Badr Hari vs Ruslan Karaev 2007

Our first foray into super heavyweight competition features Badr Hari and Ruslan Karaev. Both fighters hit hard and fast and have a somewhat spotty history with getting chinned due to reckless mistakes or loose defense. Most of you will be familiar with Badr. The Moroccan has skyrocketed in standing in recent years with defeats of many top fighters including Alistair Overeem, Semmy Schilt, and Alexei Ignashov. He is currently on a self-imposed hiatus due to mental breakdowns in the ring that lead to disqualification losses, but remains a uniquely important figure in super heavyweight kickboxing.

Badr has put on weight recently, but at the time of this fight he, like Ruslan, was one of the smaller super heavyweights on the K-1 circuit. Ruslan's career has not been doing well, unlike Badr's, and he's been sitting out recent tournaments due to injury or lack of preparation. He always poses a threat because of his punching power. Unfortunately, because of poor defense, his window for victory against skilled opponents often seems little more than a puncher's chance.

This was their second meeting. The fight took place in Yokohoma, Japan and was an eliminator for the newly formed 100 kg division in K-1. Badr wears the blue gloves, Ruslan the red.