K-1 World Grand Prix 2024 Final Preview and Pre-fight Press Conference
K-1 WORLD GP 2024 in TOKYO FINAL will be held on December 14th at Tokyo National Yoyogi Studium 1st Gymnasium. The event will feature one-day K-1 WORLD GP 2024 Openweight Tournament, Team ALLAZOV vs. Team JAPAN and single matches with top K-1 fighters.
K-1 WORLD GP 2024 Openweight Tournament
In the 1st quarterfinal, Shota Yamaguchi will fight Claudio Istrate. Yamaguchi lost to Errol Zimmerman in the K-1 WORLD GP 2024 Openweight Asian Qualifiers, despite putting up a great effort against him. But he was given the 2nd chance in this tournament after Kwon Jangwon withdrew due to illness. Istrate advanced to the WORLD GP after a controversial fight against his rival Sina Karimian that ended in a no-contest.
Yamaguchi: “I lost in the qualifiers, but was able to advance as an alternate. Because Shota Yamaguchi is the person that returns from a losers bracket to win a tournament, I will make sure to complete the story tomorrow. My impression of my opponent is that he has really thick hair. I respect him, but he has some bad manners, like arguing with Karimian, so I want to prove my strength as a Japanese, the birthplace of K-1 and karate.”
Istrate: “I’m ready. I worked a lot to be here. Let’s do it. Osu!!”
On Karimian: “I don’t need to give attention to this clown. He’s not important now. It’s important tomorrow. It’s an important fight with best opponent. I don’t have time for this small girl.”
In the 2nd quarterfinal, Feng Rui will face Mattia Faraoni. Feng Rui holds a win over Liu Ce, the K-1 Cruiserweight champion. After Liu Ce pulled out, Feng Rui replaces him in this tournament. Mattia Faraoni is the ISKA Oriental rules World Super Cruiserweight champion. In March, he beat K-Jee, the former K-1 Cruiserweight champion.
Feng Rui: “I’m happy to have been invited by Wu Lin Feng and K-1 and to be here. My first impression of my opponent was that he had a strong physique. However, I have been training hard since the match was decided, so I want to win this match and make it to the finals.”
On Chinese fighters’ dominance in K-1: “Top-level Chinese fighters have been competing in K-1. Especially Liu Ce who has 4 KOs in K-1 and became a champion. I’ll also follow his steps and become a champion.”
Faraoni: “I’ve been training a lot up until now. It’s been my dream to compete in K-1. It’s finally come true. I want to prove how strong I am tomorrow. I tried to find videos of my opponent’s fights on the Internet, but I couldn’t find anything, so I only watched videos from a few years ago. I have over 60 fights, including boxing. I’ve also been doing karate since I was little, so I’m ready for tomorrow.”
On his techniques: “I practice karate, so I want to show off some spectacular moves tomorrow and captivate the crowd.”
In the 3rd quarterfinal, Ariel Machado will fight Rhys Brudenell. Both fighters qualified for this tournament through regional qualifiers. Machado dominated the K-1 WORLD GP 2024 Openweight South American Qualifier Tournament, while Brudenell did the same at the K-1 WORLD GP 2024 Openweight Western European Qualifier Tournament.
Brudenell: “I’m feeling ready. I’m feeling strong, fast and ready to put on a show. My opponent’s a strong fighter, a good fighter. But my plan doesn’t change, I’m here to win.”
On being one of the 2 fighters that fought through a regional tournament: “I feel that I have earned my place to fight in the World GP. I’m here to win.”
Machado: “I’m happy to be able to participate in the tournament again. I think I can reflect on last year’s tournament and show a new Ariel, so please look forward to it. All the fighters look serious, and I think if they can show their true potential, they’ll be fine.”
On being one of the 2 fighters that fought through a regional tournament: “Everyone here got here through victories. Each of us has our own history. The same goes for me. So, I want to do my best and win.”
In the last quarterfinal, K-Jee will compete against Errol Zimmerman. K-Jee overcame his recent losing streak and knocked the living legend Jérôme Le Banner out for the spot in the tournament. Zimmerman returned to K-1 after 14 years. He earned his place at the K-1 WORLD GP 2024 Openweight Tournament by knocking Shota Yamaguchi out. He is looking to avenge his fellow K-1 legend by defeating K-Jee.
K-Jee: “Zimmerman is a legendary fighter who created the K-1 of the past. Tomorrow, I want to surpass the past and create new history. I felt his message when I faced off with him.”
Zimmerman: “I’m ready to fight. I’m ready for this tournament. I’m ready to give a great show. Tomorrow, everybody is going down.”
On K-Jee: “Keep on dreaming. I promise Le Banner. I’ll knock this fool out. So tomorrow, you’re going to sleep. And you’ll see me in your dream.”
On being the last legend in the tournament: “Thank you for calling me a legend. But legends are done with the sport. I’m not done. I’m here to make history. And tomorrow you’ll see history in the making.”
Team Allazov VS Team Japan
2-vs-2 team matches will be held between Japanese representatives and fighters chosen by Chingiz Allazov, the the 2nd K-1 WORLD GP Super Welterweight Champion. Hikaru Terashima will fight Danila Kvach, while Daniil Yermolenka will fight Chihiro Nakajima. There will also be a demonstration by Allazov during a break.
Allazov: “This is my team. Allazov Team. But we have Andrey Gridin, who is a legendary coach. My coach and other fighters like Roman Kryklia. It’s the best team.”
Danila Kvach: “Thank you K-1 for inviting [me] to your tournament. I think about my opponent. He looks like a chilled guy. We will work like usual. We will do our work. We will shock the K-1 fans. And I feel good. I feel great. And thank you everyone for making this fight happen.”
Hikaru Terashima: “”I’ve been well prepared up until now. There isn’t a long gap between bouts, so I’ve been feeling good from the sparring. My impression of my opponent is that if I hadn’t become a K-1 fighter, I would never have had the chance to fight a Belarusian fighter, so I want to fight him with gratitude.”
Daniil Yermolenka: “I’m happy to be able to fight in a big match. I’m in good condition, and we’ve all been working as a team under Gridin Gym. We’ve had plenty of sparring, so I want to give it my all. I don’t have a big impression of my opponent. He seems like an average opponent. I’ll just have to give it my all.”
Chihiro Nakajima: “Thank you to everyone from Team Allazov for coming all the way, even though one of you couldn’t make it. My opponent is tall, young and had good looks, so I’m looking forward to the match.”
Other Single Matches
K-1 veteran Rui will welcome Thian Tarzan, the Enfusion Light Heavyweight and Cruiserweight champion, to the K-1 ring. This will be Tarzan’s 2nd fight in Japan this year, and he is looking to leave a big impression, and come back and fight for K-1 titles.
Champions and contenders from K-1 WORLD MAX Tournament are also returning. Stoyan Koprivlenski is facing Hiromi Wajima, while Kacper Muszynski will be Valentin Mavrodin’s 1st opponent in the K-1 ring.
Finally, just before the tournament final, Akihiro Kaneko and Aslanbek Zikreev will compete in the super fight.
Broadcast Information
December 14th (Sat)
Tokyo National Yoyogi Studium 1st Gymnasium
First 6 Fights
Available for free(Including Preliminary fights and Openweight Reserve Match).
11:15〜 (Japan Time)
K-1 Official YouTube Channel▷ https://www.youtube.com/live/bTBj8046WeQ
LIVE Broadcast
15:00〜 (Japan Time)/9:00〜 (Moscow Time)
Udar TV ▷ http://taplink.cc/udar.tv
Full-fight Card
18th Fight – Hosendo no Sugoju presents K-1 WORLD GP 2024 OPENWEIGHT TOURNAMENT FINAL
17th Fight – 56KG SUPER FIGHT
Akihiro Kaneko vs. Aslanbek Zikreev
16th Fight – SUPER BANTAMWEIGHT
Riamu vs. Rui Okubo
15th Fight – SUPER WELTERWEIGHT SUPER FIGHT
Stoyan Koprivlenski vs. Hiromi Wajima
14th Fight -71.5KG FIGHT
Kacper Muszynski vs. Valentin Mavrodin
13th Fight – OPENWEIGHT
Sina Karimian vs. Daichi Kimura
12th Fight – CRUISERWEIGHT
Rui vs. Thian Tarzan
11th Fight – Hosendo no Sugoju presents K-1 WORLD GP 2024 OPENWEIGHT TOURNAMENT SEMI FINAL 2
10th Fight – Hosendo no Sugoju presents K-1 WORLD GP 2024 OPENWEIGHT TOURNAMENT SEMI FINAL 1
9th Fight – SUPER FEATHERWEIGHT
Chihiro Nakajima vs. Daniil Yermolenka
8th Fight – SUPER LIGHTWEIGHT
Hikaru Terashima vs. Danila Kvach
7th Fight – SUPER LIGHTWEIGHT
Daizo Sasaki. Takuma Tsukamoto
6th Fight – SUPER BANTAMWEIGHT
Momotaro Kiyama vs. Koji Ikeda
5th Fight – Hosendo no Sugoju presents K-1 WORLD GP 2024 OPENWEIGHT TOURNAMENT QUARTER FINAL 4
K-Jee vs. Errol Zimmerman
4th Fight – Hosendo no Sugoju presents K-1 WORLD GP 2024 OPENWEIGHT TOURNAMENT QUARTER FINAL 3
Ariel Machado vs. Rhys Brudenell
3rd Fight – Hosendo no Sugoju presents K-1 WORLD GP 2024 OPENWEIGHT TOURNAMENT QUARTER FINAL 2
Feng Rui vs. Mattia Faraoni
2nd Fight – Hosendo no Sugoju presents K-1 WORLD GP 2024 OPENWEIGHT TOURNAMENT QUARTER FINAL 1
Shota Yamaguchi vs. Claudio Istrate
1st Fight – K-1 WORLD GP 2024 OPENWEIGHT TOURNAMENT RESERVE FIGHT
Seiya Tanigawa vs. Kosuke Jitsukata
5th Preliminary Fight – FEATHERWEIGHT
Takaya Komatsu vs. Kosei Sekiguchi
4th Preliminary Fight – SUPER FEATHERWEIGHT
Kanata Ueno vs. Sakuya Ueda
3rd Preliminary Fight – BANTAMWEIGHT
Ren Ogawa vs. Taki
2nd Preliminary Fight – LIGHTWEIGHT
Rui vs. Raiki
1st Preliminary Fight – SUPER BANTAMWEIGHT
Daichi vs. Yukito Iwagami