Author: Daniel Herbertson

Fighters Gather in Seoul for K-1 Double Impact Final 16

Filed under: K1, NewsSEOUL – All 46 participants have gathered in Korea for the K-1 World Grand Prix 2010 Final 16 and the K-1 World MAX Final 16 to be held on Oct. 2 and 3 respectively at the Olympic Gymnasium 1st.

As expected former UFC heavyweight …

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SEOUL – All 46 participants have gathered in Korea for the K-1 World Grand Prix 2010 Final 16 and the K-1 World MAX Final 16 to be held on Oct. 2 and 3 respectively at the Olympic Gymnasium 1st.

As expected former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski and Ruslan Karaev were both absent with K-1 President Sadaharu Tanikawa finally officially confirming that they are out of their bouts due to injuries sustained in training.

“I would like to apologize to the press and the fans in the Korea and around the world – about 10 days before this press conference, Ruslan Karaev had to (withdraw due to injury) and also many people had been expecting Andrei Arlovski, the former champion of the UFC, but he was also injured during sparring about a week ago. We had been trying to convince (Arlovski) to come over for this event but due to the doctor’s opinion we had to cancel his participation as well. I would like to apologize for these changes.”

Ray Sefo will step in for Karaev to face Tyrone Spong and Mighty Mo will replace Arlovski against Raul Catinas. Sefo has rebounded from a six fight losing streak in 2007/8 to win his last three K-1 bouts while fan favorite Mighty Mo has gone 2-7 in his last nine outings.

Sakuraba Being Sakuraba

Filed under: DREAM, interview, JapanOn September 25th at DREAM.16, Kazushi Sakuraba will face Jason “Mayhem” Miller in what will most likely be the showcase fight for the promotion’s first domestic prime-time event of the year.

In an interview that is…

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On September 25th at DREAM.16, Kazushi Sakuraba will face Jason “Mayhem” Miller in what will most likely be the showcase fight for the promotion’s first domestic prime-time event of the year.

In an interview that is typical of the enigmatic Kazushi Sakuraba, he met with the press at his Laughter7 gym in Tokyo recently and talked about entrances, refusing to train at his own public training session and Mayhem’s comments that he is fighting his idol and that he will be the first to submit the Japanese pioneer.

DREAM.16 Preview and Predictions

Filed under: DREAM, JapanDREAM needed to pull out all out the stops for DREAM.16. Their last event for the year is also the first for the year that will be broadcast during primetime domestically and given their financial woes, they need to impress. DR…

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DREAM needed to pull out all out the stops for DREAM.16. Their last event for the year is also the first for the year that will be broadcast during primetime domestically and given their financial woes, they need to impress. DREAM were still booking fights until less than 24 hours before DREAM.16 but it was worth it, they managed to put on the card that they needed.

Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Jason “Mayhem” Miller is one of the most crowd pleasing matchups of all time. Tatsuya Mizuno will be the Japanese underdog against the foreign belt collector Gegard Mousasi. Shinya Aoki will try to take another step towards reclaiming his spot among the top lightweights in the world against a man who once upset another Japanese champion – Marcus Aurelio. Four great featherweights fights that will define the future of the division.

After the break, predictions and a preview of what may be a pivotal card in DREAM’s history.

Thompson-Kawaguchi Added To DREAM.16, All Fighters On Weight

Filed under: DREAM, News, JapanJames Thompson’s trip to Japan turned out not to be pointless. Less than 24 hours from fight time Japan’s premier super-heavyweight, DEEP Megaton Champion Yusuke Kawaguchi has stepped up to face the former debt collector….

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James Thompson’s trip to Japan turned out not to be pointless. Less than 24 hours from fight time Japan’s premier super-heavyweight, DEEP Megaton Champion Yusuke Kawaguchi has stepped up to face the former debt collector.

Thompson was initially set to face Ikuhisa Minowa but then found himself without an opponent when 2008 Beijing Gold Medalist Satoshi Ishii stepped in to face the DREAM SuperHulk Champion. Kawaguchi rose to prominance in DEEP’s 2008 Megaton tournament where he participated in an eating contest and beat four opponents to claim the title. Kawaguchi last fought against Mariusz Pudzianowski in Poland where he lost a decision.

All fighters made weight without incident for Saturday’s event including light-heavyweight title contenders Tatsuya Mizuno and former Strikeforce Light-Heavyweight Champ and former DREAM Middleweight Champ Gegard Mousasi.

Full weigh-in results after the break.

Darren Uyenoyama Upsets Shuichiro Katsumura at The Way of Shooto 5

Filed under: News, JapanShooto newcomer Darren Uyenoyama handed out a one-sided beating to current Shooto 132-pound world champ Shuichiro Katsumura in a non-title fight at The Way of Shooto 5 on Thursday.

Uyenoyama, who is most well known for his high…

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Shooto newcomer Darren Uyenoyama handed out a one-sided beating to current Shooto 132-pound world champ Shuichiro Katsumura in a non-title fight at The Way of Shooto 5 on Thursday.

Uyenoyama, who is most well known for his highly entertaining bout with Hideo Tokoro at DREAM.4, was superior with his wrestling from the clinch and was able to put his opponent on his back. Katsumura’s only option was to scramble for heel hooks. Avoiding the leglocks with general ease, Uyenoyama kept a stream of ground and pound flowing that finally proved to be too much for the champion at 3:53 of the second round.

A rematch for the Shooto title will no doubt be in the works but is not likely to take place until 2011 given the schedule that has been outlined for the rest of 2010.

Ikuhisa Minowa to Face Satoshi Ishii at DREAM.16

Filed under: DREAM, News, JapanOnly three days out from DREAM’s first prime-time event for the year, FEG have added some much needed star power, booking Ikuhisa “Minowaman” Minowa to fight Beijing gold medalist Satoshi Ishii in an open-weight bout.

Mi…

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Only three days out from DREAM’s first prime-time event for the year, FEG have added some much needed star power, booking Ikuhisa “Minowaman” Minowa to fight Beijing gold medalist Satoshi Ishii in an open-weight bout.

Minowa was initially planned to face James Thompson, but while Thompson was in the air on the way to Japan, the bout was canceled. DREAM Event Producer Keiichi Sasahara stated that he was planning on adding one more fight to the card but Thompson was not mentioned specifically as a participant and the matter was not addressed at the press conference.