K1 Osaka 2001 Report, 4/19/2001 Yokohama, Japan

Report by Steve Mayer.

Jerome Le Banner (France : Boxing) vs. Pavel Majer (Czech Republic : Muay Thai).

Le Banner has changed his entrance music away from the cool Conan theme, but he still looks to be all business. Some interviews aired directly before his entrance where he talks about K.O.ing the competition. They are already hyping a rematch with Sefo in the finals, and show Sefo knocking him out in their match four years ago. While apparently already looking to the finals, Le Banner has to get past Majer, a tall lanky Muay Thai fighter.

Off of the opening bell, Majer is extremely cautious and has the look of someone waiting to get knocked out. He scoots away from the advancing Le Banner and tries to keep him at a distance with low kicks. For his part, Le Banner is very patient. He doesn't throw any punches, but just pushes forward, trying to find the right spot to unleash. He finally finds the moment and throws a stiff left just as Majer is off balance from delivering a kick. The blow prompts Majer to clinch but he finds little reprieve as another big left rocks him.

Majer covers up against the ropes and Le Banner peppers him with a few punches and kicks but he appears to be waiting for Majer to give him a target. Le Banner's patience pays off as he times a shot perfectly. Just as Majer pokes his head out from behind his gloves to take a look, Le Banner smashes his exposed face. Not un reminiscent of the "Whack-a-Mole" game at the game center, Le Banner hits the pop up target and Majer goes down and out for the count. 1st round KO for Le Banner.

Great Kusatsu (Japan : Karate) vs. Ebeneezer Fontes Braga (Brazil : Muay Thai).

They really play up Kusatsu's relationship with the late Andy Hug and desperately want to portray him as Hug's successor. For his part, Braga is heralded as a Vale Tudo fighter and some clips are shown from his NHB fight with Kazushi Sakuraba.

Kusatsu is a bit more aggressive than most Japanese fighters but that particular tactic doesn't serve him all that well in this match up. Because Braga is quick to clinch on the inside and delivers effective knees and leg kick combos. After just a few minutes Braga has really impressed as his style is the most like an actual Muay Thai fight as any I have seen in K-1. He makes excellent use of space and his in-fighting is superb. He pulls Kusatsu's head down and makes him pay with knees to the head and body.

Kusatsu manages to land a few punches when pushing himself free of the clinch but gets caught with another good punch-kick combo and some more knees as the round ends.

During the time between rounds they replay Kusatsu's punch 3 times and don't show any of Braga's highlights despite the fact that he clearly dominated the round. It is obvious that Braga is going to have to knock the Japanese fighter out or at least down a few times, if he is going to get a decision...especially if the history of K-1 judges is anything to go on. One need only look back as far as a month ago to the Gladiators show where the judges did everything they could to gift wrap a decision for Kusatsu against Cyril Abidi. Luckily Abidi's performance was dominant enough to eke out a ridiculous split decision.

Anyway, back to the fight. As the second round begins, Kusatsu is even more aggressive and continues to rush in. Braga continues to impress with nice combinations and this time on the clinch, his accurate knee strikes take their toll and Kusatsu goes down from a solid blow to the head.

Kusatsu shows good heart in getting back up, and he dismissively looks the ref. away, wanting to immediately get back into the fight. Braga charges in to finish the job, but he perhaps overestimates how hurt Kusatsu is and he leaves himself open for a counter right hand. The two trade punches and Braga gets the worst of it, forcing him to take a step back. Kusatsu lands another solid right and looks on the verge of turning things around but Braga clinches with him. Perhaps expecting another knee attack, Kusatsu forgets about Braga's hands and leaves his head open. A short overhand right from the Brazilian sends Kusatsu down to the canvas again.

With the 2 knock down rule in effect, that ends the match. The crowd is clearly disappointed but Braga advances with an impressive display of Muay Thai skill. 2nd Round KO for Braga.

Ray Sefo (New Zealand : Kickboxing) vs. Adam Watt (Australia : Boxing).

Watt was a fixture back in the early K-1 shows of 1993 and 1994 but has been absent for years. Apparently he has spent his time boxing, and the announcers hype his high 84% boxing K.O. ratio.

As with Le Banner earlier, they play some comments from Sefo in which, he too is looking ahead to a finals match-up with the Frenchman. Sefo says that all of Le Banner's threats don't scare him and only make him angrier. He says that he has never been knocked out but that Le Banner has been knocked out more than anyone in K-1. He predicts that when they fight, he will K.O. Le Banner again.

Sefo comes to the ring with a protective device around his ribs and seems to be nursing some manner of injury. It doesn't stop him from getting the job done in this opening round matchup, though. Watt opens with some jabbing kicks, but Sefo rushes him into the corner and connects with a big left hand. Watt covers up but a wicked uppercut finds its way through Watt's defense and floors him. The crowd seems surprised and cheers approvingly as Watt guts his way to his feet to continue.

For a moment it appears that he may hold on to the end of the round as he keeps Sefo at bay with some punches. Sefo fights his way inside, however, and knocks Watt down again with a short right hand. Watt pops right back up, apparently unhurt, but the 2 knock down rule spells the end of this fight. Sefo wins via 1st round K.O.

Jan "The Giant" Norte (South Africa : Kickboxing) vs. Peter Graham (Australia : Karate).

I don't know a thing about Peter Graham, other than his embarrassing ring entrance immediately makes him my least favourite fighter of all time. Unfortunately, the prospect of Norte knocking him out and making me happy seems highly unlikely.

Norte is big, and that seems to be his best attribute. He dwarfs Graham, who is no small man himself. The first round looks sloppy but both fighters appear to be trying hard. Graham seems to have the right idea by keeping his distance and chopping at the bigger man with leg kicks and only trading punches when cornered. Norte's reach, however, gives him a big advantage as he seems to be able to land shots at will. The blows look awkward, however, as he throws them from his waist and look more like someone swinging a tennis racket than snapping off a boxer's punch. Right before the bell sounds, Graham launches himself through the air with a flipping kick (sorry, don't know the technique name) which grazes Norte. While no damage is done, the crowd oohs and aahs in typical fashion whenever something fancy happens.

Round 2 is more of the same except at a slower speed. Graham seems to be fighting intelligently, it just remains to be seen if he is going to be able to do enough damage to get a decision. Norte, is scoring consistently but none of his blows seem to put Graham in any danger. Once again, right before the final bell, Graham gives the crowd something to oohh about and throws a spinning backfist. Norte blocks the shot, but it probably will pay off for Graham in the long run as there is a definite tendency to reward style over substance here. (e.g. Giving more weight to fancy techniques that miss than to "boring" techniques that actually land and score).

For Round 3 the fighters appear weary and the action slows even further. Graham seems to realize that with the Giant's reach, Norte is going to hit him no matter if he tries to keep his distance or not, so he decides to move forward. They trade punches and Graham gets thrown backwards. However, this seems to be more because of the slapping-pushing nature of Norte's punches rather than because he is actually being hurt. True to form, Graham tries another flipping kick at the bell, hoping to leave an impression fresh in the judges mind as they fill out their ballots.

This is going to be a hard one to judge. On the one hand Norte seemed to land more punches but none of them seemed to be very effective. Graham tried more things and seemed to fight hard, but never really did any damage either. The first judge scores the fight for Graham. Judge 2 : for Norte. And the 3rd and final judge calls it a draw. The 1-1-1 decision sends the fighters into a fourth round.

Graham takes advantage of the tired Norte in the overtime and attacks aggressively, deciding that there is nothing to lose by just trading punches. He uses a smart tactic by constantly circling the bigger man, first left and then right, all the while hitting the slower man while Norte tries desperately to keep Graham in front of him. The final bell sounds and the judges unanimously reward the round to Graham. Peter Graham wins a 3-0 dec. in overtime

SEMI-FINALS
Le Banner vs. Braga.

As impressive as Braga was in his first round win, he has a tall order here with Le Banner who outweighs him by 45 pounds. Despite this, Braga shows no fear and wants to slug with him right at the opening bell. A brave, but perhaps foolhardy strategy as Le Banner's first flurry of punches sends Braga pinballing against the ropes and then down to the canvas. Braga struggles to his feet and Le Banner catches him again with a right hook to the head which sends him staggering into the corner. Braga is wobbly and Le Banner could easily have nailed him again but instead he decides not to go in for the kill, instead he looks at the ref. to see if he is going to stop the fight. The ref. is going to let the action continue but then Braga stumbles and falls back into the corner, which prompts the ref. to step in and stop the contest. Surprising sportsmanship from the normally jerk-like Le Banner as he spares Braga from unnecessary punishment. Le Banner advances to the finals via quick 1st Round K.O.

Graham vs. Watt.

Much to the fans' disappointment, the fight doctor announces that Sefo's injury will keep him from continuing. As per the rules, Watt will take his place in the semi-final. Sefo is interviewed back in the dressing room and he apologizes for disappointing his fans but that his injury is from 2-3 weeks ago and the K-1 people knew about it but wanted him to try and fight anyway. He vows to be back and win this year's Final Grand Prix.

In this match, Watt gets to show off the boxing skills that he didn't have a chance to display against Sefo. He jabs and moves well against Graham. Both men throw spinning back fists which miss, before Watt moves in and lands some good body shots. Later in the round, Graham tries another spinning punch but this time he connects with his forearm to Watt's head. Luckily Watt isn't hurt by the illegal blow and he responds with more punches and a spinning back fist of his own, which lands legally with the glove and not the wrist. The round ends, and it looks to be solidly in Watt's column.

In Round 2 Watt lands a quick flurry of punches and Graham goes down. Graham gets back up only to quickly go back down from a left to the head. Graham isn't hurt but the 2 knockdown rule claims another victim. Watt by 2nd Round K.O.

SUPERFIGHT

Samir Benbachi (France : Kickboxing) vs. Takayuki Tohiromaki (Japan : Kickboxing).

These are small light weight fighters and work a quick pace. Benbachi starts off with several high kicks but Tohiromaki does a good job of blocking them. Benbachi then mixes things up and his first real punch finds the mark and floors Tohiromaki. The Japanese fighter gets to his feet and continues to fight. He actually manages to have some success late in the round by using some effective knees during the clinch.

The second round is more evenly matched as Tohiromaki makes good use of his knees but Benbachi still finds the mark with some good left hooks and an uppercut.

The 3 Round ends abruptly when on a clinch Tohiromaki gets a high knee that connects with Benbachi's head, knocking him down and out. Tohiromaki even gives him an extra kick on the ground for good measure. The Frenchman's corner complains to no avail and Tohiromaki wins via 3rd Round K.O. The doctor comes in to attend to Benbachi and he is eventually brought back to his senses.


Prior to the Finals they play a segment about "Big Mouth" Jerome Le Banner. They discuss his cocky attitude and get some comments from Grand Prix Champions, Peter Aerts and Ernesto Hoost. Aerts says that Le Banner is a strong fighter but isn't that smart of a fighter. He says that everyone can talk and talk, so let Le Banner talk all he wants. Hoost isn't as kind. He says people try and build up this image of Le Banner and that people want to make him out to be the G.P. Champion. But in reality he is an average fighter. He then amends that, and says he above average but that he is a fighter who can be beaten by everybody.

FINAL
Le Banner vs. Watt.

This seems like a mismatch, and the thin Watt gets bulled into the corner and beaten to the ground quickly. Watt tries to keep Le Banner off of him with high kicks, and it seems like a lucky head kick K.O. will be Watt's only chance to prevail. Le Banner doesn't waste any more time, though and a flurry of shots drop Watt again. Le Banner wins for the Osaka Grand Prix by 1st round K.O., and walks away with $60,000 and a ticket to the Final Grand Prix in Tokyo.


Undoubtedly everyone will be disappointed that they didn't get the much-hyped Le Banner vs. Sefo fight. I question why K-1 had Sefo fight now only to have him pull out and mess up the tournament when they could apparently have just scheduled him for one of the later qualifying tournaments when he was healthy. In the final analysis though, it wasn't too bad of a show. The lack of competitive fights was made up to some extent by the number and quality of the knockouts.