On April 19, Dutch promotion WFL will stage an event featuring a 70-kilogram qualifying tournament, with the winner earning a spot in the K-1 final event scheduled for December.
A high-stakes road to Japan begins on April 19 when Ukraine’s Stas Kazantsev enters a WFL qualifying tournament in the Netherlands, opening his run against local fighter Mitchell Lammers. The winner of the 70-kilogram bracket will secure a place in K-1’s year-end finals in December, giving the event real significance beyond a typical regional card.
For Kazantsev, an Odessa native competing at lightweight, the task is simple and brutal: win three times in one night and punch his ticket to one of kickboxing’s most recognizable stages. His first hurdle is Lammers, who will have the obvious advantage of fighting on home soil in front of a Dutch crowd that traditionally turns out strong for stand-up events.
That setting matters. The Netherlands remains one of kickboxing’s deepest talent hubs, and beating a Dutch fighter in a Dutch promotion is the kind of result that tends to resonate with fans and matchmakers alike. From an American combat-sports perspective, this is the kind of grinder’s path that still gives K-1 qualification tournaments their appeal: no easy route, no manufactured buildup, just survival under pressure.
The stakes are also bigger for the division picture than they might look at first glance. If Kazantsev gets through the bracket, Ukraine would add another representative to the K-1 finals and further strengthen its presence in a talent pool usually dominated by Japanese and Dutch names. If Lammers advances instead, the host nation keeps its footing in a weight class where local fighters are always expected to contend.
Kazantsev also has something specific to prove. Winning three fights in one evening demands pace management, durability, and composure as much as raw skill, and that tournament format can expose holes fast. Earlier, fellow Ukrainian Sergey Adamchuk already locked up his own place in the K-1 final tournament, so Kazantsev now has a chance to make Ukraine one of the more interesting storylines heading into December.
The first matchup with Lammers will set the tone, and if Kazantsev gets past that, the path to Japan suddenly becomes very real.
