Kings Cup 8 man tournament draw, Pique, Oberg, and Askerov out

The draw to set the match-ups for the Kings Cup 8 man tournament has taken place. In some interesting changes Marco Pique (Holland), Dzhabar Askerov (Russia) will not fight because they are present at the Rumble of the Kings, and Marcus Oberg (Sweeden) withdrew from the tournament for unknown reasons.

Stepping in to take their slots in the tournament will be Xu Yan (China), Alexandre Vogel (Germany), and Soleimani (Iran). Although they might not carry the name power of Pique and Dzhabar they made sure quality replacements were selected, and the tournament still shapes out to be a talent filled event. Yodsanklai and Cosmo Alexandre are the favorites to reach the tournament finals.


Draw Results:

Group 1
Jesse Miles (Canada) vs. Cosmo Alexandre (Brazil)
Alexandre Vogel (Germany) vs. Xu Yan (China)

Group 2
Jordan Watson (UK) vs. Soleimani (Iran)
Vuyisile Colossa (South Africa) vs. Yodsanklai Fairtex (Thailand)

Some interesting match-ups in the opening round, as Yodsanklai will meet Colossa for a fourth time. Yodsanklai holds a 2-1 edge in their three meetings this far, but dropped their most recent fight earlier this year by decision.

Cosmo Alexandre will take on the very under rated Jesse Miles. Most are counting Miles out, but if he can get past the devastating Cosmo Alexandre then there is no reason you shouldn't expect to see him in the finals. Of course getting past Cosmo Alexandre is easier said than done.

Jordan Watson the dark horse coming into this tournament is looking to add some great names to his list of victims, and it will be interesting to see him fight Soleimani. Both men will gain a lot just by making to the finals out of Group 2.

Alexandre Vogel and Xu Yan will be interesting to see. Yan has been very active as of late, defeated Malaipet a few months back, but recently dropped a decision to American Shane Oblonsky back in November.

The Kings Cup 8 man tournament will be available on Pay-Per-View on Direct TV and InDemand.