Kunlun Fight

Kunlun Fight

File:Kunlun Fight Logo.png
Company type	Private
Industry	Kickboxing promotion
Founded	January 2014 (2014-01)
Headquarters	Beijing, China
Key people	Jiang Hua (founder)
Owner	Kunsun Media

Kunlun Fight (KLF) () is a kickboxing promotion headquartered in Beijing, China. Established in 2014, it has become one of the foremost kickboxing organizations worldwide. Its events are broadcast within China on Jiangsu Television and reach international audiences through various global networks.

The organization's debut event was held on January 25, 2014, in Pattaya, Thailand. Since that initial event, Kunlun Fight has consistently staged more than 20 events annually.

History

The inaugural Kunlun Fight event showcased super fights alongside a four-man kickboxing tournament featuring competitors such as Andrei Kulebin, Petsanguan Luktupfah, Guo Dongwang, and Umar Semata. After this launch, the promotion organized two additional events in Thailand.

On June 7, 2015, Kunlun Fight secured an exclusive six-fight contract with prominent 70 kg kickboxer and two-time K-1 World Max Champion Buakaw Banchamek. Buakaw has continued to compete under the Kunlun Fight banner beyond this initial agreement.

In 2015, the promotion expanded its footprint into Europe by hosting Kunlun Fight 25 in Banská Bystrica, Slovakia. This event featured a Lethwei superfight between Burmese athlete Too Too and Slovak fighter Igor Danis. It was notable as Europe's first-ever Lethwei event and was organized in cooperation with the Slovakia Lethwei Association.

March 2016 saw Kunlun Fight complete a Series B funding round with backing from investors such as Morningside Ventures, IDG Capital Partners, and Northern Light Venture Capital. This financing valued the company at over $350 million USD, positioning it as China's most valuable combat sports enterprise. Ahead of a subsequent B+ funding round in early 2017, the company’s valuation reportedly surpassed $500 million USD.

Kunlun Fight manages several branded facilities including the Kunlun Fight World Combat Sports Center located in Beijing and the Kunlun Fight Stadium situated in Tongling, Anhui Province.

70 kg tournaments

Each year, Kunlun Fight organizes a world championship tournament for the 70 kg weight class.

The first tournament held in 2014 featured 16 fighters and concluded with Dzianis Zuev defeating Victor Nagbe to claim the title.

By 2015, the competition expanded to include 64 participants. The championship was won by Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong, who triumphed over a field comprising numerous renowned 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, as well as the previous year’s winner, Dzianis Zuev.

In 2016, the title was claimed by Superbon Banchamek, who notably eliminated defending champion Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong during the quarterfinals.

The following year, in 2017, Marat Grigorian secured the championship by defeating reigning champion Superbon Banchamek in the final match.

Davit Kiria emerged victorious in the 2018 edition of the tournament, further establishing his prominence within the kickboxing community.

The 2019 tournament was initially scheduled for December 31 in Wuzhishan City, Hainan, China; however, it was postponed to March 8, 2020. Ultimately, due to restrictions on live events amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the tournament was cancelled.

Kunlun Fight has announced that the 70 kg tournament will resume in 2024, with its commencement set for April 27 at Kunlun Fight 97 in Beijing.

Kunlun Combat Professional League

Kunlun Fight introduced its secondary event series, the Kunlun Combat League (KCL), on September 22, 2018. This competition involved 16 teams battling across six different weight divisions. Most matches were hosted at a Kunlun Fight venue located in Tongling, with a total of 71 events conducted during the initial qualification phase from September through December 2018.

The league is structured by splitting teams into two groups for a regular season beginning in March. The leading teams from these groups then progress to an elimination stage held at the end of the year. In 2019, the league underwent rebranding to become the Kunlun Combat Professional League (KCPL) and launched its first complete season on March 16. Team Shenzhen secured the championship title by overcoming team Shenyang in the final match on December 24, 2019, held in Yiwu, China.

The start of the 2020 season, initially planned for March, was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. The competition resumed in mid-May but was conducted without spectators present.

Kunlun Fight City Hero

Established in 2016, this third-tier series integrates both professional and amateur contests. Its main focus is on fostering grassroots engagement and nurturing emerging talent.

Broadcast coverage

The current broadcast partners include Jiangsu Television and digital platforms operated by ByteDance, such as Douyin and Xigua Video. Previous broadcasters have featured Fox Sports Asia, Kix throughout Asia, RMC Sport 4, Fight Network, FightBox globally, Workpoint TV in Thailand, HKSTV in Hong Kong and Taiwan (2016), Anhui Television within China (2017), and Eurosport. Additionally, in 2017, Kunlun Fight MMA events were broadcast monthly on China's CCTV-5.

Rules

Kunlun Fight predominantly hosts matches under kickboxing regulations but also features bouts governed by rulesets from MMA, Kun Khmer, Muay Thai, Boxing, and Lethwei.

• Kickboxing rules: clinching is limited—only active clinches with knees are permitted while survival clinching is prohibited; throws and elbows are not allowed; receiving a yellow card results in a 25% deduction from the fighter’s purse and a one-point penalty; a red card leads to immediate disqualification.

• Mixed martial arts rules: fights are conducted according to the standards set by the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts.

• Muay Thai rules: knees may target the body, legs, and head; both throws and clinching are permitted; elbows can be used against the body, legs, and head; a yellow card causes forfeiture of 25% of the purse along with a one-point deduction; red cards result in disqualification.

Weight classes

Weight Divisions	Kilograms (kg)	Pounds (lbs)
Strawweight	51	115
Flyweight	57	125
Bantamweight	61	135
Featherweight	66	145
Lightweight	70	155
Welterweight	77	170
Middleweight	84	185
Light Heavyweight	93	205
Heavyweight	Unlimited	Unlimited

Tournament Winners

Weight Division	Titleholder	Second Place	Competition	Date	Tournament Bracket
2014 70 kg World Championship Tournament	Template:Country data BLRTemplate:Namespace detect showall Dzianis Zuev	Template:Country data AUSTemplate:Namespace detect showall Victor Nagbe	Kunlun Fight 13	November 16, 2014	70 kg World Max Tournament 2014 bracket
2015 100+ kg World Championship Tournament	Template:Country data NEDTemplate:Namespace detect showall Jahfarr Wilnis	Template:Country data EGYTemplate:Namespace detect showall Hesdy Gerges	Kunlun Fight 26	June 7, 2015	Super Heavyweight Tournament 2015 bracket
2016 Female 52 kg World Championship Tournament	Template:Country data CHNTemplate:Namespace detect showall E Meidie	Template:Country data FRATemplate:Namespace detect showall Anissa Meksen	Kunlun Fight 32	October 28, 2015	Female 52 kg Tournament 2015 bracket
2015 80 kg World Championship Tournament	Template:Country data UKRTemplate:Namespace detect showall Artur Kyshenko	Template:Country data BLRTemplate:Namespace detect showall Dmitry Valent	Kunlun Fight 35	December 19, 2015	80 kg Tournament 2015 bracket
2015 70 kg World Championship Tournament	Template:Country data THATemplate:Namespace detect showall Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong	Template:Country data UKRTemplate:Namespace detect showall Enriko Gogokhia	Kunlun Fight 37	January 23, 2016	70 kg World Max Tournament 2015 bracket
2016 75 kg World Championship Tournament	Template:Country data CHNTemplate:Namespace detect showall Zheng Zhaoyu	Template:Country data CHNTemplate:Namespace detect showall Zhang Yang	Kunlun Fight 47	July 10, 2016	75 Kg Tournament 2016 bracket

				Note:* This table highlights significant tournament victors relevant to the organization’s competitive standing and industry impact. Single Night Tournament Winners continuedcontinuedcontinuedcontinuedcontinuedcontinuedcontinuedcontinuedcontinuedcontinuedcontinuedcontinuedcontinuedcontinuedcontinuedcontinuedcontinuedcontinued Note:* Table truncated for brevity; full details available from original source. Women’s Lightweight Titleholders -60 kg (-132.3 lb) Weight Division Winner Second Place Event Date Bracket Link 4-Man 67 kg tournament Template:Country data THATemplate:Namespace detect showall Petsangnuan Luktupfah Template:Country data BLRTemplate:Namespace detect showall Andrei Kulebin Kunlun Fight 1 January 25, 2014 67 kg tournament bracket 4-Man 80 kg tournament Simon Marcus Template:Country data THATemplate:Namespace detect showall Vehas Topking Kunlun Fight 2 February 16, 2014 80kg tournament bracket Female 52 kg tournament Template:Country data NEDTemplate:Namespace detect showall Jemyma Betrian Template:Country data CHNTemplate:Namespace detect showall E Meidie Kunlun Fight 3 March 30, 2014 Female 52 kg tournament bracket 4-Man 95 kg tournament Template:Country data FRATemplate:Namespace detect showall Massinissa Hamaili Template:Country data SLOTemplate:Namespace detect showall Ivan Bartek Kunlun Fight 4 April 27, 2014 95 kg tournament bracket 4-Man 70 kg tournament Template:Country data AUSTemplate:Namespace detect showall Victor Nagbe Template:Country data CHNTemplate:Namespace detect showall Li Zikai Kunlun Fight 5 June 1, 2014 70 kg tournament bracket 4-Man 100 kg tournament Template:Country data BLRTemplate:Namespace detect showall Andrei Gerasimchuk Template:Country data UKRTemplate:Namespace detect showall Dmitry Bezus Kunlun Fight 6 June 29, 2014 100 kg tournament bracket 4-Man 75 kg tournament Template:Country data CHNTemplate:Namespace detect showall Xu Zhenguang Template:Country data BLRTemplate:Namespace detect showall Kiryl Chanka Kunlun Fight 8 August 24, 2014 75 kg tournament bracket Female 60 kg tournament Template:Country data KGZTemplate:Namespace detect showall Valentina Shevchenko Template:Country data RUSTemplate:Namespace detect showall Irina Mazepa Kunlun Fight9 August31, 2014 Female60kgtournamentbracket No. Name Event Location Date of Title Win Title Defenses 2 Template:Country data CHNTemplate:Namespace detect showall Wang Cong victorious over Valentina Shevchenko KunlunFight33, Changde, China October31, 2015 1 Template:Country data KGZTemplate:Namespace detect showall Valentina Shevchenko defeated Irina Mazepa Kunl unfight9, Shangqiu, China August31, 2o14 1. defended against Chali Bassinah at Ku nlunFight11 on October5, 2o14 Middleweight Title -70 kg (-154.3 lb) - ! No. Name Event Location Date Won Title Number of Defenses - |- !1 Template:Country data THATemplate:Namespace detect showall Buakaw Banchamek defeated Dylan Salvador Ku nlunFight53, Beijing, China September24, 2o16 Middleweight Title 84 kg (185 lbs); previously contested at79 kg (175 lbs) until2o17 - ! No. Name Event Location Date Secured Title Defenses Made - |- !1 Template:Country data CHNTemplate:Namespace detect showall Wang Sai overcame Sergey Proskuryakov Ku nlunFight36, Shanghai, China January9, 2o16 1. defended vs Horiuchi Yasuhiro at Ku nlunFight - CageFight Series6 on October21, 2o16 Welterweight Title 77 kg (170 lbs); formerly at75 kg (165 lbs) prior to2o17 - ! No. Name Event Location Date Crowned Champion Number of Defenses - |- !2 Template:Country data CHNTemplate:Namespace detect showall Zhang Lipeng defeated Beibit Nazarov Ku nlunFight37, Sanya, China January23, 2o16 1. defended against Takashi Noto at Ku nlunFight43 on April26, 2o16 Template:Country data KAZTemplate:Namespace detect showall Beibit Nazarov victorious over Bruno Amorim Ku nlunFight - CageFight Series2 , Almaty, Kazakhstan April4, 2o15 1. defended vs Wu Haotian at Ku nlunFight - CageFight Series3 on June7, 2o15 2. defended vs Massimo Capusella at Ku nlunFight - CageFight Series4 on October4, 2o15 Flyweight Title - ! No. Name Event Location Date Won Title Number of Defenses - |- !1 Template:Country data ESPTemplate:Namespace detect showall Oscar Suarez Fleitas defeated Zhang Meixuan Kunlun Fight MMA14 August28, 2o17 Women’s Strawweight Title No. Fighter Event Date Title Defenses 1 Template:Country data CHNTemplate:Namespace detect showall Weili Zhang victorious over Maira De Souza Kunlun Fight 53 Shanghai, China September 24, 2016 1. defeated Karla Benitez at Kunlun Fight MMA 7 on December 15, 2016 Up to 67 kg (143.3 lb) 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) Division 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 to 85 kg (165.3 - 187.4 lb) Category 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 Marc de Bonte Diogo Calado 95 kg (209.4 lb) and Above Andrei Gerasimchuk Rico Verhoeven Jahfarr Wilnis Hesdy Gerges Tsotne Rogava Felipe Micheletti Konstantin Gluhov Roman Kryklia Sergej Maslobojev Tomáš Hron Mighty Mo Ashwin Balrak Virgil Zwicker Faisal Zakaria Francois Botha Sebastian Ciobanu Female Fighters Valentina Shevchenko Anissa Meksen Wang Cong Jemyma Betrian Ekaterina Vandaryeva Mixed Martial Arts Zhang Weili Zhang Lipeng Jumabieke Tuerxun Muslim Salikhov Related Articles Kunlun Fight World Combat Sports Center External Resources Official Kunlun Fight website IMDb listing