On February 8th, “Xiaomi Arēna” in Latvia saw some of the best matchups to date in King of Kings 125, featuring Zaurs Džavadovs, Kristaps Zutis, Juris Zundovskis, Edgars Skrīvers, Reinis Porozovs and others. In fact, it was almost criminally underrated what kind of weight some of the MMA-stacked main card held.
We’ll dive right into what made KOK 125 one of the best we’ve seen recently — including a “BAZARA 0” aftermovie and behind-the-scenes photos down below!
Reinis Porozovs vs. Jan Pelak
Poland beast Jan Pelak (3–1–1) has had several recent “King of Kings” highlights under boxing and kickboxing rules — and remains generally impenetrable throughout, because he doesn’t back down from a challenge, no matter how tough that challenge is. At only 21 years old, Pelak’s ring intelligence is much higher than his age.
Local favorite, Latvian kickboxing champion and a KOK veteran, Reinis “Iceman” Porozovs (28–6–1) is 35 and much more experienced in comparison, so he was predicted to be one of Pelak’s toughest King of Kings opponents to date. Though Porozovs can be very difficult to contain, this was one of the best matchups on the fight card, because it just made sense.
Originally scheduled under boxing rules, this was a hybrid kickboxing fight — knees allowed, but no low kicks. Pelak was the first to make contact with a right hand strike to Porozovs’ face 30 seconds in, which immediately changed the direction of the fight. This continued into a successful left, while Porozovs’ several leg kicks missed their landing, until a close exchange just as the bell rang. It was a calm before the storm all first round — everyone who has seen these two in action knows this matchup was a ticking time bomb.
Second round started off with a right hand by Porozovs met immediately by Pelak’s left. As opponents, because of the vast gap in their experiences, they couldn’t be called even — but something in the air between them felt like an equilibrium. It was a dance and a give-and-take. Most of the second round was a close brawl with some eyebrow-raiser knee kicks, with no definite blows landed.
Third round was where that fuse got lit — both Pelak and Porozovs knew whatever advantage could be gained had to happen within these final three minutes. And it also stands true that Porozovs’ refined style of grabbing and holding up his opponents makes it harder to score. This is what defined most of the third round: headlocks and getting separated.
Despite it being such an exciting matchup, the fight itself was underwhelming and too careful. In fact, it was such a close bout that it was called a draw by judges’ decision.
Tomas Markus vs. Rāgners Džigurs
Professional MMA debutant Markus and Džigurs met in a MMA Bushido Superfight. Džigurs saw his own debut on November 16th, at “Milžu cīņas”. This was an immediate refresher — at the 75 kilogram weight category, it was clear how much faster and more cunning this fight was going to go compared to the last.
Though Markus landed the first strike, Džigurs performed excellent kicks to the body, one after another, in rapid succession, highlighting his trump card: the legwork. When his kicks met Markus’ body, it sounded like the crack of a whip. Visually, it was almost reminiscent of a fight you’d typically see in the UFC, with high-intensity pacing and clinch work.
The second they got out of that mutual clinch, Džigurs was back in his element, striking repetitively with his leg and landing multiple blows to the body. Within the following seconds, Džigurs knocked Markus out, claiming his first-round victory. That’s gotta feel good.
Roberts Skujiņš vs. Edgars Skrīvers
Making his comeback after taking a break that spanned nearly half a decade, Skujiņš (7–11–1) has claimed most of his victories by submission, while Skrīvers (16–4–0), with a karate background, is known more for his striking specifically. Skrīvers’ last MMA fight was in 2018, so despite having been generally active, it was interesting to see how he’d fare after this break.
This fight was under MMA Bushido rules. Skrīvers threw a karate kick approximately six seconds in, wasting no time to gauge his opponent, and continued with turning kicks, though either none of them landed, or they were deflected well. Hearing Skujiņš’ coach yelling to “change the level”, he obliged almost immediately, tackling his opponent to the ground. He got caught in a lock by Skrīvers, but the submission attempt failed, and they were back up on their feet.
After another repeated attempt to grapple, Skrīvers gained a bigger advantage this time, but it was fruitless. Though with each following time on the ground, it did seem that Skujiņš was losing dominance — and this proved to be the winning move as he was put into a triangle choke and tapped out in the second round. Another UFC-reminiscent one — and as far as we know, that’s a part of Skrīvers’ future plans.
Kristaps Zutis vs. Juris Zundovskis
Probably more anticipated hype-wise than Zaurs’ title fight against Estonian Themas, and despite being a virtually fantastic matchup, the fight between Zutis and Zundovskis lacked the equilibrium we saw in Pelak vs. Porozovs. It wasn’t easy to gauge how the fight was going to go overall, as Zutis has been significantly more active both in recent fights and in the public eye, but maybe against opponents that haven’t truly matched his level — while Zundovskis carried numerically more losses, ultimately proving to be a force that shouldn’t be underestimated.
Right off the bat, Zutis came on fast, almost certainly hoping and aiming for an early finish — the longer the fight would go on, the further a potential KO would slip, which is a known way he enjoys ending his fights. A lot of his hits did land, but without making the significant impact he needed to gain advantage; we didn’t see a glimmer of Zundovskis’ resolve fading. In fact, in an attempt to dodge, he lifted Zutis off the ground with one arm. Keep in mind that these are not lightweight men.
Not even a minute into the first round, “Xiaomi Arena” was taken over by chants supporting Zundovskis — and this stretched across the entire fight. Mentally, it must be devastating to have such a large audience stacked against you while you’re trying to prove yourself; Zutis got wildly booed just coming out to the ring as well.
Throughout this fight, which did go the full distance, Zutis had a general pattern of throwing very heavy hits, but not making contact, whether by miscalculation or Zundovskis’ quick dodges. By the end of the first round, we saw Zutis’ stamina begin to deplete, and this carried into all three remaining rounds, with progressively more sluggish movements. There was no chance of landing a KO, because there was simply not enough speed or strength left anymore. It must be noted that Zundovskis’ stamina was sound and actually seemed to pick up in the later rounds — possibly invigorated by the audience’s intent cheering as well.
Of course, you can watch the full fight and judge for yourself:
When the camera first panned over to Juris Zundovskis, just prior to the fight, you could see an equal combination of fear and determination on his face. Kristaps Zutis is a critically acclaimed man, so to speak, and this was a fight many wanted him to lose.
Despite the loss, it’s fair to remain hopeful we’ll see more of him soon. He left the ring immediately after the winner was called, and that seems a fair thing to do — most of “Xiaomi Arena” had Zundovskis as their favorite anyway. Any loss is like a well-done steak; it takes a long time to chew and swallow.
Hendrik Themas vs. Zaurs Džavadovs
Hendrik Themas (18–18–0) has felt only two kickboxing TKOs on his skin, and one of them was by Zaurs Džavadovs (43–10–1), so we knew he was going to be tough. In turn, Themas did give Džavadovs that eyebrow scar we all know, so he’ll always be a special opponent to Zaurs in many ways.
Five rounds spanning three minutes each, and every single one of them was used. To level out how powerful Džavadovs is, he was matched with one of the physically toughest opponents, which made this such an enjoyable fight to watch. It was, again, like a dance — hits were landed, and you could tell by the sound how heavy they were, but both continued, undeterred.
Džavadovs’ focus must be highlighted. Even between rounds, he was present, and not a gram of his energy wandered off elsewhere. His face betrayed nothing — he was completely collected. Watching him take a sip of water and immediately walk back to wait for Themas was almost unsettling — like he’d never taken a break in the first place. Zaurs was commanding all this attention, hands planted on his hips, like he’d flipped a switch that made him tap into a higher power and he was eager to unleash it.
Though the fight went the distance, Džavadovs melted Themas’ endurance like butter while fully maintaining his composure. This level of control can truly rarely be seen. Face painted red with his own blood, Hendrik gave this well-earned victory to Zaurs, but he remains one of the toughest fighters KOK has seen — especially considering that he lasted this long against “Shere Khan”.
Here’s a photo recap of King of Kings 125 Fight Night –
Photo by Adam Blake
