''K-1 World Grand Prix 2001 Final'' was a

kickboxing Kickboxing ( ) is a full-contact hybrid Martial arts, martial art and Boxing (disambiguation), boxing type based on punch (combat), punching and kicking. Kickboxing originated in the 1950s to 1970s. The fight takes place in a boxing ring, norma ...

event promoted by the

K-1 K-1 is a professional kickboxing promotion established in 1993 by karateka Kazuyoshi Ishii. Originally under the ownership of the Fighting and Entertainment Group (FEG), K-1 was considered to be the largest Kickboxing organization in the worl ...

. The event was held at the

Tokyo Dome is an indoor stadium in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. It was designed as a baseball stadium following its predecessor, Korakuen Stadium (whose former site is now occupied by the Tokyo Dome Hotel and a plaza for this stadium). In Japan, it is often us ...

Tokyo, Japan Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

on Saturday, December 8, 2001, in front of 65,000 spectators. It was the ninth K-1 Grand Prix final, involving eight of the world's top fighters, with all bouts fought under K-1 Rules (100 kg/156-220 lbs). The eight finalists had almost all qualified by winning preliminary tournaments (with the exception of Peter Aerts who was a runner up), while two additional fighters were invited as reserve fighters in case of any injuries (for more detail on this see bulleted list below). As well as tournament bouts there was also the aforementioned 'Reserve Fight' to decide who would be a replacement for any injured competition fighters, fought under K-1 Rules, and a 'Super Fight' between local middleweight star Masato and Noel Soares, fought under K-1 MAX Rules (70 kg/152 lbs). In total there were twelve fighters at the event, representing eleven countries. The tournament winner was

Mark Hunt Mark Hunt (born 23 March 1974) is a New Zealand former professional mixed martial artist and kickboxer. As a mixed martial artist, Hunt competed in Pride Fighting Championships (Pride FC) from 2004 until 2006, and the Ultimate Fighting Champi ...

who defeated Francisco Filho 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 fighte ...

, for his first and so far only K-1 World Grand Prix final victory. Both him and Francisco Filho even reaching the final was seen as a huge upset, helped in part by all the competition favourites

Ernesto Hoost Ernesto Frits Hoost (born 11 July 1965) is a Dutch retired professional kickboxer. A four-time K-1 World Champion, Hoost is considered to be one of the greatest kickboxers of all time. Debuting in 1993 at the K-1 World Grand Prix 1993, where h ...

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. ...

and

Peter Aerts Peter Aerts (born 25 October 1970) is a Dutch retired kickboxer. Known for his devastating high kicks, which earned him the nickname "The Dutch Lumberjack", he is widely considered to be one of the greatest heavyweight kickboxers of all time. B ...

being knocked out at the Quarter Final stage. Qualifiers - Finalists *

- K-1 World Grand Prix 2001 in Las Vegas runner up *

- K-1 World Grand Prix 2001 in Osaka winner * Francisco Filho - K-1 World Grand Prix 2001 in Fukuoka Repechage A winner *

- K-1 World Grand Prix 2001 in Melbourne winner *

- K-1 World Grand Prix 2001 in Fukuoka Repechage B winner *

Alexey Ignashov Alexey Ignashov (; born 18 January 1978) is a Belarusian former Heavyweight kickboxer. He is a four-time Muay Thai World champion, K-1 World GP 2003 in Paris and K-1 World GP 2001 in Nagoya tournament champion. As of 2011 he is living in Aucklan ...

K-1 World Grand Prix 2001 in Nagoya This is a list of events held and scheduled by the K-1, a Japanese kickboxing promotion. The first event, K-1 Sanctuary I, took place on March 30, 1993, at Kōrakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. Since its inception, K-1 events were organized by the Fi ...

winner *

Stefan Leko Stefan Leko (born June 3, 1974) is a German heavyweight kickboxer. He is the current WKA Super-Heavyweight world champion in kickboxing, and former Muay Thai world super-heavyweight champion and Kickboxing world super-heavyweight champion, WMT ...

- K-1 World Grand Prix 2001 in Las Vegas winner *

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

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

winner * Qualifiers - Reservists *

Mike Bernardo Michael Shawn Bernardo (28 July 1969 – 14 February 2012) was a South African kickboxer and boxer from Cape Town. Bernardo was known as Beru-chan in Japan, where he has taken part in K-1 World GPs since 1994. He holds notable wins over ...

- K-1 World Grand Prix 2001 in Fukuoka Repechage B semi finalist *

Adam Watt Adam Watt (born 10 November 1967) is an Australian former boxer and kickboxer. He has studied many forms of martial arts, kickboxing, Zen Chi Ryu, Seido-kaikan karate, and boxing. Watt became the first non Japanese live-in student of Seidokaik ...

- K-1 World Grand Prix 2001 in Fukuoka Repechage B runner up

K-1 World Grand Prix 2001 Final Tournament

* Ernesto Hoost was injured after his match with Stefan Leko. As the Reserve Fight winner Mike Bernardo was also injured, Stefan Leko would take his place in the Semi Finals

Results

References

External links

K-1 Official WebsiteK-1sport.de - Your Source for Everything K-1
{{2001 K-1 Events K-1 events 2001 in kickboxing Kickboxing in Japan Sports competitions in Tokyo

K-1 World Grand Prix 2001 Final Tournament

Results

See also

References

External links