Ikuhisa Minowa and Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou were victorious Tuesday at DREAM.11 in Yokohama, Japan and will meet each other in the final of the Super Hulk tournament at Dynamite!! 2009 on New Year's Eve.
The self-described pro wrestler Minowa submitted the seven-foot-two K-1 fighter Hong-Man Choi despite giving up over 125 pounds and 17 inches in height.
Minowa struggled in the first round due to the sheer size of Choi. Minowa did everything he could to bring the fight to the ground, and although he managed two takedowns, he was swept the first time and unable to mount an attack the second. Choi effectively sprawled the other times and landed punches before standing up.
In the second round Minowa shot for a single, went for the switch and pushed Choi down to sit back and sink in the heel hook, adding Choi to his giants-slayed list of super heavyweights that includes Butterbean, Giant SIlva and Bob Sapp.
In the other semifinal bout of the open-weight tournament, the smaller (relatively speaking) fighter also proved more effective. Sokoudjou made quick work of Sapp, putting the 340-plus pounder on his back and punching him in side control until the referee called a stop to the fight.
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