As kickboxing continues to grow on a global scale with promotions like GLORY, K-1, ONE Championship, and more, fighters are constantly jockeying for position in the media's eyes, and rankings. Each month, the Beyond Kickboxing board will publish updated rankings for every weight class, from Heavyweight to Flyweight, along with pound-for-pound rankings for both men and women.
No fighter in the top 10 at Heavyweight (+95 kg), Women's Openweight (+59 kg), Women's Flyweight (-53.5 kg) has been active this month.
POUND-FOR-POUND MEN
Yuki Yoza (NR to 10) breaks into the pound-for-pound rankings with a decisive win over the previously unbeaten Elbrus Osmanov in his ONE Championship debut. Now competing up a weight class, the former K-1 champion is targeting Petchtanong, Ilias Ennahachi, and Jonathan Haggerty.
Akihiro Kaneko (6 to NR) drops out of the rankings following his defeat to Koji Ikeda. The writing was on the wall for the still reigning K-1 Super Bantamweight champion. Despite a 12-fight winning streak, Kaneko had looked increasingly sluggish and hesitant, relying heavily on his power since his wins over Masashi Kumura.
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT (-95 KG)
Michael Boapeah (7 to 6) stopped Ștefan Lătescu (6 to 7) with low kicks in the second round.
Thian De Vries (9 to 8) had one of the craziest months imagineable. He defended his Enfusion 88 kg title with a first-round knockout of Yasin Guren, landing a high kick after recovering from an early knockdown. Just three weeks later, he claimed the vacant K-1 90 kg title by knocking out Mahmoud Sattari with a left cross in the first round—once again coming back from a knockdown.
MIDDLEWEIGHT (-85 KG)
Ulric Bokeme (3) defeated Jailton Lutterbach by unanimous decision after an extension round.
Bilal Bakhouche Chareuf (8) earned a decision win over Eric Britto under Muay Thai rules. The result does not impact his kickboxing ranking.
WELTERWEIGHT (-77 KG)
Chico Kwasi (1) and Tyjani Beztati (2) battled to their second split draw in a row, this time with the GLORY Welterweight title at stake, capping off an underwhelming GLORY: Miami card.
LIGHTWEIGHT (-71 KG)
Ouyang Feng (4 to 3) defended his K-1 70 kg title with a unanimous decision win over Darryl Verdonk in a back-and-forth battle that saw knockdowns on both sides.
Kaito (5 to 7) dropped a unanimous decision to Mohammad Siasarani (NR to 5). Siasarani has been steadily building a solid résumé, earning wins with his measured southpaw kicking style.
Stoyan Koprivlenski (8 to 9) picked up a decision win over Abdoulaye Diallo.
SUPER FEATHERWEIGHT (-67.5 KG)
Petchtanong (5 to 7) drops two spots due to a full year of inactivity.
FEATHERWEIGHT (-64 KG)
Yuki Yoza (1 to NR) exits the rankings after signing with ONE Championship and moving up to 66 kg, as the promotion does not feature a division between 61 and 64 kg.
Giorgi Malania (2 to 1) claims the top spot. The WLF champion holds a 19-1 record and continues to dominate the Chinese circuit.
Kan Nakamura (8 to NR) is removed due to a year of inactivity in the division, while remaining active at a lower weight.
Taio Asahisa (6 to 5) knocked out Yoshiya Uzatsuyo with a high kick in the second round.
Jin Ying (7 to 6) scored a unanimous decision win over Pinphet Banchamek.
Yuzuki Satomi (10 to 8) moved up a spot after knocking out Suleiman Beterbiev in just 28 seconds with a clean left cross.
Tomás Aguirre (NR to 9) reenters the rankings.
Kongnapa (NR to 10) reenters the rankings.
SUPER BANTAMWEIGHT (-61 KG)
Tomoya Yokoyama (4 to 5) took part in the K-1 −60 kg Grand Prix, knocking out Egor Bikrev with a body shot in the extra round of the quarterfinals, then stopping Matthew Daalman with body punches in the first round of the semifinals. In the final, he was stopped by Rémi Parra (NR to 3) after three knockdowns.
Leona Pettas (8) knocked out Sota Amano in the first round with a right cross.
Rémi Parra (NR to 3) returned to the −61 kg division after eight fights above the limit and made a dominant run through the Grand Prix—knocking out Yuta Matsuyama with a left cross in round one, stopping Chihiro Nakajima after two knockdowns in the second round, and finishing Tomoya Yokoyama with three knockdowns in the final.
BANTAMWEIGHT (-58 KG)
Haruto Yasumoto (3) retained his RISE 57.5 kg title with a first-round high kick knockout over Yuta Kunieda.
SUPER FLYWEIGHT (-55 KG)
Akihiro Kaneko (1 to 5) lost by majority decision to Koji Ikeda (NR to 4) after suffering a knockdown in the opening minute.
Koki Osaki (4 to 2) moved up the rankings by stopping Keisuke Monguchi (4 at 58 kg) with a barrage of punches in round two.
Kumandoi (5 to NR) exits the rankings after 18 months of inactivity in the division.
FLYWEIGHT (-55 KG)
Kazuki Osaki (1) stopped Corey Nicholson in round five with punches to claim the inaugural RISE World 53 kg title.
Jin Mandokoro (4) edged Riku Kazushima (7 to 6) by split decision.
Toma Kuroda (5) needed less than a minute to knock out Siwarat Wor.Ritnada with a knee to the body.
Toki Tamaru (6 to NR) exits the rankings after a year of divisional inactivity and an MMA debut.
Issei Ishii (8 to NR) leaves the list following 18 months without a kickboxing bout.
Ryuki Matsuda (9 to NR) also departs after 18 months of inactivity in kickboxing.
Tenshi Matsumoto (NR to 8) makes his debut in the rankings.
Momu Tsukamoto (NR to 9) enters the top ten.
Eito Kurokawa (10), the Krush 53 kg champion, joins the rankings.
Kaito Hasegawa (10 to 7) rose three places after a unanimous-decision win over Hiroto Yokoyama that included a third-round knockdown.
WOMEN'S BANTAMWEIGHT (+57.5 KG)
Débora Évora (8) defeated Lindsey Thomas by unanimous decision.
Eva Guillot (10) lost to Dorcas Olita by doctor stoppage in a bout for the 59 kg WAKO Pro European title. This does not affect her ranking.
WOMEN'S STRAWWEIGHT (-50.0 KG)
Arina Kobayashi (1 to 2) lost her RISE 49 kg title by extension round decision to Mei Miyamoto (2 to 1).
WOMEN'S ATOMWEIGHT (-47.0 KG)
Runa Okumura (9 to 10) was stopped by Haruka Shimada (NR to 8) via first-round TKO.
Aki Suematsu (NR to 9) enters the rankings after stopping Raika in three rounds with body shots.
