Wednesday, 19 June 2013 12:32

K-1 is still on hiatus, with a possible update from K-1 this coming week, but that doesn't mean that K-1 fighters aren't still making waves in Japan. Jerome Le Banner headed to Japan this week and was a part of Antonio Inoki's pro wrestling show, Inoki Genome Federation. Le Banner wrestled under "Special K-1 Rules" against Shinnichi Suzukawa, an ex-sumo who has had some interesting bouts in IGF over the past few months. There was a well-publicized bout with Mark Coleman where Suzukawa legitimately brutalized Coleman and then a match with Bob Sapp that was by-the-books pro wrestling. Le Banner came into this wearing his K-1 gloves and did a number on Suzukawa, KO'ing him in 5:39 with a hard punch. There is also some rough video available, so decide for yourself, real or fake punch. [source]

Wednesday, 19 June 2013 12:32

We've been taking a look at the fights and moments that led to Badr Hari's meltdown in 2010 and his subsequent return after a year out of action. 2008 was a rough year for Badr Hari, as he was disqualified in the K-1 World Grand Prix Finals during the final round where he stomped Remy Bonjasky when he was down. Then on New Year's Eve Badr Hari walked into a bout with Alistair Overeem who, at the time, had not competed in a professional kickboxing bout in years. Badr Hari was clearly the favorite going into the bout, as Overeem's Heavyweight MMA career was just gaining steam.

It was a shock when Badr Hari was handed his second loss in a row to a fighter like Overeem who many believed would be destroyed by Badr Hari. Hari had not seen two losses in a row since he was 21 years old in 2006. That is what many people need to keep in mind about Hari, he is still very young, a mere 26. Those two losses back-to-back in 2006 were to Peter Graham and another young up-and-comer, Ruslan Karaev. Badr went on to avenge both of those losses, but the rematch with Karaev is one of the most dramatic, entertaining fights in K-1's recent history.

Karaev is a dangerous fighter with great counterpunching and the skills to hurt Badr Hari, so when they were matched up again in 2009 many were expecting another war. For Badr Hari he did not go into the bout with Karaev looking to end quickly to conserve his energy for later fights in the tournament. For Badr Hari, he must prove his mental resolve to overcome an opponent who has beaten him in the past without getting frustrated and making a mistake.

Badr Hari fights on May 14th against Gregory Tony for It's Showtime in Lyon.

Wednesday, 19 June 2013 12:32

April 24^th

A couple of days ago, one of our fighters fought at Rajadamnern. It was his third outing there, with him going 1 and 1 in his first two bouts there, and he put on a good showing.

I've embedded the video from the Sor Klinmee Youtube channel. Subscribe to the channel for updates from the gym. Sudsakorn and Ekapapop – not to be confused with Ekapon, though the three are friends – will be fighting in France, and there are fights at Theprasit, Rajadamnern, and Lumpini almost every week. Ekapop is doing a four man tournament at 72 kg in France this month.

Robert is in the red corner, Famai the blue. The bout was contested at 45 kg, or 99 lb.

Wednesday, 19 June 2013 12:32

Anyone else check the UFC 129 weigh ins?

The man conducting the weigh ins stated that Mark Hominick weighed in at 145.25, Joe Rogan repeated it to the crowd.

Moments later he was given a bottle of liquid to rehydrate.

Now the Ontario Athletics Commision is saying they made a second announcement claiming he weighed 145.

How is this possible? He never stepped foot back on the scale, and began rehydrating.

Unless I'm missing something the commission is lying, and this should be a 3 round non title fight.

Yeah its only .25 pounds, but rules are rules.

Edit: OK, a lot of people are saying that the music was so loud it made it so the scales weren't completely accurate.

If so, why did Ben Henderson have to go cut his half pound? Why didn't they let him get away with it?

Wednesday, 19 June 2013 12:32

Played Songkran

Today I went to “play Songkran,” as it's called, in downtown Pattaya. (It was the last day of Songkran in Pattaya, it would go on to end in Bang Si Lee on the 20th.)  For those who don't know, Songkran is the Thai new year, and celebration involves throwing water on everyone you see. I wasn't prepared for the varying temperatures of the water, with some freezing and some tepid (some people put ice in their tubs of water), and I definitely wasn't ready for the revelers who smeared flour paste on the faces of passerbys. I had a decently powerful squirt gun, though, and used it liberally, filling it up at the water barrels people had dragged onto the sidewalk.

I left the gym at 11 and got back around 3 to train. A pickup-taxi had knocked into a water-pipe so I wasn't able to shower right away, but I made sure to wash the dubiously clean Songkran water off my body and the caked flour off my face before training.

There's a festival tonight, similar to the one at Bangsilee on the 15^th. I'm quite tired so I'm not sure if I want to go. One of our young fighters named Superbon will be fighting, as will the boy from our gym who made his debut at Bangsilee.

[I ended up going. Both boys lost, but fought very well. Superbon fought a boy who was a fair bit bigger and older than him, beating him on kicking technique but losing a decision on power. It was Mong Guh's second fight, so he looked very raw, but his aggressive style looks well and is effective on the scorecards. The other boy fought a more disciplined fight, despite eating a lot of long kicks and punches, and took it on points. Shout-out to Mike and Elmira who, I think, recorded both these fights. If they did I'll get them up on Youtube.]

April 23^rd

Training was postponed today by a huge rain. It reminded me of California. When I lived in Southern California, it used to be sunny then explode, with no warning, into torrents of rain that could last for days. The carpet at the gym was getting wet and and water was flowing into the shop at the front of the gym so we got out brooms, dustpans, and basins and started clearing out the water.

It was a lot of fun. I watched the water on the street carry along small animals. There were two toads and a big earthworm that looked like a baby snake swimming in the stream, as well as some curious insects. One of the kids pointed out to me a scorpion-like thing that had the claws and body of a scorpion, but no stinger. I looked at it, thinking, “What the fuck?” before someone picked it up in his dustpan and gently took it outside to set it down in the middle of the road. This was right before he smashed it.

Training went on pretty much as usual after that. We dried off and did bagwork and pads. I did notice some difficulty breathing, though, maybe due to the humidity.

For those who didn't catch the first entry, I'm currently at Sor Klinmee in Pattaya.

April 5-8

April 12 -- Daniel Fights

April 15-17 -- Festival in Bang Si Lee