Filed under: DREAM, JapanFormer pacific rim champion Kenichiro Togashi’s suger-sweet jab again led him to victory on Friday night as he out-boxed Shin Kochiwa from the southpaw stance in the main event of Shooto Gig Tokyo 6 at Shinjuku Face in Tokyo, J…
Former pacific rim champion Kenichiro Togashi’s suger-sweet jab again led him to victory on Friday night as he out-boxed Shin Kochiwa from the southpaw stance in the main event of Shooto Gig Tokyo 6 at Shinjuku Face in Tokyo, Japan. Three long rounds of jabs and counters bloodied a helpless Kochiwa and it wasn’t until the final 30 seconds of the last round.
Hawaiian wrestler Guy Delumeau exploited the weakness of Yusuke Yachi, taking the promising Krazy Bee striker down time and time again to grab the unanimous decision. A brief moment on the feet was capitalized on by the 2009 rookie champion as Yachi landed a huge high kick against the ropes in the second stanza. After the shin to the face Delumeau took no more risks and cruised his way to the decision via his dominant top control.
Haruo Ochi dramatically derailed 2010 rookie champion Kosuke “Rambo” Suzuki scoring an incredible come from behind knockout. Suzuki dominated the majority of the fight, landing strikes at will and humiliating Ochi with constant submission attempts but late in the second round, Ochi landed a flying knee followed by a hook that crushed Suzuki and sent him unconscious to the canvas.
Full results after the break.
Shooto Gig Tokyo 6 – May 28, 2011 at Shinjuku Face, Tokyo, Japan
Kenichiro Togashi def. Shin Kochiwa by Unanimous Decision
Guy Delumeau def. Yusuke Yachi by Unanimous Decision
Haruo Ochi def. Kosuke Suzuki by KO (Punch) – Round 2, 2:10
Kenji Yamamoto def. Minoru Takeuchi by KO (Punch) – Round 2, 2:12
Chuji Kato def. Yoshinori Suzuki by Unanimous Decision
Yusuke Kasuya def. Yoshikazu Fujiishi by Submission (Choke) – Round 1, 4:47
Shoki Omichi def. Brody Fujita by Submission (Armbar) – Round 2, 4.20
Filed under: DREAM, JapanComing in on late notice, Rich Clementi was unable to make weight ahead of his DREAM Fight for Japan bout with lightweight champion Shinya Aoki. The UFC veteran came in 7 ounces overweight and drawn out and as he made his way o…
Coming in on late notice, Rich Clementi was unable to make weight ahead of his DREAM Fight for Japan bout with lightweight champion Shinya Aoki. The UFC veteran came in 7 ounces overweight and drawn out and as he made his way out of the room in order to lose the required weight.
All other fighters on DREAM’s first event for the year where on weight including participants in the Bantamweight Japan Grand Prix.
Full weigh-in results are after the break.
DREAM “Fight for Japan” – May 29, 2011 at Saitama Super Arena, Japan
Shinya Aoki (69.8 kg/153.8 lbs) vs. Rich Clementi (70.2 kg/154.7 lbs)
Katsunori Kikuno (70 kg/154.3 lbs) vs. Daisuke Nakamura (69.6 kg/153.4 lbs)
Caol Uno (65 kg/143.3 lbs) vs. Akiyo Nishiura (64.8 kg/142.8 lbs)
“Lion” Takeshi Inoue (65 kg/143.3 lbs) vs. Koichiro Matsumoto (64.9 kg/143 lbs)
Joachim Hansen (65 kg/143.3 lbs) vs. Mitsuhiro Ishida (64.9 kg/143 lbs)
Bantamweight Grand Prix Quarterfinals:
Hideo Tokoro (61 kg/134.4 lbs) vs. Yoshiro Maeda (60.5 kg/133.4 lbs)
Masakazu Imanari (60.8 kg/134 lbs) vs. Keisuke Fujiwara (61 kg/134.4 lbs)
Kenji Osawa (60.5 kg/133.4 lbs) vs. Takafumi Otsuka (60.7 kg/133.8 lbs)
Yusaku Nakamura (60.2 kg/132.7 lbs) vs. Atsushi Yamamoto (60.7 kg/133.8 lbs)
The war between the two largest kickboxing promotions in the business, It’s Showtime and K-1, continues to escalate.
In a statement posted to It’s Showtime’s website, the European-based promoter has claimed that the Japan-based K-1 owes It’s Showtime contracted fighters more than $400,000 and that K-1 president Sadaharu Tanikawa has made threatening phone calls to fighters planning to fight outside of K-1 and as a result of this, It’s Showtime will be taking legal action.
Among those who are owed money are Giorgio Petrosyan, Tyrone Spong, Hesdy Gerges, Daniel Ghita and Melvin Manhoef and It’s Showtime president Simon Rutz claims there are more waiting for money.
The statement from Rutz comes as no surprise given his clear intent to take over the Japanese kickboxing scene. It’s Showtime recently announced a partnership with Japanese promotion REBELS to create an event to be promoted under the “It’s Showtime Japan” banner. The full statement from Rutz is after the break.
“After years of being loyal to K-1 (FEG) regarding the late payment, or no payment at all, to our fighters, we would like to release the following statement.
For more than half a year K-1 owes us more than 400.000 US dollars in total because several fighters which we represent have not been paid. Every time we were asked to have more patience because a potential investor would be interested to take over K-1.
Until now, we have never contacted a lawyer to claim our credits because we granted K-1 the time they need to financially recover. However, we were very surprised to hear that DREAM and K-1 want to organize a number of smaller events. In our opinion that isn’t possible before K-1 first pays its debts to fighters which already have fought. Therefore, now is the time for us to hire a lawyer.
Also, fighters are even receiving phone calls from Mr. Tanikawa with a threat to not fight for IT’S SHOWTIME JAPAN. If fighters would fight for IT’S SHOWTIME JAPAN, they can wave their money goodbye. Mr. Tanikawa is not in the position to act this way, and subservience would fit him a lot better. Mr. Tanikawa doesn’t understand that K-1 has to pay their debts because the fighters have already delivered their service to K-1.
We can only describe the way K-1 has been managed the last years as amateurish and almost as deceit. If we hadn’t put a huge amount of pressure on K-1 just before the K-1 World Grand Prix Final of last year, some fighters would have been even more financially struck.
Even if an investor for K-1 will appear, we really hope that Mr. Tanikawa will take a management course first, otherwise the invested money will disappear like snow in the sun.
The next fighters still have to receive big amounts of money from K-1: Giorgio Petrosyan, Tyrone Spong, Hesdy Gerges, Daniel Ghita, Melvin Manhoef, Pajonsuk Superpro Samui, Chahid Oulad el Hadj, Gago Drago and Dzevad Poturak.
These are only the fighters which are represented by us. However, also a lot of fighters are still patiently waiting for their money. We would like to emphasize that it’s incorrect that K-1 even organizes events without paying their debts to these fighters.”
Simon Rutz
IT’S SHOWTIME
It’s Showtime have been co-promoting events with K-1 for many years now but as the Japanese giant falls, It’s Showtime is clearly ready to swoop in and take over the title of the world’s leading kickboxing event. It’s Showtime-contracted fighters coming forward and complaining about late payment led to K-1 president Sadaharu Tanikawa declaring that “Simon Rutz killed K-1,” and the July 18 “It’s Showtime Japan” event already has it’s headliner in 155-pound K-1 ace Giorgio Petrosyan taking on HINATA. Although Petrosyan is an It’s Showtime-contracted fighter, until this point he has only fought for K-1 in Japan.
As the UFC is synonymous with MMA, K-1 has been synonymous with kickboxing since the beginning of the K-1 World GP in 1993. However, since the end of the Japanese martial arts “boom” in around 2005, the promotion has fallen on hard times due to rapidly falling popularity and questionable decisions from management.
Filed under: DREAM, JapanFew will be able to see it, but DREAM returns from an almost six-month hiatus on Sunday with it’s “Fight for Japan” charity event at the Saitama Super Arena in Japan.
With Japan recovering from the March 11 earthquake and DREA…
Few will be able to see it, but DREAM returns from an almost six-month hiatus on Sunday with it’s “Fight for Japan” charity event at the Saitama Super Arena in Japan.
With Japan recovering from the March 11 earthquake and DREAM having financial issues, the event will take place in front of only 7,000 spectators, will be on a two-day tape-delayed PPV in Japan and will be broadcast on a five-day tape delay in North America on HDNet.
After the break, predictions for the first major Japanese MMA event of 2011 featuring DREAM lightweight champion Shinya Aoki taking on longtime UFC veteran Rich Clementi and the opening rounds of the bantamweight tournament.
What: DREAM “Fight for Japan”
When: May 29, 2011. The event will be broadcast on HDNet on Fri, June 3rd 10 pm ET.
Where: Saitama Super Arena, Saitama, Japan Shinya Aoki vs. Rich Clementi
Injury and DREAM’s current dire financial state led to a steady stream of cancelled opponents for lightweight champion Shinya Aoki but after 4 candidates, the job eventually went to Rich Clementi.
Clementi has slipped somewhat in recent years, going 7-7 since his last win in the UFC in May 2008 with back-to-back losses to Gray Maynard and Gleison Tibau seeing the 60-fight veteran lose his UFC contract.
The memory of Aoki’s humiliating loss to Yuichiro “Jienotsu” Nagashima was somewhat erased with his impressive domination of Lyle Beerbohm in Strikeforce and the submission specialist should put on a similar performance here against Clementi. The 12 days notice for the American won’t help his cause. A first-round rear-naked choke seems likely. Pick: Aoki Joachim Hansen vs. Mitsuhiro Ishida
Longtime lightweight veterans of the Japanese circuit, Joachim Hansen and Mitsuhiro Ishida both dropped to featherweight in 2010 but they have had varying results: Hansen has fought a much higher quality of fighter, going 2-2 but Ishida has been flawless with two tireless decision wins.
The real difference is in how easily the former lightweights have cut the ten pounds. Ishida has not missed a step at featherweight and as always, has had a bottomless gas tank. Hansen on the other hand has had be drawn out, running low on cardio and suffered the first KO loss of his career against current champ Hiroyuki Takaya.
I’m still not convinced that Hansen is able to fight at 100 percent at a featherweight and Ishida will test his gas tank to the limit. The former DREAM lightweight champion drops a close and entertaining decision to Ishida. Pick: Ishida
“Lion” Takeshi Inoue vs. Koichiro Matsumoto
The former Shooto champion “Lion” Takeshi and reigning Deep featherweight champion Koichiro Matsumoto are similar fighters, both being rangy strikers with heavy hands supported by excellent low kicks, but Lion is the better and more experienced fighter of the two. This superb bit of matchmaking should lead to an interesting fight, but Lion’s experience should get him across the line. Look for multiple knockdowns and a dramatic comeback in classic “Lion” style. Pick: Inoue
Caol Uno vs. “Wicky” Akiyo Nishiura
One of the legends of the Japanese MMA scene, Caol Uno, is on the verge of retiring and given his record over the past few years, it may not be a bad thing. The former Shooto ace and long-time UFC veteran has gone 1-4-1 in his last six outings as a lightweight (although two decisions during his recent UFC run were questioned by some), and his drop to featherweight was spoiled in humiliating fashion by the chain suplexes of Kazuyuki Miyata.
Unfortunately for Uno, he is just the kind of opponent that “Wicky” Akiyo enjoys. The hard hitting “Lion” Takeshi teammate has had problem with wrestlers (although Matt Hume has been correcting this issue for the past year) but seems to be unsubmittable and as his dramatic knockout of Hideo Tokoro showed, he has incredible one punch power.
Uno may be able to avoid the hands of Wicky for at least one round but he doesn’t have the strength and wrestling ability to keep the striker on his back for the full duration of the bout. Uno gets caught with a crushing uppercut and I have a feeling we may see him retire post-fight. Pick: Nishiura Katsunori Kikuno vs. Daisuke Nakamura
Karate practitioner and reigning Deep lightweight champion Katsunori Kikuno is believed by many to be the next generation of Japanese fighter but criminally underrated armbar king Daisuke Nakamura shouldn’t be considered just a stepping stone for the rising star.
Kikuno’s remarkable strength and trademark crescent kick should lead to a knockout victory but Nakamura’s low kicks, jabs and movement on the feet and chain submissions on the mat will make it interesting. Pick: Kikuno
Bantamweight Grand Prix Quarterfinals: Masakazu Imanari vs. Keisuke Fujiwara
Deep bantamweight champ Imanari’s leg locking style was largely developed due the unusual no closed guard rule in ZST and Fujiwara, being the current bantamaweight champion promotion, may be able avoid the constant stream of leg attacks.
Fujiwara has knockout power in his hands and is difficult to submit while Imanari has incredible submissions and is difficult to knockout as he flops to his back whenever pressed too hard on the feet. The potential for a snoozer is high here and a decision seems likely. It’s Imanari’s fight to lose but Fujiwara does have the upset in him. Pick: Imanari
Kenji Osawa vs. Takafumi Otsuka
Former Deep champion Takafumi Otsuka’s career could easily look very different.
The Hiroyuki Abe student started his career with two losses but recovered to build an unremarkable record of 11-7- 1. Of the five losses that have come since his initial rough start though, four of those were very controversial decisions and he would most likely be in the UFC right now if the coin had have been flipped in his favor. This fortune is a product of his style: an athletic and strong wrestler, Otsuka has next to no finishing ability.
WEC veteran Kenji Osawa has a similar style but Otsuka is better in every aspect of the game. It’s bound to be a long, back and forth positional battle but Otsuka takes the decision. Pick: Otsuka
Hideo Tokoro vs. Yoshiro Maeda
Tokoro and Maeda are unusual fighters in that they are supremely talented but their records and careers show a different story.
Tokoro’s penchant for entertainment and submission over safety and position has led to him winning only just over half of his bouts in his 51-fight career while Maeda has the ability to push anyone to the limit, as his incredible WEC title match with Miguel Torres showed, but sometimes he just implodes and loses in truely dramatic fashion.
It’s very difficult to predict an outcome in this excellent bit of match making but Maeda is more consistent (I never, ever thought I would say that) and he has much more power on the feet. A potential fight of the night candidate that Maeda takes by TKO. Pick: Maeda
Yusaku Nakamura vs. Atsushi Yamamoto
Late replacement Yusaku Nakamura won’t be known by the vast majority of fans, only fighting three professional bouts on regional events and Norifumi “KID” Yamamoto student Atsuhi Yamamoto has been away from the ring for almost one and half years.
Nakamura has rare power for a bantamweight, possessing legitimate one-punch power in his hands but he is still too raw for a tournament of this level. Yamamoto’s wrestling and boxing logically leads him to take a dominant decision but for some reason I wouldn’t be surprised if Nakamura scores a surprise knockout. Pick: Yamamoto
Bantamweight Grand Prix Semifinals:
If my predictions prove to be correct, we should have Imanari vs. Otsuka and Maeda vs. Yamamoto for our semifinals.
Masakazu Imanari actually lost his last fight, a decision to Hiroshi “Iron” Nakamura. Nakamura is a physically strong wrestler who is difficult to submit and wont go away and Takafumi Otsuka’s wrestling is better than Nakamura’s and he is slicker on the feet. Otsuka takes another decision as long as his mind is solid, his history of losing focus late in a bout is troubling against ruthless submission artist like Imanari.
As always it is impossible to predict a Maeda bout but I like Yamamoto to take a decision over Maeda. Atsushi Yamamoto has better wrestling and is solid on the feet but note hugely powerful. Although Maeda is beautiful to watch and powerful, his history of imploding worries me. Yamamoto grinds Maeda down in a tough decision.
DREAM lightweight champion Shinya Aoki and reigning Deep champions Masakazu Imanari, Katsunori Kikuno and Koichiro Matsumoto held open workouts over the past week ahead of their bouts at Sunday’s DREAM “Fight for Japan” charity event, and MMA Fighting was on hand to capture the action.
DREAM’s first event of 2011, to be held at the Saitama Super Arena, will feature Aoki facing Rich Clementi, Imanari vs. ZST bantamweight ace Keisuke Fujiwara, Kikuno against Daisuke Nakamura and Matsumoto vs. “Lion” Takeshi Inoue.
DREAM lightweight champion Shinya Aoki and reigning Deep champions Masakazu Imanari, Katsunori Kikuno and Koichiro Matsumoto held open workouts over the past week ahead of their bouts at Sunday’s DREAM “Fight for Japan” charity event, and MMA Fighting was on hand to capture the action.
DREAM’s first event of 2011, to be held at the Saitama Super Arena, will feature Aoki facing Rich Clementi, Imanari vs. ZST bantamweight ace Keisuke Fujiwara, Kikuno against Daisuke Nakamura and Matsumoto vs. “Lion” Takeshi Inoue.
Filed under: K1, News, JapanTOKYO, Japan — Not to be outdone by sister promotion DREAM, K-1 is finally set to return after a 6-month hiatus. Promotional president Sadaharu Tanikawa on Thursday announced the K-1 WORLD MAX 2011 63 kg Japan Tournament to…
TOKYO, Japan — Not to be outdone by sister promotion DREAM, K-1 is finally set to return after a 6-month hiatus. Promotional president Sadaharu Tanikawa on Thursday announced the K-1 WORLD MAX 2011 63 kg Japan Tournament to be held at the Yoyogi Stadium 2nd in Tokyo on June 25, and similar to DREAM, it will be a “Fight For Japan” charity event.
Remarkably, the event is set to stream via the internet with no TV deal of any kind in place, locally or abroad. The full card and details of K-1’s first event of 2011 after the break.
In the eight-man one-night tournament, 2010 K-1 63 kg Japan GP champ Tetsuya Yamato will attempt to defend his title against former K-1 Koshien star HIROYA, 2011 Krush 63 kg Tournament runner-up Koya Urabe will take on former R.I.S.E ace Yuki, 2010 K-1 63 kg Japan GP runner-up Yuta Kubo faces karate pretty boy Kizaemon Saiga and K-1 Koshien 2009 champ Masaaki Noiri takes on 2011 Krush 63 kg Tournament champ Ryuji Kajiwara.
Also announced was a 70 kg super-fight featuring 2010 70 kg World GP runner-up Yoshihiro Sato versus 2002 K-1 70 kg World GP champ Albert Kraus. The K-1 veterans have met in the ring on two prior occasions with Kraus taking decisions in both cases.
K-1 WORLD MAX 2011 63 kg Japan Tournament – Fight For Japan
Saturday, June 25 2011 at Yoyogi Stadium 2nd, Tokyo, Japan
63 kg Grand Prix Quarterfinals:
Tetsuya Yamato vs. HIROYA
Koya Urabe vs. Yuki
Yuta Kubo vs. Kizaemon Saiga
Masaaki Noiri vs. Ryuji Kajiwara
70 kg Super Fight:
Yoshihiro Sato vs. Albert Kraus
Former pacific rim champion Kenichiro Togashi’s suger-sweet jab again led him to victory on Friday night as he out-boxed Shin Kochiwa from the southpaw stance in the main event of Shooto Gig Tokyo 6 at Shinjuku Face in Tokyo, Japan. Three long rounds of jabs and counters bloodied a helpless Kochiwa and it wasn’t until the final 30 seconds of the last round. 
The war between the two largest kickboxing promotions in the business, It’s Showtime and K-1, continues to escalate. 
Few will be able to see it, but DREAM returns from an almost six-month hiatus on Sunday with it’s “Fight for Japan” charity event at the Saitama Super Arena in Japan.
DREAM lightweight champion Shinya Aoki and reigning Deep champions Masakazu Imanari, Katsunori Kikuno and Koichiro Matsumoto held open workouts over the past week ahead of their bouts at Sunday’s DREAM “Fight for Japan” charity event, and MMA Fighting was on hand to capture the action.
TOKYO, Japan — Not to be outdone by sister promotion DREAM, K-1 is finally set to return after a 6-month hiatus. Promotional president Sadaharu Tanikawa on Thursday announced the K-1 WORLD MAX 2011 63 kg Japan Tournament to be held at the Yoyogi Stadium 2nd in Tokyo on June 25, and similar to DREAM, it will be a “Fight For Japan” charity event.