It was earlier this month that K-1 announced the Japanese competitors for the tournament, as follows: Akihiro Kaneko, Masashi Kumura, Rui Okubo, and Riamu. The second half of the tournament was announced today. From Europe, Italy's Luca Cecchetti and Spain's Antonio Orden. From Asia, Cambodia's Kan Menghong and China's Zhao Zhendong.
On one side, the tough 21-year-old Kun Khmer fighter Kan Menghong is just behind Pich Bunseth in the 57 KG division in Cambodia, having almost cleared out his division. He pulled the short straw as he will have to face divisional king and pound-for-pound ranked Akihiro Kaneko. The Italian kickboxing ace Luca Cecchettie gets another chance at K-1 gold, against reigning Krush champion Riamu. Cecchetti has been excellent in recent years, having only lost twice in his last 20 fights, with his most recent fight being a close decision loss to Masashi Kumura.
On the other side, Spanish veteran Antonio Orden recently had a big year, defeating Noelisson Silva for the WBC Muay Thai title and fighting on a ONE Lumpinee show. He returns to Japan again to fight former K-1 champion Masashi Kumura, one the favorites to win the tournament. As for the relatively unknown 19-year-old Chinese newcomer Zhao Zhendong, he boasts a record of 25-1 and is the camp junior of WLF star Luo Chao. He will fight the potential dark horse of the tournament Rui Okubo.
