Karaev Drops out of Le Banner Fight; Spong Steps in as Replacement

More changes to big fights at K-1: Ruslan Karaev has dropped out of his April 3 fight with Jerome Le Banner at the K-1 Yokohama show.  In his place will be Tyrone Spong, stepping in to face JLB.  No word yet on why Karaev dropped out.

While Spong v. Le Banner is not a bad match-up, this still does come as a disappointment.  Stylistically, Karaev v. Le Banner was a good pairing, with two heavy hitters, both in a low point in their careers, trying to get some redemption from recent performances.  It was intriguing to see where both men stood, particularly Karaev, who has been a very frustrating fighter to follow in recent years.

Once considered one of the next top fighter in K-1, Karaev's last few years have seen extensive lay-offs, and some less than stellar performances.  This was capped by his loss to Hesdy Gerges last October, a fighter who has since shown that he is not at that top level of competition just yet.  Karaev has a lot of fans, who still look back on his wins over Hari and Leko as proof of his skill, but with the exception of a 2009 victory of Kyotaro, Karaev simply has not demonstrated that he is a top-tier fighter recently.  This was a good opportunity to reassert his position, and it is a shame to see him on the shelf yet again.

Spong was rumored to face Singh Jaideep on this card, though that fight was not yet announced.