a right overhand when he got close to him. Aerts was able to dominate the rest of the fight before knocking him cold with a right high kick in round three. At the K-1 Grand Prix '97 Final on November 9, Aerts came up against Mike Bernardo for the fifth time at the first stage. Aerts used his superior speed to pick Bernardo apart with punches before finishing him with a body shot in round three. This brought their rivalry to 2-2, discounting the disqualification. Marching into the semi-finals, he had his second match against Andy Hug. After three hard-fought rounds, Hug was given the nod via unanimous decision (30-29, 30–28, 30–28) and Aerts was eliminated. 1998: Third K-1 World Grand Prix title Aerts kicked off 1998 with a majority decision victory over Ernesto Hoost, their third fight, at K-1 Kings '98 on April 9. He then travelled to Zurich, Switzerland to fight Andy Hug for his WKA World Super Heavyweight Muay Thai Championship at K-1 Fight Night '98 on June 6, 1998. Hug defeated Aerts via unanimous decision after five rounds to retain his title. He also lost his next fight against the Brazilian karateka Francisco Filho at K-1 Dream '98 on July 18, 1998. Aerts knocked Filho down in round one but the match was stopped by the doctor at the end of the round as Aerts had a large cut on his shin, and Filho was awarded the victory. He soon returned to form, however, knocking out Sinisa Andrijasevic in round two at the K-1 World Grand Prix '98 Opening Round on September 27, 1998, to qualify for the K-1 Grand Prix '98 Final Round on December 13. Kickboxing had become a mainstream phenomenon in Japan by this time and the event was attended by more than 60,000 spectators at the Tokyo Dome. Drawn against Masaaki Satake at the quarter-final stage, he wrecked the Japanese fans' favourite with knees from the Thai clinch inside the first round. In the semis, he came up against his old nemesis Mike Bernardo. Knowing that Bernardo is a very religious Christian, Aerts came into the ring with "666" written on his lumberjack shirt. Aerts knocked him down twice in round one and forced the referee to stop the bout, sending him into the final against Andy Hug. This brought an end to their rivalry with an overall tally at 3–2 to