on kickboxing training, using my hands to create opportunities for other things, and I think that's made me a better fighter, with intensity and a varied arsenal. I will do whatever is right depending on the situation."

Cheek seemed amused to discover his opponent's nickname: "The 'Blue-Eyed Samurai,' that's a real pretty name for him," he laughed. "I don't really come up with cute names, I'm the savage and I come in to be the most aggressive I can be, win the fight and get out as fast as I can. I don't know if Nick should be going around calling himself a samurai, but if he is then more power to him. I'll be the samurai with brown eyes if you like."

"I've been preparing using multiple sparring partners, with a new partner every round so they are always fresh. Also, I have a new trainer, just for conditioning, stamina and core strength and balance and so on. I don't think Nick is going to try to box me, I think he's going to come out looking to chop my legs out. So I'll be ready for that and counter him with my strongest weapon, punches."


In Superfights:

K-1 Heavyweight Champion Badr Hari of Morocco will meet Croatian MMA fighter Domagoj Ostojic.

Remarked a relaxed Hari: "I feel very good, I trained very hard and I'm ready as always. You must not forget, I'm 23 years old, I'm just a kid with a dream -- I want three belts [the World GP, Heavyweight and Super Heavyweight] . I'm 100% confident I can do that, if I weren't, I would just stay at home. As for Saturday, I don't know much about Domagoj except that I fought him a couple of years ago and knocked him out. I advise him to keep his hands high because that's what I want to do tomorrow, just knock him out to finish the fight."

Ostojic has a vivid if painful memory of his KO loss to Hari, a loss he is keen to avenge: "That was three years ago, and I underestimated him. He was 10kg lighter then and I thought 'what a skinny kid!' This time, I'll try to keep to the middle of the ring and answer his punches, I think mine are stronger. I learned a lesson when I underestimated Hari, maybe he'll learn the same lesson tomorrow."

Australian muay thai fighter Paul Slowinski will take on Moroccan kickboxer Aziz "Iceman" Jahjah.

Slowinski was confident his training with K-1 legend Ernesto Hoost would stand him in good stead. "I've been working with Ernesto on getting the distance right, getting in and out and boxing, and topping it off with kicks. I want to put aside the muay thai style and fight more in the explosive K-1 style. I'm ready to fight. I know Aziz's strong points, his right hand, I've seen his fights and he's technical and good but I don't think he's fought many heavyweights or taken kicks from heavyweights, so we'll see."

Jahjah said his right straight punch and knees would make the difference, "All I know about Slowinski is he is a K-1 fighter, and this is just a routine fight for me. Yes, I've watched some videos of Slowinski, but tomorrow when I see him in the ring I think I can win easily."

In the last Superfight, it will be American MMA fighter Scott Junk versus Min Soo Kim, a South Korean judoka.


All three undercard fights are acting as reserve matches for the USA GP tournament.

In the first reserve (first substitute into the tournament), it will be South Korean shot putter Randy Kim 196cm/6'5" and 180cm/5'11" Vilitonu Fonokalafi, a Hawaiian MMA and muay thai stylist who put his goal for Saturday succinctly: "It's K-I, so KO, that's it."

Gokhan Saki's promotion to the tournament opened up a spot in the second reserve fight. Junior Sua, a 41 year-old Hawaiian fighter, now faces the daunting proposition of stepping in against German K-1 veteran Stefan Leko.

And in the last of the undercard bouts, Japanese kyokushin fighter Koichi will make his K-1 debut against Dutch Muay Thai stylist Rico Verhoeven.

All bouts will be fought under Official K-1 Rules (3Min. x 3R, with a possible tiebreaker round, two possible tiebreakers in the tournament final and the Superfights)

The K-1 World Grand Prix 2008 in Hawaii kicks off at 6:00 pm on Saturday, August 9 at the Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu. Tickets are available by calling 1-808-944-2697 or visiting www.etickethawaii.com. The event will be broadcast live across Japan on Fuji TV and in South Korea on the CJ Media Network. Time-delay broadcasts will bring the event to some 135 countries -- for scheduling information, contact local providers. Check with the K-1 Official Website (www.k-1.co.jp/k-1gp) for official results and comprehensive coverage of this and all K-1 events.