It was the inaugural K-1 World MAX final for middleweight kickboxers (70 kg/154 lb weight class), consisting of eight finalists and two reserve fighters, with all bouts fought under K-1 rules.

The tournament fighters had qualified via preliminary tournaments or had been invited due to their achievements in the world of kickboxing and Muay Thai (more information on the fighters is displayed by the bulleted list below).

In total there were ten fighters at the event, representing seven countries.

The tournament winner was Albert Kraus who defeated Kaolan Kaovichit by first round knockout to become the first ever K-1 MAX champion.

The event was held at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo, Japan on Saturday, 11 May 2002.