A marquee year for kickboxing and it was full of incredible knockouts. This is the top 10 kickboxing knockouts of 2021. Kickboxing knockouts from ONE Championship, Glory Kickboxing, and K-1 are all included. This year we saw major upsets, title defenses, title changes, and even retirement. The top 10 kickboxing knockouts of 2021 can be found just below.
Top 10 Kickboxing Knockouts of 2021
10. Rico Verhoeven TKO’s Jamal Ben Saddik – Glory Collision 3
His tenth heavyweight title defense may have been his hardest. The two, Rico Verhoeven and Jamal Ben Saddik, traded heavy shots early. The Dutch champion Verhoeven was struggling and had a massive cut on his face. He had to dig deep to mount a comeback against his foe. This was a trilogy grudge match. Verhoeven struggled early on in the bout but overcame adversity and was able to TKO Ben Saddik.
9. Chingiz Allazov KO’s Samy Sana – ONE First Strike
The Georgian-Belarusian kickboxer Chingiz Allazov wasted little time at ONE First Strike. With a quick knockout, Allazov showed why he is a K-1 Tournament champion. Facing off against the taller Samy Sana Allazov mixed a flurry of strikes including headkicks and body shots. He only needed thirty-nine seconds in round one to finish his opponent and progress further in the ONE Championship Grand Prix.
8. Cedric Doumbe KO’s Murthel Groenhart – Glory 77
Glory 77 saw the end of the Cedric Doumbe vs Murthel Groenhart trilogy. The two had been tied 1-1 from previous bouts. Groenhart, of the Netherlands, was the previous Glory welterweight champion and wanted to get his title back from the Cameroonian-French champion Doumbe. Doumbe was able to flatline Groenhart with huge, bombing, overhands.
7. Marat Grigorian TKO’s Andy Souwer – ONE First Strike
Andy Souwer, of the Netherlands, has had an extremely impressive career with over 200 fights over 20 years. At ONE First Strike, he met Belgian-Armenian kickboxer, Marat Grigorian. Grigorian has held titles in K-1 and Glory and now he wants gold in ONE Championship as well. He defeated Souwer with an aggressive mix of strikes, chopping away against the experienced veteran. Grigorian won this fight via TKO and Souwer retired during the post-fight interview.
6. Masaaki Noiri KO’s FUMIYA – K-1 World GP 2021: Yokohamatsuri
Masaaki Noiri 野杁 正明 had an impressive 2021. He won four fights this year plus earned a K-1 Grand Prix Welterweight Championship with a KO win streak. And he started his knockout streak by flatlining experienced kickboxer FUMIYA. In just over two minutes into round one Noiri would land a booming right hand to end the tournament for his opponent. Noiri would fight twice more on this night and win all his fights via KO/TKO.
5. Gökhan Saki Leg Kick TKO’s James McSweeney – Glory Collision 3
This year the ‘Turkish Tyson’ Gökhan Saki made an emphatic return to the kickboxing world. At Glory Collision 3 he met veteran fighter of the UFC, K-1, ONE Championship, and more, James McSweeney. Saki had a brilliant display of kickboxing using a heavy battering of leg kicks to end the night of McSweeney. Saki gave credit to Ernesto Hoost, kickboxing great, for the refined leg kick technique. A leg kick TKO is a painful and impressive way to rank on the top 10 kickboxing knockouts of 2021.
4. Capitan TKO’s Alaverdi Ramazanov – ONE Championship: Unbreakable
Capitan has held titles in multiple organizations and added his name to ONE Championship gold in impressive fashion. The Russian Alaverdi Ramazanov was looking to defend his title against the Thai fighter, but instead, Capitan applied constant pressure and mixed a host of strikes. Battering high and low to end the night via TKO victory for Capitan.
3. Takeru Segawa KO’s Leona Pettas – K-1: K’Festa 4
Pound-for-pound kickboxing king Takeru Segawa continues his over 30 fight win streak in 2021. Takeru has been undefeated since 2012 and holds multiple titles across multiple weight classes. In K-1 this year Takeru got into a shootout against the Krush champion Leona Pettas. Pettas and Takeru exchanged punches and kicks, even traded knockdowns, in one of the most exciting bouts of the year. Early in round 2, Takeru was nearly dropped twice but instead gave knockdowns of his own to finish the competing champion.
2. Arkadiusz Wrzosek Headkick KO’s Badr Hari – Glory 78
Badr Hari is one of the most famous kickboxers in history for his incredible kickboxing arsenal and his problems outside the ring. Hari, of Morocco, has challenged for titles in every organization he has competed in over his multi-decade career. In 2021 he met a relatively unknown Polish kickboxer Arkadiusz Wrzosek. Hari rushed at his opponent at Glory 78, he landed a massive flurry of strikes, scoring two knockdowns in round one and another in round two. However, while recovering from a recent knockdown, Wrzosek was rushed and cornered by Hari and Wrzosek threw and landed a headkick which ended 2021 for Hari. This fight is hailed as one of the great kickboxing comebacks in history and high on the list of the top 10 kickboxing knockouts of 2021.
1. Superbon Headkick KO’s Giorgio Petrosyan – ONE First Strike
ONE Championship, at ONE First Strike, hosted one of the best upset knockouts in the history of the sport. Giorgio Petrosyan, considered an all-time great, has been undefeated since 2013, was a favorite to win this fight, and has held titles in ISKA, ONE Championship, K-1, and others. Superbon, of Thailand, is a student of Muay Thai great Buakaw and was able to control this closely matched fight. He never fell for traps set by his expert opponent Petrosyan and chose which exchanges to engage in. Throwing heavy body kicks at the end of exchanges Superbon was setting up for a huge headkick knockout. One of the biggest upsets and most impressive knockouts of the past ten years it easily tops the list of the top 10 kickboxing knockouts of 2021.
Honorable Mention: ‘Hamicha’ Mohamed Mezouari KO’s Samuel Dbili – Glory Collision 3
‘Hamicha’ Mohamed Mezouari continues his knockout streak at Glory Collision 3. The top-ranked Hamicha was looking to prove himself against the multi-time French national kickboxing champion Samuel Dbili and he succeeded. The Moroccan-Dutch kickboxer Hamicha made quick work of Dbili, mixing head and body strikes, and overwhelmed his opponent in just two and a half minutes. He has now won four fights in a row via first-round KO/TKO.
Honorable Mention: Antonio Plazibat KO’s Benjamin Adegbuyi – Glory Collision 3
Two towering heavyweights met at Glory Collision 3 with Antonio Plazibat vs Benjamin Adegbuyi. Both are top 5 ranked heavyweight and both had previous knockout victories in their previous fights. Adegbuyi had just defeated Badr Hari in 2020 and was looking to defeat Plazibat to get a title shot. The Croatian kickboxer Plazibat had other plans. He overwhelmed his opponent and applied constant pressure, Plazibat threw massive hooks which ended the night for Adegbuyi.
Featured Image Credit from ONE Championship
