Daniel Ghita's Rise To Relevancy

Greetings HKL readers! The following FanPost goes about taking a deeper look into the career of Romanian kick boxer, Daniel Ghita, one of the most promising non-Dutch fighters in the sport today. You'll have to excuse the long post itself, as it could not be helped, and feel free to check the provided videos and links as well as to do your own research on the subject however extensively you feel like. Enjoy the read!

One of the main issues haunting heavyweight Kickboxing for the past few years has been renewing the talent pool with marketable quality athletes. Aerts, Schilt, Bonjasky and Le Banner, to name a few of the most recognizable figures in this division are nearing the end of their career, and with K-1’s recent problems, the newer, younger fighters have had less of a chance to showcase their skills and be embraced by the less hardcore fans.

Make no mistake, talent itself is not an issue. One need only look at names such as Badr Hari, Tyrone Spong, Gokhan Saki or Hesdy Gerges to be convinced.  The problem is turning them into household names, getting fans behind them. In this respect, the fighters themselves have been doing their part, putting on exciting, energetic performance – sometimes a tad too energetic, a lá Hari’s multiple attempts at rearranging his downed adversaries’ facial structure with the heel of his foot.

One of the more appealing heavyweights to grace the sport’s last years has been Daniel Ghita, former Romanian secret service agent with an extensive background in various martial arts. At 6’5"(1.95m), weighing around 242 lbs (110 kg), he is certainly on par with  the division’s giants, and while he may not be the youngest at 30 years of age, he still has a long enough career ahead of him.

Renowned for his devastating low-kicks and outstanding chin, Ghita began his journey as an athlete playing amateur soccer. He later moved on to martial arts via Sanshou (or Sanda, a form of Chinese Kickboxing derived from Kung Fu, that incorporates throws, trips and takedowns) before establishing himself as a Muay Thai specialist. In 1999, Ghita met his first big test, losing a decision to legendary underachiever, Alexei Ignashov in the semifinal of the World Muay Thai Championships. A testament to his toughness is that he is allegedly the only opponent to survive Ignashov’s assault without succumbing to the Belarusian’s KO power. He earned European Muay Thai gold in 2000, won second place two years later, while in the mean time placing third in the 2001 World Championships.

With this fairly vast experience under his belt, Daniel Ghita began his professional Kickboxing career in early 2004, in the Romanian promotion Local Kombat, winning his first 8 fights (5 of which by either KO or TKO). His first loss came by way of knockout at the hands of Gregory Tony (to date, it is Ghita’s only KO loss) in 2006. The same year, a couple of victories later, he would get the chance to even the score, dropping his French adversary in the second round of their rematch with a vicious right hook after a thoroughly dominant performance.

Daniel Ghita vs Tony Gregory II - Local Kombat 24 (via zenhor)

By 2008, Ghita had gone on another 8 fight win streak, with victories over the likes of Nobu Hayashi, Freddy Kemayo or Bjorn Bregy. At this point in his career he was becoming noticed as a potential future star, gaining a foothold in this direction through his brilliant 2009 K-1 Grand Prix Final Round GP performance. He defeated John Love, Yuki and Serghei Lascenko by stoppage in a combined time of 5 minutes and 15 seconds, breaking Peter Aerts’ previously established record of 6 minutes and 43 seconds. Ghita’s permanent move to the Kamakura Gym in The Netherlands was beginning to show as far as his style went, helping him mature into the more accurate, patient and explosive fighter we see today. 

The 2009 K-1 Final 16 Tournament saw the Romanian matched up against then 3-time K-1 World GP champion, Semmy Schilt. The Dutch colossus dominated the fight, "The Savage Samurai" having a few good moments himself, but ultimately being unable to deal with Schilt’s superior height, reach and crisp punching. What stood out in this confrontation was Ghita’s durability. He took considerable punishment and suffered two knockdowns in the third round, but managed to survive.

Daniel Ghita vs Semmy Schilt - round 1 (26.09.2009) (via oltymic)

(Also check out Round 2 and 3)

To put things into perspective, Schilt went on to win his 4th K-1 World GP that year, putting on quite possibly the best performance of his career with brutal KO wins over Jerome Le Banner, Remy Bonjasky, and most notably the tournament’s favourite,  Badr Hari in the final (thus avenging his previous loss).

Daniel Ghita’s biggest win to date, performance as well as name-wise, has been against Errol Zimmerman at the 2010 K-1 Final 16 GP. After a fairly evenly matched first round, "The Bonecrusher" was caught by a left hook that rendered him incapable of defending the ensuing assault.

Errol Zimmerman vs. Daniel Ghita - K1 World GP 2010 Seul (via enasanta)

The resulting KO propelled Ghita into the K-1 World Final GP, making him the most successful Romanian professional kick boxer of all time. His disappointing loss in the first round of the GP to Gokhan Saki confirmed Ghita’s difficulty in dealing with opponents that possesse superior hand speed and accurate well-strung combinations.

He went on to dropping a second fight in a row against Hesdy Gerges in March 2011 at the It’s Showtime Event in Amsterdam. The result was not without controversy, however, as the second round saw the referee count Ghita after the fighter was downed by a knee to the groin. The most intense moment of this bout, however, came earlier in the same round, when the Romanian intentionally lowered his hands, inviting Gerges to hit him without mounting any defense. After a while, Ghita, seemingly unimpressed with the Dutch-Egyptian’s power, got back into the exchange. The final round was easily dominated by "The Savage Samurai", who seemed the fresher of the two, but the result favored Hesdy Gerges.

Daniel Ghita vs Hesdy Gerges 6-3-2011 (via taboulaa)

In spite of the loss, Ghita was eyed for a potential It’s Showtime matchup against Badr Hari for the Moroccan’s return fight after his year off from the sport, but the idea was then scrapped. While both fighters were on the same June card, they faced less than stellar opponents, securing dominant stoppages over Gregory Tony (Hari) and Fikri Ameziane (Ghita).

The two heavyweights may face off yet, though the rumors of such a bout happening in September under It’s Showtime have been invalidated. This is likely because of K-1’s return to the Kickboxing scene with a Final 16 GP sometime in November. Obviously, one cannot be blamed for wanting to see irrefutable proof of such a tournament, knowing the financial difficulties the company has faced, but November is just a stone throw away, so at least the wait will not be crippling.

Even though Daniel Ghita is a well liked figure in Kickboxing, few would favor him in a bout against Hari. While definitely not lacking skill and heart, the Romanian’s cardio is somewhat questionable, having gassed even easier in fights where he has allowed opponents to impose their pace. In that respect, Hari is nothing if not the type of fighter who enjoys thoroughly dominating his adversary.

There is also a certain amount of doubt as to whether Ghita can "hang" with the division’s elite, more often than not having come up short against highly ranked fighters.  That being said, having the two square off, regardless of what promotion secures the deal, would definitely be one of this year’s highlights as far as the sport is concerned, and one can only hope such a fight happens sooner rather than later.