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World Kickboxing Network

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World Kickboxing Network
AbbreviationWKN
FormationOctober 1994
FoundersStephane Cabrera
Olivier Muller
Billy Murray
Founded atFrance
Region served
Worldwide
Official language
English
President
Stephane Cabrera
Websitewww.worldkickboxingnetwork.net
RemarksWKN initially founded as a subsidiary of International Sport Karate Association. The organizations split in 1998.

The World Kickboxing Network (WKN) is an international Kickboxing governing body established in 1994.[1]

History

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In 1994, the World Kickboxing Network was founded as a subsidiary of International Sport Karate Association (ISKA) to capture new markets. The ISKA's operations were concentrated in the North American market, while WKN was focusing in Europe. In the 1990s there was strong competition between kickboxing federations.[1] Both organizations split in late 1998 due to minor disagreements. The newly created team was chaired by Frenchman Stephane Cabrerra, Billy Murray and Olivier Muller.[2]

On September 19, 1998, WKN became the first organization to promote a world championship in Muay Thai on the same event as a boxing world championship. Jérôme Le Banner vs. Espedito Da Silva for the WKN World super heavyweight Muay Thai title was sanctioned on the undercard of Evander Holyfield vs. Vaughn Bean for the WBA and IBF heavyweight titles at Georgia Dome in Atlanta.[3] The event was organized in collaboration with promoter Don King whom raised the hand of Le Banner,[4] crowned new WKN Muay Thai world champion after knocking out Da Silva in the first-round.[5]

On October 22, 2004, WKN made history in kickboxing by promoting the first kickboxing world championship bout in Romania. Samir Mohamed vs. Alexander Kozachenko for the WKN World super lightweight title headlined the Eurosport and Pro TV televised event Local Kombat 10 in the city of Brăila.[citation needed] The local Kombat promotion later developed into the Superkombat Fighting Championship,[6][7] with its winners competing for the WKN titles.[8][9]

In January 2011, International Vale Tudo Championship (IVC) announced its return with a new ruleset based on the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts.[10] On August 20, 2016, WKN brought IVC back to the international scene by co-promoting Micheletti Vs. Ortiz for the WKN World super cruiserweight World title[11] in the main event of IVC 15 in Sao Paulo, Brazil.[3] The event also included MMA bouts.[12][13] Micheletti defeated Ortiz and took the title by knockout in the first round. After IVC 15, there were no more events and the organization is currently on hiatus.[14] After IVC 15 there were no more events and the organization is currently on hiatus.[15]

In 2014, WKN launched a world series of international kickboxing events named Simply the Best which was broadcast on FOX Sports[16] and SFR Sport 5.[17]

WKN World Cup

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WKN World Cup 2009 Paceville, St. Julian's, Malta

The event took place in St. Julian's, Malta on September 19, 2009 with up to 13 countries partaking, including Malta, Corsica, Belgium, Egypt, France, Poland, UK, among others.[18]

WKN World Cup 2019 Auckland, New Zealand

The event was held from November 28 to November 30, 2019, as an amateur championship contested by international athletes in their respective weight classes. It took place at The Trusts Arena in Auckland, New Zealand with up to 60 countries participating. The event marked the first time kickboxing and mixed martial arts world championships were contested at the same event in New Zealand.[19] The WKN World Middleweight MMA title bout between Kelvin Joseph and Roan Carneiro[20][21] as well as the WKN World Super Heavyweight championship bout between the champion Gregory Tony and former UFC Heavyweight title challenger and former Cage Rage World Heavyweight champion Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva were expected to headline the last day of competition.[22]

The fight between Tony and Silva was cancelled, as Silva was not medically cleared after being knocked out in his previous bout.[23] Carneiro won the fight against Joseph and took the title by submission in the first round.[24]

WKN World Cup 2017 Tehran, Iran

The event was held in Tehran, Iran on March 10, 2017 with 12 countries participating. [citation needed]

WKN Champions

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[25]

Champions by weight class

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WKN uses the following weight divisions.

Weight class name Upper limit Full Contact Champions Kickboxing Champions Oriental Rules Champions K-1 Rules Champions Muay Thai Champions
Flyweight 117 lb (53.070 kg) Vacant Vacant Spain Samvel Babayan Vacant Spain Stella Ortiz
Super Flyweight 121 lb (54.885 kg) Argentina Ignacio Capllonch Vacant Vacant Vacant Vacant
Bantamweight 125 lb (56.699 kg) Italy Emidio Molinari Vacant Argentina Ignacio Capllonch Vacant Spain Carlos Coello
Super Bantamweight 129 lb (58.513 kg) Poland Gerard Linder Croatia Sinisa Kovavic Croatia Marin Vrdoljak France Brandon Vieira Vacant Argentina Federico Roma
Featherweight 133 lb (60.328 kg) Malta Keith Azzopardi France Gaylord Montier Northern Ireland Jay Snoddon Jay Snoddon Thailand Yordniyom Yuttakangumtorn
Super Featherweight 137 lb (62.142 kg) Georgia (country) Sultanishvili Tsotne France Brandon Vieira France Karim Bennoui Vacant Thailand Benphet Asontep Phromsorn
Lightweight 142 lb (64.410 kg) France Yannick Reine France Bryan Lang United Kingdom Emile Hanna Spain Khyzer Hayat
Super Lightweight 147 lb (66.678 kg) France Kamel Jebir France Mohamed Galaoui United Kingdom Emile Hanna Vacant Vacant
Welterweight 154 lb (69.853 kg) France Bruce Codron Vacant South Korea Lee Sung-hyun Vacant Russia Arbi Emiev
Super Welterweight 161 lb (73.028 kg) France Ludovic Millet France Christian Berthely Spain Jordi Requejo Vacant Belgium Youssef Boughanem
Middleweight 168 lb (76.204 kg) Vacant Vacant Slovakia Milan Kratochvila Vacant Australia Toby Smith
Super Middleweight 175 lb (79.379 kg) Vacant France Dylan Colin France Yohan Lidon Vacant Vacant
Light Heavyweight 182 lb (82.554 kg) Vacant Vacant Vacant Vacant Cape Verde Steven Mendes Furtado
Super Light Heavyweight 189 lb (85.729 kg) Vacant Vacant France Gregory Grossi Vacant Belgium Rahmani Madani
Cruiserweight 196 lb (88.904 kg) United Kingdom Mohammed Al-Azzawi Vacant France Corentin Jallon Vacant Russia Artem Levin
Super Cruiserweight 203 lb (92.079 kg) United Kingdom Riyadh Al-Azzawi Vacant New Zealand Bob Dhcamad Armstrong Brazil Felipe Micheletti Germany Gerardo Atti
Heavyweight 230 lb (104.326 kg) Vacant Russia Vladimir Mineev France Stephane Susperregui Vacant Vacant
Super Heavyweight Unlimited Vacant Vacant Poland Tomasz Sarara France Grégory Tony Belgium Yassine Boughanem

See also

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Sources

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Books and articles

References

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  1. ^ a b Ashley Martin (16 April 2012). The Complete Martial Arts Training Manual: An Integrated Approach. Tuttle. ISBN 9781462905553. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  2. ^ "American kickboxing History". Dragon MMA Academy. 3 February 2020. Archived from the original on 2020-02-03.
  3. ^ a b Vale Tudo Partnership. Black Belt Magazine. January 2000. Retrieved 7 August 2022.
  4. ^ "Jérôme Le Banner, poing final". Corse-Matin (in French). May 2014. 1998 Champion du Monde de Muay Thaï W.K.N. des poids super-lourds
  5. ^ "Jérôme Le Banner, poing final". Street Press. Karaté Bushido. October 1998.
  6. ^ "Iftimoaie, vedeta la Cluj". Libertatea (in Romanian). 10 February 2005.
  7. ^ "Festival K-1, PRO TV". Libertatea (in Romanian). 28 September 2006.
  8. ^ "Ionuț Iftimoaie a devenit campion mondial al versiunilor Superkombat și WKN în fața a 30.000 de oameni". Libertatea (in Romanian). 7 August 2016.
  9. ^ "Ionut Iftimoaie a devenit campion mondial al versiunilor Superkombat si WKN". Stirilekanald (in Romanian). 8 August 2016.
  10. ^ Marcelo Alonso (Jan 24, 2012). "Old-School Vale Tudo Org IVC Returns with New Rules, Cage". Sherdog.
  11. ^ "IVC retorna com Kickboxing". Boxeando (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 2016-12-22. Retrieved 2016-08-19.
  12. ^ "IVC 15 - The New Era". Sherdog.
  13. ^ "Felipe Micheletti disputa cinturão no IVC 15". MMA Mais (in Portuguese).
  14. ^ "International Vale Tudo Championship - IVC". Tapology. Retrieved 2021-12-16.
  15. ^ "International Vale Tudo Championship - IVC - MMA Promoter". Tapology. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  16. ^ "Simply The Best "Argentina Fight Night" Live por FOX Sports Este viernes". MMA.uno (in Spanish).
  17. ^ "Kombat Sport – En Juin sur SFR Sport 5". Kombat Sport (in French).
  18. ^ "Kickboxing : 14 Countries represented at the first WKN World Cup in Malta - The Malta Independent". The Malta Independent. Retrieved 2019-06-24.
  19. ^ "Combat sport World Cup coming to New Zealand in November". Newshub. 2019-06-21. Retrieved 2019-06-24.
  20. ^ "Mark Hunt's epic battle remembered as Antonio 'Bigfoot' Silva announced to fight in Auckland". Stuff. 20 June 2019. Retrieved 2019-06-24.
  21. ^ Adyn Ogle (26 June 2019). "MMA: Tauranga's Kelvin Joseph eyes world title fight in New Zealand". The New Zealand Herald. ISSN 1170-0777.
  22. ^ "Kickboxing : Greg Tony s'attaque à "Bigfoot", la star de l'UFC". L'Est Républicain. 13 April 2019.
  23. ^ "MMA: Antonio 'Bigfoot' Silva withdrawn for scheduled fight at Kickboxing and MMA World Cup in New Zealand". The New Zealand Herald. ISSN 1170-0777.
  24. ^ "Roan 'Jucao' Carneiro wins WKN middleweight MMA title at NZ World Cup". MMA India. 2 December 2019.
  25. ^ "Current WKN World champions". WKN.
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