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. Each month, the Beyond Kickboxing board will publish updated rankings for every weight class, from Heavyweight to Flyweight, along with pound-for-pound rankings for both men and women.
No fighter in the top 10 at Super Featherweight (-67.5 kg), Bantamweight (-58 kg), Women Openweightweight (+59 kg), and Women Strawweight (-50 kg)has been active this month.
MEN'S POUND-FOR-POUND
Rico Verhoeven (2 to NR) exits the rankings. The pound-for-pound champion hasn’t competed in kickboxing in 10 months and has relinquished his GLORY title. He will challenge Oleksandr Usyk for the WBC World Heavyweight Championship at the Pyramids of Giza on May 23.
Rémi Parra (NR to 10) enters the pound-for-pound rankings for the first time. The Frenchman capped off a perfect 2025 campaign at 7-0, capturing the K-1, ISKA, and La Nuit des Champions belts.
HEAVYWEIGHT (+95 KG)
Rico Verhoeven (1 to NR) exits the rankings. The pound-for-pound champion hasn’t competed in kickboxing in 10 months and has relinquished his GLORY title. He will challenge Oleksandr Usyk for the WBC World Heavyweight Championship at the Pyramids of Giza on May 23.
Mory Kromah (4 to 1) defeated Michael Boiapeah by unanimous decision in the quarterfinal of the GLORY Last Heavyweight Standing tournament. In the semifinals, he defeated Tariq Osaro (5 to 2) by unanimous decision. Osaro had knocked out Nidal Bchiri (6) in his quarterfinal bout. Kromah was declared the winner of the Last Heavyweight Standing tournament by default when his scheduled opponent was not medically cleared to compete and none of the reservists accepted the fight.
Sofian Laidouni (2 to 4) lost by unanimous decision to Miloš Cvjetićanin (9 to 3) after receiving an eight count in both the first and second rounds in the quarterfinal of the GLORY Last Heavyweight Standing tournament. Cvjetićanin then defeated Anis Bouzid by majority decision but was not medically cleared to compete in the final.
Bahram Rajabzadeh (8) knocked out Cristian Ristea with a series of hooks in just 31 seconds.
Rade Opacic (NR to 10) reenters.
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT (-95 KG)
Lukas Achterberg (NR to ) won the K-1 90kg World Tournament, knocking out Nikita Kozlov (NR to 10) in the first round of the final. Achterberg reached the final with first-round knockouts of Mahmoud Sattari and Bogdan Stoica.
Nikita Kozlov (NR to 10) advanced to the final after defeating Ibrahim El Bouni (9 to NR) by unanimous decision in the semifinals, scoring an eight count in the first round. Earlier in the tournament, Kozlov defeated Aslan Koshiyev by unanimous decision in an extension round.
Ibrahim El Bouni (9 to NR) had opened his campaign with a unanimous decision victory over Marco Black Diamond in the quarterfinals.
Stefan Latescu (7) defeated Enrico Pellegrino by unanimous decision after scoring two knockdowns.
Mory Kromah (10 to NR) exits the rankings after spending a year away from the division while being ranked in the weight class above.
MIDDLEWEIGHT (+85 KG)
Fabian Lorito (10) defeated Mohamed Asbared by unanimous decision.
WELTERWEIGHT (-77 KG)
Hamicha (6) defeated late replacement Brice Kombou by unanimous decision in an 84 kg catchweight bout after failing to meet the contracted deadline for his original 77kg matchup.
LIGHTWEIGHT (-71 KG)
Ouyang Feng (4) defeated Andrey Elin by unanimous decision in a 75 kg catchweight bout after Elin missed the contracted weight by four kilograms.
Kacper Muszynski (8) was knocked out in the first round by Dengue Silva, who survived an early knockdown in their 75 kg bout.
SUPER BANTAMWEIGHT (-61 KG)
Giorgi Malania (1) stopped Zhu Shuai (3 to 4) by doctor stoppage in the third round to successfully defend his Wu Lin Feng 63 kg title for the second time.
Hirotaka Asahisa (2 to 3) lost to Yuzuki Satomi (7 to 2) by unanimous decision after an extension round in their bout for the vacant K-1 62.5 kg title.
Jin Ying (5 to 6) stopped Shakhriyor Juraev with low kicks in under a minute.
Wei Weiyang (6 to 7) knocked out late replacement Vasili Petchersikh in the first round.
Kongnapa (10) fought to a draw against Taimu Hisai under Muay Thai rules. This result does not affect his ranking.
SUPER BANTAMWEIGHT (-61 KG)
Yuki Kasahara (6) knocked out Thalison Ferreira with a knee to the body in the second round.
Lamnamoonlek (10) enters the rankings after dominating Daniel Puertas Gallardo by unanimous decision. The Thai fighter looks to be a force under kickboxing rules, winning both of his ONE outings comfortably.
SUPER FLYWEIGHT (-55 KG)
Akihiro Kaneko (3) against Rui Okubo (4) was ruled a no contest. Okubo came in 1.3 kg over the contracted limit and won the fight by decision after an extension round despite a two-point deduction. Under the new K-1 rules, his victory was automatically overturned to a no contest.
Ryunosuke Omori (6) defeated Taisei Umei by unanimous decision after an extension round at 57.5 kg.
FLYWEIGHT (-53 KG)
Jin Mandokoro (3) knocked out Eduard Markarian with a high kick in the second round at 56.5 kg.
Tenshi Matsumoto (4) defeated Sora Tanazawa (5) by unanimous decision to capture the vacant RISE 51.5 kg title.
Issei Ishii (10) defeated Zhang Jinhui by unanimous decision to defend his K-1 -53 kg title.
WOMEN'S BANTAMWEIGHT (-57.5 KG)
Jackie Buntan (2 to 3) lost her ONE Championship title by split decision to Stella Hemetsberger (5 to 2).
Antonia Prifti (6) defeated Melis Nazlican Talun by unanimous decision in an open-finger gloves bout.
Chiellina Chirino (10 to NR) leaves the rankings after 18 months of inactivity.
Michaela Kerlehova (NR to 10) enters the rankings in her place.
WOMEN'S FLYWEIGHT (-53.5 KG)
SAHO (1) defeated Sofia Tsolakidou (10) by unanimous decision to defend her K-1 -52kg title. SAHO returned strong after what some would consider a lackluster performance in her last outing against Lara Fernandez.
WOMEN'S ATOMWEIGHT (-47 KG)
Veronica Rodriguez (1) defeated Kira Matsutani (2) by unanimous decision to claim the K-1 -45 kg title. A late knockdown in the third round sealed the deal for the Mexican challenger.
