The 1998 Grand Prix began on September 27 with the round of sixteen at the K-1 World Grand Prix ’98 Opening Round where Andy Hug faced off with Mark Russell, one of the few opponents in his career who he had a size advantage over. He scored a knockdown over England’s Russell in the latter part of round one and finished the job in two with a second consecutive leg kick stoppage. In a tune-up fight ahead of the Grand Prix finals, Hug KO’d Masaaki Miyamoto with a spinning back fist.
Watch the video:
K-1 Grand Prix ’98 Final Round was held at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan on Sunday, December 13, 1998, in front of 63,800 spectators. It was the sixth K-1 World Grand Prix final involving eight of the world’s best heavyweight fighters (+95 kg/209 lbs), with all bouts fought under K-1 Rules. The eight finalists had all qualified via elimination fights at the K-1 World Grand Prix ’98 Opening Round. Also on the card was a number of ‘Freshman Fights’ fought under a mixture of Jiu-Jitsu Freestyle and K-1 Rules (various weight classes). In total there were eighteen fighters at the event, representing seven countries.
The tournament winner was Peter Aerts who won his third K-1 Grand Prix final by defeating Andy Hug by way of a first-round knockout. Andy would be making his third consecutive final appearance, having won it in 1996 and been runner-up the following year.
