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A former mixed martial artist, Gina Carano went on to become an actress; she uses her martial arts skills to perform stunts in popular action movies. Before becoming an actress, she was quite popular in the MMA scene, being termed the face of women's MMA. In 2008, she was named in a Top 10 Influential Women list.
A professional WWE wrestler, Ronda Rousey was the first UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion and also the first woman to be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. Earlier, she became the first US woman to win an Olympic medal in judo. Amongst the greatest female MMA fighter, Ronda has also appeared in films like The Expendables 3 and Furious 7.
Mirko Cro Cop is a Croatian former mixed martial artist, amateur boxer, and kickboxer. He is best known for his association with Pride Fighting Championships. Cro Cop is widely regarded as one of the greatest Heavyweight MMA fighters and kickboxers of all time.
Israel Adesanya is a Nigerian-born New Zealand kickboxer, mixed martial artist, and former boxer. Considered one of the best strikers in MMA, Adesanya has won multiple championships and is the current UFC Middleweight Champion. In 2019, Israel Adesanya was named New Zealand Sportsman of the Year at the Halberg Awards.
Moroccan-Dutch kickboxer Badr Hari, also known as Bad Boy and The Golden Boy, has won the K-1 Heavyweight and Showtime Heavyweight championships. He represented the Netherlands until his loss to Stefan Leko, after which he began playing for Morocco, due to aggressive criticism from his Dutch fans.
Giorgio Petrosyan is an Armenian-born Italian professional kickboxer who currently competes in the middleweight division. Counted among the greatest kickboxers of all time, Petrosyan is renowned for his supreme defensive prowess, ringsmanship, and technical skills. Nicknamed The Doctor, Giorgio Petrosyan's skills have helped him defeat some of the world's best strikers while taking little-to-no damage.
Australian kickboxer and boxer John Wayne Parr, known as The Gunslinger to his fans, began his martial arts training at age 11 and won his first title at 17. He was also the first Western boxer to make it to the cover of the popular Muay Thai magazine of Thailand, Muay Siam.
Benny Urquidez is an American actor, martial arts choreographer, and kickboxer. One of the pioneers of full-contact karate in the United States, Urquidez held six world titles in five weight divisions during his illustrious 27-year career. In 1978, he was named Competitor of the Year by Black Belt magazine. Benny Urquidez has also played important roles in films like 1408.
Touted by the media as The King of Kickboxing, Dutch kickboxer Rico Verhoeven is the current Glory Heavyweight Champion. Inspired by his karate black belt father, he stepped into martial arts at age 5 and was competing against adults by age 16 due to his huge frame.
A 3-time NEVER Openweight Champion, Japanese wrestler and MMA fighter Katsuyori Shibata has also been a coach for NJPW. In December 2021, he announced his first match in 5 years, at the Tokyo Dome. He had practically retired after suffering a subdural hematoma in a 2017 match.
Jamal Ben Saddik is a Moroccan-Belgian kickboxer best known for his association with his current promotion Glory, where he competes in the heavyweight division. He achieved popularity in 2018, when he won the Glory Heavyweight Grand Prix tournament. In August 2022, Jamal Ben Saddik was ranked second in the official heavyweight rankings of the promotion.
Mike Zambidis is a Greek martial artist and kickboxer. A four-time national kickboxing champion, Zambidis has also trained in other forms of martial arts like Shotokan, Boxing, Wrestling, Muay Thai, sanshou, and Pankration. Mike Zambidis has won several championships, including SUPERKOMBAT Middleweight Championship and W.O.K.A Super Welterweight World Championship.
