Joshua Akinbade entered the four-man tournament as one of the most dangerous rising fighters on the Irish and UK Muay Thai scene, carrying a professional record of 12 wins and 1 loss, with 11 knockouts—a strikingly high finish rate that immediately marks him out as a genuine threat.

Akinbade is a two-division ISKA Irish champion and two-division ISKA four nations champion, having already built a résumé against some of the better opposition across Ireland and the UK. His style is defined by power, pressure, and relentless pace, with his knockout ratio underlining an ability not just to win, but to decisively finish fights.

He represents Origins Team Dublin, under head coach Paul Kelly—widely regarded as a foundational figure in Irish Muay Thai. Within that environment, Akinbade is surrounded by high-level training partners, including Damien Darker, an established elite K-1 competitor and WAKO European champion, and Yassin Ali, an ISKA and WBC European champion as well as a WBC world gold medallist.

Altogether, Akinbade entered the tournament not as an unknown, but as a proven finisher with elite-level preparation and a rapidly building reputation—making his victory over a seasoned operator like Sergej Braun all the more significant.

Why is this so impressive? Who were his opponents?

Sergej Braun is a seasoned German middleweight kickboxer with a professional record of 48 wins and 16 losses, including 27 knockouts, across 64 fights.

He has competed consistently across reputable European and international promotions, including GLORY Kickboxing and SENSHI, facing a mix of top contenders and established names. Braun has operated at a level just below the sport’s elite, evidenced by his world ranking as high as #6 (Combat Press) and #9 (Beyond Kick) in the middleweight division.

His résumé includes a challenge for the GLORY Middleweight World Championship against Donovan Wisse, as well as bouts with high-level opponents such as Michael Boapeah and Serkan Ozcaglayan. Alongside this, he is a WAKO-Pro K-1 World Champion at light heavyweight, with multiple successful title defenses.

Overall, Braun represents a battle-tested, internationally experienced fighter with proven success at world-class level.

Brice Kombou is a Cameroonian middleweight kickboxer competing in GLORY Kickboxing, with a professional record of 20 wins and 7 losses, including 8 knockouts.

He operates at a solid European/international level, having fought across promotions and more recently stepping into GLORY, where he holds a 1–3 record, indicating experience at the sport’s top promotion but without consistent success against elite opposition.

Kombou has shared the ring with recognised names such as Mohamed Touchassie (loss by first-round TKO) and appeared on major cards like the GLORY Light Heavyweight Grand Prix, where he lost a decision to Ramy Deghir.

Earlier in his career, he won the 2019 Mix Fight tournament final appearance, though he was stopped by Sergej Braun via head-kick knockout in the final—highlighting the level he was operating at on the European circuit.

Overall, Kombou represents a durable, experienced professional with exposure to GLORY-level competition.

Akinbade went into a different sport, in foreign lands and not only competed but bet elite and high level opposition.