Dennis Raymond Alexio, born on March 12, 1959, is a former American kickboxer who competed across multiple weight divisions including light heavyweight, cruiserweight, and heavyweight. He began his career as a light heavyweight, boasting an impressive undefeated streak marked by knockout victories.
However, in 1984, he suffered a decision loss to Don "The Dragon" Wilson in a WKA World Super Light Heavyweight Full Contact Championship match. Alexio quickly bounced back by winning the PKA World Light Heavyweight title in the same year. He then moved up to cruiserweight and secured the ISKA World Cruiserweight Full Contact title.
In the late 1980s, Alexio transitioned to the heavyweight division and achieved remarkable success, capturing six world titles and briefly being regarded as the undisputed World Heavyweight Champion. However, he encountered two challenging opponents in 1992, Branko Cikatić and Stan Longinidis. His bout against Cikatić ended in a controversial draw, while he suffered a loss to Longinidis through an early low kick knockout.
Alexio retired with an impressive knockout ratio of 92%, utilizing aggressive fighting tactics, solid boxing skills, and a powerful spinning back kick to the midsection. It should be noted that he primarily competed under full contact rules, leading to criticism that he often faced lower-level opponents despite being active during the heavyweight kickboxing's Golden Age in the 1990s. Wilson, Cikatić, and Longinidis are widely recognized as his only top-level adversaries, none of whom he managed to defeat.
In 1993, Dennis Alexio, who was considered one of kickboxing's prominent stars at the time, declined an invitation to participate in UFC 1, the inaugural mixed martial arts tournament in North America. After recovering from a broken leg, he made a comeback on January 22, 1994, defending his PKC World Heavyweight Full Contact title with a technical knockout victory over Mark Russell in Lake Tahoe.
His notable fight following the comeback took place on March 26, 1994, at KarateMania VIII in Montreal, where he successfully defended the PKC belt against Dick Kimber, securing a TKO victory in the second round.
Throughout his career, Alexio predominantly fought in Honolulu and adhered to full contact rules. He faced criticism from Rick Roufus and Maurice Smith during the mid-1990s, with allegations that he avoided high-level heavyweights including them. On May 31, 1997, Alexio won the vacant IKF World Heavyweight Championship by defeating Barrington Patterson from England via TKO in the fifth round in Honolulu.
He defended his title for the first time on November 21, 1997, defeating Jeff Gibson. In May 1998, he defended his title once again by securing a TKO victory over Achille Roger of France in Sacramento, California. The IKF retired his title on November 24, 2003, as they were unable to contact Alexio to discuss his future plans for the sport.
Dennis Alexio's final fight occurred on December 18, 1999, at the Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu, where he knocked out Gordon Minors from Wales to claim the WAKO Pro World Heavyweight Full Contact Championship, marking his eighth world title.
By Tiago "The Eliminator" Cruise
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