Badr Hari gets the hammer from K-1, BIG TIME!

Props: Cage Potato

Okay, I’ve been waiting in anticipation to see what K-1 higher-ups decided to do with “Bad Boy” Badr Hari after his freakout on Remy Bonjasky at the K-1 World Grand Prix 2008 Finals.  To those who didn’t see it, in the 2nd round, Badr caught Remy’s leg when he went for a kick, sent him to the mat, then pounced on top of him with punches followed by a footstomp to the face.  Remy was given ample time to recover, but he couldn’t….so Badr was disqualified and lost the final bout of a tournament he was very close to winning.  Anyhow….today K-1 released the official “punishment” for Badr, and man is it no doubt the worst one I’ve ever seen dealt to any fighter in both MMA and Kickboxing.  After the jump you’ll find the details as well as the video where Badr seals his eventual fate….

This exerpt is from FEG event producer Sadaharu Taniagawa:

“K-1 is a sport, K-1 is not street fighting. We had the same problem with Bob Sapp in the past, and it’s unfortunate it happened again yesterday. I was sitting ringside with Masato (K-1 World MAX 2008 Champion), and he was very angry with Hari’s actions. This morning in the newspapers I read Hari’s comments, he seemed unapologetic, and that is disappointing. We have rules, to fight in K-1 you must have a professional attitude.”

So, the official verdict is as follows:

• Badr Hari will be stripped of his K-1 heavyweight title.
• He will forfeit ALL of his earnings from the event.
• He is being stripped of his status as a “K-1 World Grand Prix 2nd place finisher”.

Now, Badr was interviewed not too long after the DQ loss, showing very little remose to what he did, which shows not only his very cold side, but also a strong lack of maturity.  No doubt the guy posseses a lot of skills, no doubt he could be something great as his K-1 career continues (if it does), but he needed a rude awakening, he needed this to happen to him, hopefully he’ll pull that stick out of his ass, and come back in a better frame of mind. It’s pretty apparent that K-1 has a “zero tolerance” policy for fighters completely disregarding rules and further trying to endager the safety of other fighters, I’m sure he’s going to be on thin ice for a long time.  I expect that one more slip up will get him permanently kicked out of the organization, which in all truth would be the end of him.

I have personally disliked Badr for a long time, I hate the “bad boy” image he carries, he hold grudges against people he doesn’t even know and is completely disrespectful to the veteran K-1 fighters and legends….not to mention saying that MMA is a “pussy sport” and only for “huggers”.  I am really looking forward to seeing where he goes from here, will he come back as a stronger, more mature fighter, or is he going to continue his downward spiral and eventually remove himself from kickboxing….