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 (4)
- Hesdy Gerges (5)
- Andrei Herasimchuk (6)
- Anderson Silva (7)
- Zabit Samedov (8)
- Ben Edwards (9)
- Freddy Kemayo (10)
There were no changes in the heavyweight rankings in March, but not due to a lack of activity. Fourth-ranked Benjamin Adegbuyi continued his recent hot streak, topping Daniel Lentie by decision at SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix. Also in action was Hesdy Gerges, who earned his second win since a loss to Adegbuyi, stopping Konstantin Gluhov at Kunlun 21.
- Gokhan Saki (1)
- Tyrone Spong (2)
- Saulo Cavalari (3)
- Nathan Corbett (4)
- Artem Vakhitov (5)
- Danyo Ilunga (6)
- Igor Jurković (7)
- Mourad Bouzidi (8)
- Andrei Stoica (9)
- Zack Mwekassa (10)
SUPERKOMBAT title holder and ninth-ranked Andrei Stoica extended his run of success in the Romanian promotion, besting Marcello Adriaansz at SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix. The rest of the top 10 remained dormant.
- Artem Levin (1)
- Joe Schilling (2)
- Alex Pereira (3)
- Filip Verlinden (4)
- Simon Marcus (5)
- Jason Wilnis (6)
- Sahak Parparyan (7)
- Wayne Barrett (8)
- Fang Bian (9)
- Robert Thomas (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action this month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Nieky Holzken (1)
- Joseph Valtellini (2)
- Marc de Bonte (3)
- Artur Kyshenko (5)
- Raymond Daniels (6)
- Karapet Karapetyan (4)
- Karim Ghajji (7)
- Alexander Stetsurenko (8)
- Paul Daley (9)
- Hicham El Gaoui (-)
Dropped from the rankings: Jonatan Oliveira (10)
There was movement in the welterweight division as Brazilian Jonatan Oliveira fell out of the rankings to make room for Hicham El Gaoui. El Gaoui successfully defended his Enfusion Live title with a decision win over the previously fourth-ranked Karapet Karapetyan. It marked El Gaoui’s sixth win in his last seven outings. Karapetyan stays ahead of the Dutch-Moroccan based on level of competition, but the Armenian has now lost three of his last four. Also in action was No. 7 Karim Ghaji, who bested England’s Kevin Ward in France.
- Robin van Roosmalen (1)
- Davit Kiria (2)
- Andy Ristie (3)
- Giorgio Petrosyan (4)
- Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong (5)
- Marat Grigorian (6)
- Murthel Groenhart (7)
- Andy Souwer (8)
- Buakaw Banchamek (9)
- Yodsanklai Fairtex (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action this month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Mosab Amrani (1)
- Masaaki Noiri (2)
- Kaew Fairtex (3)
- Yuta Kubo (4)
- Gabriel Varga (5)
- Tetsuya Yamoto (-)
- Pakorn PKSaenchaimuaythaigym (-)
- Sagetdao Petpayathai (6)
- Shane Oblonsky (7)
- Yodkhunpon Sitmonchai (9)
Dropped from the rankings: Liam Harrison (8), Kevin Ross (10)
It was a busy month for the lighter weight classes as No. 3-ranked Kaew Fairtex claimed a decision win over Kenta at REBELS in Tokyo. Also in action, previously ranked Liam Harrison was outclassed in his own backyard as Pakorn PKSaenchaimuaythaigym defended his belt at Yokkao 13. The win vaulted the Thai fighter into the No. 7-slot in our rankings. Another fighter was ousted from the rankings as Kevin Ross fell for the second time to Japan’s Tetsuya Yamoto. However, unlike the first meeting, Yamoto needed less than a round to earn the win and vaults into the sixth spot.
- Artem Levin (1)
- Nieky Holzken (2)
- Gokhan Saki (3)
- Robin van Roosmalen (4)
- Davit Kiria (5)
- Andy Ristie (6)
- Giorgio Petrosyan (7)
- Rico Verhoeven (8)
- Joseph Valtellini (9)
- Daniel Ghita (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action this month, so the rankings remain unchanged.