By Kang Seung-woo
Staff Reporter
Mirko ``Cro Cop'' Filipovic needed just a low kick to buckle 2.18-meter Choi Hong-man in a mixed martial arts (MMA) bout.
Choi fell to the veteran Croatian fighter as his hard and low left kick landed on his knee, forcing the giant to go down, and the referee to call a halt to the bout at 6:32 in the first round of the K-1 Dynamite fight in Saitama, Japan, on New Year's Eve.
The South Korean, who stepped into the ring 25 days after losing to Ray Sefo in a reserve match at the K-1 World Grand Prix Final, failed to pick up a victory in three fights last year.
Worse, Choi has lost five straight bouts since December 2007 and now has a record of 13-8, including 1-2 under MMA rules.
He was tapped out by former PRIDE heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko of Russia at ``Yarennoka" last New Year's Eve.
Cro Cop declared a no contest against Alistair Overeem after being struck with a fight-ending knee to the groin in September. His career record now reads 24-2-6, following a defeat of Tatsuya Mizuno in March.
The 28-year-old Choi was desperate, chasing down his rival, known for his high kick, at the beginning of the match, but Cro Cop, concerned about Choi's extended reach, tried to stay out of range.
Choi, a former ssirum champion, had a chance to corner Cro Cop, but failed to connect any effective punches.
The referee, who had been circling around the ring for most of the contest, issued a yellow card to both fighters for inactivity.
Midway through the round, Cro Cop, 34, dropped a left kick on Choi's knee, and he collapsed in pain.
``Recently my condition hasn't been very good, so I don't really have much to say about my performance tonight except that I will do better next year,'' Choi said after the event.
``At the moment of impact, it did hurt quite a bit and that's why I buckled. It hurt for a little while, but not so much right now.''
Cro Cop said, ``I was hoping to catch him with a high kick if I could, but the main idea was to confuse him so he wouldn't know when to expect a low kick.''
Cro Cop is to undergo knee surgery and will be out for six months.
In other fights, Overeem knocked down Badr Hari, the finalist of the World Grand Prix Final, at 2:02 in the first round, while Dutch slugger Melvin Manhoef, a last-minute replacement for ill Jerome LeBanner, needed just 18 seconds to floor massive Mark Hunt.