A few weeks back I wrote a short profile on Ben Edwards that can be read here. I had high hopes for the hard hitting Aussie upsetting Reem going into this weekend's event. Reem is my personal MMA/K-1 villain. His cockiness, his bullying tactics in the ring/cage, his selective re-telling of who he challenged when and for what; you get the drift. Insert the Werdum gif at any time. So, naturally, I was hoping the raw and powerful Edwards would launch him into orbit. Unfortunately, he never landed a solid shot and Reem was dead on with his counters.

Edwards entered this fight with no game plan. He just threw bombs with almost no accuracy or timing. It was easy for Reem to cover up and time crushing counters when openings found daylight. Reem made a statement that his skills are reaching their apex and he is making a case for being the sport's greatest striker. The bout also displayed Edwards' inexperience in a big way. He was impatient and careless. He wasted blow after blow instead of letting the fight come to him. Reem wanted to knock Edwards out and if Edwards let Reem come at him he might have found a spot to counter strike, which in the past he has shown he can do deftly.

But, let's say this about Edwards. There was no quit in him. He was more knocked down by the sheer impact of the blows Reem delivered than actually knocked out. It is a good thing that K-1 has the knockdown rules they have because Edwards would have kept getting up till Reem actually removed his head from his shoulders. He showed a ton of heart but not enough ring smarts. I look forward to watching the kid develop. When his skills match his testicular fortitude we will witness a K-1 champion.

As far as Reem is concerned, I believe he is on his way to the finals. One thing that is almost for certain is we won't see any Reem fight go to the judge's cards, which lately in every organization seems to be the thinnest of ice. (I'm looking at you, Le Banner! Get back in Le Ring.) Reem's fights will end in knock outs. Spong is talented and proficient in the ring with tons of experience but he is considerably smaller than Reem. I don't think he will be able to get inside on Reem, which will leave him open to the increasingly destructive strikes the Demolition Man can deliver. If Ghita can get past Saki, and he should handily after what we witnessed this weekend, he could present a lot of problems to Reem. It will be about patience and wearing Reem down. Ghita proposes similar kinds of challenges as Edwards should have and he is more experienced. He won't make similar mistakes. That is a bout I am hoping will take place but I have less doubt in the Reem than I did before this weekend. I still believe that when Reem gets hit hard the air goes out of him like a punctured balloon and Ghita has the kind of explosive power that can pop that balloon. But will he get the chance to display it before Reem stops him? That's the thing with this latest version of The Reem, he overwhelms you with blows before you have a chance to get a shot in. There is no rope-a-dope with him, no way to get him to gas out, at least that we have seen. If Ghita has any chance, he is going to have to figure out how to elongate the fight to the second round. Good luck, Ghita. You have my full support.

That leaves the slowing Semmy Schilt as the most likely individual, and last hope, to stop the Reem. So, take this post as my time to eat crow, tip my hat to his cockiness, "The Reem", and my chance to look forward to better days.

Save us, Semmy Schilt, your our only hope.

via assets.sbnation.com