October Rankings: Middleweight Division

A number of top 25 fighters were in action this past month.  Between the MAX Grand Prix, Shootboxing, and It's Showtime, we saw a lot of big fights that shook up the rankings.  The biggest result of the month came in K-1, where Mo Khamal upset former top 5 fighter Artur Kyshenko, but we also saw Khem Sitsongpeenong upset in It's Showtime by Rachid Belaini.  Not upset: reigning #1 Giorgio Petrosyan, who is the heavy favorite to retain his #1 spot at the upcoming MAX GP.

That event will take place on November 8; the biggest fight of the quarter final round has #1 Giorgio Petrosyan v. #4 Albert Kraus in a rematch from last year.  Also in the quarter finals: #6 Yoshihiro Sato v. #21 Michal Glogowski, #9 Gago Drago v. #15 Muhammed Khamal, and #11 Yuichiro Nagashima v. #13 Mike Zambidis.  Like the HW Grand Prix, there are some big names missing here - namely #2 Andy Souwer and #3 Buakaw Por. Pramuk.  The absence of those two is definitely a shame.  No word yet on who will be in reserve fights, though I would not be surprised to see both #10 Pajonsuk Super Pro Samui and #22 Chahid Oulad El Hadj invited.

The other huge Middleweight fight coming up takes place in It's Showtime on December 11 as Petrosyan again defends his #1 status against #10 Pajonsuk.  Excellent fight there, and one that I am looking forward to more than any possible GP fight for Giorgio.  

Also on December 11, #5 Murat Direkci defends his IS title against Chris Ngimbi, #9 Drago v. Yavuz Kayabasi, and #22 Chahid v. Rafal Dudek.  It's Showtime also closes the year with a December 18 show featuring #15 Khamal v. Mosab Amrani.

The last big show for Middleweight action is November's Shootboxing S-Cup.  No official list of participants yet, though bank on #2 Souwer being involved. 

Two final fights to note: on October 16 for United Glory #7 Nieky Holzken faces Murtel Groenhart (a replacement for Holzken's originally scheduled opponent of Sahin Yakut), and on October 17 #23 John Wayne Parr challenges Yodsaenklai Fairtex.

No idea when we'll next see Buakaw in action.  He's been discussed as maybe dropping down to 63kg in K-1, but has yet to comment on that.

We acknowledge that all rankings are inherently subjective, however we have set the following criteria to help determine rankings:

These rankings are meant to represent fighters throughout kickboxing, not only in K-1.

Rankings are based on recent win/loss records in the ring. 

Rankings are divided into two weight classes - Heavyweight, for those fights at 85 kg and up, and Middleweight, for fights at either 70 or 72 kg.