''K-1 Andy Memorial 2001 Japan GP Final'' was a martial arts event promoted by the

K-1 K-1 is a professional kickboxing promotion established in 1993, well known worldwide mainly for its heavyweight division fights and Grand Prix tournaments. In January 2012, K-1 Global Holdings Limited, a company registered in Hong Kong, acquired ...

organization, named in honour of K-1 legend Andy Hug who had died the previous year. It was an elimination tournament involving eight fighters based in Japan, with all bouts being fought under K-1 Rules (100 kg/156-220 lbs) and the winner qualifying for the K-1 World Grand Prix 2001. Six of these fighters had qualified via the earlier K-1 Survival 2001 event while holder Musashi had qualified as last years winner and long time

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

resident

Nicholas Pettas Nicholas Pettas (born January 23, 1973, in Mykonos) is a Greek- Danish karateka, former heavyweight kickboxer and actor, who fought out of Team Spirit AE in Tokyo, Japan. Pettas mainly competed in the promotion K-1 between 1998 and 2007, and w ...

was a foreign invitee. As well as tournament bouts there were a number of local and international bouts, including special 'Andy Memorial Matches', with matches fought under either K-1 or

MMA Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incor ...

Rules. In total there were twenty two fighters at the event, representing nine countries. The tournament champion was Nicholas Pettas who defeated Musashi in the final by extra round

unanimous decision A unanimous decision (UD) is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts and other sports involving striking and submission in which all three judges agree on which fighter ...

. As a result of the tournament Nicholas Pettas would qualify for the K-1 World Grand Prix 2001. The event was held at the

Saitama Super Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Chūō-ku, Saitama, Saitama Prefecture, Japan. It opened preliminarily on May 5, 2000, and then was officially opened on September 1 of the same year. Its maximum spectator capacity is 36,500, making ...

, in

Saitama, Japan is the capital and the most populous city of Saitama Prefecture, Japan. Its area incorporates the former cities of Urawa, Ōmiya, Yono and Iwatsuki. It is a city designated by government ordinance. Being in the Greater Tokyo Area and lyin ...

on Sunday, August 19, 2001.

K-1 Andy Memorial 2001 Japan GP Final Tournament

Results

Opening Match: K-1 Rules / 3Min. 3R Ext.2R : Masahide Aoyagi vs

Hiraku Hori Hiraku Hori ( ja, 堀啓; born April 3, 1982) is a retired Japanese heavyweight kickboxer. A professional from 2001 until 2010, he competed almost exclusively in K-1. Career Hori made his professional debut at K-1 Survival 2001, winning via th ...

:Hori defeated Aoyagi by 3rd Round Unanimous Decision 3-0 Andy Memorial Match 1: K-1 Rules / 3Min. 3R Ext.2R :

Nobuaki Kakuda is a retired karateka and kickboxer. Early life After attending university, Kakuda opened a karate dojo in Kobe but was forced to shut it down after two years. He subsequently worked as a dishwasher, ramen chef, and construction worker. At age ...

vs Mauricio Da Silva :Kakuda defeated Da Silva by 3rd Round Unanimous Decision 3-0 Quarter Finals: K-1 Rules / 3Min. 3R Ext.1R : Musashi vs

Toru Oishi TORU or Toru may refer to: * TORU, spacecraft system * Toru (given name), Japanese male given name * Toru, Pakistan, village in Mardan District of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan *Tõru Tõru is a village in Saaremaa Parish, Saare County in western ...

:Musashi defeated Oishi by 3rd Round Unanimous Decision 3-0 :

Great Kusatsu Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" * Artel Great ( ...

Tsuyoshi Nakasako Tsuyoshi Nakasako ( ja, 中迫剛; born January 29, 1974) is a Japanese retired heavyweight kickboxer who competed in K-1. During his ten-year career from 1998 until 2008, he fought a variety of K-1 champions including Ernesto Hoost, Peter Ae ...

:Nakasako defeated Kusatsu by 3rd Round Unanimous Decision 3-0 :

Yusuke Fujimoto Yusuke Fujimoto ( ja, 藤本祐介 ; born July 22, 1975) is a Japanese former heavyweight kickboxer who competed in K-1 and was the K-1 World GP 2007 in Hong Kong tournament champion. He is nicknamed "Bun Bun Maru" because of his tendency to thr ...

:Pettas defeated Fujimoto by TKO (Right Low Kick) at 2:57 of the 1st Round :

Nobu Hayashi Nobu Hayashi ( ja, 林伸樹; born April 27, 1978) is a professional Japanese Heavyweight karateka and kickboxer. He is a two-time K-1 Japan tournament runner-up and holds notable wins over Ben Edwards, Sander Thonhauser and Faisal Zakaria. Hayas ...

vs Tatsufumi Tomihira :Hayashi defeated Tomihira by KO (Right Hook) at 2:55 of the 3rd Round Andy Memorial Match 2: K-1 Rules / 3Min. 3R Ext.2R : Hiroki Kurosawa vs Taira Noyuki :Noyuki defeated Kurosawa by TKO (Doctor Stoppage) at 3:00 of the 3rd Round Semi Finals: K-1 Rules / 3Min. 3R Ext.1R : Musashi vs

:Musashi defeated Nakasako by 3rd Round Unanimous Decision 3-0 :

:Pettas defeated Hayashi by TKO (Right Low Kick) at 1:26 of the 1st Round Super Fight: K-1 Rules / 3Min. 3R Ext.2R :

Jérôme Le Banner Jérôme Philippe Le Banner (; born December 26, 1972) is a French kickboxer, mixed martial artist, and professional wrestler. Le Banner fought for most of his career in K-1 and became known for his aggressive fighting style and knockout power. ...

vs Marc de Wit :Le Banner defeated de Wit by KO (Right Punch) at 1:45 of the 2nd Round Final: K-1 Rules / 3Min. 3R Ext.2R : Musashi vs

:Pettas defeated Musashi by Extra Round Unanimous Decision 3-0 K-1 vs Oiki Super Fights: K-1 MMA Rules / 3Min. 5R :

Rene Rooze Rene Rooze (born 26 January 1969) is a Dutch former kickboxer and mixed martial artist. Biography and career As a member of Team Aerts, he was an active fighter competing in mainly European events and accumulating (as of 2004) a kickboxing recor ...

Tadao Yasuda is a Japanese retired sumo wrestler ('' rikishi''), professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. He competed in sumo from 1979 to 1992 under the '' shikona'' of Takanofuji Tadao, achieving the rank of '' komusubi'', and afterwards turned to ...

:Rooze defeated Yasuda by KO (Left High Kick) at 0:09 of the 3rd Round :

Gary Goodridge Gary Henry Goodridge (born January 17, 1966), nicknamed "Big Daddy", is a Trinidadian- Canadian former heavyweight kickboxer and mixed martial artist fighting out of Barrie, Ontario. Prior to kickboxing and MMA, he was also one of the top ranke ...

Jan Nortje Johannes "Jan" Nortje (born 11 April 1975) is a South African professional kickboxer, mixed martial artist and undefeated professional boxer who has fought for Strikeforce, DREAM, K-1, Inoki Genome Federation, PRIDE Fighting Championship and ...

:Goodridge defeated Nortje by Submission (Arm Crush) at 1:11 of the 1st Round :

Mirko Cro Cop Mirko Filipović (; born 10 September 1974), better known by his ring name Mirko Cro Cop, is a retired Croatian professional mixed martial artist, kickboxer and amateur boxer. He is mostly known for his time in Pride Fighting Championships. Cro C ...

Kazuyuki Fujita is a Japanese professional wrestler, mixed martial artist and a former amateur wrestler, currently signed to Pro Wrestling Noah, where he is a one-time GHC Heavyweight Champion. He has most recently fought in Road FC, but is also known for ...

:Cro Cop defeated Fujita by TKO (Doctor Stoppage) at 0:39 of the 1st Round

References

External links

K-1 Official WebsiteK-1.de - Your Source for Everything K-1
{{2001 K-1 Events Andy Memorial 2001 Japan GP Final 2001 in kickboxing Kickboxing in Japan Sport in Saitama (city)

K-1 Andy Memorial 2001 Japan GP Final Tournament

Results

See also

References

External links