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Welcome back to From the Vault - a series here at Head Kick Legend focused on classic fights from kickboxing's past. With more and more fans discovering kickboxing every day, this series aims to revisit some of the sport's greatest fights.

GARY GOODRIDGE v. CHALID "DIE FAUST" ARRAB
K-1 World Grand Prix in Las Vegas 2006
April 29, 2006

To this day, I still know the exact moment I became hooked on MMA and, in turn, all combat sports.  I was a young professional wrestling fan who had heard rumblings from a friend about this brand new thing called the UFC where it was just like pro wrestling "but for real."  Intrigued, I headed to the video store and randomly picked up UFC 8.  There was a lot that got my attention right off the bat, but one moment in particular grabbed me and made me say "THIS is what I need to be watching."  That moment: Gary Goodridge v. Paul Herrera. 

For that, Gary Goodridge will forever hold a spot as one of my favorite fighters.  Yes, he's fallen on hard times in recent years, but there  was once a point where he was a highly dangerous striker, both in MMA and kickboxing.  So let's take a look back at one of Big Daddy's last stands, the 2006 Las Vegas GP.

Over the years, the Vegas GP has been home to some of the crazier fights in the K-1 canon - Bob Sapp v. Kimo, Ray Sefo v. Marvin Eastman...  K-1's desire to court the Vegas audience with both MMA and American fighters led to some strange match-ups, but usually a very entertaining and explosive card, and the 2006 GP was no exception.  In the quarter final round, two fighters made statements with explosive first round knock-outs.  Those men were Gary Goodridge and Chalid Die Faust.

Heading into this event Goodridge's legend was well known.  A former star of the UFC and Pride and now Hero's and K-1, Goodridge had a string of classic fights under his belt.  While he didn't always win the big fights, he had been in there with the best, and had some very impressive kickboxing wins on his resume, including Mike Bernardo, Cyril Abidi, and Carter Williams.  At the time, he was on a 3 fight losing streak, though those loses came against some of the sport's absolute best - Le Banner, Feitosa, Ignashov.  Splitting his time between K-1 and MMA, Goodridge was still a fighter with dynamite in his strikes, as evidenced by his spectacular KO of Don Frye at Shockwave 2003.

Looking like a man with something to prove, Goodridge made an immediate statement at the Vegas GP, knocking out his first round opponent Kengo in just 40 seconds.  After that win, Goodridge would face the highly regarded Scott Lighty in the semi-finals.  Lighty had made the finals of this event last year, defeating Chalid Die Faust along the way before losing a decision to Ruslan Karaev.  He was no match for Goodridge, who again knocked him out in the first, this time improving on his first fight with a 34 second KO, and earning himself a spot in the finals.

Chalid "Die Faust" Arrab was a relative newcomer to K-1, with not a tremendous amount of K-1 experience under his belt.  None the less, he had a reputation as a tough knockout artist from his boxing career (his nickname translates to "The Fist") and held a respectable 7-3 MMA record.  Coming into Vegas he was definitely not favored to win, as not only did he lack the same level of K-1 experience, he also had just one week before been involved in a major car accident in Germany.

In the quarter-finals, Chalid was paired with former WWE and WCW wrestler Sean O'Haire, making his 3rd pro kickboxing appearance.  Chalid quickly lived up to his nickname, knocking O'Haire out with a devastating uppercut in 23 seconds (and, incidentally, ending O'Haire's kickboxing career).  On to the semis, Chalid faced American Carter Williams, the 2003 Vegas GP champion.  It was a close fight that Williams took via split decision, however, when Williams could not continue on to the finals due to injury, Chalid got a second chance.

The finals were set.  The heavy-handed veteran Gary Goodridge v. the heavy-handed underdog Chalid Arrab.  Winner would get a pass to the Final 16.

There's no denying it - you'll find many more technical fights out there.  Both men fight sloppy at times, and in the end it's Goodridge's poor defense that leads to his KO.  But if you're a fan of brawls, what a fight this is.  Both men just go at it, with the start of the 2nd round in particular being just incredible. 

As for the ending, it really is the kind of moment that sports fans live for.  The less experienced fighter, coming in after a car crash, getting a 2nd chance after Williams's injury, and dropped in the 1st and 2nd rounds, manages to come back and connect with a perfect two punch combo that puts the bigger, stronger, favored fighter to sleep.  If that ending and Chalid's celebration don't get your blood pumping, I don't know what will.

For both men, this fight has ended up being something of a final highlight.  Chalid continued his miraculous run with a Final 16 victory over another highly favored fighter in Musashi, before being knocked out in the quarter finals by the great Ernesto Hoost.  Since then, he has been largely inactive, going 0-3.  As for Goodridge, sadly, this marked the start of a huge downward spiral in his career as this is the first loss in his current 11 fight winless streak in kickboxing (and 17 fight streak in kickboxing and MMA combined). 

Regardless of their current status, both men showed a ton of heart here and defined what makes this sport great - even with the loses piling up, I know I still look forward to each athlete's next fight.

Note: Apologies for the hiatus on From the Vault.  Look for weekly installments moving forward.  If there are any fights you would like to see covered, let us know in the comments.