Dennis Alexio vs. Branko Cikatić
Encyclopedia
Dennis Alexio
vs. Branko Cikatić
was a heavyweight
kickboxing
bout that took place at the Thomas & Mack Center
in Las Vegas, Nevada
, USA
on March 16, 1992 which ended in a controversial technical draw
.
was the golden boy of American kickboxing
, having lost only one bout in his career (a controversial decision to Don "The Dragon" Wilson at light heavyweight
in 1984) and co-starred in the film Kickboxer
with Jean-Claude Van Damme
. The undisputed World Heavyweight Kickboxing Champion, he held titles for all the major kickboxing associations such as PKA
, IKF
, ISKA
, KICK
and WKA
.
Branko Cikatić
, meanwhile, had spent the majority of his career fighting in Muay Thai
matches as a cruiserweight
throughout Europe
. After a storied amateur career, he became the European Muay Thai Champion in 1985 before going on to take the world title two years later. In 1989, he won the WKA
Cruiserweight Kickboxing Championship and then the IKBF Cruiserweight Kickboxing Championship the following year.
in Las Vegas, Nevada
, USA
, live on pay-per-view
as part of the World Martial Arts Challenge event. The only title on the line was the inaugural WMAC Heavyweight Championship. 14,000 spectators were in attendance at the venue.
The rules of the bout were disputed between both fighters right up to the day of the fight. Alexio, who had competed exclusively under American kickboxing
rules, wanted both fighters to wear foot pads and low kicks to be illegal. Cikatić, a Muay Thai
fighter, wanted low kicks as well as the Thai clinch to be allowed. In the end, low kicks were allowed and Alexio wore foot pads, and knees
and the clinch were banned. The duration of the fight was set at eight, three-minute rounds.
The first two rounds were close, with Alexio utilising better boxing
skills but Cikatić using his powerful low kicks to his advantage. Cikatić was deducted a point in the second round for kneeing Alexio in the clinch. The fight then ended in confusion in the third round when a stoppage was called as Alexio's right foot pad came off. Referee Pat Burleson decided to continue the fight without retrieving the foot pad as it had fallen out of the ring. However, before the fight was re-started Alexio hit Cikatić with two left hooks and then kicked him as he fell to the floor.
The fight was stopped there and, as it had gone less that half of the set eight rounds, was ruled a technical draw.
In his next bout
, Alexio faced Stan Longinidis
under a similar rule-set in Australia
and had his leg broken by a low kick from Longinidis. Although he recovered and went on to fight many more times afterwards, the loss virtually removed Alexio from contention as the world's best heavyweight kickboxer. Branko Cikatić, on the other hand, went on to win the first K-1 World Grand Prix
in December 1993. By defeating Changpuek Kiatsongrit, Masaaki Satake
and Ernesto Hoost
in the same night, he went down in history as one of the sport's greatest fighters.
Dennis Alexio
Dennis Raymond Alexio is an American former kickboxer. He was world champion as a light heavyweight and cruiserweight before moving up to heavyweight where, for a short time, he became the undisputed World Heavyweight Champion...
vs. Branko Cikatić
Branko Cikatic
Branko "The Croatian Tiger" Cikatić is a Croatian former heavyweight kickboxer, the first Croatian born fighter to achieve international success...
was a heavyweight
Heavyweight
Heavyweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Fighters who weigh over 200 pounds are considered heavyweights by the major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Association, the World Boxing Council, and the World Boxing...
kickboxing
Kickboxing
Kickboxing refers to a group of martial arts and stand-up combat sports based on kicking and punching, historically developed from karate, Muay Thai and western boxing....
bout that took place at the Thomas & Mack Center
Thomas & Mack Center
The Thomas & Mack Center is an arena, located on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. For ring events, the capacity is 19,522, for basketball, the capacity is 18,776.-History:...
in Las Vegas, Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
, USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on March 16, 1992 which ended in a controversial technical draw
Technical decision
A technical decision is a term used in boxing when a fight has to be stopped because of a headbutt.In boxing fights, referees have to pay deep attention to the action going on between the fighters, especially when the two combatants are fighting close to each other...
.
Background
Dennis AlexioDennis Alexio
Dennis Raymond Alexio is an American former kickboxer. He was world champion as a light heavyweight and cruiserweight before moving up to heavyweight where, for a short time, he became the undisputed World Heavyweight Champion...
was the golden boy of American kickboxing
American kickboxing
American Kickboxing, also known as Full-Contact Kickboxing or American Full Contact Karate, is a combat sport and a style of kickboxing in which two opponents of similar weight fight each other using full contact strikes with their fists and feet to attack the opponent, while keeping similar rules...
, having lost only one bout in his career (a controversial decision to Don "The Dragon" Wilson at light heavyweight
Light heavyweight
In boxing, the light heavyweight is a weight division above 168 pounds [12 Stone or 76.204 kilograms] and up to 175 pounds [12.5 stone or 79.38 kilograms]), falling between super middleweight and cruiserweight...
in 1984) and co-starred in the film Kickboxer
Kickboxer (film)
Kickboxer is a 1989 martial arts film starring Jean-Claude Van Damme and former world Kickboxing champion, Dennis Alexio. Like Van Damme's previous film, Bloodsport, it showcases Van Damme's martial arts fighting abilities...
with Jean-Claude Van Damme
Jean-Claude Van Damme
Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg , professionally known as Jean-Claude Van Damme, is a Belgian martial artist and actor, best known for his martial arts action films, the most successful of which include Bloodsport , Kickboxer , Double Impact , Universal Soldier , Hard Target , Timecop ,...
. The undisputed World Heavyweight Kickboxing Champion, he held titles for all the major kickboxing associations such as PKA
Professional Karate Association
The Professional Karate Association was originally a martial arts sanctioning organization, now transformed into a martial arts promotion company....
, IKF
International Kickboxing Federation
The International Kickboxing Federation is a kickboxing sanctioning body. The IKF World Headquarters in the USA oversees IKF World Operations with the rest of the IKF World Team.-Styles:...
, ISKA
International Sport Karate Association
The International Sport Karate Association is one of the major international bodies regulating karate and kickboxing matches, and is based in the United States...
, KICK
Karate International Council of Kickboxing
The Karate International Council of Kickboxing is a sanctioning body that regulates kickboxing matches. It is considered among the more prestigious organizations that sanction professional kickboxing.-Early years:...
and WKA
World Kickboxing Association
The World Kickboxing Association is one of the oldest and the largest amateur and professional sanctioning organizations of kickboxing in the world for the sport. Its official name is "World Kickboxing and Karate Association"....
.
Branko Cikatić
Branko Cikatic
Branko "The Croatian Tiger" Cikatić is a Croatian former heavyweight kickboxer, the first Croatian born fighter to achieve international success...
, meanwhile, had spent the majority of his career fighting in Muay Thai
Muay Thai
Muay Thai is a combat sport from Thailand that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. It is similar to other Indochinese kickboxing systems, namely pradal serey from Cambodia, tomoi from Malaysia, lethwei from Myanmar and muay Lao from Laos...
matches as a cruiserweight
Cruiserweight
Cruiserweight is a weight class in boxing between light heavyweight and heavyweight. Before the advent of the current cruiserweight class, "light heavyweight" and "cruiserweight" were sometimes used interchangeably in the United Kingdom....
throughout Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. After a storied amateur career, he became the European Muay Thai Champion in 1985 before going on to take the world title two years later. In 1989, he won the WKA
World Kickboxing Association
The World Kickboxing Association is one of the oldest and the largest amateur and professional sanctioning organizations of kickboxing in the world for the sport. Its official name is "World Kickboxing and Karate Association"....
Cruiserweight Kickboxing Championship and then the IKBF Cruiserweight Kickboxing Championship the following year.
The fight
Alexio faced Cikatić on March 16, 1992 at the Thomas & Mack CenterThomas & Mack Center
The Thomas & Mack Center is an arena, located on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. For ring events, the capacity is 19,522, for basketball, the capacity is 18,776.-History:...
in Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, live on pay-per-view
Pay-per-view
Pay-per-view provides a service by which a television audience can purchase events to view via private telecast. The broadcaster shows the event at the same time to everyone ordering it...
as part of the World Martial Arts Challenge event. The only title on the line was the inaugural WMAC Heavyweight Championship. 14,000 spectators were in attendance at the venue.
The rules of the bout were disputed between both fighters right up to the day of the fight. Alexio, who had competed exclusively under American kickboxing
American kickboxing
American Kickboxing, also known as Full-Contact Kickboxing or American Full Contact Karate, is a combat sport and a style of kickboxing in which two opponents of similar weight fight each other using full contact strikes with their fists and feet to attack the opponent, while keeping similar rules...
rules, wanted both fighters to wear foot pads and low kicks to be illegal. Cikatić, a Muay Thai
Muay Thai
Muay Thai is a combat sport from Thailand that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. It is similar to other Indochinese kickboxing systems, namely pradal serey from Cambodia, tomoi from Malaysia, lethwei from Myanmar and muay Lao from Laos...
fighter, wanted low kicks as well as the Thai clinch to be allowed. In the end, low kicks were allowed and Alexio wore foot pads, and knees
Knee (strike)
A knee strike is a strike with the knee, either with the kneecap or the surrounding area. Kneeing is a disallowed practice in many combat sports, especially to the head of a downed opponent...
and the clinch were banned. The duration of the fight was set at eight, three-minute rounds.
The first two rounds were close, with Alexio utilising better boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
skills but Cikatić using his powerful low kicks to his advantage. Cikatić was deducted a point in the second round for kneeing Alexio in the clinch. The fight then ended in confusion in the third round when a stoppage was called as Alexio's right foot pad came off. Referee Pat Burleson decided to continue the fight without retrieving the foot pad as it had fallen out of the ring. However, before the fight was re-started Alexio hit Cikatić with two left hooks and then kicked him as he fell to the floor.
The fight was stopped there and, as it had gone less that half of the set eight rounds, was ruled a technical draw.
Aftermath
The fight was considered to be a disappointment due to the nature that it ended in. The rules and the referee, Pat Burleson, were also criticized. Cikatić claimed the decision to rule the fight a draw was biased as he was the foreign fighter, stating that due to the nature of the stoppage, Alexio should have lost via disqualification. As the WMAC Heavyweight title was won by neither man, Dennis Alexio was set to face Maurice Smith, who had defeated Steven Kruwell that night in a contender match, for it. Despite talks, Smith and Alexio would never meet in the ring.In his next bout
Dennis Alexio vs. Stan Longinidis
Dennis Alexio vs. Stan Longinidis was a heavyweight kickboxing bout that took place at the Melbourne Sports and Entertainment Centre in Melbourne, Australia on December 6, 1992...
, Alexio faced Stan Longinidis
Stan Longinidis
Stan "The Man" Longinidis is a retired Australian Heavyweight kickboxer and 8 time Kickboxing World Champion. Born in Australia of Greek ethnicity, Longinidis is one of the few fighters to have won World titles in three different styles, International Rules Kickboxing, Full Contact and Muay Thai,...
under a similar rule-set in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and had his leg broken by a low kick from Longinidis. Although he recovered and went on to fight many more times afterwards, the loss virtually removed Alexio from contention as the world's best heavyweight kickboxer. Branko Cikatić, on the other hand, went on to win the first K-1 World Grand Prix
K-1 World Grand Prix
K-1 World Grand Prix, also known as the K-1 World GP, is an elimination kickboxing tournament that has been held annually since 1993 by the K-1 organization. Each year, K-1 holds various 16-men, 8-match grand prix style tournaments throughout the world to determine which 16 fighters will compete in...
in December 1993. By defeating Changpuek Kiatsongrit, Masaaki Satake
Masaaki Satake
is a Japanese former super heavyweight karateka, kickboxer and mixed martial artist. He was one of the pioneering heavyweight fighters in K-1, after being a member of Kazuyoshi Ishii's Seido-Kaikan school and organization.-Biography and career:...
and Ernesto Hoost
Ernesto Hoost
Ernesto Fritz "Mr. Perfect" Hoost is a Dutch former kickboxer and four-time K-1 World Champion. He made his debut in 1993 at the K-1 World Grand Prix 1993, where he came just one win short of the world title...
in the same night, he went down in history as one of the sport's greatest fighters.