The Superkombat Fighting Championship stylized as SUPERKOMBAT or SK, was a Romanian kickboxing and mixed martial arts promotion based in Bucharest, Romania. The organization was considered one of the world’s top kickboxing organizations and at one point the largest kickboxing promotion in Europe, featuring some of the highest-level fighters in the sport on its roster.
Superkombat rose to prominence during the decline of the Japanese kickboxing giant K-1 in 2011. The next year, the organization partnered with K-1, assisting with event production, European talent recruitment and co-promoted K-1's 2012 event series in USA, Greece and Japan such as the K-1 World Grand Prix. Superkombat had partnerships with the World Kickboxing Network and WAKO for event sanctioning. Superkombat founder Eduard Irimia was awarded the Promoter of the Year 2011 by WIPU (World Independent Promoters Union) winning over Its Showtime and United Glory, an award who had previously been given to boxing promoter Don King. In 2016, the promotion held the Superkombat World Grand Prix IV 2016 which drew a record-setting attendance of 34,000 spectators in Comănești, Romania. This set a new European audience record for kickboxing, surpassing the previous mark of 25,000 set at the K-1 World Grand Prix 2007 in Amsterdam.
History Promoter Eduard Irimia built Local Kombat into a national sensation in Romania and in 2004 co-promoted in partnership with World Kickboxing Network, the first major world championship held on Romanian soil in kickboxing history. In 2009, Irimia made cover of the first issue of Forbes Romania magazine. Local Kombat eventually rebranded as Superkombat in 2011 and rose to global success during the decline of Japan's top kickboxing organization K-1 which catapulted Irimia to one of the most influential figures in kickboxing.Povestea lui Eduard Irimia, promotorul care a mutat K-1 din K-1 din Japonia în România - Alin Huiu - Accesat la data de 11.11.2011 Stephane Cabrera, President of the World Kickboxing Network stated that: "Kickboxing was completely unknown in Romania. Now their fighters are even more popular than football players. Eduard Irimia is now one of the biggest European promoters who makes a Superkombat show every month live on Eurosport, with a large and serious audience." Superkombat and Eurosport announced a three-year broadcast deal, and ultimately lasted until the end of 2016. Fight Now TV was the exclusive broadcaster in the United States and the partnership started with Superkombat World Grand Prix III 2013. On December 14, 2016, the promotion announced a one-year broadcast deal with CBS Sports, through its subsidiary CBS Sports Network, to air events in the United States. The deal included six events for 2017. In Brazil, Superkombat events were broadcast on Combate Channel from Globosat. FightBox aired Superkombat fights in over 40 countries around the world. The promotion was featured in the TV magazine program Eurosport Fight Club. Bob Sapp and Alexandru Lungu won Special Fight of the Year for their match at Superkombat World Grand Prix IV 2011.
On August 10, 2012, SK entered in a co-promotion agreement with Japanese-based kickboxing promotion K-1 was announced. Though the agreement would eventually end, SK president Eduard Irimia stated that while its company will be independent in 2013, it will still continue to have cooperation with any interested promotion, including K-1, by exchanging fighters. In November 2012, Superkombat announced that it would host a major mixed martial arts event in Bucharest, Romania. The competition was scheduled to take place on December 22 at the Polivalenta Hall and featured fighters from multiple countries. According to the organizers, the event was expected to attract a global audience and was part of Superkombat's strategy to expand its international presence.
In 2013, Superkombat expanded internationally through strategic support from Syrian-born entrepreneurs Basel and Khaled Fetrawi. Their involvement as official ambassadors contributed to the organization’s ability to host events in new markets such as Dubai and secure broader global broadcast distribution. The promotion donated all revenues from tickets sales for Superkombat World Grand Prix 2013 Final to flood victims in Galați County and in 2015 donated half of ticket sales for Superkombat World Grand Prix 2015 Final to Colectiv nightclub fire victims. The same year, Tarik Khbabez faced Roman Kryklia in the SUPERKOMBAT Heavyweight Grand Prix finals and won by decision. Superkombat champion Cătălin Moroșanu was scheduled to face Badr Hari at Global Fighting Championship Fight Series 4 in Dubai, but the fight never materialized.Catalin Morosanu vs. Badr Hari Postponed Due to 'Conditions' - LiverKick - Accesat la data de 10.05.2015 In 2018, the promotion only held one event named SUPERKOMBAT Dream at the Magic Place in Bucharest, Romania.
Notable competitors List of athletes who competed in :
Benjamin Adegbuyi Sebastian Ciobanu Sebastian Cozmâncă Alexandru Lungu Ionuț Iftimoaie Cătălin Moroșanu Amansio Paraschiv Cristian Spetcu Andrei Stoica Bogdan Stoica Henriques Zowa Ben Edwards Paul Slowinski
Zabit Samedov Alex Pereira César Almeida Thiago Michel Felipe Micheletti Igor Bugaenko Alexey Ignashov Dževad Poturak Anderson Silva Chris Ngimbi Mladen Brestovac Antonio Plazibat D'Angelo Marshall Tomáš Hron
Ondřej Hutník Christian Colombo Jorge Loren Frank Muñoz Brice Guidon Zinedine Hameur-Lain Freddy Kemayo Corentin Jallon Nicolas Wamba Jamie Bates Daniel Sam Stefan Leko Mike Zambidis Roberto Cocco Mustapha Haida
Faldir Chahbari Ibrahim El Bouni Tarik Khbabez Daniel Stefanovski Brian Douwes Hesdy Gerges Albert Kraus Fabio Kwasi Fred Sikking Rico Verhoeven Errol Zimmerman Redouan Cairo Ismael Londt
Cedric Manhoef Jairzinho Rozenstruik Yoann Kongolo Volkan Oezdemir Yousri Belgaroui Murat Aygün Roman Kryklia Sergei Lascenko Pavel Zhuravlev Tony Johnson Mighty Mo Bob Sapp
Events # Event Date Venue Location Attendance059Superkombat DreamMagic Place Grant Bucharest, Romania rowspan="1 058Superkombat New Heroes 11Aqua Blue Târgoviște, Romania rowspan="1 057Superkombat In the CageLux Divina Brașov, Romania rowspan="1 056Superkombat ExpoRomexpo Bucharest, Romania rowspan="1 055Superkombat World Grand Prix III 2017 Shenzhen Arena Shenzhen, China rowspan="1 054Superkombat Special Edition II ChinaShenzhen Arena Shenzhen, China rowspan="1 053Superkombat Special Edition ChinaShenzhen Arena Shenzhen, China rowspan="1 052[Superkombat World Grand Prix II 2017Palacio Vistalegre Madrid, Spain 051Superkombat World Grand Prix I 2017Romexpo Dome Bucharest, Romania rowspan="1 050Superkombat New Heroes 10Berăria H Bucharest, Romania rowspan="1 049Superkombat World Grand Prix 2016 FinalBucharest Arena Bucharest, Romania 048Superkombat World Grand Prix 2016 Final EliminationIași Arena Iași, Romania 047Superkombat World Grand Prix IV 2016Galleon Hill Comănești, Romania 046Superkombat World Grand Prix III 2016Tenis Club Idu Mamaia, Romania 045Superkombat New Heroes 9Brașov Olympic Ice Rink Brașov, Romania rowspan="1 044Superkombat World Grand Prix II 2016Romexpo Pavilion Bucharest, Romania rowspan="1 043Superkombat World Grand Prix I 2016Roberto Clemente Coliseum San Juan, Puerto Rico rowspan="1 042Superkombat Special Edition ItalyPala Alpitour Turin, Italy 041Superkombat World Grand Prix 2015 FinalDinamo Hall Bucharest, Romania rowspan="1 040Superkombat World Grand Prix 2015 Final EliminationGran Teatro Linear4Ciak Milan, Italy 039Superkombat World Grand Prix IV 2015Piațeta Cazino Mamaia, Romania 038Superkombat World Grand Prix III 2015Constanța Arena Constanța, Romania 037Superkombat Special Edition SwitzerlandUmweltarena Zürich, Switzerland rowspan="1 036Superkombat World Grand Prix II 2015Bucharest Arena Bucharest, Romania 035Superkombat World Grand Prix I 2015Olimpia Hall Ploiești, Romania 034Superkombat World Grand Prix 2014 Final PalaIper Milan, Italy 033Superkombat World Grand Prix 2014 Final EliminationGeneva Arena Geneva, Switzerland 032Superkombat World Grand Prix IV 2014Topsportcentrum Amsterdam, Netherlands 031Superkombat New Heroes 8Constanța Arena Constanța, Romania rowspan="1 030Superkombat World Grand Prix III 2014Constanța Arena Constanța, Romania 029Superkombat World Grand Prix II 2014Europa Entertainment Center Mamaia, Romania rowspan="1 028Superkombat World Grand Prix I 2014Reșița Arena Reșița, Romania 027Superkombat New Heroes 7Olimpia Hall Ploiești, Romania rowspan="1 026Superkombat World Grand Prix 2013 FinalDunărea Ice Arena Galați, Romania 025Superkombat World Grand Prix 2013 Final EliminationOlimpia Hall Ploiești, Romania 024Superkombat New Heroes 6Carrarafiere Convention Center Carrara, Italy023Superkombat World Grand Prix IV 2013Chauncey Hardy Arena Giurgiu, Romania rowspan="1 022Superkombat World Grand Prix III 2013Elisabeta Lipă Arena Botoșani, Romania 021Superkombat VIP EditionSala Epika Bucharest, Romania rowspan="1 020Superkombat New Heroes 5Târgoviște Arena Târgoviște, Romania 019Superkombat New Heroes 4 Al Boom Tourist Village Dubai, United Arab Emirates rowspan="1 018Superkombat World Grand Prix II 2013Craiova Arena Craiova, Romania 017Superkombat New Heroes 3Gasometer Vienna, Austria rowspan="1 016Superkombat World Grand Prix I 2013Antonio Alexe Arena Oradea, Romania 015Superkombat New Heroes 2Ginásio Milton Feijão São Paulo, Brazil rowspan="1 014Superkombat New Heroes 1Hotel Kvarner Rijeka, Croatia rowspan="1 013Superkombat World Grand Prix 2012 FinalBucharest Arena Bucharest, Romania 012Superkombat World Grand Prix 2012 Final EliminationCraiova Arena Craiova, Romania 011Superkombat World Grand Prix IV 2012Galleria Arad, Romania 010Superkombat World Grand Prix III 2012Kongresna Hall Varna, Bulgaria 009Superkombat World Grand Prix II 2012Horia Demian Arena Cluj-Napoca, Romania 008Superkombat World Grand Prix I 2012Morača Center Podgorica, Montenegro 007Superkombat World Grand Prix 2011 FinalBöllenfalltorhalle Frankfurt, Germany 006Superkombat Fight ClubOradea Shopping City Oradea, Romania 005Superkombat World Grand Prix IV 2011Piatra Neamț Arena Piatra Neamț, Romania 004Superkombat World Grand Prix III 2011Danubius Arena Brăila, Romania rowspan="1 003Superkombat World Grand Prix II 2011Constanța Arena Constanța, Romania 002Superkombat World Grand Prix I 2011Mihai Flamaropol Ice Arena Bucharest, Romania rowspan="1 001Superkombat The Pilot ShowTraian Hall Râmnicu Vâlcea, Romania
Controversy In 2016, an article by MMA Plus reported that several European kickboxing promotions, including Superkombat, were accused of withholding payments from fighters. In October 2016, Superkombat publicly addressed claims of non‑payment from fighters, stating delays stemmed from contractual complexities involving third‑party promoters and agents, while reaffirming its intent to resolve all outstanding purses.
Awards World Independent Promoters Union (WIPU) 2011 - Kickboxing Promoter of the Year (Runner ups GLORY and It's Showtime)
See also GLORY It's Showtime K-1 Dynamite Fighting Show Colosseum Tournament
References
External links