K-1 World GP 2008 in Taipei Review and 5 K-1 Fighters I’d Like To See In DREAM

Another person has claimed an invitation to K-1′s annual World GP Finals later this year and while it wasn’t who I personally thought would end up taking the tournament, it was a familiar face who would have their hand raised by the end of the night. The GP got kicked off with a small sized upset in the night’s 1st Superfight with Japan’s Junichi Sawayashiki being knocked down 3 times in the opening round to Romania’s Catalin Morosanu. Sawayashiki is best known for his amazing run all of last year when he managed to make the Final 8 at the World GP Finals last year that included wins over Jerome LeBanner and Yusuke Fujimoto. Since his epic rise, he’s been on a categorical downfall losing now 3 in a row. He looked rather stale and unengaging against Morosanu and looked destined to lose the second they engaged in the opening staredown. Morosanu used his strong low and mid-kicks with combinations to feel Sawayashiki out. The Team Dragon member looked to be in the bout and counter properly but was put down 1:30 seconds into the round and things just got worse. He was up for only about 7 seconds than was right back down on his knees. Morosanu smelled blood and pumped himself up to put Sawayashiki out for good and within 10 seconds of that Sawayashiki was down for the 3rd and final time.

Grand Prix Quarter Finals – The 1st GP bout of the night pitted 1 of the 2 GP favorites, Ruslan Karaev against Tatsufumi Tomihara. I think it is a bit of a stretch to say that Karaev was a HUGE favorite in this thing considering he was knocked out 3 times in a row to Feitosa, Hari and Manhoef respectively. The Manhoef fight being probably one of the saddest scenes in K-1′s recent memory but Karaev was back to try and regain past glory. Both men engaged well in the 1st round and Karaev’s punches and kicks definitely had more snap to them. Karaev was also countering nicely, working the dirty boxing well throughout the round and overwhelming Tomihara with meticulous hooks and spin back heels. In the beginning of the 2nd round, Karaev was a man possessed throwing strong and fast, mixing it up with a nice kick chain and managed to tag Tomihara. The onslaught continues and 2 minutes in Tomihara looks gassed, while still throwing less but does show signs of life at the closing of the 2nd. Going into the 3rd Karaev has completely outclassed, punched, kicked, and defended Tomihara. They quickly start off where they ended as Karaev pours it on again. He manages to stagger Tomihara but a knockdown doesn’t come until later in the round after Karaev starts unloading on his opponent half way into the round when Tomihara is dropped by a combination of him slipping and a Karaev left. A mentally beaten and visibly upset Tomihara quickly falls again and referee Minoru Toyonaga calls the bout. Karaev advances to the Semis.

The 2nd of the 4 GP bouts was definitely the most visually comedic one to watch as Ssireum (Traditional Korean Wrestling) star Kim Young-Hyun fought Saiseelek Nor-Seepun. Kim’s height is 7 feet, 1 inch while the Thai fighter stood at 5 feet, 9 inches. This was fight reminiscent of a Kaoklai Kaennorsing fight or if you’ve never seen Koaklai than Little Mac vs. Anyone in Mike Tyson’s Punchout!! Nothing out of the ordinary in this fight as Saiseelek was constantly circling and not trying too much to engage while Kim kept getting leg sweep knockdown that in the end don’t count. Not much action really stood out in the 2nd other than visual proof that Saiseelek could actually reach Kim’s jaw with a punch. The 3rd round was the most interesting and not much of anything happened. Kim got swept and almost scored a close knockdown but other than that he coasted to an easy unanimous decision. Kim advances to the Semis.

The 3rd of the GP bouts featured the other GP favorite Aleksandre Pitchkounov against Nobu Hayashi. In the 1st round both men definitely stood their ground and none gave up an inch. Pitchkounov managed to utilize his jab effectively and also his lower leg kicks but Hayashi’s big frame doesn’t seem to give as both stand and exchange good blows. The 2nd round starts with a beautiful Pitchkounov front kick to the face of Hayashi as both men start to throw with much more strength. Hayashi is landing strong leg kicks while Pitchkounov lands better on the mid to upper body and even manages to throw an unsuccessful “Brazilian Kick”. The intensity picks up again in the 3rd round with much of the same great action continuing. Pitchkounov is close to a KO at one point where he lands a nice left hook followed by a massive left high kick but Hayashi isn’t dazed. The fight comes to a close and the judges score it a draw and an extension is needed. Personally, I had Pitchkounov winning all the rounds but he did throw and initiate more than Hayashi. The rounds were very close but I think the extension was unnecessary. For the 1st time in the fight Hayashi is clearly engaging and pushing forward to start the extension. Both men are definitely desperate to leave a good impression on the judges and the punch count increases a lot as the 2 continue to stand and trade. With 1 minute left Pitchkounov lands a massive high kick that just sucks the life out of Hayashi but he’s still standing and towards the end of the round Pitchkounov throws a Rolling Thunder-like kick. Pitchkounov is awarded the extension decision. Pitchkounov advances to the Semis.

The 4th and Final GP Quarter Final bout pitted Makoto Uehara vs. Yong Soo Park. Both men start the fight with high kicks, which was definitely a precursor of the fight. Both men seemed very intent on finishing the fight but the problem was that neither men would set-up a shot but rather would try and find a one punch KO the whole 1st round. Nothing too out of the ordinary in the 1st. Park came out guns blazing in the 2nd, throwing a massive Axe Kick and 2 spinning heels, one which seemed like a knockdown but was not given as one. Park definitely seemed the aggressor and Uehara looked overwhelmed by the bigger Park. The tide would change severely in the 3rd as 1 minute into the round Uehara found success and connected against Park by almost just flailing his arms and throwing power shots. Sadly, he is unable to really create any other offense the remainder of the round and leaves it up to the judges to decide. Again, the judges feel the fight was close and call a draw so an extension is needed. The fight doesn’t show much promise until a pause is needed. The fight resumes and Uehara just unloads a huge left and puts Park out. Definitely a great knockout and definitely worth the wait. Uehara advances to the Semis but is unable to compete.

Both Superfight after the 1st round featured MAX weight fighters. These were bouts between gyms. The 2 teams were from Taiwan and Australia respectively. The hometown boys were successful in both. In the 1st bout, Yang Tong Hsiung won a decision over Matt Campbell, while the 2nd bout was a bit more interesting. Wang Chung Yaun took on Mick Mittiga. The bout started with a quick exchange than a botched clinch that saw Yaun go to the floor in which Mittiga throw a knee to a downed opponent. This visually frustrated Yaun but fight continued as Mittiga worked his clinch game. Both men proceeded to throw crazily until Yaun connected sending Mittiga to the canvas with a punch that didn’t necessarily look too devastating but he stayed down for the count and the hometown fighters went 2-0 in Superfights.

Grand Prix Semifinals – The pairings for the Semis were Karaev vs. Young-Hyun and Pitchkounov vs. Anderson (Uehara was unable to continue so the alternate Vaugh Anderson took his place) The 1st semifinal bout was lightning quick and lasted a whole 15 seconds. Remember Aleksander Emelianenko’s insane accuracy against Ricardo Morais at Bushido 6? This was very similar to that but with a different result. After receiving 100% of Karaev’s punches Young-Hyun was quickly examined by a doctor who concluded he had suffered a nose injury, thus being unable to continue. Ideally, this was perfect for Karaev going fresh into GP Finals bout. Karaev advances to the Finals.

The 2nd bout saw the winner also fortunate of the fight not leaving the 1st. Pitchkounov was a heavy favorite and had to advance against Anderson. Anderson came out quickly and engaged Pitchkounov in a way that underdogs with things to prove usually do. He was quick to engage but slowed down towards the middle of the round where things became alot more even. With about 30 seconds left, Pitchkounov delivered a nice left high kick, which had a sort of slap effect and noise on Anderson’s face and he was soon pounced on. Pitchkounov was smart and dropped him soon after. He repeated the dosage with single digits left in the round after which the referee called the fight. A very upset Anderson was shaking his glove in disapproval as he stumbled around the ring trying to find his feet coincidentally. Pitchkounov advances to the Finals.

There were 2 more Heavyweight superfights on the card. Ray Sefo took on Zabit Samedov and Remy Bonjasky fought Volk Atajev. For those heartbroken Sefo fans, the nightmare continues as Sefo extends his losing streak to 5. He drops this one after 2 round extensions and by split decision. His last win was in 2006 and while I respect and admire Ray Sefo and his career it seems like the competition may have past him up. Sefo along with Jerome LeBanner are definitely the 2 best fighters to never win the World GP title and I think both men will have to go their career without experiencing that. Hopefully Sefo rebounds from this and finds success in the near future. Another K-1 legend was victorious as Remy Bonjasky knocked out a very game Volk Atajev in the 3rd round of their contest. One thing that should be noted is the 3rd round in which Bonjasky looked incredible to say the least. He threw with pure power and conviction and ended the fight with a huge flying knee.

Grand Prix Finals – Pitchkounov vs. Karaev. The 2 men left were the biggest, best, and most feared fighters in the event and cleared good competition to get to the finals. Both men come out willing to quickly fight and don’t necessarily looked too fatigued. Luckily for them, the bout before (Sefo vs. Samedov) went to 2 round extensions and not to mention they both managed to make quick work of their 1st opponents. Karaev is obviously moving a lot more than Pitchkounov. Also, Karaev tests the water and his combos and his punches generally look a lot stronger and harder than Pitchkounov. 1 minute in and Pitchkounov is very defensive and receiving a lot punches. The fight is momentarily stopped because Karaev recieves a low blow. This turns out to be a huge blessing in disguise. After a quick breather, he returns and just cranks up the power and starts using his left hooks to get through. Finally, he manages to connect a beautiful combo to Pitchkounov’s head ending the bout. Ruslan Karaev after having a win less 07 is back and looks like a completely new person. Congratulations to him and hopefully this is a sign of things to come as he takes on the big guns later this year at the World GP Finals.

I guess this would be the MMA tie-in. With FEG having at least 3 shows a month (K-1 or MMA rules), they’re no stranger to having in K-1 Fighters momentarily transition to MMA and vice versa. Last week, we witnessed Andre “Dida” Amade successfully knockout the powerful Remigijus Morkevicius in a very one sided fight. This, coupled with Jerome Le Banner’s appearance than disappearance due to injury from DREAM. 5 got me thinking that there are a lot guys that I would like to see fight MMA on a more consistent basis. While most won’t necessarily become Mirko “Cro Cop” and become legitimatized MMA contenders, I do feel that with some training the transition won’t be too bad and they could enjoy success on a different fighting forum. My only worry is that they’ll end looking like another K-1 superstar who made the transition, the infamous Stefan “Blitz” Leko, which is pretty hard to do. Anyways, here’s my list:

5.) Glaube Feitosa – While not necessarily sporting the best record in the K-1 world, Feitosa brings a predictable, yet unpredictable style at the same time to all his fights. His incredible mastery of the “Brazilian Kick” definitely leaves everyone baffled, opponents and spectators alike. Feitosa’s incredible kicking style isn’t necessarily as strong as Mirko’s but is definitely more versatile and able to land kicks from strange and almost impossible angles. Feitosa has fought 1 MMA fighter in the past when he managed to knockout Alistair Overeem at the Ichigeki Kyokushin vs K-1 All Out Battle show in 2004 and a rematch in the near future would definitely be awesome.

4.) Remy Bonjasky – What I would do to hear Ennio Morricone’s masterpiece “The Man With The Harmonica” used in a DREAM show to introduce Bonjasky. His credentials speak for themselves. 2 Time K-1 World Grand Prix Champion is definitely a title that commands attention. At the age of 32, Bonjasky is still at the tail-end of his natural prime and could still make the transition. He’s the same age as another fearless Dutchmen, Melvin Manhoef, who also fights in DREAM. Of the ones that I listed I feel he would be one of the least likely to make the switch sadly.

3.) Yoshihiro Sato -I know what some people are thinking, “Why no Buakaw?” and I think the answer is simple. Yoshihiro Sato is why. I think unexpected sums up the result of their last fight. I think the win over Buakaw definitely catapults him to new heights. Not even Japanese Ladies Man Masato could brag to the ladies that he ended a certain aura that Buakaw had. Sato is definitely going to become a huge commodity in Japan and personally, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him fight in a Ray Sefo vs. Min Soo Kim style MMA/k-1ish style rules match maybe at a Dynamite!! show someday. He definitely exposed a weakness in Buakaw even during his diminishing state. A fight between Kid Yamamoto or Masato could definitely boost slumping numbers come New Year’s.

2.) Artur Kyshenko - I’ll admit that this pick is a bit biased. Earlier this year I picked Kyshenko to win the MAX title after I saw his performance at last year’s MAX GP Final. I think Kyshenko is without a doubt the future of MAX and more importantly is very young at only 21 years old. I think of the 5 names I picked, he is only 1 of 2 who I think should immediately hang up their 12 ounce gloves and start learning how to wrestle. The scary thing is that he is yet to reach his maximum potential in the K-1 realm and is definitely destined to become MAX champ sooner than later.

1.) Badr Hari – This was the obvious one. What can I say? Badr Hari is definitely IT. The 1 fighter who I think needs to come to MMA. He’s the total package. Raw, Young, Fearless, and Relentless. The random fact of the day is that Hari actually fought MMA once. He lost by submission in 0:22 seconds. This was 8 years ago and he’s evolved. If I were to pick 1 fighter who I think can replicate what Cro Cop did, this man would be it. His semi-nemesis Peter Graham recently hooked up with Team Quest, so why can’t he do the same? To make matters a bit more intriguing he currently trains with Melvin Manhoef with Mike Passenier. BADR HARI, COME TO MMA!!!