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Hiromi Amada facing assault charges
By Zach Arnold | November 20, 2007
Mainichi Daily News is reporting that 34-year old Hiromi Amada is facing possible charges of beating up a truck driver after the truck supposedly almost hit him while he was riding his bicycle.
What isn’t written in the Mainichi article, at least according to Nikkan Sports, is that Amada was returning home after working at his part-time job in Itabashi-ku (a district in Tokyo) and had been drinking.
Techno Goliath in training
Choi Hong-Man is preparing to fight Jerome Le Banner at the K-1 World GP event on 12/8 at Yokohama Arena. K-1 published an interview with Hong-Man on their web page, discussing the upcoming fight. Hong-Man is listed as a freelancer on the K-1 12/8 Yokohama Arena card line-up.
M-1 press conference set
On Wednesday, M-1 Global will hold a press conference to announce that Fedor, his brother Alexander, and Roman Zentsov will fight at Saitama Super Arena on NYE.
Topics: Japan, K-1, M-1, Media, Zach Arnold | 22 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Will M-1 Global draw better than the NJPW Dome show on Jan 4th?
Don’t count on it.
Hong Man Choi vs. Jerome LeBanner could put Hong Man out of commission for awhile. I don’t see Fedor vs. Choi happening.
I also don’t think it will happening, M1 can announce Fedor vs Choi all they want, but if Choi really faces LeBanner first – no way. Not unless they are okay with the Techno Goliath sustaining severe injuries and being out for a very lengthy period of time…
No worries, I’m sure they’ve already booked Akebono as a backup.
Everyone, say goodbye to Fedor’s credibility.
Don’t confuse yourself.
Fedor is still scheduled to fight in February.
It’ll be a present to his Asian fans , that’s it. Call it extra, bonus.
Plus an opportunity for M-1 Global to earn some cash.
Assuming this fight even occurs, am I the only one that thinks Fedor could get beaten here?
I know everyone assumes that Hong Man Choi is just a “can”, but this guy is over 7’0″ tall and weighs more than 350 lbs. He’s well versed in striking and is competitive in K-1, and has a background in Korean ssireum wrestling. This guy is NOT just an Asian version of Giant Silva.
I don’t think Choi vs. Fedor would hurt Fedor or M-1’s crediblity, unless it’s with some of the Sherdog/Fight Opinion crowd, which makes up less than 1% of the total fanbase.
And I agree with Grape Knee High that Choi has a legitimate shot at not only making it competitive, but actually sneaking out a victory. Although it would be a longshot, for sure.
Fedor vs. Akebono would be a re-run of Fedor vs. Zuluzinio. Although I’m sure that goes without saying.
GKH, You aren’t the only one that thinks that. Hong Man Choi won the K-1 GP a couple years ago, and he looked fairly impressive doing it.
Having said that…Hey, it’s Fedor…but anything can happen!
Re: Hong Man Choi: Sorry, I was referring to the Seoul K-1 GP, 2005….
How many casual fans even know Fedor, though? The hardcore fanbase that is crapping over the call really are the only people that even know or care about him.
“I also don’t think it will happening, M1 can announce Fedor vs Choi all they want, but if Choi really faces LeBanner first – no way. Not unless they are okay with the Techno Goliath sustaining severe injuries and being out for a very lengthy period of time…”
Choi already faced LeBanner at the Seoul 2006GP. Hhe actually fared decently against him, losing by decision in extra rounds. So I think there’s at least a reasonable chance he’s not going to get completely destroyed and be unable to compete at 12/31.
That being said, those two matches are in a pretty tight time frame AND I’m not sure how well his ssireum and k-1 skills will fare against a guy with the skill and experience of Fedor in MMA.
Tomer Chen, I would guess that in Asia and much of Europe, Fedor is as mainstream as Chuck Lidell and Tito Ortiz are in North America.
I doubt mainstream fans (or even hardcore fans) in Russia, Korean, China or Japan would ‘crap’ on a Fedor vs. Choi fight.
While some Japanese fans likely know Fedor from his PRIDE stint, I seriously doubt he’s as mainstream as Chuck or Tito are in the U.S. He was never angled as a major drawing card in PRIDE, often being saddled with guys like Yoshida and Sakuraba appearing on the same card to bring in the Japanese fanbase (since it’s extremely rare for a gaijin to draw on his own merits in Japan).
And while Fedor should be pretty well known in Russia, it’s a pretty limited market in terms of fight sport opportunities (especially in MMA). China and Korea are much bigger target markets comparatively, but even so, Choi Hong Man would be the reason people would tune in to see the fight in those markets, not Fedor.
I seriously doubt you’ll find many major markets (if any) openly ‘weeping’ if Fedor was to retire tomorrow and never come back. He was a top fighter, but he wasn’t a significant drawing card that had the fans demanding him to come back. Most of his fanbase, I would suggest, would therefore be based off the hardcore MMA base and not on casual fans in those countries that likely think of him as little more than an opponent.
Interesting points – but I would like to know what Zach Arnold thinks about this…
Being competitive in K-1 doesn’t translate into being competitive in MMA. Houston Alexander can attest to the ground game being a totally different ball game. This is another gimme fight for Fedor’s legacy, no matter what Fedor lovers will say. I’ll buy buy that fight for a dollar.
“Being competitive in K-1 doesn’t translate into being competitive in MMA. Houston Alexander can attest to the ground game being a totally different ball game. This is another gimme fight for Fedor’s legacy, no matter what Fedor lovers will say. I’ll buy buy that fight for a dollar.”
No one said it did. Nor have I seen ANYONE (re: so called “Fedor lovers”) defending this as a legitimate fight, but thanks anyways.
The Gaijin, look at some of the posts above you.
“Assuming this fight even occurs, am I the only one that thinks Fedor could get beaten here?
I know everyone assumes that Hong Man Choi is just a “can”, but this guy is over 7?0? tall and weighs more than 350 lbs. He’s well versed in striking and is competitive in K-1, and has a background in Korean ssireum wrestling. This guy is NOT just an Asian version of Giant Silva.”
“GKH, You aren’t the only one that thinks that. Hong Man Choi won the K-1 GP a couple years ago, and he looked fairly impressive doing it.”
Oops…must have missed that as I was scanning over them quickly.
mea culpa.
Tomer Chen, I would guess that in Asia and much of Europe, Fedor is as mainstream as Chuck Lidell and Tito Ortiz are in North America.
I doubt mainstream fans (or even hardcore fans) in Russia, Korean, China or Japan would ‘crap’ on a Fedor vs. Choi fight.
Outside of Russia and perhaps in the Netherlands, Fedor is a complete unknown. In the Netherlands he’s a fringe sports hero. Everywhere else he’s about as well known as he is here, which is to say not at all. People have a very odd idea of how big MMA is in some of those countries. Simply put, its nowhere on the radar for the continent for most nations. You can’t even see UFC live in most of the world without an internet connection.
Just to elaborate a bit more on my opinion of this potential Choi/Fedor fight, I don’t see it as a “legitimate” fight. On paper, it is a sideshow matchup and one that would never get sanctioned in the US.
However, that doesn’t mean it will be an easy time for Fedor. Choi is enormous. And he’s beaten some good kickboxers in Schilt and Mighty Mo. If I remember correctly, Fedor got reversed trying to take Mark Hunt down. What kind of trouble could he have with a guy that is a full foot and a half taller than Hunt and 80 pounds heavier?
I’m not saying Fedor will lose. I just think there’s a higher probability of that outcome than people here are thinking. Just because Choi looks like a freak and is new to MMA doesn’t mean it will be an easy win.
Choi is, at best, a 6-1 or 7-1 underdog. Choi’s best wins are often heavily disputed, such as the fight with Schilt.