8 Most Unfair Cobra Kai Fights That Should’ve Ended Differently

Cobra Kai is jam-packed with many intense and close fights, but not all of them were fair because of how they unfolded. While many fights in Cobra Kai unfold as fully sanctioned bouts and are backed with rules that ensure both parties have a fair shot at winning, others take place in some of the most random places and lack any sense of structure or rules.

Owing to this, most fights belonging to the latter category are rarely fair. Interestingly, however, as most viewers of the long-running Netflix series would recall, several tournament-level fights were also far from clean and marred by unsportsmanlike conduct or biased judging.

While some might argue that regardless of how one wins a fight, a win is a win, Cobra Kai always makes one wonder what the outcome of a fight would have been if the conditions surrounding it were a little different. Therefore, it is worth speculating how certain match-ups would have played out had the playing field been level.

8

Robby Vs. Miguel

Season 1’s All-Valley Final

It would be unfair to say that Miguel did not deserve his first All-Valley win in Cobra Kai season 1. At the same time, one can also not deny that he had a clear advantage in his final fight against Robby because Robby was severely injured and on the verge of backing off from the tournament before the final showdown.

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While Miguel put up an incredible performance and proved he had the potential to become the next “Karate Kid,” Robby, too, was seemingly no less skilled as a fighter. If Robby had not injured himself in a previous fight, he would have had better odds of winning against Miguel, which made the fight slightly unfair.

7

Robby Vs. Miguel

Season 2’s School Fight

Robby and Miguel fought toe-to-toe in Cobra Kai season 2’s ending school showdown before Miguel gradually gained an edge over Robby with his fighting skills. However, after recalling Johnny’s advice about showing mercy towards his opponents, Miguel decided to be the bigger man and let Robby go.

To his dismay, Robby refused to back off and kicked him off the railing. The fight left Miguel with a broken back, which nearly altered the course of his life. Without a shadow of a doubt, Robby’s win in this fight was anything but honorable. Robby eventually made up for his mistakes, but in the fight, he clearly took advantage of Miguel’s compassion.

6

Robby Vs. Axel

Season 6’s Sekai Taikai

After being portrayed as one of the strongest fighters in Cobra Kai, Robby seems to experience a sudden dip in focus in the show’s final arc. Fortunately, he locks in and trains harder to be able to return to form before his career-defining fight with Axel. Even though Axel seems to be levels above him in terms of skill and experience, Robby gives him a run for his money.

Robby’s sheer will to win and keep fighting against the formidable opponent forces Axel to lose his patience. As a result, Axel listens to Coach Wolf and resorts to unfair means to win the fight. He intentionally twists Robby’s leg and severely injures him to ensure he becomes incapable of continuing the fight.

Given how Robby was gradually breaking Axel’s confidence, he seemingly could have won the fight and landed a place in the Sekai Taikai finals. On the bright side, despite his unfair loss, Robby takes his defeat like a champion and learns many valuable lessons from it instead of letting it weigh him down.

5

Hawk Vs. Kenny

Season 5’s Sekai Taikai Qualifiers

Hawk and Kenny’s first official showdown ensued during the Sekai Taikai qualifiers in Cobra Kai season 5. The previous season had already established Hawk as one of the better fighters by showing how he had won the All-Valley. Owing to this, it was hard not to believe he would beat Kenny.

Kenny was also relatively new to the world of karate, which made him far less experienced than Hawk. However, Kenny had one unfair but effective move at his disposal: Terry Silver’s “Silver Bullet.” After realizing that he would lose against Hawk if he played fair, Kenny used the “Silver Bullet” to knock the wind out of him.

The move likely would have been illegal in a full-fledged tournament. However, Kenny gets away with it in the qualifier fight and wins the match against the All-Valley champion.

4

Sam Vs. Tory

Season 4’s All-Valley Finals

Sam and Tory were nearly on the same level as fighters almost throughout Cobra Kai‘s runtime. This always made their fights gripping as it was hard to predict who among them would win. Even their All-Valley showdown in Cobra Kai season 4 highlighted how they were both equally skilled and deserving of the final win.

Unfortunately, before they could fairly determine who was the better fighter among them, Terry Silver bribed the referee to ensure he favored Tory. This helped Tory secure the final win and left Sam with an unfair loss. Of course, Tory isn’t to be blamed for this because she was unaware of what Silver had done.

3

Silver Vs. Chozen

Season 5’s Silver Mansion Fight

Silver had no chance against Chozen in a fair fight when the two characters fought one-on-one in Cobra Kai season 5’s climactic showdown at Terry’s mansion. While Silver was seemingly away from karate for quite some time before Kreese convinced him to return, Chozen had been training for years.

This made Chozen the obvious superior fighter. However, as always, Silver did not play it fair and picked up a weapon midway through the fight. To counter him, Chozen too wielded a smaller sword to be able to defend himself. Despite having a major disadvantage, Chozen managed to overpower Silver.

Unfortunately, just when Chozen started walking away from the fight, Silver slashed his back with his sword and left him unconscious and bleeding. Terry, unsurprisingly, cheated his way towards a win. In a fair fight, though, Silver would not even come close to beating Chozen.

2

Hawk Vs. Demetri

Season 3’s Laser Tag Arena Fight

Demetri may not always rank among Cobra Kai‘s best fighters, but he often leaves many surprised with his ability to learn quickly. Sadly, for him, things do not fall in his favor when he encounters Hawk and his Cobra Kai crew in season 3 at the Laser Tag arena. The Cobra Kai fighters outnumber him before Hawk takes him down.

After being too consumed by his toxic Cobra Kai learnings, Hawk mercilessly breaks his former best friend’s arm just to prove a point. Demetri may not have been the better fighter, but he did not deserve to be treated with such cruelty, that, too, by Eli. Fortunately, Hawk eventually learns from his mistakes in the same Cobra Kai season and redeems himself before it is too late.

1

Kenny Vs. Devon

Season 6’s Sekai Taikai Selection Round

Cobra Kai season 6 nerfed Kenny in the worst possible way. After hyping him up for five seasons and showing how he was growing from strength to strength to become one of the fastest learners of karate, Cobra Kai nerfed him in his competition against Devon.

Kenny seemed to have a good shot at landing a place in the final Miyagi Do team for Sekai Taikai. However, Devon cheated to steal his place by spiking his water with laxatives. With this, Kenny was robbed of a fair chance to prove himself. Devon made up for her mistake by confessing the truth to Kenny in the show’s final part.

However, in hindsight, it seems like it was already too late for Kenny to make up for the lost time and return to form. Quite clearly, Cobra Kai sidelined Kenny in its final season, making it hard not to hope that a potential spin-off in the future would give him more room to shine.

Cobra Kai

8/10

Release Date

2018 – 2025-00-00