Dec 09 K-1 FINAL 8 WPG FORECAST

The eve of the year’s final tournament is upon us. The elite eight kick boxers will match endurance, skill and bushido in a one-night, three-fight winner takes all grand prix. This event will be airing live from Japan this Saturday morning at 2 a.m. EST on HDNet.

 

There were rumours earlier in the week someone had been injured and could be dropping out. However, all fighters have shown up and will be fighting.

 

[Bracket A]

First Fight: Peter Aerts vs. Siala-Mou “Mighty Mo” Siliga

 

This matchup favours Aerts so long as he avoids Mighty Mo’s heavy mitts. Low and mid kicks may prove to Mighty Mo’s Achilles Heel again in this rematch of 2005. The first bout saw Aerts take advantage of the leg kicks and win via TKO in the second. Aerts was able to keep Mighty Mo on the outside with the jab and easily landed leg and body kicks.

 

Expect this fight to look similar.

 

Mighty Mo has the ability to end it with one punch but he’ll have to get inside and chin check Aerts often. He’ll need to check Aerts’ low kicks as well because his defence was non-existent in their first bout.

 

 

Second Fight: Semmy Schilt vs. Fujimoto Kyotaro

 

Kyotaro has the dismal task of first facing the four-time and reigning World Grand Prix champion. This will be the first time these two square off.

 

Despite being the K-1 heavyweight champ; Kyotaro is a big underdog in this bout. The near seven-foot tall Schilt has almost a foot on Kyotaro and may be looking to his jab to find an opening type on Kyotaro.

 

Known for having a heavy right hook, Kyotaro will need to penetrate Schilt’s defence, which is much easier said than done. Speed and head movement will help him to get in and land some shots on the Hightower.

 

However, most people are expecting a dominant performance by the Dutch giant over his Japanese counterpart.

 

To make it into the Final 8, Schilt defeated Hesdy Gerges by decision and Kyotaro defeated Jerome Le Banner by disqualification after Le Banner refused to fight an extension round.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Bracket B]

First Fight: Gokhan Saki vs. Daniel Ghita

 

This fight has all the ability to be the most exciting and explosive of the night. Both men will be bringing it, especially after their knockout performances at the Final 16 in October.

 

Saki is dominating in 2010 displaying deadly accuracy and lightening speed en route to six wins (4 KO). However, Saki is giving up substantial size to Ghita, who lumbers around at 6’5 and 240 pounds.

 

Ghita’s KO of Errol Zimmerman was jaw dropping and really put him on the map in this year’s tournament. On paper this is the most competitive matchup of the Final 8.

 

This one will be Saki’s speed and combinations versus Ghita’s size and devastating low kicks.

 

 

Second Fight: Alistair Overeem vs. Tyrone Spong

 

Realizing he was vastly undersized, Spong has made adjustments and put on weight to accommodate the difference between he and Overeem. However, it remains to be seen what affect the extra 30 pounds will have. Spong says he hasn’t lost any speed though.

 

As one of the best pure kick boxers in this tournament, Spong will have to focus on outpointing Overeem with combos and avoiding the power shots. Size has played a factor in previous fights for Spong and even after the weight gain; Overeem still has around 20 pounds on him.

 

Overeem is looking like the early favourite in Bracket B and with good reason. He’s been running through every opponent he’s faced this year. His best bet with Spong is to pick his power shots and cut off the ring forcing Spong to cover up or expose himself. Nobody is expecting this fight to go passed the second round.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fight Card Order:

 

1.      Tsutomu Takahagi vs. Hidekazu Kimura

2.      Ewerton Teixeira vs. Errol Zimmerman

3.      Peter Aerts (1) vs. Mighty Mo (2)

4.      Semmy Schilt (3) vs. Kyotaro (4)

5.      Gokhan Saki (5) vs. Daniel Ghita (6)

6.      Alistair Overeem (7) vs. Tyrone Spong (8)

7.      Hesdy Gerges vs. Yusuke Fujimoto

8.      Winner 1A vs. Winner 2A

9.      Winner 3B vs. Winner 4B

10.  Sergey Kharitonov vs. Singh Jaideep

Winner 1A vs. Winner 2B – 2010 World Grand Prix

Tags: 2010 \ Aerts \ Fujimoto \ Gerges \ Ghita \ Jaideep \ K1 WPG \ Kharitonov \ Kimura \ Kyotaro \ Mighty Mo \ Overeem \ Saki \ Schilt \ Spong \ Takahagi \ Teixeria \ Zimmerman

< Prev		Next >