As kickboxing looks to establish itself from both boxing and MMA with GLORY, K-1 and Lion Fight, fighters are constantly jockeying for position in the eyes (and rankings) of the media.
Every month, Combat Press will rank each weight class from heavyweight to featherweight, as well as the pound-for-pound rankings.
The numbers in parentheses represent the fighter’s ranking from last month.
- Rico Verhoeven (1)
- Daniel Ghita (2)
- Errol Zimmerman (3)
- Benjamin Adegbuyi (5)
- Hesdy Gerges (4)
- Peter Aerts (6)
- Anderson Silva (7)
- Zabit Samedov (8)
- Mirko Filipović (9)
- Ben Edwards (10)
The lone fight involving fighters ranked within the top 10 took place at GLORY 18 between Benjamin Adegbuyi and Hesdy Gerges. Adegbuyi cruised past Gerges on the scorecards, claiming not only the win but also the No. 4 spot in the rankings.
- Gokhan Saki (1)
- Tyrone Spong (2)
- Saulo Cavalari (6)
- Nathan Corbett (4)
- Artem Vakhitov (5)
- Danyo Ilunga (3)
- Igor Jurković (7)
- Mourad Bouzidi (8)
- Andrei Stoica (9)
- Zack Mwekassa (-)
Dropped out of the rankings: Michael Duut (10)
The light heavyweight division saw plenty of action in the month of November. GLORY’s four-man contender tournament resulted in a vault up the rankings for Brazil’s Saulo Cavalari, who easily outworked the previously No. 3-ranked Danyo Ilunga in the opening round and knocked out Zach Mwekassa in the final. Mwekassa’s efforts were not in vain, however. The Congo native managed to overtake the No. 10 spot from Michael Duut. Also in action over the month was No. 9-ranked Andrei Stoica, who claimed a first-round TKO win at Superkombat World Grand Prix Monza.
- Artem Levin (1)
- Joe Schilling (2)
- Simon Marcus (4)
- Alex Pereira (5)
- Filip Verlinden (6)
- Jason Wilnis (10)
- Sahak Parparyan (7)
- Melvin Manhoef (8)
- Wayne Barrett (3)
- Israel Adesanya (9)
The meteoric rise of Wayne Barrett through the middleweight ranks came to a crashing halt at GLORY 18. The American, who many felt could be next in line to challenge Artem Levin with another win, was simply outclassed by Dutchman Jason Wilnis. Barrett’s loss dropped him to the No. 9 spot in our rankings, while Wilnis moved into the No. 6 spot with the victory.
- Nieky Holzken (1)
- Joseph Valtellini (2)
- Marc de Bonte (3)
- Karapet Karapetyan (4)
- Artur Kyshenko (5)
- Raymond Daniels (6)
- Alexander Stetsurenko (7)
- Karim Ghajji (8)
- L’houcine Ouzgni (9)
- Jonatan Oliveira (10)
- Robin van Roosmalen (4)
- Davit Kiria (1)
- Andy Ristie (2)
- Giorgio Petrosyan (3)
- Murthel Groenhart (5)
- Andy Souwer (7)
- Buakaw Banchamek (6)
- Dzhabar Askerov (8)
- Ky Hollenbeck (9)
- Yodsanklai Fairtex (10)
Without question, the lightweight division was the most active over the last month. Once the sport’s premier weight class, a number of fighters in the top 10 put on performances showcasing why. At the top of the rankings, you’ll find a new king, as Holland’s Robin van Roosmalen edged Davit Kiria to claim the GLORY title. Further down the rankings, two of the division’s legends, Andy Souwer and Buakaw Banchamek, traded spots. The four-time S-Cup winner Souwer picked up another win for the promotion, stopping Kuniyoshi Hironaka. Souwer also earned the Enfusion 70-kilogram world title with a fourth-round knockout of Ardalan Sheikholeslami. Buakaw also scored a violent finish this month, demolishing Steve Moxon at TopKing World Series in France.
- Mosab Amrani (1)
- Kaew Fairtex (-)
- Yuta Kubo (2)
- Gabriel Varga (3)
- Masaaki Noiri (4)
- Sagetdao Petpayathai (5)
- Shane Oblonsky (6)
- Liam Harrison (7)
- Yodkhunpon Sitmonchai (8)
- Kevin Ross (10)
Dropped from rankings: Chi-Bin Lim (9)
The featherweight division is where the debate about S-Cup results comes into play. With its modified rules, shootboxing isn’t quite kickboxing, but it’s certainly not MMA. While fighters like the aforementioned Andy Souwer have thrived, others have had mixed results. Whether it was the rules or some very questionable judging, No. 1-ranked Mosab Amrani did not leave Japan with the title. He lost on the scorecards to eventual winner Hiroaki Suzuki in the semifinals. Suzuki was also gifted an extension round in the final against Zakaria Zouggari. As such, Suzuki does not crack the rankings. Also in action at the event was No. 10-ranked Kevin Ross, who took on UFC veteran Michihiro Omigawa. Ross was originally given a TKO win, but the fight was later ruled a no-contest due to a head butt.
- Artem Levin (1)
- Gokhan Saki (2)
- Rico Verhoeven (3)
- Nieky Holzken (4)
- Robin van Roosmalen (10)
- Davit Kiria (5)
- Andy Ristie (6)
- Giorgio Petrosyan (7)
- Joseph Valtellini (8)
- Daniel Ghita (9)
With his title win, van Roosmalen skyrockets up the pound-for-pound rankings, moving into the No. 5 slot which was previously held by Kiria.