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Wednesday, Aug 20, 2003

K-1 “battle At The Bellagio”:bonjasky Stands And Delivers



K-1 "BATTLE AT THE BELLAGIO":
BONJASKY STANDS AND DELIVERS

Written by Michael Afromowitz – muaythaimes@aol.com

27-year-old Remy Bonjasky showed the fight world why his promoters have repeatedly labeled him as the next great K-1 icon by defeating three consecutive opponents to take the K-1 "Battle At The Bellagio" championship. The single-elimination tournament victory advanced the Dutch kickboxer to the October 11th playoff in Osaka, Japan.

Bonjasky needed little time to dismantle quarterfinal round opponent Vernon "Tiger" White, who attempted to overwhelm the two plus year veteran of K-1 with several flying knees. Bonjasky weathered the storm with his superior defense and fired back with a flying knee of his own. After backing White up with the blow, he sent the American to the mat with a hard straight knee to the body. White rose to his feet, but was met by dynamic agility when Bonjasky leaped forward and delivered a front kick to his opponent’s head. The shot left White on the canvas and unable to beat the referee’s count at 1:55 into the opening round.

The semifinal round of the tournament saw Bonjasky face American Jeff Ford, who had been defeated at the hands of Rick "The Jet" Roufus one round earlier. Roufus was replaced by his opponent in the semifinal round, though, when he announced that he would not be able to continue his bid for the championship in the next tournament round.

Ford’s demise was similar to that of White as Bonjasky continued his high-flying tactics. Ford took repeated knees to the body before Bonjasky executed a high roundhouse kick that landed on Ford’s shoulder and put the American down in pain. In the middle of his count at the 1:28 mark of the first round, the referee saw that Ford had sustained a shoulder injury and called a halt to the bout.

Bonjasky’s toughest challenge fittingly came in the championship round of the event when he met 2002 K-1 USA and 2002 K-1 World Grand Prix Semifinals victor, Michael McDonald.


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SAPP KNOCKS OUT KIMO;
BUTTS HEADS WITH MIKE TYSON

Written By Michael Afromowitz – muaythaimes@aol.com

Before a sellout Bellagio Hotel and Casino crowd, Bob Sapp brutally chopped down a game and gutsy Kimo in the second round of the main event at K-1 "Battle at the Bellagio" on Friday, August 15th. Moments after the controversial ending, a new story unfolded when former undisputed heavyweight boxing champion, "Iron" Mike Tyson, emerged from the crowd and challenged Sapp to a confrontation in the ring.

After Sapp charged into the squared circle for the bout in typical "Beast" character and engaged in a heated stare down with the fighter whom he scuffled with during the pre-fight press conference two days earlier, a cautious fight ensued for the opening seconds. For the first time since he entered the world of K-1 last year, Sapp threw his first kick, a roundhouse, and surprisingly began to utilize with great frequency the kicking arsenal he has been developing during his Seidokaikan Karate training in Japan.

Rather than fleeing the heat, Kimo stood his ground and fired back with his own kicks. He was dropped, however, during a wild exchange of punches.

After Kimo rose to his feet, he fought back valiantly and turned the tides by pounding away on Sapp’s legs with low kicks. Kimo fed Sapp a hard right hand that buckled the 356-pound fighter’s legs. He fought to stay on his feet, but collapsed. After barely beating the count, Sapp was saved by the bell.

During the one-minute break between rounds, confusion arose between officials and both fighters’ corners. Kimo’s corner nearly began to celebrate after being falsely advised that Sapp would not be able to answer the opening bell for the second round. An extended rest followed and officials confirmed that Sapp would, in fact, be able to continue to fight.

Badly battered, Sapp attempted to end things immediately after the round began and put Kimo down with a right hand to the head. Kimo recovered, but was smothered by Sapp’s wild barrages. Kimo turned his back and Sapp chopped him down with a hammer punch to the back of the neck. The blow put Kimo flat on his back and left him unable to beat the referee’s 10 count.

A wild celebration by Sapp and his corner ended when the big man spotted Tyson in the audience and taunted him. Tyson, who had been present in Las Vegas with his management during the week to negotiate a possible fight deal with K-1, responded to Sapp by storming the ring. A brief melee broke out inside the ropes and force was used to separate the two fighters.

Sapp and Tyson engaged in a verbal joust that resulted in Iron Mike issuing a challenge to Sapp. Sapp accepted and added that he would put Tyson "through the ground."


From the event’s promoter:



AFC #5

AFC #5 – War Memorial Coliseum, Ft Lauderdale, FL / Friday September 5th, 2003

BEST PRICE ON TICKETS ANYWHERE:
GOLD CIRCLE: $35.00 / RINGSIDE: $25.00 – $35.00 / GENERAL ADMISSION: $15.00
DOORS OPEN AT 6:30 – FIGHTS START AT 7:30

Tickets available at www.ticketmaster.com. Enter ‘ABSOLUTE’ for the event!

‘We are finishing the card up, 10 matches and we have the last few fights ready to announce. There are also some injury changes.’ states the matchmaker.

‘The match between Derrick Noble and Thiago ‘Pitbull’ is off, because Thiago broke his hand. Stepping in for the ATT team to take this match is Jorge Santiago, who will be trying to bounce back after his loss at KOTC last week.’ states the matchmaker. ‘South Florida will have to wait to see the ‘Pitbull’.

‘In a similar move Josh Krueger of DUNELAND Vale Tudo steps in for fallen teammate John Kolosci, who separated a shoulder. Efrain Ruiz from Miami’s Freestyle Fighting Academy will provide the opposition.’ continues the matchmaker.

‘Finally Nick Thompson from Dave Strasser’s Freestyle Academy is stepping up to face Dustin ‘Clean’ Denes of ATT. A tall order, but Strasser’s fighters never shy away from doing the dirty work. So ‘Clean’ is in!’ concludes the matchmaker.

More on Strasser’s FREESTYLE ACADEMY team as they head to AFC #5 next week! The lineup follows.

Card Subject To Change:

155 lb AFC World Title Match:
3 RDS – Edson Diniz (American TOP TEAM, AFC World Champion, Ft Lauderdale, FL) versus Nick Agallar (Freestyle Academy, Kenosha, WI)

170 lb AFC World Title Match:

3 RDS – Chris Lytle (Integrated Fighting, AFC World Champion, Indianapolis, IN.) versus Chatt Lavender (Blaylock IMB / MBDC, Chatanooga, TN.)

3 RDS / 185 LBS – Dustin Denes (American TOP TEAM, Ft Lauderdale, FL) versus Nick Thompson (Freestyle Academy, Kenosha, WI)

2 RDS / 155 LBS – Pedro Brandao (Gracie Miami, Miami, FL) versus Phil Johns (Silverbacks, Canton, IL)

2 RDS / 185 LBS – Efrain Ruiz (Freestyle Fighting Academy, Miami, FL) versus Josh Krueger (Duneland VT, Portage, IN)

2 RDS / 135 LBS – Paulo Barros Guerrero (Natal, Brazil) versus Matt Hamilton (Living Defense, Little Rock, AR)

2 RDS / 205 LBS – Marcel Ferreira (American TOP TEAM, Ft Lauderdale, FL) versus Tony Ross (Integrated Fighting, AFC World Champion, Indianapolis, IN.)

2 RDS / 155 LBS – Jorge Masvidal (Freestyle Fighting Academy, Miami, FL) versus Roli Delgado (Living Defense, Little Rock, AR.)

2 RDS / 170 LBS – Jorge Santiago (American TOP TEAM, Ft Lauderdale, FL) versus Derrick Noble (Silverbacks, Canton, IL)

2 RDS / 155 LBS – Rick Davis (Pires JJ, Las Vegas, NV) versus Brian Geraghty (Freestyle Academy, Kenosha, WI.)

posted by Full Contact Fighter @ 8:00 pm
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