Victorious Overeem Dominant at K-1 World Grand Prix
Chris Nelson Oct 2, 2010
On hiatus from mixed martial arts until 2011, Strikeforce
heavyweight champion Alistair
Overeem showcased his formidable kickboxing game on Saturday
with a brutal first-round dispatching of Australia’s Ben Edwards at
the K-1 World Grand Prix 2010 Final 16 in Seoul, South Korea.
After being swarmed by an aggressive Edwards at the bell, Overeem scored his first knockdown just 45 seconds into the match by way of a single overhand right. Edwards regained his composure, only to be felled by another right hand half a minute later. Struggling to his feet, Edwards again managed to beat the referee’s count. Overeem rewarded his opponent’s effort with a devastating one-two combination that sent the Australian to the canvas for the third and final time. The official time was 2:08 of the opening frame.
Overeem, along with the event’s other seven tournament bout
winners, now advances to the K-1 World Grand Prix 2010 Final on
Dec. 11 in Japan.
Elsewhere on the card, former Pride Fighting Championships heavyweight Sergei Kharitonov got back on track with a non-tournament thumping of Kyokushin karateka Takumi Sato.
Kharitonov immediately backed the smaller Sato into a corner, where he began to work the body and establish a stiff right jab. Two minutes in, the Russian teed off on his opponent with a dozen unanswered crosses and uppercuts before Sato tumbled to the mat. Though Sato made it back to his feet, he was quickly met with five more hard shots from Kharitonov before finally being put down for good with a knee from the clinch.
The win was Kharitonov’s first in either kickboxing or MMA since 2008.
Other Tournament Bouts
Semmy Schilt def. Hesdy Gerges -- Split Decision
Siala-Mou Siliga def. Raul Catinas -- Unanimous Decision
Peter Aerts def. Ewerton Teixeira -- Split Decision
Keijiro Maeda def. Jerome LeBanner -- Disqualification (Abandonment)
Daniel Ghita def. Errol Zimmerman -- KO (Punches) 0:18 R2
Gokhan Saki def. Freddy Kemayo -- TKO (Punches)1:30 R1
Tyrone Spong def. Ray Sefo -- Unanimous Decision
Other Non-Tournament Bouts
Dzevad Poturak def. Chalid Arrab -- TKO (Corner Stoppage) 0:06 R3
Hyun Man Myung def. Min Ho Song -- KO (Punch) 0:35 R1
After being swarmed by an aggressive Edwards at the bell, Overeem scored his first knockdown just 45 seconds into the match by way of a single overhand right. Edwards regained his composure, only to be felled by another right hand half a minute later. Struggling to his feet, Edwards again managed to beat the referee’s count. Overeem rewarded his opponent’s effort with a devastating one-two combination that sent the Australian to the canvas for the third and final time. The official time was 2:08 of the opening frame.
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Elsewhere on the card, former Pride Fighting Championships heavyweight Sergei Kharitonov got back on track with a non-tournament thumping of Kyokushin karateka Takumi Sato.
Kharitonov immediately backed the smaller Sato into a corner, where he began to work the body and establish a stiff right jab. Two minutes in, the Russian teed off on his opponent with a dozen unanswered crosses and uppercuts before Sato tumbled to the mat. Though Sato made it back to his feet, he was quickly met with five more hard shots from Kharitonov before finally being put down for good with a knee from the clinch.
The win was Kharitonov’s first in either kickboxing or MMA since 2008.
Other Tournament Bouts
Semmy Schilt def. Hesdy Gerges -- Split Decision
Siala-Mou Siliga def. Raul Catinas -- Unanimous Decision
Peter Aerts def. Ewerton Teixeira -- Split Decision
Keijiro Maeda def. Jerome LeBanner -- Disqualification (Abandonment)
Daniel Ghita def. Errol Zimmerman -- KO (Punches) 0:18 R2
Gokhan Saki def. Freddy Kemayo -- TKO (Punches)1:30 R1
Tyrone Spong def. Ray Sefo -- Unanimous Decision
Other Non-Tournament Bouts
Dzevad Poturak def. Chalid Arrab -- TKO (Corner Stoppage) 0:06 R3
Hyun Man Myung def. Min Ho Song -- KO (Punch) 0:35 R1
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