Alistair Overeem Wins 2010 K1 Grand Prix Finals

In the early morning 2am ET/ 11pm PT those who stayed up to watch the 2010 K1 Grand Prix Finals were rewarded with a wonderful eight man tournament. Airing live on HDNet the tournament would crown the 2010 K1 grand prix champion.

The defending champ Semmy Schilt was the favorite coming into the night according to the matchmakers, but he’d have to make it through a tough field. Including Schilt in the tournament was 3 time K1 grand prix champ Peter Aerts, Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem and newcomers Daniel Ghita, Kyotaro and Tyrone Spong.

The quarter finals looked like this:

Left Bracket

Mighty Mo vs. Peter Aerts – Aerts by 1^st rd. TKO

Semmy Schilt vs. Kyotaro – Schilt by Unanimous Decision

Right Bracket

Gokhan Saki vs. Daniel Ghita – Saki by Unanimous Decision in extra round

Alistair Overeem vs. Tyrone Spong – Overeem by Unanimous Decision

The oldest fighter in the tournament, Peter Aerts made very short work of the lone American Mighty Mo, dropping him twice in the first round for the early TKO. The defending champ had a much tougher time in his fight with the K1 heavyweight champion, Kyotaro. Schilt had a massive size advantage over his opponent but was the fight went to the judges, with Schilt winning a unanimous decision.

The third quarter-final fight was easily the best of the four when Gokhan Saki and Daniel Ghita battled it out over three rounds plus an extra frame. Saki would score the unanimous decision after the extra round but the 12 minute brawl would come back to haunt him. Alistair Overeem survived a first round scare to turn things around in round two and dominated round three to secure a unanimous decision.

The semi-finals now looked like this:

Peter Aerts vs. Semmy Schilt – Aerts by Majority Decision

Gokhan Saki vs. Alistair Overeem – Overeem by 1^st rd. TKO

Having already fought each other four times, Peter Aerts and Semmy Schilt were pretty familiar with each other. They split those four fights and this would break that tie and move one of these former champs into the finals. Schilt opened the fight very strong, beating Aerts to the punch with his reach advantage. In the second round Aerts suffered a cut above his right eye, but started to turn the corner and find his range for his overhand punches to Schilt’s jaw.  In the third round Aerts found a second gear and dominated the round, even though he looked completely gassed following the second round. The heart shown by Aerts grabbed the crowd support and by the end of the fight they were 100% behind him. The scores from the judges had a draw and two in favor of Aerts for a Majority decision and a spot in the finals.

Alistair Overeem looked much more relaxed coming into his semi-finals match, while Saki looked well… hurt. After starting out very fast, probably trying to get a quick stoppage Saki was clearly favoring his right side. Overeem wasted no time and targeted that side until Saki was forced to withdraw due to an elbow injury, moving Overeem into the finals.

The K1 Grand Prix Finals:

Peter Aerts vs. Alistair Overeem – Overeem by 1^st rd. KO

The draw of tournaments is just as important as the skill of the fighters and Alistair Overeem had the luck of the draw on his side. Peter Aerts was coming over a three round battle with the reigning champ that took a lot out of him and resulted in a right eye cut. Overeem was the much fresher fighter and opened the fight very aggressive with no answer from Aerts. Overeem dropped a very worn out looking Aerts early in the first and he just had nothing left to get up. Overeem wins the 2010 K1 grand prix becoming the first to do so while also being an MMA champ.

A really good nights of fights that also included one reserve fight (not needed) and three other none tournament fights. Aside from the halftime show the event was well worth staying up late and forgoing sleep.

Tags: Alistair Overeem, Daniel Ghita, Gokhan Saki, Grand Prix, K1, MMA, Peter Aerts, Semmy Schilt

Category: Featured, MMA