The Kurdish kickboxer Hakar Gardi has won the Malaysia Beatdown Championship 75kg K-1 Kickboxing title after defeating Malaysian fighter Lee Haan Yuan by knockout in the second round of a five-round main event fight held in Kuala Lumpur.

The championship took place on July 11, 2026, in Kota Damansara, Kuala Lumpur, bringing together international fighters and champions from across the region. The victory marked a historic achievement, with the fighter becoming the first Kurd to claim the Malaysian championship belt and dedicate the win to Kurdistan and its flag.

“Once again, as the first Kurd in history, I recorded a victory in the name of Kurdistan and the flag of Kurdistan. This is the greatest pride and honor for me as a fighter, a champion, and a Kurdish individual,” Gardi told Kurdistan Chronicle.

“Without having a team or a coach, completely on my own in East Asian countries, I compete against international champions and fighters. Despite having hundreds of problems and lacking the necessities for full preparation, I record victory after victory.

“To such an extent, Asian fighters now call me the ‘Kurdish Ronin’. In Japanese legend and philosophy, a ‘Ronin’ means a samurai without a master and without a leader. They travel and fight completely on their own. I have taken the exact same path and approach, but with a Kurdish spirit. I am very proud of it. Let the whole world know how strong the will and self-confidence of a Kurd is who can compete and fight the world without a master, coach, or team. Long live Kurds, long live Kurdistan,” he concluded.

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Gardi, who is originally from Erbil in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, also won gold medals at the Asia Pacific Open Championships 2026, held in Bali, Indonesia, competing in the K-1 kickboxing style in the 76.1–79 kg weight class from February 24 to 28, 2026.

Moreover, he became the first Kurdish fighter to win at the World Kickboxing Network Malaysia National Championships, held on October 25, 2025, in Johor Bahru, Malaysia.