Yasuhiro Kido vs Lim Chi Bin 2008

Yasuhiro Kido burst on the K-1 MAX scene after unexpectedly winning the Japan MAX tournament in 2008. He's a tall, lanky fighter capable of exploding and stringing up long-range attacks in quick succession. He looks to be about 5' 11" and therefore has a significant reach and height advantage over his opponent, Lim Chi Bin. Lim won the 2008 K-1 MAX Korea tournament for his spot against Kido. Lim uses very good Muay Thai fundamentals in combination with solid boxing to form a style well-suited for K-1. He tends to put emphasis on his crisp punches, which leads to some exciting knockouts. Lim looks to give up a good 3" or so to Kido in this matchup.

This fight was on September 24, 2008, in the elimination round of 16 for the 2008 K-1 MAX tournament. Kido wears blue gloves, Lim red.



Thanks to Fightsports for the video. I just watched Pablo Garza knock out Fredson Paixao and couldn't help but be reminded of this. Lim is a little small for the 154 lb division, standing around 5' 7" but not having the musculature of other shorter fighters like Masato and Albert Kraus. Kido's height and liquid striking may have given him fits anyway, but Kido chose to end it in a much more explosive way. He moves much lighter than his fellow tall man in the K-1 Max, Yoshihiro Sato, and uses it to his advantage by exploiting angles on Lim.

Lim makes a couple of mistakes here. The one that stands out is that he doesn't seem to adopt the K-1 mindset. The 3 rounds of K-1 means a lot of fighters go from the first bell without Muay Thai's feeling out process. Feeling out the first round even occasionally bites fighters like Buakaw Por Pramuk and Andy Souwer in the ass. Had this gone further, Lim might still have had a hard time racking up enough points against a taller fighter.

His decision to be stationary with his wide, elbows-apart guard also cost him. Boxing is foremost in K-1 MAX and it is usually wiser to orient your style to English boxing, with elbows in to straighten punches and protect from uppercuts... or long knees. Lim has been employing tightened boxing in more recent fights to good effect. Had he chosen to take it to Kido aggressively, this fight could have been a lot more competitive.

Remember, kids. For your brains, try not to fight out of your weight class, fight to your strengths, and use footwork.