K-1 USA:
Something Needs To Be Said

　

It is not like Americans don’t like sports. It is not like they don’t like combat sports such as boxing, UFC and even the ring theater known as fake-wrestling. There is no shortage of heavyweights in the general population. Grass roots fighters are not overpaid. As the excuses get scratched off the list one-by-one, we draw closer to the implication that the K-1 USA franchise doesn’t particularly care about developing the sport in the Americas . Growth is what we want, yet stagnation is what we have. The K-1 World Grand Prix started in 1993 and has crowned a champion every year since then. In 1995, the first elimination series took place to decide the 8 (out of 16) fighters who would qualify for the event. In other words, since its 3rd championship tournament, the K-1 has had some form of qualification. The K-1 USA itself is a qualifying tournament for the K-1 Grand Prix. The first was held in 1998 with Rick Roufus as the winner. The second was two years later (2000), and the tournament has taken place every year since. In 2002, the K-1 USA franchise began to dabble with qualifiers of its own. In Milwaukee , the finalists of an 8-man tournament, DeNatale and Hasley, earned berths. In 2003, Jefferson Silva won the K-1 Brazil but was later replaced by Eduardo Maiorino. Silva foolishly accepted a match with Ernesto Hoost and lost by KO close to K-1 USA time. The resulting medical suspension stopped him from fighting in the K-1 USA. Since then, the K-1 USA franchise has reverted to its selection only process. Mere Qualifier The first major weakness of the K-1 USA franchise and the tournament itself is that both Scott Coker and the Japan side hold the championship in low regard. The saddest part is that this apathy is fostered from within. Rather than seeing it as a prestigious regional title, they see it as a mere qualifier. A successful American is offered an exemption from the tournament rather than a chance to seize the championship. In 2004, Mo Siliga defeated 2003 K-1 USA Champion Carter Williams to advance to the semi finals of the tournament. He even managed to qualify for the World Grand Prix thanks to the repechage tournament. His reward in 2005 was exemption from the 2005 K-1 USA championship. A better alternative is to reward the fighter with both automatic qualification and a chance to seize the regional title. The wrong thing to do is to tell the world that a sophomore is greater than the K-1 USA. Location Location Location The Superbowl is not held in the same city every year. Nor are the Olympic Games. The K-1 USA Championship has been held in Las Vegas 8 times in a row. The reasons for a new host city each year are fairly intuitive. One is that it is aggressive business development to put a live show in front of fresh fans. Another is that Dewey Cooper’s family and friends can’t hold the sport on their shoulders indefinitely. Comparison The K-1 USA is not the only regional qualifier. The K-1 Japan is another that has been running since 1999 and has had the K-1 Rising, K-1 Survival and K-1 Beast events from 1999 to 2003 to help develop Japanese fighters. Their failing is that impatience for a Japanese star has resulted in brutal beatings by established foreigners and the resulting uncharacteristic wear and tear on their young talent. NTV-4, the television station that aired the K-1 Japan and its qualifiers, eventually lost patience and severed the relationship. The K-1 Japan has since fallen to the level of the K-1 USA. The real star in franchise management and fighter development so far has been Dixon McIver for his work in the Oceania region. His predecessor, Tarik Solak dabbled with fighter development in 2001 by staging the K-1 Oceania qualifying tournaments. Like the K-1 USA experiment, this elaborate qualifying system was discarded. McIver, however, is a young visionary. He knows that Oceania is a potential hotbed for talent and has created a pool system to prepare the better fighters for international competition. McIver is not a dabbler. He will seek to put the K-1 Grand Prix crown on the brow of another fighter out of Oceania . Eliminations and Lottery One of the best things to happen to the K-1 Grand Prix is the inception of the post eliminations draw. In brief, each fighter draws a ball with a number between 1 and 8. Then, in the order of the numbered balls, the fighters decide which of the four opening matches appeals to him most. Some fighters pick based on timing. Earlier bout winners are given more rest than later bout winners. Others chose based on quality of opponents. A weaker opponent may be more attractive to a fighter than extra rest. The uncertainty and anticipation makes the draw nearly as exciting as the bouts themselves. With an elimination of its own, the inclusion of a draw system makes it easy to discard the painful selection system we’ve had until now. Below is a list of 16 fighters from the Americas who would make a very interesting K-1 USA eliminations event. 1-  Glaube Feitosa- This a longshot thanks to K-1 self-sabotage. Feitosa will feel that he is above the regional tournament. Still there is a remote chance that he will see merit in expanding upon his 4-1 record in the event. 2-  Carter Williams- The 2003 K-1 USA champ is a must. Like Glaube a few years ago, his record does not reflect his skill level. Best wins= DEC-3 over Michael McDonald, KO-1 over Rick Roufus, KO-2 over Bjorn Bregy. 3-   Michael McDonald- The 2002 and 2004 K-1 USA champ is near retirement but is still competitive. One line of thought is to make room for the young by dropping the older fighters. The old lion vs. young lion matchup is a better solution for reasons of both excitement and development. Best wins= KO-1 over Mirko Filipovic 4-   Gary Goodridge- Will the real Mr. K-1 step forward. Gary is no Andy Hug. He is no Peter Aerts. However, in 2004 and 2005, he fought 18 fights, the most in the company. He also reached the final of the K-1 USA in 2005 and 2006 and won the K-1 Hawaii 2005. Gary is short on skills, but his ability to punish and absorb punishment makes him an important part of the Americas mix. Best wins= KO-1 over Mike Bernardo, KO-1 over Cyril Abidi and KO-1 over Carter Williams. 5-   Patrick Barry- This young talent hasn’t trained in the game long yet has impressed many including 4-time Grand Prix champion Ernesto Hoost. He fought Kyokushin star Pitchkounov to a draw in Tokyo Dome. 6-   Nick Pettas- Born in Greece , raised in Denmark and living in Japan , Nick Pettas still holds a US citizenship. The political issues between Kyokushin and K-1 are unacceptable reasons for the way he has been mistreated since 2003. Pettas is by far the most dangerous US kicker. Best wins = DEC-4 win over Akio Mori, KO-1 over Yusuke Fujimoto. 7-   Scott Lighty- Probably one of the most improved fighters out of the States. What he lacks in size and talent, he makes up for in tenacity. Claim to fame= Reaching the final of the K-1 Las Vegas 2005 Best win= KO-1 over Tatsufumi Tomihira 8-   Mo Siliga- One of the rare successes to come out of the K-1 Beast events of 2004. Siliga was brought to Japan to act as a punching bag for a Japanese fighter. He left with a KO win instead. He is rumored to have his sights set on boxing now. Claim to fame= 2004 K-1 Las Vegas Champion Best wins= TKO-3 over Carter Williams, DEC-3 over Sergei Gur, DEC-3 over Remy Bonjasky, KO-1 over Frans Botha. 9-   Yusuke Fujimoto- The K-1 practice of putting Japanese fighters in regional tournaments draws less outrage these days. It is a Japanese company and we have given up on demands of global equality. That said, Fujimoto is the kind of fighter American fans like the most. He is a spirited fighter who refuses to run. Best wins= DEC-3 over Frans Botha 10- Dewey Cooper- It is a sad truth that this skilled athlete can’t hit hard enough to score on heavyweights. After 3 rounds, he prays the judges were counting taps as hits. Runners get little respect, but Cooper deserves a place in the talent pool. Claim to fame= 2004 K-1 USA Finalist Best win= DEC-3 over Mo Siliga. 11- Eric Esch- “Butterbean” has a wealth of experience and is fairly dangerous too. His optimistic and generous personality is the greatest asset for the K-1 USA. Younger fighters backstage find him an inspiration. 12- Mark Selbee- This big strong youngster carries the weight of FCR on his shoulders. Boxers have made successful transitions to low kick rules and FCR fighters should expect as much success. The sport of FCR has decreased in participants since its heyday in the 1980s. Selbee could be the one to prove that FCR is not a dead end but an exciting amateur sport and path to pro kickboxing. Best win= DEC-3 over Tsuyoshi Nakasako. 13- Rick Roufus- Southpaw legend who has countless kickboxing careers due to countless retirements. Roufus was the first K-1 USA champion (1998). A former great on the downslide against a talented upstart on the climb gives interesting matchups. If Roufus can contribute a brief career to a few of these matchups, not only will fans get a rare treat, but his opponents (win or lose) will gain tremendously from the experience of sharing the ring with such fight wisdom. Claim to fame= 1998 K-1 USA Champion, 2002 K-1 USA Finalist, 2003 K-1 USA Finalist. Best win= DEC-3 over Maurice Smith, T-DEC-9 over Stan Longinidis 14- Montanha Silva- With 212cm Sem Schilt as the 2005 Grand Prix Champion, it is undeniable that adding a man of similar size to the K-1 USA has experience value. Best wins= DEC-3 over Eric Esch, KO-3 over Yusuke Fujimoto 15- Bob Sapp- In 2003, the K-1 HQ got it in their heads that they could create the same vibe stateside as they had in Japan with “The Beast”. The failed and gave up entirely. Sapp is still a dangerous opponent who adds a healthy dose of uncertainty to any match or tournament. Claim to fame= 2005 K-1 Japan Champion Best wins= KO-1 over Cyril Abidi, TKO-1 over Ernesto Hoost, KO-2 over Ernesto Hoost, DEC-3 over Tatsufumi Tomihira 16- Guiseppe Denatale- Solid aggressive fighter who is currently considering coming out of retirement for another career. Best win= KO-1 over Carter Williams. Pairing the above 16 fighters to form an eliminations event is more art than science. The K-1 can give the preferred fighters easier eliminations matchups. They can match fights based on styles. Below are three (of perhaps 1000s) possibilities using the 16 names above. Card A Card B Card C Feitosa- Lighty Williams- Esch Goodridge- Selbee Pettas- Cooper Sapp- Silva McDonald- Barry Siliga- Denatale Fujimoto- R. Roufus Feitosa- R. Roufus Williams- Denatale Goodridge- Barry Pettas- Lighty Sapp- Esch McDonald- Cooper Siliga- Silva Fujimoto- Selbee Feitosa- Selbee Williams- Barry Goodridge- Lighty Pettas- Silva Sapp- R. Roufus McDonald- Esch Siliga- Cooper Fujimoto- Denatale New Blood Recently, the K-1 has overtly expressed a preference for introducing new faces. This is not a bad thing, but they have decided to tamper with the selection process. In a recent example, JWP was not permitted to participate in the 2006 K-1 MAX (-70kg) eliminations. The point is not really whether or not JWP is as interesting as those who do get invited back. It is that he fought in the K-1 MAX GP and should be in the eliminations. This doesn’t have to hurt the “K-1 New Face Policy”. There are 8 fighters who participate in a tournament like the K-1 MAX GP or the K-1 USA. To raise the number of new faces without unfairly excommunicating a fighter, simply pair the 4 fighters who lost in the previous year’s opening round against each other in the eliminations. This is not a new practice. In 2002, Stefan Leko and Alexei Ignashov met in the eliminations. Sadly, Leko would eliminate Ignashov and get blackballed himself by the K-1 promotional company until November 2005. This created two openings for new fighters. In 2005, Peter Aerts and Mo Siliga met in the eliminations. Unlike Ignashov in the previous example, both Aerts and Siliga lost their opening round matches in 2004. Also meeting in the 2005 eliminations were Akio Mori and Francois Botha who each won their opening round 2004 GP bouts. In 2006, following the suggestion presented here; LeBanner, Karaev, Choi and Sefo would be paired up to allow 2 to reenter the Grand Prix and guaranteed 2 new faces. Of course, if one or more of the other 4 lost in the eliminations, more new faces would advance to the Grand Prix. Fighters who lost in the open round of the K-1 World Grand Prix 2000 - Present 2000- Abidi, Filipovic, Mori, Leko 2001- LeBanner, Aerts, Leko, Pettas 2002- Aerts, Hoost, Leko, Mori 2003- Botha, Graham, Sefo, Ignashov 2004- Hoost, Siliga, Sefo, Aerts 2005- Choi, Sefo, LeBanner, Karaev

Expand the grass roots system. There are two ways to expand the grass roots of the K-1 USA. One is the KB4 approach and the other is the Pool System. KB4 System A KB4 offers 2 fighters the opportunity to fight twice in the same day. This is very attractive for fighters who seek opportunities in a geographical area with sparse opportunities. If the goal is to get 6 – 8 fights a year, one good showing in a KB4 can be a giant step in reaching that target.   Also, because the K-1 decides the company champion based on tournament success, the KB4 will be necessary experience to reach goals in that area too.   This system suggestion leaves a lot of room for growth. At first, only 4 fighters would qualify through the KB4 events. If the K-1 wants to horde at least one of the spots in the eliminations for nominating a preferred fighter (Japanese perhaps) that will leave 3 vacancies available for areas that turn into hotbeds of talent. Mexico would likely get their own tournament. The tiny South American country of Suriname , the birthplace of Ernesto Hoost, Remy Bonjasky, Jerrel Venetiaan and Lloyd Van Dams, could also get its own tournament if it has more high talent fighters at home. The important point to understand is that these KB4 events can rest in some areas indefinitely or be moved from place to place. New KB4 events can be added. Existing ones removed. Some areas may even opt to have a full 8-man tournament. There would be a lot of flexibility at this level. Here is an example: Year X K-1 USA Tournament results from the opening round. Fighters E, F, G and H finished the evening with a 0-1 record. Fighters A, B, C and D collected at least on win and advanced to the semi-final. (A defeated E, B defeated F, C defeated G and D defeated H). Winners A B C D Losers E F G H The following year eliminations would pair the winners (A, B, C and D) with a qualifier who did not participate in the previous year’s K-1 USA. The losers (E, F, G and H), on the other hand would be matched up amongst themselves to allow only 2 of them to have repeat appearances. Year X+1 Eliminations. A B C D E F Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 Q6 G H Q7 Q8 Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4 and Q5 would come from KB4 events in the region. Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 Q6, Q7 and Q8 are openings for the K-1 back office to fill with selected fighters at first. Perhaps later, they can add a KB4 in a potential hotbed. The Pool System The pool system differs from the KB4 system in a few ways. It gives an equal number of fights to winners and losers alike. It is a round robin style of elimination that gives points for winning. The fighter with the most points is the top of the pool. In the K-1 Oceania, there were 3 pools of 4 fighters. Each fighter was matched up with one of the 3 contenders on each of the three grass roots events. The following example illustrates a simple example. Fighter A defeats B, C and D (over the course of 3 events) and ends the pool with 3 points. Fighter A, therefore, advances to the next level. Fighter A B C D Points A NA O O O 3 B X NA O O 2 C X X NA O 1 D X X X NA 0 This next example highlights instances where 2 fighters end a series with the same score. Because A and B finished with 2 points apiece. A tie breaking rule must be applied. Typically, the winner of the bout between the two fighters in question will advance. In the below example, A defeated B, so A will advance. Fighter A B C D Points A NA O X O 2 B X NA O O 2 C O X NA X 1 D X X O NA 1 When 3 fighters share the same score, as in the following example, another tie breaking rule must be used. It can be # of knockouts, # of knockdowns or fewest minutes in the ring. As long as the rule is decided in advance, there won’t be any hurt feelings. Fighter A B C D Points A NA O X O 2 B X NA O O 2 C O X NA O 2 D X X X NA 0 Conclusion After 8 events in 9 years, there is no reason for the K-1 USA to not have strong deep roots in the Americas . We need an eliminations event to give 16 deserving men a chance. We need a system (KB4 or Pool) to pipeline hidden gems to the eliminations. We need good fighters to return and keep the competition level high. We need to recognize the shortcomings and fix them.