In 1994, the World Kickboxing Network was founded as a subsidiary of (ISKA) to capture new markets. The ISKA's operations were concentrated in the North American market, while WKN was focusing in Europe, Asia & South America. In the 1990s there was strong competition between kickboxing federations. On September 19, 1998, WKN became the first organization to promote a world championship in
Muay Thai on the same event as a
boxing world championship.
Jérôme Le Banner vs. Espedito Da Silva for the WKN World super heavyweight Muay Thai title was sanctioned on the undercard of
Evander Holyfield vs. Vaughn Bean for the
WBA and
IBF heavyweight titles at
Georgia Dome in
Atlanta. The event was organized in collaboration with promoter
Don King whom raised the hand of Le Banner, crowned new WKN Muay Thai world champion after knocking out Da Silva in the first-round. On October 22, 2004, WKN made history in kickboxing by promoting the first kickboxing world championship bout in
Romania. Samir Mohamed vs. Alexander Kozachenko for the WKN World super lightweight title headlined the
Eurosport and
Pro TV televised event Local Kombat 10 in the city of
Brăila. The local Kombat promotion later developed into the Superkombat Fighting Championship, with its winners competing for the WKN titles. In January 2011,
International Vale Tudo Championship (IVC) announced its return with a new ruleset based on the
Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts. On August 20, 2016, WKN brought IVC back to the international scene by co-promoting
Micheletti Vs. Ortiz for the WKN World super cruiserweight World title in the main event of IVC 15 in
Sao Paulo, Brazil. Micheletti defeated Ortiz and took the title by knockout in the first round. After IVC 15, there were no more events and the organization is currently on hiatus. After IVC 15 there were no more events and the organization is currently on hiatus. In 2014, WKN launched a world series of international kickboxing events named
Simply the Best which was broadcast on
FOX Sports and SFR Sport 5. == WKN World Cup ==