Stan Longinidis

Stan Longinidis began practicing martial arts in 1982 after being inspired by watching a martial artist defeat five opponents in a night club brawl.[5] His kickboxing career commenced in 1983, and he had won two amateur titles when he challenged Santiago Garza for the WKA World Light Heavyweight Championship in 1987.[5] Despite the contest ending in a draw, Longinidis had displayed such potential that he was invited to train full-time at the prestigious Jet Center kickboxing gym of Van Nuys.[5] Determined to become Australia's first world champion in the sport, Longinidis resigned from his job as a computer programmer and moved to the United States.[4] From his new home in California, he amassed 18 consecutive wins[2] and won the WKA North American and US Heavyweight Championships, as well as the Australian National Heavyweight title.[5]

In April 1990, Longinidis achieved his dream of becoming the first Australian to win a world kickboxing title when he claimed the KICK World Super Heavyweight Championship[5] in a match against the legendary Anthony Elmore. The following year, he challenged the long-reigning WKA World Heavyweight Champion Maurice Smith for his title. Despite knocking the American down in the opening round, Longinidis eventually lost a battle of attrition and accepted a split decision defeat - his first professional loss.[5] Undeterred, he soon acquired the WKA World Junior Heavyweight (Cruiserweight) and Super Heavyweight Championships, the latter coming by way of a record-setting 15-second knockout of Melvin Cole in Queensland.[4]

In 1992, he notably defended his titles against top heavyweights Branko Cikatić and Grant Barker. He fought a full 12 rounds against Cikatić before winning by unanimous decision, and knocked out Barker with low kicks. He followed this up with additional wins over international powerhouses Mitch O'Hello and Adam Watt.

On 6 December 1992, Longinidis competed in one of the biggest and most controversial matches in history, against kickboxing superstar Dennis Alexio. Fueled by media hype and personal animosity between the two fighters,[5] it was one of the most highly-anticipated martial arts events when Longinidis and Alexio finally met in Melbourne to compete for the vacant ISKA World Oriental Rules Heavyweight Championship. The match lasted just 15 seconds, with Alexio falling to the mat after receiving a low kick from his opponent. Longinidis was declared the winner by KO and became the new champion.

Controversy arose when Alexio claimed to have broken his leg by stepping into a hole in the canvas, and thus the match's outcome was placed under review. The US branch of the ISKA overturned their ruling and changed it to a no contest, while the ISKA's Australian body and the WKA (which also sanctioned the match) upheld their original decision.[6] A rematch between Longinidis and Alexio never took place.

Longinidis continued to defend his titles, also adding the ISKA World Heavyweight Championship to his collection in 1993 and the WAKO PRO World Super Heavyweight Championship 1994. He began competing for the K-1 kickboxing promotion in March 1993, becoming one of the first major fighters to be signed by the company. After defeating reigning Karate World Cup champion Toshiyuki Atokawa in K-1's first event,[7] Longinidis fought rising star Masaaki Satake in a title-versus-title affair, with Satake wagering his UKF World Super Heavyweight Championship and Longinidis his WKA World Super Heavyweight Championship. Longinidis lost by unanimous decision[8] but retained his title after asserting that the match had not taken place under WKA rules.

Significant victories and setbacks marked Longinidis' career thereafter. He won the TAIPAN 1 tournament of 1994 by defeating three opponents in a single night, but lost his WKA, ISKA, and WAKO PRO World Super Heavyweight titles in a single match to Jeff Roufus in 1995. He qualified twice for the K-1 World Grand Prix, but was knocked out by Mike Bernardo in the 1995 quarterfinals[9] and was unable to compete in the 1996 tournament due to injury. In June 1996, Longinidis won the innaugural WMTC World Super Heavyweight Muay Thai Championship in Pattaya[5] was personally presented the title by King Rama IX. He lost the championship in September of the same year to Andy Hug.[10] A serious knee injury threatened to end his career around this time and contributed to several losses, but Longinidis underwent complete reconstructive surgery in 1997.

Longinidis fought until 2000, when he retired after defeating fellow Australian Peter Graham at K-1 Oceania Star Wars 2000. He returned to the ring shortly afterwards for another several bouts before retiring for good in 2003.[11] He ended his career with a record of 88 wins (65 KOs), 9 losses and 5 draws with one no contest.

Longinidis was awarded a lifetime achievement award at a France martial arts expo in 2000. The commendation recognized his significant impact on kickboxing and his status as one of the most famous names in the history of the sport. On 10 October 2013, he became the first martial artist to be inducted in the Australian Sports Hall of Fame.[2]

Never far removed from the sport that made him famous, Longinidis trained his younger brother George Longinidis en route to winning the WOKA World Heavyweight Championship in 2009. He also managed kickboxing superstar Mike Zambidis.[5]

Longinidis now works as a motivational speaker.[11]