K-1 World GP 2024 in Osaka [05-10] Results

[K1power]

I saw most of the 70kg and HW portion.

Some comments:
- K-Jee's KO over JLB was scary. He didn't see the highkick coming at all and went down hard. Hope Jerome's okay.
- Errol vs. Shota was surprisingly competitive and fun. Shota came very close to pulling the upset, but perhaps grew a bit overconfident and couldn't keep up the pressure. Errol then landed some power shots late in the fight and it was enough to get the stoppage. Errol qualified for the finals by the skin of his teeth lol.
- Sina vs. Istrate started promising, but then that punch to the back of Sina's head happened and we were back in circus territory.
- Only saw the first half of Stoyan vs. Jinku, but Jinku was surprisingly game and didn't back down from Stoyan at all.
- Pikeur vs. Silva was a hardfought bout. I didn't really expect Pikeur to do this well at 70kg.
- Wajima vs. Kim was short and one-sided. This was definitely a fight for Wajima to regain some confidence after his loss to Verdonk.
- Verdonk vs. Akopyan was surprisingly good. I didn't expect it to be bad, but I thought Akopyan would win comfortably. Verdonk was very aggressive though and dictated the majority of the fight. Whenever Akopyan threw he looked dangerous, but his output was relatively low. Not sure if he was dealing with injuries or had a bad weightcut, but it definitely didn't play out how I thought it would. The extra round felt a bit unnecessary, but the right man won in the end.

[vampiro]

Koprivlenski has all the feel of somebody who should be greater than he actually is. He has been jobbed on the cards a few times (Kaito for sure), but he is constantly impressive > not so impressive > impressive and so on and so forth.

K-1 has something with this current crop of 70 kg guys. They have been fun. I even like Akimov despite him looking weak next to some of these others. Please add Alazov, Grigorian and some Russians at openweight and 70 kg lol.

[K1power]

Someone phrased it nicely on the forum when talking about Ignashov years ago: "He's consistently inconsistent."
I think that phrase applies to Koprivlenski (and some others) as well.

I'm liking K-1's 70kg division and hope it catches on in Japan.

HW has been a weak division for years and the few good fighters are spread out over several promotions so K-1 kind of has to build something from nothing. LHW on the other hand has has seen a consistent stream of talent so they should probably find some smaller guys to expand their open weight division. Don't focus too much or overspend on out-of-shape giants or guys way past their primes. He's a bit older now, but perhaps they can get Maslobojev.

I would have suggested Vakhitov, but I think I've read he's trying to get into the UFC.

[K1power]

It's nice to see JLB healthy and in good spirits again.

Says he's still proud of his performance, but that he's officially retired now both in Kickboxing and MMA.
What a legend. Over 30 years as a pro and went out on his shield.

I hope they'll still involve him and other K-1 legends somehow in the future.

[vampiro]

Enjoyed Verdonk vs. Akopyan and Oda vs. Koprivlenski. Competitive, and Oda had a case imo. He did better than Kaito did. Kaito lost that fight for starters. I wouldn't mind seeing Verdonk vs. Koprivlenski. Also, Akopyan gassed after the first, good lord. He reminds me of a younger Murat Gassiev in appearance and the way he turns his punches over. He obviously doesn't have the earth shattering power lol.

Pikeur vs. Silva and Wajima vs. Kim were not so.. I dunno, interesting, I suppose. Silva has his moments in the fights I have seen of him so far, but I don't think he or Pikeur are long for 70 kg. No real thoughts about Wajima. I thought Kim was handpicked before the fight and I still think that afterwards. Not that I think their is anything wrong with protecting an investment.

Came away somewhat impressed with the proportions and speed of Kwon, but he is so easy to hit. He is obviously soft bodied, but he's not got the body of a dropped ice cream. He is somewhat athletic, and can fight. Same with Istrate, whom I know others are not fans of but I love lol. He's one of those fighters I get really into when he comes forward swinging wildly. Telling that the audience reacts the way it does when Sina goes down.. saw one Japanese person say he is the Neymar of kickboxing, and another reply that Neymar fakes to win, Sina fakes to not lose lol.

I already knew Yamaguchi from the Hoshi fight, so I know he has grit. Really enjoyed his losing performance against Zimmerman. Speaking of Hoshi, he is making his boxing debut for the Ohashi Gym.. they will have to manage him very carefully. Head full of straw and dust that one.

[K1power]

The knock out & knock down reel:



I think the full card has made it to K-1's YT channel and they're also rolling out some backstage vids which are always nice.