Fyre
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This is the article taken from the K1 site:
LAS VEGAS, April 30, 2004 -- Michael McDonald proved that some things just get better with age as he won the Battle at the Bellagio II and advance to the K-1 Final Elimination this summer. The Canadian turned aside three challengers to capture the K-1 USA 2004 Championship, held before a sellout crowd at the Bellagio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.
Last May, organizers were still trying to sell tickets in the days leading up to the first Battle at the Bellagio, and the query following the fighters and their entourages through the Vegas Strip's most prestigious hotel was "What's K-1?" But this year there was a new question buzzing round the Bellagio: "Can you get me tickets?"
The Battle of the Bellagio II featured an 8-man elimination tournament and three Superfights. First up in the tournament was a bout featuring 24 year-old Carter Williams, who defied 20:1 odds to win the Battle at the Bellagio last year.
The big surprise on the odds board this year was Williams' first-bout opponent, Mighty Mo. A successful boxer and one-time construction worker, Mighty Mo told the pre-event press conference he got his nickname after emerging unscathed from a building which had collapsed around him. Early odds on Mo were 10:1, but (after word got out on his nickname?) they soared to 2:1 at fight time, making him the favorite.
Mo worked the body in the first round, trying to get Williams to drop his guard. The defending Champ remained cool and collected, light on his feet, throwing combinations and low kicks and just missing with a knee. It was more of the same in the second, Mo getting inside to work the body. The big fellow (Mo carries 20kg more weight on a frame 4cm shorter than Williams') was starting to look tired, but sometimes a fatigued fighter becomes a desperate fighter becomes a victorious fighter, and that is what happened in the third round.
Sensing perhaps that he was down on points and could not out-finesse Williams, Mo bulldozed his opponent to the ropes then came in with roundhouses. Most of these missed, but a couple did not. After absorbing the blows, a stunned Williams looked unable to defend himself and so was assessed a standing eight count. At the conclusion of the count, the ringside judge stepped in to stop the bout (a prerogative of the Nevada Boxing Commission, which supervises all ringsports in Las Vegas), and Williams was through for the night.
The second tournament matchup put Japanese fighter Nobu Hayashi in against Las Vegas-based American Dewey "The Black Cobra" Cooper. Said a confident Cooper at the pre-event press conference, "I've got to flow, I've got to throw combinations. I am ready to win the whole damn tournament."
Although Hayashi has seen his share of smooth operators (having trained for several years now at the highly-respected Chakuriki Gym in Holland, a country that has produced the K-1 World Grand Prix Champion eight out of eleven years), he seemed almost hypnotized by the Black Cobra.
Cooper was animated from the start, dancing and throwing low kicks. Hayashi did toss some low kicks late in the first, but these were not powerful and Cooper was better with his straight punch counters. The second was similar, Cooper getting the better attacks and good again at striking back when Hayashi came in. In the third, Hayashi started dancing a bit himself, but after he grabbed Cooper's leg and threw in a nice hard punch, Cooper again was better on the counter with a flurry of punches. Cooper added a dash of panache -- a couple of Kung Fu side kicks and a Bonjasky-style flying knee, but these were not terribly sharp and did not connect. With the crowd yelling for more action, the bout finished with Cooper launching a wild attack that almost backfired when Hayashi snuck in with a punch. One judge called this a draw, but two scored for Cooper and he was through to the semis.
Michael "The Black Sniper" McDonald is a quick and technical K-1 veteran whose name is synonymous with the sport in Vegas (having won the 2002 K-1 USA Championship here). In his first bout tonight, McDonald faced Californian Marvin Eastman, a Muay Thai fighter who looked good in his 2002 K-1 debut, upsetting Jeff "Duke" Roufus.
Both these fighters are getting on in years -- Eastman is 34, while McDonald, at 39, was the oldest fighter in the tournament. But neither let the years hold them back. Said McDonald at the pre-event press conference, "I may be older than some of the others, but I trained hard for this one and I feel good. Ring the bell!"
But early in the first, surprisingly, it was Eastman who rang McDonald's bell. The 176cm fighter came out like a loaded gun, taking it to McDonald with fast and furious punching attack, knees, and a left-right combination which felled the Canadian.
In the second, McDonald initially looked to be in defensive mode, but then suddenly snapped a right straight punch in, followed it up with a left hook right to Eastman's kisser to score a down and turn the tide of the fight. With the crowd gone wild, McDonald did not let up, connecting with a left and a right to send Eastman down again, although this was ruled a slip. When the fight resumed, it took just seconds for Eastman to fall once more, and now veteran referee Cecil Peoples wisely stepped in to stop the fight.
The last quarterfinal featured the tournament's two longshots -- Seidokaikan fighter Tatsufumi Tomihira and kickboxer Kelly Leo -- who closed at 18:1 and 25:1 respectively.
Already a five-year K-1 veteran at just 28 years of age, Tomihira promised at the pre-event press conference that he would "fight with the Japanese spirit." Tomihira has a lot of heart and is not afraid to step inside and mix it up, get dirty, even -- although the K-1 USA press release lists his nickname as "Warrior Heart," over in Japan he is also known as "Mr. Yellow Card."
Tomihira was the faster fighter here. Leo kept looking for his spots but rarely found them as Tomihira stayed busy in the first. In the second Tomihira worked the low kicks and got Leo to backing up. But midway through, with Tomihira pushing, Leo got a left punch through to score a down and make some points on th ecards. The third round began with a pretty punch-low kick combination from Tomihira, and with Leo on the ropes much of the round the Japanese fighter seemed be control. A chorus of boos bespoke the dissent in the room when the judges handed Leo a unanimous decision, having evaluated his punches and down over Tomihira's relentless kicks.
Two southpaws, Mighty Mo and Dewey Cooper, stepped in for the first semifinal, a fight that looked a lot like a track and field meet. From the start, the 133kg Mo chased the 90kg Cooper round the ring with big punches, while Cooper snapped in quick low kicks then made quicker retreats. Cooper had time on his side here, content to stay out of harm's way and let the big guy wear down. In the second and again the third, Mo repeatedly bull rushed forward with his fists swinging, but Cooper was always able to squeak out of trouble. Cooper fought a smart fight here, and when Mo did get him boxed up in the corner late in the third, he was able to counter with a nice punch combination of his own to get out. A frustrated Mo attempted a couple of kick as time ran down, and at one point was actually running with some speed at his opponent, who was always able to block and/or slip away. Judges gave the fight to Cooper by a slim majority decision.
In the second semi, Michael McDonald clearly was the fighter he is capable of being. He wasted little time -- from the start looking confident, focused and quick. Just halfway through the round, McDonald put a hard left hook in, and although Leo blocked the punch it put him down anyway. Seconds later, it was a smart right high kick to the head that put Leo's lights out and advanced "The Black Sniper" to the final.
Because neither Michael McDonald nor Dewey Cooper had hit any big bumps on their roads to the final, they were damage free and ready for a fast-paced, spirited and thrilling fight.
McDonald was focused and cool and Cooper (considering his opponent's superior K-1 experience) was pleasingly intrepid here -- standing his ground, effectively blocking McDonald's dangerous high kicks, and launching more than a few aggressive punching attacks.
There was razzle dazzle as well -- in the first, Cooper just missed with a flying knee, in the second McDonald was not far off with a spinning back kick. The hustling Cooper got a dandy Kung-Fu side kick in to McDonald's midsection in the second, but seconds later McDonald connected with a better left hook and kick to the head. Cooper was mature in his versatility, keeping an increasingly aggressive McDonald back with front kicks, and striking with body blows when McDonald did get inside.
But in the end it was clearly McDonald who had the better speed and superior power -- he threw a number of nice high kicks in the third, and when Cooper started a slugfest at the final clapper, McDonald went toe-to-toe and came out ahead. A unanimous decision to cap a great night for McDonald.
"I think my experience helped," said a very mellow McDonald afterward. "In the first fight Marvin was right on me, he caught me good with a right. Sometimes when you take a punch like that you can't really recover, but this time I felt alright soon afterwards, so I just stood my ground and was able to come back and win."
"With Dewey, I just went out and did the same thing I always do," said McDonald, "I think he was afraid to come in so I just started blasting him with everything. He wouldn't stand in front of me, so I just countered everything he did."
There were three Superfights on the card, but the first, a showdown between K-1 superstar Bob "The Beast" Sapp and Las Vegas' own Tommy Glanville, was more of a Minibout, as it lasted just 33 seconds.
When Sapp charged forward from the bell in his characteristic style, Granville met him with several quick low kicks. These slowed the big guy down, but Sapp was undaunted, and answered with some hard left hooks. The third of these punches put Granville down to do the wiggly fish dance, whereupon the referee had little choice to step in and stop the fight.
The second Superfight featured Trinidadian-Canadian fighter Gary Goodridge and New Zealand's TOA, who was a late substitute after scheduled fighter Shannon Briggs sustained a leg injury in training. An explosive competitor, Goodridge devastated K-1 veteran Mike Bernardo at the Bellagio in 2002, winning by TKO in the first round.
TOA came out strong here as well. In the opening seconds he backed Goodridge into the corner with a series of hooks, then began to work the uppercuts on his closed-up opponent. But, to the delight of the crowd, Goodridge weathered the storm and rallied with some punches of his own, scoring a down just past the midway point. With TOA barely beating the count, Goodridge smelled blood, and put a left hook and then delivered a punishing right uppercut to drop the Maori for good and win the fight.
The wildly popular Vietnamese-American Cung Le is always a delight to watch. Here, he took on 29 year-old Brian Warren, a three-time "King of the Cage" Champion, in a San Shou rules Superfight. Le has a perfect 15-0 record in San Shou (which combines kickboxing with throws), and tonight he showed the crowd why.
Warren had a few good moves here, certainly he is no slouch, but throughout Le was always one move better, one step faster. Whether is was a basic punch or low kick, a leaping scissors takedown, or a spinning back kick, Le, like a jazz master, always knew exactly what note to add to his performance and when and how to deliver it with finesse and to maximum effect. An entertaining display and unanimous decision for Le.
Among the ringside guests in the celebrity-packed room were K-1 fighters Jerome LeBanner and Ray Sefo, MMA legend Royce Gracie, ex-heavyweight boxing champ Mike Tyson, and none other than the greatest boxer ever -- Muhammad Ali. The crowd erupted in applause and chanted his name when Ali removed his jacket, stood up and shadow boxed for a few seconds during the break between the first and second rounds of the tournament final, and they stood on their feet, rapt, as he presented the winner's trophy to McDonald.
In the tournament reserve fight, Alex Jucan beat Raul Romero, and Tom Jones beat Toshiyuki Nakagawa, Scott Lighty beat Sean McCully, and Rob McCullough beat John Polakowski in other undercard fights.
After a great event, let's close with parting thoughts from an unlikely source: Bill Brown, the gentle soul who runs the shoeshine stand at the Monte Carlo Hotel and Casino. For some 30 years, Brown has been in Vegas, polishing shoes whilst waxing philosophical with senators and salesmen and people like George Foreman -- because, he explains "You got to do what you like!" As he revived this writer's tired Franceschettis pre-event, Brown shared his thoughts on the world's new fighting sport:
"Lots of people have been talking about K-1, where the fighters kick each other as well as punch" he said. "Well, you check little kids, when they fight, they kick with their feet, right? So I would say it's human nature to use all your limbs when you rough it up. If these K-1 guys make an art of it, naturally people are going to respect them, going to want to see it, 'cos it's the real stuff!" Brown buffed, then smiled and looked up. " Can you get me tickets?"
LAS VEGAS, April 30, 2004 -- Michael McDonald proved that some things just get better with age as he won the Battle at the Bellagio II and advance to the K-1 Final Elimination this summer. The Canadian turned aside three challengers to capture the K-1 USA 2004 Championship, held before a sellout crowd at the Bellagio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.
Last May, organizers were still trying to sell tickets in the days leading up to the first Battle at the Bellagio, and the query following the fighters and their entourages through the Vegas Strip's most prestigious hotel was "What's K-1?" But this year there was a new question buzzing round the Bellagio: "Can you get me tickets?"
The Battle of the Bellagio II featured an 8-man elimination tournament and three Superfights. First up in the tournament was a bout featuring 24 year-old Carter Williams, who defied 20:1 odds to win the Battle at the Bellagio last year.
The big surprise on the odds board this year was Williams' first-bout opponent, Mighty Mo. A successful boxer and one-time construction worker, Mighty Mo told the pre-event press conference he got his nickname after emerging unscathed from a building which had collapsed around him. Early odds on Mo were 10:1, but (after word got out on his nickname?) they soared to 2:1 at fight time, making him the favorite.
Mo worked the body in the first round, trying to get Williams to drop his guard. The defending Champ remained cool and collected, light on his feet, throwing combinations and low kicks and just missing with a knee. It was more of the same in the second, Mo getting inside to work the body. The big fellow (Mo carries 20kg more weight on a frame 4cm shorter than Williams') was starting to look tired, but sometimes a fatigued fighter becomes a desperate fighter becomes a victorious fighter, and that is what happened in the third round.
Sensing perhaps that he was down on points and could not out-finesse Williams, Mo bulldozed his opponent to the ropes then came in with roundhouses. Most of these missed, but a couple did not. After absorbing the blows, a stunned Williams looked unable to defend himself and so was assessed a standing eight count. At the conclusion of the count, the ringside judge stepped in to stop the bout (a prerogative of the Nevada Boxing Commission, which supervises all ringsports in Las Vegas), and Williams was through for the night.
The second tournament matchup put Japanese fighter Nobu Hayashi in against Las Vegas-based American Dewey "The Black Cobra" Cooper. Said a confident Cooper at the pre-event press conference, "I've got to flow, I've got to throw combinations. I am ready to win the whole damn tournament."
Although Hayashi has seen his share of smooth operators (having trained for several years now at the highly-respected Chakuriki Gym in Holland, a country that has produced the K-1 World Grand Prix Champion eight out of eleven years), he seemed almost hypnotized by the Black Cobra.
Cooper was animated from the start, dancing and throwing low kicks. Hayashi did toss some low kicks late in the first, but these were not powerful and Cooper was better with his straight punch counters. The second was similar, Cooper getting the better attacks and good again at striking back when Hayashi came in. In the third, Hayashi started dancing a bit himself, but after he grabbed Cooper's leg and threw in a nice hard punch, Cooper again was better on the counter with a flurry of punches. Cooper added a dash of panache -- a couple of Kung Fu side kicks and a Bonjasky-style flying knee, but these were not terribly sharp and did not connect. With the crowd yelling for more action, the bout finished with Cooper launching a wild attack that almost backfired when Hayashi snuck in with a punch. One judge called this a draw, but two scored for Cooper and he was through to the semis.
Michael "The Black Sniper" McDonald is a quick and technical K-1 veteran whose name is synonymous with the sport in Vegas (having won the 2002 K-1 USA Championship here). In his first bout tonight, McDonald faced Californian Marvin Eastman, a Muay Thai fighter who looked good in his 2002 K-1 debut, upsetting Jeff "Duke" Roufus.
Both these fighters are getting on in years -- Eastman is 34, while McDonald, at 39, was the oldest fighter in the tournament. But neither let the years hold them back. Said McDonald at the pre-event press conference, "I may be older than some of the others, but I trained hard for this one and I feel good. Ring the bell!"
But early in the first, surprisingly, it was Eastman who rang McDonald's bell. The 176cm fighter came out like a loaded gun, taking it to McDonald with fast and furious punching attack, knees, and a left-right combination which felled the Canadian.
In the second, McDonald initially looked to be in defensive mode, but then suddenly snapped a right straight punch in, followed it up with a left hook right to Eastman's kisser to score a down and turn the tide of the fight. With the crowd gone wild, McDonald did not let up, connecting with a left and a right to send Eastman down again, although this was ruled a slip. When the fight resumed, it took just seconds for Eastman to fall once more, and now veteran referee Cecil Peoples wisely stepped in to stop the fight.
The last quarterfinal featured the tournament's two longshots -- Seidokaikan fighter Tatsufumi Tomihira and kickboxer Kelly Leo -- who closed at 18:1 and 25:1 respectively.
Already a five-year K-1 veteran at just 28 years of age, Tomihira promised at the pre-event press conference that he would "fight with the Japanese spirit." Tomihira has a lot of heart and is not afraid to step inside and mix it up, get dirty, even -- although the K-1 USA press release lists his nickname as "Warrior Heart," over in Japan he is also known as "Mr. Yellow Card."
Tomihira was the faster fighter here. Leo kept looking for his spots but rarely found them as Tomihira stayed busy in the first. In the second Tomihira worked the low kicks and got Leo to backing up. But midway through, with Tomihira pushing, Leo got a left punch through to score a down and make some points on th ecards. The third round began with a pretty punch-low kick combination from Tomihira, and with Leo on the ropes much of the round the Japanese fighter seemed be control. A chorus of boos bespoke the dissent in the room when the judges handed Leo a unanimous decision, having evaluated his punches and down over Tomihira's relentless kicks.
Two southpaws, Mighty Mo and Dewey Cooper, stepped in for the first semifinal, a fight that looked a lot like a track and field meet. From the start, the 133kg Mo chased the 90kg Cooper round the ring with big punches, while Cooper snapped in quick low kicks then made quicker retreats. Cooper had time on his side here, content to stay out of harm's way and let the big guy wear down. In the second and again the third, Mo repeatedly bull rushed forward with his fists swinging, but Cooper was always able to squeak out of trouble. Cooper fought a smart fight here, and when Mo did get him boxed up in the corner late in the third, he was able to counter with a nice punch combination of his own to get out. A frustrated Mo attempted a couple of kick as time ran down, and at one point was actually running with some speed at his opponent, who was always able to block and/or slip away. Judges gave the fight to Cooper by a slim majority decision.
In the second semi, Michael McDonald clearly was the fighter he is capable of being. He wasted little time -- from the start looking confident, focused and quick. Just halfway through the round, McDonald put a hard left hook in, and although Leo blocked the punch it put him down anyway. Seconds later, it was a smart right high kick to the head that put Leo's lights out and advanced "The Black Sniper" to the final.
Because neither Michael McDonald nor Dewey Cooper had hit any big bumps on their roads to the final, they were damage free and ready for a fast-paced, spirited and thrilling fight.
McDonald was focused and cool and Cooper (considering his opponent's superior K-1 experience) was pleasingly intrepid here -- standing his ground, effectively blocking McDonald's dangerous high kicks, and launching more than a few aggressive punching attacks.
There was razzle dazzle as well -- in the first, Cooper just missed with a flying knee, in the second McDonald was not far off with a spinning back kick. The hustling Cooper got a dandy Kung-Fu side kick in to McDonald's midsection in the second, but seconds later McDonald connected with a better left hook and kick to the head. Cooper was mature in his versatility, keeping an increasingly aggressive McDonald back with front kicks, and striking with body blows when McDonald did get inside.
But in the end it was clearly McDonald who had the better speed and superior power -- he threw a number of nice high kicks in the third, and when Cooper started a slugfest at the final clapper, McDonald went toe-to-toe and came out ahead. A unanimous decision to cap a great night for McDonald.
"I think my experience helped," said a very mellow McDonald afterward. "In the first fight Marvin was right on me, he caught me good with a right. Sometimes when you take a punch like that you can't really recover, but this time I felt alright soon afterwards, so I just stood my ground and was able to come back and win."
"With Dewey, I just went out and did the same thing I always do," said McDonald, "I think he was afraid to come in so I just started blasting him with everything. He wouldn't stand in front of me, so I just countered everything he did."
There were three Superfights on the card, but the first, a showdown between K-1 superstar Bob "The Beast" Sapp and Las Vegas' own Tommy Glanville, was more of a Minibout, as it lasted just 33 seconds.
When Sapp charged forward from the bell in his characteristic style, Granville met him with several quick low kicks. These slowed the big guy down, but Sapp was undaunted, and answered with some hard left hooks. The third of these punches put Granville down to do the wiggly fish dance, whereupon the referee had little choice to step in and stop the fight.
The second Superfight featured Trinidadian-Canadian fighter Gary Goodridge and New Zealand's TOA, who was a late substitute after scheduled fighter Shannon Briggs sustained a leg injury in training. An explosive competitor, Goodridge devastated K-1 veteran Mike Bernardo at the Bellagio in 2002, winning by TKO in the first round.
TOA came out strong here as well. In the opening seconds he backed Goodridge into the corner with a series of hooks, then began to work the uppercuts on his closed-up opponent. But, to the delight of the crowd, Goodridge weathered the storm and rallied with some punches of his own, scoring a down just past the midway point. With TOA barely beating the count, Goodridge smelled blood, and put a left hook and then delivered a punishing right uppercut to drop the Maori for good and win the fight.
The wildly popular Vietnamese-American Cung Le is always a delight to watch. Here, he took on 29 year-old Brian Warren, a three-time "King of the Cage" Champion, in a San Shou rules Superfight. Le has a perfect 15-0 record in San Shou (which combines kickboxing with throws), and tonight he showed the crowd why.
Warren had a few good moves here, certainly he is no slouch, but throughout Le was always one move better, one step faster. Whether is was a basic punch or low kick, a leaping scissors takedown, or a spinning back kick, Le, like a jazz master, always knew exactly what note to add to his performance and when and how to deliver it with finesse and to maximum effect. An entertaining display and unanimous decision for Le.
Among the ringside guests in the celebrity-packed room were K-1 fighters Jerome LeBanner and Ray Sefo, MMA legend Royce Gracie, ex-heavyweight boxing champ Mike Tyson, and none other than the greatest boxer ever -- Muhammad Ali. The crowd erupted in applause and chanted his name when Ali removed his jacket, stood up and shadow boxed for a few seconds during the break between the first and second rounds of the tournament final, and they stood on their feet, rapt, as he presented the winner's trophy to McDonald.
In the tournament reserve fight, Alex Jucan beat Raul Romero, and Tom Jones beat Toshiyuki Nakagawa, Scott Lighty beat Sean McCully, and Rob McCullough beat John Polakowski in other undercard fights.
After a great event, let's close with parting thoughts from an unlikely source: Bill Brown, the gentle soul who runs the shoeshine stand at the Monte Carlo Hotel and Casino. For some 30 years, Brown has been in Vegas, polishing shoes whilst waxing philosophical with senators and salesmen and people like George Foreman -- because, he explains "You got to do what you like!" As he revived this writer's tired Franceschettis pre-event, Brown shared his thoughts on the world's new fighting sport:
"Lots of people have been talking about K-1, where the fighters kick each other as well as punch" he said. "Well, you check little kids, when they fight, they kick with their feet, right? So I would say it's human nature to use all your limbs when you rough it up. If these K-1 guys make an art of it, naturally people are going to respect them, going to want to see it, 'cos it's the real stuff!" Brown buffed, then smiled and looked up. " Can you get me tickets?"
