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marcelt
26-03-2009, 21:03
K-1 World GP '09 in Yokohama: Fighters' Interviews



Written by Monty DiPietro
TOKYO, March 26, 2009 -- The winter wait is almost over for K-1 fans. As the cherry trees began to blossom, K-1's biggest stars prepare to shine this Saturday night at the Yokohama Arena. Three-time and defending K-1 World Grand Prix Champion Remy Bonjasky of Holland headlines the first K-1 World Grand Prix event of the year -- an 11-bout extravaganza comprising the K-1 Heavyweight elimination tournament, a quartet of Superfights and three undercard bouts.
The fighters did interviews today at the Keio Plaza Hotel in central Shinjuku.
Superfights

In the Main Event, Bonjasky will meet compatriot Alistair Overeem, the MMA fighter who scored a dramatic KO victory over K-1 bad boy Badr Hari on New Year's Eve. There is no love lost between Bonjasky and Hari, but ironically the man they call "The Flying Gentleman," will be playing the role of avenger on Saturday night. The reason is simple -- K-1 fighters are supposed to beat mixed martial arts fighters in standup bouts. On December 31, Hari didn't. Saturday night, Bonjasky must.
Waxing dramatic, K-1 Event Producer Sadaharu Tanikawa said that a Bonjasky loss on Saturday could amount to "The end of K-1."
Remy Bonjasky
"Of course yo[/URL]u fell pressure because it seems the whole K-1 and kickboxing world is watching this fight," joked a relaxed Bonjasky. "Alistair, as you saw when he beat Badr Hari, used his knee and left hook combination, so I have to pay attention to his knees. Although he's not a K-1 fighter, that doesn't mean he's been playing tennis -- he one's a strong guy and a good fighter in MMA, and now he's in K-1. I want to say I'm 100% sure that I'll win, but there is always a 1% chance of losing. So I'll say that I'm very confident that I'll win this fight."
"I understand that it would be disappointing for K-1 fans if an MMA fighter comes in and beats two K-1 fighters. I think Alistair has a different stance from most K-1 fighters, but I know he'll have his hands up and he'll try to beat me, so when he steps into the ring I'm just going to see him as a K-1 fighter that I have to beat. I trained hard and I'll do my very best to win on Saturday!"
Alistair Overeem
Informed of Bonjasky's "99%" prediction, Overeem smiled. "I don't think in percentages, I'll just say that I'm confident and that I'm not impressed with Remy at all. I'm not worried about his boxing, I'm more afraid of his acting -- that he will fall down and pretend to be hurt when he's not hurt!"
"But Remy is the K-1 Champion and I've always wanted to fight him, so I'm very excited and happy with this fight. After the Badr Hari fight on New Year's Eve, I promised to challenge the K-1 Champion on behalf of all DREAM and MMA fighters, and so if I win this then I'll have beaten the best K-1 fighters, and then I can go back and fight in DREAM, because MMA is my passion. Also, I want to say that I think if you let K-1 fighters into MMA rules, they would lose nine times out of ten!"
The penultimate match will feature another Dutchman, K-1 superstar Peter Aerts, fighting Errol Zimmerman, from the Netherlands Antilles island of Curaçao.
Peter Aerts
Aerts, who lost to Badr Hari at the 2008 World Grand Prix Final, was less than pleased with the Moroccan. "I told K-1 I wanted to fight Badr Hari at Yokohama, but I heard he refused. Anyway, that's not the way it used to be in K-1, when all the fighters would fight anyone. In my last fight against Hari my physical condition was good, but I couldn't get to the mental level I wanted -- mentally I felt like a beginner. After the fight I went back to my old gym, Chakuriki, and I've been focusing my training on mental preparation and strength. I feel great for this fight."
Errol Zimmerman
Zimmerman had also hoped to get a shot at Hari here. "What Peter Aerts said about Badr Hari is true, when a fighter takes the fight he should fight," said Zimmerman. "I don't know if he's injured, but if I had to fight with just one leg, I would still fight. I will never say no to a fight. I'm sad not to fight Badr Hari, I wanted to knock him down. But it's also good to fight Peter because he's a big legend, a big name, and I will destroy him. I hope Peter Aerts will give me pressure on Saturday so we can make a good fight. I'm going to hurt him, and to knock him out, I hope in the first round!"
French slugger and K-1 veteran Jerome LeBanner will meet see explosive young kyokushin fighter Ewerton Teixeira of Brazil.
Ewerton Teixeira
"I trained as usual, especially focusing on kicks. Francesco Filho told me not to let the pressure get to me, to clear my mind of all that and focus only on winning the fight! I know LeBanner has hard punches, but again, my focus is not on that, my focus is 100% on winning the fight! And of course, I hope to do that by KO!"
LeBanner did not appear for interviews.
Another kyokushin fighter, K-1 veteran Glaube Feitosa, will meet Japanese wunderkind Junichi Sawayashiki.
Glaube Feitosa
Said Feitosa, "I feel great, I first trained a bit in Brazil with Francesco Filho, then I came to Japan and I have been training here for a month, focusing on my defense. I think Sawayashiki is a good young fighter with good fast movement and aggression, so I will do my best to stop that. As for my Brazilian kicks, I understand that fans regard them as my 'trademark', so I use them when I have the opportunity. I told my son that I would train my best and fight my best for him, I want to put on a strong fight in Yokohama to advance to the World GP Final. But first things first, I will do my very best to win on Saturday!"
Sawayashiki did not appear for interviews.
K-1 Heavyweight Title Tournament

The K-1 Heavyweight Title Tournament is a four-man elimination, fought in a 100kg/220lbs weight class, for the K-1 Heavyweight Belt. A pair of semifinals go up early on the Yokohama card, the winners meet in the final later in the evening.
Melvin Manhoef
Dutch Dynamo Melvin Manhoef was supposed to fight Chalid "Die Faust" Arrab here, but FEG announced that the flu bug had bit Die Faust, and he hadn't made the trip to Japan. Taking his place on Saturday will be Japanese fighter Keijiro Maeda, promoted from the tournament reserve.
Manhoef said he wasn't concerned about the change: "My condition is very good and I trained hard for two fights, to be explosive and aggressive and to get the KO. Chalid is not here, it affects me a little but it doesn't matter, now I fight Maeda, I know him only a little, my trainer checked him out a little because he was in the tournament reserve, but I will study him good now, then we will put the techniques together. So we'll see -- in my second fight, I'm prepared to fight Gokhan or Tyrone to become the champion. But I think Badr Hari is still the 100kg (220lbs) champion, and his advice to me was 'you have to win, bring the belt home!'"
Keijiro Maeda
"It seems every time I fight something unusual happens, which is lucky for me! I'm happy to fight Melvin, but to tell the truth, he's also guy I really didn't want to fight because he's so dangerous. Of course, I'm small and he's small but he's very strong, one punch from him can do a lot of damage, so I have to be careful. K-1 asked me to take the fight yesterday, I couldn't refuse! But I woke up this morning with Melvin's face in my mind, and he was laughing, so I'm a little bit scared!"
The second semifinal of the K-1 Heavyweight Title Tournament sees Tyrone Spong of Suriname take on Gokhan Saki of Turkey.
Tyrone Spong
Spong, a muay thai fighter making his K-1 debut, said "I'm happy to be here, I put on some weight, about 15kg (33lbs), I'm now 95kg (210lbs) and I don't think -- I know I'm going to win this tournament! Of course I'm faster than the other guys and have better technique, but the difference is I think I have a better game plan. I am a very complete fighter, and the combinations of my hands and feet, those are my greatest strength. Saki is a very fast and very good fighter, but, again, I have the better game plan. Of course, I can't tell you what the plans is, but come and see Saturday! In the second fight, I really don't care, but if I have to choose I think Melvin Manhoef will win, and I'll face him. I am going to win, and then come back to take both K-1 belts -- the Heavyweight and the World Grand Prix!"
Gokhan Saki
Said Saki "For me, they make Tyrone Spong big, they talk about him a lot. Well, he fought at 76kg (168lbs), but at heavyweight he has fought against nobody strong. So whatever they say, for me he's not the best fighter from Europe. And we will see on Saturday if he can really fight at heavyweight. This is a tournament, I trained really hard, two times a day, and I have really good motivation to come here and win the tournament. In my second fight, well, I think maybe Melvin will get tired from running, and Maeda will make his points and win the fight!"
In undercard action, Mitsugu Noda will meet Yang Rae Yoo; Hiraku Hori fights Takumi Sato; and Takashi Tachikawa takes on Yutaka Sakuma.
All bouts will be conducted under K-1 Official Rules, K-1 Rules / 3Min. 3R Ext.2R (Ext. 1R in the tournament semifinals).
The K-1 World Grand Prix 2009 in Yokohama kicks off at 5:00 pm on Saturday, March 28 at the Yokohama Arena. It will be broadcast in Japan on the Fuji TV network. For international broadcast information, contact local providers. Visit the K-1 Official Website ([url="http://www.k-1.co.jp/k-1gp"]K-1 OFFICIAL WEB SITE (javascript:MM_openBrWindow('images/090326/photo01b.htm','K-1','width=400,height=600');)) for comprehensive coverage and official results of this and all other FEG events.

chief108
26-03-2009, 21:08
Spong said "I don't think -- I know I'm going to win this tournament! "
that's the spirit!!!

De man van 14K
26-03-2009, 21:13
Top Marcelt, bedankt man
leuke uitspraken!


Spong + 15kg en nu op 95 kg.. Wat moet dat een beest zijn geworden!!!

Defan
26-03-2009, 22:44
Spong + 15kg en nu op 95 kg.. Wat moet dat een beest zijn geworden!!!

Hij ziet er wel voller uit .Maar niet echt gigantisch ofzo.
Hij bestaat volgens mij alleen uit spier. :D

NielsN
26-03-2009, 23:02
Ik heb een nieuwe sig. Een variant op de tekst van Jimi Hendrix... :hippi:

micha
26-03-2009, 23:20
ik heb er zin in

El Bambino
27-03-2009, 08:59
Alistair is goed......
.....I'm more affraid of his acting

hahahaha Alistair heb tenminste humor....

En Remy is affraid of his Steroids!!:thup:

superfreak
27-03-2009, 12:04
Oke nu ben ik echt in de war. Waar komt Zimmerman nou vandaan. Is het een antiliaan of een Surinamer..??

Moet ik wel of niet juichen. haha

Highline
27-03-2009, 12:12
vader van suriname, moeder van curacao