Lefty
1st May 2006, 04:58 AM
Last night I had the pleasure of attending the K-1 GrandPrix live. The show was held at the Mirage. Considering I had $50 seats and I was only 20 rows away and dead center from the ring , I had a great view of the action. Me a my girlfriend arrived at about 6 pm, skipping the no name prelims. There was a HUGE Japanese attendace. ($100 aint gonna buy shit at a Japanese K-1, why not take advantage of the cheap seats?).
Shitloads of stars were in attendance. I met Peter Aerts, Ray Sefo, Tito Ortiz, David Robinson (of the Spurs), Kevin Randleman, Semmy Shilt, Stephan Leko, and Micheal and Bruce Buffer. I was sitting right in front of Scott Lighty's camp and got to converse with his trainer throughout the fight (Chuck Liddell was also in Lighty's corner, but sat with the stars). I should get some pics posted by the weekend. My girl was in most, but at least I got pics with Sefo, Semmy Schilt and Peter Aerts. Funny when I met Dewey Cooper at the end of the night. After a few Heinakens, I thought he was Ziggy Marley and went and said "what's up Ziggy!" , good thing he had a sense of humor and was a reggae fan.
After attending last years K-1 Vegas show, 2 UFC's and plenty of boxing fights....this card was easily the best live event I ever attended. 4 hours of ass kicking fights and meeting stars left and right made it a very memorable night.
Here's a quick breakdown of the action....
1st tournement fight:
Gary Goodridge/ Kengo: Big Daddy absolutely starched this poor bastard. Kengo was Ko'ed for a good minute and we were seriously worried for the guy . The fight didnt even last a minute. Besides the highlight reel Ko, Big Daddy paid tribute to Andy Hug by playing "We will rock you".
2Nd fight:
Scott Lighty/Dewey Cooper: Sitting in front of the Lighty camp made this fight great. His trainers were going nuts behind me. Close fight, Scotty won by a judges dec. He had a good showing last year by making it to the finals. Now he was advancing to the semi's.
3rd fight:
Carter Williams/Fujimoto: This was a rematch of a previous meeting. Cautious first few minutes, then Carter began to open up . He drop Fuj a few times in the earlier rds, and ended up winning a dec.
4th fight:
Challid "die Faust (the fist)"/ Sean Ohare: I bet some idiot sitting next to me that Challid would ko this former pro wrestler in the first, and I won the $20 bet. Challid used his superior handspeed, quick combo's and fast feet to annihilate the big man quick.
Superfight 1
Stephan Leko/Ruslan Kareav: Ruslan was last years Tourny winner in Vegas and this fight promissed to be a good one. Very techincal fight with great exchanges. Ruslan scored 2 knockdowns, both which were flash IMO. In the final rd, Leko nailed Ruslan and dropped him. Ruslan made the count and won a Dec in a very exciting fight.
Semi #1
Goodridge/Lighty: Lighty's corner was mighty quiet, it seems they were'nt looking forward to fighting Gary. Rightfully so, Goodridge scored 2 knockdowns in the first and the fight was stopped. Althought the knockdowns didnt do too much damage (caught glove), Vegas has a 2 knockdown rule in the semifinal rds (according to Lighty's corner man). Big daddy advances.
Semi #2
Challid/Carter Williams: Carter had a huge size advantge over Challid and must have had 40 lbs on him. Regardless, Challid was boxing circle around him early and beating him to the punch early. Carter adjusted his gameplan and began to corner, bully and throw knees on the inside. Carter scored and knockdown in the 2nd, but I thought I may have been a slip. The fight went to a dec which I thought the fist should have won, but they gave it to Carter. The fans were booing because they know Challid got robbed, just like last year's tournemnet in Vegas.
Superfight #2
Semmy Schilt/ Musashi: Boring ass fight. Musashi danced and didnt use as many leg kicks as we would have expected. Semmy looked out of shape and lumbered his way to a dec. Crappy fight.
Superfight #3
Sylvestor"the predator" Turkay/ Hong man choi: This was the quintesstial 3rd grader versus 6th grader battle for supremacy. Both guys had zero defense, but plenty of heart. After the 1st 30 seconds, technique was out the window. Entertaining fight, both guys took a beating. Choi won a close dec, the fans cheered for pred, pretty entertaining fight.
Tournement final:
Just announced, Carter Williams is injured, Challid"the fist" take his place (rightfully so)! The fans went nuts after the annoucement. So we had it...
Goodridge/Challid: Right off the bat Challid used his speed, combos and feet to evade Gary's looping bombs and keep the big man at bay. Gary's able to out muscle Challid at one point and score a knockdown in the first. Acoording to the NSAC, this would have been a 10-8 rd for Gary although Challid dominated him the entire rd. Shows how messed up Vegas scoring is. The 10 pt must system has no place in k-1 or mma!
Second rd was the same story, Challid pepers Gary the entire rd, then gets knockedown from a looping punch. Another 10-8 when Challid was schooling him.
The 3rd rd was one I'll never forget. Both guys opened up, trading hooks. Gary throwing bombs, Challid ducking and throwng his own. In the final minute in another exchange, Challid tags Gary with a perfect left hook and the big man drops! Gary's ko'ed for the entire 10 count. The fans went ballistic! WHat a way to end a great night of fights. Challid wins the K-1 Vegas tournment. Redemption from last year is what I'd call it. Great card, one I'll never forget.
K-1 also annouced a Bellagio card will be held in August, I'll definately be there.
(By the way, for those who saw the fight on TV and saw it a bit differently, adding 10 beers and a few shots to your blood system and get back to me:)
Shitloads of stars were in attendance. I met Peter Aerts, Ray Sefo, Tito Ortiz, David Robinson (of the Spurs), Kevin Randleman, Semmy Shilt, Stephan Leko, and Micheal and Bruce Buffer. I was sitting right in front of Scott Lighty's camp and got to converse with his trainer throughout the fight (Chuck Liddell was also in Lighty's corner, but sat with the stars). I should get some pics posted by the weekend. My girl was in most, but at least I got pics with Sefo, Semmy Schilt and Peter Aerts. Funny when I met Dewey Cooper at the end of the night. After a few Heinakens, I thought he was Ziggy Marley and went and said "what's up Ziggy!" , good thing he had a sense of humor and was a reggae fan.
After attending last years K-1 Vegas show, 2 UFC's and plenty of boxing fights....this card was easily the best live event I ever attended. 4 hours of ass kicking fights and meeting stars left and right made it a very memorable night.
Here's a quick breakdown of the action....
1st tournement fight:
Gary Goodridge/ Kengo: Big Daddy absolutely starched this poor bastard. Kengo was Ko'ed for a good minute and we were seriously worried for the guy . The fight didnt even last a minute. Besides the highlight reel Ko, Big Daddy paid tribute to Andy Hug by playing "We will rock you".
2Nd fight:
Scott Lighty/Dewey Cooper: Sitting in front of the Lighty camp made this fight great. His trainers were going nuts behind me. Close fight, Scotty won by a judges dec. He had a good showing last year by making it to the finals. Now he was advancing to the semi's.
3rd fight:
Carter Williams/Fujimoto: This was a rematch of a previous meeting. Cautious first few minutes, then Carter began to open up . He drop Fuj a few times in the earlier rds, and ended up winning a dec.
4th fight:
Challid "die Faust (the fist)"/ Sean Ohare: I bet some idiot sitting next to me that Challid would ko this former pro wrestler in the first, and I won the $20 bet. Challid used his superior handspeed, quick combo's and fast feet to annihilate the big man quick.
Superfight 1
Stephan Leko/Ruslan Kareav: Ruslan was last years Tourny winner in Vegas and this fight promissed to be a good one. Very techincal fight with great exchanges. Ruslan scored 2 knockdowns, both which were flash IMO. In the final rd, Leko nailed Ruslan and dropped him. Ruslan made the count and won a Dec in a very exciting fight.
Semi #1
Goodridge/Lighty: Lighty's corner was mighty quiet, it seems they were'nt looking forward to fighting Gary. Rightfully so, Goodridge scored 2 knockdowns in the first and the fight was stopped. Althought the knockdowns didnt do too much damage (caught glove), Vegas has a 2 knockdown rule in the semifinal rds (according to Lighty's corner man). Big daddy advances.
Semi #2
Challid/Carter Williams: Carter had a huge size advantge over Challid and must have had 40 lbs on him. Regardless, Challid was boxing circle around him early and beating him to the punch early. Carter adjusted his gameplan and began to corner, bully and throw knees on the inside. Carter scored and knockdown in the 2nd, but I thought I may have been a slip. The fight went to a dec which I thought the fist should have won, but they gave it to Carter. The fans were booing because they know Challid got robbed, just like last year's tournemnet in Vegas.
Superfight #2
Semmy Schilt/ Musashi: Boring ass fight. Musashi danced and didnt use as many leg kicks as we would have expected. Semmy looked out of shape and lumbered his way to a dec. Crappy fight.
Superfight #3
Sylvestor"the predator" Turkay/ Hong man choi: This was the quintesstial 3rd grader versus 6th grader battle for supremacy. Both guys had zero defense, but plenty of heart. After the 1st 30 seconds, technique was out the window. Entertaining fight, both guys took a beating. Choi won a close dec, the fans cheered for pred, pretty entertaining fight.
Tournement final:
Just announced, Carter Williams is injured, Challid"the fist" take his place (rightfully so)! The fans went nuts after the annoucement. So we had it...
Goodridge/Challid: Right off the bat Challid used his speed, combos and feet to evade Gary's looping bombs and keep the big man at bay. Gary's able to out muscle Challid at one point and score a knockdown in the first. Acoording to the NSAC, this would have been a 10-8 rd for Gary although Challid dominated him the entire rd. Shows how messed up Vegas scoring is. The 10 pt must system has no place in k-1 or mma!
Second rd was the same story, Challid pepers Gary the entire rd, then gets knockedown from a looping punch. Another 10-8 when Challid was schooling him.
The 3rd rd was one I'll never forget. Both guys opened up, trading hooks. Gary throwing bombs, Challid ducking and throwng his own. In the final minute in another exchange, Challid tags Gary with a perfect left hook and the big man drops! Gary's ko'ed for the entire 10 count. The fans went ballistic! WHat a way to end a great night of fights. Challid wins the K-1 Vegas tournment. Redemption from last year is what I'd call it. Great card, one I'll never forget.
K-1 also annouced a Bellagio card will be held in August, I'll definately be there.
(By the way, for those who saw the fight on TV and saw it a bit differently, adding 10 beers and a few shots to your blood system and get back to me:)