Andy Hug vs Mirko Cropcop | Classic K-1 Heavyweight Fight

As requested I am commentating and scoring a classic K-1 heavyweight showdown. 2 of the world's best kickboxers face off in a technical display of stellar defense and striking versatility. Comment down below if you agree with my scoring and please like, share and/or subscribe to support the channel 🙏
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[@SmegmaBukaki69]

RIP Andy Hug. Absolute legend.

[@nedaCFilms]

I still have an old K1 kickboxing game for the PlayStation 1 with Andy Hugg on the cover lol. I was a huge fan of Andy through the ‘90s and was crushed when he passed away suddenly in early ‘00s. His Karate was just something special.

[@bobymox]

Mirko is self taught kicker.He trained alone in his fathers garage with bag full of sawdust and sand.Crazy!

[@chilatelover]

two titans of the sport. Classic. Great breakdown. Always learn tons from you. Hard to believe Andy was dead just 3 months later! RIP

[@ansgaranzinger493]

...yes what tragedy. He was such a good fighter and human.

[@jacobstewart3720]

How did he die?

[@ansgaranzinger493]

@@jacobstewart3720 ...he died on leukemia. it was the 24th of August in Tokyo.

[@sgv789]

Leukemia

[@yongjiean9980]

Osu...RIP Shihan Mr Andy Hug

[@cyberserk5614]

Axe kick? Can we just appreciate how Andy is utilising spinning hookheels to wear down his opponents legs like no one else?

[@ansgaranzinger493]

..most don´t even realise that he does hit the thigh on purpose :)

[@AlexN2022]

they're very hard to land in a way that does any damage. You need to put the heel right on the thigh, and from that angle, after a spin, and the opponent moving, you're very likely to miss. They look like they land, but the damage is often minimal.

[@cyberserk5614]

@@AlexN2022 kzbin.info/www/bejne/nJu8nZRmqNB8pqc "...like...no one...else"

[@PrinceAkaiVtuber]

*Hug Tornado

[@sus425]

@@AlexN2022 he finished multiple people with the hug tornado

[@blacksabbath2559]

Ernesto Hoost, Cropcop, Peter Aerts, Jérôme Le Banner, Andy HUG (Rip), Sam Gréco...what gods names! They were my idoles, and if i train in kickboxing and Muay thaï, That's thanks to them

[@georgefarrington895]

Always loved k1. These guys are true Spartans .RIP Andy. Gone but never forgotten.

[@AroundElvesWatchUrselves96]

Freddie Mercury was my favorite kickboxer. 🥊 🥊

[@marioumana72]

🤣🤣🤣

[@sgv789]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@GringoBandito11]

Lol

[@bigred3096]

Hard to believe Andy passed away shortly after this fight from his long time fight with Leukemia. He was 10 years older than Mirko

[@chonzen1764]

Wasn't really a long time fight. He had no idea. He announced he had leukemia and then he was gone like two weeks later.

[@schenevus82]

I really appreciate fighters who exhibit such emotional self-control and respect for their opponent, on top of being such excellent athletes.

[@akapantsusenpai181]

Thanks for making a video on my two favorite kickboxers. Andy Hug was the person who inspired me to get into kickboxing.

[@1981billiam]

Two of my favorite kickboxers! RIP Andy Hug! K-1 was awesome, I used to rent the tapes back in the day. Now you can pull your phone out and find them. So spoiled nowadays😂

[@GabrielVargaOfficial]

I remember going to the Japanese grocery store and renting K-1 GP tapes. Yes. We are very spoiled 😀

[@deesmokinseagull9537]

Techniques are always appreciated for me! Especially cause i feel we are in the same page or wave of thinking about fighting phisics, and mentality. It's always a pleasure to follow you and learn or just enjoy how good you are at explaining everything!

[@rabbitshady499]

Imagine being this good with stage 4 leukemia 😔 Andy Hug is a legend and one of the best to ever do it, i always cry whenever i see his old fights..R.I.P..

[@Hoss999]

Andy Hug is my favorite fighter! Thank you so much for this video!

[@chriswright6245]

I love Andy Hug's spinning leg kicks, I like the movement of crocop and his poise. K1 was incredible.

[@gianurwiler5098]

Thank you from our Hearts that you React to Andy Hug

[@dukenukem63535]

as a guy from switzerland I really appreciate your pronounciation of andy HUG and thanks for the great video about two legends

[@chrispoggi1726]

Love this series, I've not seen all of these old fights and they are awesome!

[@gianurwiler5098]

It would be nice more Andy Hug Fights!

[@AlexN2022]

I think Andy's plan was to get Mirko used to mid-level spinning kicks that didn't quite land, and then throw a spinning head kick just once. But he missed that one kick.

[@GabrielVargaOfficial]

Which K-1 heavyweight battle should we watch next?

[@akapantsusenpai181]

How about Badr Hari vs Peter Graham (first fight)?

[@crackmonsieur]

Peter Aerts vs Kyotaro

[@steveorulez]

K1 2002 Ernesto Hoost vs Jerome Le Banner

[@steveorulez]

K-1 Classics: Ernesto Hoost vs. Mike Bernardo 1997

[@rush7313]

LeBanner vs Mark Hunt at Paris in 2002 if i remember well, huge huge war

[@georgepierre8450]

loving this series

[@sungear]

Love the insightful commentary!!

[@TheBudoLife]

Not sure if already mentioned, but the event was held in Switzerland not Japan. And let's not forget Andy died about 5 months after this fight.

[@MrTaipeiDan]

That's a good point. Andy was probably sick at this point but he kept fighting. Talk about a heart of a lion.

[@chonzen1764]

@@MrTaipeiDan He didn't know. He fought this fight with undiagnosed stage 4 leukemia.

[@matthew-jy5jp]

Thanks for doing all these videos champ.

[@nikossgoutas5251]

Classic beautiful action from big great athletes-fighters.

[@removelimitbreak7524]

These videos are always really nice honestly I'd love to watch a whole fight card with you sometime. Seems like great company

[@jayg4272]

woah! Didn't know Mirko used to fight without those checkered shorts/trunks!

[@baraskparas9559]

Great presentation. Thanks.

[@ianedwards3482]

Amazing thank you

[@bruceli9094]

Andy was Crocop's Kryptonite.

[@dwaynedarbon2588]

Nice vid, really informative to develop our fighting

[@sugarray9565]

Great video🙏🔥

[@vagabond4576]

Flexibility is a must for Kyokushin.

[@Ppolymath]

Both of them are September Born, both shows calmness, respect to their opponents, special kicks and techniques. Love Both ofem

[@zozoa1]

Excellent fight have a look at Hug v Greco. Now that was a fight.

[@YanPagan]

The blue eyed samurai 💪🏽 the best ever 🙌🏻 RIP Andy 🙏🏼

[@josemucarselsacoto5122]

Wild boys! Wild boys! Crocop is the man!

[@miquelcolet6946]

Another old school heavyweight K1 fight!

[@FluksWorkouts]

Great Video!

[@geneharrogate6911]

Gabe's work rate for cranking out quality content must take a lot of cardio..

[@jamielondon6436]

He likes to "break a mental sweat, too". ;-)

[@kevingray4980]

Always amusing how K-1 crowds look like they're waiting at the dentist's.

[@MarkosGormax]

Id like a modern heavyweight k1 fight

[@siegfriedo]

Hey Gabe, do one of Le Banner vs. Hunt fights next time. Super entertaining wars. 💥

[@ColossalSwordFormAndTechnique]

Would’ve been great to see Buakaw vs these two

[@TheJKDGuy]

Hell Yeah ❤️🙏

[@stuartbond2280]

Would you do commentary on any old Muay Thai stadium fights?

[@sgv789]

Andy Hug is the aggressor. Judges considered it. Cro Cop waits to counter. Well if some looks for KO & it looks boring coz there's none... Well, both are very tough thinking fighters. Watch the highlights of their fight career.

[@bjed21]

Andy Hug looks like a buff Freddie Mercury.

[@SinsGamingChannel]

The fight was in Zurich. I know, I was there. Well outside lol, sadly not inside.

[@raynerben3843]

Kyokushin VS KICKBOXING

[@ThePhenom9x]

actually, cro cop has background in taekwondo and karate, he has black belt in taekwondo

[@turksungerbob728]

Andy hug vs ernesto hoost, or Sam greco vs andy hug

[@istvanp2819]

Thank You for showing and commenting good fights to us. You are a handsome guy but why do You always have to be on top of screen? Why do You turn off the original sound? I think Mirco was slightly better.

[@AllinOne-dg3dk]

crocop freakin legend

[@mark4lev]

Eurosport supported K1 right from the get go

[@andobraun5614]

Nikolas Pettas' nickname was the blue eyed samurai

[@LuCa8_]

Yea what surprised me is that mirko really didn’t throw as many right kicks to he head his left kick steals the show but even he leaps into that right kick it’s almost just as damaging

[@JohnRBIV]

RIP HUG

[@nyashnader1]

Could you do a breakdown of Kimbo Slice vs Dada 5000 please

[@MadMax-ii8nm]

Coup de pied du haut vers le bas avec le talon : kakato geri, ok!

[@YECBIB]

I want to see a Tasmanian type fight.

[@deemc7756]

😮

[@Leinja]

Yeah, sometimes the scoring was shady in K1. I remember that at least Musashi got some preferential treatment from the judges.

[@je-freenorman7787]

can almost see the cement

[@DubiousDubs]

Crazy to think that Hug was practically on his death bed during this fight. Correct me if im wrong, but didn't he die less than a year later?

[@alanbenyamin487]

What was the age difference if anyone knows

[@goronsaki2174]

Iirc K1 used to have 5 round fights outside tourneys

[@majimamike4097]

Dont forget Andy was sick at this point of his career. He had leukemia and didn't know it. If he was healthy we would have more power in his strikes.

[@nemanacemu2024]

Crocop. Not cropcop

[@rainbowskyrunner]

4:03 That axe kick looks like it was a grazing blow. But Mirko still looked stunned and had to shake the hit off. He also clearly did not see it coming. Also I am pretty sure he did not like it, and was not thinking feed me more axe kick to my cheek next time Andy that was delicious. Haha 😂 15:03 By the logic you just presented most fighters should just remove majority of their techniques because you are saying any techniques that do not do “enough” damage which I assume means gets knock outs or knock downs for you so… The jab and many other techniques would just be removed because they do not have “enough” power in them..? Also if a person who is just starting takes your advice to heart fully then they would just drop every technique because they are are all weak when starting do to the lack of practice and experience they have with any techniques. It takes training, experience stress testing and refinement over years to make any technique truly effective and powerful to think otherwise is just ridiculous. Do you think Andy Hug just woke up one day and was like “I can now get my axe in position to fire at a target in the same time it takes me to do my step in jab, and do the same footwork pattern for both so there is almost no tell.” 😂 That is for sure not how it went down… He practiced for hundreds of hours doing probably tens of thousands of axe kicks in thousands of different places and scenarios throughout his training and fight career. This is just obvious if you think logically about it. I think you probably recognize this on some level, but some of what you say and think clearly contradict that recognition. Again I gotta point out that what you say about your removal of the axe kick from your arsenal applies to far to many techniques and just sounds ridiculous on a number of levels. For instance. The jab isn’t going to score you knock downs cause it isn’t enough damage so remove it from your arsenal…Right… Another example is the side kick which when trained to a point where you can time it correctly (just like any other technique including just a plain ol’jab) can get knock downs, and/or off balance your opponent creating openings for a knockout or for a knock down. And just to really drive the point home.. They (the side kick) just like essentially all basic striking techniques allowed in combat sports can be used effectively with training to have proper timing and positioning, setups are extremely key for most techniques other than techniques like the jab which are best used as setups. The side kick is actually best as a setup mostly a setup for other kicks. And it can be an excellent lane blocker for kicks as Andy shows in this fight (the side kick and front kick chamber can be used to defend the body from punches, kicks and knees as well as be used to create space by pushing or just being there) and they are phenomenal setups for opponents being off position or off balance and are great fakes as well as have the potential to cause your opponent to make mistakes as well as give you room to breath allowing you to have more attacks at your disposal all out of just sheer apprehension of what might happen as you raise your leg or even just twitch like you might kick. Which again Andy demonstrates here against Mirko and that mf is X special forces that specifically specialized in hunting terrorist operations. The dude probably does not scare easy, but he did not want to just rush in on Andy and did not want to stay to close either. A guy who would charge into a gun fight with terrorists and remained in an elite group for years doing that regularly probably has some courage and some staying power but Andy backed him up and corralled him for 4 rounds so far. That says something to me about the efficacy and that proper place for axe kicks and other kicks to achieve maximum effectiveness. And that is as tools to position your opponent while creating a sense ambiguity and creating hesitation in your opponent by making them unsure of what might come next. You have to make all of your techniques effective for you to throw from many angles and positions like Andy demonstrated perfectly in this fight. I am sorry if this comes off as rude Gabriel I respect your skills and your reputation, but your opinion on this is just ridiculous to me and I gotta tell it like I see man. I mean no offense. Also so for the length of the comment 😅🤙🏾

[@health-generation268]

Old shool heavy weights pls

[@champnika2711]

andy hug was the fkg man

[@MrSamsamspace]

It's more technical for both, because they are both left-handed, 85 % boxers they fight are right handed

[@BoskoBuha99]

Actually Andy Hug was known as the "axe kick murderer". Blue eyed samurai was the nickname of another fighter...

[@jabadashudau2422]

Hey Gabriel, didn't you see the fist bump after cro crop landed his own axe kick. It seems like they didn't take the fight seriously. Why are they doing a fist bump during a fight?

[@whoknows8223]

Acknowledging each others axekick technique. Just showing respect to each other. Good sportsmanship.

[@jabadashudau2422]

@@whoknows8223 but why during the fight?

[@kyrofletch7189]

11:30

[@xoPRECISEox]

Andy was sick here, that's why he had no power and energy.

[@Not2Be0utDone]

Sometimes i remember schaub KO’d Crocop and it ruins my day

[@lambdalambdalambda257]

No sound? Smh.

[@ortanchibiri]

I liked the video and your comments, really. What I don't understand is the need for you to be on screen holding your phone for the entire thing

[@chonzen1764]

Was really disappointed when I first saw this fight bootleg in 2000. I expected much more action. I now beleive that Cro Cop intended to be the counter striker but Hug's work rate was way way down which limited Cro Cop's opportunities to counter. In retrospect Andy's cancer was obvious.

[@lindaa.7389]

Duhet të largohem prej këtu para se të mbledh dhëmbët e thyer. Kickbox-i nuk është sport humanitar i dashur Mirko 🥰 hahhahaha

[@sharkfinnigan]

I think you like the sound of your own voice a little too much. Say less. Good video though

[@tresslyncollop9269]

without any commentary would have been good

[@hocusfocus8016]

First

[@bobbyjoeyoung2becausesteph194]

Quit talking and let me watch the damn fight

[@VitoScaletta27]

50:50

[@jesselevyvieira3588]

Andy Hug deserved to be in the hall of fame of the best fighters ever.

[@rabbitshady499]

Imagine being this good with stage 4 leukemia 😔 Andy Hug is a legend and one of the best to ever do it, i always cry whenever i see his old fights..R.I.P..