Peter Aerts 3 – 3 Mike Bernardo

I 1995/12/9 Peter Aerts defeated Mike Bernardo by KO-1

II 1996/5/6 Mike Bernardo defeated Peter Aerts by KO-3

III 1996/9/1 Mike Bernardo defeated Peter Aerts by DQ

IV 1996/10/18 Mike Bernardo defeated Peter Aerts by KO-3

V 1997/11/9 Peter Aerts defeated Mike Bernardo by KO-3

VI 1998/12/13 Peter Aerts defeated Mike Bernardo by KO-1

The first and third fights were disappointments. They are mere footnotes today. In the first, Peter hit Mike in the back of the head and the ref stopped the fight without even a count. A footnote today? Yes. But, then it created a strong rivalry. Bernardo was furious and Aerts felt the fury in the next fight. The third fight ended by DQ. Aerts hit Mike with an accidental low blow in the first round. In those days, it was a DQ loss instead of a no contest. Mike sent Peter airborne again in the fourth fight. Peter then changed his style. He learned to fight moving backwards surprised Mike in the fifth match. In 1998, Peter was at a level of his own. He beat 3 opponents including Mike in 6 minutes 43 seconds.

Jerome LeBanner 3 – 1 Mark Hunt

I 2000/7/30 Jerome LeBanner defeated Mark Hunt by DEC-3

II 2001/12/8 Mark Hunt defeated Jerome LeBanner by KO-2

III 2002/5/25 Jerome LeBanner defeated Mark Hunt by TKO-2

IV 2002/12/7 Jerome LeBanner defeated Mark Hunt by DEC-3

Mark confessed that he was star-struck the first time he met Jerome. In 2001, at the K-1 Grand Prix draw, he selected Jerome to be his opponent. He then proceeded to KO Jerome and win the title. The third fight took place in Paris and Jerome won when Mark couldn’t come out for the 3^rd round. Both fighters had Thai oil in their eyes. The fourth fight was a one sided beating. Jerome punished Mark for three rounds and scored a down in the second. Mark refused to quit and even managed a flash knockdown in the closing seconds.

Andy Hug 2 – 2 Mike Bernardo

I 1995/3/3 Mike Bernardo defeated Andy Hug by TKO-3

II 1995/9/3 Mike Bernardo defeated Andy Hug by KO-2

III 1996/5/6 Andy Hug defeated Mike Bernardo KO-2

IV 1997/6/7 Andy Hug defeated Mike Bernardo DEC-5

Andy was supposed to win the first fight. Mike was handpicked for him. To everyone’s surprise, superstar Andy Hug was in the corner receiving several unanswered blows until referee Kakuda had to stop the fight. The second fight was supposed to be the revenge fight, but Mike stopped Andy again. The third fight was for the big prize, the K-1 Grand Prix title and Mike’s leg couldn’t take the punishment. The final match was in Andy’s homeland. It was a close match where Mike scored a knockdown but lost the decision.

Ernesto Hoost 3 – 2 Jerome LeBanner

I 1996/10/18 Jerome LeBanner defeated Ernesto Hoost by KO-2

II 1997/11/9 Ernesto Hoost defeated Jerome LeBanner by KO-1

III 1999/12/5 Ernesto Hoost defeated Jerome LeBanner by KO-2

IV 2000/7/30 Jerome LeBanner defeated Ernesto Hoost by TKO-1

V 2002/12/7 Ernesto Hoost defeated Jerome LeBanner by KO-3

A very youthful Jerome used his heavy hands to score a knockout the first time. In the second match, Ernesto took advantage of the old 5-count rule to score a KO. In 1999, Ernesto won the third fight thanks in part to Peter Aerts scoring a jarring head kick on Jerome earlier in the evening. The fourth fight was Jerome’s thanks to Lloyd Van Dams damaging Ernesto’s earlier in the evening. The fifth fight was very dramatic. Jerome had broken his arm in his win over Mark Hunt in the semi final. In the final, Ernesto’s corner noticed Jerome wince in pain and figured it out. Ernesto then put several hard kicks on Jerome forearm until he went down. Jerome refused to quit and Ernesto had to put him down twice more.

Peter Aerts 3 – 1 Jerome LeBanner

I 1995/5/4 Peter Aerts defeated Jerome LeBanner by KO-1

II 1997/7/20 Peter Aerts defeated Jerome LeBanner by KO-2

III 1999/12/5 Jerome LeBanner defeated Peter Aerts by KO-1

IV 2005/11/19 Peter Aerts defeated Jerome LeBanner by DEC-4

The first fight was for the big prize, the Grand Prix. Peter stopped Jerome with a body blow. The second was a KO win by Peter and his high kick. By 1999, a faster, stronger, more mature Jerome had surfaced. Peter dropped him with a highkick but Jerome got up and stopped Peter in 1:11, the fastest any returning champion has ever been eliminated. In 2005, both fighters were reluctant to fight each other, but they set aside their friendship to go 4 close rounds. Peter won the fight but Jerome did enough damage to force Peter to withdraw from the tournament.

Peter Aerts 2 – 2 Andy Hug

I 1997/3/16 Peter Aerts defeated Andy Hug by KO-1

II 1997/11/9 Andy Hug defeated Peter Aerts by DEC-3

III 1998/6/6 Andy Hug defeated Peter Aerts by DEC-5

IV 1998/12/13 Peter Aerts defeated Andy Hug by KO-1

Peter knocked out Andy with a knee the first time out. Andy, a south paw, tightened his defense the next time and used his sharp low kick to damage Peter’s rear leg until the Dutchman was limping. The third fight was in Switzerland. It was a close fight with Andy taking the decision. In 1998, Peter had won his first to fights by KO-1. Andy had to get through Ray Sefo and Sam Greco. Peter then stopped Andy with a left highkick to become K-1 Grand Prix Champion.

Ernesto Hoost 2 – 2 Peter Aerts

I 1993/4/30 Ernesto Hoost defeated Peter Aerts by DEC-3

II 1995/5/4 Peter Aerts defeated Ernesto Hoost by DEC-4

III 1998/4/9 Peter Aerts defeated Ernesto Hoost by DEC-5

IV 2006/05/13 Ernesto Hoost defeated Peter Aerts by DEC-3

Peter feels the first fight was lost in the opening rounds. He clearly won the 3^rd but the decision went to Ernesto. In 1995, Peter put the pressure on Ernesto for 3 full rounds. When the judges demanded an overtime round, Peter obliged and did more of the same for the decision. The 3^rd fight was another decision win for Peter. In 2006, Ernesto was set to fight Bob Sapp who, in a dispute with the K-1, walked out. With borrowed fight gear and a hangover from a wedding the previous night, Peter accepted the challenge, lost the decision and won the appreciation of everyone in the kickboxing world including Ernesto.

Ernesto Hoost 2 – 1 Francisco Filho

I 1997/11/9 Ernesto Hoost defeated Francisco Filho by DEC-3

II 1999/4/25 Francisco Filho defeated Ernesto Hoost by KO-1

III 2000/12/10 Ernesto Hoost defeated Francisco Filho by DEC-4

Fight footage will not capture the tension of these fights. Filho had knocked out Andy Hug and Sam Greco with single shots while backpedaling. He was still a mystery and Ernesto was very careful. The first fight was an edge of your seat decision for Ernesto. The second fight saw Filho lose his cool and rush Ernesto and score a brutal KO. Later that year, Ernesto won the K-1 Grand Prix and Filho won the Kyokushin Open. It wasn’t until the following year that Ernesto could get revenge with a 4-round decision.

Ernesto Hoost 3 – 1 Andy Hug

I 1995/7/16 Ernesto Hoost defeated Andy Hug by DEC-5

II 1996/5/6 Andy Hug defeated Ernesto Hoost by DEC-5

III 1997/11/9 Ernesto Hoost defeated Andy Hug by DEC-4

IV 1999/12/5 Ernesto Hoost defeated Andy Hug by DEC-3

Never a KO or even a knockdown. Ernesto and Andy fought 4 very close high-paced fights.

Cyril Abidi 2 – 1 Peter Aerts

I 2000/7/7 Cyril Abidi defeated Peter Aerts by KO-1

II 2000/8/20 Cyril Abidi defeated Peter Aerts by KO-1

III 2000/12/10 Peter Aerts defeated Cyril Abidi by DEC-3

“Cinderella” Abidi stepped into the ring as a complete unknown and knocked out 3-time Grand Prix champion Peter Aerts. In the next match, Peter injured his back and was taken out on a stretcher. Finally, in the Grand Prix that year, Peter scored a knockdown and won a decision. However, Cyril had cut Peter twice with headbutts to force Peter to withdraw from the tournament. Many have wanted a 4^th match though it would be difficult to rekindle the flames after such a long time.

Akio Mori 2 – 1 Ray Sefo

I 2000/12/10 Ray Sefo defeated Akio Mori by KO-1

II 2003/12/6 Akio Mori defeated Ray Sefo by DEC-3

III 2004/12/4 Akio Mori defeated Ray Sefo by DEC-4

In the first fight, Ray made very short work of Akio, scoring 2 knockdowns in round 1. In the second, Ray was terribly ill and even bed-ridden. He took the fight at the request of the K-1 and lost after taking a beating for 3 rounds. In the 3^rd fight, Ray was in shape and Akio’s plan was defensive. The overtime decision went to Akio based on a low blow from Ray.