Hong Man Choi
From FightWiki
 |
Name | Hong Man Choi |
| Nickname | The Techno Goliath | |
| Association | Freelance | |
| Weight Class | Super Heavyweight (355 lbs.) | |
| Height | 7' 2" (218 cm) | |
| Style | Kickboxing, Ssireum Wrestling | |
| Birth Date | October 30, 1980 | |
| Fighting Out Of | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Country | South Korea | |
| Hong Man Choi Pictures | Official Website |
Hong Man Choi is a Korean kickboxer, former ssireum wrestler, and mixed martial artist. In Asia he is called "Che Man". He currently competes in K-1.
Contents |
Professional Record
| Record | 2 - 3 - 0 (Win – Loss – Draw) |
| Wins | 1 (T)KOs 1 Submissions 0 Decisions |
| Losses | 1 (T)KOs 2 Submissions 0 Decisions |
| Result | Opponent | Method | Event Title | Date | Round | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | Ikuhisa Minowa | Submission (Heel Hook) | DREAM 11: Featherweight Grand Prix 2009 Final Round | 10/06/2009 | 2 | 1:27 | DREAM 2009 Super Hulk Grand Prix Semi-finals |
| Win | Jose Canseco | Submission (Punches) | DREAM 9: Featherweight Grand Prix 2009 Second Round | 5/26/2009 | 1 | 1:17 | DREAM 2009 Super Hulk Grand Prix Opening Round |
| Loss | Mirko Filipovic | TKO (Low Kick) | K-1: Dynamite!! Power of Courage 2008 | 12/31/2008 | 1 | 6:32 | |
| Loss | Fedor Emelianenko | Submission (Armbar) | Yarennoka: New Years Eve 2007 | 12/31/2007 | 1 | 1:54 | |
| Win | Bobby Ologun | TKO (Punches) | K-1: Premium 2006 Dynamite!! | 12/31/2006 | 1 | 0:16 | |
Career
Choi debuted in K-1 fighting at the World GP 2005 event in Seoul in March, 2005, which he won by defeating Kaoklai Kaennorsing in the finals. In the Final Elimination he defeated Bob Sapp with a 2-0 decision, eventually losing to Remy Bonjasky in the World Grand Prix Final.
He got his nickname "Techno Goliath" when he was a ssireum wrestler in South Korea, as after a victory he would dance to techno music. He is referred to on Japanese television and news articles as the "Korean Monster".
One of Choi's most notable fights was against current K-1 World Champion Semmy Schilt at the World GP 2006 event in Seoul. Choi won the fight on points. The fight was unique due to the enormous size of both fighters.
On September 30, 2006, Choi fought Jérôme Le Banner in the final eliminations, and lost after 3 rounds and 1 extra round on points. After the fight, Le Banner said: "He is dangerous, his knees are already almost at the level of my head, he's not human! But he's a good guy and I like him, he's very tough, maybe the strongest guy in K-1, and he has hard bones - when I kicked him, it hurt my leg! I'm sure with more experience, in two years no one will be able to knock him out!"
On December 31, 2006 Choi easily won his first mixed martial arts fight on K-1 Dynamite in Osaka. He decisively beat former TV star Bobby Ologun in just 16 seconds in what was considered a huge mismatch.
On March 4, 2007, he was knocked out for the first and to this day only time in his career. Mighty Mo landed an overhand right to the chin and Choi was not able to stand up again. In this fight he weighed 165.4 kg (365 lbs.), was very slow and many say it was his worst performance.
Choi was scheduled to face former WWE, IWGP, and NCAA national champion amateur wrestler Brock Lesnar at the combined promotion event K-1 Dynamite!! USA, a major pay-per-view event at the massive Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, on June 2, 2007. However, reportedly due to a benign tumor on his pituitary gland, Choi was denied his California fighter's license on May 23, 2007, putting Dynamite!! USA's main event in jeopardy only 10 days before its scheduled occurrence. Choi was replaced in the fight by fellow Korean fighter Min Soo Kim.
On August 5, 2007 at the Asia World Grand Prix in Hong Kong, Choi beat Gary Goodridge by KO at 1:34 in the first round. He weighed 163.5 kg (360 lbs.), the same when he fought Schilt in June 2006. Notable on this fight was his stance. Since his K-1 debut in 2005, he has fought using an orthodox stance. However in this fight, he adopted for the first time a southpaw stance.
On September 29 at the K-1 Final Eliminations in Seoul, he redeemed his previous loss and defeated Mighty Mo by decision. The win was disputed, however, due to a kick Choi delivered to Mighty Mo's groin in the second round that was inexplicably ruled a knockdown. Mighty Mo was quoted in the post-fight interview: "He (Choi) seemed a little bit stronger because I hit him with some good shots and he didn't fall down so I was surprised, actually harder than the ones I hit him with before. He must have been practicing taking punches."
In the World Grand Prix Final 2007 tournament on December 8, he again lost by decision to Jérôme Le Banner. Choi was announced by Jimmy Lennon Jr. as weighing in at 166.6 kg (367 lbs.), to date his heaviest pre-fight weigh-in.
Choi was confirmed to fight MMA Heavyweight and former PRIDE Heavyweight Champion Fedor Emelianenko at Yarennoka on New Year's Eve. Choi landed twice on top of the two takedown attempts of Fedor. He escaped an armbar attempt on the first takedown, but after the second one was forced to tap to another armbar applied by Fedor at 1:54 of the first round.
Military Service
In April 2008, Choi joined the Korean army for his 26 months military service. After failing two medical tests, he was relieved from his military duty. The main reason was a sightedness of his left eye, which was the result of a brain tumor. On June 9th, the tumor was finally removed through surgery.
Comeback to K-1 in late 2008
On September 27, 2008 at the K-1 Final Elimination in Seoul, he came back to K-1 and fought against the Heavyweight champion Badr Hari. After 3 rounds of fighting, Choi's corner threw in the towel because of a rib injury as the result of many hard punches and kicks for Hari. The Moroccan landed in the first two rounds very heavy punches to the Korean's chin, which had no effect on him. In the third round he stopped to attack the head and throw many punches and kicks to Choi's ribcage. After 3 rounds, two judges had a draw, one had Choi as the winner. In the second round, Choi was able to land the only knockdown of the fight, sending Hari with a straight left to the floor. Since his last fight, Choi lost tremendous weight. He was announced with 149 kg (330 lbs.).
Choi was picked as a first reserve fighter against Ray Sefo at the 2008 k-1 Championship Finals which he lost by unanimous decision .
Choi fought again in MMA against Mirko Filipovic on December the 31st where he lost by a low kick to the left knee in Sataima, Japan.
Choi then took part in DREAM's Open-weight tournament at DREAM 9, also known as the Super Hulk Tournament, against baseball superstar Jose Canseco, who was making his mixed martial arts debut. Choi won via Submission (Punches) in the first round. Choi then faced jiu-jitsu specialist Ikuhisa Minowa, whom he towered over. Minowa ended the fight at 1:27 of the second round with a Heel Hook, handing Choi his third mixed martial arts career loss.
Outside the Ring
He made a rap single featuring vocals by the model Kang So Hee.
He recently began a singing career with supermodel Kang Soo Hee in Korea under the name of Beauty & The Beast.
Since 2008, he's worn his surname "Choi" as a Tattoo on his left shoulder.
In 2009 he will make his movie debut in the Japanese film "Goemon."
Titles and Accomplishments
- 2003: Jinan Competition '03
- 2003: The General Championship '03
- 2004: Jungwal Competition '04
- 2004: Hamyang Competition '04
- 2005: K-1 WORLD GP 2005 in Seoul Champion
