Kickboxing Lineal Title History: 7 lineal titles on the line at Glory 18

This Friday, November 7, Glory is back with Glory 18, headlined by a great world title fight between Davit Kiria and Robin van Roosmalen. To get you just a little more excited for this fight, we present you with this collaboration between myself and BE reader/historian mjanacek. I’m honored to be part of this project, and hope you enjoy. Please give us your feedback in the comments so that we can improve as the project continues. Now take it away…

Hello there lineal title fans! For those of you who may be unfamiliar with my previous work, I am the self-proclaimed lineal title expert here at BE (self-proclaimed are, of course, the best kind of experts). Until now, my work has been dedicated to Mixed Martial Arts titles, but I am beyond excited to present a new lineal title project. I’ve teamed up with resident BE Kickboxing expert Fraser Coffeen, and we are launching a long term project to research the lineage of major kickboxing titles. Think of this post as an introduction to this ongoing effort that we envision resulting in a comprehensive history of kickboxing titles. And, what better time to kick things off than ahead of another exciting installment of Glory World Series, starring current 70 kg Lineal King Davit Kiria!

Rules:

1. All lineal titles will begin with the inaugural champion crowned by a given promotion. The title will change hands only with a loss by the champion regardless of what promotion the fight takes place in. In a phrase, a lineal champion is “the man who beat the man.”

2. Unlike MMA lineal titles, weight class will not be a factor in tracking the lineage of Kickboxing titles.

3. The spirit behind this collection of titles is to appreciate the history of K-1 rules / Oriental Kicking style titles. However, all fights that would traditionally be considered on a kickboxing record will be included in the lineage. This means that even Muay Thai rules and Shoot Boxing rules fights will be recognized.

70 kg Kickboxing Titles

Since the main event of Friday’s Glory event features a 70 kg title fight, Fraser and I thought this would be a great place to start with our research of lineal titles. Here’s the list of titles that we are starting with (In time this list will grow to be more comprehensive):

Of these titles, the following are still actively being contested…

Lineal History for 70 kg Kickboxing Titles

Here are all of the fun details for the path each title has followed. These titles are listed in chronological order and both retired and active titles are included…

Lineal History Lesson (70 kg Edition)

Below is a list of all Lineal Kings throughout the history of 70 kg division. Year by Year, it captures which fighter held the most titles as well as how close they came to unifying all available titles at that moment in time…

Here’s a list of the fighters who held the most lineal titles within the 70 kg division throughout their respective careers…

And, here is a look at the champions who defended a given title for an impressive length of time…

Lineal Kickboxing Leaderboard (70 kgs)

This list captures the champions who currently hold active titles in the division. At present, Davit Kiria is the clear cut Lineal Kickboxing King of the division with 7 of 9 possible titles to his name. Enriko Kehl recently won the It’s Showtime 70 kg title from Buakaw due to a bizarre forfeit in the over time round of their contest. And Yodsanklai Fairtex holds the It’s Showtime 73 kg title original won by Yohan Lidon in 2011. This title is a bit of an odd ball as it falls right in the middle of traditionally established Kickboxing weight classes. It has migrated to Fairtex who now competes at 70 kg so we list it among these titles. Fairtex is a traditional Muay Thai practitioner, so it will be interesting to see if this title eventually finds its way back within a K-1 rules set or not.

Eventually, once we build out our list of titles, we will create a more comprehensive Leaderboard that will capture all the leaders regardless of weight class.

Closing Thoughts

We hope you’ve enjoyed this introductory attempt at building a comprehensive list of lineal title holders throughout the world of Kickboxing. Our goal is to use this detailed research as a way to appreciate the true greats throughout the history of the sport we love. Often times, the business side of sports can get in the way of the competition side that we enjoy as fans. Lineal titles are one way to appreciate the sport in its purest form and recognize the fighters who truly deserve to be hailed as champions for their accomplishments in the ring.

We are eager to hear your feedback. Are there certain titles you’d be interested in seeing us add to the list? Do you enjoy the format we’ve chosen to present these titles? We’ll look forward to your comments and suggestions.

And of course, join us here at Bloody Elbow Friday night to see who walks out of Glory 18 as the true world champion.