Kaoklai made his K-1 debut on July 17, 2004 at the Asian qualification Grand Prix, held in Seoul, Korea. He started the night with a quick right punch knockout win over Denis Kang in the quarterfinals. In the semis, he met Tsuyoshi Nakasako from Japan and earned a unanimous decision victory, sending him to the finals against Shingo Koyasu. Kaoklai won the evenly fought battle in the extra round, collected 60 million ₩ and advanced to K-1 World GP 2004 Final Elimination, held in Nippon Budokan Arena, Tokyo, Japan .