Eduard Gafencu (born February 9, 1993) is a Romanian kickboxer and former boxer. He currently competes in the Welterweight division for Glory. Gafencu is the first fighter to become a two-division Colosseum Tournament champion, holding titles in two weight classes simultaneously. He has also competed for Dynamite Fighting Show (DFS).
As of 18 August 2020, he is the #14 ranked welterweight in the world, according to the International Professional Combat Council (IPCC).IPCC WORLD RANKING 78.1KG - Kickboxing (K1 Rules)
Early life Gafencu played soccer from 7 to 14 years old, but quit after an injury. He also practiced swimming. Gafencu then started boxing at the age of 15, but after a short while he switched to kickboxing. At the age of 16 and a half, he had his first fight and practiced kickboxing until the age of 21, culminating in a three-year hiatus.
Professional kickboxing career Gafencu entered the professional circuit in 2017, after being initiated by the coach Gabriel Moț from Top Fighters Club and taken over from Arnold Nagy (Metalbox) by the Ruben Stoia Boxing Club.
Colosseum Tournament Gafencu competed for various regional Romanian promotions, in the process amassing a record of 6–0.
In 2018, Gafencu had signed a contract with the Colosseum Tournament. He took part in a four-man super welterweight tournament to determine the Colosseum Tournament's first Colosseum Tournament World Super Welterweight Champion.
Gafencu faced Adrian Cibu on September 17, 2018, in the semi-final of the Super Welterweight Tournament. He won the fight in emphatic fashion via knockout in round one to progress to the final round of the tournament. Gafencu faced Leonard Dorin's student Adelin Mihăilă at Colosseum Tournament 8 in the finals. Gafencu won the match via knockout in the third round. The triumph also earned Gafencu his first Performance of the Night award.
Gafencu faced Flavius Boiciuc on December 14, 2018, at Colosseum Tournament 10. He won the fight via unanimous decision.
Gafencu faced the Fight Institute by Peter Aerts's Thomas Doeve on March 29, 2019, at Colosseum Tournament 11. He won the fight via knockout in round one. This win earned him his second Performance of the Night award. The tornado kick knockout has been also acknowledged by sites like Sherdog, MMA Fighting, MMAjunkie.com and others as the potential Knockout of the Year for 2019.
Gafencu moved down to the welterweight division. He faced the Bonjasky Academy's Ekrem Doruk for the inaugural Colosseum Tournament World Welterweight Championship on May 9, 2019, in the main event of Colosseum Tournament 12. He won the fight via knockout in the second round, becoming the first Colosseum Tournament fighter to win titles in two weight classes. This win earned him the Performance of the Night award for a third time.
Dynamite Fighting Show On January 23, 2020, it was announced that Gafencu had signed a deal with Dynamite Fighting Show.
In his debut fight for the promotion, Gafencu faced the Hemmers Gym's Benjamin Masudi on March 5, 2020, at Dynamite Fighting Show 7. Eduard Gafencu knocked down Masudi twice in the fight. He won the fight via unanimous decision.
Return to Colosseum Tournament In September 2020, it was announced that Gafencu signed a deal to return to the Colosseum Tournament.
In his return bout, Gafencu was expected to face Adelin Mihăilă in rematch on October 23, 2020, at Colosseum Tournament 20. However on October 6, it was announced that Mihăilă pulled out due to his COVID-19 recovery, and he was replaced by Alexandru Ianţoc. Gafencu won the fight via knockout in the second round.
Gafencu faced Anghel Cardoş in a 3-round non-title on February 26, 2021, at Colosseum Tournament 23. He lost the fight via decision. The result was seen as highly controversial.Colosseum Tournament XXIII: RESULTS
Following his first professional loss, Gafencu returned to face Flavius Boiciuc at Colosseum Tournament 25. He won the fight by unanimous decision.
Fighting style In 2019, Gafencu earned public praise from Romanian legend Daniel Ghiță for his ring performances. He was described by Ghiță as "a highly talented kickboxer".
He has a son, who was born in 2017.
Championships and accomplishments Kickboxing Colosseum Tournament Colosseum Tournament World Welterweight Championship (one, inaugural) Colosseum Tournament World Super Welterweight Championship (one, inaugural) Colosseum Tournament World Super Welterweight Championship Tournament Winner Performance of the Night (four times) vs. Adrian Cibu & Adelin Mihăilă, Thomas Doeve, Ekrem Doruk and Anghel Cardoş First multi-divisional champion in Colosseum Tournament history Dynamite Fighting Show 2023 Comeback of the Yearhttps://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=742746154549690&set=pcb.742746264549679 2023 Fight of the Year vs. Ștefan Orza at DFS 20https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=742746051216367&set=pcb.742746264549679 Fight of the Night (one time) vs. Benjamin Masudi Russia Today 2019 Knockout of the Year vs. Thomas Doeve
Kickboxing record
|- style="background:#fbb;" | 2024-06-13|| Loss ||align=left| Alexandru Amariței || K-1 Fighting Network Romania 2024 || Galați, Romania || TKO (leg injury) || 1 || 2:58 || 17-7 |- style="background:#fbb;" | 2023-10-07 || Loss ||align=left| Teodor Hristov || Glory 89 || Burgas, Bulgaria || Decision (unanimous) || 3 || 3:00 || 17-6 |- |- style="background:#fbb;" | 2023-09-22 || Loss ||align=left| Ștefan Orza || Dynamite Fighting Show 20 - Welterweight Championship Tournament, Semi Finals || Bucharest, Romania || Decision (unanimous) || 3 || 3:00 || 17-5 |- |- style="background:#fbb;" | 2023-06-17|| Loss ||align=left| Diaguely Camara || Glory: Collision 5 || Rotterdam, Netherlands || TKO (knee) || 2 ||2:24 || 17-4 |- |- bgcolor="#CCFFCC" | 2023-03-12 || Win ||align=left| Mădălin Crăciunică || DFS 18 - Welterweight Championship Tournament, Quarter Finals || Timișoara, Romania || TKO (three knockdowns) || 1 || 2:50 || 17-3
|- style="background:#fbb;" | 2022-08-18 || Loss ||align=left| Alexandru Amariței || Colosseum Tournament 34 || Brașov, Romania || Decision (unanimous) || 5 || 3:00 || 16-3 |- ! style=background:white colspan=9 | |- |- bgcolor="#CCFFCC" | 2022-05-09 || Win ||align=left| Robert Gontineac || Colosseum Tournament 31 || Arad, Romania || TKO (towel thrown) || 2 || 1:24 || 16-2
|- style="background:#fbb;" | 2022-04-08 || Loss ||align=left| Joakim Hägg || Colosseum Tournament 30 || Malmö, Sweden || Decision (unanimous) || 3 || 3:00 || 15-2
|- bgcolor="#CCFFCC" | 2021-09-20 || Win ||align=left| Anghel Cardoş || Colosseum Tournament 27 || Oradea, Romania || Decision (unanimous) || 5 || 3:00 || 15-1 |- ! style=background:white colspan=9 | |- |- bgcolor="#CCFFCC" | 2021-05-31 || Win ||align=left| Flavius Boiciuc || Colosseum Tournament 25 || Cluj-Napoca, Romania || Decision (unanimous) || 3 || 3:00 || 14-1 |- |- style="background:#fbb;" | 2021-02-26 || Loss ||align=left| Anghel Cardoş || Colosseum Tournament 23 || Bucharest, Romania || Decision (majority) || 3 || 3:00 || 13-1 |- |- bgcolor="#CCFFCC" | 2020-10-23 || Win ||align=left| Alexandru Ianţoc || Colosseum Tournament 20 || Arad, Romania || KO (jumping knee) || 2 || 2:25 || 13-0 |- |- bgcolor="#CCFFCC" | 2020-03-05 || Win ||align=left| Benjamin Masudi || DFS 7 || Arad, Romania || Decision (unanimous) || 3 || 3:00 || 12-0
|- bgcolor="#CCFFCC" | 2019-05-09 || Win ||align=left| Ekrem Doruk || Colosseum Tournament 12 || Arad, Romania || KO (jumping knee and punches) || 2 || 2:13 || 11-0 |- ! style=background:white colspan=9 | |- |- bgcolor="#CCFFCC" | 2019-03-29 || Win ||align=left| Thomas Doeve || Colosseum Tournament 11 || Bucharest, Romania || KO (tornado kick) || 1 || 2:19 || 10-0 |- ! style=background:white colspan=9 | |- |- bgcolor="#CCFFCC" | 2018-12-14 || Win ||align=left| Flavius Boiciuc || Colosseum Tournament 10 || Timișoara, Romania || Decision (unanimous) || 3 || 3:00 || 9-0
|- bgcolor="#CCFFCC" | 2018-09-17 || Win ||align=left| Adelin Mihăilă || Colosseum Tournament 8, Final || Bucharest, Romania || KO (right hook & double left hook) || 3 || 0:22 || 8-0 |- ! style=background:white colspan=9 | |- |- bgcolor="#CCFFCC" | 2018-09-17 || Win ||align=left| Adrian Cibu || Colosseum Tournament 8, Semi-final || Bucharest, Romania || KO (flurry of punches) || 1 || 2:57 || 7-0 |- ! style=background:white colspan=9 | |- |- bgcolor="#CCFFCC" | 2018-01-28 || Win ||align=left| Paul Crețiu || Fighters League 2 || Reșița, Romania || Decision (unanimous) || 3 || 3:00 || 6-0
| colspan=9 | Legend:
Professional boxing record
ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes2Win2–0 Corneliu Lisii4 (4) 28 June 2019 1Win1–0 Titusz Szabó1 (4), 17 November 2018
See also List of male kickboxers
References
External links
Eduard Gafencu at Tapology.com