Françesko Xhaja (born August 9, 1993) is an Albanian-born Italian kickboxer, currently competing in the light heavyweight division of ONE Championship. As of March 2023, he is ranked as the tenth best heavyweight kickboxer in the world by Beyond Kickboxing.[1]
| Françesko Xhaja | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 9, 1993 Albania |
| Other names | Smile |
| Nationality | Italian |
| Height | 194 cm (6 ft 4 in) |
| Weight | 102 kg (225 lb; 16.1 st) |
| Division | Heavyweight |
| Reach | 196 cm (77 in) |
| Style | Kickboxing |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Fighting out of | Venice, Italy |
| Team | SB Gym |
| Years active | 2014–present |
| Kickboxing record | |
| Total | 24 |
| Wins | 18 |
| By knockout | 5 |
| Losses | 6 |
| By knockout | 3 |
Professional kickboxing career
editEarly career
editXhaja faced Jan Beljajev at Number One Fight Show: Season 10 on September 22, 2018. He won the fight by unanimous decision.[2] Xhaja next faced Mladen Kujundžić at Ultimate Fight Night on November 17, 2018.[3] He won the fight by unanimous decision.[4]
Xhaja challenged Guto Inocente for the WGP Kickboxing Super heavyweight (+94 kg) title at WGP Kickboxing #55 on June 15, 2019.[5] He lost the fight by unanimous decision.[6]
Xhaja faced Igor Darmeshkin in the quarterfinals of the 2019 Tatneft Cup heavyweight tournament, which took place on July 19, 2019.[7] He won the fight by unanimous decision, after an extra round was contested.[8] Xhaja was able to stop Mathieu Kongolo in the second round on October 4, 2019, which earned him a place in the tournament finals,[9] which took place on December 15, 2019, opposite Petr Romankevich. He lost the fight by unanimous decision, after an extension round was fought.
Xhaja faced Strahinja Mitrić at Megdan 8: New Winners on December 18, 2020. He won the fight by split decision.[10] Xhaja next faced Cyril Cereyon at Ultimate Fight Night on January 17, 2021.[11] He won the fight by unanimous decision. Xhaja then faced Ahmed Krnjić at Senshi 9 on July 10, 2021. He won the fight by unanimous decision, after an extra round was contested.[12]
ONE Championship
editXhaja faced Rade Opačić at ONE: Only the Brave on January 28, 2022, in his promotion debut with ONE Championship.[13] He lost the fight by a second-round technical knockout.[14]
Xhaja faced Andrei Stoica at ONE Fight Night 7 on February 24, 2023. He won the fight by split decision.[15][16]
Xhaja challenged Roman Kryklia for the ONE Light Heavyweight Kickboxing World Championship at ONE Fight Night 12 on July 14, 2023.[17]
Championships and accomplishments
edit- Tatneft Cup
- 2019 Tatneft Cup Heavyweight Tournament Runner-up
- Megdan Fighting
- 2020 Megdan K-1 Heavyweight (+93 kg) Championship
Fight record
edit| 18 Wins (5 (T)KO's), 6 Losses, 0 Draws, 0 No Contests | ||||||||
| Date | Result | Opponent | Event | Location | Method | Round | Time | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-02-24 | Win |  Andrei Stoica |
ONE Fight Night 7 | Bangkok, Thailand | Decision (Split) | 3 | 3:00 | |
| 2022-01-28 | Loss |  Rade Opačić |
ONE: Only the Brave | Kallang, Singapore | TKO (3 knockdown rule) | 2 | 2:00 | |
| 2021-07-10 | Win |  Ahmed Krnjić |
Senshi 9 | Varna, Bulgaria | Ext. R. Decision (Unanimous) | 4 | 3:00 | |
| 2021-01-17 | Win |  Cyril Cereyon |
Ultimate Fight Night | Brest, France | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 3:00 | |
| 2020-12-18 | Win | Strahinja Mitrić |
Megdan 8: New Winners | Sremska Mitrovica, Serbia | Decision (Split) | 3 | 3:00 | |
| Wins the Megdan K-1 Heavyweight (+93 kg) title. | ||||||||
| 2019-12-15 | Loss |  Petr Romankevich |
Tatneft Cup, Tournament Final | Kazan, Russia | Ext. R. Decision (Unanimous) | 4 | 3:00 | |
| For the Tatneft Cup Heavyweight (+90kg) Tournament title. | ||||||||
| 2019-10-04 | Win |  Mathieu Kongolo |
Tatneft Cup, Tournament Semifinal | Kazan, Russia | TKO (Retirement) | 2 | 1:28 | |
| 2019-07-19 | Win |  Igor Darmeshkin |
Tatneft Cup, Tournament Quarterfinal | Kazan, Russia | Ext. R. Decision (Unanimous) | 4 | 3:00 | |
| 2019-06-15 | Loss |  Guto Inocente |
WGP Kickboxing #55 | Brasilia, Brazil | Decision (Unanimous) | 5 | 3:00 | |
| For the WGP Kickboxing Super heavyweight (+94kg) title. | ||||||||
| 2019-04-26 | Win |  Liu Wei |
Tatneft Cup, Tournament Round of 16 | Kazan, Russia | KO (Head kick) | 1 | 0:05 | |
| 2019-03-16 | Win | Pascal Touré |
Power Trophy | Orange, France | TKO | 2 | ||
| 2018-11-17 | Win |  Mladen Kujundžić |
Ultimate Fight Night | Koper, Slovenia | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 3:00 | |
| 2018-09-22 | Win |  Jan Beljajev |
Number One Fight Show: Season 10 | Tallinn, Estonia | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 3:00 | |
| 2018-05-11 | Win | Karim Zeghad |
Ultimate Fight Night | Le Beausset, France | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 3:00 | |
| 2018-03-17 | Win |  Hassen Otman |
Power Trophy 2018 | Orange, France | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 3:00 | |
| 2017-11-11 | Loss |  David Vinš |
Night of Warriors 12 | Liberec, Czech Republic | KO (Left straight) | 3 | 1:43 | |
| 2017-01-14 | Win |  Alessandro Lamonica |
The Night of Kick and Punch 6 | Milan, Italy | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 3:00 | |
| 2016-04-16 | Win | Danilo Coda |
Sacile in Fight | Italy | TKO (Retirement) | |||
| 2015-03-28 | Loss |  Pavel Voronin |
Kombat League, Tournament Semifinal | Verona, Italy | KO (Left hook) | 1 | ||
| 2014-06-17 | Win | Nico Zerbin |
Spinea, Italy | TKO | 2 | |||
| Legend: Win Loss Draw/No contest Notes | ||||||||
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Rankings March 2023". beyondkick.com. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
- ^ "Francesco Xhaja ce l'ha fatta ancora una volta. Il kickboxer di Sacile". ilgazzettino.it. 26 September 2018. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
- ^ "Riječki kickboksač Kujundžić ovog mjeseca bori se u Kopru protiv Xhaje". fiuman.hr. 8 November 2018. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
- ^ "(VIDEO) Mladen Kujundžić vs. Francesco Xhaja". fight.hr. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
- ^ "WGP Kickboxing 55 Guto Inocente vs Francesko Xhaja returns tonight". fightbookmma.com. 15 June 2019. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
- ^ "Guto Inocente vence albanês Francesco Xhaja no WGP 55". superlutas.com.br. 16 June 2019. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
- ^ "Пять российских бойцов выступят в четвертьфинале чемпионата мира "Бои по правилам ТНА"". news.sportbox.ru. 17 July 2019. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
- ^ "Россияне претендуют на выход в полуфинал чемпионата мира "Бои по правилам ТНА"". utro.ru. 17 July 2019. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
- ^ "Kickboxing Finale mondiale per Francesko". ilgazzettino.it. 11 October 2019. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
- ^ "Due match e due vittorie per Franko Xhaja". ilgazzettino.it. 3 January 2021. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
- ^ "Ultimate Fight Night : Xhaja, un gros client pour Cereyon". lidf.press. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
- ^ "Francesko Xhaja defeats Ahmed Krnjic at SENSHI 9". boec.com. 11 July 2021. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
- ^ De Rozario, James. ""We will see in the ring who is going to be KO'd" - Francesko Xhaja thinks he will stop Rade Opacic's knockout streak". sportskeeda.com. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
- ^ "(VIDEO) Rade Opačić još jednom fantastičan, Albanac je izdržao samo rundu i pol". fightsite.hr. 28 January 2022. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
- ^ "Francesko Xhaja fiton në "One Championship"". tvklan.al. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
- ^ "Kickboxeri Francesko Xhaja fiton në "One Championship", mund rumunin (VIDEO)". kohajone.com. 25 February 2023. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
- ^ Pico, Borna (1 June 2023). "Roman Kryklia Set to Defend ONE Light Heavyweight Title Against Françesko Xhaja on July 14". beyondkick.com. Retrieved 15 June 2023.