Davit Kiria is the latest elite kickboxer to sign up for the ONE Super Series. The inaugural Glory lightweight (154lbs) champion joins old foes Giorgio Petrosyan and Sittichai Sitsongpeenong on the roster.
Kiria’s management broke the news on Facebook yesterday:
Kiria was the first man to ever hold the Glory lightweight title. He won the belt by beating Andy Ristie in 2014 but suffered losses to both Petrosyan and Sittichai during this period.
At Kunlun Fight 80 last year he won the Chinese promotion’s World Max tournament, beating three separate opponents to become the super welterweight (70kgs) champion.
During his successful stint with Kunlun he suffered another defeat to a fighter currently on the ONE Super Series roster. Superbon Banchamek beat him by majority decision in 2017.
ONE Championship has not been able to hold an event since February due to the coronavirus, or Covid-19 pandemic. But the promotion has been busy signing up kickboxers during this period.
Recent arrivals include Sittichai, John Wayne Parr, Bogdan Stoica and Guto Inocente as well as Kiria. Last year Petrosyan was crowned as the featherweight Grand Prix winner and picked up $1 million USD in prize money for this achievement.
The promotion has yet to crown a featherweight champion but Sittichai, Kiria and Superbon could all be contenders. There is also the possibility ONE Championship could put together another K-1 Max style tournament for these fighters.
