In the build-up to the final on December 14, K-1 hosted a number of qualification events. One of them, was the K-1 World GP 2024 in Sarajevo with Serbian kickboxer Miloš Cvjetićanin winning the qualification tournament. Instead of entering the K-1 tournament, he decided to sign with GLORY, leaving his spot open for a wildcard. There was a lot of speculation and online discourse about who would get the wildcard. Names like Dutch phenom Thian de Vries and Dutch K-1 Heavyweight champion Roël Mannaart were rumored to enter this year’s K-1 World Grand Prix. Instead K-1 has announced that K-1 newcomer Mattia Faraoni will get a shot at K-1 gold.
THE SURPRISE TWIST…
To the disappointment of kickboxing fans worldwide, last year's K-1 Grand Prix winner, Liu Ce, has been forced to withdraw from this year's tournament due to injury. This is especially unfortunate, as many considered Liu Ce the favorite to win again. In his place, the last fighter to defeat him, fellow Chinese kickboxer Feng Rui, will step in. With this announcement, K-1 officially finalizes the lineup for this year's tournament.
BACK TO THE ROOTS
Historically the K-1 World Grand Prix was one of the most prestigious 8-man tournaments in kickboxing. After the fall of the "old K-1", they decided to focus more on lower-weight classes, specifically on the Japanese market. Recently K-1 stated that they want to be "synonymous with heavyweight fighting again", but with GLORY signing most top Heavyweight kickboxers, they have been struggling to find new talent. Still, for new heavyweight stars to arise there need to be a stage to perform and this year's K-1 World Grand Prix could be one of those stages.
INTERNATIONAL STREAM
While K-1 has expressed its ambition to re-enter the global market, most of its events remain unavailable outside Japan. The only exception this year was the K-1 World MAX 2024, which was broadcast internationally in July. Despite ongoing rumors, K-1 has yet to confirm an international broadcasting partner for the upcoming K-1 World Grand Prix 2024.
THE FULL TOURNAMENT LINE UP
Quarterfinal A - Kwon Jangwon (South Korea) vs. Claudio Istrate (Italy)
Quarterfinal B - Feng Rui (China) vs. Mattia Faraoni (Italy)
Quarterfinal C - Ariel Machado (Brazil) vs. Rhys Brudenel (Great Brittain)
Quarterfinal D - K-Jee (Japan) vs. Errol Zimmerman (Curaçao)
Reserve fight - Seiya Tanigawa (Japan) vs. Kosuke Jitsukata (Japan)
