Giorgio Petrosyan Masterclass Wins Kickboxing World Grand Prix

Giorgio “The Doctor” Petrosyan once more proved why he is the best kickboxer on the planet as he defeated Samy “AK47” Sana at ONE: CENTURY PART II.

The Italian won the ONE Featherweight Kickboxing World Grand Prix Championship Final with a masterful performance to claim a unanimous decision in Tokyo, Japan, on Sunday, 13 October.

Petrosyan started by trading kicks with the rangy Parisian in the first minute of the bout at the Ryogoku Kokugikan. Midway through the first round, the 33-year-old started opening up and cracked his foe with his trademark right hook, straight left combination.

An inadvertent low-blow halfway through the first round only stopped Petrosyan’s momentum for a moment, as he continued to pump up the pressure with his boxing.

The man from Milan upped the ante in the second round, as he landed his best shots of the contest. The five-time kickboxing World Champion continued to frustrate Sana by gliding away from his strikes, and he connected with the biggest combination of the night as a hook and uppercut found their mark.

Petrosyan mixed up his punches and kicks as he followed that with a five-strike combination, but Sana was never out of the contest, and he ended the round with a flurry of his own to bring the fans to their feet.

The Frenchman knew he was behind on the scorecards, so he pushed forward in the final three minutes and let his hands go in search of a knockout.

However, Petrosyan proved to be just too elusive, and he countered perfectly with his straight left hand. “The Doctor” also landed two hard body kicks just before the final bell to seal a unanimous decision.

That improved his exceptional record to 103-2-2 (2NC) and earned him US$1 million – the richest prize in kickboxing history – but Petrosyan was more focused on what he accomplished by winning the most stacked tournament in his sport’s history.

“I don’t think about the million, I just think about being number one,” he said.

“Next will always be the same, train hard and keep the title.”