Choi v. Canseco

Here is one of the most bizarre fights in MMA history, Jose Canseco versus Hong Man Choi from Dream's Super Hulk tournament which took place on 5/26/09 in Yokohama, Japan.


(Jose Canseco pictured)

Video of the Day - Fedor v. Choi

Here is Fedor Emelianenko fighting Hong Man Choi at Yarennoka - NYE which occured on 12/31/07 at the Saitama Super Arena in Japan.

MMA Legend - Fedor Emelianenko

Fedor Emelianenko (31-3) has generally been considered the number one overall MMA fighter since 2003 when he beat Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira via unanimous decision to win Pride's heavyweight belt. Despite being only 6 feet tall and weighing 225-230 pounds, Fedor's heart, striking, submission skills, judo, and ability can't be questioned.

On Sherdog and various other MMA sites on the web Fedor has almost risen to a sort of mythical status as the consensus greatest of all-time. Unfortunately, with his recent two losses to Fabricio Werdum and Antonio Silva, and the emergence of Anderson Silva, Fedor's aura has faded slightly. A win over former Pride champion Dan Henderson this weekend could definitely put a little shine on.

Many fans of MMA have been dying to see him in the UFC, and it appears he might be on the verge of signing. Since the collapse of Affliction, and Zuffa's purchase of Strikeforce, rumors about Fedor and the UFC have been swirling. However, the M-1 group which manages Fedor wants co-promotion of events and the UFC will not budge on that point of contention. Strikeforce agreed to that term, dying to get Fedor stateside.

There is no denying that Fedor has beaten some of the best mixed martial artists the world has ever seen. Fedor holds two decision wins over the aforementioned Nogueria, decision wins over Mirko Cro Cop Filipovic, Renato "Babalu" Sobral, K1 legend Semmy Schilt and Ricardo Arona. He has KO victories over Heath Herring, Gary Goodridge, and Tsuyoshi Kohsaka. He has submission victories over UFC HW Champ Tim Sylvia, UFC HW Champ Mark Coleman 2X, Mark Hunt, Matt Lindland, Naoya Ogawa, UFC HW Champ Kevin Randleman and Kazuyuki Fujita.

One of my favorite Fedor fights was his brawl with Kevin Randleman. Randleman suplexed Fedor on his head and miraculously, Fedor was able to regain composure and submit Randleman with a Kimura.

He recently defeated yet another former UFC heavyweight champ in Andrei Arlovski in his last fight. Arlovski was generally considered the #3 or 4 heavyweight in the world at the time. Despite taking quite a few of Arlovski's punches and kicks, he remained calm and knocked Arlovski out cold three minutes into the bout.

The only loss that Fedor suffered early in his career came at a Rings Tournament. Fedor had beaten Ricardo Arona by slim decision in his previous bout and was cut in that fight. 17 seconds into his second bout of the day he was struck by the elbow of opponent Tsuyoshi Kohsaka reopening the cut and leaving Fedor unable to continue. Rings rules did not allow elbow strikes unless elbow pads were worn. However, because they needed to have someone in the final TK was given a victory.

Video of the Day - Goodridge v. Choi

Here are two big boys going at it. This video is from the K-1 World Grand Prix featuring Hong Man Choi v. Gary Goodridge which took place on 8/5/07. Goodridge looks small at 6'3", 250 compared to the 7'2", 350 pound Choi.

Dream 9 - Super Hulk

The first round of the "Superhulk" tournament kicked off with Gegard Mousasi earning yet another victory, this time against super-heavyweight Mark Hunt. Ikuhisa Minowa and Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou were also able to topple their respective giants in Bob Sapp and Jan Nortje.

Jose Canseco's black pajama pants couldn't stop a Hong Man Choi beating, as Canseco crumpled to the canvas after attempting a kick and ate numerous punches before tapping. Apparenty Canseco had injured his knee before training. The final four of the Super Hulk tournament are Sokoudjou, Minowa, Mousasi and Choi.

The Dream FW tournament also wrapped, with three upsets, and a final four of Tokoro, Fernandes, Takaya and Warren. Joe Warren toppled the seemingly untouchable Kid Yamamoto for his first loss since 2002. The Mayhem Miller v. Jacare MW championship was not determined, as Miller struck Jacare in the head with a kick while Jacare was grounded. The bout was declared a no contest.

Results:
Ikuhisa Minowa def Bob Sapp Sub (Achilles Lock) R1, 1:15
Hong Man Choi def Jose Canseco Sub (Punches) R1, 1:17
Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou def Jan Nortje TKO (Punches) R1, 2:29
Gegard Mousasi def Mark Hunt Sub(Armbar) R1, 1:19
Tatsuya Kawajiri def Gesias Cavalcante Dec (Unanimous)
Hideo Tokoro def Abel Cullum Sub(Rear-Naked Choke) R2, 1:38
Hiroyuki Takaya def Yoshiro Maeda TKO (Punches) R1, 9:40
Bibiano Fernandes def Masakazu Imanari Dec (Unanimous)
Joe Warren def Norifumi Yamamoto Dec (Split)
Ronaldo Souza no contest Jason Miller (Illegal Kick)


(Ikuhisa Minowa, now with a 42-30 record, pictured)

Fedor Emelianenko v. Hong Man Choi

Here is video from Fedor Emelianenko v. Hong Man Choi from Yarennoka - NYE which took place on 12/31/07 at Japan's Saitama Super Arena.

Fedor (36-4) recently signed a contract with Bellator and will fight Matt Mitrione in his promotional debut.

FEG Fields Dynamite NYE Show

FEG, the same group behind Dream and K-1 will host an annual New Years Eve show on December 31st in Saitama Super Arena in Japan. The event will most likely be broadcast on HDNet at an odd time, so make sure to set your DVR. There are 4 bouts that will be fought under K-1 kickboxing rules. It will be interesting to see top ten fighters Kawajiri(155) and Mousasi(185) fight under K-1 rules. It has been interesting as fights keep getting added as we get closer to fight time.

MMA Fights

Hong Man Choi vs. Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic- Cro Cop is fighting for the first time since his notorious fight with Alistair Overeem. That was called a no contest after repeated Overeem knees to Cro Cop's groin. Cro Cop's career seemed to have peaked in 2006 when he won the Pride Absolute Grand Prix with wins over Josh Barnett, Wanderlei Silva, Hidehiko Yoshida, and Ikuhisa Minowa. Since then he has won over Eddie Sanchez and Tatsuya Mizuno, while not looking himself against Cheick Kongo, Gabriel Gonzaga and Alistair Overeem.

(Cro Cop KO of Don Caras, Jr.)

Hong Man Choi has not fought MMA since a loss last New Years Eve to Fedor. Choi at 7'2" 300 pounds or so will have a distinct size advantage. It will be interesting to see what Cro Cop's gameplan will be. It might be to take Choi down, but Cro Cop will have to take punishment to use that manuever. Interesting fight.

(Hong Man Choi throwing a kick in K-1)

Mark Hunt vs. Jerome Le Banner- Expect this fight to be a stand-up war. Both fighters excelled in K-1 kickboxing competition. Hunt will be carrying a weight advantage going into the fight. Le Banner beat Junichi Sawayashiki before losing to eventual winner Remy Bonjasky in the 2008 K-1 Grand Prix this year. Le Banner has a 3-1 MMA record and a 74-16 kickboxing record. Among his three MMA victories are Yoshihiro Akiyama and Jimmy Abriz.
*Le Banner has repordedly withdrawn at the last minute due to the flu. Melvin Manhoef will take his place.

(Jerome Le Banner pictured)

Hunt has a prior KO victory over Le Banner in K-1 during his championship run. Hunt is looking for his first win since 2006 as he has lost three MMA fights in a row to Fedor, Alistair Overeem, and Josh Barnett, all top competition. Hunt has notable wins in MMA over Tsuyoshi Kohsaka, Cro Cop, Dan Bobish and Wanderlei Silva. A highly decorated kickboxer, Hunt won the K-1 World Grand Prix in 2001.

(Mark Hunt pictured)

Eddie Alvarez vs. Shin'ya Aoki- This is the fight most fans are clamoring about as two of the best lightweights will tangle. Alvarez is generally ranked as the number 2 lightweight behind BJ Penn. Alvarez has had a breakout year, notching 4 wins including Joachim Hansen, Tatsuya Kawajiri and Ross Ebanez.

(Eddie Alvarez pictured)

Aoki, a submission wizard, has also had an excellent year, going 4-1 with a win over JZ Calvancante. Aoki has one of the top submissions of the year over Katsuhiko Nagata with a mounted gogoplata. Aoki also has wins over Joachim Hansen, Caol Uno, Jason Black and George Sotiropoulos.

(Aoki choking out Clay French)

Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Kiyoshi Tamura- Sakuraba is an MMA Legend having wins over Rampage Jackson, Vitor Belfort, Royce Gracie, Renzo Gracie, Masakatsu Funaki, Kevin Randleman and Carlos Newton. He had a three fight winning streak going before losing to knock-out artist Melvin Manhoef at Dream 4. This will be Sakuraba's first fight in 6 months.

(Sakuraba cartwheel guard pass on Vitor Belfort)

While Kiyoshi Tamura is not very well known in the United States, his resume speaks for itself. The 39 year old former pro wrestler, catch wrestler and mixed martial artist has gone 32-13 in his mma career. He is tough with wins over Ikuhisa Minowa, Pat Miletich, Renzo Gracie, Dave Menne and Maurice Smith.

(Tamura getting an armbar on Rony Sefo)

Gesias "JZ" Calvancante vs. Joachim Hansen- Calvancante's 2008 was not very spectacular as the lightweight was in a no-contest against Shinya Aoki, then lost a unanimous decision to Aoki in Dream 1 and 2. Calvancante is a strong stand-up fighter, and I would expect this fight to be nothing less. JZ has wins over Vitor Ribeiro, Nam Phan, Caol Uno and Rani Yahya. Hansen won a majority decision over JZ in 2004.

(JZ Calvancante pictured)

Joachim Hansen is always a fan favorite with his killer instincts and slug it out mentality. He recently defeated Shinya Aoki for the Dream lightweight tournament championship. Hansen has quick hands, notching him victories over Luiz Azeredo, Masakazu Imanari, Takanori Gomi and Rumina Sato.

(Joachim Hansen pictured)

"Kinniku Mantaro" vs. Bob Sapp- Wow is all I have to say about this match-up. With the Japanese crowd loving to be entertained, this match will feature Japanese wrester Akihito Tanaka wearing a mask of anime charater Kinniku Mantaro. Bob Sapp is already enough of a character. This match will be interesting to say the least.



Semmy Schilt vs. Siala "Mighty Mo" Siliga- This is a fight between two excellent stand-up oriented fighters. Schilt has won the K-1 Grand Prix, and Mighty Mo is renowned for his punching power. Schilt will have the size advantage as he stands 6'11".

Daisuke Nakamura vs. Hideo Tokoro - These are two veteran Japanese fighters. Nakamura (18-9) is a Pride, Dream, M-1 and Deep veteran who owns 11 submission victories. Tokoro (21-14) is a Dream, K-1 and Shooto veteran who owns 13 submission victories.

Hayato "Mach" Sakurai vs. Katsuyori Shibata
Andy Ologun vs. Yukio Sakaguchi
Ikuhisa "Minowaman" Minowa vs. Errol Zimmerman

K-1 Fights

Alistair Overeem v. Badr Hari- This fight was recently signed. Hari, an elite K-1 level kickboxer, advanced to the 2008 K-1 Grand Prix finals before getting DQ'd in a match against Remy Bonjasky. Hari, in a very strange sequence, took Bonjasky to the ground, threw some punches, and then a foot stomp. Hari, who completely disregarded K-1 rules, never fully explained the incident. Hari has around 78 kickboxing victories to around 8 defeats. He is a former K-1 HW champ.

Alistair Overeem has seen some controversy this year as well, when he had a fight ruled a no contest after repeatedly striking Mirko Cro Cop in the groin. Overeem had a sizable advantage on the judges scorecards when he used that tactic. Overeem has a 4 fight win streak, having beat Paul Buentello, Tae Hyun Lee, Mark Hunt and Gary Goodridge all before the end of the second round. His kickboxing record is around 4 wins to 2 defeats, but hasn't competed in professional kickboxing in a long time.

My guess is that K-1 wants to get these fighters for the publicity they will generate. Alistair has to be getting paid mega dollars to take this match under K-1 rules.

Hiroya vs. Shimada Shota
Kusakabe Ryuya vs. Urabe Koya
Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Kozo Takeda
Gegard Mousasi vs. Musashi
Artur Kyshenko vs. Yoshihiro Sato

K-1 Grand Prix 2008 Results

Here are the results of the K-1 Grand Prix 2008. The Flying Gentelman Remy Bonjasky came out victorious after Badr Hari punched and stomped a downed Remy Bonjasky which is illegal in K-1 Kickboxing rules.

Match #1: Taisei Ko def Takeru, 3rd round 3:00 Unanimous Decision
Match #2: Mitsugu Noda def Tsutomu Takahagi, 2nd round 2:49 KO (Punch)

Event Bouts:

K-1 GP QF: Badr Hari def Peter Aerts, R2 1:39 via TKO (Strikes)
K-1 GP QF: Errol Zimmerman def Ewerton Teixeira, (Maj. Dec)
K-1 GP QF: Gohkan Saki def Ruslan Karaev, (Unanimous Dec)
K-1 GP QF: Remy Bonjasky def Jerome Le Banner, R3 1:46 via TKO (Injury)
Ray Sefo def Hong-Man Choi, (Unanimous Dec)
Melvin Manhoef def Paul Slowinski, R1 2:26 via KO (Punches)
K-1 GP SF: Badr Hari def Errol Zimmerman, R3 2:15 via KO (Punch)
K-1 GP SF: Remy Bonjasky def Gohkan Saki, R2 0:53 via KO (Kick)
K-1 GP Final: Remy Bonjasky def Badr Hari, R2 0:53 DQ (Punch To Downed Opponent)

Yarennoka!!! Results

Yarennoka show does not dissapoint - Thoughts by the MMA Blaster

The M1 Yarennoka card was held in Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan this New Years Eve. It was solid from top to bottom as everyone expected. Watching the video's online, I could see it was the top card of the New Years collective. Here are the results:

Michael Russow def Roman Zentsov - Sub (North/South Choke) R1 2:58
Tatsuya Kawajiri def Luiz Azeredo - Dec.(Unanimous) R2 5:00
Makoto Takimoto def Murilo Bustamante - Dec. (Split) R2 5:00
Mitsuhiro Ishida def Gilbert Melendez - Dec. (Unanimous) R2 5:00
Kazuo Misaki def Yoshihiro Akiyama KO - (Kick) R1 7:48
Fedor Emelianenko def Hong Man Choi - Sub (Armbar) R1 1:54
Hayato Sakurai def Hidehiko Hasegawa - Dec. (Unanimous) R2 5:00
Shinya Aoki def Bu Kyung Jung Dec. - (Unanimous) R2 5:00

The Fedor fight was interesting in that Hong Man Choi is just so massive. I didn't think I'd ever see Fedor intentionally pull guard but he did, and took a couple big fists to the face to show for it. But, it only took two arm bar attempts to seal the victory.

Bustamante didn't lose his fight, you can never leave a fight to the hands of the judges. Melendez' undefeated streak is over, he didn't look very good out there. Russow looked pretty good in his first fight on a big stage, but Zentsov looked like he just wasn't on his game in that fight.

Akiyama is hated by the Japapese fans after the incident in his fight with Sakuraba. Apparently he was wearing an oil to make his skin more slippery. The fight with Misaki was very entertaining, the ending is pretty spectacular.