Kunlun Fight returned to Tongling, China with an eight-man tournament to fight for the 2018 75kg champion Monday.
Mergen Bilyalov of Kazakhstan became the new king of the 75kg weight category, scoring two first-round knockouts before winning a decision over Zhang Yang in the final.
Bilyalov wasn't able to knock out skilled southpaw Zhang in the final but did enough in the judges' eyes to earn the decision.
Bilyalov used his wide stance and springy footwork, and looked to catch Zhang. Zhang looked to land low and body kicks. In round three, the Chinese fighter picked up his work rate. Bilyalov landed the crisper shots and won a decision. Not much seemed to separate the two fighters, with two judges scoring the bout 29-29.
Zhang defeated Regilio Van Den Ent of Netherlands and Ravy Brunow of Brazil in the previous fights, each lasting three rounds, before he made it to the final. Therefore the physical energy was not in Zhang's favor, but he displayed a strong will and put out an amazing show for the audience.
In a women's 63.5kg super fight, Chinese Wang Kehan used her strong boxing and quick moving to turn back Mallaury Kalachnikoff of France.
Kunlun Fight is a Chinese kickboxing promotion. It debuted in 2014 and is regarded as one of the top kickboxing promotions in the world.
