An Evening of Surprises: SAHO and Liu Ce are new champions!
Unforeseen Victories and Decisive Triumphs Illuminate the K-1 WORLD MAX 2024 -70kg World Championship Tournament FIRST ROUND.
March 20th, Tokyo—Women’s Flyweight Title Match ：Antonia Prifti (Greece) vs SAHO (Japan) –The result was a decision 0-3 (27:30/28:30/29:30) in favor of SAHO, with Prifti failing to defend.
In the much-anticipated K-1 Women’s Flyweight Title Match, Antonia Prifti (Greece), the 2nd WORLD GP Women’s Flyweight Champion, defended her title against SAHO (Japan), in Prifti’s first title defense. Despite the champion’s previous dominance over former queen, KANA, and Prifti’s dismissal of SAHO as a total “unknown,” the tables turned dramatically, and unfortunately for the champion, she got to know her opponent much better than she could have possibly wanted. SAHO’s relentless assault and strategic strikes, such as switching early into Southpaw and catching Prifti off guard, saw SAHO take an early lead in the 1st round. It was clear that the champion was unequipped to handle SAHO’s raw power and with each left cross, Prifti quickly started wearing the damage.
In the end, SAHO’s relentless assault against “The Panther” led her to a unanimous decision victory with scores of 27:30, 28:30, and 29:30, crowning SAHO the new champion. SAHO expressed her deep gratitude for the support of her fans, crediting it with propelling her to victory and vowed to defend the title against any challenger, hinting at a future showdown with the former champion KANA, who Prifti had systematically dismantled.
Cruiserweight Title Match：Sina Karimian(Iran) vs. Liu Ce(China)
Liu won by KO in 3R 2min. 3sec
In the Cruiserweight Title Match, the showdown between Sina Karimian of Iran and Liu Ce of China, sparks started to fly even before the two stepped in the ring. Sina had repeatedly downplayed the strength of his challenger, Liu Ce, who comes fresh off a commanding victory in last September’s K-1 30th Anniversary Openweight Tournament, as well as a KO win against Seiya Tanigawa in December. Sparks flew in the press conference as Karimian got physical, pushing Liu Ce, who smiled wryly at the exchange. “Liu Ce was shaking, I can tell that he is scared,” stated a confident Karimian. On the night of the fight Karimian paraded into the ring wearing a traditional conical hat, seeking to troll his challenger. Karimian would soon find out that despite all his pre-fight provocations, or perhaps because of them, the massive fighter from China was not shaking with fear, but rage. During the fight Liu Ce put so much leather on Sina, he might as well have been a couch.
The champion was dropped by Liu Ce twice in the first round, and despite many attempts to bait the challenger into his spinning backfists, Karimian was unable to find any purchase. While there was nothing confusing about the one-way pummeling Sina received, there was one chaotic moment in the 2nd round with 1:49 left on the clock. Sina lost his balance after whiffing his umpteenth attempt at a backfist, and fell to the mat. Sina stood up with his back to his opponent, possibly expecting the ref’s intervention or to deter further attacks. The resourceful Liu had other plans, and delivered a looping left hook that reached around Sina’s head to smack him in the front of the face, this time knocking him down for an 8 count. Although replay clearly showed the left hook scoring flush to the left side of Sina’s head, the punch was ruled a foul, and Sina was given 5 minutes to recover. Liu Ce received a yellow card, resulting in a point deduction, and the fight resumed. The challenger Liu Ce’s head cleared during the break, and he was a bit more patient, allowing Sina to survive through the 2nd round. Liu was only biding his time, however, and in the end, the match was sealed by a knockout for the highlight reels. Liu delivered a powerful right hook, sending Sina careening to the mat for good, to score a KO at 2 minutes and 3 seconds in the 3rd round.
Immediately following the match, Mahmoud Sattari stepped into the ring, to avenge his friend’s loss, challenging the newly minted champion Liu Ce to a title match, setting the stage for an epic encounter on July 7th. This night of electrifying matches and dramatic turnarounds has set the tone for an intense season in the K-1 WORLD MAX 2024 -70kg World Championship Tournament. With champions dethroned and new rivalries set, the stage is primed for more breathtaking action in the rounds to come!
Stay tuned for more updates and recaps of all the action from fight night!
The competition can be viewed below. Check it out!
▪️TrillerTV ｜USA, Canada, EU, Australia,NZ
https://www.trillertv.com/watch/k-1-world-max-2024-r1/2peqy/
▪️Fight Plus HD｜EU
https://fightplus.eu/item.html?id=3729663
▪️K-1 WORLDWIDE PPV｜WORLDWIDE