AWESOME FOURSOME CHALLENGE FOR K-1 HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE

[tuco]

On March 28, the K-1 GP season kicks off at the Yokohama Arena in Japan with a four-man tournament to determine the new K-1 World Heavyweight under 100kg champion. K-1’s English language commentator, “THE VOICE” MICHAEL SCHIAVELLO, analyses the four contenders for the coveted crown.

Melvin Manhoef
The Human A-Bomb

No fighter has captured the imagination of K-1 and MMA fans in the last 18 months more than Melvin Manhoef. FEG’s version of Clubber Lang is a ripped, stripped and striated wrecking ball who, while barely qualifying as a heavyweight, instills fear into opponents with his amazing power-to-weight ratio.

Indeed it is said that Manhoef has the greatest power-to-weight ratio of any fighter on the planet. Standing only 5’10” and fighting between 89 kg and 92kg, Manhoef is a light heavyweight/cruiserweight who consistently bangs with 100kg-plus fighters often with devastating results. What he lacks in height and weight, the man known by such apt monikers as “Mini Tyson”, “No Mercy” and “The Animal” more than makes up for in sheer aggression and ferocious punching power.

Melvin’s last ring outing at Dynamite on New Year’s Eve produced a moment fight fans will long remember when he braved 4oz MMA gloves against former K-1 Grand Prix Champion and PRIDE star Mark Hunt. The Samoan Hunt, himself one of the world’s most feared strikers at 120kg, had never been knocked out until he ran into a Manhoef left hook within 16 seconds of the first round and was sent to the astral plane.

Three weeks earlier, on December 8 at the Yokohama Arena, Manhoef fought Ernesto Hoost-trained Polish/Australian fighter Paul Slowinski. Slowinski, a triple world Muay Thai champion and former K-1 European and Oceania champion – himself a blown up light heavyweight – weighed in at 106.5 kilograms. Once again it was the diminutive Manhoef who prevailed when he caught Slowinski with a hellish left hook at 2:26 in the opening round to knock Slowinski out cold.

Indeed Manhoef’s record is littered with K-1 and MMA knockouts of devastating fashion, including first round knockouts of former WBC champion Yousuke Nishijima, MMA legend Kazushi Sakuraba, and that scary first round knockout of Ruslan Karaev in a superfight at the Amsterdam Arena in 2007, after which Karaev was laid out for nearly five minutes.

On March 28, Manhoef finally gets his chance for a K-1 strap. More than this he gets his chance to win the strap previously held by his stablemate Badr Hari who was stripped of the title following the antics of the K-1 World Grand Prix Final in which Hari was red-carded against Remy Bonjasky. To win the strap Manhoef must beat two opponents in one night, the first being Golden Glory’s Chalid “Die Faust”.

In Chalid you have an opponent who is a better natural boxer than Manhoef and who, like Manhoef, prefers to trade hands rather than any mix legs and knees. Chalid is a proficient combination boxer who, while boasting incredible power for his small stature (not as much power as Manhoef however) relies on breaking down opponents with high punching output. Expect this fight to be battled almost exclusively on the inside as Manhoef throws heat to Chalid’s jaw while Chalid tries to ride out the storm, cause Manhoef to gas and break down Mini-Tyson with high-scoring combinations.

Age: 32
Height: 174cm
Weight: 90kg
KO Ratio: 71% (stand up), 96 % (MMA)
Last Fight: Mark Hunt KO Win
Best Weapon: Left hook, right cross. Both equally destructive.

Chalid “Die Faust”
K-1’s John McClain

Chalid “Die Faust” is one of the most amicable guys on the K-1 circuit. The self-made business tycoon doesn’t fight for the money; he fights for the love of competition and to feed an insatiable appetite to put beatings on people.

Die Faust is K-1’s John McClain: the type of guy who will beat you up without any fancy movies inside the ring, and who you want to share a beer with when it’s all over. Just like Die Hard’s cinematic hero of the people, the odds are often stacked against the no-fuss, small and simplistic Chalid Arrab. But like McClain Arrab has proven time and time again that he’s K-1’s “fly in the ointment... monkey in the wrench... pain in the ass.”

Trained by Cor Hemmers and Ramon Dekker out of the fabled Golden Glory Gym in Holland, the 33-year-old German Chalid stands 5’ 10 and weights just over 97kg. A former amateur boxer who amassed an impressive record of 34-3 with 31 knockouts, he won the 2006 K-1 Las Vegas tournament a week after walking away unscathed from a serious car crash in Germany. Unfortunately for Chalid, his career since winning the Vegas tourney hasn’t been crash hot at all. His last K-1 victory was his best, against Musashi in Osaka at the 2006 Final Eliminations. Over the last two years, Chalid has suffered four losses, his most recent being a devastating second round KO at the hands of Ruslan Karaev at the Final 16 in Seoul last September, after Chalid had knocked down Karaev earlier in the fight.

That Arrab gets a crack at the K-1 Heavyweight Title must certainly be a reward for his loyalty to FEG and his popularity among fans and fighters alike. However it would be foolish to underestimate Arrab as just a make-up-the-numbers fighter. As I said earlier, he dropped Karaev in his last fight; took Alexander Pitchkounov to a second extension round in Taiwan; took Glaube Feitosa to a decision; and took the legendary Ernesto Hoost to a decision even fighting with a broken hand for two rounds.

In short, Chalid can spoil and has the ability to make even the most technically proficient fighters work overtime for a victory.

Trainer Cor Hemmers, a strategic genius, will no doubt tell Chalid not to spend his pennies too early trying to knockout Manhoef but rather focus on a game plan based on three important words: guard, combinations, move.

Age: 33
Height: 178cm
Weight: 97kg
KO Ratio: 79%
Last Fight: Ruslan Karaev KO Loss
Best Weapon: Power hand combinations

Gokhan Saki
You Don’t Mess With the Gokhan

Turkish-Dutch Gokhan Saki is one of the most impressive fighters on the planet. A well-rounded fighter renowned for his slinging leg kicks, before his loss to Remy Bonjasky at the K-1 World Grand Prix 2008 semi final Saki had gone an amazing 16 fight winning streak in and out of K-1. Among the fighters he beat during that run were Ruslan Karaev (decision), battle-hardened veteran Ray Sefo (decision two extension rounds), Paul Slowinski (knockout with a left), Mohammed Magamedov (decision), and Hiromi Amada (TKO with leg kicks in two rounds). Within this streak was also his blistering victory at the 2008 K-1 USA tournament in Honolulu when he took less than eight minutes to run through three opponents.

Saki has shown he has the mustard to win tournaments and the necessary skill set to deal with technically sound opponents (see Magamedov and Karaev victories) or power opponents (see Sefo victory).

What makes Saki such a special fighter is not only his durability and skill set but also his hunger. Another fighter from the fabled Golden Glory Gym, he trains tirelessly six days a week alongside main sparring partner Errol Zimmerman and under the watchful eye of Cor Hemmers and Ramon Dekker.

At six foot even and little over 97kg, Saki’s stature is deceiving, as he appears a much larger specimen in ring. His stamina is unquestionably good, his defenses solid, but what makes him so dangerous is the variety of his attacks. This was proved in Honolulu last year when he knocked out all three opponents in different fashion: leg kick KO in the quarter final, a succulent left body rip in the semi final and then a clean left hook knockout of Randy Kim in the final.

Against Ray Sefo in the Final 16, Saki showed some signs of intimidation, which didn’t allow him to fully showcase his repertoire. Although he grinded out a lengthy decision win over Sefo, his admiration and respect for the K-1 veteran was such that it reflected in one of Saki’s lesser performances. However he powered back up for the 2008 Grand Prix with a fantastic showing against Ruslan Karaev in the quarterfinals, winning by decision, before succumbing to a Remy Bonjasky flying roundkick KO in the semi finals.

Age: 25
Height: 182cm
Weight: 97kg
KO Ratio: 73%
Last Fight: Remy Bonjasky KO Loss
Best Weapon: Leg kicks

Tyrone Spong
The Fresh Prince

Tyrone Spong’s Japanese K-1 debut is something fight fans the world over have been anticipating for a long time. The 23 year old is universally regarded as one of the best fighters pound-for-pound on the planet and was recently listed by the respected International Kickboxer Magazine as one of the Top 25 Fighters in the World, inclusive of boxing, MMA, Muay Thai, kickboxing and K-1.

Spong is a freak of the fight game, having won titles in every weight class from welterweight (66kg) to heavyweight. Trained by the legendary Lucien Carbine, he made his professional debut in 2002 and has since amassed a stunning record of 82 wins in 86 fights with 58 wins by knockout.

Spong’s incredible speed and proficiency to work techniques at will (especially off his hook) have led him to be dubbed the Mayweather of Muay Thai. Indeed Spong spent some time in the United States training with Floyd Mayweather Senior, who said of Spong: “He’s got the range, he’s got the reach, he’s got the leverage and he’s got the punch. Tyrone’s the man to meet if you want to get beat.”

Spong ventures to Yokohama on an amazing 13-fight winning streak dating back to March 2007. Over the last two years he has claimed such scalps as Samir Benazzouz (TKO), Gary Turner (TKO), Zabit Samedov (Dec), Azem Maksutaj (KO 2), and Aurelian Duarte (Dec). Other notable career wins include: Kaoklai (KO 1), Joeri Mes (TKO 5), Yodchai (TKO 1), and Dimitry Shakuta (Dec).

While there is no doubting Spong’s sublime talent and incredible speed, a question mark remains as to how well this former 70kg fighter will handle life as a heavyweight. His venture to the higher weight division has been successful so far, with wins over Turner, Maksutaj and Samedov, but stepping into the K-1 realm where the likes of Manhoef, Hari, Saki, Zimmerman, Aerts, LeBanner, Bonjasky and Feitosa hunt for prey is a whole different ball game.

At 6’ 2” and tipping the scales at 92kg, Spong is an impressive physical specimen. So long as he doesn’t lose any of his amazing speed and can still deliver the slick power combinations that lead Peter Aerts to declare to me in Amsterdam last year that Spong is arguably the most naturally gifted kick fighter in the world today, K-1 fans are in for days of magic and madness as one of the world’s finest fighting athletes is unleashed on the biggest stage of all.

Age: 23
Height: 188cm
Weight: 92kg
KO Ratio: 71%
Last Fight: Samir Benazzouz TKO Win
Best Weapon: Incredible speed with KO power

From

[NWOWolfpack]

K-1 World GP '09 in Yokohama: Fighters' Interviews
http://www.k-1.co.jp/k-1gp/top914.htm

Written by Monty DiPietro.

TOKYO, March 26, 2009 -- The winter wait is almost over for K-1 fans. As the cherry trees began to blossom, K-1's biggest stars prepare to shine this Saturday night at the Yokohama Arena. Three-time and defending K-1 World Grand Prix Champion Remy Bonjasky of Holland headlines the first K-1 World Grand Prix event of the year -- an 11-bout extravaganza comprising the K-1 Heavyweight elimination tournament, a quartet of Superfights and three undercard bouts.

The fighters did interviews today at the Keio Plaza Hotel in central Shinjuku.



Superfights

In the Main Event, Bonjasky will meet compatriot Alistair Overeem, the MMA fighter who scored a dramatic KO victory over K-1 bad boy Badr Hari on New Year's Eve. There is no love lost between Bonjasky and Hari, but ironically the man they call "The Flying Gentleman," will be playing the role of avenger on Saturday night. The reason is simple -- K-1 fighters are supposed to beat mixed martial arts fighters in standup bouts. On December 31, Hari didn't. Saturday night, Bonjasky must.

Waxing dramatic, K-1 Event Producer Sadaharu Tanikawa said that a Bonjasky loss on Saturday could amount to "The end of K-1."



Remy Bonjasky

"Of course you fell pressure because it seems the whole K-1 and kickboxing world is watching this fight," joked a relaxed Bonjasky. "Alistair, as you saw when he beat Badr Hari, used his knee and left hook combination, so I have to pay attention to his knees. Although he's not a K-1 fighter, that doesn't mean he's been playing tennis -- he one's a strong guy and a good fighter in MMA, and now he's in K-1. I want to say I'm 100% sure that I'll win, but there is always a 1% chance of losing. So I'll say that I'm very confident that I'll win this fight."

"I understand that it would be disappointing for K-1 fans if an MMA fighter comes in and beats two K-1 fighters. I think Alistair has a different stance from most K-1 fighters, but I know he'll have his hands up and he'll try to beat me, so when he steps into the ring I'm just going to see him as a K-1 fighter that I have to beat. I trained hard and I'll do my very best to win on Saturday!"



Alistair Overeem

Informed of Bonjasky's "99%" prediction, Overeem smiled. "I don't think in percentages, I'll just say that I'm confident and that I'm not impressed with Remy at all. I'm not worried about his boxing, I'm more afraid of his acting -- that he will fall down and pretend to be hurt when he's not hurt!"

"But Remy is the K-1 Champion and I've always wanted to fight him, so I'm very excited and happy with this fight. After the Badr Hari fight on New Year's Eve, I promised to challenge the K-1 Champion on behalf of all DREAM and MMA fighters, and so if I win this then I'll have beaten the best K-1 fighters, and then I can go back and fight in DREAM, because MMA is my passion. Also, I want to say that I think if you let K-1 fighters into MMA rules, they would lose nine times out of ten!"



The penultimate match will feature another Dutchman, K-1 superstar Peter Aerts, fighting Errol Zimmerman, from the Netherlands Antilles island of Curaçao.

Peter Aerts

Aerts, who lost to Badr Hari at the 2008 World Grand Prix Final, was less than pleased with the Moroccan. "I told K-1 I wanted to fight Badr Hari at Yokohama, but I heard he refused. Anyway, that's not the way it used to be in K-1, when all the fighters would fight anyone. In my last fight against Hari my physical condition was good, but I couldn't get to the mental level I wanted -- mentally I felt like a beginner. After the fight I went back to my old gym, Chakuriki, and I've been focusing my training on mental preparation and strength. I feel great for this fight."



Errol Zimmerman

Zimmerman had also hoped to get a shot at Hari here. "What Peter Aerts said about Badr Hari is true, when a fighter takes the fight he should fight," said Zimmerman. "I don't know if he's injured, but if I had to fight with just one leg, I would still fight. I will never say no to a fight. I'm sad not to fight Badr Hari, I wanted to knock him down. But it's also good to fight Peter because he's a big legend, a big name, and I will destroy him. I hope Peter Aerts will give me pressure on Saturday so we can make a good fight. I'm going to hurt him, and to knock him out, I hope in the first round!"



French slugger and K-1 veteran Jerome LeBanner will meet see explosive young kyokushin fighter Ewerton Teixeira of Brazil.

Ewerton Teixeira

"I trained as usual, especially focusing on kicks. Francesco Filho told me not to let the pressure get to me, to clear my mind of all that and focus only on winning the fight! I know LeBanner has hard punches, but again, my focus is not on that, my focus is 100% on winning the fight! And of course, I hope to do that by KO!"

LeBanner did not appear for interviews.



Another kyokushin fighter, K-1 veteran Glaube Feitosa, will meet Japanese wunderkind Junichi Sawayashiki.


Glaube Feitosa

Said Feitosa, "I feel great, I first trained a bit in Brazil with Francesco Filho, then I came to Japan and I have been training here for a month, focusing on my defense. I think Sawayashiki is a good young fighter with good fast movement and aggression, so I will do my best to stop that. As for my Brazilian kicks, I understand that fans regard them as my 'trademark', so I use them when I have the opportunity. I told my son that I would train my best and fight my best for him, I want to put on a strong fight in Yokohama to advance to the World GP Final. But first things first, I will do my very best to win on Saturday!"

Sawayashiki did not appear for interviews.



K-1 Heavyweight Title Tournament

The K-1 Heavyweight Title Tournament is a four-man elimination, fought in a 100kg/220lbs weight class, for the K-1 Heavyweight Belt. A pair of semifinals go up early on the Yokohama card, the winners meet in the final later in the evening.



Melvin Manhoef

Dutch Dynamo Melvin Manhoef was supposed to fight Chalid "Die Faust" Arrab here, but FEG announced that the flu bug had bit Die Faust, and he hadn't made the trip to Japan. Taking his place on Saturday will be Japanese fighter Keijiro Maeda, promoted from the tournament reserve.

Manhoef said he wasn't concerned about the change: "My condition is very good and I trained hard for two fights, to be explosive and aggressive and to get the KO. Chalid is not here, it affects me a little but it doesn't matter, now I fight Maeda, I know him only a little, my trainer checked him out a little because he was in the tournament reserve, but I will study him good now, then we will put the techniques together. So we'll see -- in my second fight, I'm prepared to fight Gokhan or Tyrone to become the champion. But I think Badr Hari is still the 100kg (220lbs) champion, and his advice to me was 'you have to win, bring the belt home!'"



Keijiro Maeda

"It seems every time I fight something unusual happens, which is lucky for me! I'm happy to fight Melvin, but to tell the truth, he's also guy I really didn't want to fight because he's so dangerous. Of course, I'm small and he's small but he's very strong, one punch from him can do a lot of damage, so I have to be careful. K-1 asked me to take the fight yesterday, I couldn't refuse! But I woke up this morning with Melvin's face in my mind, and he was laughing, so I'm a little bit scared!"


The second semifinal of the K-1 Heavyweight Title Tournament sees Tyrone Spong of Suriname take on Gokhan Saki of Turkey.


Tyrone Spong

Spong, a muay thai fighter making his K-1 debut, said "I'm happy to be here, I put on some weight, about 15kg (33lbs), I'm now 95kg (210lbs) and I don't think -- I know I'm going to win this tournament! Of course I'm faster than the other guys and have better technique, but the difference is I think I have a better game plan. I am a very complete fighter, and the combinations of my hands and feet, those are my greatest strength. Saki is a very fast and very good fighter, but, again, I have the better game plan. Of course, I can't tell you what the plans is, but come and see Saturday! In the second fight, I really don't care, but if I have to choose I think Melvin Manhoef will win, and I'll face him. I am going to win, and then come back to take both K-1 belts -- the Heavyweight and the World Grand Prix!"


Gokhan Saki

Said Saki "For me, they make Tyrone Spong big, they talk about him a lot. Well, he fought at 76kg (168lbs), but at heavyweight he has fought against nobody strong. So whatever they say, for me he's not the best fighter from Europe. And we will see on Saturday if he can really fight at heavyweight. This is a tournament, I trained really hard, two times a day, and I have really good motivation to come here and win the tournament. In my second fight, well, I think maybe Melvin will get tired from running, and Maeda will make his points and win the fight!"


In undercard action, Mitsugu Noda will meet Yang Rae Yoo; Hiraku Hori fights Takumi Sato; and Takashi Tachikawa takes on Yutaka Sakuma.

All bouts will be conducted under K-1 Official Rules, K-1 Rules / 3Min. 3R Ext.2R (Ext. 1R in the tournament semifinals).

The K-1 World Grand Prix 2009 in Yokohama kicks off at 5:00 pm on Saturday, March 28 at the Yokohama Arena. It will be broadcast in Japan on the Fuji TV network. For international broadcast information, contact local providers. Visit the K-1 Official Website (http://www.k-1.co.jp/k-1gp) for comprehensive coverage and official results of this and all other FEG events.

[broncofan]

Curious to see how Spong will do and Manhoef will win by early KO