Knockouts, while far from a rarity, are not the most common way for Muay Thai and kickboxing bouts to end. Chalk it up to contests that are typically scheduled for just three to five rounds, competitors using styles that focus a lot on strikes to the legs and body instead of head-hunting for KOs, plus an international talent pool that has a lot more fleet-footed featherweights than lumber-fisted heavyweights.

That’s where Akram Hamidi is an outlier. The 25-year-old Muslim, who represents France and Algeria for the ONE Championship promotion (among others), has made a habit of ending his recent fights by knockout — or by getting knocked out.

Since he turned pro at 17 years old, Hamidi has a kickboxing/Muay Thai record of 32-5-1 with 20 KO victories and two defeats by KO. In his four fights with ONE Championship (three Muay Thai, one kickboxing), he’s 2-2 with two knockout wins and one knockout loss. (The one decision was in his one kickboxing bout.) In his most recent fight, Hamidi was stopped in the first round by Sam-A Gaiyanghadao on Sept. 27; prior to that, Hamidi scored a first-round TKO against Kongchai Chanaidonmuang on June 8.

Hamidi is ranked No. 9 among 126-pounders (featherweight) by Combat Press in their most recent global Muay Thai rankings. In kickboxing, he’s ranked No. 9 among 121-pounders (super flyweight) by Beyond Kickboxing. He’s currently the ISKA K-1 Rules kickboxing world champion at 117 pounds (flyweight) and the WKN K-1 world champion at 121 points (flyweight).

Hamidi, a.k.a. “La Pepite,” which translates to “The Nugget,” has also dabbled in boxing — he is 1-0 as a professional, defeating Jean Christophe Gomis by decision in 2022.

Some of the best practitioners in the world of kickboxing and Muay Thai have low KO rates. Petpanomrung “Petch” Kiatmuukao, the GLORY Kickboxing world featherweight champion, has 27 knockouts among his 171 career victories and has never been knocked out in his 41 losses. Superbon Banchamek, the reigning ONE Championship kickboxing featherweight champion, has 29 knockouts among his 116 wins.

Meanwhile, Hamidi’s 62.5 percent knockout ratio (20 KOs in 32 wins) looks more like that of a boxer. It’s not purely a product of concussion one-shot power; it’s a mix of fast hands and a commitment to working the body and changing levels. Essentially, he gives opponents a lot to absorb, and eventually the punishment accumulates and someone gets caught by something they were unable to block.

In these combat sports, he’s just different.