As kickboxing continues to grow on a global scale with promotions like GLORY, K-1, ONE Championship, and more, fighters are constantly jockeying for position in the media's eyes, and rankings. Every month, the Beyond Kickboxing board will compile kickboxing rankings for each weight class from Heavyweight to Flyweight, as well as the pound-for-pound rankings for both men and women.
POUND-FOR-POUND MEN
Artem Vakhitov (7) won by unanimous decision against Pascal Touré. Vakhitov looked as good as ever for his return to Russia following the termination of his Glory contract.
Wei Rui (10) dominated Adrian Maxim over three rounds to get a unanimous decision win. The Chinese champion had a scare in the last minute when Maxim landed a punch that put him on wobbly legs. Rui survived to stay undefeated in 12 fights since joining the division.
POUND-FOR-POUND WOMEN
No fighter in the top 10 has been active this month.
HEAVYWEIGHT (+95 KG)
Andrei Stoica (-) lost to Francesko Xhaja (10) by split decision. The Albanian fighter makes his way into the rankings for the first time.
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT (-95 KG)
Artem Vakhitov (1) won by unanimous decision against Pascal Touré. Vakhitov looked as good as ever for his return to Russia following the termination of his GLORY contract.
Donegi Abena (2) won against Sergej Maslobojev (3) by doctor stoppage in the fourth round due to a shin cut suffered on a checked kick to win the GLORY Light Heavyweight Championship.
Nikita Kozlov (6) knocked out an overmatched Fabio Alberto with a right hook in the second round.
Ariel Machado (10) lost to Beybulat Isaev by unanimous decision. The fight was contested above the 95 kg limit and doesn’t affect the rankings.
MIDDLEWEIGHT (-85 KG)
Donovan Wisse (1) defeats Cesar Almeida (2) by unanimous decision in a non-title fight following Almeida’s missed weigh-in. Wisse cements his position as the best Middleweight in the world.
Serkan Ozcaglayan (3) finishes Sergej Braun (8) in the second round, overwhelming the German with a flurry of punches before sending him down into the canvas with a left hook.
Islam Murtazaev (4) defeats Sergey Ponomarev (5) by unanimous decision over five rounds taking the Russian K-1 85 kg title.
Sher Mmazulunov (-) who is winless in the last 18 months and has been competing in boxing for the last year leaves the rankings.
WELTERWEIGHT (-77 KG)
Dmitry Menshikov (4) made easy work of Mehran Mohammadnia knocking him down three times in the second round to force the stoppage.
Mohamed Touchassie (8) defeated Maxim Sulgin by unanimous decision after five competitive rounds for the Fair Fight Welterweight title.
LIGHTWEIGHT (-71 KG)
Tayfun Ozcan (7) defeated Ali Baniasad at Enfusion 119, his signature combinations forced the referee to stop the fight at the end of the second round.
Kaito Ono (10) faced Tsukuru Midorikawa in what was the veteran’s retirement fight. Midorikawa went down multiple times before his corner threw in the towel in the third round. The fight was contested under Muay Thai rules and doesn’t affect the rankings
SUPER FEATHERWEIGHT (-67.5 KG)
Wei Rui (5) dominated Adrian Maxim over three rounds to get a unanimous decision win. The Chinese champion had a scare in the last minute when Maxim landed a punch that put him on wobbly legs. Rui survived to stay undefeated in 12 fights since joining the division.
FEATHERWEIGHT (-64 KG)
Zhu Shuai (4) lost to Maksim Petkevich by decision. The bout was contested a weight class up and doesn’t affect the rankings.
Hiroki Kasahara (10) defeated Lamnamoonlek Tded99 by third extension round decision. The fight was contested at 65kg and doesn’t affect the rankings.
SUPER BANTAMWEIGHT (-61 KG)
Tomoya Yokoyama (7) defeated Petchsamui by unanimous decision after knocking him down in the first two rounds with punches before being counted himself on low kicks in the last round.
Yuki Kasahara (5) defeated TAaaaCHAN by unanimous decision on Shoot Boxing.
Huang Shuailu (8) defeated Tsotne Sultanishvili on Wu Lin Feng.
Djany Fiorenti (10) defeated Luc Genieys by decision at Stars Night 2023 to maintain himself in the rankings.
BANTAMWEIGHT (-58 KG)
Kyo Kawakami (9) defeated Gaopayak Y’ZD Gym by unanimous decision on Shoot Boxing.
SUPER FLYWEIGHT (-55 KG)
Koki Osaki (5) faced Ryoga Terayama, the fight ended in a technical decision draw following a low blow in the third round.
Akram Hamidi (6) took out Giacomo D’Aquino with a knee to the body in the second round.
Koyata Yamada (8) knocked out Seiki Ueyama in the last round of their shoot boxing title fight to capture the 55kg belt of the promotion.
Yugo Kato (9) knocked out veteran Yuki Kyotani in two rounds.
FLYWEIGHT (-53 KG)
Ryu Hanaoka (4) defeated Sanchai TeppenGym by split decision at No Kick No Life. This bout was under Muay Thai rules and has no effect on his ranking.
Koji Ikeda (7) knocked out Kiri Matsutani in round two to defend his Krush 53 kg belt for the second time.
