K-1 Las Vegas: Cheek's Weight Down, Pitchkounov's Odds Up
written by Monty DiPietro

LAS VEGAS, August 10, 2007 -- The official weigh-ins were held today for the K-1 World Grand Prix '07 in Las Vegas. Saturday's event at the Bellagio Hotel and Casino comprises an eight-man elimination tournament and a trio of Superfights.

Tournament fighter Rick Cheek of the United States weighed in at 255lbs/116kg, down 14lbs/6kg from his listed weight; while Superfight combatant Mighty Mo, also of the United States, tipped the scales at 299lbs/136kg, up 24lbs/11kg from his listed weight.

Stefan Leko and Mighty Mo

Stefan Leko and Mighty Mo

The official numbers:

Tournament

Tsuyoshi Nakasako (Japan) 207lbs/94kg
Alexandre Pitchkounov (Russia) 226lbs/103kg

Rick Cheek (USA) 255lbs/116kg
Imani Lee (USA) 310lbs/141kg

Rickard Nordstrand (Sweden) 199lbs/90kg
Patrick Barry (USA) 232lbs/105kg

Esh'Chadar Brown Ton (USA) 221lbs/100kg
Zabit Samedov (Belarus) 203lbs/92kg

Super Fights

Stefan Leko (Germany) 215lbs/98kg
Mighty Mo (USA) 299lbs/136kg

Bjorn Bregy (Switzerland) 279lbs/127kg
Ray Sefo (New Zealand) 250lbs/113kg

Bjorn Bregy and Ray Sefo

Bjorn Bregy and Ray Sefo

Petr Vondracek (Czech Republic) 238lbs/108kg
Ariel Mastov (Israel) 205lbs/93 kg

There were also some ups and downs on the Bellagio odds board. The line on Cheek, the tournament favorite yesterday, dropped from 9/5 to 5/2, while bets pushed Pitchkounov up from 3/1 to 2/1, making him the new front-runner. Imani Lee, who opened at 18/1, improved to 8/1.

In the Superfights the new money liked Mighty Mo, now favored to beat Leko; while steady confidence on Sefo moved him further up on Bregy.

The K-1 World Grand Prix '07 in Las Vegas kicks off at 7:00 pm in the Bellagio Grand Ballroom. Visit the K-1 Official Website (www.k-1.co.jp/k-1gp) for comprehensive coverage of this and all K-1 events.

';