KNOCK OUT (kickboxing)

On September 14, 2016, Bushido Road announced the establishment of a new kickboxing promotion called KNOCK OUT. The promotion was founded jointly by Riki Onodera and Road Fight, and initially partnered with another kickboxing promotion "NO KICK NO LIFE".[2]

KNOCK OUT held their first event, called "KNOCK OUT vol.0", at the Tokyo Dome City Hall on December 5, 2016. It was headlined by a muay thai bout between Sirimongkol PKsaenchaimuaythaigym and the Rajadamnern 135 lbs champion Genji Umeno. Tenshin Nasukawa faced the two-weight Lumpinee champion Wanchalong PK.Saenchai in the co-headliner.[3] A half hour segment of the event was later broadcast by Tokyo MX on December 31, 2016.[4] The event was fully broadcast on January 1, 2017.[5]

Riki Onodera retired from the position of producer on April 29, 2019.[6] On May 20, 2019, it was announced that he would be replaced by Genki Yamaguchi. On the same day, the promotion announced that they had entered into a partnership agreement with REBELS, a muay thai promotion.[7]

On June 15, 2020, Bushido Road sold KNOCK OUT ownership rights to Def Fellow, the operating company of REBELS.[8]

At a press conference held on September 28, 2020, producer Genki Yamaguchi announced his retirement. Former K-1 producer and Good Loser president Mitsuru Miyata was announced as his replacement.[9]

On December 18, 2020, Def Fellow announced they would merge REBELS and KNOCK OUT under the KNOCK OUT brand. The merger occurred in March 2021.[10]

The current rules were last revised in July 2021, and are as follows:[11]

• Matches are won by knockout, technical knockout, disqualification or judges decision.
  • A knockout victory is awarded if one competitor is rendered unable to continue competing as a result of a single strike.
  • A technical knockout victory is awarded is one of the following cases:
    • (1) if one of the competitors is unable to rise in time (i.e. within 10 seconds) following a knockdown
    • (2) if one of the competitors suffers three knockdowns inside of a single round
    • (3) if the corner-men of one of the competitors throws in the towel, or opts to retire their fighter at the end of the round
    • (4) if the referee decides that a competitor cannot continue fighting due to an injury, or if they receive significant damage without intelligently defending themselves
  • Matches are scored based on the following criteria:
    • (1) number of knockdowns
    • (2) presence or absence of damage done to the opponent
    • (3) number of clean hits
    • (4) aggressiveness
  • In case of a draw, an extension round will be fought, after which one competitor will necessarily be declared a winner
• Spitting, headbutts, biting, groin strikes, strikes to the back of the head, striking after the round has ended or the referee has called for a break, striking while the opponent is knocked down and excessive holding are all considered fouls. Furthermore, under the KNOCKOUT BLACK ruleset, sweeps, throws, and strikes with the elbow are prohibited.
  • If one of the competitors commits a foul, they will be given a caution and a warning. If the foul is repeated, they will be given a yellow card, which results in a point deduction. Should the foul be committed once again, the competitor will be given a red card, and will be disqualified.