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K-1 has released the full fight card for the October 2 World Grand Prix Final 16 event, and the biggest news for American fans is that former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski is in the mix, taking on the 22-year-old Romanian Raul Catinas in a tournament bout.
Arlovski's participation in the event was first revealed by K-1 announcer Michael Schiavello, who will call the Final 16 on English-language broadcasts around the world, including on HDNet in the United States. The news that Arlovski is in the Final 16, and that he's got a beatable opponent in Catinas, means there's a real chance he'll return to the K-1 ring for the World Grand Prix Final in December.
It's probably not realistic to think Arlovski could win the whole tournament, although if he does well it wouldn't be the first time an MMA fighter has surprised everyone by his success in kickboxing. Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem has had a lot of success in the K-1 ring, and he'll be fighting in the Final 16 as well, taking on Ben Edwards in a fight that's sure to be explosive and likely to end with Overeem winning a knockout.
The favorite to win the whole tournament has to be the defending champion Semmy Schilt, who has drawn Hesdy Gerges in the Final 16. Schilt is the best heavyweight kickboxer in the world, and he has a great chance to win the World Grand Prix Final for an unprecedented fifth time this year. Schilt and Ernesto Hoost are the only kickboxers to win the tournament four times.
The biggest disappointment in the Final 16 is that neither Remy Bonjasky nor Badr Hari is in the field. Bonjasky, a three-time K-1 World Grand Prix champion, hasn't fought at all this year and may never fight again. Hari, who has lost in the Grand Prix Final each of the last two years, has been unable to stay out of trouble either inside or outside the ring.
The full fight card is as follows:
Final 16
Alistair Overeem vs. Ben Edwards
Jerome Le Banner vs. Kyotaro
Semmy Schilt vs. Hesdy Gerges
Ewerton Teixeira vs. Peter Aerts
Errol Zimmerman vs. Daniel Ghita
Gokhan Saki vs. Freddy Kemayo
Andrei Arlovski vs. Raul Catinas
Ruslan Karaev vs. Tyrone Spong
Superfights
Chalid "Die Faust" Arrab vs. Dzevas Poturak
Sergei Kharitonov vs. Takumi Sano
Opening Fight
Min Ho Song vs. Hyun Man Myung
Arlovski's participation in the event was first revealed by K-1 announcer Michael Schiavello, who will call the Final 16 on English-language broadcasts around the world, including on HDNet in the United States. The news that Arlovski is in the Final 16, and that he's got a beatable opponent in Catinas, means there's a real chance he'll return to the K-1 ring for the World Grand Prix Final in December.
It's probably not realistic to think Arlovski could win the whole tournament, although if he does well it wouldn't be the first time an MMA fighter has surprised everyone by his success in kickboxing. Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem has had a lot of success in the K-1 ring, and he'll be fighting in the Final 16 as well, taking on Ben Edwards in a fight that's sure to be explosive and likely to end with Overeem winning a knockout.
The favorite to win the whole tournament has to be the defending champion Semmy Schilt, who has drawn Hesdy Gerges in the Final 16. Schilt is the best heavyweight kickboxer in the world, and he has a great chance to win the World Grand Prix Final for an unprecedented fifth time this year. Schilt and Ernesto Hoost are the only kickboxers to win the tournament four times.
The biggest disappointment in the Final 16 is that neither Remy Bonjasky nor Badr Hari is in the field. Bonjasky, a three-time K-1 World Grand Prix champion, hasn't fought at all this year and may never fight again. Hari, who has lost in the Grand Prix Final each of the last two years, has been unable to stay out of trouble either inside or outside the ring.
The full fight card is as follows:
Final 16
Alistair Overeem vs. Ben Edwards
Jerome Le Banner vs. Kyotaro
Semmy Schilt vs. Hesdy Gerges
Ewerton Teixeira vs. Peter Aerts
Errol Zimmerman vs. Daniel Ghita
Gokhan Saki vs. Freddy Kemayo
Andrei Arlovski vs. Raul Catinas
Ruslan Karaev vs. Tyrone Spong
Superfights
Chalid "Die Faust" Arrab vs. Dzevas Poturak
Sergei Kharitonov vs. Takumi Sano
Opening Fight
Min Ho Song vs. Hyun Man Myung
...
