Nobuaki Kakuda
The highly anticipated fight with Bob Sapp came at the K-1 World Grand Prix 2002 Final Elimination. Sapp won by technical knockout in the first round after the doctor stopped the match on cuts. Despite the loss he was again matched up with Sapp in the quarter finals of the K-1 World Grand Prix 2002. After trading knockdowns with Sapp in first round, Hoost lost again in a wild slugfest when referee Nobuaki Kakuda declared a KO while Hoost was still standing, but after the fight, Sapp turned out to have broken his hand and suffered four cracked ribs, and wasn't able to continue, allowing Hoost to replace him in the semi-finals. Hoost beat Ray Sefo in first round by TKO, after Sefo damaged his shin against Hoost's kneecap. Hoost proceeded to his fifth K-1 Finals, and was matched up against Jerome Le Banner. The fight was clearly in Le Banner's favour up until the third and final round when Le Banner injured his arm blocking Hoost's kick. Hoost aggressively attacked the arm again, forcing Le Banner down with only 94 seconds left in the match, winning by TKO and his fourth Grand Prix Championship. Le Banner suffered a severe compound fracture, putting him out of competition for over a year.