Tape Delay Kickboxing 17: K-1 WORLD GP 2023 ~K’FESTA.6~ - 2023-03-12
Thirty years of K-1! 24 fights on one show! A Fight of the Year candidate main event! Seven title fights! K-1 vs. RISE! The biggest show of the year is here, for free on Youtube!
This series shall, where possible, allow you to watch the shows in order as if you were watching live, without spoilers.
Beyond Kickboxing event calendar: https://beyondkick.com/schedule
K-1 WORLD GP 2023 ~K’FESTA.6~ - 2023-03-12
Yoyogi National Stadium First Gymnasium, Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan
Thirty years of K-1! The organization celebrates a huge milestone by booking a 10-hour extravaganza with 24 fights. The show features seven title matches, another champion in non-title action, and a three-fight K-1 vs. RISE fight series that marks the beginning of the big show talent exchange between the two organizations.
With this much going on, it’s hard to specifically say the last fight of the show is the “main event.” Looking at fighter rankings coming into the show, the biggest fights are:
Taio Asahisa vs. Yuki Yoza, two of the top 3 138 lb fighters in the world fighting for the K-1 title, and a year ago Yuki Yoza defeated Taio Asahisa in a non-title match
Masashi Kumura vs. Masahiko Suzuki, two of the top 5 121 lb fighters in the world facing off representing K-1 vs. RISE
Taito Gunji vs. View Petchkoson, because Taito Gunji is a top 10 pound-for-pound fighter in the world
KANA vs. Funda Alkayis, because KANA is a top 10 pound-for-pound woman in the world
In the main event of the night, 35-year-old Tetsuya Yamamoto looks to continue the feel-good story of winning the K-1 World MAX 2010 tournament and finally breaking through to win a K-1 title in 2022, the 17th year of his career. He attempts his second Super Light title defense against former K-1 Light champion Kenta Hayashi.
To help see where the most well-regarded fighters are on the show, I have included “BK” marks next to the fighter records when they are ranked in the Beyond Kickboxing rankings.
Plus, as usual, I watched the whole show and have marked the fights I enjoyed the most just in case you don’t have time to check out all 48 fighters in action. But really, when else does the 30th anniversary of the most historically significant kickboxing organization come around? Set aside 30 minutes each day and watch some of the fights until you finish them all, I’m sure you won’t regret it!
K-1 Basics: Most fights are 3 3-minute rounds with a single 3-minute extra round if it’s a draw. 3 knockdowns in a round is a TKO, or 2 if it’s a one-night tournament fight. Judges are fairly liberal with 10-10 round scoring, so you will often see fights scored 30-30 or 30-29. Official rules state that the judges must pick a winner at the end of the extra round, including looking back on the earlier rounds of the fight if necessary. Kickboxing rules: knees are legal, elbows are not. Clinch must be broken with an immediate strike or the ref will separate, and fighters are not allowed to pull the neck of the opponent down to deliver a strike.
Fights highlighted in bold were ones that I found particularly entertaining.
Preliminary Fights
Ryugi (6-2, 3 KO) vs. Kuto Ueno (Debut) (142)
Raita Hashimoto (4-0, 1 KO) vs. Riku Yamamoto (2-0, 2 KO) (127)
Eruto (4-3, 2 KO) vs. Kosuke (3-5-2, 3 KO) (121)
Main Card
Katsuya Jinbo (15-6-1, 8 KO) vs. Vinicius Dionizio (14-5, 9 KO) (165)
Shintaro Matsukura (33-17, 17 KO) vs. Igor Silva (17-4, 7 KO) (165)
Hayato Suzuki (13-7-1, 8 KO) vs. Pakorn PK Saenchai (190-45-5, 7 KO) (143)
Tatsuya Oiwa (22-9, 7 KO) vs. Yuta Kunieda (13-8-3, 8 KO) (137)
Superfight: Yuuki Egawa (16-5-1, 11 KO) vs. Kang Yun-Seong (15-5-5, 4 KO) (132)
Issei Ishii (40-13-2, 21 KO, -117-BK #5) vs. Yossila Chor.Hapayak (52-11-3, 13 KO) (117)
(C) Phayahong Ayothaya Fight Gym (68-14-1, 11 KO) vs. Miyuu Sugawara (10-3, 1 KO, Krush Atom (99) champion) (99 Title)
(C) KANA (20-3, 9 KO, P4PW-BK #7) vs. Funda Alkayis (42-7, 14 KO) (115 Title)
AKIRA Jr (15-8-1, 6 KO) vs. Ryunosuke Hoshi (3-0, 3 KO) (198)
Seiya Tanigawa (10-6-1, 4 KO) vs. Stefan Latescu (12-2, 6 KO, -209-BK #8) (198)
K-1 vs. RISE: Ali Ayinta (8-1, 5 KO, Krush Welter (149) champion) vs. Sanekata Takumi (21-8-2, 4 KO, RISE Welter #1) (149)
K-1 vs. RISE: Toma (12-3, 4 KO, -128-BK #2) vs. Haruto Yasumoto (26-2-2, 15 KO, RISE Feather #6) (127)
K-1 vs. RISE: Masashi Kumura (21-5, 11 KO, -121-BK #4) vs. Masahiko Suzuki (34-6, 19 KO, RISE Bantam (121) champion, -121-BK #2) (121)
(C) Akihiro Kaneko (16-2, 10 KO, -121-BK #3) vs. Komphet Sitsarawatser (83-18-3, 12 KO) (121 Title)
(C) Taito Gunji (21-5-1, 6 KO, P4P-BK #9, -127-BK #1) vs. View Petchkoson (64-10-1, 11 KO) (127 Title)
Kyotaro (20-7, 11 KO) vs. Satoshi Ishii (3-0, 1 KO) (Over 220)
Jordan Pikeur (47-8-1, 21 KO, Krush Super Welter (154) champion) vs. Abiral Himalayan Cheetah (14-4, 13 KO) (154)
Superfight: (C) Masaaki Noiri (47-11, 23 KO, K-1 Welter (149) champion, -149-BK #2) vs. Dzhabar Askerov (110-36-2, 55 KO) (152)
(C) Hiromi Wajima (18-4, 15 KO) vs. Jomthong Strikergym (208-42-4, 48 KO) (154 Title)
(C) Taio Asahisa (18-8, 4 KO, -141-BK #3) vs. Yuki Yoza (13-2, 6 KO, -141-BK #1) (138 Title)
(C) Tetsuya Yamato (44-20-1, 32 KO, -149-BK #8) vs. Kenta Hayashi (22-9-2, 14 KO) (143 Title)