It's overlooked how dominant and great Semmy was

[Doctor Grudge]

I keep seeing Rico losing to Semmy like a billion times on this board and I'm just like....what?

Rico did lose to Semmy but it was literally 10+ years ago lol. This glass ceiling that heavyweights have now is ridiculous. Obviously Rico and fighters of his generation were not in their primes 10+ years ago, Rico is only 33 years old now. Yes, I know Semmy was not in his prime either.

Citing Rico's 10 losses when most of them came when he was 21 years old or younger even. That's just not a consistent standard with how fighters are usually ranked. Especially heayweights who generally hit their prime later and age better than lighter fighters.

Rico has been absurdly dominant and this whole "yeah only bcuz everyone sux" thing is one of the most blatant demonstrations of generational fanboyism. I know I'm wasting my time here because I've literally seen goat kickboxing list that have the top 5 be all heavyweights and from the same era lol, which makes no sense at all. Shows the power of marketing, I suppose.


and no I am not saying Rico is the GOAT HW or should be ranked above Semmy.

 

[SuperLuigi]

^Especially if we are considering greatness measured by accomplishments, rather than time machine fantasy match up. Rico has been the obvious best HW in the world for 9 years. It reminds me of boxing fans considering Joe Frazier and George Foreman as greater than Larry Holmes. But of course there are a lot of different ways to look at the whole GOAT thing.

 

[Blazeblack]

I think the better word is resented. From what I remember, even Semmy's biggest critics always saw him as one of the favorites to win the grandprix every year. It seemed like K-1 was always on the hunt for the next Schilt slayer.

 

[Deleted member 587672]

 

[Todd498]

Semmy Schilt is an absolute beast. Also interesting to learn he is naturally left-handed but fights orthodox, so it's not just the fact that he is throwing those jabs as a 7 foot tall beast of a man, but his jabs were thrown with his dominant hand (right hand) which simply must have put some extra pep on them.

Ahhhh ok that makes sense. Yeah his Jab looked like it was fucking landing with the impact of a Wladimir Klitschko right hand at times. Lol The being a natural righty explains it!

reminds me of Michael Moorer. He was a natural right hander turned southpaw too. His jab was NASTY also. Stunned Holyfield and Foreman badly with it multiple times.

 

[Bullitt68]

He fought during the pinnacle of HW k1.

No disrespect to Semmy, who was obviously legit, but this is not true. Hoost, Aerts, JLB, Hunt, Sefo---he caught all of those guys closer to the end of their careers than the beginning. Not saying he couldn't have still beaten them, but Aerts from 1995-1998, Hoost from 1996-1999, JLB from 1997-2002, these are VERY different animals than the ones Semmy fought.

 

[Vil7]

I remember being so blown when he beat Feitosa. I wonder if Cro Cop could have beaten him with speed & athleticism.

 

[Bullitt68]

I wonder if Cro Cop could have beaten him with speed & athleticism.

I think that people who were really fast, like Cro Cop, and who managed distance well, like Francisco Filho, could've possibly had success against Schilt. Cro Cop's performance against Mark Hunt in 2002 is IMO the best that he ever looked in a K-1 ring. That version of Cro Cop - excellent conditioning, incredible reflexes, lots of footwork and movement, and serious power in his hands and feet - could've maybe beaten Schilt on points, moving around and avoiding his offense and chopping away enough on the outside to score. But I don't know that he actually would've been effective given Schilt's reach and his crazy jab. Unless he landed a perfectly placed shot like he did against Sapp and injured Schilt, I can't imagine Cro Cop scoring a KO with his hands or reaching the top floor of the Hightower for an LHK.

Filho in his prime might've also given Schilt problems because he was very good defensively and his Karate background gave him a great ability to kick with his lead leg and keep people at bay. He also had some of the scariest power that I've ever seen in combat sports, so if he managed to land something on Schilt, he could've turned his lights out like he did Hug, Hoost, and Sam Greco.

 

[Killer Kadoogan]

i remember when he was the K-1 champ towards the end of the K-1 promotion time. I respected him as lots did, but i was so glad Peter Aerts was the one to dethrone him. that peter aerts sherdog HL they had was legitimate. still gets me fired up.

 

[Bullitt68]

i remember when he was the K-1 champ towards the end of the K-1 promotion time. I respected him as lots did, but i was so glad Peter Aerts was the one to dethrone him. that peter aerts sherdog HL they had was legitimate. still gets me fired up.

Aerts was so awesome that even though Sherdog never included K-1 fights/fighters, it was an image of Aerts throwing a high kick that was the Fight Finder icon for the longest time

 

[Killer Kadoogan]

Aerts was so awesome that even though Sherdog never included K-1 fights/fighters, it was an image of Aerts throwing a high kick that was the Fight Finder icon for the longest time

Dude I remember that! Totally forgot. Man, what a great HL. For some reason this one stood out to me. Sherdog had some quality HLs at that time. WAR PETER AERTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Bullitt68]

Dude I remember that! Totally forgot. Man, what a great HL. For some reason this one stood out to me. Sherdog had some quality HLs at that time. WAR PETER AERTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

For K-1 HLs, I always loved their JLB one.



I've talked a lot recently on here in the MMA forums about old school K-1, so I've started rewatching all of the old events on my DVDs and on Fight Pass. It's really crazy when you think about how many amazing fights they put on and how active everybody was. And there are very few K-1 fighters who I enjoy watching more than Aerts. The way that he'd work over the body was a thing of beauty and he flatlined so many opponents with his devastating high kicks. His defense was shit, so he was always getting cracked, but he was an offensive juggernaut. And he was the one who figured out how to beat Hoost and Schilt at their best, not to mention his wins over Hug, JLB, Bernardo, Greco, and his record-setting run through the 1998 GP which took him just under seven minutes to win...a record that was broken by Schilt in the 2009 GP which took him just under six minutes.

 

[SuperLuigi]

Keep in mind that Semmy came a bit later because he was first and foremost a Karate competitor who was doing KB and MMA simultaneously as side projects. If anything it should make his accomplishments more impressive because he still managed to beat those guys. He was pretty good at MMA too, he fought Fedor in Pride and got beat up a lot less than top 5 in the world MMA guys did.

 

[Killer Kadoogan]

For K-1 HLs, I always loved their JLB one.



I've talked a lot recently on here in the MMA forums about old school K-1, so I've started rewatching all of the old events on my DVDs and on Fight Pass. It's really crazy when you think about how many amazing fights they put on and how active everybody was. And there are very few K-1 fighters who I enjoy watching more than Aerts. The way that he'd work over the body was a thing of beauty and he flatlined so many opponents with his devastating high kicks. His defense was shit, so he was always getting cracked, but he was an offensive juggernaut. And he was the one who figured out how to beat Hoost and Schilt at their best, not to mention his wins over Hug, JLB, Bernardo, Greco, and his record-setting run through the 1998 GP which took him just under seven minutes to win...a record that was broken by Schilt in the 2009 GP which took him just under six minutes.

damn dude! i remember that one too LOL. fuck that brings back memories. that drum build up. JLB was/is such a beast. i felt like those early K-1 events, everyone was just a monster and on any given night anyone could win. i remember watching those early k-1 events where aerts is walking out in the cut off flannel, seeing Bob Sapps impressive run, and then the later years when Schilt was champ. That's a great idea to go back and re-watch those, I think they all still hold up. Highest kickboxing, true stars, true personalities, it's like real life Tekken kickboxing. Are they all on fight pass? I'm going to have to get back into it. Great write up, I'd like to read some more breakdowns like that.

 

[Bullitt68]

Keep in mind that Semmy came a bit later because he was first and foremost a Karate competitor who was doing KB and MMA simultaneously as side projects. If anything it should make his accomplishments more impressive because he still managed to beat those guys. He was pretty good at MMA too, he fought Fedor in Pride and got beat up a lot less than top 5 in the world MMA guys did.

Semmy's MMA career was nuts, a pure striker fighting so much in Pancrase of all places? It was one thing when Bas ended up in Pancrase because MMA was just becoming a thing, but for Semmy to start his career and spend years in Pancrase fighting against the best grapplers in Japan in an org that wasn't set up for strikers was a crazy thing to do. And yet, between 1996 and 1999, Semmy actually beat top Pancrase guys like Manabu Yamada, Masakatsu Funaki, Minoru Suzki, and Guy Mezger. Obviously, it was when he was in K-1 that we saw what he was truly capable of in an environment suited to his skills, but it's true that everything else that he did in his combat sports career speaks to what a freakish competitor he was in every combative domain.

damn dude! i remember that one too LOL. fuck that brings back memories. that drum build up. JLB was/is such a beast. i felt like those early K-1 events, everyone was just a monster and on any given night anyone could win. i remember watching those early k-1 events where aerts is walking out in the cut off flannel, seeing Bob Sapps impressive run, and then the later years when Schilt was champ. That's a great idea to go back and re-watch those, I think they all still hold up. Highest kickboxing, true stars, true personalities, it's like real life Tekken kickboxing. Are they all on fight pass? I'm going to have to get back into it. Great write up, I'd like to read some more breakdowns like that.

Oh, I treat combat sports the same as movies and TV shows. I've rewatched all the great matches and events from the UFC, PRIDE, Pancrase, and K-1 dozens of times. I bought the K-1 10th Anniversary DVD set, which includes highlights and full fights from literally every event ever held by K-1 between 1993 and 2002, and that's what I'd always go through. But Fight Pass has since gotten a lot of K-1 content. It isn't all on Fight Pass, so I still get good use out of my DVDs, but Fight Pass does have every Grand Prix - although in the early days when K-1 had enough competitors to start doing an Opening Round and then the Final Round where you have to win three fights in one night, Fight Pass prioritized the Final Round and so they don't always have the complete Grand Prix - and starting at 1996 they have the Braves and Kings events as well. And most of the K-1 events have had the Japanese commentary edited out, which is kind of cool because you can hear the corners, you can hear the crowd, and of course you can hear the impact of the strikes like you're in the arena.

And that HL is what started me out on the road to being a huge JLB fan. I even bought one of the shirts he sold on his old French website. But one of my biggest fan regrets is that I was never able to find one of the shirts that Peter Aerts wore with the two hatchets and the Dutch Lumberjack text. I had a lot of great combat sports apparel, but that shirt and the old Pancrase t-shirts were the two that always eluded me.

 

[Killer Kadoogan]

Semmy's MMA career was nuts, a pure striker fighting so much in Pancrase of all places? It was one thing when Bas ended up in Pancrase because MMA was just becoming a thing, but for Semmy to start his career and spend years in Pancrase fighting against the best grapplers in Japan in an org that wasn't set up for strikers was a crazy thing to do. And yet, between 1996 and 1999, Semmy actually beat top Pancrase guys like Manabu Yamada, Masakatsu Funaki, Minoru Suzki, and Guy Mezger. Obviously, it was when he was in K-1 that we saw what he was truly capable of in an environment suited to his skills, but it's true that everything else that he did in his combat sports career speaks to what a freakish competitor he was in every combative domain.



Oh, I treat combat sports the same as movies and TV shows. I've rewatched all the great matches and events from the UFC, PRIDE, Pancrase, and K-1 dozens of times. I bought the K-1 10th Anniversary DVD set, which includes highlights and full fights from literally every event ever held by K-1 between 1993 and 2002, and that's what I'd always go through. But Fight Pass has since gotten a lot of K-1 content. It isn't all on Fight Pass, so I still get good use out of my DVDs, but Fight Pass does have every Grand Prix - although in the early days when K-1 had enough competitors to start doing an Opening Round and then the Final Round where you have to win three fights in one night, Fight Pass prioritized the Final Round and so they don't always have the complete Grand Prix - and starting at 1996 they have the Braves and Kings events as well. And most of the K-1 events have had the Japanese commentary edited out, which is kind of cool because you can hear the corners, you can hear the crowd, and of course you can hear the impact of the strikes like you're in the arena.

And that HL is what started me out on the road to being a huge JLB fan. I even bought one of the shirts he sold on his old French website. But one of my biggest fan regrets is that I was never able to find one of the shirts that Peter Aerts wore with the two hatchets and the Dutch Lumberjack text. I had a lot of great combat sports apparel, but that shirt and the old Pancrase t-shirts were the two that always eluded me.

Yea I have a bunch of those old K1s on VHS, I need to re-watch them, and look into finding those DVDs on ebay or something. I think with most of the old MMA gods having retired, this makes sense now. Dude have you tried ebay for old MMA apparel? I have found some interesting items. Been stocking up on some older Fedor shirts haha. That JLB and Aerts shirt sounds dope. I bet some dude in Japan is sitting on it for $500. I wish I could have purchased cro cop shorts, either the tight ones lol or even the newer baggy short version during his later years. That's my biggest regret. Also not being able to buy the new Fedor shirt cause of Russian sanctions. fucking sucks.

 

[Bullitt68]

Yea I have a bunch of those old K1s on VHS, I need to re-watch them, and look into finding those DVDs on ebay or something. I think with most of the old MMA gods having retired, this makes sense now.

I'm literally a professional nerd - I have a PhD in film and teach at universities, publish academic writing, the whole nine - so I've been rewatching fights forever just because I'm an obsessive nerd. But rewatching fights also does bring with it that huge nostalgia fix, so yes, it's also great to go back and relive great moments from the past.

Like I'm not his biggest fan, but few things can compete with Andy Hug winning the 1996 GP by spinning back kick to the leg. Bernardo is hurt, Hug hits that tornado kick, the crowd goes wild, he pumps his fist along with the 10-count, and then the arena goes wild when the bell rings and Hug wins it. It's so cinematic, you couldn't have written a script better than that, and especially to win the GP with such a flashy kick courtesy of Mr. Kyokushin...it's shit like this that makes rewatching everything so much fun every time.

Dude have you tried ebay for old MMA apparel?

No joke, when I was in high school and college, my wardrobe consisted of almost all ebay shirts. I had a long sleeve UFC shirt with the Octagon on the sleeve, which I bought on the UFC site, and that JLB shirt, which I bought on his French site, but I also had a great Sakuraba shirt, two Cro Cop shirts, a PRIDE shirt, and a Bas Rutten shirt, which I bought on ebay

I wish I could have purchased cro cop shorts, either the tight ones lol or even the newer baggy short version during his later years.

Haha, I was only in the market for shirts. But one of my Cro Cop shirts (I bought two of them, and when I grew out of the first one, I cut the sleeves off and extended its life a few more years---then I grew out of that one and cut the sleeves off the bigger one and continued the cycle one more time) was modeled on his early red and white shorts from his K-1 days, before he switched to the better known red, white, and black shorts. It was all white, but then on the left chest it had three red squares and said "Cro Cop Team." I fucking loved that shirt. Then later I found a random homemade shirt on ebay that was red, white, and blue and it just had a Cro Cop silhouette throwing the LHK and "Cro Cop" underneath the pressed image. There was only one size for that one, so I had to wait like two years before I got big enough to wear it and not look like I was wearing a smock, but once I was big enough for it, I wore the fuck out of it

 

[Killer Kadoogan]

I'm literally a professional nerd - I have a PhD in film and teach at universities, publish academic writing, the whole nine - so I've been rewatching fights forever just because I'm an obsessive nerd. But rewatching fights also does bring with it that huge nostalgia fix, so yes, it's also great to go back and relive great moments from the past.

Like I'm not his biggest fan, but few things can compete with Andy Hug winning the 1996 GP by spinning back kick to the leg. Bernardo is hurt, Hug hits that tornado kick, the crowd goes wild, he pumps his fist along with the 10-count, and then the arena goes wild when the bell rings and Hug wins it. It's so cinematic, you couldn't have written a script better than that, and especially to win the GP with such a flashy kick courtesy of Mr. Kyokushin...it's shit like this that makes rewatching everything so much fun every time.



No joke, when I was in high school and college, my wardrobe consisted of almost all ebay shirts. I had a long sleeve UFC shirt with the Octagon on the sleeve, which I bought on the UFC site, and that JLB shirt, which I bought on his French site, but I also had a great Sakuraba shirt, two Cro Cop shirts, a PRIDE shirt, and a Bas Rutten shirt, which I bought on ebay



Haha, I was only in the market for shirts. But one of my Cro Cop shirts (I bought two of them, and when I grew out of the first one, I cut the sleeves off and extended its life a few more years---then I grew out of that one and cut the sleeves off the bigger one and continued the cycle one more time) was modeled on his early red and white shorts from his K-1 days, before he switched to the better known red, white, and black shorts. It was all white, but then on the left chest it had three red squares and said "Cro Cop Team." I fucking loved that shirt. Then later I found a random homemade shirt on ebay that was red, white, and blue and it just had a Cro Cop silhouette throwing the LHK and "Cro Cop" underneath the pressed image. There was only one size for that one, so I had to wait like two years before I got big enough to wear it and not look like I was wearing a smock, but once I was big enough for it, I wore the fuck out of it

there were a couple of times back then where i re-watched the complete UFC and Pride FC library, it was pretty interesting for sure. So many great moments, and some of the intensity of those older events you definitely feel. Much more Tekken style, which is the best martial arts style. That was pretty cool to watch unfold in real time. I need to do the same for K1, and I think the Dream / Sengoku / World Victory Road / K1 Heroes events. I'm thinking more K1 now since all the MMA royalty is gone. Watched the last glory event, it was good, and available online for cheap.

I had one Cro Cop shirt that said "ZVONOMIR SECURITY" that i wore religiously. also cut off the sleeves and worked out it in many times. Hope you keep making those gains in the gym brotha, it's nice to relive some of these earlier memories with the people who remember. You should have sherdog host a watch party for an older K1 event and other MMA events, like a re-watch kind of night. I think that would be dope and lots would be interested. You seem to understand your K-1 knowledge. I have that Andy Hug event on VHS, mike bernardo was a beast back then.

 

[Bullitt68]

there were a couple of times back then where i re-watched the complete UFC and Pride FC library, it was pretty interesting for sure. So many great moments, and some of the intensity of those older events you definitely feel. Much more Tekken style, which is the best martial arts style.

In addition to being a nerd, I also love the history of things, the early days. People who claim to love shows like Seinfeld and Friends always shit on the early seasons, but the charm of the early days is so special. Sure, it's great to watch a Fedor or a GSP or a Jon Jones, but nothing compares to '90s MMA when it was just becoming a thing, when all of the orgs were just starting, and a new sport was evolving right before our eyes.

I had one Cro Cop shirt that said "ZVONOMIR SECURITY" that i wore religiously. also cut off the sleeves and worked out it in many times.

Great minds think alike.

it's nice to relive some of these earlier memories with the people who remember. You should have sherdog host a watch party for an older K1 event and other MMA events, like a re-watch kind of night. I think that would be dope and lots would be interested.

That's both beyond my knowledge and above my pay grade, but anything old school has my vote.

You seem to understand your K-1 knowledge. I have that Andy Hug event on VHS, mike bernardo was a beast back then.

I'm lucky if I've heard of two or three people on every new UFC card, but when it comes to old school MMA and K-1, I know my shit

I have that Andy Hug event on VHS, mike bernardo was a beast back then.

Bernardo was a monster puncher. He just had so much power, even if you beat him you'd still get your bell rung. Hoost got the best of him but Bernardo still flattened him in the corner with a huge hook. Aerts and Hug found ways to beat him, but not without first getting knocked senseless by him a couple of times.

One of my favorite K-1 moments ever is his second fight with JLB where he's got JLB hurt and he's going at him so hard and the crowd is going so nuts that nobody hears the bell and he knocks JLB out after the round had already ended



It was always fun when you'd get a big crowd pop in pro wrestling, I love the crowd pops at sporting events when the home team drains a basket, scores a goal, hits a home run, etc., but for me, nothing gets my adrenaline going like the sound of a roaring crowd at an old school K-1 event. To hear 50k+ fans screaming their heads off watching the elite of the elite put on such incredible kickboxing displays is like nothing else in sports.

 

[TXstriker]