Biography and career Stefan Leko

1 biography , career

1.1 backstory , summary
1.2 success in k-1: european grand prix & dream tournament champion
1.3 mixed fortunes in 2000-2002 - k-1 world grand prix usa title
1.4 rise top in 2003 - exit k-1, mma debut pride
1.5 return k-1 , kickboxing, initial success
1.6 last major success in k-1, later k-1 career
1.7 2010
1.8 return ring
1.9 wka world title win

biography , career
backstory , summary

stefan leko began karate @ age of 7. discovered klaus waschkewitz of masters gym ten years later when 17. while being instructed waschkewitz, leko won several world titles , 4 k-1 tournaments. nickname blitz means lightning in german. stefan left masters gym in 2005 , belongs team golden glory. besides kickboxing career leko running gym in duisburg named versus gym.

he first person beat badr hari in k-1 first-round knockout, though later avenged hari. leko holds notable wins on 3x k-1 world grand prix champion remy bonjasky, k-1 heavyweight champion badr hari, world muay thai champion mike bernardo, 3x k-1 world grand prix champion peter aerts (x2), k-1 legend ray sefo, world muay thai champion alexey ignashov (x2), , k-1 grand prix finalist francisco filho.

leko successful in both muay thai/kickboxing , k-1 during late 1990s , 2000s, despite conceding height , weight of larger men in k-1. won various k-1 tournaments , muay thai titles. fortunes varied in later stages of 2000s, though did win various more trophies , titles after 2005 return kickboxing , muay thai world.

early success in k-1: european grand prix & dream tournament champion

leko first fought in k-1 in 1997, age 22. won k-1 european grand prix tournament in 1998, , after 2 losses big names andy hug , ray sefo, rebounded win k-1 dream 99 tournament. 2000, had 11-4 win/loss record in world s premier stand-up fighting promotion, , 2x k-1 tournament champion.

mixed fortunes in 2000-2002 - k-1 world grand prix usa title

a period of huge wins , bad losses followed. on three-year period, leko win k-1 world grand prix 2001 in las vegas, , beat such champions remy bonjasky , - stunningly - peter aerts, huge right cross knocked former 3x k-1 world grand prix champion out. in same period, leko lost ernesto hoost, jorgen kruth, jerome lebanner, francisco filho, , mark hunt.

the following year, leko eradicated inconsistency, , end of 2003 considered in top 5 ranked k-1 fighters.

rise top in 2003 - exit k-1, mma debut pride

after six-fight win streak in 2003 (5-0 in k-1) included wins on multiple time k-1 champion peter aerts, heavyweight kickboxing champion mike bernardo, , k-1 world grand prix finalist francisco filho, top-ranked leko favourite leading k-1 world grand prix 2003. previous champion ernesto hoost out, leko considered favourite leading in. however, leave k-1 prior finals, after contract negotiations broke down. former leko opponent remy bonjasky, whom leko had beaten previous year, win grand prix tournament.

leko left k-1 , kickboxing worlds, k-1 record of 23-11-1-1, , total fight record of 50-12-1-1 (win/loss/draw/nc), , decided try hand @ combat sport. signed pride fighting championships, world s premier mixed martial arts organisation. however, striker unable find place there, losing 3 successive fights grapplers, , in 2005 returned muay thai , kickboxing worlds.

return k-1 , kickboxing, initial success

leko returned stand-up fighting world in 2005, becoming wkn world super-heavyweight champion.

prior hiatus standup fighting, had joined team golden glory, dutch fight camp known such fighters semmy schilt, alistair overeem , sergei kharitonov. made return top level kickboxing golden glory dutch major league promotion s showtime, in 2005. booked in grudge match rising star badr hari.

fighting @ s showtime in amsterdam, leko beat badr hari spinning kick in grudge fight. hari had trash talked leko prior bout, , there bad blood going in. leko finished him in round 1, via spinning kick liver. fight had lasted little more 100 seconds, badr throwing leko across ring clinch. leko got feet calmly, , after teep, landed trademark spin-kick , finished fight. hari stayed down several minutes after fight waved off, in considerable pain.

a rematch booked in k-1, , hari returned favour - bizarrely, winning via spectacular spinning kick, move noted being leko s trademark. marks duology unusual rivalry, in both men finished other same move, spinning kick no less.

last major success in k-1, later k-1 career

leko s last major success date came when won second k-1 world grand prix in las vegas tournament, beating scott lighty, carter williams , michael mcdonald in final. won 3 fights night ko.

he drew old foe remy bonjasky in first round of world grand prix finals5, , lost on points in controversial fight in leko landed 2 shots bonjasky s groin. leko claims these shots unintentional; however, remy took considerable time out period during fight, 1 leko had been performing in point, , after which, bonjasky managed win points decision from.

a rubber match bonjasky occurred in 2007, clear leko passing physical prime, , lost in round 1, after bonjasky landed trademark flying knee. golden glory claimed stoppage quick, nevertheless, leko out of world grand prix - last appearance in final 16.

by 2009 considered fading force, despite going 4-1 previous year, 2 wins in k-1. however, had not competed in world grand prix 2008, , ended year loss freddy kemayo. dropped out of every top 10 heavyweight rankings, leko began compete exclusively in netherlands , germany, varying results. returned fight s showtime in may 2009, facing smaller popular big name heavyweight in melvin manhoef. on of 2 consecutive losses in k-1, leko went fight underdog, ended dominating manhoef 2 rounds, picking him apart boxing , leg kicks. unfortunately, in final round broke foot, , fight called off. manhoef magnanimously admitted leko had outclassed him, , offered rematch golden glory fighter.

despite impressive display, leko remained inconsistent, slipping decline. won final k-1 fight date in sarajevo, , lost twice in row, in netherlands , germany respectively.

2010

leko strung 3 fight win streak, taking him overall k-1 , muay thai/kickboxing record of 64-22-1 win/loss/draw. after beating volkan duzgun on fightingstars presents: s showtime 2010, leko entered ultimate glory heavyweight tournament, drew wendell roche in quarter-finals. halfway through round 2, leko retired fight, reason given suffered dizzy spell , , lost equilibrium. however, in corner seemed in considerable pain, , emerged on dutch fight forum mixfight.nl leko had punctured lung.

in 2011, no bouts had been confirmed leko of february 20, either fighter or golden glory. mike passenier, owner of mike s gym , trainer of fighters such badr hari , melvin manhoef, stated in interview daniel fletcher on february 25, 2011 stefan leko has retired.

return ring

the retirement talk officially put aside golden glory confirmed leko returning face old foe jerome lebanner on june 11, 2011, in geneva. leko said serious return, , short-lived retirement no longer relevant. said intent on securing rubber match old foe badr hari, if string wins ranked , merit final grudge encounter moroccan.

wka world title win

leko won first world title since 2005, when beat marinko neimarević wka world super-heavyweight kickboxing title ko in round 2.

he knocked out in round 4 nicolas wamba @ fight night saint tropez in saint-tropez, france on august 4, 2013.

he scheduled fight dževad poturak in poturak s retirement fight @ final fight championship 7 in sarajevo, bosnia , herzegovina on september 6, 2013. fight never materialized.

he competed in four-man tournament @ gfc series 1 in dubai, united arab emirates on may 29, 2014 , had rubber match badr hari in semi-finals. lost bout tko after appearing lackluster , getting knocked down 3 times in first round.

leko suffered twenty-one second high kick knockout loss @ hands of zabit samedov on undercard of ruslan chagaev vs. fres oquendo boxing match in grozny, russia on july 6, 2014.