K-1 Grand Prix '96
K-1 Grand Prix '96 was a kickboxing event promoted by the K-1 organization. It was the fourth K-1 World Grand Prix final involving eight of the world's best heavyweight fighters (+95 kg/209 lbs), with all bouts fought under K-1 Rules. The eight finalists had all almost qualified via elimination fights at the K-1 Grand Prix '96 Opening Battle event. The only absentee was Stan Longinidis who was unable to participate in the tournament due to injury - he was replaced by reservist Duane Van Der Merwe. As well as tournament bouts there were also two 'Super Fights' fought under K-1 Rules. In total there were twelve fighters at the event, representing seven countries.
| K-1 Grand Prix '96 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Information | ||||
| Promotion | K-1 | |||
| Date | May 6, 1996 | |||
| Venue | Yokohama Arena | |||
| City | Yokohama, Japan | |||
| Attendance | 17,850 | |||
| Event chronology | ||||
| ||||
The tournament winner was Andy Hug who defeated Mike Bernardo in the final by way of second round knockout. This would be the popular Hug's first and sole K-1 World Grand Prix title, although he would be the runner up in two more finals. Mike Bernardo would be taking place in his first and only K-1 final, causing a considerable upset by defeating defending champion Peter Aerts by knockout in the quarter-finals. The event was held at the Yokohama Arena in Yokohama, Japan on Monday, May 6, 1996 in front of 17,850 spectators.
K-1 Grand Prix '96 Tournament
| K-1 Grand Prix '96 Opening Battle | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||||||
| Peter Aerts | KO | ||||||||||||||
| Jean-Claude Leuyer | |||||||||||||||
| Peter Aerts | |||||||||||||||
| Mike Bernardo | KO | ||||||||||||||
| Mike Bernardo | TKO | ||||||||||||||
| Jeff Roufus | |||||||||||||||
| Mike Bernardo | DEC | ||||||||||||||
| Musashi | |||||||||||||||
| Sam Greco | DEC | ||||||||||||||
| Perry Telgt | |||||||||||||||
| Sam Greco | |||||||||||||||
| Musashi | TKO | ||||||||||||||
| Kit Lykins | |||||||||||||||
| Musashi | KO | ||||||||||||||
| Mike Bernardo | |||||||||||||||
| Andy Hug | KO | ||||||||||||||
| Mirko Cro Cop | DEC | ||||||||||||||
| Jérôme Le Banner | |||||||||||||||
| Mirko Cro Cop | |||||||||||||||
| Ernesto Hoost | KO | ||||||||||||||
| Stuart Green | |||||||||||||||
| Ernesto Hoost | KO | ||||||||||||||
| Ernesto Hoost | |||||||||||||||
| Andy Hug | DEC | ||||||||||||||
| Andy Hug | TKO | ||||||||||||||
| Bart Vale | |||||||||||||||
| Andy Hug | KO | ||||||||||||||
| Duane Van Der Merwe * | |||||||||||||||
| Sadau Kiatsongrit | |||||||||||||||
| Stan Longinidis | DEC | ||||||||||||||
* Reserve Fight winner Duane Van Der Merwe replaced Stan Longinidis in the quarter-finals as Stan Longinidis was injured
Results
| K-1 Grand Prix Quarter-finals: K-1 Rules / 3Min. 3R Ext.1R | |
| Mike Bernardo def. Peter Aerts | |
| Bernardo defeated Aerts by KO (Left Hook) at 0:13 of the 3rd round. | |
|---|---|
| Musashi def. Sam Greco | |
| Musashi defeated Greco by TKO (Doctor Stoppage, Broken Toe) at 3:00 of the 1st round. | |
| Ernesto Hoost def. Mirko Cro Cop | |
| Hoost defeated Cro Cop by KO (Right Low Kick) at 1:27 of the 3rd round. | |
| Andy Hug def. Duane Van Der Merwe | |
| Hug defeated Van Der Merwe by KO (Left Hook) at 0:40 of the 1st round. | |
| Super Fight 1: K-1 Rules / 3Min. 3R | |
| Masaaki Miyamoto def. Ron Smoorenburg | |
| Miyamoto defeated Smoorenburg by KO (Right Punch) at 0:13 of the 1st round. | |
| K-1 Grand Prix Semi-finals: K-1 Rules / 3Min. 3R Ext.2R | |
| Mike Bernardo def. Musashi | |
| Bernardo defeated Musashi by 3rd round Unanimous Decision 3-0 (30-28, 29-28, 30-28). | |
| Andy Hug def. Ernesto Hoost | |
| Hug defeated Hoost by 2nd Extra Round Split Decision 2-1 (10-9, 9-10, 10-9). After the 1st Extra Round the judges scored it a Majority Draw 1-0 (10-10, 10-9, 10-10) in favour of Hoost, while after the first 3 rounds the judges had scored it a Decision Draw 1-1 (30-29 Hug, 30-30, 29-30 Hoost). | |
| Super Fight 2: K-1 Rules / 3Min. 3R | |
| Rene Rooze def. Jean-Claude Leuyer | |
| Rooze defeated Leuyer by KO (Punches) at 1:50 of the 1st round. | |
| K-1 Grand Prix Final: K-1 Rules / 3Min. 3R Ext.2R | |
| Andy Hug def. Mike Bernardo | |
| Hug defeated Bernardo by KO (Left Spinning Low Kick) at 1:18 of the 2nd round. | |
References
- "K-1 Grand Prix '96 Final Results". K-1 Official Website. Archived from the original on 2009-12-08.
- "Results: K-1 WORLD GRAND PRIX 1996 FINAL". K-1sport.de - Your Source for Everything K-1.