Bodog Beat

Hong Man Choi poses with Bobby Ologun before his first MMA match. (MMAweekly.com Photo)

7′2" tall Korean giant Hong Man Choi (12-3, 5 KO's) might be the largest competitor fighting in the K-1 World Grand Prix Finals on Dec. 8 at Yokohama Arena in Kanagawa, Japan, but despite weighing in at 355lbs, he isn't the favorite to win the 8-man tournament.

Other fighters in the field include 3-time tournament champion Peter Aerts (88-24-1, 60 KO's), W.P.K.A world superheavyweight champ Remy Bonjasky (60-13-0, 33 KO's) and France's Jerome Le Banner (52-13-2, 40 KO's) who will face Choi in the first round.

With such a stacked card, it's hard to choose a favorite, but so far it seems to be 6′11" K-1 Grand Prix 2006 champion Semmy Schilt (23-2-1, 8 KO's), who will fight Brazilian karate expert Glaube Feitosa (14-13-1, 6 KO's) in the opening round.

With previous wins over Aerts, Bonjasky, Feitosa and Le Banner, experts believe that Schilt will use his height and reach to fight his way through the competition and, possibly, earn a rematch with Choi – the man who defeated him at the K-1 World Grand Prix tournament in Seoul in June of 2006.

Official Fight Card for K-1 World Grand Prix 2007 Final
Dec. 8, Kanagawa, Japan

• Jerome Le Banner vs. Hong Man Choi
• Semmy Schilt vs. Glaube Feitosa
• Badr Hari vs. Remy Bonjasky
• Peter Aerts vs. Junichi Sawayashiki
• Mighty Mo vs. Chalid "Die Faust" (reserve match)
• Ray Sefo vs. Paul Slowinski (reserve match)

Non-tournament matches

• Mitsugu Noda vs. Noel Cadet
• Jan "The Giant" Nortje vs. Dong Wook Kim
• Takashi Tachikawa vs. Ki Min Lim
• Musashi vs. David Dancrade

Odds for K1 will go up this week in the Bodog Sportsbook.

All lines subject to change.