(pictured Alistair Overeem vs. Tyrone Spong via K-1.co.jp)
The pairings for the Dec. 11th K-1 World Grand Prix Finals were announced on Monday. Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem will meet Tyrone Spong, while Semmy Schilt steps into the ring to face Keijiro “Kyotaro” Maeda.
A quick look at the K-1 event matchups appears as follows:
Peter Aerts vs. Mighty Mo
Semmy Schilt vs. Keijiro “Kyotaro” Maeda
Gokhan Saki vs. Daniel Ghita
Alistair Overeem vs. Tyrone Spong
Here is the full K-1 Press Release:
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October 4, 2010 – Seoul, South Korea – Once again, the atmosphere among the fighters after the Final 16 was light and friendly. They were quick to smile, and even quicker with a joke. All of them seemed both relieved at having qualified for the Final 8, and nervously excited to participate in the draw that would influence who they would face in the first round of the FieLDS 2010 K-1 World Grand Prix.
The opening match ups are decided via a combination of luck and strategy. Firstly, each fighter gets to select a ball that has a covered number on it. The fighter with the fastest finish in their Final 16 fight goes first, and the slowest is of course last. Once they have their ball, they can check the number written on it by removing the cover. This number represents the number in which they can choose a position from one of two brackets. The first is made up of positions A to D, and the second E to H.
As Alistair Overeem had the fastest win of the night after knockout out Bed Edwards in just 2:08, he had the first selection of the balls. He was followed by Gohkan Saki, Daniel Ghita, Tyrone Spong, Might Mo, Semmy Schilt, Kyotaro, and finally, Peter Aerts who went to an extra round decision against Teixeira Ewerton.
As always, the order they drew their ball was far from that in which they took their place in the tournament. The man with the first ball was Gohkan Saki. Not having any opponents to choose from, he went to position E in the second bracket. The Romanian fight Daniel Ghita had the next one, and, without hesitation, walked up beside Gohkan and took spot F. This set up the first match up of the WGP. Daniel said, “I think I have a good opponent, and he is very technical. I wanted to fight Saki.” Gohkan said of the bout, “I got the first ball so I had no choice. I am happy to fight ghita as he is a good technical fighter. After him I will face Alistair or Tyrone so it will be good.”
Peter Aerts had the third ball and he decided to fight in the blue corner of the first bracket, taking position B. Last minute replacement for Andrei Arlovski, Mighty Mo had the right to step up next, and surprisingly he decided to stand next to Mr. K-1. The two hugged and laughed, then Mo said, “I took this spot because peter is old now,” which cause Peter to laugh even more. Mo went on with, “It is a rematch from the last time when I hurt my knee. I don’t think it was fair. You don’t tap a cut during a fight. It is a nice opportunity to end his career with a loss. I want to rematch and regain my glory.” In response Peter said, “I didn’t have a choice, but I am happy (with the match up). He talked about my age, but before I go into a retirement home, I will try to hit his head off.”
Reigning champion, Semmy Schilt was next up, and he decided to put himself in a position to get the maximum amount of rest between fights by standing in position C. Tryone Spong then stood up with a huge smile on his face. He could either face Semmy, or move to the final matchup of the second bracket as it was still open. Keeping his smile, he chose H.
This sent a wave of murmurs through the crowd, as only Alistair Overeem and Kyotaro were left. For more than a year the fans have been asking for a Semmy vs. “The Reem” battle, and it was being dangled right in front of their eyes.
Overeem stood. As the crowd was hoping, he had the 7th ball. He walked to the stage, moved towards Semmy, then turned and took the position next to Tyrone. The crowd seemed disappointed, but only momentarily. After all, the match up was a good one, and this final move left us with a very interesting looking line up. That is, for everyone but Kyotaro. The Japanese hopefully had trouble closing his mouth once he understood who he was fighting. He eventually regained his composure though and said, “I was dreaming about this draw last night and really didn’t want ball 8. Anyway, this fight is decided and I will do my best. I will win.”
Alistair said of his choice, “I am happy to face Tyrone. We have trained together for 7 years, so I think it will be like the old days sparring.” Spong showed a very mature outlook stating, “Yeah, this is good. I am happy. I have a good opponent, and this is good for K-1 so I will just enjoy it.”
And there we have the lineup. I’m quite sure there isn’t a fan alive that could have predicted it would look like this just a week ago. Tyrone, Ghita and Kyotaro will be making their first appearance. Peter Aerts, Mighty Mo and Gohkan Saki have all fought their way back after not being there last year. And, Golden Glory fighters Semmy Schilt and Alistair Overeem are back, and in opposite blocks yet again. Will we get to see them in the finals this year? Will Kyotaro shock the world with a win over yet another fighter the odds makers don’t believe he will be able to beat? Can Saki or Ghita keep their form and step up as part of the new generation? You will need to wait until December 11 to find out. Until then, keep checking back for updates on, and interviews with your favorites for the event.