Iraj Azizpour

Iraj Azizpour (Persian: ایرج عزیزپور) is an Iranian heavyweight kickboxer. He is the former Kunlun Fight heavyweight kickboxing champion,^[3] and was ranked among the top 10 kickboxers in the world in 2018 by Liver Kick,^[4] as well as being ranked in the top ten by Combat Press between March 2018^[5] and March 2019.^[6]

Iraj Azizpour
Born	Iraj Arallou Azizpour (1988-10-19) October 19, 1988 (age 34) Tehran, Iran^[1]
Nationality	Iranian
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)^[2]
Weight	118.4 kg (261 lb; 19 st)
Division	Heavyweight
Reach	76 in (193 cm)
Style	Muay Thai, Kickboxing
Stance	Orthodox
Kickboxing record
Total	25
Wins	19
By knockout	5
Losses	6
Medal record Men’s Muay Thai Representing  IRN World Championships 2017 Minsk −91+ kg

Kickboxing career

In 2017 he participated in the International Federation of Muaythai Associations Amateur Championships. He won a silver medal, and was voted the Best Male Prospect in Muay Thai.^[7]

Kunlun Fight

Iraj Azizpour participated in the Kunlun Fight 2017 heavyweight tournament. In the quarter final round he faced Ye Xiang.^[8] He won the fight by unanimous decision.^[9] He faced Asihati in the semifinals^[10] and won the fight in the second round, by way of KO. Advancing to the finals he fought Roman Kryklia for 2017 Kunlun Fight Heavyweight Tournament title. Iraj won a majority decision.^[11][12]

He next fought Olivier Thompson under the MAS Fights banner.^[13] Iraj won the fight by TKO, earning a $40,000 finish bonus as well.^[14]

In the 2019 Kunlun Fight 8-man Heavyweight Tournament, Azizpour lost in the quarterfinals to Brazilian Haime Morais. However due to an injury Morais was unable to fight in the semifinals and Azizpour advanced to the semifinals as his replacement, where he defeated the Chinese fighter Asihati. Azizpour lost in the finals to Roman Kryklia.^[15][16]

Iraj Azizpour was next scheduled to fight for the interim FEA Heavyweight title against Pavel Zhuravlev.^[17] Azizpour was replaced by Mehmet Ozer.^[18]

ONE Championship

On October 15, 2021, it was announced that Azizpour was scheduled to face Roman Kryklia in a trilogy fight for the inaugural ONE Heavyweight Kickboxing World Championship at ONE Championship: NextGen on October 29, 2021.^[19] After Kryklia withdrew from the fight due to a medical issue, Azizpour faced Anderson Silva in a non-title fight. He won the fight by unanimous decision.^[20]

Azizpour was booked to face the 2012 K-1 Grand Prix runner-up Ismael Londt at ONE: Lights Out on March 11, 2022.^[21] After weathering an early storm in the first storm, Azizpour won the fight by second-round knockout.^[22]

ONE Kickboxing Heavyweight Grand Prix

Azizpour faced Bruno Chaves in the semifinals of the ONE Kickboxing Heavyweight Grand Prix at ONE 161 on September 29, 2022.^[23] He won the fight by unanimous decision.^[24]

Azizpour faced Roman Kryklia in the ONE Kickboxing Heavyweight Grand Prix finals, which were held at ONE 163 on November 18, 2022. It was the third time that the pair faced each other, with each holding a win over the other.^[25] Despite knocking Kyrklia down in the first round, he lost the fight by a second-round knockout.^[26]

Championships and accomplishments

Muay Thai

• IFMA
  • 2017 IFMA 91+kg Silver medal  
  • 2017 IFMA Best Male Prospect^[27]

Kickboxing

• ONE Championship
  • 2022 ONE Heavyweight Kickboxing World Grand Prix Tournament Runner-Up
  • 2022 Kickboxing Fight of the Year vs. Roman Kryklia at ONE 163^[28]
• Kunlun Fight
  • 2017 Kunlun Fight Heavyweight Tournament Winner

Boxing

• Siege of Abadan
  • 2017 Super heavyweight Tournament Winner^[29]

Fight record

Professional Kickboxing record

19 wins (5 KOs), 6 losses, 0 draw
Date	Result	Opponent	Event	Location	Method	Round	Time	Record
2022-11-19	Loss	Roman Kryklia	ONE 163, Tournament Final	Kallang, Singapore	TKO (punches)	2	1:28	19–6
For the ONE Heavyweight Kickboxing World Grand Prix title.
2022-09-29	Win	Bruno Chaves	ONE 161, Tournament Semifinal	Kallang, Singapore	Decision (unanimous)	3	3:00	19–5
2022-03-11	Win	Ismael Londt	ONE: Lights Out	Kallang, Singapore	KO (punches)	2	2:01	18–5
2021-10-29	Win	Anderson Silva	ONE Championship: NextGen	Kallang, Singapore	Decision (Unanimous)	3	3:00	17–5
2019-02-24	Loss	Roman Kryklia	Kunlun Fight 80 – Heavyweight Tournament Final	Shanghai, China	Decision (Unanimous)	3	3:00	16–5
2019-02-24	Win	Asihati	Kunlun Fight 80 – Heavyweight Tournament Semifinal	Shanghai, China	KO (punches)	3	3:00	16–4
2019-02-24	Loss	Haime Morais	Kunlun Fight 80 - Heavyweight Tournament Quarterfinal	Shanghai, China	Decision (split)	3	3:00	15–4
2018-11-12	Win	Olivier Thompson	MAS Fight	Macau, China	KO	3	N/A	15–3
2018-02-04	Win	Roman Kryklia	Kunlun Fight 69 – Heavyweight Tournament Final	Guiyang, China	Decision (Majority)	4	3:00	14–3
Wins the Kunlun Fight 2017 Heavyweight Tournament.
2018-02-04	Win	Asihati	Kunlun Fight 69 – Heavyweight Tournament Semifinal	Guiyang, China	KO	2	N/A	13–3
2017-12-17	Win	Ye Xiang	Kunlun Fight 68 – Heavyweight Tournament Quarterfinal	Zunyi, China	Decision (Unanimous)	3	3:00	12–3
Legend:   Win   Loss   Draw/No contest   Notes

Amateur Kickboxing record

Date	Result	Opponent	Event	Location	Method	Round	Time
2017-05-12	Loss	Tsotne Rogava	IFMA World Championship 2017, Final	Minsk, Belarus	Decision	3	3:00
Wins 2017 IFMA World Championships +91kg Silver Medal.
2017-05-10	Win	Andrey Gerasimchuk	IFMA World Championship 2017, Semi Final	Minsk, Belarus	KO	3	3:00
2017-05-07	Win	Semen Shelepov	IFMA World Championship 2017, Quarter Final	Minsk, Belarus	Decision (Unanimous)	3	3:00
2011-09-22	Loss	Sebastien Van Thielen	IFMA World Championships 2011	Tashkent, Uzbekistan	Decision	4	2:00
Legend:   Win   Loss   Draw/No contest   Notes

See also

• List of male kickboxers

References

1. "Iraj Azizpour". fightstat.com. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
2. "Iraj Azizpour". kunlunjue.com. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
3. "Kunlun Fight 69 – Fight Results". perfectkickboxing.com. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
4. "LiverKick Rankings Update for March, 2018: New Welterweight, Lightweight and Featherweight Kings". mmaexchange.com. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
5. "Combat Press Kickboxing Rankings: March 2018". combatpress.com. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
6. "Combat Press Kickboxing Rankings: March 2019". combatpress.com. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
7. "the-winners-at-the-ifma-world-championships". muaythai.sport. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
8. "Kunlun Fight 68 – Fight Card". perfectkickboxing.com. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
9. "Kunlun Fight 68 – Fight Results". perfectkickboxing.com. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
10. "Kunlun Fight 69 – Fight Card". perfectkickboxing.com. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
11. "Kunlun Fight 69 – Fight Results". perfectkickboxing.com. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
12. "Kunlun Fight 69 Results: Grigorian Stuns Superbon, Azizpour Upsets Kryklia, Buakaw Dominates". combatpress.com. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
13. "Oli Thompson vs Iraj Azizpour na MasFight w Makau: "Bez sędziów, bez decyzji, tylko KO"". mmanews.pl. 3 November 2018. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
14. "MasFight Makau: Oli Thompson "bonusowo" ubity łokciem przez Iraja Azizpoura". mmanews.pl. 10 November 2018. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
15. "Kunlun Fight 80 Results: Kryklia Claims 100+kg Tournament, Kiria Edges Toutouh to Win 2018 70-kilogram Tournament".
16. "Kunlun Fight 80 Results: Kryklia Claims 100+kg Tournament, Kiria Edges Toutouh to Win 2018 70-kilogram Tournament". combatpress.com. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
17. "ماموریت سخت 'عزیزپور' در اوکراین!". khabarrazmavar.ir. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
18. "FEA World Grand Prix Results: Zhuravlev Demolishes Ozer, Akopyan Wins Four-Man Tournament". combatpress.com. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
19. "Roman Kryklia vs. Iraj Azizpour trilogy for inaugural kickboxing heavyweight title headlines ONE: NextGen". Sportskeeda. 2021-10-15. Retrieved 2021-10-16.
20. "Anderson Silva loses again". asianmma.com. 29 October 2021. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
21. van Dinter, Sean (3 March 2022). "Top Kickbokser Ismael Londt 11 Maart Terug in Den Ring". vechtsportinfo.nl. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
22. "ONE Lights Out results: Le stops Tonon, Lineker wins belt". South China Morning Post. 2022-03-11. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
23. "ONE Championship announces heavyweight kickboxing Grand Prix". asianmma.com. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
24. Richards, Vince (30 September 2022). "ONE 161 complete results and recap: Tawanchai stuns Petchmorakot, Kryklia and Azizpour advance to heavy kickboxing grand prix final". sportskeeda.com. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
25. Pico, Borna (29 October 2022). "Heavyweight ONE Grand Prix Final Between Iraj Azizpour Against Roman Kryklia Set for One 163". beyondkick.com. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
26. "Strašni Roman Kryklia osvojio je ONE-ov Grand Prix: Ukrajinski teškaš brutalno je prebio Azizpoura". fightsite.hr. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
27. "And the winners at the IFMA World Championships! – International Federation of Muaythai Associations".
28. Chris Mohan (2022-12-31). "Roman Kryklia vs. Iraj Azizpour III named ONE's 2022 Kickboxing Fight of The Year". ONE Championship – The Home of Martial Arts. Retrieved 2022-12-31.
29. "Syria and Iran dominated the Siege of Abadan Tournament". asbcnews.org. Retrieved 22 May 2020.