K-1 Bows to Kyokushin

Written by Monty DiPietro.


TOKYO, May 30, 2004 -- Kyokushin Karate fighters overwhelmed their K-1 opponents, winning all seven matchups in a unique fight event at the historic Budokan in central Tokyo. "Ichigeki" ("decisive strike") featured a K-1 vs Kyokushin format.

Seminal to K-1's development, Kyokushin is the ne plus ultra of karate styles, demanding unparalleled dedication to the development of spiritual and physical strength. Explained Kyokushin originator Mas Oyama (1923-1994): "One thousand days of training, a beginner; ten thousand days of training, a master". Today, dojos and practitioners all over the world comprise the Kyokushin Family.

The Ichigeki card was divided into two parts -- four fights were fought under K-1 Rules, with some of K-1's best taking on elite Kyokushin fighters, and three matches were contested under Kyokushin Rules (judging is based on technique, the Kyokushin Rules also prohibit punches to the head).

2003 K-1 World GP Champion Remy Bonjasky squared off against 33 year-old Kyokushin (and K-1) legend Francisco Filho in the main event. Bonjasky had won eight in a row in K-1, a streak dating back to July 2003. But on this night, he came up against a very focused Filho. Aware his side had won six of six so far on the Ichigeki card, Filho was determined to complete the Kyokushin sweep. But few in the room could have anticipated the manner in which Filho would accomplish this incredible feat.

Filho and Bonjasky tested one another with kicks in the early going -- Filho firing in low, Bonjasky answering up high and just missing. Bonjasky then tried to work knees from the clinch to no avail. It was Filho who scored first with a solid right punch that sent Bonjasky reeling and very nearly falling to the canvas. A shaken Bonjasky used his long legs to push his opponent back while he recomposed, but Filho now knew what he had to do -- from then on, the Brazilian used the right punch more than all his other weapons combined.

In the second Bonjasky closed his guard up, but when he did move to throw a kick, Filho read him like a book, and exploited the opening with that punishing right. In the third, aware he was down on the cards, Bonjasky looked for opportunities to launch his flying knees. But Filho was masterful at controlling the distance, tossing in low and front kicks to keep Bonjasky outside, leaning in when Bonjasky tried opening some space for more creative attacks. Bonjasky began punching more midway through the third, and was doing not half bad, when Filho again got that right straight punch through to stun the Dutch fighter. His back against the ropes, Bonjasky closed up while Filho threw in ten unanswered punches before the referee stepped in to call a standing eight. This capped Filho's performance in fine fashion, and earned him the win by a comfortable unanimous decision.

Given Filho's artistry with high kicks and Bonjasky's unparalleled knees, there was a surprising lack of legwork in this bout. Still, the crowd loved it -- cries of "Filho" could be heard long after the fighters had left the ring, and it is certain that all around the world, the Kyokushin Family will be celebrating this evening for a long time to come.

"I am happy with the fight of course," said Filho in his post-bout interview. "Punching is not new for me, having fought in K-1 for many years, but I was working on that, training for the last several weeks at the VOS Gym in Holland."

Asked about his mental preparation, Filho said: "I treat every fight as if it is my last, and so I always give it my all."

Reminded by a reporter that he has now beaten four K-1 Champions (Hug, Hoost, Aerts and Bonjasky), Filho said: "I was fortunate on the days I beat those excellent fighters, and if I go to the Tokyo Dome Final this year I hope I am fortunate there too, so that I can become the 2004 Champion!"

In other action, Brazilian Kyokushin veteran Glaube Feitosa took on Dutch fighter Alistair Overeem in the penultimate bout. Overeem was a late substitution after scheduled fighter TOA of New Zealand injured a cervical vertebrae. Feitosa wasted no time here, laying into Overeem with an uncharacteristic punching attack to force a standing eight count just seconds into the fight. Overeem came back with a good knee attack, but Feitosa was able to slip out of harm's way and resume his balanced kick and punch work to effect. Perhaps it was the lack or preparation, but Overeem did not look sharp here, and Feitosa once again got in with punches. It was a straight right that dropped Overeem for good and earned Feitosa his second consecutive KO victory in the K-1 ring.

Alexandre Pitchkounov of Russia represented Kyokushin against American Jiu-Jitsu fighter Seth Petruzelli. Pitchkounov used his 9cm height advantage to keep Petruzelli at bay with kicks in a listless first round, and retained control in the second. Petruzelli was unable to get inside with any sort of effective attack, and Pitchkounov was simply the better fighter here, picking his spots. Pitchkounov's spinning back kick and ax kick attempts just missed in the second, but a left straight punch did not, and sent Petruzelli to the canvas. The American beat the count, but at the clapper it was another left straight punch that got through and put Petruzelli down. Again Petruzelli beat the count, but this time the referee stopped the fight. A solid if unspectacular performance from Pitchkounov to record a win in his first K-1 bout.

Twenty-three year-old Kyokushin fighter Makoto Akaishi of Japan met German powerhouse Mavrick, who is 29 and a two-time Kage Kombat Light Heavyweight Champion. Mavrick was the more aggressive fighter from the bell, surprising his opponent with a number of low kicks. But Akaishi recovered and adjusted, and got in with a couple of big left hooks that sent Mavrick turning and retreating to the corner, where he was assessed a standing eight count. Akaishi did it again at the bell, connecting with punches to force a second standing eight. In the second, Mavrick kept leaning in, and the result was another set of punches that set the American turning away and stumbling to the canvas. It looked like this was the end, but Mavrick beat the count and came back with a fairly good rally -- a right straight getting in and a few uppercuts just missing. Soon afterward, Akaishi put a right in on Mavrick's kisser, sending him turning away yet again for another count. Seconds later, the towel came in from the red corner and Akaishi had the win.

The trio of Kyokushin Rules bouts saw fighters dressed in white Karate "do", fighting in a 2 min x 3 round format with 30 second breaks between rounds:

Ewerton Teixeira of Brazil won the Kyokushin All-American Championship in '01, '02, and '03. Here he defended Kyokushin's honor against spirited challenge from Seidokaikan fighter Peter Majstorovic of Switzerland, who has won 22 of 30 bouts in a K-1 career spanning almost a decade. Both fighters were light and mobile in the early going, respectful and technical. Teixeira looked cool, and got the better body blows through in the first and second, just missing with nice high kicks as well. The second round was close, both fighters working the kicks more here. Majstorovic looked good in the third, aggressively launching a combination that left both fighters on the canvas. A spirited dance, and judges saw Teixeira as the better fighter overall, giving the Brazilian a close but unanimous decision.

Kyokushin's Lechi Kurbanov of Russia met a mountain of a man in "Big Fam", at 144kg the heaviest fighter on the card. Big Fam laid into Kurbanov with a barrage of body blows from the bell, and these had to hurt. But Kurbanov weathered the storm, countering brawn with finesse. By midway through the first Kurbanov had planted two kicks on the big Fam's noggin, the first stunning the big American, the second, a spinning back kick, dropping him like a sack of potatoes. Any doubt about the edge a good technical fighter has in a match like this vanished when the medical team brought in a stretcher to retrieve Big Fam from the mat.

Hanse Nijman of The Netherlands brought a 30kg weight advantage (119 to 89kg) to the ring against Kentaro Tanaka of Kyokushin. Tanaka, however, had youth on his side -- the Japanese fighter is just 23, while Nijman is 44. The bout began with Nijman landing a number of solid punches to Tanaka's collarbone -- at least that's where he was meant to be landing them, but actually more than a few clocked Tanaka in the chops. Remember, this bout was fought without gloves, and so a punch to the head is like, well, a punch to the head without gloves, and so naturally Tanaka went down. Although Nijman was warned, he persisted in hitting Tanaka in the head (and the Japanese badly-bloodied face would attest to this afterward). The referee really had no choice but to disqualify Nijman for foul play, giving Tanaka the win.

In the undercard bouts, contested under K-1 Rules: Armenian Artur Hovhannisian beat Masayuki Fujita of Japan; Maxim Dedik of Russia beat Joji Hibino of Japan; Magnum Sakai of Japan beat compatriot Takashi Ohno -- these fights all settled by unanimous decision. Igor Peplov of Russia KO'd Hajime Moriguchi of Japan; Alejandro Navarro of Spain won over Taichi Furuta of Japan when Furuta's corner threw in the towel in the first; and Brazilian Fabiano Da Silva made short work of Serbian Sveto Dekovic, scoring two downs in the first round to win by TKO.

The official results are here:
Ichigeki attracted 7,596 fans to the Budokan and was same-day broadcast in Japan on the Asahi TV network.