Constantin Rusu (born May 17, 1994) is a Moldovan kickboxer, currently competing in the lightweight division of

ONE Championship ONE Championship (formerly ONE Fighting Championship) is a Singaporean combat sports promotion. Founded on 14 July 2011 by entrepreneur Chatri Sityodtong and former ESPN Star Sports senior executive Victor Cui, its events have featured mixe ...

. He is the former KOK and FEA welterweight champion. A professional competitor since 2016, Rusu has also competed for

Colosseum Tournament The Colosseum Tournament (COLOSSEUM) is a kickboxing, mixed martial arts (MMA) and boxing promotion company based in Romania, which is owned by Gabriel Georgescu. It is one of the largest kickboxing promotions in the country, and takes its name ...

and

Dynamite Fighting Show The Dynamite Fighting Show (DFS) is a Romanian kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts (MMA), Professional boxing, boxing, kyokushin and taekwondo promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Bucharest, Romania, which is owned by vetera ...

in Romania. As of November 2022, he is ranked the #9 welterweight kickboxer in the world by Beyond Kick and #8 by Combat Press.

Kickboxing career

King of Kings

Rusu faced Denis Apavaloae at KOK Hero’s World Series on September 30, 2017. He won the fight by a first-round knockout. Rusu next faced Pavel Pravashynski at KOK World GP 2017 In Moldova on December 9, 2017. He once again won the fight by first-round stoppage, as he knocked Pravashynski out with a flurry of punches at the 1:37 minute mark. These two victories earned him a place in the 2018 King of Kings welterweight "Hero's Tournament", which took place on March 24, 2018. Rusu faced Matteo Calzetta in the semifinals of the one-day tournament and beat him by unanimous decision. He advanced to the finals, where he faced his countryman Dorel Cristian. Rusu won the fight and the tournament title by a narrow split decision. Rusu faced the two-time World Boxing Council Muaythai champion Cheick Sidibé in an 80 kilogram bout at the July 4, 2018, Tatneft Cup event. He won the fight by unanimous decision. Rusu made his second consecutive Tatneft Cup appearance against Victor Monfort on August 24, 2018, once again in an 80 kilogram bout. He won the fight by unanimous decision. Rusu was expected to face the reigning King of Kings Welterweight (-77 kg) champion Zaurs Džavadovs at KOK Fight Series 2018 in

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the B ...

on October 27, 2018. The pair previously fought in the finals of the 2017 KOK Hero's welterweight tournament, with Džavadovs winning their first meeting by unanimous decision. Džavadovs withdrew from the bout on October 26, due to problems with his vision, and was stripped of the belt. Džavadovs was diagnosed with

diplopia Diplopia is the simultaneous perception of two images of a single object that may be displaced horizontally or vertically in relation to each other. Also called double vision, it is a loss of visual focus under regular conditions, and is often ...

a few months before the title fight was supposed to take place. As his condition worsened in the days leading up to the fight, he wasn't cleared to compete at the pre-fight medical check. Rusu was rescheduled to face Latvian Aleksejs Marizihins for the vacant title at the same event. He won the fight by unanimous decision.

FEA

Rusu made his FEA Fighting Entertainment Association promotional debut against Chico Kwasi at FEA World Series 27 on December 8, 2018. He won the fight by unanimous decision. Rusu was then placed in the 2018 FEA Welterweight tournament, held to crown the FEA Welterweight (-77 kg) champion. He faced Alan Scheinson in the semifinals of the one-day tournament at FEA 28 on March 30, 2019. He won the fight by a second-round technical knockout, forcing a referee stoppage with a flurry of punches at the 1:53 minute mark. Rusu faced Dorel Cristian in the finals. He previously fought Cristian in the finals of the 2018 KOK Hero's Welterweight Tournament, when was able to beat him by split decision. Rusu was more convincing in the rematch, as he was needed just 53 seconds to knock his opponent out. Rusu faced Ricardo Fernades for the vacant WKL Middleweight (-75 kg) K-1 title at Fighting Championship Events on June 8, 2019. He won the fight by decision. Rusu moved down in weight in order to take part in the 2019 FEA Lightweight tournament. He was booked to face Furkan Karabag in the semifinals of the one-day tournament, which took place on August 17, 2019. Although Rusu was able to beat Karabag by split decision, he suffered a decision loss to Zhora Akopyan in the finals. The bout with Akopyan was ruled a draw after the first three rounds were contested, but a unanimous decision was awarded to the Armenian fighter after an extra fourth round was fought. Rusu was stripped of the King of Kings Welterweight (-77 kg) Championship on December 2, 2019, due to inactivity. Rusu faced Pavel Grishanovich at FEA: Keep Grinding 2 on December 7, 2019. He won the fight by unanimous decision. Rusu faced Mina Manoli at FEA Kickboxing: Reset on March 13, 2021, following a fifteen-month absence from the sport. He won the fight by unanimous decision.

Dynamite Fighting Show

In December 2021, it was reported that Robin Ciric, who had been slated to co-headline DFS 13 show against

Florin Lambagiu Florin Lambagiu (born 8 April 1996) is a Romanian professional kickboxer, former sambist and mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the super middleweight division of the Dynamite Fighting Show (DFS), where he is the former D ...

on December 15, had tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickl ...

, and that Rusu would be stepping in for Ciric. Rusu won the fight by an upset unanimous decision. He was nominated for a Debut of the Year award by the promotion.

ONE Championship

Rusu faced

Marouan Toutouh Marouan Toutouh (May 10, 1994) is a Moroccan-Dutch kickboxer. A professional competitor since 2014, Toutouh is the 2018 Enfusion Abu Dhabi -72.5kg Tournament runner-up and the 2019 Kunlun Fight World Max -70kg Tournament runner-up. Kickboxing care ...

in his

debut at

ONE 158 ''ONE 158: Tawanchai vs. Larsen'' was a combat sports event produced by ONE Championship that took place on June 3, 2022, at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore. Background A ONE Strawweight Championship bout between current two- ...

on June 3, 2022. He won the fight by unanimous decision. Rusu scored the sole knockdown of the fight in the first round, as he dropped Toutouh with a spinning backfist. Rusu faced

Islam Murtazaev Islam Murtazaev ( Russian: Ислам Муртазаев; born April 13, 1991) is a Russian kickboxer and mixed martial artist. As of March 2023, he is ranked as the fourth best middleweight in the world by Beyond Kick. Biography and career ...

ONE 162 ''ONE 162: Zhang vs. Di Bella'' was a Combat sport event produced by ONE Championship that took place on October 21, 2022 at the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Background A ONE Strawweight Kickboxing World Championship bout for the va ...

on October 21, 2022, stepping in as a short-notice replacement for

Nieky Holzken Nicolaas Hubertus Holzken (born December 16, 1983) is a Dutch super middleweight kickboxer and professional boxer currently signed to ONE Championship, where he competes in the Lightweight division. He is the former Glory Welterweight Champion. ...

, who withdrew with an injury. At the weigh-ins, Rusu failed hydration test and was forced to take a catchweight, coming in at 173.25 lbs, 3.25 pounds over the limit. Rusu won the fight by unanimous decision. Rusu faced Bogdan Shumarov at ONE Fight Night 12 on July 14, 2023.

Championships and accomplishments

**2021 Debut of the Year nomination * King of Kings **2018 KOK Welterweight Championship **2018 KOK Hero's Welterweight Tournament Winner **2017 KOK Hero's Welterweight Tournament Runner-up *FEA Fighting Entertainment Association **2018 FEA Welterweight Championship **2019 FEA Lightweight Tournament Runner-up *World Kickboxing League **2019 WKL Middleweight (-75 kg) K-1 Championship

Kickboxing record

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rusu, Constantin Living people 1998 births ONE Championship kickboxers Sportspeople from Chișinău Moldovan male kickboxers Moldovan people of Romanian descent

External links

Profile
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