10.3.2024

On September 29th, at the Yoyogi National Stadium, 2nd gymnasium, the air was filled with a strange mixture of nervous anticipation and confidence as Mahmoud Sattari then Liu Ce stepped into the ring—two lions prepared to put everything on the line in a battle for the K-1 cruiserweight title. It was a clash of wills, where only the most determined would emerge victorious.

Sattari, making his return to the K-1 ring after nearly a year, had something to prove: that his last few fights were a fluke, and that he was ready for the mantle of leadership. His previous KO losses had hung over him for the last 12 months, haunting him with the specter of what could have been, should have been. The Iranian fighter had spent months rebuilding himself, both mentally and physically, gaining renewed confidence in himself and his team, and putting on almost 9 kg of solid mass. Going into the fight, he felt ready to reclaim glory he believed rightfully his.

Opposite in the ring stood Liu Ce, the cruiserweight champion, and winner of 2023’s WGP Openweight Final. The imposing warrior, standing at a massive 196 cm (6’5″), entered the arena dripping confidence. His team proudly held his belt aloft for all to see—a sign of his, as yet, untested reign.

There had been sparks at the press conference. The usually calm champion struggled to contain frustration over the lack of respect shown by Sattari. At one point the fighters had to be physically restrained to prevent their heated words from spilling into open conflict. With tensions high, and the stakes even higher, not a single person in the crowd expected the fight to go the full nine minutes.

Forces assembled, it was destined to be a war with no prisoners taken.

As the bell rang, Liu Ce wasted no time, opening with a fierce head kick and setting a quick pace. Sattari danced out of range, and targeted Liu Ce’s body and head. However, the Chinese champion retaliated with a sharp right hand that momentarily staggered Sattari, demonstrating the champion’s firm intent to hold on to the title.

The first round was a back-and-forth battle, with Liu Ce landing occasional strikes to Sattari’s head while Sattari’s calf kicks and powerful shots to the body kept the champion from fully committing to his offense. Each time Liu Ce tried to take control, Sattari disrupted his rhythm with well-timed strikes and evasive movement.

Though he flagged in the closing moments of the first round, Sattari appeared rejuvenated in the second. He avoided Liu Ce’s front kicks, again landing heavy body shots and keeping up the pressure. Liu Ce, a force of nature, responded with powerful hands of his own, backing Sattari into the corner and landing several solid shots. Sattari narrowly escaped the trap and continued to land calf kicks, at one point even knocking the champion off his feet.

Throughout the fight Liu Ce was the aggressor, moving ever forward. But, as the fight progressed, he did so with less focus, breathing labored as the accumulation of Sattari’s body shots took its toll. Sattari, often fighting from the ropes, had to force himself to breathe, often fighting on the back foot. After the second round, he no longer sprang away from Liu’s pressure with the same alacrity. Sattari held out for an opening, occasionally using a Philly shell-style defense to avoid the brunt of the champion’s blows. With seconds remaining in the round, Liu swung large with a looping right hook; Sattari barely edged out of the way and launched a counter left hook that connected but did not seem to faze the giant.

With 0:44 left in the round, Sattari found himself in danger when a missed calf kick spun him around toward the ropes. In a moment of inspiration born of necessity, the resourceful Iranian followed the errant kick with a hooking sidekick that Liu ate to the midsection. Liu Ce, whose timing had been thrown, came in with another hard jab to the body, but Sattari stung him over the top with a right hook. In the final seconds of the round, Liu chased Sattari down, attempting to batter through his guard with hooks off both hands, but Sattari held out until the bell.

As the two fighters came out from their corners for the third round, Sattari raised his hands to eliciting a defiant cheer from the crowd. Where tempers had flared earlier, the two now showed grudging respect, embracing briefly before the fight resumed.

In round three, Liu switched tactics, aimiong for Sattari’s head with high roundhouse kicks and heavy jabs with his full weight behind them. Sattari, for his part, endured the assault, finding time to swing only once for every three or four shots thrown by Liu, until he eventually found a way inside Liu’s hooks and calf kicks, landing a left cross and a front kick to the champion’s face. Sattari then landed a calf kick, followed by another large left straight, and calf kick again, gaining momentum. After some positional jockeying, Liu overcommitted to a superman punch, overshot the mark, and ended up on the ropes, eating a stinging right hook. Was this Sattari’s chance to take the lead?

Liu struggled to connect again, and Sattari threw a right hand over Liu Ce’s jab. Though his right cross missed, Sattari used the momentum to make body-to-body contact and shoved Liu back with his shoulder. As the champion staggered, Sattari connected with a hard left hook, but Liu Ce barely blinked.

Sattari then landed an inside calf kick, causing Liu to lose balance, and connected with an uppercut on Liu’s way down, but it was ruled a slip. With only 1:35 left in the round, the champion’s nose appeared slightly bloodied.

Undeterred and showing the grit he’s known for, the inexorable Liu Ce continued to move forward, eating inside calf kicks one after another. Although he was still able to connect, the damage to his load-bearing front leg sapped much of the power from his punches.

With 40 seconds left, Sattari took a deep breath, his expression showing the fight’s toll. The two fighters clashed a couple more times, neither scoring anything significant before the final bell. Now it was up to the judges to decide which man had proven himself the better fighter that night.

As the judges’ scores were read, the first judge scored it 30-28 for Liu Ce. The second judge saw it differently, calling it a 29-29 draw. Doubts crept into the fighters’ faces, and a wave of relief washed over the champion when the third judge scored the fight 30-29 in his favor. Liu Ce, the “Chinese Ivan Drago,” had secured the final vote of confidence and successfully defended his title.

Both fighters, drained but full of heart, raised their hands in mutual respect, embracing in the center of the ring—warriors bonded by a battle that tested them to their limits.

Though the fight ended with a 2-0 decision in favor of Liu Ce, the story didn’t end there. Unlike his opponent, who showed little physical wear, the champion limped away, visibly fatigued and bruised. Liu admitted disappointment at not securing a knockout victory, wanting to prove beyond doubt that he was the undisputed champion. Yet, it is often these hard-fought battles that shape a fighter’s legacy, and for Liu Ce, this fight may have been just that—a moment of growth rather than dominance. Fans of Liu Ce can look forward to seeing him evolve even further in the years to come.

Meanwhile, Sattari walked away with his head held high. Though the victory eluded him, his resilience and heart were undeniable. He had done what Liu Ce’s last 8 opponents could not, and survived 9 minutes with the imposing Chinese fighter. In a display of sportsmanship, Liu Ce praised his Iranian challenger, acknowledging him as a worthy adversary in this fierce contest for supremacy.