World Qualifiers in New York 5/19 or 6/22 (TBD), Sarajevo 6/29, Sicily 7/27, Curitiba 8/3 or 8/10 (TBD), Osaka 10/5, and the Open Weight Final Tournament in Tokyo 12/14

On February 16th (Friday), 2024, the full scope of the “K-1 WORLD GRAND PRIX” series was finally unveiled.

K-1 producer Carlos Kikuta stated, “In 2023, to bring K-1 back to the global stage, we introduced the concept of K-1 ReBIRTH and declared the resurgence of the world’s strongest stand-up fighting martial arts. To mark the 30th anniversary of K-1 last September, K-1 held an open weight tournament at the Yokohama Arena. This year, in March, K-1 WORLD MAX will be revived after a decade, bringing back the world’s toughest tournament in the 70kg class with 16 fighters.”

He continued, “Now, along with K-1 WORLD MAX, I’m excited to announce another core content of K-1 ReBIRTH. The return of the K-1 WORLD GRAND PRIX series! The return of the K-1 WORLD GRAND PRIX series features the original stand-up fighting tournament that, in 1993, showcased eight relatively unknown fighters, and quickly became a phenomenon that swept the globe. Now, thirty years on, we aim to recapture the excitement of that era, when K-1 was synonymous with martial arts−where unknown monsters dismantled superstars to claim their very own stardom.”

In 1993, the world’s top fighters in karate and kickboxing gathered in Japan. The thrilling one-day heavyweight tournament, filled with one shocking knockout after another, took the world by storm.

Stars such as Andy Hug, Peter Aerts, and Ernesto Hoost gained international fame, creating a massive movement. Now, thirty years later, Japan will once again host the final open weight tournament.

Starting in 2024, the recently rebooted K-1 WORLD GRAND PRIX series will see the return of the K-1 open weight tournament regional qualifying system.

On *May 19th, or June 22nd (TBD), the K-1 WORLD GP2024 in New York, North American Round will be held in the USA, New York at Madison Square Garden (Hulu Theater), where 8 unknown competitors from across North America will vie for the representative spot.

Then, on June 29th, the K-1 WORLD GP2024 in Sarajevo, Eastern European Round in the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo. On July 27th, the K-1 WORLD GP2024 in Sicily, Western European Round in Italy, and on *August 3rd, or August 10th (TBD), the K-1 WORLD GP2024 in Curitiba, South American Round in Curitiba, Brazil. On October 5th, the K-1 WORLD GP2024 in Osaka, Asian Round will take place in Osaka.

Four winners, one from each of the regional tournaments (New York, Sarajevo, Sicily, and Curitiba), plus three fighters who move on from a one-match event in the Asian Round, will comprise seven of the participants. The remaining slot is to be filled by Liu Ce from China, who won last September’s 30th-anniversary open weight tournament and is undefeated in K-1 with 4 wins, all by KO.

In the newly reborn K-1 WORLD GP, these eight fighters vie to become the world’s strongest fighter, by taking part in a brutal 8-man one-day tournament, the K-1 WORLD GP2024 in Tokyo Final Tournament on December 14th, at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium, First Gymnasium! A new global star is sure to be born!

*Note: Dates marked with an asterisk are subject to confirmation.