K-1 World Grand Prix 2003 Final

K-1 World Grand Prix 2003 Final was a kickboxing event promoted by the K-1 organization. The event was held at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan on Saturday,December 6, 2003 in front of 67,320 spectators. It was the eleventh K-1 World Grand Prix final involving ten of the world's best fighters (two being reservists). The eight finalists had almost all qualified via preliminary events, while two additional fighters were invited as reserve fighters (for more detail on this see bulleted list below), with all bouts being fought under K-1 Rules (100 kg/156-220 lbs). As well as tournament bouts there was also an 'Opening Fight' between Yusuke Fujimoto and Matthias Riccio and a 'Super Fight' between Martin Holm and Jan Nortje, both fought under K-1 Rules. In total there were fourteen fighters at the event, representing ten countries.

K-1 World Grand Prix 2003 Final
Information
PromotionK-1
DateDecember 6, 2003
VenueTokyo Dome
City Tokyo, Japan
Attendance67,320
Event chronology
K-1 MMA in Brazil K-1 World Grand Prix 2003 Final K-1 Spain Grand Prix 2003 in Barcelona

The considered favourite leading in was Stefan "Blitz" Leko, who was on a five-fight K-1 win streak throughout 2003, and had beaten Peter Aerts, Mike Bernardo and Francisco Filho leading up to the World Grand Prix. However, due to contractual disputes that arose prior to the tournament final, Leko was pulled out of the competition and replaced by former boxer Francois Botha. It would be a man who had previously lost to Leko that won the Grand Prix.

The tournament winner was Remy Bonjasky who defeated Musashi in the final by third round unanimous decision. Both fighters would be making their first ever K-1 World Grand Prix final appearance, with Remy Bonjasky winning on his first visit to the finals.

Qualifiers - Finalists

Qualifiers - Reservists

K-1 World Grand Prix 2003 Final Tournament
K-1 World Grand Prix 2003 Final Elimination Quarter Finals Semi Finals Final
Francois Botha    
Cyril Abidi DQ     Cyril Abidi DEC  
Francisco Filho       Francois Botha *    
Stefan Leko DEC       Cyril Abidi    
Sam Greco         Remy Bonjasky KO  
Peter Graham TKO     Peter Graham    
Bob Sapp       Remy Bonjasky TKO  
Remy Bonjasky DQ       Remy Bonjasky DEC
Ray Sefo  DEC       Musashi  
Carter Williams       Ray Sefo    
      Musashi DEC  
        Musashi DEC  
Alexey Ignashov  KO       Peter Aerts    
Mike Bernardo       Alexey Ignashov        
Peter Aerts DEC     Peter Aerts DEC      
Jerrel Venetiaan    

* Francois Botha replaced Stefan Leko in the Quarter Finals due to contractual disputes and unconfirmed "injury"

Results
K-1 World Grand Prix 2003 Final Results[1][2]
Opening Fight (+95 kg): K-1 Rules / 3Min. 3R Ext.1R
Yusuke Fujimoto def. Matthias Riccio
Fujimoto defeated Riccio by KO at 2:34 of the 2nd Round.
K-1 Grand Prix Reserve Fight: K-1 Rules / 3Min. 3R Ext.1R
Carter Williams def. Bjorn Bregy
Williams defeated Bregy by KO (2 Knockdowns, Punch Rush) at 2:50 of the 2nd Round.
K-1 Grand Prix Quarter Finals: K-1 Rules / 3Min. 3R Ext.1R
Cyril Abidi def. Francois Botha
Abidi defeated Botha by 3rd Round Unanimous Decision 3-0 (29-28, 30-28, 29-28).
Remy Bonjasky def. Peter Graham
Bonjasky defeated Graham by TKO (2 Knockdowns, Right Knee) at 2:58 of the 1st Round.
Musashi def. Ray Sefo
Musashi defeated Sefo by 3rd Round Majority Decision 2-0 (30-29, 30-30, 30-29).
Peter Aerts def. Alexey Ignashov
Aerts defeated Ignashov by Extra Round Unanimous Decision 3-0 (10-9, 10-9, 10-9). After 3 rounds the judges had scored it a Decision Draw 0-0 (30-30, 30-30, 30-30).
K-1 Grand Prix Semi Finals: K-1 Rules / 3Min. 3R Ext.1R
Remy Bonjasky def. Cyril Abidi
Bonjasky defeated Abidi by KO (2 Knockdowns, Flying Right Knee) at 1:46 of the 1st Round.
Musashi def. Peter Aerts
Musashi defeated Aerts by 3rd Round Majority Decision 2-0 (30-30, 30-29, 30-29).
Super Fight (+95 kg): K-1 Rules / 3Min. 3R Ext.1R
Martin Holm def. Jan Nortje
Holm defeated Nortje by KO (Knee to the liver) at 1:06 of the 1st Round.
K-1 Grand Prix Final: K-1 Rules / 3Min. 3R Ext.2R
Remy Bonjasky def. Musashi
Bonjasky defeated Musashi by 3rd Round Unanimous Decision 3-0 (30-29, 30-29, 30-29).

Trivia
  • This is the first of three K-1 World Grand Prix's won by Remy "the Flying Gentleman" Bonjasky.
  • This would start the beginning of a 7 fight win streak during the K-1 World Grand Prix by Bonjasky (which spans from the 2003 to 2005). As of 2006 only Ernesto Hoost has won that many fights in the K-1 World Grand Prix but Bonjasky's win streak started with his debut appearance in the K-1 World Grand Prix (2003) while Hoost's win streak occurred years after his K-1 World Grand Prix debut in 1993 (his streak was between 1999–2001).

See also

References
  1. "K-1 World Grand Prix 2003 Final Results". K-1 Official Website. Archived from the original on 2009-10-31.
  2. "Results: K-1 WORLD GRAND PRIX 2003 FINAL". K-1sport.de - Your Source for Everything K-1.
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