Tag: K-1

The Buzzards Are Circling K-1


(Rutz and K-1 head Tanikawa pretending things aren’t so bad)

Apparently K-1 is in the death throes.

After a year of speculation about if and when the revered kickboxing and MMA promotion would pack it in, it appears that the financially troubled organization may be living on borrowed time.

IT’S SHOWTIME president Simon Rutz shed some light on the current state of the former Japanese kickboxing powerhouse who has made more headlines the past couple years due to the fact that it hasn’t paid many of its champions like Alistair Overeem and Bibiano Fernandes.

According to Rutz, K-1 officials are scrambling to find potential investors an/or a buyer for the struggling franchise, which he says has run out of money. As such, they have decided to cancel the finals of the K-1 heavyweight grand prix after reportedly telling fighters a week ago that they would only be paid a portion of money owed to them and that their participation in the tournament would have to come at a reduced price.

Check out Rutz’s state of the K-1 union address after the jump.


(Rutz and K-1 head Tanikawa pretending things aren’t so bad)

Apparently K-1 is in the death throes.

After a year of speculation about if and when the revered kickboxing and MMA promotion would pack it in, it appears that the financially troubled organization may be living on borrowed time.

IT’S SHOWTIME president Simon Rutz shed some light on the current state of the former Japanese kickboxing powerhouse who has made more headlines the past couple years due to the fact that it hasn’t paid many of its champions like Alistair Overeem and Bibiano Fernandes.

According to Rutz, K-1 officials are scrambling to find potential investors an/or a buyer for the struggling franchise, which he says has run out of money. As such, they have decided to cancel the finals of the K-1 heavyweight grand prix after reportedly telling fighters a week ago that they would only be paid a portion of money owed to them and that their participation in the tournament would have to come at a reduced price.

Check out Rutz’s state of the K-1 union address below:

Because there is no information regarding the new start of K-1 coming from Japan, I will clarify the situation for everyone.

FEG, the parent company of the former K-1 brand, is technically bankrupt. The name K-1 lays now at the Japanese company Barbizon. There are 2 serious parties now, which try to pull the K-1 brand name towards themselves and place this in a new company.

The first one to find an investor is FEG’s president, Mr. Tanikawa. He has found a Korean investor who has big plans with the K-1 label. This investor claims to have a verbal agreement with Mr. Ishii and Barbizon regarding the takeover of the K-1 label. Details were already discussed and agreed upon, but the only missing thing is the necessary signature of Mr. Ishii.

The second one to find a potential investor is Bas Boon. He has found an American company which also has big opportunities to bring the K-1 brand to high levels. However, also this company needs the signature of Mr. Ishii.

In the meanwhile, even a third potential investor has reported itself to take over the K-1 label, but this investor has presented itself only a couple of days ago.

All three companies have big plans to bring the K-1 label back to the place where it belongs and therefore make sure that the brand of K-1 has a healthy future.

All investors understand that a good cooperation with IT’S SHOWTIME is essential to prevent future conflicts of interest and to make sure that in the future all world elite fighters will participate to the tournaments; that means the fighters of both IT’S SHOWTIME as the ones of Golden Glory. We from IT’S SHOWTIME support the plans to make the K-1 label a strong brand again, because this is in the best interest of the sport, the fighters and the millions of fans around the world.

• This year there will be no K-1 Final Elimination and K-1 World Grand Prix Final for the following reasons:

• It’s currently unknown which investor gets Mr. Ishii’s signature

• There’s not enough time left to organize such a big event

• The visas for the fighters to travel to China haven’t been arranged and these are essential to be able to fight there

• The decision to not rush into crazy things is a wise one, because severe mistakes that could cause more unnecessary damage to the K-1 label are being prevented.

From next year there will be a new and healthy company that will work on the worldwide brand of K-1.

For the fighters who were already preparing to fight on October 29 in China this will be a hard pill to swallow, but on the other hand, these developments offer enough perspective to positively look ahead to the future.

I hope I have answered the many questions and to have clarified these matters.

Best regards,

Simon Rutz

IT’S SHOWTIME
———-

Looking at the situation from an objective opinion, things don’t look good for K-1, especially when many of its stars like Overeem, Badr Hari and Gokhan Saki have recently decided to leave the kickboxing world in favor of MMA and boxing. Without big name stars, kickboxing may suffer the same shift in popularity of fans over to MMA that boxing has experienced in recent years, which is too bad for those of us who enjoy the sport and having some variety.

Einemo Headed Back to UFC; Bahadurzada Could Soon Follow According Golden Glory Head Bas Boon


(The team during easier times.)

According to Golden Glory head Bas Boon, fences have been mended between the UFC and his management group and fight team — so much so that the promotion is bringing back heavyweight John Olav Einemo and is in discussions to sign K-1 standout Siyar Bahadurzada as well.

“John Olaf Einemo is now back with the UFC and Siyar Bahadurzada just got offered a UFC contract,” Boon wrote in an email received by CagePotato earlier today.

The email went on to state that Golden Glory’s relationship with the UFC is good and that contrary to media speculation, neither side is guilty of any wrongdoing during the recent negotiations to sign former Golden Glory star Alistair Overeem to a contract with the Las Vegas-based promotion.

“I want to make the following statement to clear up any speculation.The UFC did nothing wrong and neither did Golden Glory management – when signing up Alistair Overeem with the UFC. It is public knowledge how the UFC does business,” Boon explained. “ALL correspondence between the UFC and Golden Glory was also shared/CC’d to Alistair Overeem who finally made a decision to sign the agreements. There will be a lot of rumors like in thet recent past when 4 Golden Glory fighters were released from the UFC and Strikeforce and that was the so-called end of GG’s relationship with the UFC. Not long after this rumor Golden Glory made a mega deal with Alistair Overeem signing with the UFC.”


(The team during easier times.)

According to Golden Glory head Bas Boon, fences have been mended between the UFC and his management group and fight team — so much so that the promotion is bringing back heavyweight John Olav Einemo and is in discussions to sign K-1 standout Siyar Bahadurzada as well.

“John Olaf Einemo is now back with the UFC and Siyar Bahadurzada just got offered a UFC contract,” Boon wrote in an email received by CagePotato earlier today.

The email went on to state that Golden Glory’s relationship with the UFC is good and that contrary to media speculation, neither side is guilty of any wrongdoing during the recent negotiations to sign former Golden Glory star Alistair Overeem to a contract with the Las Vegas-based promotion.

“I want to make the following statement to clear up any speculation.The UFC did nothing wrong and neither did Golden Glory management – when signing up Alistair Overeem with the UFC. It is public knowledge how the UFC does business,” Boon explained. “ALL correspondence between the UFC and Golden Glory was also shared/CC’d to Alistair Overeem who finally made a decision to sign the agreements. There will be a lot of rumors like in thet recent past when 4 Golden Glory fighters were released from the UFC and Strikeforce and that was the so-called end of GG’s relationship with the UFC. Not long after this rumor Golden Glory made a mega deal with Alistair Overeem signing with the UFC.”

Boon says that the current dismal state of MMA in Japan and Golden Glory’s home base in Holland is making it difficult for fighters to carve out a living outside of North America, which is likely why they decided to forgo the addition of a clause in Overeem’s UFC contract to ensure that he could continue to compete for K-1. Another fact that likely played into that decision was that “The Demolition Man” still hasn’t been paid for winning the K-1 World Heavyweight Grand Prix last year.

“These are difficult times in the fighting industry; we are still waiting for payment of FEG as Alistair said in the press and the future of FEG is still unclear. There is a Dutch law called bibop in the Netherlands which makes promoting events there extremely difficult.”

Boon, who revealed after the sudden firings of his fighters from Strikeforce and the UFC,that he was working with Strikeforce, K-1 and DREAM to form a partnership between the three promotions prior to the purchase of SF by Zuffa says that there is progress in Japan, but points out that he can’t say what just yet.

“There is also some really good news coming soon about the situation in Japan and I really want to let everybody know the details, but I have signed multiple non-disclosure agreements and I have to wait,” Boon explained.

Hopefully it’s that they have a suitable financial backer to revive JMMA, which has been on life support the past few years. Fighters and fans need another viable MMA option outside of the UFC umbrella.

Watch Badr Hari’s Documentary and Then Decide Whether Or Not He’s a Crazy Motherf*cker

(Video courtesy of YouTube/Undubately)

If you’re unfamiliar with who Badr Hari is, watch this documentary and familiarize yourself with kickboxing’s answer to Mike Tyson.

“The Golden Boy” is candid and honest about his issues with anger inside and outside of the ring in the short doc that aired last week on Dutch TV. I don’t know what makes a crazy, out of control person who stomps on downed opponents and knocks people who piss him off out in the street so polarizing, but it’s stories like these that I’d read about or watch any day of the week.

If you’re like me and the show left you wanting to hear more from Hari about himself, you’re in luck. Michael Schiavello announced during the HDNet broadcast of last weekend’s Titan Fighting event that he recently sat down with the beleagured Dutch-born Morroccan fighter to shoot an episode of  his acclaimed “The Voice vs.” series and that it was the most intense interview he’s ever done. The Voice vs. Badr Hari will air June 24 at 10 pm ET on HDNet.

Check out parts 2 and 3 of the documentary after the jump.


(Video courtesy of YouTube/Undubately)

If you’re unfamiliar with who Badr Hari is, watch this documentary and familiarize yourself with kickboxing’s answer to Mike Tyson.

“The Golden Boy” is candid and honest about his issues with anger inside and outside of the ring in the short doc that aired last week on Dutch TV. I don’t know what makes a crazy, out of control person who stomps on downed opponents and knocks people who piss him off out in the street so polarizing, but it’s stories like these that I’d read about or watch any day of the week.

If you’re like me and the show left you wanting to hear more from Hari about himself, you’re in luck. Michael Schiavello announced during the HDNet broadcast of last weekend’s Titan Fighting event that he recently sat down with the beleagured Dutch-born Morroccan fighter to shoot an episode of  his acclaimed “The Voice vs.” series and that it was the most intense interview he’s ever done. The Voice vs. Badr Hari will air June 24 at 10 pm ET on HDNet.

Check out parts 2 and 3 of the documentary below.

Part 2


(Video courtesy of YouTube/Undubately)

Part 3


(Video courtesy of YouTube/Undubately)


(Video courtesy of YouTube/ZP420MMA)

Mark Fischer Says UFC Has Significant Opportunities in Japan Now

Filed under: UFC, interview, JapanThe Japanese fight sport industry is in dire straits. The two leading event promoters, K-1 and DREAM promoter Fighting and Entertainment Group and Sengoku Raiden Championship promoter World Victory Road, have no events…

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The Japanese fight sport industry is in dire straits. The two leading event promoters, K-1 and DREAM promoter Fighting and Entertainment Group and Sengoku Raiden Championship promoter World Victory Road, have no events scheduled, are having major financial troubles and are losing fighters to the Western promotions at a rapid rate.

Out of great crisis comes great opportunity and the UFC is now planning on moving in. Leading the charge is the man responsible for bringing the NBA to China, Mark Fischer.

Now holding the title of Zuffa Asia Executive Vice President and Managing Director, Fischer spoke exclusively to MMA Fighting about Zuffa’s expansion into Japan.

Bob Sapp, FEG Prez Continue Epic, Awkward Battle of Wits

(If only either of these guys brought this much energy to their actual jobs. PicProps: MMA.pl)
The ongoing war of words between recently-retired MMA punchline Bob Sapp and FEG President (and self-proclaimed soon-to-be failed businessman) Sadaharu Tanik…


(If only either of these guys brought this much energy to their actual jobs. PicProps: MMA.pl)

The ongoing war of words between recently-retired MMA punchline Bob Sapp and FEG President (and self-proclaimed soon-to-be failed businessman) Sadaharu Tanikawa has frankly gotten too awesome to ignore any longer. Believe us, if we possibly could ignore it, we totally, totally would, but these guys are just saying too much hilarious stuff about each other not to at least get a mention. Seriously, it’s like watching the two nerdiest kids in the fourth grade slap fight in a sand box. Except, you know, with words.

You may remember that Sapp pulled out of a scheduled “modified rules” fight with Shinichi Suzukawa at K-1’s gala New Year’s Eve show last month, claiming that FEG first promised him 30 Gs for it, only to tell him he was only getting half that once he’d already made the trip to Japan. The promotion responded by saying Sapp “had lost his fighting spirit” during its broadcast and the giant former football player later indicated he was finished with MMA, but alleged it had nothing to do with his spirit. “The No. 1 problem is that K-1 is extremely broke. So is Dream …,” Sapp said. “I’m just like, ‘You know what? I’m done with all the talk about me. I’m done with them stiffing the fighters. I’m just done with it. I’ve seen too much. Start paying people to show up.’ ” Tanikawa didn’t take kindly to that, and he’s been ripping Sapp on Twitter and in interviews ever since.

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Aoki Considering Retirement After Disastrous NYE Knockout?

(Sure, he looks like a bum, but he’s got a golden radio voice. PicProps: SBNation)
More good stuff out on Sunday from MMA Fighting Japanese correspondent Daniel Herbertson, who debuts a new weekly, notebook-style feature chock full of overseas news t…

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(Sure, he looks like a bum, but he’s got a golden radio voice. PicProps: SBNation)

More good stuff out on Sunday from MMA Fighting Japanese correspondent Daniel Herbertson, who debuts a new weekly, notebook-style feature chock full of overseas news tidbits. Item No. 1? According to D-Herb – citing those ever-present “sources close to the fighter” — Dream lightweight champion and notorious a-hole Shinya Aoki is considering hanging up the fingerless gloves after his embarrassing knockout loss to Yuichiro "Jienotsu" Nagashima at K-1 Dynatmite!!! 2010 on New Year’s Eve.

You’ll remember this bout as the “special rules” contest that alternated a three-minute kickboxing round followed by a five-minute round under Dream rules. You know, kind of like they do it on “Bully Beatdown.” You’ll also recall that Aoki clearly came out with a game plan to just fuck around during round one, waste as much time as possible with copious rule-breaking and rely on the impotent Japanese referee to not penalize him for it. It was a strategy that worked like clockwork until the opening bell of round two, when Nagashima knocked him stiff with a knee as he shot in for a takedown. On this side of the Pacific, it seemed like an obvious case of karma being a complete bitch. At home, it doesn’t sound like Aoki is taking it too well.

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