Liu Hailong

Liu Hailong (Chinese: 柳海龙, pinyin: Liǔ Hǎilóng, born May 30, 1981 in Shandong Province) is a Chinese Sanshou kickboxer. Lius rise to fame came in 2000 in the inaugural King of Sanda tournament. Liu not only won his weight class, but went on to win a grueling one-night open weight round robin tournament against much bigger fighters as well, giving him the title Sanda King of Kings. Exciting and charismatic, Liu is almost certainly Chinas most recognized combat athlete.In 2003, Liu faced a fellow King of Sanda in Yuan Yubao in the promotions first superfight, defeating him soundly by decision to earn the title of Super King of Sanda.At the Sanshou World Championships in Macau, Liu faced Muslim Salihov in amateur rules competition and beat him on points to win the 80 kg division gold medal. Salihov is a highly accomplished Russian Sanshou fighter who would later become a King of Sanda himself. Some fight observers believe Salihov won the closely contested match.In December 2003, Liu scored a unanimous decision over Eduardo Fujihara to claim the IKF Sanshou World Championship. Other Chinese fighters who participated in that event include Bao Li Gao.At the World Sanda Kings tournament in 2003 there was a challenge issued by well-known American Sanshou fighter Cung Le to Liu Hailong for a ``superfight`` to decide who was the best in the world. However the highly anticipated matchup never materialized between the two sides.After an injury in 2005, Liu retired from the sport. In 2009, he made a comeback facing and KOing Japanese fighter Iga Koji.

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