advances to the World GP '08 Final Elimination in Seoul, where the year's final 16, including the world's top fightsport title-holder, three-time and defending K-1 WGP Grand Champion Semmy Schilt of the Netherlands, will pair off for a one-match elimination tournament.

There were two K-1 Superfights and a whole lot more on the card in Amsterdam.

Highly-anticipated was a showdown between a pair of Dutch K-1 stars -- two-time WGP Grand Champion Remy Bonjasky and the always-tough Melvin Manhoef. On a rare literary side note, Bonjasky this week celebrated the release of his authorized biography, "Remy Bonjasky -- God in Japan," by Mabel van den Dungen.

The stocky Manhoef is 15cm/6" shorter than God, but said before the bout that he had trained to overcome the height disadvantage. This he did, deftly ducking under Bonjasky's high kicks and answering with body blows, stepping past the low kicks, and, when Bonjasky threw middle kicks, grabbing the leg and pushing forward to deliver a punch. Bonjasky had his flying knees, but Manhoef was equally belligerent with flying punches, and the crowd had to admire his spunk. Late in the first Bonjasky overwhelmed his opponent with leaping legs for one down, then delivered a kick to the midsection to score another. In the second a refreshed Manhoef threatened again on counters, but Bonjasky scored a down with a knee and had Manhoef looking beat at the bell.

But Manhoef came out hard again in the third, launching a spinning back kick and meeting Bonjasky's high kicks with his duck and counter tactic. There were times throughout when it looked like Manhoef had rattled Bonjasky, but in the end it was the more experienced fighter who stayed on his feet, and Manhoef who went down, twice in the third, to force a referee stop. A thrilling contest and well-deserved win for Bonjasky.

In another Superfight it was a couple of muay thai fighters -- 22 year old Tyrone Spong of Suriname, and K-1 veteran Azem Maksutaj of Switzerland.

Maksutaj took the initiative, charging in with fists and low kicks, but a patient Spong soon found his form, launching hard low kicks and just missing with a high kick. Maksutaj's positioning and movement kept him out of trouble until he got caught on the ropes, and Spong brought up a knee to score a down. Spong had Maksutaj reeling late in the round, but the Swiss fighter was saved by the bell.

Both fighters threw low kicks to start the second, Spong showing impressive power. Again Maksutaj got caught, and this time it was a right kick to the midsection that felled him. He did not beat the count.

The K-1 Europe GP was complemented by the Dutch fight promotion "It's Showtime," bringing the total number of bouts on the day to nineteen.

"It's Showtime" featured a number of K-1 fighters:

Buakaw Por Pramuk of Thailand beat Moroccan Faldir Chahbari by decision; Armenian muay thai fighter Drago out-pointed Warren Stevelmans of Holland; and Dutch kickboxer Gokhan Saki surprised Paul Slowinski of Australia with a right to score a first-round down, then finished the '07 Europe GP Champion with a left cross to win by KO.

In other fights, Sem Braan beat Alexandre Cosmo by decision; Perry Ubeda KO'd Stephan Tapilatu; Georgio Petrosyn out-pointed Chris Ngimbi; and Nieky Holzken KO'd Joerie Mes.

In undercard action it was Robin van Rosemalen over Hammadi Mahdaoui and Rico Verhoven bettering Christiano Delgado, both by decision.

The K-1 World Grand Prix '08 Europe Final attracted a sellout crowd of some 20,000 to the Amsterdam Arena and was broadcast live across Japan on the Fuji TV network. For international live and time-delay broadcast scheduling, consult local providers. Check with the K-1 Official Website (www.k-1.co.jp/k-1gp) for comprehensive coverage of this and all K-1 events.