K-1: KO, KO, KO...Schilt Wins!

The K-1 World GP Final was held Dec 5 in the Yokohama Arena in Kanagawa, Japan. The 17,626 fans that filled the arena were thrilled to see a series of KOs, making this perhaps one of the most exciting K-1 events in history. The event was made even more special by the K-1 lecture given by K-1 founder Kazuyoshi Ishii, the halftime show by the Japanese girl band AKB48 and the return of famous ring announcer Michael Buffer.

Badr Hari faced Ruslan Karaev for the third time in the first quarterfinal match of the World GP. Karaev came out quickly with punches at the start of the fight, but Hari remained calm, watching Karaev's punches and dropping him with a right hook. Karaev was able to get up and move toward Hari, but Hari landed consecutive right hands, knocking Karaev down for the second time and in doing so winning the fight 38 seconds into the first round. Hari, one of the crowd favorites, advanced to the semifinals. In the second quarterfinal fight, MMA fighter Alistair Overeem faced Kyokushin Karate champion Ewerton Teixeira. Teixeira opened with a series of light jabs, finding his range while mixing in low kicks. But Overeem feinted in to close the distance. He then dropped Teixiera with two hard left knees, with Teixeira unable to beat the count and Alistair advancing to the semifinals. This meant that Overeem and Hari, both mostly unscathed in their first fight, would meet one another for a second time in the semifinals.

In the third quarterfinal fight, Jerome LeBanner, who has already announced his retirement, clashed with Semmy Schilt. LeBanner opened with a series of straight lefts, but was knocked down by a heavy low kick followed by a body kick by Schilt. Encouraged by the cheers of the crowd, LeBanner was able to get up and again face his opponent, but was dropped again, this time by a right front kick from Schilt. Schilt also advanced to the semifinals with little damage.

The last quarterfinal match, between last year's winner Remy Bonjasky and Errol Zimmerman. In the first round, Remy landed a clean right hook to Zimmerman's face. This shot dropped Zimmerman, but in the second round he came back to pressure Bonjasky fiercly. Zimmerman landed consecutive punches to Bonjasky's face even while eating multiple right low kicks, and even through a right head kick. But Bonjasky maintained a solid guard, and made it through this flurry. Zimmerman was able to get a point back in the second round, but, perhaps from the damage from the low kicks, did not show the same fight in the third round as the second. Instead, Bonjasky forced him into the corner and pushed the pace. The fight went to decision, with Bonjasky winning 3-0. Despite a tough fight, Bonjasky advanced to the semifinals to face Schilt.

On to the semifinals, with Hari facing Overeem in the first match. The fight between the two, who had exchanged words since New Year's eve last year and at yesterday's press conference, would finally be realized. After the sounding of the opening bell, the two fighters faced each other down, the tension palpable. Hari opened first, but was met with a knee after closing distance. The crowd screamed at the power of Overeem's knees. But Hari came back, landing a series of quick punches to the face and body of Overeem. Hari then timed a right hooked, landing it as Overeem began to throw and catching him clean in the face for a down. Hari took advantage and pushed hard, finally landing a right high kick to earn his second down and win the fight and get his revenge for last year's fight.

Schilt and Bonjasky met in the second semifinal fight. While there was concern over the damage Bonjasky had taken in his quarterfinal fight, he earned a quick down immediately after the start of the fight with a left hook. It looked like Bonjasky would press on to knock down Schilt again, but was staggered by left body kicks and knees from Schilt. Schilt then landed a series of punches to knock down Bonjasky. Bonjasky could not get up, and his dreams of a second consecutive championship were shattered.

This meant that Badr Hari and Semmy Schilt would meet in the 2009 finals. The two had already fought in May of this year, and Hari had beaten Shilt by first round knockout. Hari opened quickly with a hard left and right hook combination. Schilt drew back in face of the pressure, and somehow countered with a front kick and right head kick. Hari then dropped his guard, allowing Schilt to land a perfect left cross, knocking Hari down. But Hari rose, cheered on by the crowd. However Schilt then landed a huge left body kick, dropping Hari for the third time and earning Schilt his fourth championship, tying him with Ernesto Hoost for the most ever. This was also the first first round win by knockout in the finals since Peter Aerts in 1998. Schilt got his revenge in the sweetest way possible, by becoming champion.

This also marked Hari's second consecutive loss in the finals. And it appears we may have to wait until next year for a "changing of the guard" in K-1. But Hari fought hard, exciting the crowd until the very end. He promised the fans to "work harder and come back."

World GP Final (3x3min. 1r Ext.)
Semmy Schilt def. Badr Hari by KO Round 1 1:48

Super-Fight (3x3min 1r ext.): Tyrone Spong def. Kyotaro by Decision 3-0

World GP Semi-Finals (3x3min. 1r Ext.):
Semi-Final 2: Semmy Schilt def. Remy Bonjasky by KO Round 1 2:38
Semi-Final 1: Badr Hari def. Alistair Overeem by KO Round 1 2:14

World GP Quarter Finals (3x3min. 1r Ext.):
Reserve: Daniel Ghita def. Sergey Kharitonov by KO Round 3 0:36
QF4: Remy Bonjasky def. Errol Zimmerman by Decision 3-0
QF3: Semmy Schilt def. Jerome Le Banner by KO Round 1 1:27
QF2: Alistair Overeem def. Ewerton Teixeira by KO Round 1 1:04
QF1: Badr Hari def. Ruslan Karaev by KO Round 1 0:38
Reserve: Peter Aerts def. Gokhan Saki by Decision 3-0

Opening Fights (3x3min):
Jan Soukup def. Tsutomu Takahagi by Decision 3-0
Singh "Heart" Jaideep def. Makoto Uehara by KO Round 2 1:36
Ryuji Kajiwara def. Keiichi Samukawa by Decision 3-0

(Source: www.kakutoh.com)