Cobra Kai’s Strongest Student Debate Has Completely Forgotten 1 Of The Show’s Best Fighters

Miguel, Robby, Sam, and Hawk often rank high on Cobra Kai’s fighter tier list, but 1 character gets ignored in the show’s strongest characters debate.

Miguel, Sam, Robby, and Eli are often the favorites in Cobra Kai’s strongest fighter debate, and rightfully so, but one underdog character and his potential as a fighter often remain forgotten. None of the characters in Cobra Kai’s roster have a perfect fight record. While Miguel has no official losses under his belt, he, too, has taken a fair share of defeats in fights outside the dojos and tournaments. Robby ranks among the top contenders and has consistently proven his worth by reaching the All-Valley finals twice in a row. However, despite being so close to becoming a karate star, he has not yet landed a tournament win.

Sam has had moments of greatness, especially after she dipped her feat in Eagle Fang karate. However, luck and many other factors have held her back from taking the throne as Cobra Kai’s best fighter. Hawk/Eli reigned supreme in Cobra Kai season 4 after winning the All Valley, but his loss to Kenny in season 5 proved he still has a long way to go. Given how all these characters have shown immense potential in Cobra Kai’s first five seasons, they will again be the powerhouse contenders in the Sekai Taikai. However, along with them, an often-ignored Cobra Kai character needs to be considered a frontrunner in Cobra Kai season 6’s strongest student debate.

Cobra Kai’s Strongest Student Debate Keeps Ignoring Demetri

Demetri’s characterization has been sidelined in Cobra Kai’s recent seasons, not only in terms of plot development but also when it comes to his karate skills. Given how Demetri has never been among the top fighters of the series and has primarily been used as a source of comic relief, it is understandable why Cobra Kai has not prioritized progressing his arc as a fighter. However, more recently, the show has wholly dismissed his abilities and potential as a fighter by showing how Daniel did not consider him a worthy opponent for Kenny during the Sekai Taikai trials, keeping him completely out of Cobra Kai’s “best fighter” debate.

Season 2 Proves Demetri Is Cobra Kai’s Most Underrated Fighter

Cobra Kai’s recent seasons have forgotten Demetri’s journey as a fighter. After starting with no background in sports or other physical activities, Demetri initially struggled to learn karate. While Cobra Kai’s offensive fighting style was clearly not for him, even Miyagi Do techniques proved challenging in the beginning. However, he possessed one major advantage over all other characters: intelligence. Unlike most others who initially questioned Miyagi Do’s unconventional “wax off, wax on” techniques, Demetri was quick to understand that Daniel is helping them build muscle memory.

Daniel, too, realized that Demetri’s high intellect could be his secret weapon and helped him train accordingly. As a result, Demetri honed his defense and showed immense potential by beating Hawk fair and square in Cobra Kai season 2. Even during the LaRusso house beatdown in Cobra Kai season 3’s finale, several Cobra Kai fighters had to gang up on Demetri to take him down. He later put his ability to think quickly on full display when Hawk switched teams and joined forces with him to beat Cobra Kai students.

Cobra Kai season 4 features the 2019 All Valley Tournament in its closing episodes. Given how Demetri was a mere spectator in the 2018 tournament, it is impressive how he makes it all the way to the semi-final in season 4 and only loses to Robby, who has been practicing karate far longer than him. The fact that Demetri always had his morals in the right place and knew from the beginning that Cobra Kai was doing something wrong also proves that he is the ideal Miyagi Do student, having the potential to become Cobra Kai’s true “karate kid.” Unfortunately, since Cobra Kai has seemingly “benched” him, he remains an underrated fighter with untapped potential.

How Cobra Kai Season 6 Can Make Demetri Even Stronger

Instead of using Demetri solely for comic relief, Cobra Kai season 6 can give him a well-rounded closure by finally showing his potential as a fighter. Since he is not a primary character, it would not make sense for him to win Cobra Kai season 6’s Sekai Taikai tournament. However, if, like the 2019 All Valley, Sekai Taikai has a skills competition, Demetri can work harder on improving his Kamas skills and take home a win in the secondary tournament category. And if not land a win, he can at least put up an impressive display of karate skills in Cobra Kai season 6 and earn everyone’s respect.

Demetri briefly trained under Chozen in Cobra Kai season 5 with a few other Miyagi Do students. If he gets one-on-one guidance from Chozen in Cobra Kai season 6, he can achieve greatness since he has shown his potential for quickly learning Miyagi Do moves. With only a few months to adopt Chozen’s advanced Miyagi Do techniques, Demetri may not suddenly become the best fighter in Cobra Kai’s roster. He can, however, give the top contenders of Cobra Kai season 6’s Sekai Takai a run for their money by rising as an underdog and shocking everyone with his newfound potential.