Top 5: The Best K-1 Kickboxing Knockouts from the Golden Age

K-1 is the cornerstone of modern kickboxing, as it revitalized the sport that had seen a sharp decline from the era of full-contact karate, where legends like Benny Urquidez and Bill Wallace reigned supreme, to the completely new world of kickboxing that would rival the effectiveness of Muay Thai.

Creating a long golden age of kickboxing from the 90s with legendary heavyweights like Andy Hug and Ernest Hoost. In 2000 where, the lighter weight classes would show off their incredible prowess, with icons of the sport such as Masato Kobayashi and Buakaw increasing interest in the lighter weight classes, leading to some of the most amazing martial arts tournaments ever seen in modern history, and with incredible matchups, we get incredible kickboxing knockouts.

So today, we will choose and rank the top 5 best kickboxing knockouts in the history of K-1’s golden age.

Top 5 Best K-1 Kickboxing Knockouts from the Golden Age

5. Ray Sefo slumps Jerome Le Banner

In 1997, at one of K-1’s standalone events, K-1 Braves ’97. Experienced and already kickboxing world champion Jerome Le Banner would face off against the inexperienced Ray Sefo. Sefo started his career as a cruiserweight and moved all the way up to heavyweight, immediately began to face top fighters there, such as Ernesto Hoost. However, shortly after his bout against Hoost, Sefo Would face off against the French giant Jerome Le Banner and show off his knockout power against the superheavyweight.

Le Banner would drop Sefo in a heavy punching combination in the first round. Ray Sefo would answer the count, and an emboldened Le Banner would walk down Sefo, who would throw a beautiful switch right hook as Le Banner walked in on him. Catching him clean on the jaw and putting him out could face first. A kickboxing knockout so dramatic it looks like something out of a movie and an incredible statement for the young Ray Sefo that he can hang with the best at heavyweight.

4. Franciso Filho’s knockout debut over Andy Hug

The first Brazilian kickboxing and Karate icon, Francisco Filho, always had a rivalry with the great Andy Hug. They were Karate rivals in the Kyokushin Karate Kumite scene, where Filho scored a brutal head-kick knockout over Andy Hug in 1991. In what was Andy Hug’s last ever Kyokushin Karate match.

The two would rematch six years later at K-1 Dream ’97. This was Francisco Filho’s first-ever kickboxing match against Hug, who had been fighting at the highest level of kickboxing for over five years at this point. Filho would stun the martial arts world when he caught Andy Hugh blitzing in with a short right hook. That instantly put the blue-eyed samurai on his back out cold. It was an absolute shock of a kickboxing knockout, and proving to the world that he had Andy Hug’s number no matter the sport.

3. Branko Cikatić scores a one-punch knockout over Ernesto Hoost to win the K-1 World Grand Prix

Branko Cikatic is a bit of a forgotten name in kickboxing history, as his name is usually not brought up in the conversation of heavyweight greats, despite being a K-1 WGP winner and being one of the few people to defeat Ernesto Hoost twice and both by knockout.

When Branko faced off against the greatest heavyweight in Hoost for the second time, their first bout was ruled a disqualification in favor of Hoost, as Branko hit Hoost after the referee broke up a clinch.

The two would settle their initial match in an incredible but short fight in the rematch at the K-1 World Grand Prix 1993 Final, where both fighters were eager to show off their boxing ability, with Hoost having more activity and Branko winging with his heavy hands. Near the end of the first, Brank Ciktaic would leap and put all his power into a vicious hook cross combination that would instantly flatten Ernest Hoost and leave him stiff on the campus.

It was an incredible win for the Croatian kickboxer. Not only did he defeat one of the greatest kickboxers of all time with a vicious boxing-heavy knockout, but he also won one of the most prestigious titles in kickboxing, paving the way for future stars from his nation, like his student Mirko Cro Cop.

2. Remy Bonjasky’s Flying head-kick knock out of Vernon White

The Flying Gentleman, Remy Bonjasky, is thankfully a beloved figure who is still active in the kickboxing scene today, with his own academy and media appearances. Despite being loved for his character and community service, he was a violent menace in the ring.

When K-1 came to America, in a rare event at K-1 World Grand Prix 2003 in Las Vegas II, Remy Bonjasky would face the woefully overmatched MMA veteran and former King of The Cage champion Vernon White, who was facing Bonjasky on his debut. This would prove to be quite an unwise decision.

As in the fight, Vernon White would attempt to dissuade the Dutchman’s skill strikes with his aggression. It would end in disaster for him, as Remy would now land one of his most famous highlight reel knockouts, his insane jumping head kick. He caught White on the head with his foot as he attempted to dodge but was struck and knocked out in an amazing fashion—a legendary kickboxing knockout from the finest in the Netherlands.

1. Kaoklai does the impassible in sleeping Mighty Mo with the greatest knockout ever.

Kaoklai is a very underappreciated and often forgotten character in kickboxing and even Muay Thai, despite having one of the greatest Kickboxing knockouts ever. In Thailand, the upper weight classes often get snubbed, as large Thais are rare in Muay Thai and kickboxing competitions. And despite Kaoklai not even being that small, fighting as low as 154 LBs but going as high as heavyweight, Kaoklai often found himself at a massive size disadvantage whenever he competed in K-1.

So, he often had to rely on slick striking and evasion to survive and win. However, he was quite crafty with his offense. For example, he famously fought Samoan fighter Mighty Mo at the K-1 World Grand Prix 2004. Mighty Mo, being a Mark Hunt type fighter with a huge size and incredibly heavy hands, was already a K-1 World Grand Prix champion at this point. He proved to be an incredibly skilled kickboxer on top of his one-punch KO power.

When the fight took place, Mighty Mo’s punches and kicks would move Kaoklai with incredible force even if he blocked effectively. He was really looking to score a big right hand to end the Thai’s night early. However, Kaoklai saw Mighty Mo’s pattern with the right hand and used, in an unorthodox and dangerous fashion, one of the best counters for a right hand: a right head kick.

Mighty Mo would shoot a big overhand right at Kaoklai, and Kaolai would counter the overhand rand with an insane jumping head kick, landing flush on Mighty Mo’s jaw. Sending him crashing to the ground, unable to make the count. A shot knockout in a true David vs. Goliath moment for Kaokai in a scene out of a martial arts film with how hectic and beautiful it was. It’s not just the greatest kickboxing knockout on this list, but arguably one of the greatest knockouts of all time.

the incredible stories of these kickboxing knockouts are what keep the sport alive

Kickboxing doesn’t have the same long and well-kept history as boxing, nor does it have the mainstream appeal that modern MMA does. However, kickboxing and Muay Thai fans know just how special this sport is. It truly is the most exciting combat sport in the world, the art striking at its peak. And with art so violent and so beautiful, kickboxing knockouts of the past will be preserved and talked about, and kickboxing knockouts of the future will be shocking and talked about for years to come.

If you want to see more, check out our list of the best kickboxing knockouts of 2025 so far.