against the three-time K-1 North American champion Michael McDonald in the quarter-finals, and two of the smaller, more technical heavyweights on the scene at the time traded leather in an entertaining, back-and-forth battle. In round two, McDonald forced a standing eight count on Maksutaj who then rallied back and floored him with a kick to the body. Round three saw the referee give McDonald another eight count when the Canadian took what was deemed as too long to return to his feet after being pushed over by Maksutaj. After the regulation three rounds, the bout was ruled a draw and so an extension round was added to decide the victor, in which McDonald's aggression earned him the majority decision win. McDonald took so much punishment in the fight that he could not continue in the tournament. As their first fight was an instant classic, a rematch between Maksutaj and McDonald was promptly booked for the quarter-finals of the K-1 World Grand Prix 2005 in Las Vegas II on August 13 and saw Maksutaj advance with a unanimous decision win. In the semis, he lost to Russian amateur standout Ruslan Karaev by unanimous decision after another highly entertaining bout. A disastrous round two saw him dropped with a spinning back kick to the body in the opening seconds and then a points deduction for kneeing Karaev in the face after he had slipped to the ground. Maksutaj was knocked down again in the final round after taking a knee from Karaev. On September 24, 2005, in Winterthur, Maksutaj lost his WPKC World Super Heavyweight (+) K-1 rules title, an accolade he had won earlier in the year, to Gary Turner on points. He would add another world title to his mantle piece shortly after, though, as he knocked out Radan Frenchichi in his hometown to be crowned as the ISKA World Heavyweight (-) Champion. On February 17, 2006, Maksutaj outfought James Phillips to a unanimous decision at the K-1 European League 2006 in Bratislava. Then, on May 20, 2006, at the K-1 Scandinavia Grand Prix 2006 in Stockholm, he KO'd his former conqueror Larry Lindwall in two to win the WMC World Heavyweight (-) Championship, his fourteenth and final world title belt. After re-matching with James Phillips in Lucerne, Switzerland on June 3, 2006, and winning on points again, Maksutaj returned to the fight capital of the world and faced the