Eder Lopes: K’Festa 3 Grand Prix and Training Under Quarantine #kickboxing

At K-1 K’Festa 3, Eder Lopes took part in the event’s Grand Prix. Lopes won his first bout against Katsuya Jinbo and lost his second bout to the eventual winner of the tournament, Minoru Kimura. Lopes is only 22 and has a long career of kickboxing ahead of him. This night made him a better fighter.

From Football to Kickboxing

Starting out, Lopes has always had fighting in his blood. But while he was seemingly destined for fighting, Eder Lopes has not always pursued kickboxing.

“I always loved to fight. I played a lot with my friends and my brother, although he didn’t like it very much. But in fact, I never imagined being a kickboxing fighter until I left football* because I didn’t have much way. I just came to believe that I could be a kickboxing fighter after I started training with my trainer Gonçalo Silva in 2014.”

*that is soccer for you American readers

That’s right, Lopes has only been fighting since 2014. Fortunately, he started training at 16. Now 22, Lopes is already among the best in the world and is still improving.

Outside of kickboxing, Edar Lopes holds a day job as an electrician. He takes pride in providing to those in Portugal.

“I am outside kickboxing I work as an electrician in a company that provides services in the distribution of electricity in Portugal.”

Eder Lopes at K’Festa 3

His first fight ended in a TKO victory early in round two with two knockdowns. “After this fight I was very happy with my victory, because my opponent, Katsuya Jinbo, was strong and I managed to shorten the first fight, which was to help pass the second stage in the tournament.”

Unfortunately, the second fight didn’t go Edar Lopes’ way. He lost in the first round to Minoru Kimura, who went on to win the entire Grand Prix. It’s no shame in losing the fight. Lopes has put in time thinking about his loss and excited to have learned from the fight.

“In the second fight I made a very serious mistake, which was not to study my opponent anymore! And I went to his game, which was boxing without much caution,” says Lopes. He continues, “But I learned a lot from this fight so this experience will help me in the future challenges in the future.”

Keeping Your Goals

Eder Lopes has one goal in mind: the title. He had prepared for three fights at K’Festa 3 and will be ready for the next one.

“My goal was to take three fights and win three. I wanted to take the title home, and winning the second one would bring me closer to the final. Despite having some pain in my foot, I was very excited for the second fight. I had prepared myself to do three fights.”

Dealing With COVID-19

COVID-19 is sweeping the globe and has entire countries on shutdown. Some people are out of work and entire school systems are shut down. K-1 was the source of much controversy holding their event with a crowd on the cusp of everything shutting down. Eder Lopes was affected by the closures during the epidemic.

”COVID-19 affected my training a little in the week before the fight. My gym closed and I had to train on the street with my trainer because it was the only way! But that was not a big problem because we had been preparing for combat for some time. So we just made a little adaptation, because even on the street we could train and go strong for the fight!”

It’s hard to argue with the results. Lopes did manage to move on to the semifinals of the Grand Prix with a knockout. Lopes might not have won the entire thing but he proved that he belonged amongst the best.

As for what’s next, Eder Lopes is taking it one day at a time with the epidemic going around. All of his attention is on staying safe during this tough time. Once things are clear, he will be ready to take on what is next in his kickboxing career.

“I do not know what is coming next,” Edar says. “But whatever it is, at this moment I am more concerned with overcoming this difficulty that we are all concerned with, COVID-19. When we overcome this I will work hard to tackle the next challenges that are here.”

Don’t expect Lopes to jump ship for any other sport any time soon. He’s chosen his path as a kickboxer and is hoping it brings him great places. “I only practice kickboxing! And this is where I hope to make my story!”

Eder Lopes is only 22 years old. His story is just starting and even at the high level he is at now, his prime is still a bit off. As he grows, his story will unfold.

Be sure to follow Eder Lopes on Instagram to follow his kickboxing journey!