K-1 Grand Prix 2009 set

– Badr Hari vs. Zabit Samedov

– Ruslan Karaev vs. KYOTARO

– Semmy Schilt vs. Daniel Ghita

– Ewerton Teixeira vs. Singh “Heart” Jaideep

– Peter Aerts vs. Alistair Overeem

– Remy Bonjasky vs. Melvin Manhoef

– Errol Zimmerman vs. Glaube Feitosa

– Jerome LeBanner vs. Musashi

To point out some of the expected highlights briefly, Badr Hari, who just recently knocked out Semmy Schilt will be facing the deceptively strong Zabit Samedov. Zabit has only ever been the bride’s maid in qualifying tournaments until now, and never quite made it to the WGP stage. This time, he will be more than motivated. Both fighters are very fast, so the expectations are high for an exciting match between two of the new generation fighters. Even Badr won’t be able to underestimate his opponent.

The fight between Ruslan and KYOTARO is also a new generation bout. Ruslan has all the skills needed to be on par with Badr, and be his major rival; however KYOTARO’s sharp counter punches may well play a major role in this fight. Now that Musashi has announced his retirement, KYOTARO will no doubt want to take the reins as Japan’s representative in the WGP.

Schilt facing off against Ghita is one of those fights where it is absolutely impossible to predict what the outcome may be. It will be intriguing to see whether Semmy will be out looking for blood after being stopped by Badr, or whether the kicks that stopped all of Ghita’s opponents in round 1 to carry him through to this fight will be enough to stop Semmy. Experts are already discussing the possibility that Ghita might go all the way to the championship this year! It will be a fight that has everyone paying attention to see if Ghita’s low kicks will be enough to break down Semmy,” said Mr. Tanikawa.

Ewerton Teixeira vs. Singh “Heart” Jaideep is another of the new generation match-ups. The speed with which the World Kyokushin Champion attacks is enough to surprise anyone. After beating Jerome LeBanner, Teixeira will no doubt be hoping to build on the victory en route to becoming the first ever Kyokushin WGP Champion. Winner of the Asian GP, Jaideep, is the first Indian fighter ever in K-1. Currently he is training in Holland, so everything depends on just how much he can improve while there.

One of the main fights to pay attention to on this card is Peter Aerts vs. Alistair Overeem. The MMA fighter earned the fans respect and was voted number 1 by them. This result was no doubt influenced by the fact that he knocked out Badr Hari on New Years Eve last year, and also that several other K-1 fighters have recently been defeated by MMA fighters. It must be humiliating for Aerts as the living representative of K-1 that so many of his fellow fighters have lost to outsiders recently. Surely Aerts will take out his frustrations on Alister during this bout.

Remy Bonjasky vs. Melvin Manhoef will inevitably be an exciting fight. They fought in Holland last year and Remy won the fight scoring a total of five downs to win by knockout. However Melvin has said “Next time we fight I will definitely win.” It will be an aggressive “kicker vs. puncher” fight that you’ll not want to miss.

Errol Zimmerman vs. Glaube Feitosa is a new generation fighter versus a veteran. Glaube knocked out Junichi Sawayashi in March of this year to show he has completely found his old form. Errol Zimmerman performed with a fierce spirit last year, and he is still just 23 years of age. Without a doubt, he is an upcoming star from the new generation.

Finally, we have Jerome LeBanner vs. Musashi. This will be a fight that will not be based on technique alone, but on which of the fighter’s spirit is stronger. As Musashi has announced his retirement, it will be interesting to see how far he can go against LeBanner. These two faced each other in the first round of the 2002 Grand Prix. That time Jerome completely dominated Musashi and won via knockout. This is a hard fight for Musashi, but if he fights with the tenacity learned over the past 14 years it will really be something to witness.