Kunlun Fight (KLF) () is a kickboxing promotion headquartered in Beijing, China. It debuted in 2014 and is regarded as one of the top kickboxing promotions in the world. Events are broadcast on Jiangsu Television domestically and on various regional and international channels.
The first event was held in Pattaya, Thailand on January 25, 2014. The promotion has since held over 20 events each year.
History The first event in Pattaya, Thailand on January 25, 2014, included super fights and a 4-man kickboxing tournament with Andrei Kulebin, Petsanguan Luktupfah, Guo Dongwang and Umar Semata. After the inaugural event the promotion has held events in Thailand two more times.
On June 7, 2015, it was announced that Kunlun Fight had signed one of the most successful and famous 70 kg kickboxers in history, 2 time K-1 World Max Champion Buakaw Banchamek to an exclusive 6-fight contract. Buakaw has continued fighting in the promotion beyond the original 6-fight contract.
In 2015, the promotion organized Kunlun Fight 25 in Banská Bystrica, Slovakia. The event included a Lethwei superfight at between Burmese Lethwei star Too Too and local Slovak fighter Igor Danis at 75 kg in the event organized in partnership with the Slovakia Lethwei Association. The event was billed as the European Premiere of Lethwei marking the first Lethwei fights hosted in Europe. Too Too dominated the match and inflicted heavy damage to his opponent. The match was ruled a draw under Traditional rules.
In March 2016, Kunlun Fight finished series B financing from Morningside Ventures, IDG Capital Partners and Northern Light Venture Capital. The round of financing valued the company at over US$350 million, making Kunlun Fight the most valuable combat sports company in China. Prior to B+ round of financing in Q1 2017 the company was reportedly valued at over US$500 million.
Multiple Kunlun Fight branded gyms and event venues exist like the Kunlun Fight World Combat Sports Center in Beijing and the Kunlun Fight Stadium in Tongling, Anhui, China.
70 kg tournaments Kunlun Fight holds a yearly 70 kg world championship tournament.
In 2014 the inaugural 16-man tournament was won by Dzianis Zuev who defeated Victor Nagbe in the final.
For 2015 the tournament was expanded to 64-man and Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong emerged as the champion from a field of fighters including multiple kickboxing champions and highly ranked fighters such as Marat Grigorian, Enriko Gogokhia, Enriko Kehl, Davit Kiria, Murthel Groenhart, Andy Souwer, Yodsanklai Fairtex, Dzhabar Askerov, Superbon Banchamek, Amancio Paraschiv, Chingiz Allazov, Aikpracha Meenayothin and the 2014 tournament winner Dzianis Zuev.
The 2016 tournament was won by Superbon Banchamek, who also beat the winner of the previous tournament Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong in the quarterfinals.
The 2017 tournament champion was Marat Grigorian who beat the 2016 tournament winner Superbon Banchamek in the final.
The 2018 tournament was won by Davit Kiria.
The 2019 tournament was intended to be held on 31 December 2019 in Wuzhishan City, Hainan, China, but was postponed. The tournament was rescheduled for March, 8 in Wuzhishan City, but the event had to be cancelled due to the 2020 coronavirus pandemic ban on live sporting events.
The 70 kg tournament was announced to be coming back for 2024. It is scheduled to start April 27 on Kunlun Fight 97 in Beijing.
Kunlun Combat Professional League On September 22, 2018, Kunlun Fight launched a new line of 2nd tier events called Kunlun Combat League. The league has 16 teams and fights are fought in 6 different weight classes. The league events are held mostly at a Kunlun Fight venue in Tongling. 71 KCL events were held during the first qualification season between September 22 and December 31, 2018.
In its present format, the league begins in March with 16 teams split into 2 groups for a regular season. The highest scoring teams from both groups proceed to a knockout phase that culminates with the final event at the end of the year.
In 2019 the league was renamed to Kunlun Combat Professional League (KCPL) and started its first full season on March 16, 2019. The first season was won by team Shenzhen, who beat team Shenyang in the finals held on December 24, 2019, in Yiwu, China.
For the 2020 season, the intended March start date for the league was disrupted by the 2020 coronavirus pandemic. The 2020 season was rescheduled to start in mid-May without live audiences present at the events.
Kunlun Fight City Hero Started in 2016, a 3rd tier series of events with a mix of professional and amateur fights.
Kunlun Fight Events
Broadcast coverage Some current broadcasters include Jiangsu Television and ByteDance platforms Douyin and Xigua Video.
Some past broadcasters include Fox Sports Asia and Kix in various countries in Asia, RMC Sport 4, Fight Network, FightBox in multiple countries internationally, Workpoint TV in Thailand, HKSTV in Hong Kong and Taiwan (2016), Anhui Television in China (2017) and Eurosport. In 2017 Kunlun Fight MMA events were broadcast monthly in China on CCTV-5.
Rules Kunlun Fight mostly holds fights under kickboxing rules, but also under MMA rules. Some Kun Khmer, Muay Thai, Boxing and Lethwei fights have also been held on Kunlun Fight events.
◾Kickboxing rules: no clinch for survival, active clinch with knees, no throws, no elbows, a yellow card forfeits 25% of the fight purse and earns a 1-point deduction, a red card is a disqualification.
◾Mixed martial arts rules: Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts
◾Muay thai rules: knees are allowed to the body, legs and the head, throws and clinch are allowed, elbows are allowed to the body, legs and head, a yellow card forfeits 25% of the fight purse and earns a 1-point deduction, a red card is a disqualification.
Weight classes Weight Classes Kilograms(kg) Pounds(lbs)Strawweight 51 115Flyweight 57 125Bantamweight 61 135Featherweight 66 145Lightweight 70 155Welterweight 77 170Middleweight 84 185Light Heavyweight 93 205Heavyweight Unlimited Unlimited
Champions Kickboxing champions Tournament champions Weight ClassChampionRunner-upEventDateTournament Bracket2014 70 kg World Championship Tournament Dzianis Zuev Victor NagbeKunlun Fight 13November 16, 201470 kg World Max Tournament 2014 bracket2015 100+ kg World Championship Tournament Jahfarr Wilnis Hesdy GergesKunlun Fight 26June 7, 2015Super Heavyweight Tournament 2015 bracket2016 Female 52 kg World Championship Tournament E Meidie Anissa MeksenKunlun Fight 32October 28, 2015Female 52 kg Tournament 2015 bracket2015 80 kg World Championship Tournament Artur Kyshenko Dmitry ValentKunlun Fight 35December 19, 201580 kg Tournament 2015 bracket2015 70 kg World Championship Tournament Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong Enriko GogokhiaKunlun Fight 37January 23, 201670 kg World Max Tournament 2015 bracket2016 75 kg World Championship Tournament Zheng Zhaoyu Zhang YangKunlun Fight 47July 10, 201675 Kg Tournament 2016 bracket2016 65 kg World Championship Tournament Wei Ninghui Abdellah EzbiriKunlun Fight 51September 10, 201665 Kg Tournament 2016 bracket2016 100+ kg World Championship Tournament Andrei Gerasimchuk Tsotne RogavaKunlun Fight 52September 11, 20162016 80 kg World Championship Tournament Alexander Stetsurenko Dmitry ValentKunlun Fight 55December 10, 2016 2016 70 kg World Championship Tournament Superbon Banchamek Jomthong ChuwattanaKunlun Fight 56January 1, 201770 kg World Max Tournament 2016 bracket2017 70 kg World Championship Tournament Marat Grigorian Superbon BanchamekKunlun Fight 69February 4, 201870 kg World Championship Tournament bracket
One night tournament champions Weight ClassChampionRunner-upEventDateTournament Bracket 4-Man 67 kg tournament Petsangnuan Luktupfah Andrei Kulebin Kunlun Fight 1 January 25, 2014 67 kg tournament bracket 4-Man 80 kg tournament Simon Marcus Vehas Topking Kunlun Fight 2 February 16, 2014 80kg tournament bracket Female 52 kg tournament Jemyma Betrian E Meidie Kunlun Fight 3 March 30, 2014 Female 52 kg tournament bracket 4-Man 95 kg tournament Massinissa Hamaili Ivan Bartek Kunlun Fight 4 April 27, 2014 95 kg tournament bracket 4-Man 70 kg tournament Victor Nagbe Li Zikai Kunlun Fight 5 June 1, 2014 70 kg tournament bracket 4-Man 100 kg tournament Andrei Gerasimchuk Dmitry Bezus Kunlun Fight 6 June 29, 2014 100 kg tournament bracket 4-Man 75 kg tournament Xu Zhenguang Kiryl Chanka Kunlun Fight 8 August 24, 2014 75 kg tournament bracket Female 60 kg tournament Valentina Shevchenko Irina Mazepa Kunlun Fight 9 August 31, 2014 Female 60 kg tournament bracket 4-Man 95 kg tournament Andrei Gerasimchuk Wang Chongyang Kunlun Fight 10 September 13, 2014 95 kg tournament bracket 4-Man 65 kg tournament Yang Zhuo Phosa Nopphorn Kunlun Fight 12 October 26, 2014 60 kg tournament bracket 4-Man 75 kg tournament Nuerla Mulali Wang Yuhu Kunlun Fight 34 November 21, 2015 75 kg tournament bracket 8-Man 61.5 kg tournament Saeksan Or. Kwanmuang Wang Wenfeng Kunlun Fight 66 November 5, 2017 8-Man 100+ kg tournament Roman Kryklia Iraj Azizpour Kunlun Fight 80 February 24, 2019 8-Man 75 kg tournament Vitaly Gurkov Saiyok Pumpanmuang Kunlun Fight 81 July 27, 2019 8-Man 61 kg tournament Ali Zarinfar Jianglong Li Kunlun Fight 94 January 19, 2024
Women's lightweight champions -60 kg (-132.3 lb) No.NameEventDateDefenses 2 Wang Congdef. Valentina ShevchenkoKunlun Fight 33Changde, ChinaOctober 31, 2015 1 Valentina Shevchenkodef. Irina MazepaKunlun Fight 9Shangqiu, ChinaAugust 31, 20141. def. Chali Bassinah at Kunlun Fight 11 on October 5, 2014
Muaythai champions
Middleweight championship -70 kg (-154.3 lb) No.NameEventDateDefenses 1 Buakaw Banchamekdef. Dylan SalvadorKunlun Fight 53Beijing, ChinaSeptember 24, 2016
MMA champions
Middleweight championship 84 kg (185 lbs); division was formerly 79 kg (175 lbs) until 2017 No.NameEventDateDefenses 1 Wang Sai def. Sergey ProskuryakovKunlun Fight 36Shanghai, ChinaJanuary 9, 20161. def. Horiuchi Yasuhiro at Kunlun Fight - Cage Fight Series 6 on October 21, 2016
Welterweight championship 77 kg (170 lbs); division was formerly 75 kg (165 lbs) until 2017 No.NameEventDateDefenses 2 Zhang Lipeng def. Beibit NazarovKunlun Fight 37Sanya, ChinaJanuary 23, 20161. def. Takashi Noto at Kunlun Fight 43 on April 26, 2016 1 Beibit Nazarov def. Bruno AmorimKunlun Fight - Cage Fight Series 2Almaty, KazakhstanApril 4, 20151. def. Wu Haotian at Kunlun Fight - Cage Fight Series 3 on June 7, 20152. def. Massimo Capusella at Kunlun Fight - Cage Fight Series 4 on October 4, 2015
Flyweight championship No.NameEventDateDefenses 1 Oscar Suarez Fleitas def. Zhang MeixuanKunlun Fight MMA 14August 28, 2017
Female strawweight championship No.NameEventDateDefenses 1 Weili Zhang def. Maira De SouzaKunlun Fight 53Shanghai, ChinaSeptember 24, 20161. def. Karla Benitez at Kunlun Fight MMA 7 on December 15, 2016
Notable fighters Kickboxing 67 kg (143.3 lb) and under
Kaew Fairtex Wei Ninghui Yang Zhuo Abdellah Ezbiri Fabio Pinca Wang Wenfeng Tetsuya Yamato Ilias Bulaid Saeksan Or. Kwanmuang Taiga Kawabe Lee Sung-hyun Massaro Glunder Lerdsila Chumpairtour
70 kg (154.3 lb)
Buakaw Banchamek Superbon Banchamek Jomthong Chuwattana Yodsanklai Fairtex Enriko Gogokhia Marat Grigorian Murthel Groenhart Davit Kiria Albert Kraus Andrei Kulebin Wu Xuesong Kem Sitsongpeenong Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong Andy Souwer Amansio Paraschiv Warren Stevelmans Vlad Tuinov Dylan Salvador Anatoly Moiseev Steve Moxon Mohamed Mezouari Enriko Kehl Dzianis Zuev Chingiz Allazov Dzhabar Askerov Aikpracha Meenayothin Armin Pumpanmuang Windy Sport Tayfun Ozcan Cedric Manhoef Chris Ngimbi Yuichiro Nagashima Mustapha Haida
75 - 85 kg (165.3 - 187.4 lb)
Artur Kyshenko Simon Marcus Alexander Stetsurenko Dmitry Valent Vitaly Gurkov Alex Pereira Israel Adesanya Alim Nabiev Jason Wilnis Hicham El Gaoui Too Too Bai Jinbin Vuyisile Colossa Thongchai Sitsongpeenong