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.