Francisco Filho started Kyokushin kaikan around age of 10 and received black belt six and half years later. He made his professional K-1 fighting debut on July 20, 1997 at the K-1 Dream '97 tournament against Kyokushin and Seidokaikan fighter Andy Hug. This was their second encounter, the first being at the 5th Kyokushin World Tournament in 1991 that resulted in a controversial knockout victory for Filho with a technique that connected after the bell rang. The second fight was also won by Filho quickly earning the Brazilian a large fan base in Japan as well as making him one of the then top contenders for the K-1 World GP Championship title. International reception was mixed, however, with Dave Meltzer and other pundits expressing their belief that Hug's loss was a fight fixed in order to set Filho up as a new star
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Mount Olympus - Approaching Nirvana
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Ether - Silent Partner
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