K-1 World Grand Prix 1999: A tale of Kickboxing's Golden Era
When you hear "K-1", the first word that comes to mind is tournament. One night, eight-man survival grand prix.
The sport of kickboxing reached its golden era during the ‘90s, by way of these unforgettable Tokyo nights.
Eight fighters from all around the world, trying to win the most coveted title of all : the K-1 World GP Championship. The legendary martial arts competition founded by Seidokaikan Karate Master Ishii Kazuyoshi in 1993, with the aim of finding out which striking art is the best in the world. A fantastic idea, of course.
There were so many great ones it's hard to say which one was the best. But when asking longtime fans of the sport, one tournament always gets shout outs : the 1999 GP final.
An incredibly tough field of fierce fighters, almost all of them at the peak of their powers. All of them ended up being called legends of the sport. One of them stood up that night and made a statement.
QUARTER FINALS
Sam Greco (AUS) vs Ray Sefo (NZ)
To kick-off the tournament, a matchup of fighters known for their extreme toughness. Both Sam Greco and Ray Sefo never ended up winning the GP but were quite difficult to beat all the same. They immediately met in the middle and exchanged hard blows, and continued in the same vein for three grueling rounds, with Sam Greco awarded the close decision.
Musashi (JPN) vs Mirko Cro Cop (CRO)
Next up were the tournaments lightest fighters, Mirko ‘Cro Cop’ Filipović and Akio ‘Musashi’ Mori.
The Croatian sensation was making his tournament final debut, after he stopped the African slugger Mike Bernardo in the final elimination.
Musashi beat fellow countryman Masaaki Satake to enter the tournament and carry the torch (or the cross) to be the Japanese greatest hope of winning the heavyweight crown.
The fight was a messy one, with multiple interruptions: first caused by an accidental head clash, and then by Cro Cop judo throwing Musashi to the ground. The Croat policeman eventually stopped Musashi in the 2nd round.
Ernesto Hoost (NL) vs Andy Hug (SWZ)
Two former K-1 GP champions went at it next. "The Blue Eyed Samurai" Andy Hug—the 1996 champion—faced the 1997 king Ernesto "Mr Perfect" Hoost in a matchup that would have make for a beautiful final.
Instead the met in the quarter finals, and what a fight ! A highly technical, hard battle between two very smart, talented and experienced warriors.
Hoost was his usual aggressive self but Hug refused to back up. Hoost threw his trademark combinations with the hard low kicks, Hug responded with his own trademark axe kicks and spinning hook low kicks.
Hoost relentlessness eventually gave him the nod, as Hug was increasingly hurt by the low kicks. A superb fight between two legends of the game: That this bout happened in the quarter finals should show how deep this Grand Prix was.
Peter Aerts (NL) vs Jérome Le Banner (FRA)
The last quarter final might not have been the long and violent affair that Hoost vs. Hug was, but it is arguably the greatest one rounder in the history of kickboxing.
The ‘Dutch Lumberjack’ Peter Aerts—defending champion and three time K-1 World GP winner—entered the tournament as the number one fighter in the world and a huge favourite to win again.
Opposite him was ‘Hyper Battle Cyborg’ Jerome Le Banner. JLB had tremendous power in his hands, and was always coming for war. This was the third fight between them, with Aerts stopping the Frenchman in both prior bouts.
At the bell, they immediately went toe-to-toe, with the Dutchman quickly sending JLB to the ground with a trademark monster high kick. Jérome beat the count, with Aerts frantically hopping right in front of him. Chaos erupted as Aerts tried to end the festivities for good, only to end up eating a huge counter left hook that sent him half asleep to the canvas. No way Aerts was getting up from this and Le Banner earned the right to fight Hoost in the semis, unlikely prevailing in one of the wildest shootouts in heavyweight kickboxing history.
SEMI FINALS
Sam Greco vs Mirko Cro Cop
The first semi-final saw Sam Greco—after his tough battle with the hard hitting Ray Sefo—take on a fresher Mirko Cro Cop.
The latter took control of the fight early, throwing hard kicks. Greco of course wasn't one to back down from a scrap, returned the favor every chance he had. The fight was close entering round 2, when Greco injured himself throwing a lowkick. Mirko took full advantage of it, going off on the Aussie. Greco manage to beat an 8 count but was sent back down and stopped on a huge low kick by Mirko, who for his 1st participation managed to reach the final
Jerome Le Banner vs Ernesto Hoost
JLB and Hoost were 1-1 going into their semi final bout, with neither fight going the distance. There was something in the air for that one, not hate, but almost palpable tension between the pair. The kind of tension only two evenly matched fighters with history tend to have.
That tension spilled over quickly: The battling cyborg went after Hoost right at the bell, throwing absolute bombs at the Dutchman.
Hoost was forced to back up, answering with hard low kicks and body shots. JLB finished the round strong, hurting Hoost with a hard left hook and a right one.
But almost as soon as the second round started, Hoost connected with a huge right hand that wobbled the Frenchman. Hoost went berserk, and finished him with an absolutely savage barrage of wild hooks. JLB went down and out, and Mr Perfect went dancing as he always did after a win. Tremendous fight, and essential viewing for anyone reading this piece.
THE FINAL
Ernesto Hoost vs Mirko Cro Cop
The young Croatian sensation versus the ageing but wonderfully conditioned Dutchman. The stage was set, and tension was running high. Hoost was determined to finally get his second crown but it was Crocop that started a bit faster, connecting with a wide right hook a minute into the 1st round. Mr Perfect kept his cool and started working the low kicks.
Mirko unleashed some fierce three-piece combos, always ending them with his now legendary left high kick. First round in the bag for Mirko.
The second started with both fighters throwing one hard shot at a time. At this point they were clearly trying to impose their will to one another. Hoost was increasingly connecting with his low kicks, and seemingly hurting the Croatian who was on the back foot for most of the round. Hoost took this round and it was dead even going to the last round of the night.
Hoost began the third aggressively, sending in a big right hand to the body that seemed to really hurt Crocop, which Hoost didn't fail to notice. Another big one seconds later forced Mirko to take a knee and the eight count. He made it to his feet but in pain, and against such a fantastic body puncher as Mr Perfect, it was only a matter of time. And that time came fast, with Hoost finishing the fight with a beauty of a left body hook. And that’s all she wrote ! Ernesto Hoost was king again.
What was a promising night on paper proved to be one of the hardest contested tournaments ever. Heavyweight kickboxing was reaching its pinnacle at the moment, and it showed that night.
No humongously large fighters, no freak show fights either, just eight men tremendously well prepared and ready to give it all in the ring.
Ernesto Hoost was 34 at the time, and already had a lengthy career to his name (which had almost come to an end a few years back) was finally a two-time K-1 World GP winner. He had a fantastic night and it felt like one of those special, history making moments. At this point in his fighting life he had not much else to prove to anybody to be considered a legend of the sport. Little did we know that he was about to win the Grand Prix two more times, furthering his claim at the greatest heavyweight in kickboxing history. A tale worth telling, something we at The Fight Site will do very soon.