SUPERKOMBAT Fighting Championship

SUPERKOMBAT Fighting Championship
Private
Industry Kickboxing promotion
Founded 2011 (2011)
Founder Eduard Irimia
Headquarters Bucharest, Romania
Website http://www.superkombat.com

The SUPERKOMBAT Fighting Championship, frequently shortened to simply SUPERKOMBAT or SK, is one of Europe's main kickboxing promotions,[1][2][3][4][5][6] that produces events mainly in Romania but also globally. Eduard Irimia serves as the president of the SUPERKOMBAT.

Superkombat cemented 2011 status as one of the best kickboxing promotions in the world with Best Promotion Of The Year Award (under K-1 rules) in the fourth annual ceremony of the World Independent Promoters Union Awards. Dutch promotions Ultimate Glory and It's Showtime, and Italian promotion Fight Code were the other finalists for the award presented.[7]

History

After an 8-year experience with Local Kombat, Irimia decided to expand internationally, launching its product under a new name in 2011.[8] SUPERKOMBAT is well-known mainly for its heavyweight division fights and includes an elimination tournament in the heavyweight division and bouts at different weight classes.[9]

The first SK event was held in 2011 in Râmnicu Vâlcea, Romania. The purpose of the event was to identify the most effective martial art in a real stand-up fight between competitors all over the world of different fighting disciplines, including boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, judo, karate, Muay Thai, wrestling, and other styles.[10]

On 10 August 2012, SK began working together with K-1 in the development of K-1's live event production. SUPERKOMBAT has also assisted K-1 in securing the biggest and best new kickboxing talent coming out of Europe.[11][12] At the K-1 World Grand Prix in Zagreb, nearly 80% of all the Final 8 fighters and the reserve fighters were members of the SK roster.[13] The agreement has been eventually ended in April 2013.[4][13][14][15]

SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix

SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix is an elimination kickboxing tournament that has been held annually since 2011 by the promotion. Each year, SK holds four 4-men, 2-match grand prix style tournaments throughout the world to determine which eight fighters will compete in the Final Elimination that is an event where the participants compete for the final four spots in the Final 4.

Date: No: Event: Location: Venue:
2016-05-07 36 SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix II 2016 Romania Bucharest, Romania Romexpo Dome
2016-03-26 35 SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix I 2016 Puerto Rico San Juan, Puerto Rico Roberto Clemente Coliseum
2015-12-12 34 SUPERKOMBAT Special Edition Italy Italy Turin, Italy Pala Alpitour
2015-11-07 33 SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix 2015 Final Romania Bucharest, Romania Sala Polivalentă Dinamo
2015-10-02 32 SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix 2015 Final Elimination Italy Milan, Italy Gran Teatro Linear4Ciak
2015-08-01 31 SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix IV 2015 Romania Constanța, Romania Piațeta Cazino
2015-06-19 30 SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix III 2015 Romania Constanța, Romania Sala Sporturilor
2015-06-13 29 SUPERKOMBAT Special Edition Switzerland Switzerland Spreitenbach, Switzerland Umwelt Arena
2015-05-23 28 SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix II 2015 Romania Bucharest, Romania Sala Polivalentă
2015-03-07 27 SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix I 2015 Romania Ploiești, Romania Sala Sporturilor Olimpia
2014-11-22 26 SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix 2014 Final Italy Monza, Italy PalaIper
2014-10-25 25 SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix 2014 Final Elimination Switzerland Geneva, Switzerland SEG Geneva Arena
2014-09-27 24 SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix IV 2014 Netherlands Almere, Netherlands Topsportcentrum
2014-06-21 23 SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix III 2014 Romania Constanța, Romania Sala Sporturilor
2014-05-24 22 SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix II 2014 Romania Mamaia, Romania Centrul de distracţie Europa
2014-04-12 21 SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix I 2014 Romania Reșița, Romania Sala Polivalentă
2013-12-21 20 SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix 2013 Final Romania Galați, Romania Patinoarul Artificial
2013-11-09 19 SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix 2013 Final Elimination Romania Ploiești, Romania Sala Sporturilor Olimpia
2013-10-12 18 SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix IV 2013 Romania Giurgiu, Romania Sala Chauncey Hardy
2013-09-28 17 SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix III 2013 Romania Botoșani, Romania Sala Polivalentă Elisabeta Lipă
2013-08-31 16 SUPERKOMBAT VIP Edition Romania Bucharest, Romania Sala Epika
2013-05-18 15 SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix II 2013 Romania Craiova, Romania Sala Polivalentă
2013-04-06 14 SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix I 2013 Romania Oradea, Romania Arena Antonio Alexe
2012-12-22 13 SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix 2012 Final Romania Bucharest, Romania Sala Polivalentă
2012-11-10 12 SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix 2012 Final Elimination Romania Craiova, Romania Sala Polivalentă
2012-10-10 11 SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix IV 2012 Romania Arad, Romania Galleria Arad
2012-07-07 10 SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix III 2012 Bulgaria Varna, Bulgaria Kongresna
2012-05-12 9 SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix II 2012 Romania Cluj-Napoca, Romania Sala Sporturilor Horia Demian
2012-02-25 8 SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix I 2012 Montenegro Podgorica, Montenegro Sportski centar Morača
2011-11-19 7 SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix 2011 Final Germany Darmstadt, Germany Böllenfalltorhalle
2011-11-17 6 SUPERKOMBAT Fight Club Romania Oradea, Romania Oradea Shopping City
2011-10-15 5 SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix IV 2011 Romania Piatra Neamț, Romania Sala Polivalentă
2011-10-01 4 SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix III 2011 Romania Brăila, Romania Sala Polivalentă Danubius
2011-07-16 3 SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix II 2011 Romania Constanța, Romania Sala Sporturilor
2011-05-21 2 SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix I 2011 Romania Bucharest, Romania Patinoarul Mihai Flamaropol
2011-03-18 1 SUPERKOMBAT The Pilot Show Romania Râmnicu Vâlcea, Romania Sala Sporturilor Traian

Development

SUPERKOMBAT New Heroes

SUPERKOMBAT New Heroes is a 2013 launched platform for up and coming talent which has served since its inception as the official developmental territory for SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix.[16][17]

# Date Location Venue
14 7 November 2015 Romania Bucharest, Romania Sala Polivalentă Dinamo
13 2 October 2015 Italy Milan, Italy Gran Teatro Linear4Ciak
12 1 August 2015 Romania Mamaia, Romania Piațeta Cazino
11 19 June 2015 Romania Constanța, Romania Sala Sporturilor
10 23 May 2015 Romania Bucharest, Romania Sala Polivalentă
9 7 March 2015 Romania Ploiești, Romania Sala Sporturilor Olimpia
8 2 August 2014 Romania Constanța, Romania Sala Sporturilor
7 29 March 2014 Romania Ploiești, Romania Sala Sporturilor Olimpia
6 3 November 2013 Italy Carrara, Italy CarraraFiere Exhibition Centre
5 30 August 2013 Romania Târgoviște, Romania Polyvalent Hall
4 31 May 2013 United Arab Emirates Dubai, UAE Al Boom Tourist Village
3 10 May 2013 Austria Vienna, Austria Gasometer
2 3 March 2013 Brazil São Paulo, Brazil Ginásio Milton Feijão
1 23 February 2013 Croatia Opatija, Croatia Hotel Kvarner

SUPERKOMBAT Tryouts

SUPERKOMBAT Tryouts are made in an effort to groom a "new generation" of kickboxing.[4][17]

# Date Location Venue
6 8 June 2014 Netherlands Almere, Netherlands Markerkant
5 4 April 2014 United Kingdom Middlesbrough, United Kingdom Teesside University Students' Union - The Hub
4 22 February 2013 Croatia Rijeka, Croatia Zapadni Trgovacki Centar
3 15 February 2013 United Kingdom Luton, United Kingdom Storm Gym
2 9 February 2013 Germany Dortmund, Germany Fight Lounge
1 26 January 2013 Greece Athens, Greece MMA Gym

SUPERKOMBAT Academy (2015-)

The concept will run a competition between 32 heavyweights in search of the next big SUPERKOMBAT star. With a sizable investment of 5 million dollars, the promotion is looking to run a reality series and introduce these fighters on its live events, where they will tested in order to move forward. These fighters will be prepared to be high level kickboxers and stars. The investment is to help with their training, salaries, supplements, travel and public-facing training to help make them into more complete packages. This is a unique opportunity for its fighters to live the dream in for the next three years (the length of the competition) by having SK essentially pay their bills for them and for these fighters to concentrate on training.[18]

# Date Location
1 25 April 2015 Romania Târgoviște, Romania

List of SUPERKOMBAT champions

Tournament Champions

EventDateWeight classWinnerRunner-up
SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix 2011 Final November 19, 2011 Heavyweight
(+95 kg/209.4 lb)
Ukraine Sergei Lascenko Suriname Ismael Londt
SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix 2012 Final December 22, 2012 Heavyweight
(+95 kg/209.4 lb)
Ukraine Pavel Zhuravlev Suriname Ismael Londt
SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix 2013 Final December 21, 2013 Heavyweight
(+95 kg/209.4 lb)
Spain Frank Muñoz Suriname Redouan Cairo
SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix 2014 Final November 22, 2014 Light heavyweight
(-81 kg/178.6 lb)
Spain Jorge Loren France Aristote Quitusisa
SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix 2015 Final November 7, 2015 Heavyweight
(+95 kg/209.4 lb)
Morocco Tarik Khbabez Ukraine Roman Kryklia

Other Tournaments winners

EventDateWeight classWinnerRunner-up
SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix I 2011 May 21, 2011 Heavyweight
(+95 kg/209.4 lb)
Ukraine Sergei Lascenko Czech Republic Roman Kleibl
SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix II 2011 July 16, 2011 Heavyweight
(+95 kg/209.4 lb)
Suriname Ismael Londt Croatia Mladen Brestovac
SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix III 2011 October 1, 2011 Heavyweight
(+95 kg/209.4 lb)
Ukraine Pavel Zhuravlev Belgium Sebastian van Thielen
SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix IV 2011 October 15, 2011 Heavyweight
(+95 kg/209.4 lb)
Turkey Erhan Deniz Netherlands Wendell Roche
SUPERKOMBAT Fight Club November 17, 2011 Heavyweight
(+95 kg/209.4 lb)
Netherlands Errol Zimmerman Czech Republic Roman Kleibl
SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix I 2012 February 25, 2012 Heavyweight
(+95 kg/209.4 lb)
Romania Cătălin Moroşanu Brazil Anderson Silva
SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix II 2012 May 12, 2012 Heavyweight
(+95 kg/209.4 lb)
Romania Raul Cătinaș United Kingdom Daniel Sam
SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix III 2012 July 7, 2012 Heavyweight
(+95 kg/209.4 lb)
Romania Benjamin Adegbuyi Bulgaria Kostadin Kostov
SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix IV 2012 October 20, 2012 Heavyweight
(+95 kg/209.4 lb)
Czech Republic Roman Kleibl Romania Răzvan Ghiţă
SUPERKOMBAT New Heroes 2 March 23, 2013 Heavyweight
(+95 kg/209.4 lb)
Brazil Felipe Micheletti Brazil Edson Lima
SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix I 2013 April 6, 2013 Heavyweight
(+95 kg/209.4 lb)
Bosnia and Herzegovina Muamer Tufekčić Suriname Jairzinho Rozenstruik
SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix II 2013 May 18, 2013 Heavyweight
(+95 kg/209.4 lb)
Romania Sebastian Ciobanu Spain Frank Muñoz
SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix III 2013 September 28, 2013 Heavyweight
(+95 kg/209.4 lb)
Curaçao D'Angelo Marshall Greece Giannis Stoforidis
SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix IV 2013 October 12, 2013 Heavyweight
(+95 kg/209.4 lb)
Armenia Jegish Yegoian Belgium Thomas Vanneste
SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix I 2014 April 12, 2014 Light heavyweight
(-81 kg/178.6 lb)
Poland Dawid Kasperski Suriname Errol Koning
SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix II 2014 May 24, 2014 Light heavyweight
(-81 kg/178.6 lb)
United Kingdom Jamie Bates Suriname Miles Simson
SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix III 2014 June 21, 2014 Cruiserweight
(-92 kg/202.8 lb)
Spain Moisés Baute United Kingdom Michael Terrill
SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix IV 2014 September 27, 2014 Heavyweight
(+95 kg/209.4 lb)
Morocco Tarik Khbabez Netherlands Dexter Suisse
SUPERKOMBAT Special Edition June 13, 2015 Heavyweight
(+95 kg/209.4 lb)
Curaçao D'Angelo Marshall Russia Nikolaj Falin

Current champions

DivisionUpper weight limitChampionSinceTitle defenses
Heavyweight +96 kg (211.6 lb) Suriname Ismael Londt July 7, 2012 (SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix III 2012) 0
Super cruiserweight 95 kg (209.4 lb) Spain Jorge Loren November 7, 2015 (SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix 2015 Final) 0
Cruiserweight 92 kg (202.8 lb) Belarus Igor Bugaenko December 21, 2013 (SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix 2013 Final) 0
Middleweight 71 kg (156.5 lb) vacant

New Heroes

DivisionUpper weight limitChampionSinceTitle defenses
Light heavyweight 81 kg (178.6 lb) Suriname Clyde Brunswijk January 18, 2014 (KIMBO 2) 0
Middleweight 71 kg (156.5 lb) Romania Amansio Paraschiv March 7, 2015 (SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix I 2015) 0
Women's Lightweight 65 kg (143.3 lb) United States Angela Whitley March 26, 2016 (SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix I 2016) 0

Championship history

Heavyweight Championship

No. Name Event Date Defenses
1 Suriname Ismael Londt
def. Freddy Kemayo
SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix III 2012
Varna, Bulgaria
July 7, 2012

Super Cruiserweight Championship

No. Name Event Date Defenses
1 Romania Andrei Stoica
def. Ondřej Hutník
SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix 2013 Final
Galați, Romania
December 21, 2013 1. def. Ali Cenik at SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix III 2014 on 21-06-14
2. def. Moisés Baute at SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix 2014 Final Elimination on 25-10-14
3. def. Fred Sikking at SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix IV 2015 on 01-08-15
2 Spain Jorge Loren
def. Andrei Stoica
SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix 2015 Final
Bucharest, Romania
November 7, 2015

Cruiserweight Championship

No. Name Event Date Defenses
1 Romania Bogdan Stoica
def. Ivan Stanić
SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix II 2012
Cluj-Napoca, Romania
May 12, 2012
2 Belarus Igor Bugaenko
def. Bogdan Stoica
SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix 2013 Final
Galați, Romania
December 21, 2013

Middleweight Championship

No. Name Event Date Defenses
1 Netherlands Albert Kraus
def. Alexander Schmitt
SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix 2011 Final
Darmstadt, Germany
November 19, 2011
Kraus was stripped of the title, when he left the SUPERKOMBAT for GLORY.
2 Greece Mike Zambidis
def. Harun Kina
SUPERKOMBAT VIP Edition
Bucharest, Romania
August 31, 2013 1. def. Harun Kina at Iron Challenge 2015 on 17-01-15
Zambidis vacated the title with his retirement on June 27, 2015.[19]

Production team

Cyrus Fees and Vladimir Baumann of Switzerland are current ring announcers.[20] Before, one of the announcers was Brad Vee Johnson.[21] Jelani Khalfani was MC[22] before Dana Săvuică.[23] One of the most known referees is Cezar Gheorghe of Romania.[24]

Broadcast

SK is broadcast in around 100 countries on 5 continents.[25] [26]

In 2011, the SUPERKOMBAT Fighting Championship burst into the mainstream with a landmark long-term broadcast agreement with Eurosport.[27] The agreement includes all the SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix live events broadcast on the Eurosport network annually.[10]

Fight Now TV is the exclusive home of SUPERKOMBAT Fighting Championship in the United States,[28] a station that reaches roughly 80 million homes.[29] The media partnership kicked-off with a live coverage on September 26, 2013.[30]

Sport.ro is the home for kickboxing programming, with the channel broadcasting SK events. Previously, its assets were sold to Pro TV, a sister station. Pro TV still airs a tape delayed broadcast of the shows late night with same commentary.[31]

The SUPERKOMBAT New Heroes events are usually broadcast around the world from regional TV and tape delayed on Eurosport.[10]

In May 2013, SUPERKOMBAT teamed-up with German based agency Playbook International GmbH & Co. KG to sign global media rights partnership for a worldwide distribution cooperation for its media rights.[32]

In September 2013, SK have announced that www.Epicentre.tv will produce live pay-per-view streams to market their events.[33]

On 18 March 2014, the promotion officially announced the extension of the contract with Eurosport until the end of the 2016 season, with the number of live events being increased from 6 to 8 and the level of television production improved.[34][35]

Notable fighters

References

  1. "Contender Promotions finalise deal with Romanian fight sport giants Superkombat". Gazette Live. 16 January 2014.
  2. "Superkombat Grand Prix live stream this Saturday May 18". BloodyElbow. 15 May 2013.
  3. "Superkombat announces global expansion, looking for partners in the US and internationally". BloodyElbow. 9 January 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 "Liverkick's Exclusive Interview with Superkombat President Eduard Irimia". Liverkick. 19 February 2013.
  5. "Fight Now TV home for SUPERKOMBAT kickboxing in US". Boxing Pulse. 24 September 2013.
  6. "Movings & Shakings Between K-1, Glory, Superkombat". Fight Sport Asia. 22 August 2012.
  7. "Eduard Irimia a fost premiat alături de Mike Tyson şi Andre Ward" (in Romanian). Libertatea. 10 February 2012.
  8. "Mixfight exclusief: interview met Superkombat promotor Eduard Irimia" (in Dutch). Mixfight.nl. 20 October 2011.
  9. "Kickboxing organization SuperKombat announces new partnership, looks to the future". BloodyElbow. 23 September 2013.
  10. 1 2 3 "About SUPERKOMBAT". SUPERKOMBAT Official Website. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
  11. "Kickboxing News: Badr Hari Update, Superkombat And K-1 Team Up, Much More". BloodyElbow. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  12. "K-1 Announces Agreement With SuperKombat". LiverKick. Retrieved 10 August 2012.
  13. 1 2 "SUPERKOMBAT Officially Splits From K-1: Is this the Final Nail in K-1′s Coffin?". Fight Sport Asia. Retrieved 10 April 2013.
  14. "Superkombat officially ends partnership with K-1". BloodyElbow. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
  15. "K-1 loses Superkombat support". Fight Linker. 12 April 2013.
  16. "SuperKombat 2013 Event Schedule Released". LiverKick. 25 February 2013.
  17. 1 2 "Superkombat începe anul în forţă! Gale în Grecia şi în Mare Britanie" (in Romanian). Ziua News. 12 January 2014.
  18. "Six live events and SUPERKOMBAT Academy with 5 million dollars budget". Kickboxing Planet. 13 February 2015.
  19. "The Greek Australian kick-boxer retires with pride". Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  20. "2013 Best Ring Announcer". Florida MMA Awards. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
  21. ""Fiarele" din ring, întâlnire cu reptilele din... Patinoarul "Flamaropol"!" (in Romanian). Prosport. 18 May 2011.
  22. "Trăieşte visul american în România! A lăsat Chippendales pentru ringul de K-1 de la Botoşani" (in Romanian). Prosport. 25 September 2013.
  23. "Jerome Le Banner şi Xhavit Bajrami vin la Reşiţa, la gala Superkombat World Grand Prix" (in Romanian). Yahoo! Romania. 12 April 2014.
  24. "Thriller in Ploiesti at SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix – Final Elimination". SUPERKOMBAT Official Website. 12 November 2013.
  25. "Programul meciurilor de la marea finală Superkombat de la Galati" (in Romanian). onlinesport.ro. 16 December 2013.
  26. "SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix – Final in Galati, Romania on December 21st". MMAmadhouse. 15 December 2013.
  27. "Superkombat la Eurosport". Eurosport Romania. 17 December 2013.
  28. "Fight Now TV home for SUPERKOMBAT Kickboxing Fighting Championship in U.S.". Fight Now TV. 24 September 2013.
  29. "Superkombat News: Plans For US Broadcasts, Bogdan Stoica Injured". BloodyElbow. 30 July 2012.
  30. "Fight Now TV home for SUPERKOMBAT kickboxing in US". Sherdog. 26 September 2013.
  31. "Şase români vor lupta în marea finală a circuitului Superkombat din 2013" (in Romanian). Gazeta Sporturilor. 3 December 2013.
  32. "SUPERKOMBAT Teams Up with Playbook International GmbH & Co.". Fight Sport Asia. 23 May 2013.
  33. "Agreement between Superkombat and Epicentre.tv to live-stream events". MMAmadhouse. 25 September 2013.
  34. "SuperKombat Signs Three Year Extension with EuroSport". liverkick.com. 19 March 2014.
  35. "Contract extension between Superkombat® and Eurosport for three years". SUPERKOMBAT Official Website. 18 March 2014.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Wednesday, April 27, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.