Nobuaki Kakuda
In the quarterfinals on 6 December, Hari defeated three-time K-1 World champion Peter Aerts by TKO in the second round. In the semi final he knocked out Errol Zimmerman and advanced to his first K-1 Final against Remy Bonjasky. After suffering a knockdown in the first round, Hari was disqualified in the second round for unsportsmanlike conduct by stomping and punching an already downed Bonjasky. The referee, Nobuaki Kakuda, issued a yellow card and a one point deduction. Hari walked over to Bonjasky's corner and quarreled with his opponent's trainer, Ivan Hippolyte, who also approached Hari aggressively, but officials prevented any further physical contact between them. After the five-minute recovery time elapsed, the doctor reported Bonjasky was seeing double and could not continue. Hari was issued a red card and Bonjasky was declared the K-1 World GP 2008 champion.