Melvin Manhoef to Replace Jerome LeBanner at K-1 Dynamite!! 2008

Promoted to the front page from the FanPosts by Luke Thomas.
Japan-MMA has the scoop:
Last minute changes to the Dynamite card! Jerome is out due to the flu and FEG has been working hard to find a replacement, it is announced now that Melvin Manhoef steps in!!
With the tremendous weight difference between Manhoef and Hunt, and the fact that Hunt has at least shown that he's heard of ground fighting, it's going to be a tough road to hoe for Manhoef. Regardless of the outcome, Manhoef deserves a tremendous amount of respect for taking this fight on a day's notice. Credit should also go to FEG for finding a replacement fans could actually care about on such short notice.
(art via www.mmatko.com)
The FanPosts are solely the subjective opinions of Bloody Elbow readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Bloody Elbow editors or staff.
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Oh, this was one of the K-1 bouts, so Melvin is not unretired since he only retired from MMA. My mistake.
I’m pretty sure this is an mma bout. And the fact that the article refers to “ground fighting” would further lead me to believe that it is under mma rules.
I am the bastard love child of Junie Browning and Diamond Dave Kaplan.
As noted by The_Gaijin, this appears to be an mma bout.
According to Japan-MMA.com’s listing of the full card it is “Dream Rules”:
The complete and final card for tomorrow then:
19. Main-Event: DREAM-Rule: Kazushi Sakuraba 24-11-1 vs. 32-13-2 Kiyoshi Tamura
18: DREAM-Rule: Joachim Hansen 19-7-1 vs. 14-2-1 “JZ” Gesias Cavalcante
17: DREAM-Rule: Shinya Aoki 18-3-0 vs. 15-1-0 Eddie Alvarez
16. DREAM-Rule: Mark Hunt 5-4-0 vs. 22-5-1 Melvin Manhoef
15. K-1-Rule: Gegard Mousasi vs. Musashi
14. DREAM-Rule: Mirko “CroCop” Filipovic 23-6-2 vs. 1-1-0 Hong Man Choi
—BREAK—
13. K-1 Rule: Alistair Overeem vs. Badr Hari
12. K-1-Rule: Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Kozo Takeda
11. DREAM-Rule: Hayato “Mach” Sakurai 33-8-2 vs. 2-5-1 Katsuyori Shibata
10. DREAM-Rule: Semmy Schilt 25-14-1 vs. 3-0-0 Mighty Mo
9. DREAM-Rule: Bob Sapp 9-3-1 vs. Kinniku Mantaro
—BREAK—
8. K-1 Youth Tournament Final: Winner Fight 3 vs. Winner Fight 4
7. DREAM-Rule: Yukio Sakaguchi 3-3-0 vs. 1-1-0 Andy Ologun
6. DREAM-Rule: Hideo Tokoro 21-14-1 vs. 18-9-0 Daisuke Nakamura
5. K-1-Rule: Yoshihiro Sato vs. Artur Kyshenko
4. K-1 Youth Tournament (semi-final): Hiroya vs. Shota Shimada
3. K-1 Youth Tournament (semi-final): Tatsuya Kusakabe vs. Koya Urabe
2. DREAM-Rule: Ikuhisa Minowa “Minowaman” 40-29-8 vs. Errol Zimmerman
Opening Fight:
1. K-1 Youth (Reserve): Daizo Sasaki vs. Taishi Hiratsuka
Man, that looks like an awfully fun card to watch …
by Kierkegaard on Dec 30, 2008 11:27 AM EST up reply actions
The Under-18 tournament is absurd, and 19 fights is bound to make even MMA hardcore fans fall asleep. If HIROYA doesn’t win, nobody gives a shit. Sato vs. Kyshenko could be cut as well.
Editor-in-chief of MMA-Analyst.com
by Leland Roling on Dec 30, 2008 12:35 PM EST up reply actions
Melvin never retired from MMA.
I know what you are thinking, and what you are about to say, but he NEVER retired from MMA.
by MMASuPreMaCy on Dec 30, 2008 3:09 PM EST up reply actions
Actually, he retired from the fight game altogether to spend time with his family. He only recently came back to K-1, and it was still questionable whether or not he would take MMA fights once again.
The reason for retiring was his massive work ethic. He has some crazy training regiment and schedule. Something like 2 times a day, 6 times a week.
Editor-in-chief of MMA-Analyst.com
by Leland Roling on Dec 30, 2008 3:11 PM EST up reply actions
Correct!
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better. -Samuel Beckett
by Scott C. Broussard on Dec 30, 2008 4:13 PM EST up reply actions
I know he said that, but he was later asked again and he said no, he wasn’t retired.
He was just frustrated after the DREAM loss.
by MMASuPreMaCy on Dec 30, 2008 4:41 PM EST up reply actions
yup he was just upset because he had trained so hard on his ground game and it ended up not mattering at all
When an athlete says they are retired then you ahve to take them at there word. Thats not to say they can’t come back or its a big deal. If a guy says he is retired today and is back on the field tomorrow then did he retire or not? Its not real cut and dye in a sport like MMA where guys go months between fights.
How many times has Brett Farve or Floyd Mayweather Jr. retired?
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better. -Samuel Beckett
by Scott C. Broussard on Dec 30, 2008 9:17 PM EST up reply actions
Both...
Favre “debates it” every year…this past year was the only time I recall him “officially retiring”
Mayweather retired briefly before the Hatton fight and again afterward.
Contributing Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
by Brent Brookhouse on Dec 31, 2008 10:24 AM EST up reply actions
Correct
Yes, that’s what I was hinting at with my posting. Basically, it can be assumed that he was simply pissed off considerign the fact he came back right away. After KOing Slowinski spectacularly, no way he’s off the sport.
Editor-in-chief of MMA-Analyst.com
by Leland Roling on Dec 30, 2008 5:05 PM EST up reply actions
An Unstoppable Force vs An Immovable object
WARRRR
most devastating puncher in all MMA vs the best chin in the world. Awesome bout
Sucks we won't be able to see it live...
Manhoef is a beast, I didn’t know he was retired though…. money talks though.
I guess once they release this on PPV after January 6th, I’ll set the day aside to watch all these fights. I won’t fall asleep.
No knees on the ground
With that much of weight difference, it should not be allowed.
Im pretty sure Melvin has better ground skills than Mark Hunt, without a doubt this fight would be a firework!!
You have to beat the legend, in order to become the LEGEND
-Melvin Manhoef (after his destruction of Sakuraba)
I don’t think any DREAM rules fights allow knees on the ground, so it’s probably a non-issue anyways.
I am the bastard love child of Junie Browning and Diamond Dave Kaplan.
Knees on the ground are allowed in DREAM.
by MMASuPreMaCy on Dec 30, 2008 3:11 PM EST up reply actions
correct
Melvin used them to disable Dae Won Kim at Dream 3.
Boy I hope Dream sticks around. I love their events. The entrances and Lenne Hardt just never get old. I’m also starting to like the “no downward elbows”. It makes guys go for Subs and discourages the ole Lay and Pray.
" Tell me something Steve, How does a guy from Puerto Rico loose a ball in the Sun? "
Yeah, DREAM needs to exist in perpetuity just because of the Dragon Lady.
"BJ on the BE" - Kierkegaard
I have a hard time seeing Manhoef not getting stomped (figuratively, not the Badr Hari sense). Hunt is much, much bigger, and has The Chin, and consider the problems Silva had with the size, and he’s bigger than Manhoef. I hope it’s competitive, though – both great KO guys.
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better. -Samuel Beckett
by Scott C. Broussard on Dec 30, 2008 1:33 PM EST reply actions
Hunt has still looked horrible in his last few fights. Schilt somehow spinning heel kicked him, which I don’t even want to begin to realize how crappy Hunt has been lately to get caught by such a large and slower fighter in Schilt with that kind of kick.
If Melvin can kick a bit, and throw a massive bomb, Hunt could be in trouble. People are saying Hunt has an iron chin, but Melvin hits like a damn anvil on concrete. It’ll be interesting to see. Also interesting, will Hunt actually not suck?
Editor-in-chief of MMA-Analyst.com
by Leland Roling on Dec 30, 2008 3:13 PM EST up reply actions
Overeem rolled right through Hunt as well. For such a big guy he really got overpowered.
" Tell me something Steve, How does a guy from Puerto Rico loose a ball in the Sun? "
Overeem still has a distinct reach advantage over Hunt, and Overeem’s Muay Thai, while unutilized at times during his career, is devastating since he has such height size. Honestly, Overeem could legitimately turn his career around and be a crusher. It doesn’t surprise me that he killed Hunt.
Overeem’s biggest problem in his career has been his gas tank. If he can improve that, I’d give him a great chance at turning it around.
Editor-in-chief of MMA-Analyst.com
by Leland Roling on Dec 30, 2008 3:31 PM EST up reply actions
Hunt also took Overeem down, and Overeem has great submissions.
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better. -Samuel Beckett
by Scott C. Broussard on Dec 30, 2008 4:15 PM EST up reply actions
UM
you didn’t watch that fight did you? Hunt threw Overeem to the ground like a ragdoll but got caught with the armbar.
I aluded to how quickly Overeem put the kumura on Hunt. You’d think a keylock/kimura would be the last thing a guy with that size differential would get caught in.
Of course I watched the fight. I watched both Grand Prix’s on HDNet!
" Tell me something Steve, How does a guy from Puerto Rico loose a ball in the Sun? "

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![Tim Kennedy speaks to Sherdog Radio about his loss to "Jacare" Souza and his plans to KO Melvin Manhoef on March 5th at Strikeforce: Henderson vs. Feijao:
"That [Jacare] fight was totally crap," Kennedy said. "I sat there for 25 minutes and stalked the guy around the cage as he would peck me with the jab or throw an overhand right. Repeat for 25 minutes. That sucks. I, as a fan, would get bored with that fight. For crying out loud, come forward and fight me. You’re the greatest grappler on the planet. So I stuff you on a couple of takedowns, maybe try for a third one. If I take you down, maybe try to submit me. Don’t sit there and ride out a decision doing some fancy footwork for some so-called judges that are boxing judges. That’s stupid. If you’re going to win a title, come into the cage to fight."
"I’m not that kind of fighter," he explained. "I want to fight. I know everybody cares about who gets the W, but the fans want to see exciting fights. … Of course I like winning, but I like fighting. Fighting’s the essence of the sport, and that’s what people pay to see. If I’m going to take him [Manhoef] down, I’m going to pick him up and I’m going to slam him. I’m not going to stay tight for a close submission. I want to knock him out. That’s what fans like seeing and that’s what I like delivering."
Strikeforce: Henderson vs. Feijao coverage
Photo: Showtime Sports](http://cdn1.sbnation.com/fan_shot_images/178462/jacare_kennedy_small.jpg)

!["I feel good [about the fight]... I really wanted to fight really aggressive. I wanted to fight like Mike Tyson a little bit, but I never got the chance. But a win is a win." - Gegard Mousasi post-Dream 15
More post-fight interviews on Dream's YouTube channel.](http://cdn2.sbnation.com/fan_shot_images/130711/2_small.jpg)
















