Antonia “The Panther” Prifti is the new K-1 WGP Japan World Champion in the women’s flyweight category, as of Saturday, 9th of December, 2023. Antonia dominated the fight against Japanese KANA in K-1 ReBirth 2 and won the most prestigious title in World kickboxing.

K-1 WGP Japan is a professional kickboxing organization founded in 1993 by karateka Kazuyoshi Ishii and is one of the oldest kickboxing events in the world. K-1 is the most popular style of kickboxing in which you can punch, kick and knee your opponent, and was created to allow kickboxers to compete against muay thai fighters without elbows but in a faster boxing pace.

The organization became known for its heavyweight fights and Grand Prix tournaments at 70 kg. Michalis “Iron Mike” Zampidis competed in this category, well-known to all Greeks and abroad. Zampidis made a brilliant career in the event with matches that have gone down in the history of the sport, but without ever being able to win the title.

Antonia, following her great effort to lose 10 kg within 1 month, showed from the beginning of the match that she wanted this title and effectively “silenced” KANA, one of the top names in the world, with 22 wins, 11 KO’s to her credit and holder of the belt since 2019 (which until now, she had defended 3 times with 3 wins by K.O.), picking up a big, clear victory by unanimous decision in her opponent’s home country.

By her side, leading her to success was her coach Ioannis Theofanous and manager Stelios Politis.

We would like to give a shoutout to:

• Her official sponsor, Key Pharmacy, that helped with Antonia’s effort, with the nesessary supplements and vitamins it provided.
• Athletes Mikaela Kolliopoulou and her coach Nasos Argyropoulos, Sofia Tsolakidou and her coach Foteini Stamatopoulou as well as Thomai Christiana and her coach Giorgos Kyriakopoulos for their valuable sparring help in her preparation for this competition.
• The Nutrilab team who took over her entire diet and got her down to 52kg.
• Vangelis Houhoumis and A.G. Kallistos for her muscle strengthening program.
• Angelos Katsaros who took care of her massages and every need regarding minor injuries.

Following are the video of the match and photos from the event: