Azem Maksutaj

Azem Maksutaj
Azem Maksutaj
Born	July 8, 1975 (age 48); Light Heavyweight ; Cruiserweight ; Heavyweight
Style	Kickboxing • Muay Thai
Fighting out of	Azem Kampfsport
Years active	1992–2010
Kickboxing record
Total	100
Wins	76
By knockout	57
Losses	22
By knockout	7
Draws	2
Other information
Website	https://www.azem.ch/

Azem Maksutaj^[a] (born July 8, 1975) is a Swiss former kickboxer who had competed in the lightweight, welterweight, middleweight, super middleweight, light heavyweight, cruiserweight and heavyweight divisions. Originally from the

journeyman in the K-1

promotion while also winning four other world titles.

Despite spending much of his career as an undersized heavyweight, Maksutaj was known for his toughness as well as his technical skill, Muay Thai.[1] He won a total of fourteen world titles in various weight divisions before retiring in 2010 with a hundred professional contests under his belt.^[2]

Early life

Maksutaj, a

guest worker in the late 1970s, so he saw his father only sparingly while growing up. In 1990, at the age of fifteen, Maksutaj and the rest of his family joined up with his father in Winterthur, Switzerland during the wave of Yugoslav immigration to the country. Unable to speak the language and struggling to integrate, he soon began training in Muay Thai at the Wing Thai Gym as a way to escape his troubles.^[3]

Career

Career beginnings (1992–1997)

After just twelve months of training and his first year of competition, Maksutaj won the Swiss national Muay Thai -63.5 kg (140 lb; 10 st 0 lb) title in 1992 by beating Jesus Perez who was eleven years his senior by knockout in the second round.^[3]

Still just eighteen years old, he knocked out Thomas Rasmussen of Sweden on May 7, 1994, to win the European -72.5 kg (160 lb; 11 st 6 lb) Muay Thai title in his home town of Winterthur, before travelling to Milan, Italy later that year and defeating local fighter Sergio Bertalozzi by fifth-round KO to win the World Muay Thai Association World Middleweight (-76.2 kg (168 lb; 12 st 0 lb)) Championship.^[3] He lost his world title to Perry Ubeda the following year when he visited the canvas three times in the first round in Nijmegen, Netherlands on March 19, 1995.^[4]

As a rising star of Swiss kickboxing, Maksutaj was invited to fight at Japan's

International Sport Karate Association World Super Middleweight (78.1 kg (172 lb; 12 st 4 lb)) strap.^[5]

Dominance at light heavyweight and cruiserweight (1998–2000)

He made the first defence of his ISKA world title against
technical knockout win, he headed to Pula, Croatia a month later to challenge double world champion Igor Ivošević. He was able to knock his opponent out in round four and came away with both the World Association of Kickboxing Organizations' Pro World Light Heavyweight (81.4 kg (179 lb; 12 st 11 lb)) and the WKA World Super Light Heavyweight (83.2 kg (183 lb; 13 st 1 lb)) belts.^[3] Maksutaj then closed the year out with a fifth world championship win, outpointing his Surinamese opponent Ashwin Balrak for the World Professional Kickboxing League (WPKL) World Light Heavyweight (-79 kg (174 lb; 12 st 6 lb)) title in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina on December 11, 1999.^[5]

In 2000, Maksutaj moved briefly back down to

K-1 Fight Night 2000 on June 3, 2000, and the Albanian came out on top again by way of TKO in round two.^[5]

Heavyweight division (2001–2010)

2001 saw Maksutaj make the transition to the heavyweight division, kicking off his career at the weight by winning the WPKC World Super Heavyweight (+95 kg (209 lb; 14 st 13 lb)) Muay Thai Championship. Following this up with a defence of his WPKC Cruiserweight title against Hubert Lisovski in Winterthur,

Clifton Brown inside one round in front of over 100,000 spectators at the 2001 King's Cup at Sanam Luang in Bangkok, Thailand on December 6.^[3]

He would go on to compete in eight one-night tournaments in K-1's heavyweight division over the next five years and made his debut in the Grand Prix format at the

K-1 World Grand Prix 2002 in Paris, but the tall Frenchman came out on top once again by winning a five-round majority decision.^[5]

The fight was close but Tony was able to floor Maksutaj with a right hand late in the final round to seal the deal.

Outside of K-1, Maksutaj picked up the WKA World Cruiserweight (-85.9 kg (189 lb; 13 st 7 lb)) belt from Chino Mordillo in Zürich. He forced two standing eight counts on the Spaniard, initially by damaging his arm with a blocked roundhouse kick, before finishing him off with a high kick in round two.^[5] He would finish the year on a low note, however, as he was handed his first stoppage loss in seven years by Peter Varga in Padua, Italy on November 30, 2002, to lose his WPKC Super Heavyweight Muay Thai strap.

Maksutaj returned to

journeyman Tihamér Brunner by decision on December 13, 2003, for the WMTA World Super Heavyweight title in a victorious homecoming to Winterthur.^[5]

Fighting at the annual Marseille K-1 qualifier for the third year running, Maksutaj went toe-to-toe with Aziz Khattou in a non-tournament bout at

K-1 Marseilles 2004 World Qualification on January 24, 2004, and came out on the losing side of a split decision.^[5] A rematch with Clifton Brown in Bangkok was next up on June 11, 2004, and the outcome was the same, as Maksutaj stopped the Canadian inside the opening frame.^[5] Then, in a contest to crown arguably Switzerland's top heavyweight, he fought Björn Bregy in Zürich on September 25, 2004. Maksutaj gave up 8 in (20 cm) in height and around 32 kg (71 lb; 5 st 1 lb) in weight and took a beating in round one, receiving a barrage of knees and punches. He was also dropped with a right cross at the beginning of the second but made a massive comeback soon after when he felled his giant opponent with a right hook.^[3]

After a poor start to 2005 when he lost to Christian N'ka at the opening round of the

K-1 Scandinavia Grand Prix 2005 held on May 21 in Stockholm, Sweden. He was drawn against the three-time K-1 North American champion Michael McDonald in the quarter-finals, and two of the smaller, more technical heavyweights on the scene at the time traded leather in an entertaining, back-and-forth battle. In round two, McDonald forced a standing eight count on Maksutaj who then rallied back and floored him with a kick to the body. Round three saw the referee give McDonald another eight count when the Canadian took what was deemed as too long to return to his feet after being pushed over by Maksutaj. After the regulation three rounds, the bout was ruled a draw and so an extension round was added to decide the victor, in which McDonald's aggression earned him the majority decision win. McDonald took so much punishment in the fight that he could not continue in the tournament.^[3]

As their first fight was an instant classic, a rematch between Maksutaj and McDonald was promptly booked for the quarter-finals of the

back kick to the body in the opening seconds and then a points deduction for kneeing Karaev in the face after he had slipped to the ground. Maksutaj was knocked down again in the final round after taking a knee from Karaev.^[3] On September 24, 2005, in Winterthur, Maksutaj lost his WPKC World Super Heavyweight (+95 kg (209 lb; 14 st 13 lb)) K-1 rules title, an accolade he had won earlier in the year, to Gary Turner on points. He would add another world title to his mantle piece shortly after, though, as he knocked out Radan Frenchichi in his hometown to be crowned as the ISKA World Heavyweight (-96.4 kg (213 lb; 15 st 3 lb)) Champion.^[5]

On February 17, 2006, Maksutaj outfought

K-1 World MAX North European Qualification 2007 in Stockholm on November 24, 2006, as he lost by KO from a knee midway through the opening round.^[5]

In an attempt to turn his fortunes around, he competed in the

K-1 Fighting Network Scandinavian Qualification 2007 in Stockholm.^[7]

Maksutaj returned to the local circuit to stop his losing streak and took a number of wins including a points victory over

K-1 World Grand Prix 2008 in Amsterdam on April 26, 2008, to face an up-and-coming Tyrone Spong. He was outclassed by the Surinamese youngster from the start, getting dropped from a knee to the body early in the opening stanza, and knocked down again with punches at the end of the round. The second knockdown did not count as he was saved by the bell, but Spong soon finished him with another knee strike to the body in the second, bringing Maksutaj's losing streak in K-1 to five.^[5] In one of his last fights before retiring, he was awarded a disqualification win over Domagoj Ostojić after his Croatian opponent continued to punch and kick him after knocking him to the canvas in round one of their contest in Zadar

, Croatia on May 11, 2008.

Maksutaj made a brief comeback to the ring to knock Jean-Luc Ajinca out in three rounds at Bern's Wankdorfhalle on January 29, 2010.^[3]

Personal life

Maksutaj got married in Winterthur, Switzerland on June 1, 2007. His son was born a few weeks later. A documentary of his life and career entitled Being Azem was released in 2010.^[3]

Championships and awards

Kickboxing

European Muay Thai Association
- EMTA European Middleweight (-72.5 kg/159 lb) Championship
International Sport Karate Association
- ISKA World Super Middleweight (78.1 kg/172 lb) Championship
- ISKA World Heavyweight (-96.4 kg/212 lb) Championship
K-1
- K-1 World Grand Prix 2002 Preliminary Marseilles Runner-up
- K-1 World Grand Prix 2003 Preliminary France Runner-up
Schweizerische Muay Thai Verbände
- SMTV Swiss Lightweight (-63.5 kg/140 lb) Championship
World Association of Kickboxing Organizations
- WAKO Pro World Light Heavyweight (81.4 kg/179 lb) Championship
World Kickboxing Association
- WKA World Super Middleweight (-76 kg/167 lb) Championship
- WKA World Super Light Heavyweight (83.2 kg/183 lb) Championship
- WKA World Cruiserweight (85.9 kg/189 lb) Championship
World Muay Thai Association
- WMTA World Middleweight (-76.2 kg/168 lb) Championship
- WMTA World Super Heavyweight Championship
World Muaythai Council
- WMC World Heavyweight (-95 kg/209 lb) Championship
World Professional Kickboxing Council
- WPKC World Light Heavyweight (-79 kg/174 lb) Championship
- WPKC World Cruiserweight (-86 kg/189 lb) Championship
- WPKC World Super Heavyweight (+95 kg/209 lb) K-1 Championship
- WPKC World Super Heavyweight (+95 kg/209 lb) Muay Thai Championship
World Professional Kickboxing League
- WPKL World Light Heavyweight (-79 kg/174 lb) Championship

Kickboxing record

Kickboxing record
Date	Result	Opponent	Event	Location	Method	Round	Time
76 wins (57 KOs), 22 losses, 2 draws
2010-01-29	Win	Jean-Luc Ajinca		Bern, Switzerland	KO	3
2008-05-11	Win	Domagoj Ostojić	Obračun u Ringu 8	Zadar, Croatia	DQ (attack on a downed opponent)	1
2008-04-26	Loss	Tyrone Spong	K-1 World Grand Prix 2008 in Amsterdam	Amsterdam, Netherlands	KO (left knee to the body)	2	0:45
2008-00-00	Win	Senad Hadžić	Kings of Fullcontact	Bern, Switzerland	Decision	3	3:00
2007-09-07	Win	Erhan Deniz	Noc Bojovnikov 4	Bratislava, Slovakia	Decision	3	3:00
2007-05-19	Loss	Nathan Corbett	K-1 Fighting Network Scandinavian Qualification 2007 , Quarter Finals	Stockholm, Sweden	TKO	2	2:40
2007-01-13	Loss	Kaoklai Kaennorsing	K-1 Rules Heavyweight Tournament 2007 in Turkey , Semi Finals	Istanbul, Turkey	Extension round decision (unanimous)	4	3:00
2006-11-24	Loss	Jörgen Kruth	K-1 World MAX North European Qualification 2007	Stockholm, Sweden	KO (right knee)	1	1:30
2006-08-12	Loss	Ray Sefo	K-1 World Grand Prix 2006 in Las Vegas II	Las Vegas, Nevada, USA	TKO (referee stoppage)	3	2:02
2006-06-03	Win	James Phillips	K-1 Gala in Luzern	Lucerne, Switzerland	Decision (unanimous)	3	3:00
2006-05-20	Win	Larry Lindwall	K-1 Scandinavia Grand Prix 2006	Stockholm, Sweden	KO (right punch)	2	1:51
Wins the WMC World Heavyweight (-95 kg/209.4 lb) Championship.
2006-02-17	Win	James Phillips	K-1 European League 2006 in Bratislava	Bratislava, Slovakia	Decision (unanimous)	3	3:00
2005-00-00	Win	Radan Frechichi		Winterthur, Switzerland	KO	3
Wins the ISKA World Heavyweight (-96.4 kg/212 lb) Championship.
2005-00-00	Win	Arthur Sequeira		Winterthur, Switzerland	TKO (punches)	3
2005-09-24	Loss	Gary Turner	Fight Night Winterthur	Winterthur, Switzerland	Decision (unanimous)	5	3:00
Loses the WPKC World Super Heavyweight (+95 kg/209 lb) K-1 Championship.
2005-08-13	Loss	Ruslan Karaev	K-1 World Grand Prix 2005 in Las Vegas II , Semi Finals	Las Vegas, Nevada, USA	Decision (unanimous)	3	3:00
2005-08-13	Win	Michael McDonald	K-1 World Grand Prix 2005 in Las Vegas II , Quarter Finals	Las Vegas, Nevada, USA	Decision (unanimous)	3	3:00
2005-05-21	Loss	Michael McDonald	K-1 Scandinavia Grand Prix 2005 , Quarter Finals	Stockholm, Sweden	Extension round decision (majority)	4	3:00
2005-01-19	Loss	Christian N'ka	K-1 France Grand Prix 2005 in Marseilles , Quarter Finals	Marseille, France	Decision	3	3:00
2004-09-25	Win	Björn Bregy	Fists of Fury 4	Zürich, Switzerland	KO (right hook)	2
2004-06-11	Win	Clifton Brown	K-1 Fight	Bangkok, Thailand	KO	1	2:15
2004-01-24	Loss	Aziz Khattou	K-1 Marseilles 2004 World Qualification	Marseille, France	Decision (split)	3	3:00
2003-12-13	Win	Tihamér Brunner		Winterthur, Switzerland	Decision	5	3:00
Wins the WMTA World Super Heavyweight Championship.
2003-06-29	Loss	Shingo Koyasu	K-1 Beast II 2003	Saitama, Japan	Decision (unanimous)	3	3:00
2003-05-30	Loss	Larry Lindwall	K-1 World Grand Prix 2003 in Basel , Quarter Finals	Basel, Switzerland	Decision	3	3:00
2003-01-24	Loss	Grégory Tony	K-1 World Grand Prix 2003 Preliminary France , Final	Marseille, France	Decision (unanimous)	3	3:00
For the K-1 World Grand Prix 2003 Preliminary France Championship .
2003-01-24	Win	Miloš Kopták	K-1 World Grand Prix 2003 Preliminary France , Semi Finals	Marseille, France	Decision (unanimous)	3	3:00
2003-01-24	Win	Rob Lloyd	K-1 World Grand Prix 2003 Preliminary France , Quarter Finals	Marseille, France	KO	1	2:03
2002-11-30	Loss	Peter Varga	Kickboxing Mondiale 3	Padua, Italy	KO	4
Loses the WPKC World Super Heavyweight (+95 kg/209 lb) Muay Thai Championship.
2002-00-00	Win	Chino Mordillo		Zürich, Switzerland	TKO (right high kick)	2
Wins the WKA World Cruiserweight (-85.9 kg/189 lb) Championship.
2002-05-25	Loss	Grégory Tony	K-1 World Grand Prix 2002 in Paris	Paris, France	Decision (majority)	5	3:00
2002-04-13	Draw	Vitali Akhramenko	K-1 World Grand Prix 2002 Preliminary Croatia	Zagreb, Croatia	Draw	5	3:00
2002-01-25	Loss	Grégory Tony	K-1 World Grand Prix 2002 Preliminary Marseilles , Final	Marseille, France	Decision (majority)	3	3:00
For the K-1 World Grand Prix 2002 Preliminary Marseilles Championship .
2002-01-25	Win	Ferenc Gasztany	K-1 World Grand Prix 2002 Preliminary Marseilles , Semi Finals	Marseille, France	KO	1	0:59
2002-01-25	Win	Abdel Lamidi	K-1 World Grand Prix 2002 Preliminary Marseilles , Quarter Finals	Marseille, France	KO	1	1:15
2001-12-06	Win	Clifton Brown	King's Cup 2001	Bangkok, Thailand	KO	1
2001-00-00	Win	Hubert Lisovski	Winterthur Gladiator Fight Night	Winterthur, Switzerland	Decision	5	3:00
Retains the WPKC World Cruiserweight (-86 kg/189 lb) Championship.
2001-00-00	Win	David Ismalon		Pavia, Italy	KO	3
2000-06-03	Win	Faizal Reding	K-1 Fight Night 2000	Zürich, Switzerland	TKO (punches)	2	0:47
2000-00-00	Win	Eddy Corremans	Winterthur Asia Fight Night	Winterthur, Switzerland	KO	3
Wins the WPKC World Cruiserweight (-86 kg/189 lb) Championship.
2000-00-00	Win	Aurélien Duarte		Pavia, Italy	KO	4
Wins the WPKC World Light Heavyweight (-79 kg/174 lb) Championship.
2000-00-00	Win	Ivica Sukošić		Pristina, Kosovo	Decision	5	3:00
Wins the WKA World Super Middleweight (-76 kg/167 lb) Championship.
1999-12-11	Win	Ashwin Balrak		Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina	Decision	5	3:00
Wins the WPKL World Light Heavyweight (-79 kg/174 lb) Championship.
1999-07-00	Win	Igor Ivošević		Pula, Croatia	KO	4
Wins the WAKO Pro World Light Heavyweight (81.4 kg/179.5 lb) Championship and the WKA World Super Light Heavyweight (83.2 kg/183 lb) Championship.
1999-06-05	Win	Winston Walker	K-1 Fight Night '99	Zürich, Switzerland	TKO (punches)	3	2:04
1998-11-07	Win	Moussa Sissoko		Winterthur, Switzerland	KO	3
Retains the ISKA World Super Middleweight (78.1 kg/172 lb) Championship.
1997-00-00	Draw	Vitali Akhramenko		Zagreb, Croatia	Draw	5	3:00
1996-11-02	Win	Faizal Reding		Zürich, Switzerland	KO	3
Wins the ISKA World Super Middleweight (78.1 kg/172 lb) Championship.
1996-06-02	Loss	Taiei Kin	K-1 Fight Night II	Zürich, Switzerland	Decision (unanimous)	5	3:00
1995-06-10	Loss	Orlando Wiet	K-1 Fight Night	Zürich, Switzerland	KO (left punch)	2	2:45
1995-03-19	Loss	Perry Ubeda		Nijmegen, Netherlands	KO	1
Loses the WMTA World Middleweight (-76.2 kg/168 lb) Championship.
1994-00-00	Win	Sergio Bertalozzi		Milan, Italy	KO	5
Wins the WMTA World Middleweight (-76.2 kg/168 lb) Championship.
1994-05-07	Win	Thomas Rasmussen		Winterthur, Switzerland	KO (punches)	4
Wins the EMTA European Middleweight (-72.5 kg/159 lb) Championship.
1992-00-00	Win	Jesus Perez		Winterthur, Switzerland	KO	2
Wins the SMTV Swiss Lightweight (-63.5 kg/140 lb) Championship.
Legend: Win Loss Draw/No contest Notes