Ben Edwards, your 2010 K-1 Oceania Grand Prix champion

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In a night filled with quick KOs, it was the heavy-handed Ben Edwards that walked away with the 2010 K-1 Oceania Grand Prix crown.  Edwards defeated three opponents, all via KO, all in round 1.  With that impressive showing, Edwards has earned himself a spot in the K-1 Final 16 this September.

For Edwards, the tournament started off fast with a 20 second KO of his first round opponent, Faisal Zakaria.  He followed that up with a head kick KO in round 1 of his semi-final fight, defeating Tafi Misipati and earning himself a shot in the finals.

For the final fight of the evening, Edwards faced former Oceania champion and long-time K-1 veteran Paul Slowinski.  Slowinski also started the tournament quickly, knocking out Sio Vitale in one round in the quarter finals.  In the semi-finals, Slowinski faced Cedric NTG.  It looked like fans were going to see an anticipated rematch in the semis between Thor Hoopman and Slowinski after both men won their quarter final fights.  However, Hoopman was forced to withdraw due to injury, and Cedric took his place.  Slowinski polished the Muay Thai fighter off in the 3rd round.

The Edwards v. Slowinski final was the third meeting between these two men.  They first squared off early in Edwards's career in 2005, with Slowinski scoring the KO victory.  Last year, they met again, this time with a much more seasoned Edwards, in the main event of Evolution 18.  Again, Slowinski was the victor, using leg kicks to wear down Edwards and score the KO.  Here, with the Final 16 spot on the line, Edwards gained his revenge, taking the fight to Slowinski and scoring the TKO victory in round 1. 

From here, Edwards's chances in the Grand Prix depend largely on who he is paired with.  If he is against a more technical striker, he'll  have troubles.  But with his heavy hands, he definitely has the proverbial "puncher's chance" to score an upset, particularly if he can lure his opponent into a brawl.  It will be a challenge for him to move on to the Final 8, but he'll definitely make for an exciting Final 16 competitor, and is not someone his opponent can take lightly.

The other notable result from the show - Ewerton Teixeira was in action against Alex Roberts.  Often criticized as a boring, decision-based fighter, Teixeira made short work of Roberts here, finishing him off in the first round with a KO uppercut.

Full results after the break.

Results from Infinite MMA.com

Fight 1 GP reserve bout - Peters defeats Jones jr via r1 KO left Hook.

Fight 2 - Josh Tonna v Glen Purvis - 3 x 3 min K-1 rules Tonna via Split Decision.

Fight 3 - Brani Zec v Maroubki - 3 x 3 min K-1 rules Zec via KO rd 2 body hook

Fight 4 - Warrick Harrington v Tass Tsitsiras - 70kg 3 x 3 min K-1 rules Harrington wins via split decision

WGP Block A - Cedric NTG (AUS) v Tuffa Misipati (NZL) - Misipati def Cedric via Split Decision.

WGP Block B - Ben Edwards (AUS) v Faisal Zakaria (SUD / NZL) Ben Ewards def Faisal via r1 KO left hook 20 seconds into 1st round.

WGP Block C - Steve Bonner (AUS) v Thor Hoopman (AUD) Thor def Bonner via unan decision.

WGP Block D - Paul Slowinski (AUS) v Sio Vitale(NZD) Paul def Vitale via KO rd 1 body hook.

Super Fight 1 - Charles August (NZL) v Jarred Botha (AUS) August def Botha via KO in rd 2.

WGP Semi Final 1 - Tuffa Misipati v Ben Edwards - Edwards def Misipati via rd 1 ko head kick

WGP Semi Final 1 - Paul Slowinski v Cedric NTG(replacement for injured Thor Hoopman) - Slowinski def Cedric rd 3 tko via headkick

Super Fight 2 - Steve Moxon (AUS) v Kenmun (K-1 Max Bout) - Moxon def Kenmun via split decision

Super Fight 3 - Ewerton Teixeria (BRA) v Alex Roberts (USA - Texeria def Roberts via Rd 1 KO uppercut

WGP Final - Ben Edwards v Paul Slowinski - Edwards def Slowinski via tko rd 1 punchs