K-1 World Grand Prix Final 2009 Video: Getting Hype Right

K-1 has released the latest promotional video for its World Grand Prix Final 2009, and it shows once again that K-1 knows how to hype a fight. Video below.



K-1 has all sorts of promotional challenges. It's a Japanese promotion, but none of the fighters is Japanese. Three of the fighters are from the Netherlands, one from Morocco via the Netherlands, one from Brazil, one from Russia, one from France and one from Suriname. They're trying hard to establish a foothold in the United States, but none of these guys is known to American sports fans.

And so they just release a video that looks cool, shows the fighters as big, tough guys, and makes you think you'd like to know more about them. The UFC is the gold standard when it comes to using YouTube for cinema verite promotional videos, but for glossy, professional ads, the K-1 YouTube channel is the best there is in fight promotion.