Stefan Leko

This poorly sourced must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentially libelous. Find sources: "Stefan Leko" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (October 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message )

Stefan Leko
Born	(1974-06-03) June 3, 1974 (age 49) MMA)
Kickboxing record
Total	108
Wins	69
By knockout	38
Losses	37
By knockout	18
Draws	1
No contests	1
Mixed martial arts record
Total	3
Wins	0
Losses	3
By knockout	1
By submission	2
Other information
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog
Last updated on: July 6, 2014

Stefan Leko (born June 3, 1974) is a German

. Since 2011 Stefan Leko is coached and managed by Tom Trautsch and won two Heavyweight World Champion Titles.

Biography and career

Backstory and summary

Stefan Leko was born in Germany but grew up in Buna, Mostar, and carries a Croatian passport.^[1] He began training karate at the age of 7. He was discovered by Klaus Waschkewitz of Masters Gym ten years later when he was 17. While being instructed by Waschkewitz, Leko won several World titles and four K-1 tournaments. His nickname "Blitz" means lightning in German. Stefan left Masters Gym in 2005 and currently belongs to the Team Golden Glory. Besides his kickboxing career Leko is also running a gym in Duisburg named Versus Gym.

He was the first person to beat Badr Hari in K-1 by first-round knockout, though it was later avenged by Hari. Leko holds notable wins over 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), and K-1 Grand Prix finalist Francisco Filho.

Leko was successful in both Muay Thai/kickboxing and K-1 during the late 1990s and early 2000s, despite often conceding height and weight to some of the larger men in K-1. He won various K-1 tournaments and Muay Thai titles. His fortunes varied in the later stages of the 2000s, though he did win various more trophies and titles after his 2005 return to the kickboxing and Muay Thai world.

On 22nd of february 2020 Stefan Leko will make his appearance against Koos Wessels Boer, during 'Return of the legends' in Steenwijk (Holland).

Early success in K-1: European Grand Prix & Dream tournament champion

Leko first fought in K-1 in 1997, age 22. He won the

. By 2000, he had an 11–4 win–loss record in the world's premier stand-up fighting promotion, and was a 2x K-1 tournament champion.

Mixed fortunes in 2000–2002 - K-1 World Grand Prix USA title

A period of huge wins and bad losses followed. Over a three-year period, Leko would win the

.

The following year, Leko eradicated this inconsistency, and by the end of 2003 was considered to be in the top 5 ranked K-1 fighters.

Rise to the top in 2003 - exit from K-1, MMA debut with Pride

After a six-fight win streak in 2003 (5-0 in K-1) that included wins over multiple time K-1 champion Peter Aerts, heavyweight kickboxing champion Mike Bernardo, and K-1 World Grand Prix finalist Francisco Filho, the now top-ranked Leko was a favourite leading into the K-1 World Grand Prix 2003. With previous champion Ernesto Hoost out, Leko was considered a favourite leading in. However, he would leave K-1 prior to the finals, after contract negotiations broke down. Former Leko opponent Remy Bonjasky, whom Leko had beaten the previous year, would win the Grand Prix tournament.

Leko thus left the K-1 and kickboxing worlds, with a K-1 record of 23-11-1-1, and a total fight record of 50-12-1-1 (win/loss/draw/nc), and he decided to try his hand at another combat sport. He signed for Pride Fighting Championships, then the world's premier Mixed Martial Arts organisation. However, the striker was unable to find his place there, losing three successive fights to grapplers, and in 2005 he returned to the Muay Thai and kickboxing worlds.

Return to K-1 and kickboxing

Leko returned to the stand-up fighting world in early 2005, becoming the WKN World Super-Heavyweight champion.

Prior to his hiatus from standup fighting, he had joined Team Golden Glory, a Dutch fight camp known for such fighters as Semmy Schilt, Alistair Overeem and Sergei Kharitonov. He made his return to top level kickboxing with Golden Glory for Dutch major league promotion It's Showtime, in 2005. He was booked in a grudge match with rising star Badr Hari.

Fighting at It's Showtime in Amsterdam, Leko beat Badr Hari by spinning back kick in a grudge fight. Leko finished him in round 1, via spinning back kick to the liver. The fight had lasted little more than 100 seconds, with Badr throwing Leko across the ring from a clinch. Leko got to his feet calmly, and after a teep, landed his trademark spin-kick and it finished the fight. Hari stayed down for several minutes after the fight was waved off.

A rematch was booked in K-1, and Hari returned the favour, winning via spectacular spinning back kick, the move noted for being Leko's trademark. This marks the duology as a fairly unusual rivalry, in that both men finished the other with the same move, a spinning back kick no less.

Last major success in K-1, later K-1 career

Leko's last major success to date came when he won his second

in the final. He won all three fights that night by KO.

He drew old foe Remy Bonjasky in the first round of the World Grand Prix finals5, and lost on points in a controversial fight in which Leko landed two shots to Bonjasky's groin. Leko claims these shots were unintentional; however, Remy took a considerable time out period during the fight, one that Leko had been performing well in to that point, and after which, Bonjasky managed to win a points decision from.

A rubber match with Bonjasky occurred in 2007, but by now it was clear Leko was passing his physical prime, and he lost in round 1, after Bonjasky landed his trademark flying knee. Golden Glory claimed the stoppage was too quick, but nevertheless, Leko was out of another World Grand Prix - his last appearance in the final 16.

By early 2009 he was considered a fading force, despite going 4-1 the previous year, with two wins in K-1. However, he had not competed in the World Grand Prix 2008, and ended the year with a loss to Freddy Kemayo. Dropped out of almost every top 10 heavyweight rankings, Leko began to compete almost exclusively in the Netherlands and Germany, with varying results. He returned to fight for It's Showtime in May 2009, facing another smaller but popular big name heavyweight in Melvin Manhoef. On the back of two consecutive losses in K-1, Leko went into the fight as an underdog, but he ended up dominating Manhoef for two rounds, picking him apart with boxing and leg kicks. Unfortunately, in the final round he broke his foot, and the fight was called off. Manhoef magnanimously admitted that Leko had outclassed him, and offered a rematch to the Golden Glory fighter.

Despite this impressive display, Leko remained inconsistent, slipping into decline. He won his final K-1 fight to date in Sarajevo, and then lost twice in a row, in the Netherlands and Germany respectively.

2010

Leko strung together a three fight win streak, taking him to an overall K-1 and Muay Thai/kickboxing record of 64-22-1 win/loss/draw. After beating Volkan Duzgun on

, Leko entered the Ultimate Glory heavyweight tournament, where he drew Wendell Roche in the quarter-finals. Halfway through round 2, Leko retired from the fight, with the reason given that he suffered "a dizzy spell", and lost his equilibrium. However, in the corner he seemed to be in considerable pain, and it emerged on Dutch fight forum mixfight.nl that Leko had a punctured lung.

In 2011, no bouts had been confirmed for Leko as of February 20, either by the fighter or Golden Glory. Mike Passenier, owner of Mike's Gym and trainer of fighters such as Badr Hari and Melvin Manhoef, stated in an interview with Daniel Fletcher on February 25, 2011 that Stefan Leko has retired.^{[citation needed]}

Return to the ring

The retirement talk was officially put aside as Golden Glory confirmed that Leko would be returning to face old foe

, if he could string together some wins to get ranked and merit a final grudge encounter with the Moroccan.

WKA World title win

Leko won his first world title since 2005, when he beat Marinko Neimarević for the WKA World Super-Heavyweight kickboxing title by KO in round 2.

He was knocked out in round four by Nicolas Wamba at Fight Night Saint Tropez in Saint-Tropez, France on August 4, 2013.^{[citation needed]}

He was scheduled to fight Dževad Poturak in Poturak's retirement fight at Final Fight Championship 7 in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina on September 6, 2013.^{[citation needed]} The fight however never materialized.

He competed in a four-man tournament at GFC Series 1 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on May 29, 2014 and had his rubber match with Badr Hari in the semi-finals. He lost the bout by TKO after appearing lackluster and getting knocked down 3 times in the first round.^[2][3]

Leko suffered a twenty-one second high kick knockout loss at the hands of Zabit Samedov on the undercard of the Ruslan Chagaev vs. Fres Oquendo boxing match in Grozny, Russia on July 6, 2014.^{[citation needed]}

Failed drug test

K-1 World Grand Prix 2003 in Basel

On May 30, 2003, Leko failed a drug test prior to

Titles

• K-1
  • K-1 European Grand Prix 1998 champion
  • K-1 Dream 1999 champion
  • K-1 World Grand Prix in Las Vegas 2001 champion
  • K-1 World Grand Prix in Las Vegas 2006 champion
  • K-1 World Grand Prix 2001: 3rd place
• International Kick Boxing Federation
  • 1996 IKBF Full Contact World Championship
  • 1997 IKBF Kickboxing Championship
• World Muay Thai Association
  • 1997 WMTA Muay Thai World Championship
• International Kick Boxing Organisation
  • 2000 International Kick Boxing Organisation Muay Thai World Championship
• World Kickboxing Network
  • 2005 WKN Super Heavyweight Kickboxing World Championship
• World Kickboxing Association
  • 2012 WKA Super Heavyweight Muay Thai World Championship

Kickboxing record

Kickboxing record (incomplete)

69 Wins (38 (T) KO's, 29 decisions), 39 Losses, 1 Draw
Date	Result	Opponent	Event	Location	Method	Round	Time
2020-02-22	Loss	Koos Wessels	Battle Under the Tower	Steenwijk, Netherlands	TKO (referee stoppage)	1	N/A
For WFCA K-1 rules Super Heavyweight Veterans World Title.
2019-11-30	Loss	Niko Lohmann	KOK World Series	Krefeld, Germany	TKO (right hook)	1	N/A
For IKBO K-1 rules Heavyweight World Title.
2016-06-18	Loss	Petar Majstorović	Swiss Las Vegas Fusion 2016 [5]	Switzerland	TKO	2	N/A
2015-05-30	Loss	Martin Pacas	Full Fight	Banská Bystrica, Slovakia	TKO (punches)	1	N/A
2014-07-06	Loss	Zabit Samedov	Chagaev vs. Oquendo	Grozny, Russia	KO (left high kick)	1	0:21
2014-05-29	Loss	Badr Hari	GFC Fight Series 1 - Heavyweight Tournament, semi-finals	Dubai, UAE	KO (right cross)	1	1:38
2014-03-07	Loss	Mert Akin	AKIN Dövüş Arenası KickBoxing Event	Turkey	TKO	2	N/A
2013-08-04	Loss	Nicolas Wamba	Fight Night Saint-Tropez	Saint-Tropez, France	KO (high kick)	4	N/A
2013-06-14	Loss	Ondřej Hutník	Time of Gladiator	Brno, Czech Republic	KO (round kick)	2	N/A
For King of the Ring (-95kg) World title.
2013-04-14	Loss	Damian Garcia	K-1 MNL Mallorca[6]	Mallorca, Spain	Decision	3	3:00
2012-03-17	Win	Marinko Neimarević	WKA World Championships	Kassel, Germany	KO (right hook)	2	N/A
Won WKA Super Heavyweight title in Thai Boxing class.
2011-11-23	Loss	Makoto Uehara	RISE 85: Heavyweight Tournament 2011, quarter-finals	Tokyo, Japan	Decision (unanimous)	3	3:00
2011-11-17	Loss	Errol Zimmerman	SUPERKOMBAT Fight Club, semi-finals	Oradea, Romania	TKO (referee stoppage)	1	0:58
2011-11-17	Win	Tsotne Rogava	SUPERKOMBAT Fight Club, quarter-finals	Oradea, Romania	Ext. R decision (split)	4	3:00
2011-10-01	Loss	Sebastien van Thielen	SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix III 2011, semi-finals	Brăila, Romania	Ext. R decision (unanimous)	4	3:00
2011-07-16	Loss	Cătălin Moroşanu	SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix II 2011	Constanța, Romania	Decision (unanimous)	3	3:00
2011-06-11	Loss	Jérôme Le Banner	8ème Nuit des Sports de Combat[citation needed]	Geneva, Switzerland	Decision (unanimous)	5	2:00
Fight was for I.S.K.A. Kickboxing World Super Heavyweight title.
2010-11-27	Loss	Frédéric Sinistra	La Nuit du Kick-Boxing 2010	Liège, Belgium	TKO (doctor stoppage)	N/A	N/A
2010-10-16	Loss	Wendell Roche	United Glory 12: 2010-2011 World Series Quarter-finals	Amsterdam, Netherlands	TKO (retirement)	2	1:44
2010-09-12	Win	Volkan Düzgün	Fightingstars presents: It's Showtime 2010	Amsterdam, Netherlands	Decision	3	3:00
2010-05-01	Win	Nikolaj Falin	Cologne Fight Night 2010	Cologne, Germany	Decision (unanimous)	3	3:00
2010-03-20	Win	Moussa Sissoko	Kickboxing Superstar XIX Edition	Milan, Italy	TKO	3	N/A
2009-11-15	Loss	Karl Glyschinsky	German King Cup	Germany	Decision	3	3:00
2009-10-17	Loss	Anderson Silva	Ultimate Glory 11: A Decade of Fights	Amsterdam, Netherlands	KO (punches)	2	N/A
2009-07-03	Win	Sanid Imamovic	K-1 ColliZion 2009 Sarajevo	Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina	TKO (corner stoppage)	2	3:00
2009-05-16	Loss	Melvin Manhoef	It's Showtime 2009 Amsterdam	Amsterdam, Netherlands	TKO (leg injury)	3	N/A
2009-03-21	Loss	Raul Cătinaș	K-1 ColliZion 2009 Croatia	Split, Croatia	KO (left hook)	1	2:35
2008-12-20	Loss	Freddy Kemayo	K-1 Fighting Network Prague 2008	Prague, Czech Republic	Ext. R decision (unanimous)	4	3:00
2008-11-22	Win	Daniel Sołtysiak	K-1 World Grand Prix 2008 in Riga	Riga, Latvia	Decision (unanimous)	3	3:00
2008-11-09	Win	Rodney Glunder	Ultimate Glory 10 "The Battle of Arnhem"	Arnhem, Netherlands	Decision (unanimous)	3	3:00
2008-08-09	Win	Junior Sua	K-1 World Grand Prix 2008 in Hawaii	Honolulu, Hawaii	KO (knee strike)	1	2:36
2008-01-12	Win	Michel Andrade	Lord of the Ring	Belgrade, Serbia	KO (left body shot)	2	0:40
2007-10-14	Win	Bahadir Sari	Kickboks Gala Istanbul	Istanbul, Turkey	Decision (unanimous)	3	3:00
2007-09-27	Loss	Remy Bonjasky	K-1 World GP 2007 in Seoul Final 16	Seoul, Korea	TKO (referee stoppage)	1	2:50
2007-08-11	Win	Mighty Mo	K-1 World Grand Prix 2007 in Las Vegas	Las Vegas, Nevada	Decision (unanimous)	3	3:00
2007-05-04	Win	Cătălin Moroşanu	K-1 Fighting Network Romania 2007	Bucharest, Romania	Decision (unanimous)	3	3:00
2007-03-10	Loss	Magomed Magomedov	K-1 Fighting Network Croatia 2007	Split, Croatia	Ext. R decision (unanimous)	4	3:00
2006-12-02	Loss	Remy Bonjasky	K-1 World Grand Prix 2006	Tokyo, Japan	Decision (unanimous)	3	3:00
2006-09-30	Win	Ray Sefo	K-1 World Grand Prix 2006 in Osaka opening round	Osaka, Japan	Ext. R decision (unanimous)	4	3:00
2006-08-12	Win	Michael McDonald	K-1 World Grand Prix 2006 in Las Vegas II	Las Vegas, Nevada	TKO (referee stoppage)	2	2:28
Wins K-1 World GP 2006 in Las Vegas II tournament title.
2006-08-12	Win	Carter Williams	K-1 World Grand Prix 2006 in Las Vegas II	Las Vegas, Nevada	KO (right spinning liver kick)	1	2:40
2006-08-12	Win	Scott Lighty	K-1 World Grand Prix 2006 in Las Vegas II	Las Vegas, Nevada	TKO (referee stoppage)	3	0:58
2006-04-29	Loss	Ruslan Karaev	K-1 World Grand Prix 2006 in Las Vegas	Las Vegas, Nevada	Decision (unanimous)	3	3:00
2005-11-19	Loss	Badr Hari	K-1 World Grand Prix 2005	Tokyo, Japan	KO (spinning back left high kick)	2	1:30
2005-06-12	Win	Badr Hari	It's Showtime 2005 Amsterdam	Amsterdam, Netherlands	KO (spinning back mid kick)	1	1:44
2005-05-14	Win	Florian Ogunade	Local Kombat 14 "Lupta capitală"	Bucharest, Romania	TKO (referee stoppage)	3	N/A
Wins the vacant title of WKN Kickboxing World Super heavyweight (-96.6kg).
2003-12-31	Win	Kazunari Murakami	Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2003	Kobe, Japan	KO (right high kick)	1	1:08
2003-10-31	Win	Sebastiaan van de Muysenberg	K-1 Final Fight Stars War in Zagreb	Zagreb, Croatia	KO (punches)	2	N/A
2003-10-11	Win	Francisco Filho	K-1 World Grand Prix 2003 final elimination	Osaka, Japan	Decision (unanimous)	3	3:00
2003-05-30	Win	Mike Bernardo	K-1 World Grand Prix 2003 in Basel	Basel, Switzerland	Decision (unanimous)	5	3:00
2003-05-02	Win	Great Kusatsu	K-1 World Grand Prix 2003 in Las Vegas	Las Vegas, Nevada , United States	TKO	2	2:24
2003-03-30	Win	Peter Aerts	K-1 World Grand Prix 2003 in Saitama	Saitama, Japan	TKO (doctor stoppage)	3	1:44
2002-12-07	Loss	Mark Hunt	K-1 World Grand Prix 2002 Final	Tokyo, Japan	KO (left hook)	3	1:16
2002-10-05	Win	Alexey Ignashov	K-1 World Grand Prix 2002 final elimination	Saitama, Japan	Ext. R decision (unanimous)	4	3:00
2002-08-17	Win	Remy Bonjasky	K-1 World Grand Prix 2002 in Las Vegas	Las Vegas, Nevada	Decision (unanimous)	3	3:00
2002-05-25	Loss	Ernesto Hoost	K-1 World Grand Prix 2002 in Paris	Paris, France	KO (punches)	1	1:48
2001-12-08	Loss	Mark Hunt	K-1 World Grand Prix 2001 Final	Tokyo, Japan	Decision (unanimous)	3	3:00
2001-12-08	Loss	Ernesto Hoost	K-1 World Grand Prix 2001 Final	Tokyo, Japan	Decision (unanimous)	3	3:00
Despite loss, Leko advances to the semifinals due to Hoost being injured.
2001-08-11	Win	Peter Aerts	K-1 World Grand Prix 2001 in Las Vegas	Las Vegas, Nevada	KO (right cross)	3	2:05
Wins K-1 World GP 2001 in Las Vegas tournament title.
2001-08-11	Win	Sergei Ivanovich	K-1 World Grand Prix 2001 in Las Vegas	Las Vegas, Nevada	TKO (corner stoppage)	3	3:00
2001-08-11	Win	Jeff Roufus	K-1 World Grand Prix 2001 in Las Vegas	Las Vegas, Nevada	TKO	2	2:34
2001-06-24	Loss	Jérôme Le Banner	K-1 Survival 2001	Sendai, Japan	Decision (unanimous)	5	3:00
2001-05-20	NC	Marc de Wit	K-1 Germany Grand Prix 2001	Oberhausen, Germany	NC (de Wit suffers leg injury)	1	N/A
2001-03-17	Loss	Jörgen Kruth	K-1 Gladiators 2001	Yokohama, Japan	KO (right hook)	2	2:19
2001-02-04	Win	Alexey Ignashov	K-1 Holland GP 2001 in Arnhem	Arnhem, Netherlands	DQ	5	3:00
2000-12-10	Loss	Francisco Filho	K-1 World Grand Prix 2000	Tokyo, Japan	Ext. R decision (unanimous)	4	3:00
2000-10-09	Win	Andrew Thomson	K-1 World Grand Prix 2000 in Fukuoka	Fukuoka, Japan	KO (right low kick)	2	1:50
2000-09-03	Win	Andrei Zuravkov	Battle of Arnhem II	Arnhem, Netherlands	KO	2	N/A
Wins IKBO Muaythai world title.
2000-06-03	Win	Ricky Nicholson	K-1 Fight Night 2000	Zurich, Switzerland	Decision (unanimous)	5	3:00
2000-04-23	Win	Xhavit Bajrami	K-1 The Millennium	Osaka, Japan	Decision (majority)	3	3:00
1999-12-05	Win	Harry Hooft	K-1 World Grand Prix 1999	Tokyo, Japan	KO (right back kick)	1	2:37
1999-10-05	Loss	Sam Greco	K-1 World Grand Prix '99 opening round	Osaka, Japan	Decision (majority)	3	2:35
Fails to qualify for K-1 Grand Prix '99 final.
1999-07-18	Win	Samir Benazzouz	K-1 Dream '99 Final	Nagoya, Japan	KO (right low kick)	1	2:45
Wins K-1 Dream 1999 tournament title.
1999-07-18	Win	Cyril Abidi	K-1 Dream '99 semi-finals	Nagoya, Japan	Decision (unanimous)	3	3:00
1999-07-18	Win	Philippe Gomis	K-1 Dream '99 quarter-finals	Nagoya, Japan	KO (right cross)	1	2:56
1999-06-05	Loss	Andy Hug	K-1 Fight Night '99	Zurich, Switzerland	Decision (unanimous)	5	3:00
Fight was for Andy's W.K.A. World Muay Thai Super Heavyweight title.
1998-09-27	Loss	Ray Sefo	K-1 World Grand Prix '98 opening round	Osaka, Japan	Decision (unanimous)	5	3:00
Fails to qualify for K-1 Grand Prix '98 final.
1998-07-18	Win	Nicholas Pettas	K-1 Dream '98	Nagoya, Japan	KO (punch)	2	1:09
1998-06-06	Win	Rob Van Esdonk	K-1 Fight Night '98 Final	Zurich, Switzerland	KO (punch)	3	1:57
Wins K-1 Fight Night 1998 tournament title.
1998-06-06	Win	Ray Hoffman	K-1 Fight Night '98 semi-finals	Zurich, Switzerland	KO (punch)	2	2:07
1998-06-06	Win	Petar Majstorovic	K-1 Fight Night '98 quarter-finals	Zurich, Switzerland	Ext. R decision (unanimous)	4	3:00
1998-03-08	Win	Cengiz Koc	Night of the Masters	Duisburg, Germany	TKO (corner stoppage)	4	3:00
1997-09-07	Loss	Ernesto Hoost	K-1 Grand Prix '97 1st round	Osaka, Japan	KO (right cross)	2	0:34
Fails to qualify for K-1 Grand Prix '97 final.
1997-04-29	Win	Sadau Kiatsongrit	K-1 Braves '97	Fukuoka, Japan	Decision (unanimous)	5	3:00
1996-03-16	Loss	Jan Lomulder	Thai/Kickboxing Nijmegen	Nijmegen, Netherlands	Decision	5	3:00
Legend:   Win   Loss   Draw/No contest   Notes

Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown

3 matches	0 wins	3 losses
By knockout	0	1
By submission	0	2

Res.	Record	Opponent	Method	Event	Date	Round	Time	Location	Notes
Loss	0–3	Kazuhiro Nakamura	Pride 29	TKO (punches)	February 20, 2005	1	0:54	Saitama , Japan
Loss	0–2	Ikuhisa Minowa	Pride Shockwave 2004	Submission (heel hook)	December 31, 2004	1	0:27	Saitama, Japan
Loss	0–1	Naoya Ogawa	Pride Total Elimination 2004	Submission (arm-triangle choke)	April 25, 2004	1	1:34	Saitama, Japan

See also

• List of K-1 events
• List of K-1 champions
• List of male kickboxers

References

External links

• Professional MMA record for Stefan Leko from Sherdog
• Profile at K-1
• Golden Glory Official Site