過酷で残酷！新日本プロレスvsPRIDE/K-1全面戦争の舞台裏。#プロレス　#格闘技　#RIZIN

On August 19, 2001, IWGP Champion Fujita faced Mirko Cro Cop at a K-1 Japan tournament. New Japan Pro-Wrestling was keen to have the reigning IWGP champion compete, seeing it as a chance to prove the strength of a professional wrestler. Meanwhile, K-1 wasn't particularly hopeful, so instead of an ace wrestler, they fielded Mirko Cro Cop, a struggling kickboxer at the time. "The strongest wrestling champion will punish the K-1 assassin who challenged professional wrestling." That was the general view among fans. For Mirko, this was his first bout as a stepping stone to moving from a striking pro to mixed martial arts, and Fujita's dominance was sure to be unshakable. However, the unexpected Mirko caused a stir. Mirko's knee landed on Fujita's face, resulting in a shocking, bloody TKO loss. Mirko's knee landed on Fujita's face as he went in for a tackle, causing him to bleed profusely and resulting in a doctor's stoppage, with Fujita's damage limited to the bleeding area. The stoppage, when he was on top of Mirko and in the midst of finishing him off on the ground, was completely unfortunate, and it did not diminish Fujita's reputation. However, losing to a kickboxer under mixed martial arts rules was a big loss. The martial arts side, including K-1, touted Mirko's victory, and the damage to New Japan, where the current IWGP champion had been defeated by TKO, was slowly taking its toll like a body blow.