couple of straight punches late in the round. In the second Mataele showed less lateral movement, which proved costly as he could not match the power behind Bregy's punches. After weathering a barrage of blows, Mataele slumped back against the ropes, and the referee stepped in to call a count. The Kiwi managed to stand, but was in no state to fight, and so the contest was called in Bregy's favor.

"I feel satisfied," said Bregy. "I hadn't fought for a long time, so I needed one round to wake up. Poula is a good young fighter, but it's still early for him. When he hit me, he wasn't enough to hurt me, but it woke me up! I'm looking forward to Amsterdam, and I think of the fighters that won here tonight, Attila might be the toughest, he looks very good!"

In the first of two "Prestige Fights" on the card, it was kyokushin karate fighter Tibor Nagy of Hungary against kickboxer Dzenan Poturak of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Nagy had the crowd on his side, but their vocal encouragement couldn't stop Poturak's surgical right hook, which caught him hard on the jaw and put him down cold. An impressive KO win for Poturak, coming just 38 seconds into the fight.

The second Prestige Fight saw Daniel Torok of Hungary take on 37 year-old Antonin Dusek of the Czech Republic. Torok dominated the first two rounds, throwing low kicks, knees and punches, although not a lot got through Dusek's high and close guard. The fatigued pair resorted to clinching in the listless third, which slowed the contest considerably. Torok had however mounted enough attacks to take the comfortable unanimous decision.

Since K-1's inception in 1993, apart from a solitary trip New Zealand, the WGP Championship has remained in Europe, usually Holland. The first-ever K-1 champion, Branco Citatic, hailed from Croatia. Is there any chance this year's K-1 Champion could also come from Central Europe? K-1 European Coordinator Igor Jushko was optimistic: "Central Europeans have been working very hard trying to catch up with the Dutch, which I think they've accomplished. Sooner or later -- I think maybe sooner than later -- we will have a new champion coming from Central Europe."

With their tournament victories this evening, Hungarian Karacs, Romanian Morosanu and Belorussian Samedov will be representing the region at April's Europe GP Final. It was clear in Budapest tonight that the Western European fighters who have dominated K-1 over the last decade and a half are heroes for the emerging Central European fighters and fans. A robust reception was awarded a trio of ringside guests -- Dutchmen Ernesto Hoost, Peter Aerts and Remy Bonjasky. Between them, these guys have won no less than nine K-1 World GP Championships.

There was also a mixed martial arts HERO'S Rules bout on tonight's card, in which hometown favorite Sandor Bardosi required scarcely a minute to submit Paulius Poska of Lithuania.

In undercard bouts:

Tihamer Brunner of Hungary dispatched Ghita Lonita of Rumania by second-round TKO; Zsolt Nagy of Hungary scored a majority decision over Cimpoieru Valentin of Rumania; and Hungarian Team Peter Varga fighter Attila Dropan out-slugged compatriot Adam Veres to take a win by split decision.

The K-1 world Grand Prix Europe Final Elimination attracted a capacity crowd to the Budapest Sports Arena I was broadcast live across Europe. For a delay broadcast information, contact local providers. For official results and comprehensive coverage of this and all K-1 events, check with the K-1 Official Website (www.k-1.co.jp/k-1gp).