Kickboxers get fresh air in Moscow

Four titles will be on the line in the unique international open-air kickboxing event to hit Moscow on Saturday, with Russian rising star Vladimir Mineev taking on Germany's Daniel Dorrer in the headline bout.

The Professional Kickboxing Championships used to be a battlefield for the best fighters from the former Soviet republics, but the tournament now has both domestic and international titles at stake. “It is a truly unique event,” Denis Lukashov, undisputed world kickboxing champion, told RT. “I've never seen anything like this before, anywhere. An outdoor martial arts tournament with a lot of fans and such a great deal of tough fighters from all across the world.”

Among the star attractions is the Russian light welterweight championship, in which some old scores are to be settled as Dmitry Grafov goes for revenge against Evgeny Kalinin.

In the 86-kilo class, Russia's Aleksey Rybkin will take on Frenchmen Halim Chiabani for the W5 European Champion's belt.

“I didn't spend hours studying my opponent's style, his weak and strong points,” Chiabani stressed. “I just checked out a few videos of his fights to know what he looks like. I always focus on my own training.”

Meanwhile, the main event of the night will see a clash of heavyweights, with Germany's Daniel Dorrer set to test one of Russia's biggest kickboxing prospects, Vladimir Mineev, with the WKA title on the line.“The game plan will be to fight with full power from the first round to the last round, because Vladimir Mineev is a good fighter, we respect him very much, so the game plan as I said is to give my all in every round of the fight,” Dorrer said.

There’s little doubt that the ninth addition of the Professional Kickboxing Championships should become the most spectacular of all.