Choi Hong-man

Choi Hong-man aka "The Techno Goliath" (named for his affinity for dancing to techno after a victory haaa) also dubbed "The Korean Monster" (by Japanese media) is a professional K-1 fighter that has dabbled in MMA as well. Here in Korea we know him, we love him, we literally look up to him. The man is 7'2, hovering between 327-360 lbs. This man is absolutely enormous. Choi posesses a tumor near his pituitary gland, which caused him to continue growing and accounts for his giant stature and build, though if I recall correctly it has recently been removed. Choi possesses a K-1 record of 12 wins and 5 losses, and an MMA record of 1 win and 2 losses. His most notable win is over Semmy Schilt whom he beat by split decision in K-1 Seoul GP 2006. He also beat Bob Sapp and Akebono 3 times (loollll). Recently, he dropped three fights in a row to Jerome LeBanner, Ray Sefo and Badr Hari. His foray into MMA hasn't gone so well. He beat the shit out of a 215 lb Bobby Ologun in a huge mismatch, then matched up with Fedor Emelianenko at Yarennoka! 2007. Emelianenko looked to be in trouble early, but managed to armbar the giant for the win. Choi's next MMA bout was against Mirco "Crocop" Flipovic, a fighter seemingly past his prime, but still able to finish Choi by TKO due to leg kicks (he literally kicked the fuck out of Choi's legs so bad that he couldn't continue).

Choi also, hilariously enough, has started a musical career with South Korean model Kang So-hee under the moniker "Beauty and the Beast". The music is terrible and watching Choi rap before one of his fights was just the goofiest shit I've ever seen.

Beauty and the Beast - Everything about this picture is awkward as fuck

My analysis - Choi Hong-Ma

n is physically imposing enough to bully his opponents around, he's got good reach and he's got decent skill. Thing is, he's awkward and pretty slow, and people are figuring him out. I mean Badr Hari literally jumped and punched Choi in the face. He gets picked apart with leg kicks a lot because he isn't terribly mobile, despite his reach advantage, and if you can stay away from his knees (which are already pretty much at your face level) you can beat him pretty soundly. He's only been KO'd once and has thrown in the towel recently against Badr Hari. I think we might be seeing the beginning of the end for Choi, he literally lost every one of his fights last year and two the previous year (that's five in a row between K-1 and MMA). Basically 1) dude needs to stay the fuck out of MMA because that is not working. 2) He needs some tune up fights. Losing to Badr Hari, Ray Sefo and Jerome LeBanner is nothing to be ashamed of, but if they just toss him in against a tough guy right away it won't be too great for morale.