ThePainFactory

Fedor Emelianenko (26-1) will, in fact, fight in Japan on New Year’s Eve. His opponent? Seven-foot-two, 352-pound Hong Man Choi (1-0).

Greg Savage made the announcement on today’s Savage Radio Show.

Emelianenko signed with a restructured M-1 Global organization last month, but it was a non-exclusive deal. As MMAjunkie.com (http://www.mmajunkie.com) reported, the fighter recently penned an open letter to fans in Japan saying he wanted to fight for them on New Year’s Eve, which had become an annual tradition for Emelianenko.

M-1 Global CEO Monte Cox said the organization couldn’t work out a deal, but late last week, the Russian M-1 website (which is different from the official M-1 Global website) briefly posted a message saying Emelianenko was booked for a New Year’s Eve event at the Saitama Super Arena, a 22,000-capacity multi-purpose venue in Saitama City, Saitama, Japan.

According to Savage, Emelianenko will fight for an event organized by Hustle Pro Wrestling, which involves former employees of the now-defunct PRIDE Fighting Championships organization.

Emelianenko, the former longtime PRIDE heavyweight champion, was once considered the sport’s undisputed top pound-for-pound fighter. That legacy has tarnished lately, though, as the Russian heavyweight has faced just three opponents over the past two years: a 41-year-old Mark Coleman, five-win veteran Mark Hunt, and middleweight Matt Lindland.

Emelianenko submitted all three opponents, but the victories have done little to help his once-spotless reputation. This latest reported fight probably won’t help either.

Choi, a 27-year-old South Korean, suffers from a rare disease that causes him to continue growing throughout his life.

Although he has just one MMA fight to his credit, Choi is an accomplished K-1 boxer (who owns a career 12-3 record) and wrestler.

Choi made his MMA debut last New Year’s Eve in a K-1 event and defeated two-fight veteran Bobby Ologun — a 215-pounder — with a TKO via punches just 16 seconds into the fight.

He was then scheduled to fight recent UFC signee Brock Lesnar in the former WWE performer’s MMA debut. The K-1 Dynamite!! USA show took place in June, but the California State Athletic Commission wouldn’t clear Choi to fight reportedly due to a benign tumor on his pituitary gland. (Min Soo Kim fought in his place and tapped out due to strikes in just 69 seconds.)

That "continue growing throughout his life" disease is due to the tumor on his pituitary gland (that's toward the front of your head). I can't believe they're going to let him fight with that; especially against Fedor. It just doesn't seem right to me. That's like letting someone commit suicide on TV.

Yeah I watched a show on this chick that had that same disease. They're strong when they are young ,but as they get older it's like torcher for them that really sucks.

The thing about MMA is you never really know. Someone like Choi can come out and shock the world. Houston Alexander is a perfect example..... I never bet on MMA I think Choi should get to fight. He has already proved he can fight. I'm sure he is aware of the risks. It should be his choice. Like Relentless said... Life maybe "torcher" for him as he gets older...Let him live it up now.