The Flying Gentleman
Remy Bonjasky
Airborne knees and kicks timed against forward movement. Effective specifically because K-1 rules forbid the throws that would punish leaving the floor.
Remy Bonjasky won three K-1 Grand Prix titles with a style that looked nothing like the Dutch orthodoxy around him. Where his countrymen worked patiently behind hands and low kicks, Bonjasky left the floor — flying knees and jumping kicks thrown with the timing of someone who had studied exactly when an opponent commits their weight forward.
The airborne techniques were not showmanship, though they read that way. A flying knee only works against forward movement, because the closing speeds add; Bonjasky's skill was in provoking that movement and then meeting it. He would give ground deliberately, invite the pursuit, and launch on the second step. Opponents who learned to hold their distance neutralised much of it, which is why his record contains both spectacular finishes and cagey decisions.
He is also a useful case study in ruleset risk. Under Sanda or shootboxing, where a fighter arriving airborne can be caught and dumped, his signature weapon would be a liability rather than an asset. K-1's prohibition on throws is precisely what made that style viable at the top level.