On Saturday, Sept. 10, one of the world’s largest kickboxing promotions, Kunlun Fight, debuted in Fuzhou, China with the first of back-to-back events at the Strait Olympic Sports Center. Kunlun Fight 51 featured the 65-kilogram world championship tournament and the 80-kilogram tournament quarterfinals.
The 65-kilogram tournament final was the main event of the evening. The tournament field featured a diverse array of fighters working towards a chance to take home the Kunlun Fight welterweight title. The round of 16 took place at Kunlun Fight 48 in Jining, China and Kunlun Fight 49 in Tokyo, Japan. In the quarterfinal match-ups, China’s Wei Ninghui met the United Kingdom’s Craig Dickson. Petchtanong Banchamek defeated Lion Fight champion Tetsuya Yamato’s bid for the world title, and met Dutch kickboxer Buray Bozaryilmaz. Belorussian Maksim Maruha tooks on Chinese prospect Meng Guodong. South Korea’s Kim Minsoo entered the final eight after beating former top-10 featherweight Massaro Glunder. Minsoo Kim met I.S.K.A. champion Abdellah Ezbiri.
In the co-main event of the evening, one of the world’s top female fighters returned when knockout artist Wang Kehan fought Belgium’s Nathalie Visschers. Kehan’s most recent win was a third-round stoppage of Rachel Adamus at Kunlun Fight 43.
The 80-kilogram tournament continued on with more two more quarterfinal bouts following the two bouts at Kunlun Fight 50. Murthel Groenhart and Alexander Stetsurenko moved on to the tournament semifinals in August. In one quarterfinal bout, former GLORY welterweight champion Marc de Bonte returned after a venture into pro boxing to take on Artur Gorlov. In the other quarterfinal, top french kickboxer Cédric Tousch made his Kunlun Fight debut following his WAKO title win at Monte Carlo Fighting Masters 3. Tousch met 2015 Kunlun Fight 80-kilogram tournament runner-up Dmitry Valent in his promotional debut.
The event aired live on the Kunlun Fight App.
Wang Kehan def. Nathalie Visschers by TKO (strikes). Round 3
Marc de Bonte def. Artur Gorlov by TKO (strikes). Round 3 – 80-kilogram tournament quarterfinal
Lu Dongqiang def. Kim Dangseong by TKO (leg kick). Round 4
Abdellah Ezbiri def. Buray Bozaryilmaz by decision – 65-kilogram tournament semifinal
Wei Ninghui def. Meng Guodong by TKO (leg kicks). Round 1 – 65-kilogram tournament semifinal
Dmitry Valent def. Cedric Tousch by extra round decision – 80-kilogram tournament quarterfinal
MMA: Xiong Jingnan def. Julia Borisova by decision
Abdellah Ezbiri def. Kim Minsoo by decision – 65-kilogram tournament quarterfinal
Meng Guodong def. Maksim Maruha by decision – 65-kilogram tournament quarterfinal
Petchtanong Banchamek def. Buray Bozaryilmaz by DQ (headbutt) – 65-kilogram tournament quarterfinal
Wei Ninghui def. Craig Dickson by knockout (left hook to the body). Round 2 – 65-kilogram tournament quarterfinal