At the tournament, Daniel surprises everyone by reaching the semi-finals. Johnny advances to the finals, scoring three unanswered points against a highly skilled opponent. Kreese instructs Bobby Brown, one of his more compassionate students and the least vicious of Daniel's tormentors, to disable Daniel with an illegal attack to the knee. Bobby reluctantly does so, severely injuring Daniel and getting disqualified in the process. Daniel is taken to the locker room, with the physician determining that he can't continue, but Daniel believes that if he does not continue, his tormentors will have gotten the best of him. He convinces Miyagi to use a pain suppression technique to allow him to finish the tournament. As Johnny is about to be declared the winner by default, Ali tells the master of ceremonies that Daniel will fight.
The match is a seesaw battle, as neither is able to break through the other's defenses. The match is halted when Daniel uses a scissor leg technique to trip Johnny, deliver a blow to the back of the head and give Johnny a nose bleed. Kreese directs Johnny to sweep Daniel's injured leg, an unethical move.