MMA Scraps has a great video compilation of the top ten K-1 fights (in their humble opinion) that I highly recommend you check out, especially if you’re the type of MMA fan who never watched much K-1. The above example, which topped the list, ought to be reason enough to check it out.
And if, like me, you watched the Mark Hunt-Ray Sefo fight and it only made you hungry for more Mark Hunt action, don’t worry. We’ve got you covered after the jump, complete with some of his MMA exploits. It’s worth the extra click just to see the look on Cro Cop’s face when Hunt takes his best head kick and keeps on coming.
(James Irvin: Fighting his way off of the C-list.)
“He’s lost his last two fights now, against Franklin and Anderson Silva, so the UFC’s decision makes sense. No fighter can guarantee winning a fight but you can go into a bout in shape. If you can’t go the distance then you’re not preparing well enough and you’re not taking your job seriously. We work for the UFC and it’s our job to get off our a**es and train and be in shape. That’s what we get paid for and if we don’t do that then we’re not doing our job. That’s the way I look at it.” — Michael Bisping on the recent sacking of Travis Lutter.
“I just decided to make light of the situation and be like, hey man, this is what I’m seeing. I’m seeing a running man. That just came to me out of nowhere. When there were ten seconds left I just said to myself, all right, I’m calling the technique the ‘rock-hammer.’ I don’t know if that name will stick or not.”
— Nate Quarry on the instant-classic ending of his fight with Kalib Starnes.
“I’m just so happy that he would even take the fight against me. I consider him an ‘A’ level fighter, and I consider myself a ‘C’ level fighter, maybe a ‘B’ level because I just beat Houston trying to claw my way up to the top. So for him to take a step down and fight me, I’m greatly appreciative of the guy, who is someone I look up to as one of those top tier fighters.”
— James Irvin on his UFC 85 opponent, Rashad Evans.
“Mentally I think BJ has some quit in him. I’ve seen it, I’ve seen it in the past. If you push him, he’ll quit.”
— Sean Sherk on his UFC 84 grudge match with BJ Penn.
“Now that the K1 thing is out of the way it’s all good baby: all MMA and MMA only. These guys (DREAM) want me to fight Aleksander (Emelianeko) in about three weeks time on May 11th! I was like no way because it’s too short a time with no training. I don’t want to risk fighting like that. But if they compensate me enough for taking that risk then it’s all good and I’ll fight. DREAM’s plan was to see how Fedor (Emelianeko) goes and when and if he wins the DREAM title, and then I will fight him…First time I fought him, my wrestling wasn’t great — actually it was pretty shit but I did alright with him. This time I will be ready.” — Mark Hunt, who may eventually be battling the Emelianenko brothers in DREAM. Hunt was submitted by Fedor via armbar at PRIDE Shockwave on New Year’s Eve 2006.
(Ray Sefo [left] does his best to stay upright against Badr Hari. Photo courtesy of k-1.co.jp.)
His chin might be made of titanium, but Mark Hunt’s torso proved to be merely flesh and bone last night at the K-1 World Grand Prix in Yokohama, as Semmy Schilt defended his K-1 super-heavyweight title against Hunt with a fight-ending spinning back kick to the body. Schilt — who at 6′11″ had a 13-inch height advantage over the New Zealander — controlled much of the first round with leg kicks. In the final seconds of the round, he threw the reverse kick that sent Hunt to the canvas in visible agony. “I felt like I’d been kicked by a horse,” Hunt said later. “I only started getting my air back when I heard the ring announcer call the number ‘eight’.” It was Hunt’s first K-1 appearance since his decision win over Gary Goodridge at the 2003 K-1 World GP in Las Vegas (5/2/03), after which he transitioned to MMA and built a 5-3 record in PRIDE.
In the night’s other highly anticipated matchup, defending heavyweight champion Badr Hari dispatched Ray Sefo in even more dominant fashion, knocking down Sugarfoot twice in the first round before a final barrage against the ropes forced the ref to step in and stop the fight. Videos of the Schilt/Hunt and Hari/Sefo fights are below (props: BloodyElbow), and full results of the evening’s action are after the jump.
(Semmy Schilt vs. Mark Hunt; fight starts at the 1:41 mark)
(Badr Hari vs. Ray Sefo; fight starts at the 1:25 mark)
Mark Hunt, New Zealand’s granite-chinned goliath, is back from an 18-month hiatus following the demise of PRIDE FC to face current super-heavyweight champion Semmy Schilt at the K-1 World Grand Prix in Amsterdam on April 26.
Hunt will only compete once for K-1 before returning to mixed martial arts on May 8 under the new DREAM promotion.
After winning the K-1 World Grand Prix by knocking out heavily-favored Jerome LeBanner in 2001, Hunt eventually transitioned to the world of mixed martial arts in 2004, competing for PRIDE FC and finishing with a record of 5-3.
His debut loss may not have been the start he was looking for, but he quickly erased any first impressions by winning his next five fights, including upset victories over Wanderlei “The Axe Murderer” Silva and Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic.
His weakness on the ground was eventually exposed by submission masters Josh Barnett and Fedor Emelianenko - but not before Hunt nearly submitted the wily Russian with a kimura of his own.
The addition of Hunt to the DREAM roster is a solid one. While he still needs to work on his ground game, he can stand with anyone - and the guy can take a punch. It will be interesting to see if a victory over Schilt interferes with his timeline for an MMA return.
Either way, it’s good to have him back in the mix.
(Mark Hunt is the undisputed king of getting punched in the face.)
— Tryouts for the eighth season of The Ultimate Fighterwill kick off in Boston on April 10th. Expect lawts of wicked ahsome ahmbahs.
— Keita Nakamura took one of Rob Emerson’s toes in his eye, and now he has myodesopsia. “I see many bugs though they don’t exist…I can tell this is an unlucky year.”
— BET’s blingy MMA show The Iron Ring debuts next Tuesday. The press release is here: “Headlining the show is boxing champ Floyd Mayweather (with the assistance of hip-hop star Rick Ross) managing the Money Mayweather Boys, along with hip-hop heavyweights Ludacris and Nelly representing Team Luda and Team Nelly (respectively).” Do you really need to know anything else?
