Thems the Draws; K-1 World Grand Prix Set
Posted by Dave Walsh on September 27th, 2009
This weekend has bee eventful if you are a fan of K-1; the K-1 Final 16 show went off without a hitch and only with one fight with a head-scratching finish (hint; it was a DQ and it doesn’t matter).
Today K-1 had their K-1 World Grand Prix draws and the tournament has shaped up nicely, with the Golden Glory gym making an incredible showing with four competitors in the tournament; Alistair Overeem easily one of the favorites, up there with teammate Semmy Schilt and Badr Hari. The draw is set as such.
Ruslan Karaev v. Badr Hari
Alistair Overeem v. Ewerton Teixeira
Jerome Le Banner v. Semmy Schilt
Errol Zimmerman v. Remy BonjaskyA couple interesting notes from the draw: Hari specifically chose to face Karaev in what should be a great rematch. The two men are 1-1 in a pair of exciting fights from 2006-2007. Also, Errol Zimmerman called out Bonjasky and the champion accepted – a bold move from Zimmerman that may backfire. Finally, the 4 Golden Glory fighters (Karaev, Zimmerman, Schilt, Overeem) all were very conscious to space themselves out to avoid any conflicts in the quarter finals.
My gut reaction is that we’ll see semi-finals of Hari v. Overeem and Schilt v. Bonjasky – two fights that will be extremely difficult to call. With all four men looking strong this weekend, the Grand Prix could very well come down to who has the easier road to the finals.