Stan Longinidis

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Stan "The Man" Longinidis (born June 25, 1965) is a Greek-Australian kickboxer who has been the world champion of kickboxing. He won 8 world titles.

Stan is one of very few fighters to have won World titles in the three styles, International Rules Kickboxing, Full Contact and Muay Thai, others being Fred Royers and Ernesto Hoost.

[edit] Biography

Longinidis also holds the record for quickest title fight victory with TKO1 of Dennis Alexio.

Longinidis was honoured in France at a martial arts expo in 2000, awarded a lifetime achievement award recognising his major influential impact on the early days of the sport, and his status as one of the most famous names in the history of kick boxing.

Beginning his career in 1983, Stan the Man won two amateur titles before challenging for the World Light Heavyweight Title in 1987, a contest ending in a draw. After being approached by scouts from the Jet Centre in Van Nuys, California, Stan quit his day job and travelled to live and train in the USA where he became a cult favorite amongst local celebrities and kickboxing fans. He racked up 18 straight wins in the USA and won the North American and USA Heavyweight Titles as well as the Australian professional title. His fame at home grew to huge proportions, a feat no local kickboxer had achieved, with Stan appearing on local talk shows and newspapers. In April 1990 he became the first Australian to win a World Kickboxing Title when he took the K.I.C.K Full Contact Super Heavyweight Title. He added two WKA World Titles to his resume in 1991, one being a record 15 second knockout of American Melvin Cole in Queensland, Australia. In 1992 he defended his titles against legendary Croatian fighter Branko Cikatic and local rival Grant Barker, a top 10 heavyweight at the time moving up. After wins over Mitch O Hello and Adam Watt he took on Dennis Alexio in the most eagerly anticipated superfight at the time and a huge media event in Australia. The fight was an anti climax, only lasting 6 seconds, with Longinidis dealing the famed American only his second loss in over 50 fights with a low kick in the opening seconds that broke the American's leg. Stan would continue to fight and defend his titles as well as adding another title in 93 and 94. He also became one of the K-1 corporations first contracted stars, appearing on many early K-1 shows where his rivalries with Cikatic and Masaaki Satake helped boost the companies profile. He also competed in early K-1 Grand Prix's. In 1996 he became the first westerner to fight for and win a prestigous WMC World Heavyweight Muay Thai Title in Thailand where he was crowned by the King of Thailand. Stan fought on despite a serious knee injury that threatened to end his career, and had a complete knee reconstruction in 1997 that slowed him down. He fought on until 2000 where he retired after beating Peter Graham in melbourne, coming out of retirement for one fight in 2003 before calling it quits with an 83-8-4 record.

[edit] Career

Amateur
- Australian Super heavyweight champion (1984)
Professional
- USA Heavyweight champion (1989)
- North American Heavyweight champion (1988)
- Intercontinental champion (1989)
- KICK Full Contact Super heavyweight champion (1990)
- WKA World Junior heavyweight champion (1991)
- WKA World Super heavyweight champion (1992)
- ISKA Oriental Super heavyweight champion (1992)
- ISKA Free Style Heavyweight champion (1993)
- WAKO World Super heavyweight champion (1994)
- Thaipan 1 tournament winner (1994)
- WMTC World Super heavyweight champion (1996)
- WKBF World Heavyweight(1998)