Tall athletes --
South Korea
He got his nickname "Techno Goliath" (테크노 골리앗) 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' (Koreanモンスター).
One of Choi's most notable fights was against current K-1 World Champion Semmy Schilt at the World GP 2006 event in Seoul. 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 August 5. at the Asia World Grand Prix in Hong Kong, he beat Gary Goodridge by KO at 1:34 in the first round. He weighed 163.5 kg (360 lb; 25.75 st), 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 lb; 26.24 st), to date his heaviest pre-fight weigh-in.
On September 27 at the K-1 final Elimination in Seoul, he came back to K-1 and fought against the current Heavyweight champion Badr Hari. After 3 rounds of fighting, Choi's corner threw in the towel due to a rib injury. Although Hari was unable to faze Choi with two heavy punches thrown in the first and second rounds, in the third round he began targeting Choi's ribcage with punches and kicks.
Since his last fight, Choi has lost much weight. He was announced with a weight of 149 kg (330 lb; 23.5 st).
Choi was picked as a first reserve fighter against Ray Sefo at the 2008 k-1 Championship Finals which he lost by Unanimous decision.
South KoreaChoi Hong-man 218 cm 2.18 m (7 ft 2 in) – Tallest Kickboxer and Mixed Martial Artist. Choi Hong-man (Korean: 최홍만, Hanja: 崔洪萬, born on October 30, 1980 in Jeju-do) is a South Korean kickboxer, mixed martial artist and former ssireum wrestler. In Asia he is called "Che Man". He currently competes in K-1 and DREAM and stands 2.18 m (7 ft 2 in) and weighs between 144.9 kg (319 lb; 22.82 st) and 166.6 kg (367 lb; 26.24 st), the biggest competitor ever to fight in K-1. He was recently voted to be the fighter least deserving of a contract from a major Mixed Martial Arts promotion by Time magazine. The 15th tall athlete in the world.
Career
Kickboxing
He debuted in K-1 fighting at the World GP 2005 event in Seoul in March, 2005, which he won in the final vs. Kaoklai Kaennorsing. In the Final Elimination he defeated Bob Sapp with a 2–0 decision, eventually losing to Remy Bonjasky in the World Grand Prix Final.
Choi's K-1 losses came via judges' decision against Remy Bonjasky, Ray Sefo and twice Jérome Le Banner, knockout by Mighty Mo, and technical knockout (rib injury) by Badr Hari.
One of Choi's most notable fights was against current K-1 World Champion Semmy Schilt at the World GP 2006 event in Seoul. 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 August 5. at the Asia World Grand Prix in Hong Kong, he beat Gary Goodridge by KO at 1:34 in the first round. He weighed 163.5 kg (360 lb; 25.75 st), 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 lb; 26.24 st), to date his heaviest pre-fight weigh-in.
On September 27 at the K-1 final Elimination in Seoul, he came back to K-1 and fought against the current Heavyweight champion Badr Hari. After 3 rounds of fighting, Choi's corner threw in the towel due to a rib injury. Although Hari was unable to faze Choi with two heavy punches thrown in the first and second rounds, in the third round he began targeting Choi's ribcage with punches and kicks.
Since his last fight, Choi has lost much weight. He was announced with a weight of 149 kg (330 lb; 23.5 st).
Choi was picked as a first reserve fighter against Ray Sefo at the 2008 k-1 Championship Finals which he lost by Unanimous decision.
Mixed martial arts
On December 31, 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 lb; 26.05 st), 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 Kim Min-soo.
He 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.
Choi fought again in MMA against Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipović on December 31 2008 in Sataima, Japan. Filipovic defeated Choi with multiple kicks to the legs.
He fought retired baseball player Jose Canseco in an MMA match on May 26 for the promotion Dream as part of its Super Hulk Tournament. He beat Canseco in 1 minute 15 seconds. However, Choi would lose in the semi-finals to Ikuhisa Minowa via heel hook at Dream.11.
Hong Man Choi was expected to participate in Dream.14, which was supposed to have taken place in Seoul, South Korea. But many factors, including the issue that many top Korean stars such as Denis Kang and Hong Man Choi were not available in April, contributed to the Korea event being cancelled.
See also
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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 lb; 26.05 st), 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 Kim Min-soo.
He 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.
Choi fought again in MMA against Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipović on December 31 2008 in Sataima, Japan. Filipovic defeated Choi with multiple kicks to the legs.
He fought retired baseball player Jose Canseco in an MMA match on May 26 for the promotion Dream as part of its Super Hulk Tournament. He beat Canseco in 1 minute 15 seconds. However, Choi would lose in the semi-finals to Ikuhisa Minowa via heel hook at Dream.11.
Hong Man Choi was expected to participate in Dream.14, which was supposed to have taken place in Seoul, South Korea. But many factors, including the issue that many top Korean stars such as Denis Kang and Hong Man Choi were not available in April, contributed to the Korea event being cancelled.
See also
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- List of Tall athlete in the world.
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- Choi Hong-man 218 cm tall athlete.
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