As kickboxing continues to grow on a global scale with promotions like GLORY, K-1, Kunlun Fight and more, 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 strawweight, as well as the pound-for-pound rankings for both men and women.
The numbers in parentheses represent the fighter’s ranking from last month.
- Rico Verhoeven (1)
- Roman Kryklia (2)
- Jamal Ben Saddik (3)
- Benjamin Adegbuyi (4)
- Guto Inocente (5)
- Mladen Brestovac (6)
- Zabit Samedov (7)
- Roel Mannaart (8)
- D’Angelo Marshall (9)
- Ismael Londt (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Artem Vakhitov (1)
- Pavel Zhuravlev (2)
- Luis Tavares (3)
- Alex Pereira (4)
- Sergej Maslobojev (5)
- Donegi Abena (6)
- Stéphane Susperregui (7)
- Felipe Micheletti (8)
- Ariel Machado (9)
- Zinedine Hameur-Lain (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Alex Pereira (1)
- Donovan Wisse (2)
- Simon Marcus (3)
- Loren Javier Jorge (4)
- Yousri Belgaroui (5)
- Artem Levin (6)
- Igor Bugaenko (7)
- Hicham El Gaoui (8)
- Ulrik Bokeme (9)
- Jason Wilnis (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Cédric Doumbé (1)
- Alim Nabiyev (2)
- Regian Eersel (3)
- Murthel Groenhart (4)
- Jamie Bates (5)
- Harut Grigorian (6)
- Nieky Holzken (7)
- Dmitry Menshikov (8)
- Endy Semeleer (9)
- Mohamed “Hamicha” Mezouari (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Marat Grigorian (1)
- Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong (2)
- Giorgio Petrosyan (3)
- Superbon Banchamek (4)
- Tayfun Ozcan (5)
- Chingiz Allazov (6)
- Samy Sana (7)
- Jonay Risco (8)
- Davit Kiria (9)
- Buakaw Banchamek (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Qiu Jianliang (1)
- Petchpanomrung Kiatmookao (2)
- Yuta Kubo (-)
- Jordann Pikeur (3)
- Masaaki Noiri (4)
- Jia Aoqi (5)
- Petchtanong Banchamek (6)
- Ren Hiramoto (7)
- Rukiya Anpo (8)
- Kaew Weerasakreck (9)
Dropped from the rankings: Zakaria Zouggary (10)
K-1 welterweight titleholder Yuta Kubo returns to the featherweight rankings for the first time in multiple years following his unanimous-decision victory over Jordann Pikeur at K’Festa.3. Fifth-ranked featherweight and former K-1 super lightweight champ Masaaki Noiri earned his third-straight victory with a decision nod over David Mejia. K-1 super lightweight champion Rukiya Anpo put on an amazing fight with Fukashi, but he falls one spot in the rankings due to Kubo’s entrance.
- Taiju Shiratori (2)
- Wei Rui (3)
- Ilias Ennahachi (4)
- Taio Asahisa (-)
- Kenta Hayashi (1)
- Zhu Shuai (5)
- Koya Urabe (6)
- Wang Wenfeng (7)
- Saeksan Or. Kwanmuang (8)
- Yuto Shinohara (9)
Dropped from the rankings: Gonnapar Weerasakreck (10)
The bantamweight rankings feature a major shake up. Late-replacement opponent Taio Asahisa put on a dominant performance against K-1 lightweight champ Kenta Hayashi in a non-title affair at K’Festa.3. Asahisa replaced top contender Zhu Shuai due to travel restrictions for the Chinese fighter during the COVID-19 pandemic. Krush lightweight titleholder Gonnapar Weerasakreck exits the rankings due to the addition of Asahisa, who debuts in the No. 4 spot. Gonnapar will attempt to defend his Krush title against 10th-ranked Yuto Shinohara at Krush.113 in April.
- Takeru (1)
- Tenshin Nasukawa (2)
- Leona Pettas (3)
- Kosuke Komiyama (4)
- Kouzi (5)
- Asahisa Hirotaka (6)
- Yuma Saikyo (7)
- Zhao Chongyang (8)
- Suarek Rukkukamui (9)
- Kotaro Shimano (10)
Top-ranked pound-for-pound kickboxer and K-1 super featherweight champion Takeru earned his 34th consecutive victory with a second-round knockout of Thailand’s Petchdam Petchkiatpetch in a non-title affair at K’Festa.3. Krush super-featherweight titleholder Leona Pettas scored a third-round knockout over former K-1 featherweight champ Yuta Murakoshi to earn his eighth straight victory. Pettas holds firm at No. 3 with the win.
- Yoshiki Takei (1)
- Yuuki Egawa (2)
- Masashi Kumura (5)
- Akihiro Kaneko (3)
- Astemir Borsov (6)
- Sam-A Gaiyanghadao (7)
- Wang Junguang (8)
- Masahiko Suzuki (9)
- Haruma Saikyo (10)
- Jawsuayai Ayothaya Fight Gym (-)
Dropped from the rankings: Yuta Murakoshi (4)
K-1 super-bantamweight champion Yoshiki Takei had a harder-than-expected bout against Thailand’s Dansiam Ayothaya Fight Gym at K’Festa.3. Krush super-bantamweight kingpin Masahi Kumura avenged his brother’s loss to former Krush bantamweight titleholder Akihiro Kaneko following a majority -decision victory at K’Festa.3. Yuta Murakoshi drops out of the rankings following his second consecutive fight at 60 kilograms. 2019 K-1 featherweight-tournament runner-up Jawsuayai Ayothaya Fight Gym makes his debut in the rankings following a win over former Krush champ Kaito Ozawa.
- Takeru (1)
- Marat Grigorian (2)
- Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong (3)
- Giorgio Petrosyan (4)
- Tenshin Nasukawa (5)
- Alex Pereira (6)
- Yoshiki Takei (7)
- Qiu Jianliang (8)
- Cédric Doumbé (9)
- Rico Verhoeven (10)
Takeru remains at the top of the pound-for-pound rankings following his knockout victory at K’Festa.3. Yoshiki Takei maintains a firm grip on the seventh spot following a close contest at K’Festa.3.
- Anissa Meksen (1)
- Tiffany van Soest (2)
- Iman Barlow (3)
- Jorina Baars (4)
- KANA (-)
- Josefine Knutsson (-)
- Anissa Haddaoui (9)
- Anke Van Gestel (-)
- Sarel de Jong (8)
- Sofia Olofsson (10)/Christina Breuer (10)
Dropped from the rankings: Wang Kehan (5), Gong Yanli (6), Wang Cong (7)
A trio of formerly top-ranked female kickboxers drop out of the rankings this month due to inactivity. Gong Yanli hasn’t fought in years, but she is scheduled to return to competition later this year, which should result in her return to the rankings. Kunlun Fight champions Wang Cong and Wang Kehan fall from the rankings after not competing for 18 months. K-1 women’s champ KANA makes her return to the rankings following a first -round knockout of former Bellator champion Gloria Peritore. Josefine Knutsson debuts in the rankings based on her strong resume and a 2019 win over KANA. Former Enfusion and ISKA champ Anke Van Gestel also makes her debut in our poll following three straight victories, including a win over two-division Enfusion champion Sarel de Jong.
Editor’s Note: Fighters are eligible to be ranked if they have competed in the last 18 months. Any fighter that chooses to switch weight classes will be ranked in their previous weight class until they have competed twice in their new division.