Filed under: DREAM, K1, JapanSeven-foot-two K-1 World GP in Seoul Champion and DREAM “Super Hulk” Hong Man Choi has been booked with assault following an October 8 altercation with a female customer at a bar he owns and operates in Seoul, South Korea.
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Seven-foot-two K-1 World GP in Seoul Champion and DREAM “Super Hulk” Hong Man Choi has been booked with assault following an October 8 altercation with a female customer at a bar he owns and operates in Seoul, South Korea.
The alleged assault occurred when a female customer refused to pay a tab at Choi’s bar which turned out to be more expensive than she had anticipated. Following an argument, the female patron claims that Choi punched her in the face.
Posting on his blog on Wednesday, Choi vehemently denied punching the woman, stating, “She verbally insulted me. I just could not take it anymore. I just pushed her a little bit. I swear that I never punched her.
Choi continued, putting his (admittedly dormant) fighting career on the line by writing, “If I am lying, I will quit my career as a K-1 fighter.”
The charges against Choi do seem dubious as witnesses have stated that the women pressing charges was heavily intoxicated, threw a glass at Choi’s head, kicked and punched the former K-1 star and made derogatory comments about his parents. When the women brought up Choi’s family, witnesses stated that he pushed the woman aside in an attempt to end the argument.
Korean reports do not indicate if the charges being leveled against Choi are civil or criminal, but the South Korean giant does intend to take legal action against the female customer if she, “continues lying about the incident.”
Filed under: JapanTOKYO — Possibly setting up an opportunity to avenge his teacher, Kazushi Sakuraba pupil Takenori Sato retained his welterweight King of Pancrase title on Sunday night at Differ Ariake, fighting to an entertaining split draw with Gra…
TOKYO — Possibly setting up an opportunity to avenge his teacher, Kazushi Sakuraba pupil Takenori Sato retained his welterweight King of Pancrase title on Sunday night at Differ Ariake, fighting to an entertaining split draw with Grabaka’s Eiji Ishikawa.
Also on the card, Yuki Kondo finally returned to form, Masaya “J-Taro” Takita put on one of the most flamboyant entrances in recent memory before choking out Shoko Sato, US serviceman Jonathan Shores made short work of Masayoshi “Randleman” Ichikawa and lightweight King of Pancrase Koji Oishi fought to a highly entertaining draw with Yoshiaki “Bancho” Takahashi.
Kazushi Sakuraba pupil Takanori Sato attempted to channel his mentor in his second welterweight title defense, seeking the kimura for three rounds against Grabaka’s Eiji Ishikawa, but ultimately coming up short and instead being forced to settle with a split draw.
Ishikawa controlled the early portion of the bout, landing better blows, scoring takedowns and landing hammerfists while defending the incessant kimura attempts on the canvas But as Ishikawa started to tire the submission attempts became more effective and Sato came close with an armbar attempt and multiple kimura’s in the last period, making the fight an impossible one to judge and leading to a split draw.
Post-fight Sato challenged Yan Cabral to a bout at DREAM’s New Year’s Eve event in an attempt to avenge Kazushi Sakuraba’s recent loss.
In the most entertaining bout of the evening, lightweight King of Pancrase Koji Oishi fought to a unanimous draw with Paraestra Hachioji’s Yoshiaki “Bancho” Takahashi. Oishi kept his taller opponent pinned against the corner posts during the two-round bout, but both fighters were extremely active and able to create space to knee, hook and uppercut from close range. Takahashi arguably landed more blows but Oishi’s control of the bout evened the scorecards on all three judge’s cards.
Sengoku veteran Kenta Takagi’s lack of options on the ground proved to be his downfall against Sajiro Orui. Takagi presented a significant threat with his fists and knees on the feet but Orui’s relentless takedowns and smothering control ensured that the judges ruled in his favor.
Former King of Pancrase and one-time UFC title contender Yuki Kondo finally had a return to form, picking up his first win in five outings with a solid decision over Yuta Nakamura. Kondo was especially impressive with his kicks, throwing constantly to the legs, body and head. Nakamura’s chin was solid enough to see him retain consciousness through multiple clean headkicks, but aside from some winging hooks he never found his range and so Kondo took the unanimous decision.
When you choose to enter the ring waving a sparkly boa while riding a motorcycle made of men wearing glittery thongs (pictured right), you really need to make sure you win. Fortunately Masaya “J-Taro” Takita was able to back up one of the most eccentric entrances in MMA history, putting Sengoku veteran Shoko Sato to sleep in the second round with a rear naked choke. Sato punished the heavily bandaged knee of Takita with cracking low kicks during the first round of the fight, but a takedown into back control led to the rear-naked choke and Sato was asleep after three minutes in the second stanza.
2011 Pancrase NeoBlood Rookie Tournament MVP and US serviceman Jonathon Shores picked up the biggest win of his promising career, blasting Masayoshi “Randleman” Ichikawa with a right straight to finish the fight only 2.10 into round one. Shores missed with a guillotine attempt early and was slightly stiff with his movement on his feet but the massive size and power disadvantage ultimately proved too much for Ichikawa.
Pancrase Impressive Tour – Oct. 2th, Differ Ariake in Tokyo, Japan. Welterweight King of Pancrase
Takenori Sato vs. Eiji Ishikawa – Split Draw
Koji Oishi vs. Yoshiaki “Bancho” Takahashi – Unanimous Draw
Sojiro Orui def. Kenta Takagi by Unanimous Decision
Yuki Kondo def. Yuta Nakamura by Unanimous Decision
Kousei Kubota vs. Hiroki Nagaoka – Majority Draw
Masaya “J-Taro” Takita def. Shoko Sato by Technical Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) – Round 2, 3.00
Jonathan Shores def. Masayoshi “Randleman” Ichikawa by KO (Punch) – Round 1, 2.10
Juntaro Ami def. Keiji Sakita by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) – Round 2, 3.23
Masaki “Ryuki” Yanagisawa def. Ryo Saito by Submission (Heel Hook) – Round 1, 3.17
Tatsuya So def. Kenichi Tosa by Unanimous Decision
Shigeaki “Kusa Max” Kusayanagi def. Kenji Nagaki by TKO (Punches) – Round 2, 4.21
Junichi Ota vs. Shogo Ohashi – Unanimous Draw
Filed under: K1, JapanIn yet another blow to the struggling sport, kickboxing has lost its brightest and most controversial young star as Badr Hari, former K-1 heavyweight champion and two-time K-1 World GP finalist, has made the decision to retire fro…
In yet another blow to the struggling sport, kickboxing has lost its brightest and most controversial young star as Badr Hari, former K-1 heavyweight champion and two-time K-1 World GP finalist, has made the decision to retire from kickboxing after a final Jan. 28, 2012 bout against Gokhan Saki to go to the United States to pursue a boxing career.
The news, which comes via a release posted on the It’s Showtime website on Wednesday, also casts serious doubt over the 26-year-old’s participation in the Dec. 10 K-1 World GP Final 16 and in fact, raises questions as to whether the 2011 K-1 World GP will even take place at all.
“If K-1 will host a World Grand Prix this year, Badr will also participate to that,” the release from It’s Showtime states. “The Grand Prix Final is scheduled for December 10 in China. If this World Grand Prix will take place, depends if K-1 will be able to pay its debts to IT’S SHOWTIME and others. If not, the fight on January 28 will be Badr’s only remaining fight as a kickboxer.”
When the K-1 World GP Final 16 was finally announced earlier this month, K-1 President Sadaharu Tanikawa specifically thanked It’s Showtime CEO Simon Rutz for his support in co-promoting, but the statement above gives one the distinct impression that things may have soured on that deal. There have been rumors in Japan that the K-1 World GP Final 16 may not actually take place and the statement from It’s Showtime adds significant weight to that.
Due to declining popularity, lack of TV deals and lack of sponsorship, K-1 promoter FEG has been struggling badly financially for the past few years and now owe a large amount of money to many fighters and teams. Alistair Overeem, Jerome Le Banner, Peter Aerts, Ray Sefo, the Golden Glory team, It’s Showtime and others have publicly stated that the K-1 owe them large sums of money – in many cases well into six figures and even seven figures.
The move from Badr Hari into the world of boxing comes as no real surprise given his recent discussion of the sport and the economic state of K-1. Hari has often expressed a desire to go into either Olympic or professional boxing and after a series of troubles – in and out of the ring – the timing seems right.
Hari’s exceptional kickboxing career, though short, has been punctuated with knockouts and controversy. The Moroccan-Dutch heavyweight arrived on the kickboxing scene in 2005 with a brutal spinning back kick knockout of Stefan Leko in a K-1 World GP reserve bout, but a 2006 brawl at a press conference with Peter Graham and his refusal to leave the ring and subsequent destruction of backstage dressing rooms following a loss to Ruslan Karaev saw Hari’s public perception turn from “Golden Boy” into “Bad Boy”.
After capturing the vacant K-1 heavyweight title, Hari made a run at the K-1 World GP in 2008, knocking out Peter Aerts and Errol Zimmerman before getting disqualified in the final against Remy Bonjasky for kicking and stomping his opponent while he was down. The unsportsmanlike act caused a large amount of controversy in K-1 and Hari was stripped of his heavyweight title, not awarded any prize money and not awarded the title of GP runner-up.
Rebounding from a shocking knockout loss to Alistair Overeem at Dynamite, Hari again made it to the final of the K-1 World GP in 2009 after defeating Ruslan Karaev and Alistair Overeem in a rematch, but fell to the much bigger Semmy Schilt.
Not learning from past mistakes Hari was again disqualified in 2010, this time while defending his It’s Showtime heavyweight title against Hedsey Gerges. Like the Bonjasky fight, Hari again kicked a downed opponent and lost his title. Although he was initially unapologetic for his actions, Hari voluntarily took a one year break from the ring.
Hari has also had problems discipline outside of the ring, charged with assaulting a neighbor in 2006 and was wanted for questioning in 2010 in regards to a nightclub brawl that left a doorman with a fractured eye socket and broken nose.
Coincidentally Gokhan Saki, Hari’s final opponent in the kickboxing ring and another top young stars in the sport, is also considering leaving kickboxing and has been publicly discussing a move to MMA for some time.
With one exception, all fighters were on weight for DREAM’s first event full-scale event of 2011, including DREAM lightweight champion Shinya Aoki and former WEC ace Rob McCullough, who square off in the main event and Tatsuya Kawajiri, who is set to m…
With one exception, all fighters were on weight for DREAM’s first event full-scale event of 2011, including DREAM lightweight champion Shinya Aoki and former WEC ace Rob McCullough, who square off in the main event and Tatsuya Kawajiri, who is set to make his featherweight debut.
Former King of the Cage champion Abel Cullum, who arrived in Tokyo only last night due to Typhoon Roke, was the sole fighter to miss weight, coming in 4 lbs heavy for his anticipated Bantamweight World GP match up with two-time Deep champion Masakazu Imanari.
Although Cullum will have a chance to make the 61 kg/ 134.5 lbs limit, he already appeared badly drawn out at the weigh-ins and was shaking uncontrollably on the scales. Given his condition it seems unlikely that he will be able to make the cut and the bout will likely be changed to a catchweight.
Update: It took him four hours, but Cullum somehow managed to cut to 61 kg/ 134.5 lbs.
The full weigh-in results ahead of DREAM.17, which takes place on Sept. 24 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, are after the break.
DREAM.17 Weigh-in Results – Sept. 24 at the Saiatama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.
Shinya Aoki 69.8 kg/153.9 lbs vs. Rob McCullough 69.8 kg/153.9 lbs
Tatsuya Kawajiri 64.9 kg/143.1 lbs vs. Joachim Hansen 65 kg/143.3 lbs
Caol Uno 64.9 kg/143.1 lbs vs. Takeshi Inoue 65 kg/143.3 lbs
Kazushi Sakuraba 75.8 kg/167.1 lbs vs. Yan Cabral 76 kg/167.6 lbs
Satoru Kitaoka 70 kg/154.3 lbs vs. Willamy Freire 69.4 kg/153 lbs
Kazuhiro Nakamura 83.8 kg/184.7 lbs vs. Gerald Harris 84 kg/185.2 lbs
Ikuhisa Minowa 87 kg/191.8 lbs vs. Baru Harn 115 kg/253.5 lbs
Dream Bantamweight World Grand Prix Quarterfinals
Hideo Tokoro 61 kg/134.5 lbsvs. Antonio Banuelos 61 kg/134.5 lbs
Bibiano Fernandes 60.8 kg/134 lbs vs. Takafumi Otsuka 60.8 kg/134 lbs
Masakazu Imanari 60.8 kg/134 lbs vs. Abel Cullum 62.8 kg/138.4 lbs (Over initially but made the 61 kgs limit four hours later.)
Yusup Saadulaev 60.8 kg/134 lbs vs. Rodolfo Marques 61 kg/134.5 lbs
In 2008, three of the most ruthless grapplers in MMA, DREAM champion Shinya Aoki, former Sengoku champion Satoru Kitaoka and two-time Deep champion Masakazu Imanari, founded Nippon Top Team.
Three years, and a host of brutal submission victories later, a significant number of top fighters and former foes have joined the quirky trio to make Nippon Top Team the most star-studded team in Japanese MMA.
MMA Fighting was allowed inside the doors of Nippon Top Team to capture Satoru Kitaoka mercilessly piledrive and submit his sparring partner, a slimmed down Tatsuya Kawajiri prepare for his featherweight debut and Takafumi Otsuka work his wrestling with former Shooto champion Hideki Kadowaki, all in preparation for their respective bouts at DREAM.17 on Sept. 24.
In 2008, three of the most ruthless grapplers in MMA, DREAM champion Shinya Aoki, former Sengoku champion Satoru Kitaoka and two-time Deep champion Masakazu Imanari, founded Nippon Top Team.
Three years, and a host of brutal submission victories later, a significant number of top fighters and former foes have joined the quirky trio to make Nippon Top Team the most star-studded team in Japanese MMA.
MMA Fighting was allowed inside the doors of Nippon Top Team to capture Satoru Kitaoka mercilessly piledrive and submit his sparring partner, a slimmed down Tatsuya Kawajiri prepare for his featherweight debut and Takafumi Otsuka work his wrestling with former Shooto champion Hideki Kadowaki, all in preparation for their respective bouts at DREAM.17 on Sept. 24.
Due to his catch wrestling and pro wrestling roots, Kazushi Sakuraba refuses to train in front of cameras and so the Japanese MMA legend has always taken a unorthodox approach towards the customary media workouts that come before any major MMA event.
Returning from a horrific ear injury suffered on New Year’s Eve 2010, and in preparation for his Sept. 24 DREAM.17 bout with promotional newcomer Yan Cabral, Sakuraba performed one of his strangest media “workouts” yet. He drew a picture of a robotic cat in Photoshop.
Due to his catch wrestling and pro wrestling roots, Kazushi Sakuraba refuses to train in front of cameras and so the Japanese MMA legend has always taken a unorthodox approach towards the customary media workouts that come before any major MMA event.
Returning from a horrific ear injury suffered on New Year’s Eve 2010, and in preparation for his Sept. 24 DREAM.17 bout with promotional newcomer Yan Cabral, Sakuraba performed one of his strangest media “workouts” yet. He drew a picture of a robotic cat in Photoshop.
Seven-foot-two K-1 World GP in Seoul Champion and DREAM “Super Hulk” Hong Man Choi has been booked with assault following an October 8 altercation with a female customer at a bar he owns and operates in Seoul, South Korea.
TOKYO — Possibly setting up an opportunity to avenge his teacher, 
When you choose to enter the ring waving a sparkly boa while riding a motorcycle made of men wearing glittery thongs (pictured right), you really need to make sure you win. Fortunately Masaya “J-Taro” Takita was able to back up one of the most eccentric entrances in 
In yet another blow to the struggling sport, kickboxing has lost its brightest and most controversial young star as 
With one exception, all fighters were on weight for DREAM’s first event full-scale event of 2011, including DREAM lightweight champion Shinya Aoki and former WEC ace Rob McCullough, who square off in the main event and Tatsuya Kawajiri, who is set to make his featherweight debut.