TOKYO, Japan — September 12, 2026 — ISKA World Champions Lorenzo Di Vara of Italy and Lorn Panha of Cambodia secured their places in the K-1 WORLD MAX 2026 Final 8 following standout victories at the Final 16, staged at Yoyogi Stadium in Tokyo.

ISKA World Champion Lorenzo Di Vara caused one of the biggest upsets of the tournament by defeating last year’s finalist Darryl Verdonk of the Netherlands. Di Vara dropped Verdonk in the second round before skillfully controlling the remainder of the fight to secure a unanimous decision victory.

ISKA Kun Khmer World Champion Lorn Panha also produced a historic result, defeating Japan’s Kazuki Matsumoto by majority decision. With the victory, Panha became the first Khmer fighter to win a K-1 qualifying round, earning his place among the tournament’s final eight.

Di Vara and Panha will now advance to the K-1 WORLD MAX 2026 Final 8, scheduled for December 29, 2026, in Yokohama, Japan.

The massive Tokyo card also featured five K-1 World Championship bouts, along with a full lineup of super-fights and preliminary contests.

K-1 WORLD MAX 2026 Final 16 – 70kg

Jonas Salsicha def. Zhora Akopyan — Decision 3-0

Lorenzo Di Vara def. Darryl Verdonk — Decision 3-0

Kacper Muszyński def. Serhii Adamchuk — Decision 2-1, Extension Round

Vladimir Tulaev def. Stoyan Koprivlenski — KO, Round 2, 2:16

Jayjay Morris def. Vitor Toffanelli — Decision 3-0

Lorn Panha def. Kazuki Matsumoto — Decision 2-0

Zack Pankhurst def. PK Saenchai — Decision 2-0

Jones Coliseu def. Alfousseynou Kamara — TKO, Round 3, 1:56

K-1 World Championship Results

Super-Lightweight World Title – 65kg

Taio Asahisa def. Alassane Kamara — Decision 3-0

Super-Featherweight World Title – 60kg

Tomoya Yokoyama def. Thun Menghong — KO, Round 2, 1:25

Lightweight World Title – 62.5kg

Samuel Nagasawa def. Yuzuki Satomi — TKO, Round 2, 1:41

Super-Bantamweight World Title – 55kg

Riamu def. Akihiro Kaneko — Decision 2-1, Extension Round

Featherweight World Title – 57.5kg

Rui Okubo def. Ryota Ishida — KO, Round 3, 1:25

K-1 Super-Fights & Preliminaries

95kg: Maxim Baklanov def. Bogdan Stoica — TKO, Round 1, 1:45

52kg: Mona Kimura def. Marine Nicol — Decision 3-0, Extension Round

63kg: Yuta Murakoshi def. Kenta Hayashi — Decision 3-0

55kg: Kenshin Tanabe def. Koji Ikeda — TKO, Round 2, 2:05

67.5kg: Takuma Tsukamoto def. Manuel Menendez — Decision 3-0

57.5kg: Daiju Kurata def. Raigo Miyazaki — Decision 3-0

The night in Tokyo delivered a major international showcase for K-1 and a particularly significant result for ISKA, with two reigning ISKA World Champions advancing into one of kickboxing’s most prestigious tournament stages.

Di Vara and Panha are through. Next stop: the K-1 WORLD MAX Final 8 in Yokohama on December 29.