Chris Ngimbi

Chris Ngimbi
Born	Chris Ngimbi (1984-04-18) April 18, 1984 Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Occupation	Muay Thai kickboxer
Years active	2002–present
Known for	Two-time It's Showtime 70MAX world champion, 2016 SUPERKOMBAT Middleweight Champion

Chris "The African Warrior" Ngimbi (born 18 April 1984 in Kinshasa) is a Congolese-Dutch Muay Thai kickboxer who trains at Ngimbi Sports Academy located in Pelt, Belgium. He is a two-time holder of the It's Showtime 70MAX world title and has predominantly competed within the It's Showtime and K-1 Global Holding promotions. Additionally, he claimed the SUPERKOMBAT Middleweight Championship in 2016.

Biography and career

Born in Kinshasa, the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ngimbi overcame a congenital heart condition during infancy. At age 11, his family relocated to the Netherlands because of civil unrest and his father’s involvement in politics. Initially excelling as a football player, Ngimbi transitioned to kickboxing at 18 years old, making his debut in Eindhoven representing Duran Gym before joining Calmaro gym in Helmond after compiling a 12-1 fight record.

Following success on the local scene, Ngimbi represented a Dutch squad at a W.K.A. tournament in New York City, where he secured a knockout victory that led to a rematch for the W.K.A. intercontinental title against Khunpon Dechkampu. After winning by knockout, he earned an opportunity to compete for the W.K.A. world championship in 2007, initially losing to Shane Campbell but capturing the title six months later in their rematch.

Within the domestic circuit, Ngimbi triumphed over prominent opponents such as Ray Staring and William Diender, reaching the semi-finals of the K-1 MAX Netherlands tournament in 2008. He made his debut for It's Showtime by defeating Rick Barnhill and attempted to qualify for K-1 MAX in 2009 but was eliminated in the quarter-finals by Marco Piqué. That same year, he moved from Calmaro gym to Siam Gym in Valkenswaard, which led to victories against Chahid Oulad el Hadj and Hafid el Boustati.

By 2010, after compiling a 4-2 record within It's Showtime events, Ngimbi challenged reigning two-time champion Murat Direkçi for the It's Showtime 70MAX world belt in Athens. Entering as an underdog, he won via decision after five rounds to claim the championship and successfully defended it at It's Showtime 2011 Lyon with a flying knee knockout over Willy Borrel.

In December 2011, Ngimbi declared his intention to defend his title once more against Andy Souwer in June 2012 before retiring; however, he lost that bout and decided against retirement to participate in K-1 World Max. At the K-1 World MAX 2012 quarter-finals held in Athens, he was defeated by Artur Kyshenko.

After taking a hiatus during 2013, Ngimbi resumed competing for leading Asian promotions including Kunlun Fight, W5 Professional Kickboxing, and ONE Championship. In 2016, he secured the SUPERKOMBAT Fighting Championship World Middleweight title.

As of 2017, Ngimbi moved his base to Belgium and inaugurated Ngimbi Sports Academy in 2019 with a mission to cultivate emerging kickboxing talent.

Titles and accomplishments

• SUPERKOMBAT Fighting Championship
  • 2016 SUPERKOMBAT Middleweight Champion -72.5 kg
• W5 Professional Kickboxing
  • 2015 W5 XXXI Tournament Runner-up -71 kg
  • 2015 W5 XXX Tournament Champion -71 kg
• It's Showtime
  • 2011 It's Showtime 70MAX world champion -70 kg (second successful defense)
  • 2010 It's Showtime 70MAX world champion -70 kg
• World Kickboxing Association
  • 2007 W.K.A. Muay Thai super welterweight world champion -70 kg
  • 2005 W.K.A. Muay Thai super welterweight intercontinental champion -70 kg
• World Full Contact Association
  • 2003 W.F.C.A. European champion

Awards

• Combat Press
  • 2015 Knockout of the Year (vs. Ilia Usachev)

Kickboxing record

2018-07-27	Victory	Armen Petrosyan	ONE Championship: Reign of Kings	Philippines	Split Decision	3	3:00	32-21
2018-05-18	Defeat	Yodsanklai Fairtex	ONE Championship: Unstoppable Dreams	Singapore	Unanimous Decision	3	3:00	31-21
2017-10-14	Defeat	Giorgio Petrosyan	PetrosyanMania	Monza, Italy	Unanimous Decision	5	3:00	31-20
2016-11-12	Defeat	Amansio Paraschiv	SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix 2016 Final	Bucharest, Romania	Unanimous Decision	3	3:00	31-20
2016-10-01	Victory	Amansio Paraschiv	SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix 2016 Final Elimination	Iași, Romania	Unanimous Decision	3	3:00	31-19
2016-03-25	Defeat	Lee Sung-hyun	Kunlun Fight 40, Final	Tongling, China	Decision	3	3:00	30-19
2016-03-25	Victory	Sergey Kulyaba	Kunlun Fight 40, Semi-finals	Tongling, China	KO	3	2:59	30-18
2015-12-05	Defeat	Artem Pashporin	W5 Grand Prix Vienna XXXI, Final	Vienna, Austria	Unanimous Decision	3	3:00	29-18
2015-12-05	Victory	Evgeniy Kurovsky	W5 Grand Prix Vienna XXXI, Semi-finals	Vienna, Austria	Unanimous Decision	3	3:00	29-17
2015-08-30	Victory	Ilya Usachev	W5 Grand Prix Moscow XXX	Moscow, Russia	KO (Right knee)	2	2:31	28-17
2015-08-30	Victory	Valentin Ribalko	W5 Grand Prix Moscow XXX	Moscow, Russia	TKO (Referee stoppage)	1	3:00	27-17

See also

• List of It's Showtime events
• List of It's Showtime champions
• List of K-1 events
• List of male kickboxers

External links

• Chris Ngimbi | Facebook (Dutch Language)