Peter Aerts v. Mike Bernardo II Fight Video

Yesterday we began our week-long look at the classic series of matches between Peter Aerts and Mike Bernardo.  If you missed the first fight, check it out here.  Today, we look at match #2 in the series. 

In their first meeting, Peter Aerts displayed his clear dominance, scoring a 40 second knock-out victory and sending Bernardo back down the ladder.  The next event for K-1 was the Final 16 round of the 1996 Grand Prix.  Both Bernardo and Aerts made it through with relatively little trouble - Bernardo dispatching of Duke Roufus via 2nd round KO, and Aerts knocking out Jean-Claude Leuyer with his trademark high kick in round 1.  That earned both men a pass into the Grand Prix finals on May 6, 1996, and as fate would have it, the two would meet in the quarter final round.

Once again, Aerts was the heavy favorite - not just to defeat Bernardo, but to win his 3rd straight Grand Prix.  Already the dominant name in K-1, this was Aerts's year to cement his reign at the top.  But for Bernardo, it was a 2nd chance to play spoiler to Aerts and prove that he belonged at the top of the K-1 ranks.  Bernardo was also coming in angry, frustrated over his showing in the first fight and out to prove a point. With the Grand Prix crown waiting, Aerts and Bernardo came out for the first fight of the night, both men eager to move on and claim the title, both men ready to get the win.

And with that, Bernardo did what no man had done since Ernesto Hoost in 1993 - he beat Peter Aerts and knocked him out of the Grand Prix.  

After starting out with a cautious round 1, Bernardo begins dragging Aerts into a brawl in round 2, making the fight a sloppy slugfest in order to catch Aerts.  It's an excellent strategy that works well, allowing Bernardo to gain the advantage in round 2, then shut Aerts down quickly in the 3rd.

Bernardo would go on to make the finals, and while he lost there to Andy Hug, it was hardly a blemish.  Defeating Aerts was the real accomplishment, and there was no doubt now that Bernardo was for real.

There was also no doubt that a rubber match was on the way.