Byon World Grand Prix 2026: date and venue
The Byon World Grand Prix takes place on Saturday 12 December 2026 at Indonesia Arena, Jakarta.
Byon’s own posts give that date and venue. So do the Indonesian news sites Disway and Merdeka.
Byon says every fight will take place at Indonesia Arena. It calls it “panggung terbesar yang pernah digunakan BYON Combat”. That means the biggest stage Byon Combat has ever used.
You may see “Bandung Arena” next to the Grand Prix name online. Bandung Arena hosted a qualifier, Byon Madness 5, on 3 October 2026. The Grand Prix itself is in Jakarta.
Byon’s tagline for the road to December is short: “The Hunt for Gold Begins”.
Byon Grand Prix format: eight men, one night, one belt
The Byon Grand Prix is a one-night kickstriking tournament.
Byon calls the format a first: an eight-man tournament. There are two weight classes: lightweight at 61 kg and welterweight at 67 kg.
In each class, Byon says, the eight best fighters from around the world will meet. They will fight for the Byon World Kickstriking Title Belt “dalam satu malam”, in one night.
It will be Byon’s first world title belt. Byon’s post says only the strongest will last to the end and take it home. Antara counts 16 fighters across the two weight classes.
If the bracket runs as a standard knockout, the winner must win three fights in one night. That means a quarter-final, a semi-final and a final. As of 16 October 2026, Byon has not published the bracket.
Some details are still to come:
- Prize money has not been announced. Prize claims on social media are not confirmed by Byon.
- The number of rounds per bout has not been announced. The UCC rulebook says the UCC sets this before each bout.
- The draw, meaning who fights whom first, has not been published.
One thing is certain. Kickstriking bans draws, so every bout on the night must produce a winner.
How fighters qualified: golden tickets
Places in the Grand Prix were won at Byon events through the year.
Byon said qualifying would run all year through events such as Byon Combat Showbiz. Winners at those events took a “golden ticket”.
Byon Madness 5 in Bandung had six ticket fights, Merdeka reported. The 61 kg field was set the next day, on 4 October.
At least one 61 kg place went to a wild card.
Byon even used the Grand Prix to sell its August show. Buyers of a Showbiz 8 ticket got a free ticket to the Grand Prix, Byon’s Facebook page said.
The 61 kg field
Eight fighters make up the 61 kg field.
Fight media outlet Freefly posted the full field on 4 October 2026. Every name but the wild card is backed by a second source.
- Putra Abdullah (Malaysia). He was the first fighter to win a golden ticket. He won the Byon Kickstriking Asia belt by beating Ronal Siahaan over five rounds at Showbiz 7. He is number one in the UCC’s public 61 kg ranking.
- Umar Usman (Malaysia). He also fights as Umar Al-Matin, and Byon’s site lists him as Umarusman. He lost to Aaron at Showbiz 8, then beat Kabilan Jelevan at Madness 5.
- Nelson “Nyong” Julianto (Indonesia). He won at Showbiz 8 and was named for the Grand Prix that night.
- Rachmat Rizal “KKCAL” Gozali (Indonesia). He beat Rendi Singgih at Madness 5. The results write-up said this won the last ticket to represent Indonesia.
- Aaron “The Bounty Hunter” Clarke (Ireland). He beat Azwan Che Wil at Showbiz 7 and Umar at Showbiz 8.
- Omer Cavgin (Turkey). He won at Showbiz 8. Antara spells his first name Omar.
- Meven Jourdain (France). He beat Thailand’s Topnoi Kiwram at Madness 5.
- Pich Sambath (Cambodia). He got his place as the wild card.
The 67 kg field is filling in the same way. Madness 5 tickets went to Aditya Armadani (Indonesia), Iman Rakib (Malaysia) and Amin Guliyev (Azerbaijan). Ammarul Shafiq of Malaysia also qualified, after he beat Jeka Saragih at Showbiz 8.
Aaron Clarke’s road to the Grand Prix
Aaron needed two Byon fights to book his place.
Aaron Clarke is an Irish fighter who trains at Soma Fight Club in Bali. He came up at Naas Kickboxing in Ireland, and his story runs from there to Jakarta. His Instagram bio reads: “Proud Irishman by blood, with a heart for Indonesia”.
He arrived at Byon with experience. In 2021 he won the ISKA K-1 lightweight Irish title. In June 2023 he fought K-1 lightweight champion Yuki Yoza in Yokohama, Japan. He lost that fight on a unanimous decision.
Here is how he earned his ticket:
- Showbiz 7, 25 April 2026, Kuala Lumpur. In his Byon debut, he stopped Malaysia’s Azwan Che Wil by TKO. Byon named him MVP Gold and called it a perfect debut. Full story: Azwan Che Wil vs Aaron Clarke.
- Showbiz 8, 29 August 2026, Jakarta. He stopped Umar Al-Matin by TKO in round 3. Antara said a knee to the liver ended it. Byon’s own posts also mention a spinning back heel kick to the body. Full story: Aaron Clarke vs Umarusman.
Byon president Yoshua Marcellos gave his verdict that night. Antara quoted him: “Dengan performa seperti itu, Aaron Clarke dari Irlandia, selamat datang di Byon World Grand Prix!”
That means: “With a performance like that, Aaron Clarke from Ireland, welcome to the Byon World Grand Prix!”
Antara also called Aaron a fighter famous for his deadly elbows. Byon named him MVP Gold for the second show in a row.
Aaron Clarke’s record going into December
Aaron goes into the Grand Prix with 17 known results since 2016.
- 10 wins and 7 losses, by our count. No record site lists every bout, so Tapology and Muay Thai Records each show only part of it.
- 8 of the 10 wins ended early, by knockout or TKO.
- Every known win since 2024 has been a stoppage, including both Byon fights.
- Both his fights in Japan went the full three rounds. He lost decisions to Yuki Yoza at K-1 in 2023 and to Yuzuki Satomi at Krush 167 in 2024.
Every bout, with a source on each line, is on his fight record page.
A possible Umarusman rematch
Aaron could meet a familiar face in December.
Umar won his own ticket on 3 October, five weeks after his loss to Aaron. Both men are now in the 61 kg field.
A rematch is possible, but no bracket has been published. In a knockout format, two fighters only meet if the draw or the results put them together.
Byon Combat rankings: the UCC 61 kg top five
Byon’s kickstriking bouts run under the UCC, and the UCC publishes a world ranking. Only the top five are public.
On 16 October 2026, the public top five at 61 kg read:
- Putra Abdullah
- Kabilan Jelevan
- Ronal Siahaan
- Fahri Alamsyah
- Umar Almatin
The rest of the top ten needs a login. That includes Aaron’s place, so we do not state it here.
Two of the public top five are in the Grand Prix: Putra and Umar. Kabilan lost his ticket fight to Umar at Madness 5.
Kickstriking rules in plain English
Kickstriking is a stand-up sport with its own rulebook, run by the Uni Combat Council (UCC).
Byon introduced kickstriking in 2025. Disway reported that Byon CEO Yoshua Marcellos described it as a new rule set for “tendang pukul”, or kick-and-punch, fights. The UCC calls its rulebook the “Holy Book”.
These are the main rules on what fighters can do:
- Fighters may use punches, kicks, knees and elbows.
- Punches can land with the front of the fist or the backfist, including the spinning backfist.
- Kicks can land with the instep, the shin or the sole of the foot. Targets are the head, body and legs.
- Calf kicks are legal. They only score if they do real damage or knock the leg out of place.
- Oblique kicks are banned. That is a stabbing kick below the waist aimed at the joints.
- Knees can go to the head and body. Fighters may not pull the head down to land them.
- Slicing elbows are legal. Downward elbows, including the 12-6 elbow, are banned.
- A clinch can last one to three seconds, and it must end with one attack. Clinching to rest is a foul.
- Fighters can catch kicks, but not punches. The rule is one catch, one strike, then let go.
- Sweeps, throws and takedowns are banned in every situation.
- Strikes to the back of the head, the throat, the back of the body and the groin are banned.
- Moves that send the attacker to the floor on purpose, such as rolling thunder or capoeira-style attacks, are banned.
And these are the rules on rounds and scoring:
- Rounds last three minutes, with one minute of rest.
- Three judges score each round on the 10-9 must system. A 10-10 round is not allowed.
- Judges look first at clean strikes and damage. Next comes effective aggression, then ring control, then defence.
- One knockdown in a round scores 10-8. Two knockdowns score 10-7.
- Three knockdowns in one round end the fight. Four across the whole fight mean a TKO.
- Advanced strikes can score higher if they land cleanly and do damage. The rulebook lists spinning elbows, head kicks and flying knees among them.
- There are no draws. If the scores are level, both fighters get three minutes to prepare. Then they fight a three-minute Judgement Round.
- In the Judgement Round, each judge must pick the red or the blue corner. The majority wins.
Safety comes first in the rulebook. The ring doctor has the final word and can stop a fight at any time.
How kickstriking differs from Muay Thai
Kickstriking uses the same four weapons as Muay Thai, but it is not the same sport.
Disway makes the point plainly. Having the four strikes “bukan berarti Kickstriking sama dengan Muay Thai”. That means it does not make kickstriking the same as Muay Thai. Disway says the UCC sets its own limits on techniques, targets, the clinch and scoring.
- The clinch. Indonesian Wikipedia’s kickstriking page says it limits clinching a lot compared with traditional Muay Thai. The UCC rulebook caps a clinch at three seconds.
- Sweeps and throws. The same page says kickstriking does not allow sweeps or throws. The rulebook bans sweeps “in any form”.
Kickstriking also differs from some kickboxing formats. Disway notes that the WAKO low-kick format bans knees and elbows. Kickstriking allows both.
Aaron knows several rule sets. Before Byon, he fought under K-1, Muay Thai, pro boxing and MMA Striking rules.
Byon Combat: the promotion behind it
Byon Combat is an Indonesian promotion founded in 2023.
Its founder, president and CEO is Yoshua Marcellos Muliardo. He is a YouTuber known as Celloszxz, with 7.41 million subscribers in May 2026. Byon is based in Bekasi, Indonesia.
Byon Combat Showbiz is the main event series. Byon Madness is the second. Showbiz 7 in Kuala Lumpur was Byon’s first event abroad. Madness 5 in Bandung was the first Madness card outside Jakarta.
Byon’s website makes big claims for its reach:
- More than 108 million total streams.
- More than 1 million pay-per-view buys.
- More than 15,000 tickets sold.
- More than 70 fighters.
Byon says Showbiz 3, in June 2024, broke the Asian pay-per-view record with 300,018 buys on Vidio. Indonesian Wikipedia says Showbiz 5 went further in 2025. It reports a record from MURI, the Indonesian Records Museum, of 536,000 buys on Vidio.
Where to watch the Byon World Grand Prix
Byon’s events stream live on Vidio pay-per-view.
Merdeka reported that Madness 5 aired only on Vidio, through a pay-per-view package. Byon has its own category page on Vidio, where its events are listed.
The Grand Prix pay-per-view price has not been published yet. Check Vidio closer to the date.
For venue tickets, Byon links to its ticket site, Byontix.
What comes next for Aaron
Aaron has made his goal public.
After the Umar fight, he posted: “Told you the notebook doesn’t lie”. He tagged Cellos with a promise: “I promise you I will be your Grand Prix Champion”. On 1 September he added: “Grand Prix King coming”.
On 12 December, Aaron gets his chance to back up those words.
If your brand wants to stand behind an Irish fighter on Byon’s biggest night, see the sponsorship page.
