The Greek Mike Zambidis went down in sports history as one of the most violent and ruthless kickboxers. The nickname "Iron" speaks volumes about his stamina in the ring. He played 162 fights, 85 of which ended by knockout.
Biography: childhood and adolescence
Mike Zambidis was born on July 15, 1980 in Athens. He began to get involved in sports from an early age. Parents drew attention to his plasticity and rushed to enroll in the gymnastics section. Then Mike was barely eight years old. He did not do gymnastics for long. Soon, Mike moved to the karate-shotokan section.
When Zambidis was 11 years old, he became interested in kickboxing. At the same time he trained in the Muay Thai section. He has won several junior kickboxing championships in Greece.
Career
They started talking about Zambidis in 1998, when he became the winner of the European championship among professional fighters. Then he was 18 years old. This victory marked the beginning of his brilliant sports career.
After 1, 5 years, he decided to move to Australia, which is known for a strong kickboxing school. Soon, Mike became the first world champion in the second welterweight category. True, according to the WOKA version, which is considered not so prestigious. However, this victory still inspired Zambidis to further intensify training.
Even then, he found his own style in the ring. Zambidis loved to imprint his opponent on the ropes and weighed out a whole series of cannon uppercuts and hooks of fierce force.
In the period from 2001 to 2002, Mike fought in two major world grand prix of the time: Le Grand Tournoi and K-1 MAX. However, then he did not go beyond the qualifying stages. The fighter did not despair and continued training.
Soon Mike won the King of the Ring Muay Thai tournament in Italy. The Greek won early in all three battles. A few months later, he brilliantly fought in his native Athens. Then Mike won by knockout the legend of the nineties - Hassan Kassriui. After that, he was dubbed a promising young fighter.
The next decade brought him many bright victories. True, Mike never won the King of the Ring Grand Prix. However, the audience loved him anyway, and in popularity he surpassed most of the fighters who defeated him.
In 2012, Zambidis stopped performing. However, he did not give up sports. After leaving the ring, he began to engage in coaching activities. From time to time he participates in various shows and television projects, and also conducts master classes in kickboxing.
Personal life
Zambidis does not like to talk about his personal life. It is known that he is not officially married. There is no information about children. In one of the interviews, the Greek noted that he considers his family the most serious fight in his life, for which he needs to prepare well.
