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.::Great Semmy Schilt Again K-1 World GP

TOKYO, December 2, 2006 -- Seidokaikan karate fighter

Semmy Schilt dispatched three challengers at the Tokyo

Dome tonight en route to victory in the K-1 '06 World

Grand Prix Final. The 33 year-old Dutchman brought the

full force of his size (212cm/6'11"; 128kg/296lbs),

speed and technique into play to win fightsport's most

prestigious title for the second consecutive year. Along

with the championship belt, Schilt picks up a

first-prize purse of US$400,000.

A modern fusion of traditional martial arts

disciplines, K-1 is among the world's fastest-growing

sports. The WGP Final is the culmination of a year of

regional elimination tournaments, and follows K-1's

classic tournament format -- eight fighters compete in a

quartet of contests with the four victors advancing to a

pair of semifinal bouts, the winners there clashing in

the final. All fights were conducted under K-1 Rules,

three rounds of three minutes each, with a possible

Schilt and formidable French kickboxer Jerome

LeBanner went head to head in the first tournament

matchup. From the bell, Schilt controlled the distance

with low and front kicks, while LeBanner strove to get

inside with the fists. The Frenchman scored from the

clinch with a right hook, and blocked well when Schilt

attempted knees and high kicks.

The second round saw both fighters staying with

textbook kick and punch exchanges, and things looked

about even until Schilt got a dandy left high kick up to

the side of LeBanner's head for a down. LeBanner tried

to get back into this one but Schilt would not let him

find his distance. Instead it was Schilt who had the

better opportunities in the third, capitalizing with a

left hook and making partial contact with a big knee to

pick up the unanimous decision. Before exiting the ring,

LeBanner fell to his knees, bowed, and apologized to his

The second quarterfinal featured K-1's only four-time

WGP Champion, Ernesto "Mr Perfect" Hoost. Appearing in

his farewell tournament, the 41 year-old Dutch kickboxer

faced a fighter 10 years his junior -- German dynamo

Chalid "Die Faust," who prevailed at the USA GP in Las

Vegas this April. Hoost stayed center-ring, sticking

with the low kicks that have stood him in good stead

over the years. Die Faust circled, coming in with

aggressive punching attacks. Hoost had a problem with

balance early on, slipping on three occasions, but found

his feet late in the round, making contact with a high

A cool Hoost moved forward with tight combinations in

the second, but Die Faust blocked ably and answered the

challenges with punches, and there were some satisfying

exchanges here and in the third. Hoost showed good

stamina, taking the fight to his opponent, scoring late

with combinations, low kicks and punch combinations.

When the pair went to the clinch, Hoost pumped in the

knees while Die Faust brought uppercuts. One judge gave

it to Hoost but the others saw a draw so the bout went

Here Hoost kept moving forward, and his prowess with

the low kicks and a nice left straight punch proved

enough to secure the victory and a date with Schilt in

In the first matchup of the second bracket, it was

Brazilian Kyokushin fighter Glaube Feitosa versus Ruslan

Karaev of Russia. The '05 WGP runner-up, Feitosa's

legwork is nothing short of masterful, and his boxing

skills have markedly improved this year. But Karaev also

has a number of creative and dangerous attacks in his

arsenal, and as the youngest fighter in the tournament

at just 23, had nothing to lose and everything to gain

Karaev charged in from the bell with an all-out punch

and kick attack, intent on overpowering his opponent.

But Feitosa kept his guard up and weathered the storm,

then coolly came in with a left high kick that caught

Karaev hard on the side of the head. The Brazilian did

not relent, following up quickly with punches to force a

standing count. The referee took a good look at the

stunned Karaev, then waved his arms to stop the bout,

putting Feitosa through to the semis.

The last quarterfinal saw '03 & '04 WGP Champion

Remy Bonjasky of Holland take on German kickboxer Stefan

"Blitz" Leko. The pair tested early with the kicks, and

during one exchange, Leko accidentally caught Bonjasky

below the belt, prompting a stoppage and doctor's check.

Several minutes passed as Bonjasky grimaced in pain. The

recovery period was further extended, but Bonjasky

remained doubled over. After consultations between the

ringside doctor and K-1 officials, a special provision

was declared wherein Bonjasky could return to his

dressing room for attention. It was announced that the

fight would be restarted after the next scheduled

Alas, Bonjasky was still looking less than 100% when

he returned to the ring some 15 minutes later, but the

fight restarted with the Dutchman launching proficient

high kicks, And then, in a freak of dreadful

circumstance, a Leko spinning kick revisited the same

soft spot on Bonjasky's anatomy. A look of disbelief

flashed across the violated fighter's face as he draped

himself over the ropes in distress. The ring doctor once

again attended to Bonjasky as Leko was assessed a yellow

card for the foul. The bout resumed after some three

minutes, Bonjasky working the kicks and knees, Leko

countering with punches. Defenses were sound on both

sides, and no serious damage was suffered.

In the fast-paced second Bonjasky kept his guard

close and high, peppering his opponent with low kicks

and getting up with an expert knee, while Leko threaded

the guard with a right uppercut. Leko had a hard time

getting the punches past in the third, and Bonjasky used

the legs well before showing great timing to come in

with a tight right hook to score a down. A unanimous

The first semifinal, between Schilt and Hoost, began

with Schilt jabbing and Hoost pestering with quick

overhand punches. Schilt got a solid knee up midway

through, but this didn't trouble Hoost. There was a

spell of tough, in-close boxing early in the second

before Schilt began to get to Hoost, who was cautioned

twice for clinching. The best strike of the round was a

Schilt right hook that caught Hoost unprepared, sending

Schilt's long reach was the difference in the third,

as he was able to launch several successful lefts then

follow with a knee and close with body blows. Hoost

tried till the end to find a way to hurt Schilt, but to

no avail. If Hoost was to lose his last bout, there was

no shame in doing so to the powerhouse that is Schilt.

Substitutions were effected for the second semifinal

after brutalized gonads forced Bonjasky to bow out. It

was announced that Leko was also unable to continue due

damage to his left leg. And so, under K-1 rules, the

winner of the reserve fight was parachuted into the

That was Peter "The Dutch Lumberjack" Aerts. In the

reserve Aerts had met Japanese Seidokaikan fighter

Musashi. Late in the first, Aerts surprised Musashi with

a right straight punch and laid in with the fists to

earn a down, scoring a second soon after resumption to

pick up the win. A participant in each and every WGP

final since the sport's inception, Aerts' victory

afforded him the opportunity to maintain the streak.

Feitosa connected with a hard high kick to rattle

Aerts in the first, and made partial contact soon

afterward with an axe kick. Aerts however reversed

spectacularly in the second, chasing Feitosa with fists,

stunning him with a right and a left then bringing up

the knee. A devastating right hook put the Brazilian

down hard, prompting a referee stop. Aerts sprightly

jogged out of the ring, looking to be in great shape for

The air was electric as Aerts and Schilt entered the

ring for the final. Aerts seized the initiative, rushing

right in with overhand punches, then went after Schilt's

left leg, targeting it with more than a dozen and a half

low kicks in the first round alone. But Schilt used his

reach effectively as always, connecting with straight

punches then corralling Aerts in the corner and bringing

up the knee. Aerts fought a smart fight -- closed up,

his defenses were sound and he stayed mostly out of

Midway though the second, however, Schilt charged in

with kicks and knees to score a down. Aerts appeared

fine after the count, and the never-say-die fighter had

moments of his own in the round, charging with a right

and left straight punch combination that made partial

contact and put Schilt on the ropes. In the third The

Lumberjack pumped in more low kicks, including one that

caught Schilt across the back of the thigh and very

nearly felled him. Aerts added some straight punches,

but could he not put the hurt on Schilt. For his part,

Schilt was always strong with the fists, stymieing

Aerts' attempts to get inside. When the distance did

close, Schilt had the big knees at the ready. Aerts was

tired and a little wobbly by the end of this one, which

went to Schilt by unanimous decision.

"I'm very happy," said the repeat Champion in his

post-tournament interview. "I'm especially pleased to

win with fights against three K-1 all-time greats. I

felt pressure this time, more than I want to admit, but

now that it's over I just want to have a shower and

"As for next year, I think at this point I can take

on anyone, so yes I will go for a third title. I want to

thank all my fans, and I want to thank my sparring

partners, trainers and manager at the Golden Glory Gym."

Remarkably, three of the final eight in this year's

World Grand Prix hailed from a single gym -- Golden

Glory, located in the southern Dutch city of Breda. "We

are successful because we are like a family," commented

Golden Glory's beaming Bas Boon. "Our style is to train

our fighters under a certain system, especially

developing mental strength. We have an interesting

history too, that's all up on our website

A Superfight set the wiry Moroccan Badr Hari against

K-1 Oceania '06 Champion Paul Slowinski of Australia.

The muay thai fighters put on an entertaining show,

Slowinski the well-balanced meat-and-potatoes fighter,

steady on his feet and good with the combinations; Hari

showing superior movement, rhythm and creativity. Hari

had the better stuff overall, launching all manner of

kicks, swinging the fists with gusto and countering

Slowinski effectively throughout. Several times Hari

struck with power sufficient to down many fighters, it

was a testament to Slowinski's strong chin that he

stayed standing and continued to deliver attacks to the

final bell. A comfortable unanimous decision for Hari,

who, belying his bad boy reputation, appeared

disciplined and sportsmanlike here -- thanking his

opponent after the bout, vacating the ring when asked.

In the second tournament reserve, Ray Sefo of New

Zealand took on Melvin Manhoef of Holland. Sefo had

promised that this bout would not go the to the final

bell, in fact it barely got past the first bell. Manhoef

apparently wanted to take Sefo's head off, and straight

off brought a high kick round that sailed just high.

Sefo then wasted no time stepping in with a right hook

that caught Manhoef awkwardly, on the side of the head.

A second right followed and Manhoef went down, where he

struggled to beat the count, shakily getting to his feet

only to see the referee prudently stop the fight, giving

Sefo another addition to his well-stocked trophy case.

In undercard action, Hiraku Hori beat Kyoung Suk Kim

by decision, Junichi Sawayashiki beat Mitsugu Noda by

split decision, and Takumi Sato KO'd Tsutomi Takahagi.

The K-1 World Grand Prix '06 Final attracted 54,800

to the Tokyo Dome. It was broadcast live in Japan on the

Fuji TV network, in Korea on MBC-ESPN, in the

Netherlands on SBS6, in Romania on ProTV and in Hungary

on RTL Klub. InDemand will show the event in the United

States, EuroSport and Canal+ in Europe -- check with

local providers for scheduling information. In total,

the WGP '06 will be broadcast in 129 countries

For official results and coverage of all K-1 events,

visit the K-1 Official Website (www.k-1.co.jp/k-1gp)

>>K-1 WORLD GRANDPRIX 2006 in TOKYO FINAL RESULTS

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