In the Army Now

K-1 and Dream promoter Fighting & Entertainment Group will lose its biggest Asian heavyweight draw until 2010.

Korean news portal Daum has reported that former K-1 World Grand Prix winner Hong Man Choi (Pictures) will start his military service for his home country of Korea later this month.

News that the 7-foot-2, 350-pound "Techno Goliath" would eventually have to leave his profession of kickboxing first broke in January 2006. Because of his successful time at a university as well as his dominant tenure in Ssirum, a national sport in Korea comparable to sumo wrestling, the 27-year-old had been able to postpone being drafted.

Now he will head to the Korean army training center April 21 for four weeks of basic training.

After this period, Choi will go on to serve in the 21st Infantry Division of the Korean army. The duration of his service is 24 months, which most likely rules him out of competing at K-1 events outside of Korea until April 2010.

Choi rose to fame in Japan after defeating Japanese sumo wrestlers Wakashoyo and Akebono, thus winning the World Grand Prix in his homeland in his debut as a kickboxer. He later went on to beat longtime fan favorite Bob Sapp (Pictures) and even handed three-time champion Semmy Schilt (Pictures) a rare defeat in 2006.

His last fight was a submission loss to Fedor Emelianenko (Pictures) on New Year's Eve.

Kickboxing aside, Choi has become one of the most recognizable figures in Korean everyday life, starring in commercials and TV shows. "The Korean Colossus" also recorded a rap album earlier this year that was a success on the Korean music charts. He was even offered a minor role in the movie "Transporter 3," which will be in cinemas early next year.

All those activities will have to be put aside, however, as Choi will be busy securing the border to North Korea for the next two years. His contract with FEG, which originally runs until the end of 2009, is automatically suspended until he returns from duty.