Dark Horses in the K-1 World Grand Prix

For the past seven years, Remy Bonjasky and Semmy Schilt have been the two names under the "Champion" column of the K-1 World Grand Prix bracket. Bonjasky is not in this year's tournament due to his fourth eye surgery, and with good reason, Schilt remains the favorite to win his fifth Grand Prix.

Without Bonjasky and his rival, Badr Hari, in this year's Grand Prix, people started looking for one potential fighter to break out and seriously challenge Schilt. Almost unanimously, that fighter became Alistair Overeem. His recent knockouts against Ben Edwards and Dževad Poturak speak for themselves, and his past wins over Badr Hari, Peter Aerts, and Ewerton Teixeira make him a sexy upset pick for fans. I don't think it's an inappropriate pick to make, but I don't believe he's a lock to make it to the finals. I do think there is a pair of fighters being overlooked by analysts and fans alike.

The bracket looks like this:
Fight #1: Mighty Mo v. Peter Aerts
Fight #2: Semmy Schilt v. Kyotaro
Fight #3: Gokhan Saki v. Daniel Ghita
Fight #4: Alistair Overeem v. Tyrone Spong

The quarter-finals are relatively predictable in my opinion. Even at his age, Aerts should deal with Mighty Mo like he has in the past. While it should be a fun fight, Schilt will likely beat Kyotaro. In the most evenly matched fight, I expect Saki to get the win against Ghita, and finally, Overeem will probably put Spong down hard and fast.

Barring any upsets, we'd then have Aerts vs. Schilt and Saki vs. Overeem. This is where I think the tournament can get very interesting. Aerts has figured out Schilt in the past, and if someone is going to beat Schilt, it'll likely be a guy that knows how to deal with his lengthy, karate style. Aerts knows Schilt better than anyone else in this tournament, as the two veterans have fought three times before. Even with recent losses to Kyotaro and Alistair Overeem, Aerts should be considered a legitimate threat to at least make it to the final round.

In my second projected semi-final, Gohkan Saki would take on Alistair Overeem. Other than Schilt, I think Saki presents the most problems to Overeem in this line-up. If you look at Overeem's past losses in K-1 and MMA, he doesn't deal well when powerful punchers come in and pressure him. Chuck Liddell did it, and knocked Overeem out. Sergei Kharitonov did it, and knocked Overeem out. Badr Hari did it, and knocked Overeem out. Gohkan Saki's biggest strengths are his aggressiveness and his ability to finish guys. If he goes in there, and isn't intimidated by the massive size and power of Overeem, Saki has the skills to finish him off.

While the rightful favorites could very well meet in a much-anticipated clash, don't count out the dark-horses in Peter Aerts and Gohkan Saki.

The K-1 World Grand Prix Final 8 will air live (2 am ET/11 pm PT) on Saturday on HDNet here in the U.S.