Going into his much-derided bout with Fedor Emelianenko (Pictures), South Korean Hong Man Choi (Pictures) is a giant underdog -- literally.
"I trained MMA before to prepare for Brock Lesnar (Pictures), but this fight is totally different," admitted Choi at an open interview in Kazushi Sakuraba (Pictures)'s gym in Tokyo. "For the Lesnar fight, I trained only on my strength because everyone kept saying how strong he was, but this fight I have to focus on raising my technique, skill and defense"
Choi, however, insists he is well prepared for this fight: "In my own way, I've trained hard for this fight. I want to show everything I have in the ring."
At Sakuraba's gym, Choi is training with a grappling technician in Dong Sik Yoon (Pictures).
When asked about Choi's strategy, Yoon stated the obvious in wanting to keep the fight standing.
"We're prepared for the ground, but we are looking to keep the fight standing. … If you look at Choi Hong Man's recent fights, he's been able to hit both big and small fighters with his knees. I think he's found his range. We want to focus on that."
Choi has often been lauded as a K-1 level striker, but the fact that many fans are not aware of is that Choi is a natural southpaw. Yet he has fought most his matches in an orthodox stance to gain greater dexterity and speed through a lead left jab, which is heavy enough to jar most fighters.
In his most recent bout with Jerome LeBanner (Pictures), Choi trained as a southpaw and tested his new stance a few times, looking to throw from his power hand -- but to no avail.
Using a baseball analogy, he is basically like a batter who has recently switched stances. Against someone with such nimble footwork as Emelianenko, Choi's lumbering strikes will have a hard time finding their mark.
But with smaller gloves, the team seems to feel just once will be enough to hurt Emelianenko, who is known to cut easily.
"I'm hoping for a good outcome if I aim for his face," joked Choi.
"In fact, I think Choi's ground-and-pound is stronger than Fedor's," added Yoon.
Another factor Choi has going in his favor is his freakish physical attributes. According to Yoon, Choi's physique is "not just scary, but terrifying."
"When I was in the U.S., I got a chance to spar with Josh Barnett (Pictures) on the ground. I also rolled with Choi to get a sense of how strong he was and I was shocked. Of course you can't compare their ground skills, but he was much stronger than Barnett," explained Yoon.
Contrary to most predictions that the fight will eventually hit the ground, both Choi and Yoon seem to believe Choi's background in ssireum -- a traditional Korean sport in which athletes play on sand and try to take their opponents down by grappling a long piece of cloth wrapped around the opponents' waists and thighs and tripping them -- will help them avoid the inevitable.
According to the fighters, ssireum is helpful in terms of "takedowns, balance and takedown defense."
"Many fans and experts predict that Choi Hong Man will have a hard time if he gets taken down. But I don't think it will be easy to take down a ssireum champion," Yoon elaborated. "If I fight Fedor, I'm confident I could take him down at least once. But it is impossible to take Choi down. … He's just too big and strong. There's nothing I can do with my strength or technique."
A main concern for the team is the longer rounds (one 10-minute round and one 5-minute round) as Choi is accustomed to shorter rounds under K-1 rules (three three-minute rounds).
If Choi gasses prematurely, it could quickly spell the beginning of the end.
In an official statement to his fans, the 27-year-old Choi related, "I'm still in my 20s. I want to challenge myself while I still can. … I love the challenge."
But as in any good story, the giant could fall, as Choi's sobriquet, the "Techno Goliath," ironically foreshadows.
Only don't tell the big guy yet -- he probably hasn't read the ending.