By Jonathan Sanfilippo
Staff Reporter
Throughout Choi Hong-man's professional career, he has competed mostly in K-1, a combat sport in which the fighters must stand up when facing each other.
He doesn't have much experience in other forms of mixed martial arts (MMA), where participants are also allowed to grapple and hit one another on the ground.
But that's the type of fighting he needs to be ready for.
Choi, a South Korean giant known as ''Techno Goliath,'' will face Russian heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko, considered one of the world's best all-around fighters, today in a New Year's Eve event, dubbed "Yarennoka!," at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.
The fight, which is being promoted by former PRIDE executives, will follow MMA rules that enable striking, grappling and ground fighting, although techniques such as football kicks, stomps and knee strikes will be prohibited.
''I was at first surprised that my opponent would be Fedor, but the opportunity to fight against a fighter of his caliber doesn't come often, so I accepted the offer,'' Choi said in a Korea Times article earlier this month.
Choi, a 27-year-old who is 2.2 meters tall and weighs 160 kilograms, will be competing in just the second MMA fight of his career. His other MMA match came last New Year's Eve, when he defeated Bobby Ologun of Nigeria with a technical knockout (TKO) in Japan.
However, Choi, a native of Jeju Island, is a former folk wresting (ssirum) champion and has competed in several K-1 bouts, including a loss by decision against Jerome Le Banner of France in his last outing on Dec. 8 in Japan.
Meanwhile, Emelianenko, a 31-year-old who is 1.8 meters tall and weighs 103 kilograms, enters today's match as a heavy favorite with a 26-1 MMA record.
Nicknamed ''The Last Emperor,'' Emelianenko was a PRIDE champion from March of 2003 until the organization collapsed earlier this year.
''Fedor is such a great fighter, so I can't guess my chances against him,'' Choi said. ''However, I have been trained in ssirum, and I will not let him take me down or overpower me.''
The Yarennoka! fight card is also scheduled to feature bouts between Kazuo Misaki and Yoshihiro Akiyama, Shinya Aoki and Gesias Calvancante, Tatsuya Kawajiri and Luiz Azeredo, Hayato Sakurai and Hidehiko Hasegawa, and Mitsuhiro Ishida and Gilbert Melendez.