lack of another standout win holds her back from claiming the fighter of the year title.
