Semmy Schilt; Possibly Not Invited to the World Grand Prix

Last Updated on Thursday, 13 October 2011 00:35 Thursday, 13 October 2011 00:15

Written by Dave Walsh

We are just two weeks away from the K-1 World Grand Prix Final 16 and are still without any definitive announcement from K-1, including fight card, participants and possible television deals. If FEG were known to conduct business in any other way this would be incredibly alarming, but K-1 has always been known to make major announcements at the last minute, leaving everyone from the media, fans, managers and even fighters hanging, waiting for word.

An article came out today about Semmy Schilt, the four-time K-1 World Grand Prix Champion and currently LiverKick.com's #1 Ranked Heavyweight/Super Heavyweight Kickboxer. Our choice of Semmy Schilt has raised some questions, but with Alistair Overeem under a Zuffa contract and the one year mark rapidly approaching for Kickboxing inactivity it seems only fair to not include him, and Peter Aerts had stated that 2010 would be his last World Grand Prix, while Sem Schilt has made no public announcement about even considering retirement. If Peter Aerts does indeed participate in the K-1 World Grand Prix and Semmy Schilt does not, then we will indeed need to re-evaluate the Heavyweight/Super Heavyweight field, but until then it is up in the air.

This article stated that the four-time champion was not invited by K-1 to participate in the World Grand Prix, which for a fighter of his value would be a first. This is not news after seeing the leaked list of possible participants in the event, and the article does insinuate that It's Showtime's assistance might be a cause for Sem Schilt not being involved, with Golden Glory being his management, but there have been reports that Bas Boon and Golden Glory have been in talks with FEG since the event was announced, although nothing between the two parties has yet to materialize.

Sem Schilt would add instant credibility to the tournament and be one of the favorites to win the entire tournament if included, but as of press time it is not clear if we'll see Sem fighting for K-1 again or not. Odds are Schilt is on the long list of fighters yet to be paid by FEG, which could be causing some problems. [source]

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