Bernardo, Mike

Mike Bernardo was born in Fyshook , Cape Town , South Africa in a family with Italian and English roots. Mike's real name was Barnardo, but for most he was known by the name of Bernardo. When he was a teenager, hooligans often bullied and beat him. Bernardo started practicing Kyokushin karate and was able to deal with hooligans:

"I started karate when I was 12-13 years old. Why did I start karate? I was a teenager and I was tall, but not strong. Many teenagers in school were members of street gangs where they could put pressure on me and beat me, because that I was a big guy, but they could prove that they are stronger than me. I started taking martial arts lessons and returned to school, where they also tried to put pressure on me and beat me, but I beat them all "

- ^[2]

Being passionate about sports, Mike went in for all the sports he wanted. In addition to karate, from the age of 6 he was surfing , and also loved rugby . However, after serving in the army, he began to focus on martial arts ^[3] .

Kickboxing

Under the guidance of coach - former boxing champion Steve Kalakoda, Mike started kickboxing . He met with Kalakoda in the army service, where he worked as a physical training instructor in the navy. Bernardo quickly gained a reputation as a fighter with a knockout punch. After the battles in South Africa, Italy and Russia, Bernardo was invited by one of the English promoters to the K-1 tournament. He made his debut at the K-1 World Grand Prix 1995 in a battle against the then-famous fighter Andy Hug . Bernardo himself was knocked down in a dramatic duel, but was able to turn the tide of the battle and defeat Hug in the third round after a technical knockout. ^[four]

One of the most successful for the fighter was 1996, when he took part in the K-1 World Grand Prix 1996 for the second time. In the first round, lots brought him together with Peter Aerts . Just like a year earlier in a tournament in a fight with Hoog, Bernardo knocked Aerts with the right cross and knocked out the K-1 champion in the first round. In the same year, Bernardo made it to the finals of the tournament, however, in a heavy fight he lost to Andy Hoog , who changed his tactics and took advantage of kicking, breaking through almost every attack with a low kick . The following year, at a tournament in the first round of the K-1 World Grand Prix 1997, Mike Bernardo met again with the K-1 champion, this time in the tournament bracket he came across Branko Tsikatich . Mike approached the battle like a storm of authority, having already knocked out two champions of past years from the tournament. Bernardo came out in traditional black shorts, Cicatic in gold. The fighters started almost without intelligence, while Tsikatich tried not to let the “white rhinoceros” close up, punching low kicks with both legs, but Mike confidently put the blocks. Almost in the first full-fledged exchange on the near side, Tsaticich missed the bunch and especially the right cross and collapsed into the ring. The judge began the countdown, and the corner decided to assess the condition of the fighter. Tsikatich bleeding. The corner and Tsikatich himself tried to convince the judges that Bernardo had used the forbidden technique, and also deliberately hit Tsikatich in the back of the head, Branko himself got into the fight, the coach stopped him, as a result, the judges decided to stop the fight due to dissection, and Tsikatich recorded a technical knockout. In the quarterfinals, Bernardo was waiting for an old friend Peter Aerts , who in the first round stopped the American fighter James Warring . This time, Aerts was stronger by beating TKO and knocked Mike out of the tournament.

At the K-1 World Grand Prix 1998, the promotion once again managed to gather the best fighters. At the 1/16 final stage, all already proven fighters got lighter rivals, in particular, Bernardo got rival kickboxer Maurice Smith to be his rivals. Smith began to scatter low kicks, which, however, did not cause Bernardo any particular problems. Opponents managed to visit the floor, but with the obvious dominance of the opponent, Smith survived the whole fight, and Bernardo won by decision and went to the next round. In the quarterfinal, Bernardo was waiting for the Brazilian Francisco Filo , who killed the American kickboxer Rick Rufus (TKO). In the battle with Bernardo, Filo tried to realize his trump cards by attacking the low from a distance, but Mike invariably met him with a series of punches. The first number was Bernardo, constantly attacking and reducing the distance, where Filo also demonstrated striking techniques, mainly defensive. One of Mike's punches sent Francisco knocked out, but he found the strength in himself and stood in the rack. However, after a few seconds, Filo got an overhand right and fell. As a result, Bernardo won a well-deserved victory and went to the semifinals. In the semifinals, the draw again brought Bernardo with Aerts. The fighters started without buildup, Mike still relied on the power of punches, and Peter was more diverse by connecting low. After two, Mike goes knocked out, but gets up. Aerts immediately turns on the speed and sends Bernardo back to the knockout, after which the fight ends, and Peter Aerts enters the tournament finals.

The tournament K-1 World Grand Prix 1999 became unsuccessful for Bernardo, when the draw brought him to Mirko Filippovich in the first round. Krokop was in great shape, which he proved during the tournament, eventually reaching the finals. Mike at the beginning of the fight even tried several times to attack the Croats with his favorite low, but Crocop answered the same. The rivals were cautious - Mike knew about the murderous low and the hikiks of the Croat, but he tried not to get hit by hands. Unexpectedly, Filippovich went on the attack, spent a twosome, and then completed the fight with a haikik, Mike knocked down. After the resumption of the battle, Filippovich went ahead and struck a few punches, and Mike again went to canvas. After the third knockdown, the judge decided to stop the fight. So Crocop went to the quarter finals, and Bernardo stayed behind the tournament.

The most important in the career of a fighter was the year 2000, in which Mike spent several fights. At the K-1 Africa Grand Prix 2000, he knocked out Brazilian fighter Sergio Espedito. In the quarterfinal of the K-1 World Grand Prix 2000 in Fukuoka tournament, in the third minute of the fight with the right hook, he knocked out Swede Jürgen Krut , and in the semi-final in the 34th second of the fight he sent his compatriot, kickboxer Andrew Thompson, who had previously won K-1 Africa Grand Prix 2000 tournament. In the final fight, Mike again met with his longtime rival, whom he lost less than a year ago, Mirko Filippovich . Mirko approached the battle with a leg injury received in the previous battle, so he fought in an unusual manner for himself - he punched his feet a little and he was clinching. Mike was also forced to change tactics, knocking his knees and low in the clinch. In one of the episodes, Mike hit Crocop on his injured leg, he fell, and the referee began to count the knockdown. At this point, Crocop's corner threw a towel, and Mike won by TKO. Thus, Bernardo rehabilitated for the defeat in the previous battle with Filippovich, and also for the first time became the winner of a major tournament under the auspices of K-1 .

The following year, Bernardo again took part in the K-1 World Grand Prix 2001 in Fukuoka tournament, where in the quarterfinals he lost to the Australian fighter Adam Watt after two knockdowns. Two months later, a rematch took place at the K-1 World Grand Prix 2001 Final tournament, which Mike Bernardo won by the decision of a three-round battle. In 2002, there were two defeats - one from Ray Sefo , who won the decision in five rounds at the K-1 World Grand Prix 2002 tournament in Nagoya , and then got knocked down by blows by Gary Goodridge at the K-1 World Grand Prix 2002 tournament in Las Vegas . In 2002, three more fights took place, at the K-1 Andy Spirits Japan GP 2002 Final tournament, Mike knocked out Tom American Erickson, but at the K-1 World Grand Prix 2002 Final Elimination he lost to Mark Hunt in a three-round match. In December, a rematch followed with Gary Goodridge , in which he was knocked out by a right hook in the third minute of the battle.

At the K-1 Beast 2003 tournament, Bernardo in the second round knocked out Japanese Tsuyoshi Nakasako. Then, at the K-1 World Grand Prix 2003 in Fukuoka event, Mike met already familiar Francisco Filo , who went through all five rounds, but could not identify the winner, and as a result a draw was fixed. In 2003, there were three more fights involving Mike, in two he won (against American Eric Ash and Belorussian Sergey Gur ), and one battle was lost to another Belorussian Alexei Ignashov . It is worth noting that he approached the battles in the status of a martial arts veteran, mainly speaking out against younger rivals.

The next year, 2004, was the last in a professional career in mixed martial arts, this year Mike Bernardo lost twice at various tournaments, won one fight, and one brought in a draw.

Religion

Mike was a deeply religious person. His faith played an important role in life and sports career.

“Before the fight, I pray that God will keep both of us. And his will is realized. There is no place in my heart for a feeling of revenge, I don’t want to hurt just to hurt. But I want to compete with this person who is opposite I. We are both rivals who are on the same line and we use all our skills to understand who is better prepared today. What I want to say is that each of us has luck, each person has luck Jesus is our savior, he is the path of hope, love, we hope for healing. And when he is with us, we can achieve everything that we wish. This is what I want to say. "

- ^[5]

Mike often went to fights in a black robe with an embroidered yellow cross, and the yellow cross was also embroidered on his shorts in the front left. In the middle of his career, he was immersed in himself and read prayers before going out.

Boxing Career

Despite the fact that fame came to Mike Bernardo in the K-1 promotion, he was also a professional boxer and made his debut on February 28, 1993 in the battle against Delius Musemva. In the third round, Mike won by knockout . In the second fight on April 7, 1993, Bernardo lost by technical knockout in the first round to Anton Nel. After several victories, he won the vacant WBF champion title in a fight with Dan Jerling, knocking out a Czechoslovak fighter in the sixth round. The battle took place in May 2000. On June 8, 2001, Mike Bernardo defended his title in a fight against Peter McNealy, in which he knocked out McNealy in 41 seconds. The fight took place in his native Mike Cape Town . In May 2002, since Bernardo had not fought for a long time, he was stripped of his belt. ^{[6] The} statistics of Mike's professional fights in boxing thus amount to 13 fights, in which he won 11 victories, lost once and once fought in a draw. Most of the battles (8) took place in South Africa , two battles took place in the United States , one each in Hungary , Japan and Mexico . 69% of fights ended with knockouts ^[7] .

Death

After ending his career in mixed martial arts, Mike Bernardo was educated and began to engage in clinical psychology. Mike's practice was in Lakeside, Cape Town, where he provided assistance and support to people after an injury and struggling with addiction, mostly young people. He also engaged in promotional activities in the MMA company with his old trainer Steve Calacoda. He often surfed and also drove a chopper called "Dragonslayer" on the Cape Peninsula . In the last two years of his life, Mike struggled with severe depression and manifestations of anger, the origins of which can be found in his childhood and youth. On February 14, 2012, Bernardo was found dead in his mansion in Muisenberg. The circumstances of the death are still unclear. ^[eight]

Kickboxing

• Muay Thai World Heavyweight Champion Kickboxing Association 2004
• Muay Thai World Champion 1998 World Association of Kickboxing Organizations
• Muay Thai World Heavyweight Champion Kickboxing Association 1996

K-1

• Bronze medalist of the 2001 K-1 World Grand Prix in Nagoya tournament
• Winner of the 2000 K-1 World Grand Prix in Fukuoka
• 1998 K-1 World Grand Prix bronze medalist
• Silver medalist of the 1996 K-1 World Grand Prix tournament
• Bronze medalist of the 1995 K-1 World Grand Prix

Professional Boxing

• WBF Heavyweight Champion