ever, and Saturday we'll see who's best!"

Will you be going for a KO?

"Yes of course because the last time the jury made the decision, so it would be better to knock him out so nobody can change the decision later!"

Whom do you think you may meet in the semis or final?

"I think Saki will be in my second fight and I would hope to see Peter in the final."

Why Aerts?

"Well I lost to Peter in the tournament last year, so it would be great to have my revenge against him this time."



Ruslan Karaev chatted only briefly with reporters, predicting that he "absolutely will not lose." Asked if that meant three KOs, Karaev laughed and replied. "Maybe two."

Ewerton Teixeira went directly from his photo session to the training room.



In the card's reserve fights:

Paul Slowinski said he was prepared for opponent Melvin Manhoef. "He's an explosive fighter, strong and not so tall, so that can make it difficult. I'll have to use distance, stay outside and use my reach."

"Yeah I'm like a midget," replied Manhoef. "But I train with Badr Hari, who's taller than Slowinski. I don't care, Paul is a good fighter but if he tries to keep his distance I will just fight into his range, I will go and get him, no problem."


Ray Sefo said he was ready to take on big Hong-Man Choi. "I feel good and I'm confident. Nothing is easy but my team and I have been working hard, Jan [Nortje] has been my main sparring partner and he's pretty big. I'm not going in looking for a KO though, I want to do what I do best, which is be aggressive and win the fight, and then maybe we get into the tournament."

Choi also said he was also ready. "Usually I train in Japan, but this time I stayed in Korea and trained harder, changing my sparring partners and changing all aspects of my fighting style. I'm ready for Sefo, he's a good fighter, he's fast and has a good right, but he's going down."



The K-1 World Grand Prix 2008 Final kicks off at 5 p.m. on December 6 At the Yokohama Arena. It will be broadcast live in Japan on Fuji TV; across Europe on Eurosport; in the USA on HDNet; in Australia on Main Event; and in New Zealand on SKY Network. Visit the K-1 Official Website (www.k-1.co.jp/k-1gp) for comprehensive coverage and official results.