Hari destroys Schilt at “It’s Showtime”

2008 K-1 World Grand Prix Runner-up Badr Hari made his comeback a successful one, destroying three time K-1 Champion Semmy Schilt in 45 seconds at the annual “It’s Showtime” event in Holland. Hari jumped on Schilt at the opening bell and pushed the K-1 Super Heavyweight champion across the ring with hard blows. A barrage culminating with a left hand dropped Schilt onto the ropes and although he was up at one he was on clearly wobbly legs. Hari then showed his superb finishing skills reigning in combinations knocking Schilt out with a right hand.

This fight had been built up for a number of years and was probably the best thing Hari could have done for his career. I’m not sure if he’s allowed in K-1’s Grand Prix this year, but if he is it’s going to be difficult for anyone to beat him. I’d love to see a rematch between him and Overeem at the Final 16 to prove the first win was not over the prime Hari but rather an out of conditioned fighter who had just fought three hard fights on one night only three weeks prior. As much as I (and a lot of fans) don’t like Hari, on his night he’d probably beat anyone in a kick boxing match in the world.

As for Schilt, his career has really slipped. The loss to Aerts in the Final 16 was unfortunate for him but this one was only the 2nd time he has been knocked out in his kickboxing career (the other was five years ago). Yes Aerts and Hari are among the very best in the world, but Schilt in my opinion seems to have been worked out. He looks the best in the world when he can stand his ground and deliver unanswered blows on his opponents but when someone big like Aerts or Hari takes the fight to him the technical flaws that his size allows him to get away with become more obvious and easier to take advantage of.

In a bit of an upset, unheralded Mourad Bouzidi scored a first round TKO over K-1 semi finalist Errol Zimmerman. The fight was stopped due to a cut caused by a clean Bouzidi knee landing flush to the face. Bouzidi seemed to be in control of the fight, mixing up good movement with his aggression to keep Zimmerman off balance. The loss is the third in a row for Zimmerman who needs to get a few fights with some decent veterans in before he fights the likes or Hari and Aerts again. Also victorious on the card was Andy Souwer, Gago Drago, Tyrone Spong and Melvin Manhoef who scored a KO win over Stefan Leko. I actually forgot this card was even on and probably would have made an effort to watch it as it was on Setanta had I known.

K-1 GP 2009 in Yokohama Predictions

First of all I’m sorry for the lack of updates over the recent weeks. I’ve been extremely fucking busy and haven’t even been able to check out news sites let alone update anything. That and there wasn’t all that much worth talking about. That all changes this weekend with the first big K-1 event of the year. Featured is the current K-1 champion Remy Bonjasky against the man who destroyed Badr Hari, Alistair Overeem. Also on the card is a four man tournament to crown the 100kg champion (Hari was stripped of this title for his behaviour in last years GP) featuring Melvin Manhoef, Gokhan Saki, Chalid Die Faust and Tyrone Spong. Plus Peter Aerts, Jerome Le Banner and Errol Zimmerman in action.

Remy Bonjasky vs Alistair Overeem
Prediction- Bonjasky on points
I gotta go with Bonjasky under K-1 rules. Overeem definately has a strong chance in this fight but I think Bonjasky’s defence will be too tight and he’ll make Overeem look amatuerish in certain parts of this fight. Overeems sheer size and strength will pose anyone problems but there’s a few factors in this fight that are different from when Overeem KO’d Badr Hari in the 1st round on New Years Eve and they all favour Bonjasky.
First of all, Hari was three weeks removed from suffering two knockdowns and fighting three times in one night. Surely he didn’t train that much during those three weeks if at all. Second, little was known of how dangerous Overeem’s stand-up actually is. Out-striking an MMA fighter is one thing but against someone as good as Hari not many expected Overeem to last. Hari didn’t know exactly how dangerous he was, Bonjasky now does. The element of surprise that Overeem had over Hari he doesn’t have over Overeem. Last, Bonjasky is a much bigger man then Hari with a more proven chin and despite giving away some size to Overeem, he’s a fully fledged heavyweight (well super heavyweight by K-1 standards) and will be better equipped to deal with Overeem’s physical attributes.
Overeem will likely start fast, but Bonjasky should ride out the storm and pick him apart en route to a decision win (possibly in an extra round, but the longer the fight goes the mroe I favour Bonjasky) or a late stoppage.

K-1 Heavyweight title tournament
Chalid Die Faust vs Melvin Manhoef
Prediction- Manhoef by first round KO
Die Faust is as dangerous as they come when in form and has a bit of size over Manhoef, but Manhoef’s power and explosiveness should prove too much for the hot and cold Chalid. Manhoef I think will catch him heavily during an exchange and end matters with one punch midway through the first round.

Gokhan Saki vs Tyrone Spong
Prediction- Spong on points
I’m going purely off hype here but Spong has plenty of it. He’s won world titles in different organisations from 70kg up to his current weight (90-95kg). Whether he has the power to dent the chins of some of the best Heavyweights in the world or not remains to be seen and Saki may prove too experienced on the big stage, but should Spong live up to his hype Saki could be in trouble.

Either way, I don’t envy whoever wins this fight as Manhoef should prove too dangerous for either man. My overall pick is for Manhoef to win the entire thing and to do it in less then 10 total minutes of fighting. For the competition he’s up against, and I’m not saying it’s bad, I think he brings too much for all three guys right now. Saki has the best chance of upsetting him as he has solid technique with some size behind it, but I think Manhoef would find his chin eventually and end matters.

Peter Aerts vs Errol Zimmerman
Prediction- Aerts by 3rd round KO
Old timer vs young gun and it’s one that’s hard to pick. I’m going with Aerts to outlast Zimmerman and stop him late but it’s hard to know what he has left. Did he use the last ace in his hand against Schilt in September or does he have more up his sleeve? Zimmerman has speed and power and could make things ugly for Aerts if he doesn’t show up or if he’s indeed past his use by date, but he’s shown a lack of stamina in the later rounds in previous fights and if Aerts gets the sniff that I think he’ll get with his years of experience, I think he’ll turn the screws on Zimmerman and force a stoppage.

Jerome Le Banner vs Ewerton Teixera
Prediction- Teixera on points
I’m going for an upset here. I think Le Banner is used goods and Teixera’s style will give him fits if he isn’t in peak condition which I don’t think he will be. Teixera looked good against Zimmerman and while Le Banner is a different kettle of fish, I think he’ll be able to pick Le Banner’s assaults off and land clean counter shots of his own while frustrating the human refrigerator.

Glaube Feitosa vs Junichi Sawayashiki
Prediction- Feitosa by 2nd round KO
Interesting fight between two guys both in need of a win if they want to be in this years Final 16. I’m not at all sold on Sawayashiki and I think Feitosa has too much power for him. At some stage he’ll land and then we’ll see if Sawayashiki has what it takes to make it in K-1.

K-1/DREAM Update: Bonjasky vs Overeem March 28

With the endless supply of boxing and MMA so far this year, I’ve neglected the K-1 season which started two weeks ago on the 23rd of February. Now I still don’t fully understand how everything works and this is the first full season I’ll be watching, but at the MAX event there was an eight man tournament and I’m pretty sure the winner gets a spot in the final 16 for the MAX Grand Prix. Taishin Kohiruumaki won the tournament with a decision win over Yuya Yamamoto in the final after stopping Yahuhiro Kido and decisioning Andy Ologun earlier in the night. Also on the card, last years MAX semi finalist Yoshihiro Sato knocked out Sergey Golyaev and K-1 MAX 2002 Champion Albert Kraus won a decision over Su Hwan Lee.

The next K-1 event takes place March 28th and it’s a big one. There’s a tournament to determine the K-1 100kg champion after Hari was stripped of his title for his actions in the Grand Prix final last year against Remy Bonjasky. The four man tournament features Melvin Manhoef against Chalid Die Faust with the winner to meet the winner of the Gokhan Saki vs Ruslan Karaev rematch from last years GP Quarter Finals that saw Saki win via decision. This tournament should be explosive as the Karaev-Saki fight last year was superb and both Manhoef and Die Faust have serious power. I’d like to see Manhoef win and be a contestant in this years K-1 Grand Prix.

The main event sees K-1 Grand Prix champion Remy Bonjasky take on the man who destroyed Badr Hari at Dynamite, former PRIDE star Alistair Overeem. This matchup has major significance in the K-1 strikers vs MMA strikers debate as it pits arguably the best MMA Heavyweight striker against the K-1 champion and unlike the Badr Hari match, Bonjasky has had significant time to prepare for Overeem. A win for Overeem would make him a big money draw for the UFC should they look to sign him (Overeem was posing for photographs with Dana White at UFC 93) or it could set up a run for the K-1 title at the end of this year.

Also on the card is the rematch between Badr Hari and Errol Zimmerman (who I’m in complete shock about not being in the Heavyweight title tournament) which was an excellent fight last year with both guys being knocked down before Hari won with a third round knockout. Last years quarter finalists Jerome Le Banner and Ewerton Teixera face off as well as Final 16 contestants Glaube Feitosa and Junichi Sawayashiki, two guys who will have to go through qualifying (or get voted in by the fans) in order to make it back this year.

This weekend however is the first DREAM event of the year. DREAM.7 features 6 of the first 7 fights of the 2009 DREAM Featherweight Grand Prix with the other fight to take place at DREAM.8 (plus Kid Yamamoto receiving a bye to make up the final 8). The other fights see Tatsuya Kawajiri and Mitsuhiro Ishida in seperate bouts and Shinya Aoki fighting at Welterweight against Ross Gardner (Aoki is the current favourite for the Welterweight Grand Prix starting at DREAM.8). My picks for the Grand Prix matches are as follows:

Masakatsu Imanari vs Astushi Yamamoto (Imanari by submission 0-10 mins)
Hiroyuki Takaya vs Jong Won Kim (Takaya by KO 0-10 mins)
Yoshiro Maeda vs Micah Miller (Maeda by KO 10-15 mins)
Chase Beebe vs Joe Warren (Beebe by submission 0-10 mins)
Takafumi Otsuka vs Bibiano Fernandes (Fernandes on points)
Akiyo Nishiura vs Abel Callum (Callum by submission 0-10 mins)

Enjoy the action this weekend! The DREAM card caps off a quality weekend with UFC 96 and a decent HBO card on.

First K-1 Events scheduled for 2009

The K-1 website is reporting that dates of the first K-1 Events for the New Year. On the 23rd February the Japan MAX Qualifying Tournament will take place at Yoyogi Stadium. Usually on the card is an eight man tournament with the winner of the tournament earning a spot in the K-1 MAX Final 16 in April. Also there will be a handful of super fights between top K-1 MAX fighters. Rumoured to be on the card so far is last years semi finalists Yoshihiro Sato, as well as quarter finalists Buakaw, Drago and Yasuhiro Kido. None of these guys will be in the tournament as they have a direct pass to the Final 16 for making the Final 8 last year, however a few candidates to compete in the tournament are also rumoured to be on the card. Andy Ologun, Andre Dida, TATSUJI, Kozo Takeda, Taishin Kohiruimaki, HAYATO and Yuya Yamamoto are 7 of the likely candidates mentioned on the K-1 site so far.

The other event featured on the website looks to be pretty good. There’s no implications as far as the Grand Prix goes, but the Yokohama event (which will be held March 28th) usually features a good number of quality super fights and with the rumoured fighters so far this year should be no different. The return of Semmy Schilt, Badr Hari (could likely be fighting Kimbo Slice if last years rumours are anything to go off), Jerome Le Banner, Hong Man Choi, Ruslan Karaev, Gokhan Saki, Junichi Sawayashiki and Ewerton Teixera are mentioned (without opponents so far) as the combatants for the March event. Out of those eight fighters, only four of them (Karaev, Saki, Teixera and Le Banner) have a guaranteed spot in the Final 16, so the other four could be getting some ring time in before competing on one of the Qualifying Events later in the year.

Here’s how the K-1 Final 16 is shaping up for 2009:
1- Remy Bonjasky
2- Gokhan Saki
3- Ewerton Teixera
4- Errol Zimmerman
5- Peter Aerts
6- Ruslan Karaev
7- Jerome Le Banner

8- (Not sure how this spot will be filled, Badr Hari would normally fill it but as part of his punishment for stomping Bonjasky he won’t this year. Either they’ll add in a 5th Qualifier or let the fans pick five spots).

9- Amsterdam Qualifying Event Winner (apparently will be held May 16th)
10- Qualifying Event Winner #2
11- Qualifying Event Winner #2
12- Qualifying Event Winner #3

13- Fan Pick #1
14- Fan Pick #2
15- Fan Pick #3
16- Fan Pick #4

I find it very unlikely that Schilt will get voted in so I think we’ll see him in Qualifying action this year as I doubt he’ll want to risk his spot in the Final 16 on his popularity. Badr Hari I’m unsure of. The fans might still love him but then again they might hate him a lot for the disrespect he showed the sport in December. I think he’ll likely fight in a Qualifier just in case as well. With Alistair Overeem’s win over Hari at the New Years Eve show (sorry for lack of coverage on that, time was a big issue in that and it’s a bit pointless me doing anything on it anymore), maybe he’ll want to try his luck in the K-1 WGP this year? Melvin Manhoef is another man who might also enter this year and one who has a good chance at getting voted in after highlight reel KO wins over Mark Hunt (MMA rules) and Paul Slowinski (K-1 Rules) in December. Hong Man Choi though I’m sure will get voted into the Final 16, as will Ray Sefo.

K-1 Dynamite Predictions

Fight #1 
Minowaman vs Errol Zimmerman
(DREAM Rules)
Prediction- Minowaman by submission  first 10 minutes
The same thing always happens when Minowaman fights K-1 fighters with no MMA experience, he wins by leg lock. Zimmerman will kill him if the fight stays standing too long but it won’t. This fight shouldn’t go five minutes.

Fights #2 and #3 are part of a tournament between guys I don’t know a thing about.

Fight #4
Artur Kyshenko vs Yoshihiro Sato
(K-1 Rules)
Prediction- Kyshenko by 3rd round KO
This could be fight of the night, but the edge has to go to this years K-1 MAX Finallist. Sato will be in the fight early but will be broken down and likely stopped.

Fight #5
Daisuke Nakamura vs Hideo Tokoro
(DREAM Rules)
Prediction- Nakamura by submission first 10 minutes
There’s a big size difference in this fight and while Tokoro is a good fighter, he won’t be any match for Nakamura especially considering he’s giving up roughly 20lbs. Nakamura by armbar some time in the 2nd half of the first round.

Fight #6
Andy Ologun vs Yukio Sakaguchi
(DREAM Rules)
Prediction- Sakaguchi by submission 10-15 minutes

Fight #7 is the Tournament Final

Intermission #1

 
Fight #8
Kinniku Mantaro vs Bob Sapp
(DREAM Rules)
Predition- Bob Sapp by Death
This has to be the strangest mismatch in MMA history. Bob Sapp isn’t just fighting some overmatched bum like usual, this time the bum is dressed up as an Anime character. A mate of mine who is a full blown geek told me if this was a cartoon Sapp could be in a whole world of trouble because apparently those guys know some serious shit, but in the real world Sapp crushes this guy with his 200lb weight advantage whenever he feels like it which knowing Sapp will be as soon as he feels like some pizza or gummycandy.

Fight #9
Mighty Mo vs Semmy Schilt
(DREAM Rules)
Prediction- Schilt by knockout first 10 minutes
Something that some of you newbies don’t know is that Schilt was an excellent fighter in PRIDE before he started kicking arse in K-1 and even won a few fights by submission. Mighty Mo is extremely outgunned in all areas of the fight here and will likely be dispatched quickly in the first round.

Fight #10
Hayato Sakurai vs Katsuyori Shibata
(DREAM Rules)
Prediction- Sakurai by knockout first 10 minutes

Fight #11
Tatsuya Kawajiri vs Kozo Takeda
(K-1 Rules)
Prediction- Takeda on points
Even though he has good stand-up for MMA fighters, Kawajiri won’t hang with a K-1 MAX veteran in his sport no matter how out of form he is. This one might not go the distance but I think it will.

Fight #12
Badr Hari vs Alistair Overeem
(K-1 Rules)
Prediction- Hari by 2nd round knockout
This is the same as the last fight. Overeem has good stand-up skills for MMA, but against a top K-1 striker he’s outgunned. These two will likely meet in MMA next year and the same thing applies but in favour of Overeem this time.

Intermission #2

Fight #13
Hong Man Choi vs Mirko Cro Cop
(DREAM Rules)
Prediction- Hong Man by knockout first 10 minutes
I’m sick of going to bat for Mirko and picking him only for him to fight like shit. Hong Man will likely cause him all sorts of problems when they trade standing up and I don’t see Cro Cop getting the takedown when Fedor had to resort to pulling guard. Hong Man will catch Mirko at some stage and with those small gloves he’ll do a lot of damage. 

Fight #14
Gegard Mousasi vs MUSASHI
(K-1 Rules)
Prediction- Musashi on points
Same theme again as some previous fights. Despite MUSASHI being as out of form as he is, I don’t think the smaller MMA fighter will trouble him too much in a K-1 rules match. MUSASHI should dominate the fight with his leg kicks en route to a wide points win.

Fight #15
Mark Hunt vs Melvin Manhoef
(DREAM Rules)
Prediction- Hunt by TKO first 10 minutes
Le Banner must have pulled out with an injury because he was set to fight Mark Huny. Both Hunt and Manhoef are excellent kickboxers who have fought in MMA before, but the big difference between the two is the monsterous size advantage Hunt will have. I think at some stage this fight will hit the floor with Hunt on top and he’ll ground and pound Manhoef out.

Fight #16
Eddie Alvarez vs Shinya Aoki
(DREAM Rules)
Prediction- Alvarez by TKO first 10 minutes
Great matchup between the two guys who should have fought for the DREAM title at the Lightweight Grand Prix, but Alvarez was forced out with an injury leading the way for alternate (a man Alvarez had already beaten) Joachim Hansen to come in and knock Aoki out. Alvarez’s big weakness is on the ground defending submissions which is where Aoki specialises but Aoki’s big weakness is where Alvarez specialises with his huge knockout power. I think Aoki will pull guard but at some stage get caught with some heavy punches and will need the referee to rescue him.

Fight #17
JZ Calvancante vs Joachin Hansen
(DREAM Lightweight title)
Prediction- Hansen on points
This fight could likely go either way but I think Hansen will come out victorious due to his better ground skills. Both guys are well rounded and I think JZ will have an advantage standing up and may even knock Hansen out, but I think he’ll have a lot of trouble defending the takedown especially as the fight gets older and Hansen will score enough of them to take the decision.

Fight #18
Kazushi Sakuraba vs Kiyoshi Tamura
(DREAM Rules)
Prediction- Sakuraba on points
An excellent main event for a Japanese card like this matching two Japanese legends against one another. This prediction is probably more out of me wanting Sakuraba to win then anything, but he does have a great chance. It’s a real 50-50 fight with Sakuraba having the better ground skills and Tamura having his damaging leg kicks. I think Sakuraba will get Tamura on his back and control the fight from there, winning comfortably on the cards in a competetive matchup.

Happy New Year to all my readers!

Bonjasky becomes three time K-1 Champion

In what turned out to be a bizarre final match, Remy Bonjasky equalled Peter Aerts and Semmy Schilt by winning his third K-1 World Grand Prix title after his opponent in the final Badr Hari was disqualified for stomping Bonjasky in the head while he was on the ground. After Bonjasky had him down in the first round courtesy of a left hook, Hari used a single leg takedown before landing two punches and a blatantly obvious stomp that noticeably hurt Bonjasky. Time was given to Bonjasky to recover while Hari was awarded a yellow card however about five minutes later the referee took the microphone following the doctors examining Bonjasky in the ring and ruled that ‘Hari’s actions are completely against what K-1 is all about’ and gave Hari a red card, disqualifying the Moroccan bad boy. This marked the first time that a fighter have been disqualified in a K-1 World Grand Prix Final event. With the win, Bonjasky is just one World Grand Prix title win away from equalling ‘Mr Perfect’ Ernesto Hoost’s record of four K-1 World Grand Prix events.

Quarter Finals
Badr Hari TKO2 Peter Aerts
Hari raced out of the blocks and Aerts was never in the race. Aerts was down 30 seconds into the fight via a left hook-right hook combination but he recovered well and landed some nice low kicks towards the end of the round. Hari started fast again in the second round and dropped Aerts with a spinning back kick to the head followed by a jumping front kick to the head. Aerts again beat the count but was clearly hurt and staggering all over the ring. After Hari landed a few more blows the referee stepped in and saved the former three time champion from further punishment. While the stoppage was premature, Aerts wasn’t going to win that fight on that night. He looked every bit of his age and didn’t seem to have the reflexes to handle Hari’s firepower. As much as people  have probably said it in the past and he’s bounced back from it, I think Aerts should retire. Hari on the other hand looked like no one would deny him on this night.

Errol Zimmerman MD3 Ewerton Teixera
Wow, did not expect that sort of a fight from Teixera. Zimmerman looked slow and disinterested sort of expecting Teixera to just walk into one of his punches but Teixera mixed his attacks up well, landing good leg and body kicks as well as right hands that seemingly couldn’t miss in the first round. Zimmerman attacked more in the 2nd round, landing some brutal body kicks but Teixera seemed to have an answer for everything. In the third round when it seemed that Teixera was going to pull away and win on points, a right uppercut dropped the Brazilian karate master and stole the fight for Zimmerman, earning him a spot in the semi finals with Hari.

Gokhan Saki UD3 Ruslan Karaev
In what was av evenly fought battle, a knockdown in the 3rd round via a Gokhan Saki spinning backfist scored him the decision. The first round was very close with Saki landing his trademark leg kicks and Karaev scoring with short inside punches when he caught the Turk on the ropes. Karaev seemed to win the 2nd round by a comfortable margin as he backed Saki onto the ropes and blasted away with left hooks and body rips. Saki opened the third round with the knockdown which caught Karaev flush but left him more stunned then seriously hurt. Karaev knowing he needed to knock Saki out at this point became desperate, opening himself up to counter shots from Saki and giving him the only clear round in the fight. Saki won the fight with a unanimous decision, earning himself a semi final birth in his first K-1 WGP.

Remy Bonjasky TKO3 Jerome Le Banner
In what was a disappointing way to go out for the unlucky Frenchman, Le Banner had his right arm reinjured (Ernesto Hoost broke his arm in the 2002 Final to defeat Le Banner) by two Bonjasky roundhouse kicks to the body and the doctor ruled him unable to continue. While Bonjasky seemed to be taking over before the unfortunate injury, it would have been good to see Le Banner go out in a fight rather then on another injury. The first two rounds were slow with Bonjasky having as slight edge due to more activity. Bonjasky opened the third round strongly with kicks to Le Banners legs and midsection and after Le Banner turned away in pain from a body kick and a referee standing count, the doctor was called in to examine Le Banner. Despite Jerome’s protests, the fight was stopped because of the arm and Le Banner’s World Grand Prix again ends in disappointment.

Alternate Bouts
Ray Sefo UD3 Hong Man Choi
Sefo fought a brilliant fight, thats all that needs to be said really. He kept moving and didn’t let Choi get off with his punches and he mixed up his strikes very well which kept the big man guessing. There wasn’t one point in the fight when Hong Man looked like winning. I expect both guys will likely get voted into next years Final 16 so they won’t have to worry about going through any qualifiers.

Melvin Manhoef KO1 Paul Slowinski
Wow! I didn’t expect Manhoef to be able to bully a big heavyweight like Slowinski like that. He repeatedly backed him into the corners and landed with big punches. The first knockdown was via a right hand over the jab and the knock out came from a monster left hook. Whatever Manhoef decides to fight in next year it’ll be worth watching as the guy is pure entertainment.

Semi Finals
Badr Hari KO3 Errol Zimmerman
Fight of the night! Zimmerman knew he had to come out firing and he did and while Hari outscored him in the first round, ‘The Bonecrusher’ landed his fair share of solid blows back. With Hari outscoring Zimmerman early in the 2nd round, Zimmerman landed an absolute monster of a right hand that floored Hari heavily. Hari took the 8 count and went on the attack, backing Zimmerman up with jabs, low kicks and body shots. With about ten seconds remaining in the round, Hari beat Zimmerman to the punch and dropped him heavily with a right hand. Zimmerman beat the count but looked hurt and tired. Hari opened the third round with head snapping jabs before opening up with kicks to the body and legs. A right hand then dropped Zimmerman violently and he couldn’t beat the count. Hari headed to the Final to meet the winner of Gokhan Saki and Re,y Bonjasky.

Remy Bonjasky KO2 Gokhan Saki
Both guys were cautious in the first round and the round was fairly uneventful. Then out of nowhere in the 2nd round, Bonjasky lept in with a flying roundhouse kick to the body that caught Saki halfway up the ribcage. Saki was down in obvious pain and had no chance of beating the count. ‘The Flying Gentleman’ scored with one of his famous flying strikes to earn himself his third apperance in a K-1 WGP Final, having won his previous two.

The Final- Badr Hari vs Remy Bonjasky
Both guys fought in the quarter finals last year and went to war with Bonjasky taking a razor thin decision over Hari. However, the energy he used up in the fight left him unable to offer much resistance to Peter Aerts in the semi finals. Having both gone through their previous opponents inside the distance, the Final match seemed to be an even one with only Hari having been in any sort of trouble when he fought Zimmerman.
In complete contrast to last years match, both fighters opened slowly and circled. Both guys seemed to be finding their range in the first minute. Halfway through the round, Bonjasky caught Hari with a left hook on the ropes that stunned the K-1 Heavyweight Champion, a follow-up high kick was ducked and Hari fell to the deck from the effects of the hook. Hari beat the count with ease but the knockdown was a big edge for Bonjasky on the cards and he knew it, refusing to take any chances for the rest of the round. Hari came out firing in the 2nd round and was getting the better of the exchanges. Bonjasky landed a solid body kick but was countered with a right hand that forced him to give ground. Hari caught a kick in an exchange and took Bonjasky down where he punched and stomped Bonjasky earning his disqualification.
It’s hard to know what was going through Hari’s mind. I’m sure it was a spur of the moment thing and not a premeditated action. He had a lot of adrenaline flowing knowing he needed to hurt Bonjasky and probably just got carried away. It wasn’t anywhere near as bad as when Tyson bit Holyfield in  the infamous 1997 rematch. Still, Hari was rightfully disqualified and the fact that he didn’t really seem to care about what he did isn’t a good sign. I’m sure both guys will meet again in the future at some stage.

Final Thoughts
Overall I greatly enjoyed the event despite the bizarre ending. I’ve followed fight sports long enough to know that these sort of things happen. I can definately say I’ll be a K-1 fan for a long time to come. I’m already looking forward to next years K-1 series. With the Final 8 already guaranteed their spots in the Final 16 next year, the make-up of the other eight will be interesting. I doubt Semmy Schilt can get a fan voted spot because everyone hates him so he’ll likely have to qualify in one of the qualifying events. Then again, if he defeats Bonjasky or Aerts (the two guys I think are most likely to face him in the Super Heavyweight title fight) then who knows.

Predictions: K-1 World Grand Prix 2008 Final

We’re just 24 hours away from the K-1 World Grand Prix (K-1 WGP) Final and I have to say I’ve been counting down the days leading up to this event. Even though I’ve only been following K-1 for about four months, with Schilt out this year it makes the tournament seem very wide open which will only make the event the more exciting. With the big names all facing each other in the quarter finals (Aerts vs Hari and Bonjasky vs Le Banner) the chances for one of the up and comers to take their first crown increases as these four will likely use up a lot of energy to make sure they’re in the semi finals. It also increases the chance of one of the alternates getting a crack at becoming this years K-1 WGP champion. With this event being an eight man tournament, predicting it is a little tricky. I’m going to do detailed predictions of the quarter final bouts, then speculate on how I think the semis and final will go and then after I’ve played Nostradamus I’ll go over how I think the other possible outcomes will go in brief detail.

Quarter Finals
Peter Aerts vs Badr Hari
Prediction- Aerts on points (one extra round)
This is going to be a hard fight that will likely take a lot out of either man. Out of all the quarter final matchups this is the most evenly matched one. Both guys have the power to take the other man out and while Hari has an edge in speed, Aerts experience will make it difficult for Hari to tee off on him like he’ll want to and if he tries he’ll likely eat some hard shots from Aerts. The big edge Aerts has is his weight; he’s about 30lb heavier then Hari and that combined with his experience I think he’ll hurt Hari sometime in the 2nd round after a hardfought first round and then the fight will be his although I think he might have to go four rounds to get it. Expect fireworks early in this fight as Hari will want to make an early impression on his older opponent and he’ll likely do some damage to ‘the Lumberjack’ early in the fight. Aerts has seen his share of young challengers though and I don’t think Hari has anything he hasn’t seen before and I think he makes the semi finals again this year.

Ewerton Teixera vs Errol Zimmerman
Prediction- Zimmerman by 2nd round knockout
Teixera has the ability to make this fight interesting but I don’t think he’ll have an answer to the explosiveness that Zimmerman will bring early in the fight. This fight could very well end in the first round, but I think Teixera will show that he’s tough albeit outmatched in this fight. Zimmerman will start fast and hurt Teixera early, maybe even knocking him down once or twice before finishing him off in the 2nd round.

Ruslan Karaev vs Gokhan Saki
Prediction- Saki on points (one extra round)
This should also be a good fight. I think Karaev will explode early and hurt Saki in the first round, maybe even knock him down but Saki will stay in there with him and once he finds his range with his leg kicks he’ll keep Karaev very honest. The longer this fight goes the more likely Saki is to win it I feel and I’m not sure Karaev will be able to get him out of there early like he’ll want to. The fight will probably go three rounds and I think it’ll be a close affair and will go an extra round, where Saki should have the edge due to his superior conditioning and Karaevs badly damaged legs. Saki will pick Karaev apart in the extra round and take the round with ease eliminating Karaev from the Grand Prix.

Remy Bonjasky vs Jerome Le Banner
Prediction- Bonjasky on points
Le Banner will be dangerous early on but like with the previous fight I think the longer this fight goes on the better chance Bonjasky has. Remy is hard to hit and hard to hurt when he does get hit so I don’t think Le Banner will have much of an impact on him when he gets the fight where he wants it. Look for Bonjasky to throw right roundhouse kicks to the midsection as well as targeting Le Banner’s bad right knee which should slow the Frenchman up. Bonjasky should simply outbox Le Banner over the three rounds and take a comfortable decision leaving Le Banner still the best fighter never to win a K-1 WGP.

Alternate Bouts
Hong Man Choi vs Ray Sefo
Prediction- Choi on points
Sefo simply doesn’t have the speed to get inside the big mans reach. Badr Hari who is one of the quickest heavyweights in K-1 had trouble getting inside the big man without getting tagged and I don’t see Sefo having any success with it at all. If he can get the man monster on the ropes he’ll be able to unleash solid shots to his arms and misection but Hong Man can take a punch and I don’t think he’ll be bothered too much. I wouldn’t be surprised if Choi wins by stoppage but I think after his loss to Hari he’ll be tentative to let his hands go too much but will control the action to win a comfortable decision.

Melvin Manhoef vs Paul Slowinski
Prediction- Slowinski on points
This could be an interesting fight but I think size will play a big factor. Manhoef recently competed in the DREAM 185lb Grand Prix where he made the semi finals and the fact that he made that weight shows that he’s giving up a fair bit in weight to a guy like Slowinski who weighs around 230-240lbs. The weight will definately come into play I feel especially if Slowinski finds range with his thunderous leg kicks which will wear Manhoef down. Melvin is as tough as they come though even though he’s a smaller fighter and I think he’ll last the distance but will be beaten comfortably.

Semi Finals
Peter Aerts vs Errol Zimmerman
Prediction- Zimmerman on points (extra round)
If these two fought in the quarter finals I’d pick Aerts for sure, however Aerts will have a tough time with Hari and I think Zimmerman should get through Teixera with some ease which will leave him a lot fresher for Aerts. Zimmerman will be a hard man to deal with if you’re tired and with Aerts’ age I feel he’ll struggle in the 2nd and 3rd fights if he doesn’t take Hari out early. If the first two fights go as I think they will then I think Zimmerman will outwork Aerts in the third round after a close first two rounds before dominating the extra round and making the Final in his first appearance.

Gokhan Saki vs Remy Bonjasky
Prediction- Bonjasky by 2nd round knockout
I think this is Remy’s fight even if he goes has a life and death struggle with Le Banner and Saki wins easy. However, I doubt Saki will get through Karaev easily and won’t be in great shape come semi finals time. Bonjasky on the other hand is a cardio machine and will be dangerous all night (as long as no one kicks him in the junk) and will prove too strong for Saki especially when both guys have already fought once that night. Saki gives up too much ground when he fights and I think he’ll allow Bonjasky to unleash his flying knees and if Bonjasky is to knock someone out with one of his trademarks tomorrow night I think this is the fight he’ll do it in.

The Final
Errol Zimmerman vs Remy Bonjasky
Prediction- Bonjasky by 2nd round knockout
If this is the way the final turns out I don’t see ‘the Bonecrusher’ being able to handle Bonjasky. Bonjasky has been there and done it and while I think Zimmerman has plenty of promise and has the ability to beat anyone out there in this tournament, I don’t think he’ll handle Bonjasky after having to go through Hari or Aerts already that night. Bonjasky’s ‘virgin defence’ will prove too tight for Zimmerman to land his thunderous right hand or right kick and Bonjasky will counter effectively, chopping Zimmerman down before the third round.

Other Possibilities
a) Aerts beats Hari easily- I think he’ll win the lot if he takes Badr out early, there’s no one out there who I think will beat him in a straight fight and he should prove too experienced for Zimmerman in the semis. Bonjasky might pip him in the final but I don’t think anything but age will stop ‘Mr K-1′ this year.

b) Hari beats Aerts easily- Same as above, both guys rely on this fight going smoothly if they want to win the Grand Prix this year.

c) Teixera makes life difficult for Zimmerman or beats him- Then whoever wins between Aerts and Hari will make the Final.

d) Le Banner beats Bonjasky- He should make the Final, but with his bad knee and leg kick specialist Gokhan Saki likely waiting for him in the semis he might not. Either way (unless Teixera makes the Final) I don’t think Le Banner will be crowned champion. I’ll pick all of Aerts, Hari and Zimmerman to topple him if they fight him in both fighters’ third fight of the evening.

e) Karaev or Saki wins easy and Le Banner and Bonjasky go to war- Le Banner or Bonjasky should still go through, unless like I said Saki goes to work on Le Banner’s legs. Even then, Le Banner should prove too aggressive and experienced for Saki.

f) An alternate comes in- I don’t think Slowinski or Sefo have much of a chance at winning against one of the Final 8 unless it’s Teixera. Hong Man Choi on the other hand as a chance at making the Final should he face one of the newcomers in the semis (a reasonable chance of that happening with the top four guys facing each other) but I think he’ll likely be chopped down in the Final.

One Final Note
For some reason backyard brawler Kimbo Slice is commentating tomorrow night. Not sure what he has to put into the commentary other then to hype up the rumoured matchup with Badr Hari next year which considering what Petruzelli did to him at the last EliteXC, will be one of the biggest mismatches ever.

Enjoy the fights, I know I will.

K-1 World Grand Prix 2008 Final Preview: Favourites

An eight man tournament is a hard thing to try and put predictions on. I’m no bitch so I’ll definately be having a go at predicting how I think the K-1 World Grand Prix (again will be referred to as the K-1 WGP from now on) 2008 Final will go, but when eight fighters have to fight each other all on the one night there are certain unforseen circumstances that will play a factor in who wins the title. I’ll be putting my predictions on the Final up probably on Friday, but right now this article will discuss in some detail some of the things that may affect who becomes champion for 2008.

The following is in order of who I think is most likely to win the crown this year:

1- Remy Bonjasky
Opponent: Jerome Le Banner
Record vs Opponent: 0-1 (lost on points in 2006)
Best Previous K-1 Result: Champion (2003, 2004)
Last Years Result: Semi Finals
I’m making Bonjasky the favourite because he has whats needed to win three fights in one night where I don’t think some of the others do. Bonjasky has excellent stamina as shown when he fought 12 rounds in one night to win the 2004 K-1 WGP Final. His ‘virgin defence’ as Mike Schiavello refers to it, will mean he’ll accumulate less damage throughout the evening. He’s young and isn’t as injury prone as some of the older members of this years Final 8. The draw suits him; should he get by Le Banner he’ll be facing one of the newcomers in Gokhan Saki or Ruslan Karaev who are likely to go to war which could hinder the winner in later fights. These things all give Remy an advantage over the older fighters, but apart from all of these things, Bonjasky has a big experience factor over the younger members of the field which really gives him the total package. Bonjasky’s biggest threat comes in his quarter final matchup with Le Banner. These two have fought before with Bonjasky originally winning a points decision which was later overturned by K-1. Should Bonjasky get by Le Banner without too much trouble I don’t see anyone having the experience or the stamina to upset him in the last two fights. I have my doubts over whether Peter Aerts can win three fights in one night after such a long career in K-1 and Hari, Zimmerman and Teixera I think all need a bit more experience in a stacked eight man tournament before one of them is crowned the champion. The smart money for this year in my opinion is on Remy Bonjasky.

2- Badr Hari
Opponent: Peter Aerts
Record vs Opponent: None
Best Previous K-1 Result: Quarter Finals (2007)
Last Years Result: Quarter Finals
This might come across as a strange choice for the man I think has the second best chance. Even though I made the choice I still find it strange. I actually make Aerts the favourite to beat Hari in their quarter final matchup. The thing is, I’m not at all convinced that Aerts has it in him to win three fights on Saturday night. On the other hand, should Hari defeat Aerts in the quarter finals (and there’s a strong chance he’ll do that) then I believe he has what it takes to beat either Zimmerman or Teixera and then win in the Final. In fact, Hari has already beaten two of the men on the other side of the bracket (Karaev and Saki) and went to a close decision with one of the other two (Bonjasky) so should he come into the Final the fresher fighter he’ll likely win his first K-1 WGP. Hari, like Bonjasky, will likely find his biggest challenge in his opening fight; the fight with Aerts should be a classic. If he had of fought Zimmerman or Teixera in the first fight I think he’d make the semi finals, but whether he can beat either of those two after going to war with Peter Aerts remains to be seen, thats if he gets past Aerts at all.
 

3- Errol Zimmerman
Opponent: Ewerton Teixera
Record vs Opponent: None
Best Previous K-1 Result: Debut
Last Years Result: None
Zimmerman is my dark horse to win the lot this year and the fact that he’s the one who gets to face Ewerton Teixera gives him a big advantage over the other six men in the tournament. Teixera in my opinion is this years Junichi Sawayashiki in that he’s a good fighter but not ready for the likes of the other seven men in the Final 8. If Zimmerman blows Teixera away like he should and Aerts and Hari go to war, then ‘the Bonecrusher’ will have a big advantage over the winner of that fight in the semi finals. I actually would have made Zimmerman higher on the list then Hari if I was a bit more convinced on his stamina. Zimmerman gassed in the third round of his Final 16 bout with Glaube Feitosa and that could be a problem if Teixera puts up more of a fight then we anticipate he will. If people can find odds on who will finish where anywhere I think a really good bet would be on Zimmerman to make the final, whether he can win the lot though is a different story all together. With a bit of luck (ie Aerts and Hari, and Bonjasky and Le Banner beat the horseshit out of each other and don’t have much left to fight Zimmerman) then Zimmerman has a good chance to break Aerts’ record of becoming the youngest ever K-1 champion.

4- Peter Aerts 
Opponent: Badr Hari
Record vs Opponent: None
Best Previous K-1 Result: Champion (1994, 1995, 1998)
Last Years Result: Finalist
Despite being the man who finally defeated three time consecutive K-1 WGP champion Semmy Schilt, I’m not making Aerts favourite or even top three to win this years event. The facts are that Aerts is now 38 years old, he’s had a number of injuries over the last few years and he hasn’t won the K-1 WGP for 10 years. This is an eight man tournament and I’m not sold that Aerts can get through three fights in one night. If he were to fight any of the other seven men on a single night without having to worry about fighting again later in the night then I’d pick him over every single on of them. His age and wear and tear is just too much of a factor when its an eight man tournament. His first hurdle is Badr Hari, who is a hard fight for anyone out there. Aerts is going to have a tough fight there which could leave him a little wary when facing Zimmerman of Teixera. The one thing Aerts has going for him is that he’s first fight of the night so he’ll get maximum recovery time assuming we don’t have a repeat of the Bonjasky-Leko fight from 2006. If he has an easier then expected time with Hari and Zimmerman gets extended a few rounds and ends up in a harder fight then we all anticipate with Teixera then he could very well blow the inexperienced Zimmerman away and be fresh come finals time. Aerts’ chances in my opinion rely on the Teixera-Zimmerman fight because Aerts will be in for a rough time with the Bonecrusher if Errol breezes past Teixera and Aerts has a life or death struggle with Hari.

5- Jerome Le Banner
Opponent: Remy Bonjasky
Record vs Opponent: 1-0 (won on points 2006)
Best Previous K-1 Result: Finalist (1995, 2002)
Last Years Result: Semi Finals
Fact is, Le Banner has a history of losing in the Final 8 at the K-1 WGP Final. One could argue that he is due to win but I think his best days are behind him. He is older and carrying a knee injury that will likely hamper him if he gets past Bonjasky and he showed suspect conditioning against Sawayashiki in his Final 16 bout. His biggest problem though I think is his draw; he’s got Bonjasky first which will be a hard fight and also in his bracket is leg kicking machine Gokhan aki who is a dangerous fight for a man with a bad knee. Bonjasky is a bad style matchup for him and Le Banner in my opinion needs to win both of his quarter and semi final fights and come out unscathed if he is to win this years K-1 WGP. Despite the fact that Le Banner has a win over Bonjasky I feel that Bonjasky was underdone in that fight and is a better fighter now then he was that night while Le Banner has slipped. I’m not ruling him out of that fight by any means as I think he has as much of a chance as either Aerts or Hari do against each other, but out of him and Bonjasky, if the winner of that fight was to go all the way you’d have to pick Bonjasky to be the one. Le Banner needs to let his trademark power out and destroy Bonjasky without taking too much damage to his right knee and then blow away either Saki or Karaev and hope whoever his opponent in the finals is is beat up a bit if he wants to win his first crown. If there was a fighter I wouldn’t bet on I’d pick Ewerton Teixera and then Jerome Le Banner. Some guys just aren’t meant to win certain titles and I think Le Banner is that guy when it comes to the K-1 WGP.

 6 (tie)- Gokhan Saki
Opponent: Ruslan Karaev
Record vs Opponent: None
Best Previous K-1 Result: Debut
Last Years Result: None

  

 

 

6 (tie)- Ruslan Karaev
Opponent:Gokhan Saki
Record vs Opponent: None
Best Previous K-1 Result: Quarter Finals (2006)
Last Years Result: None
Saki and Karaev are on a tie because I really don’t know who will win that fight. Whoever wins has the daunting task of facing either Remy Bonjasky or Jerome Le Banner in the quarter finals so they’d better hope they win quickly otherwise they could be in for a hard second match. The theme of the night really is about how the more experienced and highly touted members of the tournament deal with each other and then whether they can deal with the younger members of the tournament in their second fight. If one of these guys was to go all the way I’d say its Saki because he has the better chin and likely the better stamina. Karaev is one of those knockout or be knocked out type of fighters that are great to watch but usually don’t have long stays at the top. If he can catch Saki early before he starts landing those sickening leg kicks he could be in a good position if Le Banner and Bonjsky have a hard fight. If Saki lands a few leg kicks and then gets caught, then I can’t see Karaev backing up and beating one of the two big names in the same bracket. Saki really has to box smart and pick his shots in this fight and if he can find the right shots he could have an easy nights work with Karaev and be in a good position in the next round. If he draws Le Banner in the semis though, unless he can damage Jerome’s bad right knee with a leg kick I think Le Banner will bully him around the ring much in the same fashion that Ray Sefo did in their Final 16 bout in September. I don’t really give either man much of a chance to win the whole thing, but they could play a crucial role in who does.

8- Ewerton Teixera
Opponent: Errol Zimmerman
Record vs Opponent: None
Result: Debut
Last Years Result: None
Teixera in my opinion is just making up the numbers and will do well to last two rounds against Zimmermans handspeed and power. It coul be that Musashi made him look a lot worse then he is, but I don’t think it is. Teixera’s hands are rigid and I doubt he has the experience in a proper fight that the others have from his full contact karate matches. Teixera could cause the upset and get into the semi finals, but then he has to face Aerts or Hari and then likely Bonjasky or Le Banner so the odds are stacked against Teixera. Still, even though I don’t think he has much of a chance like the other seven members of the Final 8 he still plays an important role in the tournament. He could make Zimmermans like difficult in the other two fights if he makes his quarter final a tough bout or he could give Zimmerman a huge advantage if he gets blown away like expected.

The Alternates
Considering that the top four guys (Aerts, Bonjasky, Hari and Le Banner) are all facing each other in the quarter finals, it’s likely we’ll see an alternate. In the alternate fights we have Hong Man Choi facing Ray Sefo and Paul Slowinski facing Melvin Manhoef. The likely replacement will be Hong Man because he should defeat Ray Sefo. If one of the big four gets forced out with an injury, Hong Man has a good chance against the less experienced members of the Final 8 and could end up in the final! I doubt the alternates will become a factor, but when you’ve got older guys in an eight man tournament it’s definately something to consider.

My predictions for the event will be up before Friday. There’s also some Mexican wannabe fighting a Philipino this weekend in some place called Las Vegas that someone tells me I should look into so expect an article on that as well.

K-1 World Grand Prix 2008 Final Preview: The Finalists

 

Next weekendwe have one of the bigger weekends for fight fans. With the De la Hoya vs Pacquiaofight that everyone (bar me) is really looking forward to taking place on the Sunday, the real focus of the weekendshould be on the night before when the K-1 crowns it’s annual Grand Prix champion. So instead of doing what everyone else is andfocusing on what is apparently the best boxing match of the year, I’m going to focus on the K-1 World Grand Prix (which will now be abbreviated to K-1 WGP). I won’t completely ignore the De la Hoya-Pacquiao fight, I’ll definately put my predictions for the fight up the day before it takes place anddo a re-cap the day after, but as far as I’m concerned the biggest event of the weekend takes place the day before anddeserves the credit. This will be the first of three preview articles on the K-1 World Grand Prix Final.

For those of you who don’t know how K-1 works, here’s it in a nutshell. K-1 holds four Qualifying events throughout the year where eight fighters compete in a one night tournament. The four winners of these tournaments join the eight men who made the Quarter Finals the year before in the Final 16. The final four spots are decided by the fans witha vote on the K-1 website. After the Final 16 is announced, they are paired up to fight on the same night withthe eight winners advancing to the Final Event. The eight fighters then each put their names up onto an empty slot in the bracket to decide the make-up of the Final Event (there are eight slots, with fighter 1 fighting fighter 2, fighter 3 fighting fighter 4, 5 v 6 and7 v 8 withthe winners of 1 v 2 to face 3 v 4 in the semis etc), with the easiest winners (ie the ones who won by the quickest knockout) getting to go first down to the guy who just squeaked by in his fight.

After the Final 16 Event in September, we were left with the following eight fighters:

Ruslan Karaev
K-1 Record:11-6-0 (6 KOs)
K-1 History:2006 K-1 WGP Quarter Finalist
2008 K-1 Taipei GP Champion, 2005 K-1 Las Vegas Champion
Record against other Finalists:Badr Hari (1-1)
Final 16 Result: KO2 vs Chalid Die Faust
The first of the four Qualifiers who won his way into the Final event this year, Karaev looks to make his 2nd appearance in the final event a better one then his last effort. After knocking out Badr Hari in the 2006 Qualifying event in under a minute, Karaev lasted only 71 seconds against Glaube Feitosa; being caught by his famous ‘Brazilian Kick.’ Karaev then dropped a rematch via 2nd round KO to Badr Hari in March of last year before being destroyed in 31 seconds by Melvin Manhoef later in the year.
However, Karaevbounced back with a win early this year before knocking out three opponents in one night to take win the Taipei Qualifying event and earn his spot in the Final 16. Facing dangerous puncher Chalid Die Faust, Karaev was caught early and dropped, but bounced back to floor the German three times in the 2nd round and book a place in the Final event. Because he scored the only knockout of the night, Karaev got to be the first man to put his name on the bracket and he chose the 6th fighter slot, or to be in the third fight of the night.

Remy Bonjasky
K-1 Record:33-8 (15 KOs)
K-1 History:2003, 2004 K-1 WGP Champion
2005, 2006, 2007 K-1 WGP Semi Finalist
Record against other Finalists: Badr Hari (1-0), Peter Aerts (0-1), Jerome Le Banner (0-1)
Final 16 Result:MD3 vs Paul Slowinski
The ‘Flying Gentleman’ appears in his sixth consecutive K-1 WGP Final Event, after winning his first two and making the semi finals of the last three. Bonjasky was one of four newcomers to qualify for the 2003 Final 16 event and once there he made it to the Final 8 after his opponent Bob Sapp was disqualified for hitting him while he was down. Bonjaskythen knocked out both Peter Graham and Cyril Abidiin the first round before winning a unanimous decision over Musashi to win his first crown. Bonkasky continued his winning ways in K-1 the following year defeating four time champion Ernesto Hoostafter one extra round in the Quatrter Finals, former World Heavyweight Boxing champion Francois Botha by unanimous decision in the semi finals and then again defeating Musashi in the final, this time by decision after two extra rounds making Bonjasky the only man to go 12 rounds in one night to win a K-1 WGP event.
In 2005 Bonjasky looked to become the first fighter to win three K-1 WGP’s in a row, but after defeating Hong Man Choi in the Quarter Finals he was knocked out by eventual winner Semmy Schilt in the first round of their semi final meeting. After some poor form early in 2006, Bonjasky defeated Mighty Mo and Gary Goodridgeto qualify for the Final 8 again. In his quarter final match with Stefan Leko, Bonjasky was twice kicked in the groin and was unable to continue. However, K-1 officials postponed the match until later in the evening to allow Bonjasky to recover. Bonjasky defeated Leko by unanimous decision but was unable to continue in the tournament. Bonkasky and Leko again met in 2007, this time in the Final 16 andafter a wild first round, Bonjasky knocked Lekoout with a flying knee with 10 seconds remaining in the opening stanza. Up and comer Badr Hari was his quarter finals opponent andafter a three round war with both guys delivering punishment to each others legs, Bonjasky took a close decision. The fight with Hari took a lot out of Bonjasky, and despite going the distance with Peter Aerts in the semi final, he didn’t have much to offer the three time former champion, losing a unanimous decision.
With his spot in the Final 16 already secure after a rule change allowed last years Final 8 a guaranteed spot in the Final 16, Bonjasky needed not defeat anyone to qualify this year. Still, Bonjaskystayed busy competing in super fights with Melvin Manhoef and Volk Atajev at the Amsterdam andTaipei Qualifying events, winning both fights by 3rd round knockout. In the Final 16, Bonjasky faced Paul Slowinski anddespite looking a little sluggish, he won the fight with a majority decision after three rounds. Bonjasky was the second fighter to put his name on the board and chose the 7th fighter slot meaning he would compete in the fourth fight against an opponent to be named.

Errol Zimmerman
K-1 Record: 5-0 (3 KOs)
K-1 History: 2008 K-1 Amsterdam GP Champion
Record against other Finalists: None
Final 16 Result: UD3 vs Glaube Feitosa
One of three fighters who have just emerged on the K-1 scene this year in the Final 8, should the 22 year old Zimmerman win he’ll break Peter Aerts’ record and become the youngest man to win the K-1 WGP. ‘The Bonecrusher’ was an underdog going into the Amsterdam qualifying event this year, but scored stoppage wins over Attila Karacs and 6′7 Swiss monster Bjorn Bregy before scoring a close majority decision over Zambit Samedov to earn his spot in the Final 16. Facing feared Brazilian Glaube Feitosa, a man who had come second in the 2005 K-1 WGP, Zimmerman came out firing, dropping Feitosa in both the first and second rounds andearning a wide unanimous decision. With the options of facing either Bonjasky or Karaev or taking his chances with one of the other fighters, Zimmerman chose to fill in fighter slot 3 and wait for an opponent.

Gokhan Saki
K-1 Record:7-1 (4 KOs)
K-1 History: 2008 K-1 Hawaii GP Champion
Record against other Finalists: Badr Hari (0-1)
Final 16 Result: UD4 vs Ray Sefo
Another youngster in the K-1 WGP Final this year, Gokhan Saki went to the Hawaii Qualifying event as an alternate. However the day before the event, Saki was promoted to the main card when Chalid Die Faust couldn’t get a Visa. With other well known fighters like Mighty Mo Salinga and sideshows like the fight between Butterbean and former UFC fighter Cabbage Correira in the event, Saki was very low profile going into the event. Three fights and under 10 minutes later Saki was one of the dark horses in the K-1 WGP Final 16. After destroying his first opponent with brutal leg kicks in the first fight of the night, Saki knocked out Rich Cheek and Randy Kim to earn his spot in the Final 16. There, Saki faced veteran fan favourite Ray Sefo andafter a close three rounds the fight was declared a draw. In the extra round Saki proved the fresher fighter andoutworked his opponent to take the judges decision. With fourth choice in the Final 8 fight selections, Saki with the choice of one of three opponents or the option of letting one of the other four choose him, he chose to face Ruslan Karaev in the Quarter Finals.

Ewerton Teixera
K-1 Record: 5-0 (2 KOs)
K-1 History: 2008 K-1 Japan GP Champion
Record against other Finalists: None
Final 16 Result: UD3 vs Musashi
The third of the young guns making their first appearance in the Final event this year. Little was known of the Brazilian karateka before this year and still not much is known of him now. The Fukuoka qualifying event was basically set up for Musashito earn his spot into the Final 16 but with the focus on the Schilt-Le Banner and Hari-Feitosa fights no one really cared. However, Musashi was defeated by 22 year old novice Keijiro Maeda in the quarter finals. Teixera in the other bracket won his first two fights with ease and then also defeated Maeda comfortably to qualify for the Final 16. In the Final 16, Teixera faced Musashi who had been voted into the Final 16 by the fans. In what was an extremely lacklustre affair, Musashi didn’t appear willing to fight and was uneventfully outpointed by the young Brazilian. Teixera had the next choice on the Finals board, and with the options of Bonjasky, Zimmerman or one of Le Banner, Aerts or Hari, he chose Zimmerman, effectively leaving the four big names in the tournament to battle each other for a semi finals spot.

Peter Aerts
K-1 Record: 62-21 (28 KOs)
K-1 History: 1994, 1995, 1998 K-1 WGP Champion
2006, 2007 K-1 WGP Runner-up
1997, 2000, 2003, 2005 Semi Finalist
1993, 1996, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2004 Quarter Finalist
Record against other Finalists:Remy Bonjasky (1-0), Jerome Le Banner (3-1)
Final 16 Result:MD3 vs Semmy Schilt
If I was to go through the former three time champions past history in K-1 this article would double in size. Aerts has been there from the beginning and won titles in 1994, 1995 and 1998. In 2006 he took Remy Bonjasky’s spot in the semi finals after competing as an alternate and stopped Glaube Feitosa in the 2nd round to earn a spot in the final with reigning champion Semmy Schilt. Aerts had defeated Schilt earlier in the year by majority decision in a superfight at an Auckland qualifying event. In what was a classic battle, a 2nd round knockdown against Aerts was the difference in a hard fought fight and Schilt won his 2nd consecutive K-1 WGP.
After destroying Bob Sapp and Nicholas Pettas in super fights early in 2007, Aerts chopped down Ray Sefoin the Final 16 with vicious leg kicks, stopping him when Sefo’s corner threw in the towel between the first and second rounds. Aerts then destroyed Japanese up and comer Junichi Sawayashiki at 1:29 of the first round in the quarter finals and outworked a battle-worn Remy Bonjasky in the semi finals to set up a second consecutive final with Semmy Schilt. History was to be made whoever the winner would be with Aerts looking to tie Ernesto Hoost’s record of four K-1 WGP titles and Schilt looking to become the first man to win three K-1 WGP’s in a row. In a disappointing final, halfway through the first round Aerts was caught by a jab from Schilt while in an awkward position injuring his knee and leaving him unable to beat the count. This made Schilt the first man to win three K-1 WGP Finals in a row.
At the Amsterdam qualifying event this year, Aerts called out Semmy Schilt to a fight in the Final 16 qualifying event. Aerts was willing to put his record of appearing in every K-1 WGP Finals event on the line in order to eliminate Schilt from winning four consecutive titles. Aerts claimed that Schilt was bad for the sport because he lacked personality and won due to his size (roughly 7′0, 300lbs) rather then his skills. Schilt accepted and the last two year’s finalists were to fight for a spot in the Final 8. Aerts bulled Schilt around the ring, landing numerous right hands and constantly keeping Schilt on the backpedal, earning him a three round majority decision and eliminating the three time defending champion Schiltfrom the Final. With the option of facing Remy Bonjasky or competing in the first fight of the night against either Jerome Le Banner or Badr Hari, Aerts decided to choose to fight first to allow himself as much recovery time as possible should he win.

Jerome Le Banner
K-1 Record: 43-16-2 (28 KOs)
K-1 History: 1995, 2002 K-1 WGP Runner-up
1999, 2007 K-1 WGP Semi Finalist
1997, 2005, 2006 K-1 WGP Quarter Finalist
2000 K-1 Nagoya GP Champion
Record against other Finalists: Peter Aerts (1-3), Remy Bonjasky (1-0)
Final 16 Result: UD3 vs Junichi Sawayashiki
Considered the greatest K-1 fighter to never win the WGP, Le Banner is one of the most inconsistent professional fighters around. Despite winning only five of his last 10 fights in K-1, Le Banner is still considered one of the most dangerous fighters on the circuit. After losing in two consecutive quarter finals at the K-1 WGP Finals in 2005 and 2006 to Aerts and Schilt respectively, Le Banner retired from tournament fighting. He then lost in a major upset to unheralded Junichi Sawayashiki early in 2007 in a fight where he badly injured his knee. Despite retiring from tournaments, Le Banner recovered in time for the 2007 Final 16 event and won his way into the Final event with a 54 second knockout over Yoon Soo Park. Le Banner was forced to face the World’s largest professional fighter in Hong Man Choi in the quarter finals andwon a unanimous decision. In the semi’s after Le Banner had a solid first round against reigning two time champion Semmy Schilt, Schilt injured Le Banners bad right knee with a low kick which forced his corner to stop the fight.
Le Banner and Schilt squared off again early in 2008 for the K-1 Super Heavyweight title at the Fukuoka qualifying event. Despite giving Schilt one of his toughest fights in years, Le Banner fell short on the judges cards anddropped a unanimous decision. With an offer to fight Tim Sylvia in MMA, Le Banner turned down the fight and elected to fight in this years Grand Prix. His Final 16 opponent was Junichi Sawayashiki, the man who had defeated him 18 months prior. Le Banner bulled the young Japanese fighter around the ring for the full three rounds, never allowing him in the fight and scoring a wide unanimous decision. With the choice of Aerts or Bonjasky in the quarter finals, Le Banner chose Bonjasky, a man he had defeated in a controversial 2006 fight over his long time nemesis Aerts who he was 1-3 against over a period of 12 years.

Badr Hari
K-1 Record:11-3 (10 KOs)
K-1 History: 2007, 2008 K-1 Heavyweight Champion
2007 K-1 WGP Quarter Finalist
Record against other Finalists: Remy Bonjasky (0-1), Gokhan Saki (1-0), Ruslan Karaev (1-1)
Final 16 Result: TKO4 vs Hong Man Choi
The reigning K-1 100kg champion this year makes his 2nd run for a K-1 WGP title. After losing two of his first three appearances in K-1 to Peter Graham and Ruslan Karaev, Hari fought as an alternate in the 2006 K-1 WGP, defeating Paul Slowinski. He avenged the loss to Karaev in 2007 via knockout before later that year he became the first fighter to win the newly created K-1 100kg title by knocking out Yusuke Fujimoto in less then a minute. Hari then avenged his loss to Peter Graham by unanimous decision before knocking out another Australian Doug Viney to qualify for the K-1 WGP 2007 Final. His opponent in the quarter finals was former two time champion Remy Bonjasky. Both men exchanged vicious low kicks throughout their fight and the fight was very close going to the scorecards. One judge scored the bout a draw and the other two scored it for Bonjasky and Hari was eliminated.
Hari made short work of Ray Sefo in his first appearance this year and then defended his 100kg title against Glaube Feitosa at Fukuoka. Hari battered Feitosa, knocking him out at 2:26 of the first round to retain his title and establish himself as one of the favourites for the 2008 K-1 WGP. ‘The Golden Boy’ was matched with man mountain Hong Man Choi in the Final 16, giving away over 100lbs in weight to the Korean. Hari was in complete control of the fight apart from a dubious knockdown in the 2nd round against him which cost him the decision victory with the judges scoring the bout a draw. However, due to the punishment Hong Man had taken throughout the fight, he couldn’t continue in the fight and Hari earned a TKO victory and a spot in the Final 8. With the other three matchups already decided, Hari will face former three time champion Peter Aerts in the first quarter final.

This leaves the Final 8 Bracket looking like this:

Predictions and other stuff to come later in the week.

K-1 World Grand Prix Final 16 Results

I thoroughly enjoyed this event. This was my first live taste of K-1 and I thought it was fucking fantastic. There might have only been the one stoppage (well there was two but only one was proper) but the fights were mostly entertaining and the fact that they were all heading towards something made each fight more interesting. The build-up to the Aerts-Schilt fourth fight made that fight in particular highly anticipated.

Ruslan Karaev KO2 Chalid ‘Die Faust’
Fight of the night by far! This was an absolute slugfest with the better skilled fighter Karaev dominating most of the fight but the hard punching ‘Die Faust’ equalising the fight with his murderous power. Karaev dominated the first half of the round before he got decked by a right hand. He then came back to drop ‘Die Faust’ three times in the second round to win the fight by stoppage. Karaev’s chin seems to be his downfall and I think he has a chance of making the semi finals but I’ll be surprised if he is one of the two finalists.

Jerome Le Banner UD3 Junichi Sawayashiki
Le Banner is an imposing figure in the ring and Sawayashiki didn’t have the firepower to deal with him. Unlike a few of the other fights that went three rounds, this one didn’t need an extra round. Le Banner pushed the action from start to finish and was the clear winner of every round. My main problem with Le Banner is that he’s so mechanical; almost like a K-1 version of Vitali Klitschko. Against the smoother technicians I think he will struggle. Still, I think Le Banner has a strong chance at taking his first K-1 title this year.

Gokhan Saki UD (Ex. 1) Ray Sefo
I did think Sefo was up after the first three rounds but the fight was very close and the fact that Sefo was in such bad shape after three rounds shows that he wasn’t going to be in contention for the Final 8. Saki let Sefo fight his fight a bit too much and should have tried to use his speed a bit more, but even though I thought Sefo was in front after three rounds, Saki was in much better shape and the right guy went through to the finals. Saki, like Karaev (infact thats who he’s fighting, but I’ll get to that shortly) might make the semis, but I doubt he goes further.

Errol Zimmerman UD3 Glaube Feitosa
Zimmerman lived up to expectations and handed Feitosa a beating in the first two rounds. Zimmerman’s speed is incredible and he puts together a great variety of combinations with power. A few things that I think Zimmerman needs to work on is 1) not getting so right hand happy; he probably could have put Feitosa away if he didn’t throw his money punch time after time and instead used other shots to set it up and 2) his stamina; Feitosa came back and won the 3rd round after Zimmerman gassed. Lets say this was a semi final of the final 8. Had Zimmerman fought once already that night he likely would have lost that fight due to his fatigue (thats assuming Feitosa could have stayed standing after his first fight of course). I think Zimmerman has a good chance at making the final, but it’ll definately depend on his stamina. Either way, I think Zimmerman will win his first K-1 World Grand Prix within five years.

Remy Bonjasky UD3 Paul Slowinski
I underrated Slowinski a lot in this fight, he really made a good fight of it and I thought that it should have gone another round. I honestly thought the fight wasn’t as one sided as the commentators made out and that it could have gone either way after the three rounds. Slowinski was landing more shots, Bonjasky was landing harder shots. I hope Slowinski is brought back to fight in an alternate fight as he was one of the better fighters who lost on Saturday night. Bonjasky looked a little rusty, but I’m sure he’ll be fine come finals time and he has a very good shot to claim his third crown.
PS- Bonjasky’s walk-out music was ficking ace! For those of you who don’t know, he walked out to Charles Bronson’s characters theme music from ‘One Upon a Time in the West’

Ewerton Teixera UD3 Musashi
Honestly, get rid of both of them and let the loser of the Aerts-Schilt fight take the eigth place. I’d be happy to never see either of these guys fight again. To be fair on Teixera, it was mroe Musashi who wasn’t there to win and should retire. I can’t see Teixera getting past the first round in the finals.

Badr Hari TKO (Ex. 1) Hong Man Choi
The fight was ruled a draw and Hong Man Choi’s trainer threw in the towel before the first overtime round. Hari controlled 8 mins 55 secs of the 9 mins and then got dropped. Even with the knockdown I still had him up 29-28. The judge that scored for Hong Man Choi should be shot. Hari looked as good as you can when you fight someone that much bigger then you. When he fights someone a mroe suitable height he’ll look a lot better and should he make it past his quarter final fight I think he could win the lot.

Peter Aerts UD3 Semmy Schilt
Thats right, the three time defending champion won’t be in the main bracket at the finals. I assume Schilt will come in as an alternate, but someone will have to pull out for him to get a chance to defend his title. Aerts did what he had to, he got inside and he outworked Schilt. I had Aerts up 29-28 (I gave Schilt the first round) and, even though I do think it should have gone an extra round or two, I’m glad it didn’t as I wanted to see Aerts win. Depending on how his body holds up over three rounds, I think Aerts is a good chance to win his fourth crown and tie Ernesto Hoost’s record.

The Final Match-ups
The match-ups were selected after the fights. After Karaev (3rd), Bonjasky (4th) and Zimmerman (2nd) chose where they wanted to fight instead of who, Gokhan Saki selected Ruslan Karaev as his opponent. Next up Teixera chose Zimmerman as his opponent. Aerts had the option of fighting either Bonjasky or letting Le Banner choose between him and Bonjasky and he decided to be the first fight of the finals and let Le Banner take his choice. Le Banner left Badr Hari to face Aerts and chose to face Bonjasky for the second time.
The way the draw stands, the winner of Aerts-Hari will face the winner of Zimmerman-Teixera and the winner of Bonjasky-Le Banner will fight the winner of Karaev-Saki. Going off this, I expect Peter Aerts to face Remy Bonjasky in the Final match. I think Zimmerman will breeze through Teixera, but other then that anything could happen. I think either Aerts or Hari will be too experienced for Zimmerman, but if they have a hard fight it might gift Zimmerman a finals spot. I also think the same with Bonjasky and Le Banner in that they should handle either of Karaev or Saki easily (I honestly don’t have any idea who will win that fight) but depending on how they handle each other it could be difficult. It could very well end up being two of the regional titlists facing each other in the final after the experienced guys beat each other up. Either way I can’t wait for December 6th and not because of De La Hoya vs Pacquiao!

PS- Did I mention that I got 7/8 in my first go at picking K-1?