Karate Combat Makes Offer To Future Olympic Gold Winners

Karate will take place at the 2020 Summer Olympics, and Karate Combat will be keeping an eye on it.

Karate Combat president Adam Kovacs will sign any gold medalist from the Olympics to a six-figure, multi-year contract.

“Muhammad Ali, Anthony Joshua, Oscar de la Hoya – there’s a long list of boxers who have won gold at the Olympics and gone on to become legends as professionals,” Kovacs said. We’ve also seen wrestlers like Henry Cejudo, Yoel Romero and judo players like Ronda Rousey transition into professional MMA.

“Karate fighters have never had that opportunity – until now. We want the elite karateka of Tokyo to know that their journey doesn’t end here – there’s a professional contract waiting for them if they want to take that next step.”

The competition started on Thursday and runs through Saturday. A total of 37 countries will be represented from over 80 competitors. 

Several of this week’s participants are already signed to Karate Combat, including Rafael Aghayev. Widely considered the best pound-for-pound karate fighter in the world, the Azerbaijani is odds-on favorite to win gold in the 75kg men’s division.

Karate Combat talent scouts are on-site in Tokyo and will begin making outreach to target athletes once final results are announced. Professional debuts could be made as early as Fall 2021 when the next cycle of Karate Combat events takes place