'Korean Colossus' to face off Chinese kickboxer in 'knockout-only' fight

By Jung Min-ho

Win or lose, Choi Hong-man's size always draws crowds. Martialism square's Facebook

Choi Hong-man, a Korean mixed martial artist and kickboxer who stands 7 feet, 2 inches tall (2.18m), will face Chinese Wushu master Yi Long in a special fight in Macau next month.

Chinese media reported earlier this week that the two will meet in a “knockout-only” fight at the Venetian Macao Resort Hotel on Nov. 10.

Choi, 38, and Yi, 31, will have to fight until one knocks down the other. If neither delivers it in nine minutes, it will be a draw.

Choi apparently has a major size advantage over Yi, who is 5 feet, 9 inches (1.76m). Choi also weighs about 150 kilograms (330 pounds), while Yi is only 74kg.

But given there won't be any break during the fight, Choi may end up running out of gas in the middle, which his opponent is keen to take advantage of.

Yi, who is little known among Korean fans, is a former Guangdong Foshan International Wing Chun champion. Since his kickboxing debut in 2009, he has had 61 wins (23 KOs and TKOs) out of his 74 fights. He is a versatile fighter who is good at various martial arts, including Wushu.

Choi, a former ssireum champion, debuted as a kickboxer in 2005. In the early stage of his career, he fought some of the best kickboxers and MMA fighters of the times, including Fedor Emelianenko, Mirko Cro Cop, Remy Bonjasky and Bob Sapp.

But his career stated to fade a few years later after he was embroiled in many controversies outside the ring. In a 2016 case, he received a suspended prison term for failing to pay a debt of billions of won (millions of dollars) in time.

In his most recent kickboxing bout on Nov. 6, 2016, Choi lost to Chinese fighter Zhou Zhipeng by decision.