K-1 World MAX 2026 tournament lineup announced for Tokyo

The K-1 World MAX 2026 tournament is scheduled for September 12 at the Yoyogi National Stadium 2nd Gymnasium in Tokyo. The event features a 16-man, 70kg kickboxing tournament designed to determine eight finalists who will compete for the world championship on December 29 at Yokohama BUNTAI.

Key matchups in the tournament's opening round include defending champion Jonas Salsicha against Zhora Akopyan, and 2024 champion Stoyan Koprivlenski against Vladimir Tulaev. Other notable bouts include Kacper Muszynski versus former GLORY champion Serhiy Adamchuk, and Darryl Verdonk against Lorenzo Di Vara.

The event will be held in two parts. The first part features Japanese matchups, while the second part includes the global 70kg tournament and several title matches, such as K-1 World GP Super Lightweight champion Yasuo Asahiko defending his title against Alassane Camara.