K-1 World MAX 2009: The Crowning of King Petrosyan
From its inception in 2002, the K-1 World MAX GP quickly became one of the most coveted titles in the world, regardless of the discipline. And surely was THE title if a kickboxer wanted to call himself the best.
With a packed roster of fantastic fighters who produced memorable action over the years, the brand peaked in 2008 when Masato regained the crown in front of 15000 fans. It was a thrilling final, which was contested under new tournament rules : no more eight man one night tournament. Instead; a final eight event, and then a four man one night tournament.
Lots of fans were displeased with the rule change (fans such as this writer) because eight man survivals were the essence of the sport. But it made for one more event per year, which was fine enough., and it was under this new format that we as fans saw perhaps the greatest K-1 MAX fighter of all time.
‘09: K-1 Context
Masato decided to use the entirety of 2009 as a retirement tour because—as the biggest star in the sport and one of the biggest stars in the whole of Japan—of course he could. He scheduled three last appearances: the first one was an exhibition bout against highly touted youngster Hiroya. A fun one-rounder with pads and a head gear for the young Japanese star. Masato’s second would be against an opponent the fans would chose via an online poll, which ended up being MMA legend Tatsuya Kawajiri. In a bout that was marketed like kickboxing’s honour was at stake, Masato smashed the over-matched Kawajiri to bits, getting the second round stoppage.
The last bout of his career would be opposite the 2009 K-1 World MAX Champion, during the 2009 Dynamite event, on new year's eve, typically the biggest event in Japanese combat sports. K-1’s offering was a fantastic yearly hybrid event with both MMA and kickboxing fights. Masato wanted to prove he was retiring on top, and that he would be able to beat whoever would win the tournament.
So, who was going to fight the Japanese megastar? The field was wide open: There were of course the two other double champions, Buakaw Banchamek (Por. Pramuk at the time) and Andy Souwer.
Or would it be inaugural champion Albert Kraus, who lately seemed to find his old form again. Or perhaps the fighter responsible for the 2008 upset of the year, Yoshihiro Sato, still basking in the glory of his stunning KO win over Buakaw the year prior.
Artur Kyshenko was also improving every year, and was the runner up to Masato in the 2008 final in a fantastic war. Winning the World MAX GP was already a huge motivation for these killers, but facing Masato in the biggest stage K-1 could offer was a fantastic opportunity.
There was one other fighter in the mix who was not heavily favoured but who had some prior form at the top level, not least a highly competitive draw with the aforementioned legend Buakaw.
The Rising Talent
Italia's Giorgio Petrosyan was slowly but surely making waves in the kickboxing scene, especially after his draw with Buakaw in 2007, which raised many eyebrows at the time among the kickboxing faithful.
Aside from Buakaw, Giorgio was on a tear, beating every fighter in front of him, most of the time with relative ease. Elite fighters like Abdallah Mabel, Marco Pique, Jose Reis, Chris Ngimbi and Narupol Fairtex, all came up short and found themselves clueless to solve the Armenian-Italian puzzle. Then Petrosyan got his crack at another K-1 World MAX king, legendary combo machine Andy Souwer, under the IT’S SHOWTIME banner with the fight staged in Italy.
Giorgio Petrosyan vs. Andy Souwer
The fight started with Petrosyan firing his left leg from his southpaw stance, while the infamously slow starter Souwer was focusing on closing the distance and working the low kicks, setting a high pace to the fight. A sweet counter left hand almost put Souwer down at the end the first round.
The second round saw Souwer being more aggressive but having a hard time connecting with anything clean, with Petrosyan was showcasing his exceptional abilities. Sweet footwork and pivots, slick counters, superb distance management, otherworldly reflexes.
Souwer rallied in the third, showing how tough it is to deal with him as the fight progresses. The Dutchman gave it everything he had but Petro was too slick, too evasive and it seemed like he took that round too.
But the judges somehow saw a draw, and sent the fighters to an extension round. The crowd went nuts, but Petro calmed them, proving too good and controlling Souwer's aggression and punctuating his performance by dropping him with a counter left, although ruled a slip by the referee.
Petrosyan won by unanimous decision and announced himself to the world. Going undefeated against two former champions, K-1 officials no longer could ignore him and had to give him the call for their next tournament.
Staring down the throne
Back to the World MAX tournament then.
The Final 16 took place April 21st in Fukuoka, Japan. 16 fighters: seven of them training in Holland, three Japan representatives, and the favorites I mentioned earlier. The expected winners all easily qualified for the Final 8 event except for two of them, with Japan's new number one fighter Yoshihiro ‘Mugen Sniper’ Sato upset in an extra round loss to the always dangerous Armenian wild man Gago Drago.
And no less a fighter than Sato’s rival Buakaw was nearly eliminated too, and , on top of that, by an MMA Fighter : Chute Boxe's very own Andre Dida came really close to KOing the 2004 and 2006 champion in the 1st round. After surviving the early scare, Buakaw battered his Brazilian foe all over the ring, to capture the unanimous decision after an extra round, spared the embarrassment that Sato suffered at early elimination.
Arguably the most impressive win came from the debuting Giorgio Petrosyan, who dominated the powerful Dzahbar Askerov before knocking him out in the third round with an absolutely perfect of direct knee to the body. Gorgeous.
Less than a month after this, Petrosyan was invited to the annual big Amsterdam arena event in Holland, jointly organized by K-1 and It's Showtime.
Giorgio Petrosyan vs. Faldir Chahbari
To fight the Italian sensation, they called a formidable opponent: Faldir Chahbari. Very well known in his home country of Holland, much less in the rest of the world except for the hardcore fans, ‘Fast’ Faldir was blind in one eye since his childhood days. And yet to this day he is—alongside Petrosyan—one of the best defensive fighters of all time. He fought a who's who of Dutch and international fighters and beat most of them, with some of his losses highly controversial to say the least. Faldir wasn’t a hard hitter, and was far from your typical Dutch fighter. He was highly intelligent, a master in distance management, ring generalship, and counter fighting. He also was incredibly quick to react to everything. Sound familiar? If you have realised, yes, Faldir and Giorgio were cut from the same cloth.
So it should be no surprise when I say the two produced what is in my opinion one of the best kickboxing fights ever: A fantastic display of skill, speed, craftiness and ring IQ.
Petrosyan was faced with a unique challenge and was forced to adapt, and he did just that by taking the fight to Faldir and being the aggressor. An absolute masterclass from them both, with Giorgio taking home the decision win. Another big win for Petrosyan as he continued his rise to the top. Have I mentioned this is a must watch? If you want to see Petro’s rise from European prospect to K-1 MAX legend, this is one to file alongside the Buakaw fight from ‘07.
K-1 WORLD MAX 2009 FINAL
K-1 World MAX 2009 FINAL 8, July 13th in Tokyo, Japan. Back to my tournament narrating ways. Keep in mind, this is not an one night tournament anymore, though, as I stated earlier.
Gago Drago vs. Yuya Yamamoto
The first quarter final fight pitched Armenia's Gago Drago going up against Japan's last hope, Yuya Yamamoto. The Karate fighter from Hiroshima defeated Korean Muay Thai fighter Chi Bin Lim to enter the Final 8.
Drago was heavily favored to win here, as an establish World MAX fighter and 2006 semifinalist. But Yuya was willing to leave it all in the ring that night. After an incredible brawl, which saw both fighters hurt each other multiple times, Yuya managed to upset Drago via unanimous decision, much to the delight of the crowd who found themselves another fellow countryman hero to root for, after Sato’s loss and Masato’s opting out.
Giorgio Petrosyan vs. Albert Kraus
The Italian ‘Doctor’ was facing the third former K-1 Champion in his career, Dutch fighter Albert ‘The Hurricane’ Kraus.
Since winning the inaugural tournament in 2002, Kraus had struggled to replicate that success in the tournaments again. In 2009 though, he seemed to have found his old self, with a boxing heavy and aggressive style.
Despite this resugance, what followed was yet another masterful display from the Italian sensation. Giorgio simply outclassed the former champion, with sharp counters, fantastic footwork and crisp boxing, out-boxing the supposedly better boxer. Kraus was game but Petro was in another league that night, and advanced to the final four. In this writer’s eyes, it’s one of Petrosyan absolute finest performances and the one that made him a clear favourite to win the whole tournament.
Artur Kyshenko vs. Andy Souwer
The third quarter final was a rematch from last year's semifinal. Kyshenko upset Souwer, who was the defending champion, after 4 round of a fierce battle. The two very evenly matched up fighters begun the fight where they left it the last time around. Lots of combinations from both, with the fight contested at a short range. Neither was able to make a difference after 3 rounds, and the extra round was razor close but Andy being slightly more accurate, was awarded the win, avenging his previous loss in the process.
Buakaw Por Pramuk VS Nieky Holzken
The last fight from the Final 8 was also a rematch, this time from the 2007 tournament.
The Thai superstar Buakaw had beaten the young dutch fighter Holzken by decision in the 2007 final 16. Buakaw fought two weeks prior to this bout, winning a five round battle against John Wayne Parr under full Thai rules in Jamaica, and was carrying some injuries into the Holzken fight. Nieky on his end was very motivated and on a good winning streak.
Sadly, the fight was a rather dull one, with Buakaw playing it safe, controlling Nieky with teeps and knees, while the Dutchman couldn't get anything going, unable to figure out Buakaw’s timing. Easy but boring win for the popular Thai fighter, who, even though was showing signs of a decline, was still far too much for most of the fighters in that division.
The Crowning
The championship tournament final was finally here, October 26th, 2009, in the legendary Yokohama Arena. 11,000 people gathered to find out who would be the 2009 King of MAX, and most of all, earn the right to face the Japanese megastar Masato.
Left in the tournament were two of the best fighters of the MAX era on one side, and two newcomers—at that stage anyway—in the other.
Yokohama Arena. Source: Royalty Free, Wikipedia
Yuya Yamamoto vs. Giorgio Petrosyan
Nobody expected Japan’s Yuya Yamamoto to make it to the final four, let alone to win it all. Yuya was a pleasant surprise for the Nippon crowd, delighted to be rooting for a fellow countryman. In the pre-fight interview, Yuya made it clear he was not here just to take part, or as in his own words: ‘It’s full speed ahead and damn the consequences, I’ll just punch my way ahead’. A bold statement for sure, typical of proud and gutsy Japanese fighters.
But opposite him, was a fighter who truly believed it was time to fulfill his destiny. Giorgio Petrosyan was determined. Focused. And he showed that real quickly that he was as sharp as ever.
‘The Doctor’ took the center of the ring and began firing at his foe with surgical accuracy, while Yuya tried to work with the low kicks. 30 seconds in, Petro connected with a hard high kick. And then, about two mins into the round, he landed what my good friend and fellow Fight Site contributor, striking historian Lucas Bourdon, calls the best punch ever thrown in a kickboxing contest. The Italian prodigy hit Yamamoto with a clean one-two, flush to the chin, sending him to the canvas. Yuya barely beat the count, only to get slept with a furious six punches combo. Faceplant. Petrosyan silenced the crowd and booked himself a ticket to the final.
Buakaw Por Pramuk vs. Andy Souwer
Rubber match between the two former champions, in a classic Thailand vs Holland matchup. Souwer narrowly beat Buakaw to win his first championship. Buakaw avenged the loss by KO a year later to win his second belt. We’re now three years later and while Souwer also won a second belt in 2007, both fighters came up short last year. The pair is now in position to win a third World GP, which would be outstanding, considering how stacked the MAX division is. The fight was slow paced but hardly contested between two evenly matched fighters who knew each other too well. Buakaw was keeping his distance perfectly with his teeps and taking advantage of every clinch situation, while Souwer responded with his trademark short combinations. The fight was a draw after three rounds, and the extra round was very close as well.
Though it seemed like Buakaw did enough to win, Souwer was declared the winner by split decision, and was therefore on his way to try to avenge his loss to Petrosyan back in January of the same year.
Giorgio Petrosyan vs. Andy Souwer
For the very first time since the World MAX began in 2002, the final fight of the tournament did not feature an Asian fighter. Instead, it was an all European affair between Souwer and Petrosyan. The second act between a fighter who had spent less than three minutes in the ring versus another who went through a very tough four-round fight.
Petrosyan quickly took control of the action and never let go. This time around, Giorgio was way too good, especially for a beaten and bruised Souwer, who did his best, but was simply outclassed. Petro knocked Andy down with a knee to the body in the second round, and cruised to the end. Hard low kicks, accurate punches, sweeps, the surgical man showcased his entire arsenal.
After three dominant rounds, Giorgio Petrosyan was crowned the new K-1 World MAX Champion. Or should i say, the new king of the 70kg division in it’s entirety.
Even though it’s a real shame we were probably robbed of a thrilling second fight between him and Buakaw, ‘Petro’ had climbed the mountain and was now sitting on top.
Sweet footwork and pivots, slick counters, superb distance management
Hamady Diagne on Petrosyan
Aftermath
Unfortunately, ‘The Doctor’ broke his hand during semi final, and was forced to withdraw of his scheduled encounter with Japan’s king Masato. The Japanese legend though was absolutely delighted, because that meant he got to face one of two men he wasn’t able to avenge a previous loss against. In a beautiful contest, Masato beat Andy Souwer over five rounds, avenging his two previous losses, and retired in a very emotional night.
Legendary film and highlight maker Shunsuke was able to capture this special moment, in the magnificent movie retracing Masato’s legendary career. I said multiple times that it’s a must watch, here’s the trailer again :
Defending the crown
Petrosyan took his time to heal, and beat Thailand’s Kem Sitsongpeenong in his return. He then qualified for the K-1 World GP final (which was finally an eight-man, one-night tournament again) by beating Vitaly Gurkov. In the 2010 final, Giorgio Petrosyan became the first fighter to succesfully defend a World MAX championship, after he defeated Albert Kraus, Mike Zambidis and Yoshihiro Sato successively. The feat clearly cemented his place as the best kickboxer in the world.
This was the last K-1 World MAX tournament of a fantastic era. The Fight Site Kickboxing squad gathered to do an alternative commentary of that last Grand Prix, that we will be publishing tomorrow.
The organisation then entered a rough period, with all the fighters having to find a new home to showcase their talents. The Its Showtime organization briefly took over and held an eight-man tournament similar to the K-1. Former MAX fighters Artur Kyshenko, Andy Souwer and Gago Drago took part in this ‘Fast and Furious’ event. Unfortunately, Petrosyan was forced out with another hand injury, and was replaced by Robin Van Roosmalen, who ended up winning the tournament in a huge upset.
After that, in 2012, a new major promotion emerged, called GLORY Kickboxing, and was able to sign Petrosyan, alongside a lot of elite fighters across multiple divisions. They were quick to set up a Final 16 tournament. Petrosyan was able to defeat french Muay Thai standout Fabio Pinca, to reach the last eight, then proving too good even for that field, beating Ky Hollenbeck, Davit Kiria and Robin van Roosmalen in one night to win the tournament and be crowned ‘Grand Slam’ champion.
Giorgio began the decade as the undisputed pound for pound king, and was slowly but surely establishing himself as the best pound-for-pound kickboxer ever. But it’s hard to stay undefeated in this sport, and Petrosyan would finally suffer a major setback a year later, when Surinam’s Andy Ristie knocked him out in the third round. The bout served as a semi final to a four-man tournament to crown the new Glory World champion. Ristie went on to stop Van Roosmalen in the final, pulling a massive upset win. Giorgio then took an 18 months lay off before coming back and resume his career. We’ll save that last part for the day The doctor hangs them up for good. Right now, the King is still alive.
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