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MMA and kickboxing have always been close cousins. So it stands to reason that there’s been a number of crossovers between kickboxing and the UFC over the years.
Wrestlers and grapplers have often dominated the UFC for long stretches. However, the promotion has also been home to some top-level kickboxers, some of whom have experienced major success.
A handful of these world class kickboxers have reached the very top of the UFC, with some even holding gold for periods of time.
With another world champion kickboxer being one of the UFC’s most recent acquisitions, it’s time to take a look at five top-class kickboxers who moved to fight in the UFC.
#5. Alistair Overeem – former UFC heavyweight contender
Technically speaking, Alistair Overeem began his career as an MMA fighter, competing in promotions such as M-1 Global and RINGS before making his way to PRIDE in the early 2000s. At one point, he was even known primarily for his grappling.
However, prior to his UFC debut in 2011, it would be hard to deny that ‘The Demolition Man’ was one of the most accomplished kickboxers on the planet. At the time, it’s probably fair to say that Overeem was the most feared striker in the world.
A longtime member of the Golden Glory team – primarily a kickboxing squad – Overeem had dabbled in professional kickboxing while fighting in MMA dating back to 1999.
However, it was in 2008 that his kickboxing career really took off. That December saw him matched with reigning K-1 heavyweight champion Badr Hari in a kickboxing match. To the shock of everyone watching, Overeem knocked ‘The Bad Boy’ out with a left hook in just two minutes.
From there, Overeem essentially paused his MMA career to focus on kickboxing on a full-time basis. He entered 2009’s K-1 World Grand Prix and defeated two highly regarded fighters in Peter Aerts and Ewerton Teixeira to make the semi-finals, before falling to Hari in a rematch.
That wasn’t the end of the line for ‘The Demolition Man’ though. Instead, he qualified for 2010’s K-1 World Grand Prix, and went one better, defeating Ben Edwards, Tyrone Spong, Gokhan Saki and Peter Aerts to win the tournament, becoming recognized as the world’s numer one heavyweight kickboxer.
The achievement marked the end of Overeem’s kickboxing career for a time, as a year later he signed with the UFC.
However, after being released by the promotion earlier this year, he’s now set to head back into the ring in October – facing current Glory heavyweight champion Rico Verhoeven in the main event of Glory: Collision 3.
#4. Alex Pereira – former Glory middleweight and light-heavyweight champion
With the UFC positioned strongly as the top MMA promotion in the world, big new signings are now few and far between. However, it’s safe to say that the signing of Alex Pereira has drummed up the most publicity seen for a new fighter for some time.
MMA fans might’ve heard of Pereira prior to his UFC signing. This is primarily because he remains the only man to ever knock out current UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya.
However, the Brazilian is so much more than that. He’s a genuinely world class kickboxer whose record of 33-7 in the sport is truly outstanding.
‘Poatan' first emerged onto the kickboxing scene in Brazil in 2012. By 2014, he’d made his way to Glory – widely considered the biggest and best kickboxing promotion in the world.
After an up-and-down start to his Glory career – which included two victories over Adesanya, the second by knockout – he claimed the Glory middleweight title from Canada’s Simon Marcus in 2017.
In the years that followed, Pereira was able to defend his title on five occasions, while also claiming the Glory light heavyweight title as well. While the Brazilian’s Glory career ended earlier this month with a loss to Artem Vakhitov, he remains the top-ranked middleweight kickboxer in the world.
Whether his striking skills can translate into success in the UFC’s octagon as Adesanya’s have remains to be seen. Based on his kickboxing highlight reels, it should be a lot of fun to see him try.
#3. Maurice Smith – former UFC heavyweight champion
The UFC was built on the back of Royce Gracie and the art of Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Within a handful of years, it was being dominated by wrestlers such as Dan Severn and Mark Coleman.
However, the second UFC heavyweight champion came from a striking background. At the time, he was widely recognized as one of the best and most accomplished kickboxers on the planet. His name? Maurice Smith.
‘Mo’ was already 35 years old when he first entered the octagon to challenge Coleman for the title in 1997. By that time, he already had plenty of experience in fighting.
Sure, he’d been competing in MMA – primarily with Pancrase – since 1993, but his kickboxing career dated all the way back to the mid-1980s.
Smith fought world-renowned kickboxers such as Stan Longinidis, Peter Aerts and Ernesto Hoost along the way. He also won multiple titles, including the WKA heavyweight title and the ISKA heavyweight title.
While he was a well-rounded fighter by the time he joined the UFC, his striking was still by far the most dangerous weapon in his arsenal.
He used a series of brutal leg kicks to wear Coleman down in their clash, claiming the UFC heavyweight title by decision. He then stopped Tank Abbott too before losing his title to Randy Couture.
‘Mo’ only fought in the UFC after that on a handful of occasions. However, his huge accomplishments in the world of striking definitely make him amongst the best kickboxers to ever join the promotion.
#2. Gokhan Saki – former Glory light-heavyweight champion
Many of the highly accomplished kickboxers who entered the UFC weren’t able to enjoy the same success in the octagon as they did in the ring. Unfortunately, Gokhan Saki can count himself amongst those fighters.
Born in the Netherlands to a Turkish family, Saki began kickboxing professionally before the age of 20. By 2008, he’d put together an impressive record of 16-5 and claimed the WFCA super-heavyweight title – which was enough to earn him a shot in K-1, the world’s top kickboxing promotion.
While ‘The Rebel’ never held a title in K-1, he still beat some tremendous fighters like Tyrone Spong, Ray Sefo, and Daniel Ghita. He also made it to the finals of 2009’s K-1 World Grand Prix, losing to the legendary Peter Aerts.
Following K-1’s downfall, Saki – like most of the world’s top kickboxers – made his way to the Glory promotion, where he became the first Glory light-heavyweight champion by defeating Tyrone Spong in 2014.
That fight turned out to be one of his last in the ring, as he made his way to the UFC in 2017 and picked up a debut win over Luis Henrique. However, a shocking knockout loss to Khalil Rountree followed, and ‘The Rebel’ was then released by the promotion due to inactivity.
Saki’s UFC tenure may have been short, but he still stands as one of the best kickboxers to enter the UFC in recent years. His tale should be seen as a cautionary one for other top kickboxers looking to make the switch.
#1. Israel Adesanya – current UFC middleweight champion
The most successful switchover from kickboxing to the UFC in recent years is undoubtedly Israel Adesanya.
‘The Last Stylebender’ entered the octagon in 2018 with plenty of fanfare behind him following his kickboxing exploits. Less than two years later, he captured the UFC middleweight title.
Incredibly, Adesanya’s accomplishments in kickboxing are almost enough to rival his accomplishments in MMA. He began kickboxing professionally in 2010 on the Australian circuit, and went on to win three of the New Zealand-based King in the Ring tournaments, one of which was in the heavyweight division.
These tournaments required ‘The Last Stylebender’ to defeat three opponents in a single night. His wins there marked him out as one of the best kickboxers on the planet.
While Adesanya failed in his quest to win Glory’s middleweight title – losing a controversial decision to Dutch fighter Jason Wilnis in 2017 – his overall kickboxing record of 75-5 is truly remarkable. Also remarkable is the fact that only one man, Alex Pereira, was ever able to stop him.
Adesanya currently stands as the best middleweight in MMA, and has never lost at 185lbs to date. Considering his success, it’s unlikely he’ll return to kickboxing any time soon. However, the current UFC middleweight champion definitely stands as one of the most memorable switchovers from kickboxing to MMA in the sport’s history.
