Tarik Solak

In 2003, Solak left K-1 and, by 2004, founded his new promotion A-1 World Combat Cup. A-1 was created with a show business concept that blended kickboxing with various spectacles. After several events in Australia, in 2005, A-1 held its first event in İstanbul and Solak bolstered his ties with the European kickboxing scene through his partnership with French co-promoter Kader Marouf. A-1 was well received by the Turkish public in following years and events promoted by Solak had serious representation in Turkish media. By 2006 and later, the show business aspect of A-1 was even furthered by Solak with the tournament A-1 Model Boxing that featured female fashion models. Turkish edition of Forbes magazine asserted in 2008 that the success of A-1 in Turkey resulted in a ‘kickboxing economy’ with very significant dimensions.

In 1999, Solak met K-1 founder Kazuyoshi Ishii in Japan. After becoming the CEO for K-1’s Oceania region, Solak promoted the first K-1 World Grand Prix event in Melbourne in 2001. Later K-1 fighters Mike Zambidis and Mark Hunt got their opportunities at K-1 events promoted by Solak.

Solak started his career as a kickboxing promoter in 1993 with an event where Turkish fighters trained by Jemal Hasan such as Tibet Hamza, Gerald Ilhan, Recep Saka, and Gürkan Özkan were featured. In the following year, Solak staged another show where Tibet Hamza vs. Gürkan Özkan bout was the main event. Major Australian sports broadcaster Fox Sports began covering Solak’s promotions and by 1998, Solak organised a major event at the Crown Casino and Entertainment Complex.

Tarik Solak (born 1964 in Ankara, Turkey) is a Turkish kickboxing promoter.