12/31 Dynamite! - Results Live

Event of the year is starting in 4 hours (3PM Japan time) in Saitama. I will be there, but focus will be taking pictres, not updating results. I will try to get results updated during the breaks though. Sherdog should have live PBP going, so they should be quicker with the results.

I am very happy that Manhoef stepped in on so short notice, and the fight with Hunt should be very interesting.

Time for me to get to the arena! If you read on, there will be spoilers when the event starts!

It is announced that "Hellboy" vs. JZ fight is cancelled!! It is due to injury on "Hellboy", the doctor stopped the fight!

The event is underway and I really hope the injury is not serious! I know Joachim was well prepared and it is very sad....

19. Main-Event: DREAM-Rule: Kiyoshi Tamura Def. Kazushi Sakuraba by Decision 3-0
18: DREAM-Rule: Joachim Hansen vs. "JZ" Gesias Cavalcante Cancelled :(
17: DREAM-Rule: Shinya Aoki Def. Eddie Alvarez by Heel-hook Round 1 1:32
16. DREAM-Rule: Melvin Manhoef Def. Mark Hunt by KO Round 1 0:18
Huge win for Manhoef! A right hook puts Hunt down!

15. K-1-Rule: Gegard Mousasi Def. Musashi by KO Round 1 2:32
Its been an awesome night for DREAM figthers fighting K-1 rules! What's going on??

14. DREAM-Rule: Mirko "CroCop" Filipovic Def. Hong Man Choi by TKO Round 1 6:32
Crocop announced that he will have a knee reconstruction in 2 days. He is looking forward to his next fight, but he will have to recover for 6 months.

--BREAK--

13. K-1 Rule: Alistair Overeem Def. Badr Hari by KO Round 1 2:02
HUGE KO, and a BIG win!

12. K-1-Rule: Tatsuya Kawajiri Def. Kozo Takeda by TKO (3 down) Round 1 2:47
Crushing victory to Kawajiri!

11. DREAM-Rule: Hayato "Mach" Sakurai Def. Katsuyori Shibata by TKO Round 1 7:01
10. DREAM-Rule: Semmy Schilt Def. Mighty Mo by Triangle choke round 1 5:31
Schilt showed that he still has ground game!

9. DREAM-Rule: Bob Sapp Def. Kinniku Mantaro by TKO Round 1 5:22

--BREAK--

8. K-1 Youth Tournament Final: HIROYA Def. Koya Urabe by Decision 3-0(after extention)

7. DREAM-Rule: Andy Ologun Def. Yukio Sakaguchi by KO Round 1 3:52
Sakaguchi looked like he had Andy in a triangle, but was unable to finish. Andy took advantage when the ref stood them up.

6. DREAM-Rule: Daisuke Nakamura Def. Hideo Tokoro by arm-bar round 1 2:43
Tokoro might have injured his arm, and this was a very exciting fight while it lasted.

5. K-1-Rule: Artur Kyshenko Def. Yoshihiro Sato by Decision 2-0
4. K-1 Youth Tournament (semi-final): Hiroya Def. Shota Shimada by Decision 3-0
3. K-1 Youth Tournament (semi-final): Koya Urabe Def. Tatsuya Kusakabe by TKO Round 3 2:29
2. DREAM-Rule: Ikuhisa Minowa "Minowaman" Def. Errol Zimmerman by Toe-hold round 1 1:01

Opening Fight:
1. K-1 Youth (Reserve): Taishi Hiratsuka Def. Daizo Sasaki by KO Round 2 1:00

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12/31 DYNAMITE! - Manhoef steps up!

Last minute changes to the Dynamite card! Jerome is out due to the flu and FEG has been working hard to find a replacement, it is announced now that Melvin Manhoef steps in!!

I have to say that I am very excited about this change, Manhoef is giving up A LOT in weight, but he is a very good fighter and this could go either way.

I really look forward to this one! Hope Manhoef get paid well to step in on so short notice!

The complete and final card for tomorrow then:
19. Main-Event: DREAM-Rule: Kazushi Sakuraba 24-11-1 vs. 32-13-2 Kiyoshi Tamura
18: DREAM-Rule: Joachim Hansen 19-7-1 vs. 14-2-1 "JZ" Gesias Cavalcante
17: DREAM-Rule: Shinya Aoki 18-3-0 vs. 15-1-0 Eddie Alvarez
16. DREAM-Rule: Mark Hunt 5-4-0 vs. 22-5-1 Melvin Manhoef
15. K-1-Rule: Gegard Mousasi vs. Musashi
14. DREAM-Rule: Mirko "CroCop" Filipovic 23-6-2 vs. 1-1-0 Hong Man Choi
--BREAK--
13. K-1 Rule: Alistair Overeem vs. Badr Hari
12. K-1-Rule: Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Kozo Takeda
11. DREAM-Rule: Hayato "Mach" Sakurai 33-8-2 vs. 2-5-1 Katsuyori Shibata
10. DREAM-Rule: Semmy Schilt 25-14-1 vs. 3-0-0 Mighty Mo
9. DREAM-Rule: Bob Sapp 9-3-1 vs. Kinniku Mantaro
--BREAK--
8. K-1 Youth Tournament Final: Winner Fight 3 vs. Winner Fight 4
7. DREAM-Rule: Yukio Sakaguchi 3-3-0 vs. 1-1-0 Andy Ologun
6. DREAM-Rule: Hideo Tokoro 21-14-1 vs. 18-9-0 Daisuke Nakamura
5. K-1-Rule: Yoshihiro Sato vs. Artur Kyshenko
4. K-1 Youth Tournament (semi-final): Hiroya vs. Shota Shimada
3. K-1 Youth Tournament (semi-final): Tatsuya Kusakabe vs. Koya Urabe
2. DREAM-Rule: Ikuhisa Minowa "Minowaman" 40-29-8 vs. Errol Zimmerman

Opening Fight:
1. K-1 Youth (Reserve): Daizo Sasaki vs. Taishi Hiratsuka

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12/31 DYNAMITE! - Jerome LeBanner is OUT!

Just so there is no misunderstanding. It was announced at the press conference today that Jerome LeBanner is out of tomorrow's Dynamite event! This is of course a huge disappointment for himself and his fans.

That means that FEG has 1 day to dig out a worthy opponent! This is the biggest show of the year, and there should be lots of fighters jumping at this chance, but 1 day? I just hope they find someone. The card is solid, but I would have liked to see Mark Hunt get another fight this year.

So, with that last minute change, here is what the card looks like:

Fight Order:
19. Main-Event: DREAM-Rule: Kazushi Sakuraba 24-11-1 vs. 32-13-2 Kiyoshi Tamura
18: DREAM-Rule: Joachim Hansen 19-7-1 vs. 14-2-1 "JZ" Gesias Cavalcante
17: DREAM-Rule: Shinya Aoki 18-3-0 vs. 15-1-0 Eddie Alvarez
16. DREAM-Rule: Mark Hunt 5-4-0 vs. TBA
15. K-1-Rule: Gegard Mousasi vs. Musashi
14. DREAM-Rule: Mirko "CroCop" Filipovic 23-6-2 vs. 1-1-0 Hong Man Choi
--BREAK--
13. K-1 Rule: Alistair Overeem vs. Badr Hari
12. K-1-Rule: Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Kozo Takeda
11. DREAM-Rule: Hayato "Mach" Sakurai 33-8-2 vs. 2-5-1 Katsuyori Shibata
10. DREAM-Rule: Semmy Schilt 25-14-1 vs. 3-0-0 Mighty Mo
9. DREAM-Rule: Bob Sapp 9-3-1 vs. Kinniku Mantaro
--BREAK--
8. K-1 Youth Tournament Final: Winner Fight 3 vs. Winner Fight 4
7. DREAM-Rule: Yukio Sakaguchi 3-3-0 vs. 1-1-0 Andy Ologun
6. DREAM-Rule: Hideo Tokoro 21-14-1 vs. 18-9-0 Daisuke Nakamura
5. K-1-Rule: Yoshihiro Sato vs. Artur Kyshenko
4. K-1 Youth Tournament (semi-final): Hiroya vs. Shota Shimada
3. K-1 Youth Tournament (semi-final): Tatsuya Kusakabe vs. Koya Urabe
2. DREAM-Rule: Ikuhisa Minowa "Minowaman" 40-29-8 vs. Errol Zimmerman

Opening Fight:
1. K-1 Youth (Reserve): Daizo Sasaki vs. Taishi Hiratsuka

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12/31 DYNAMITE! - Press Conference

At the press conference in Shinjuku today, it was confirmed that LeBanner has come down with the flu. There is still hope that Mark Hunt will get a fight tomorrow, but of course, it is very short notice.



Most of the attention from the Japanese media was today directed at the last 3 fights. They have a habbit of not asking "soup" questions, and today was no exception. They asked Joachim Hansen, JZ Calvan, Eddie Alvarez and Shinya Aoki "What kind of fight you would like to have tomorrow?". As always, the answer was "an entertaining fight".



JZ and Joachim Hansen showed eachother a great deal of respect and both admitted that it will be a difficult battle. They both have a big fan base in Japan, and it will be an awesome fight!



Eddie Alvarez has brought it family this time, and his fight with Aoki is the final that should have been. Aoki has definately made an effort to become a more complete fighter after his loss to Hansen in DREAM 5, but I dont thing we are likely to see him bang with Alvarez.



Bob Sapp is a very popular fighter in Japan, and I think he actually got the biggest cheer. He said that Kinniku Mantaro will meet his worst nightmare tomorrow... Reality! Kinniku Mantaro was unable to answer, due to the mask...





As most of you would have seen, Crocop has spent a lot of time training with a Crotian basketball player. He highlighted the value of this in front of his fight with Hong Man Choi. I am really looking forward to it, it is a difficult challenge for both fighters and Choi should not be underestimated! I shouldnt need to remind anyone what Fedor looked like last NYE (I know he won, but HMC has a vicious GnP).



For tomorrow, I will be there. To my knowledge, if you are in Japan, but not in the arena, the earliest you can see this is at 7PM on TBS. This will of course be a edited version. There is a PPV on SkyPerfect, but this starts at mid-night.



I will try to give updates from the arena, but it will be impossible to give these live. I will give updates, but most likely in the breaks. Check in and I will do my best to have the results up as early aas possible!

Also, appologies for the pictures... I was all the way in the back and used the zoom as best I could, but people kept getting in the way. :) Anyway, here are some more.

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12/31 DYNAMITE! - Weigh-In

The weigh-in for this year's Dynamite is out of the way. Andy Ologun is the only fighter that has to weigh in again after missing weight by .4kg.

To sum it up, Sakuraba looks as fit, he has clearly worked hard for this fight. Both "JZ" and "HellBoy" look extremly fit for this one, and it should be fight of the night (IMO).

Nightmare of Battle is reporting that the Aoki vs. Alvarez fight will be for the WAMMA lightweight title. I really dont know how these titles work, and I have not seen anything about it in the Japanese media...

Though it might not be the most anticipated fight for the hardcore fans, the Japanese fans love Bob Sapp.

There is a rumor that Jerome LeBanner is not able to fight... He did not weigh in today, but it is open weight and he was not the only one. Mark Hunt weighed in like normal and there was NO indication that this fight is cancelled.

The public press-conferance will be in Shinjuku later tonight, and I will be there to cover that too!

19. Main-Event: DREAM-Rule (84.0kg):
Kazushi Sakuraba 82.7kg
Kiyoshi Tamura 83.6kg

18: DREAM-Rule (70.0kg):
Joachim Hansen 69.3kg
Gesias "JZ" Cavalcante 70.0kg

17: DREAM-Rule (70.0kg):
Shinya Aoki 69.9kg
Eddie Alvarez 69.2kg

16. DREAM-Rule (+93.1):
Mark Hunt 130.4kg
Jerome Lebanner

15. K-1-Rule (Open):
Gegard Mousasi 97.8kg
Musashi 103.8

14. DREAM-Rule (+93.1kg):
Mirko "CroCop" Filipovic
Hong Man Choi 148.5

13. K-1 Rule (open):
Alistair Overeem 115.2kg
Badr Hari

12. K-1-Rule (70.0kg):
Tatsuya Kawajiri 70.0kg
Kozo Takeda 69.9kg

11. DREAM-Rule (80.0kg):
Hayato "Mach" Sakurai 79.7kg
Katsuyori Shibata 79.8kg

10. DREAM-Rule (+93.1kg):
Semmy Schilt 129.6kg
Mighty Mo 136.6kg

9. DREAM-Rule (+93.1):
Bob Sapp
Kinniku Mantaro 102.3kg

8. K-1 Youth Tournament Final: Winner Fight 3 vs. Winner Fight 4

7. DREAM-Rule (75.0kg):
Yukio Sakaguchi 70.8kg
Andy Ologun 75.4kg

6. DREAM-Rule (68.0kg):
Hideo Tokoro 66.0kg
Daisuke Nakamura 67.4kg

5. K-1-Rule (71.0kg):
Yoshihiro Sato 71.0kg
Artur Kyshenko 71.0kg

4. K-1 Youth Tournament (semi-final)(62.0kg):
Hiroya 62.0kg
Shota Shimada 62.0kg

3. K-1 Youth Tournament (semi-final)(62.0kg):
Tatsuya Kusakabe 60.7kg
Koya Urabe 62.7kg

2. DREAM-Rule (Open):
Ikuhisa Minowa "Minowaman" 91.5kg
Errol Zimmerman 109.1kg

Opening Fight:
1. K-1 Youth (Reserve) (62.0kg):
Daizo Sasaki 61.2kg
Taishi Hiratsuka 60.5kg

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1/31 Shooto - Shooting Disco 7

Gutsman Promotion have announced 6 fights for their 1st "Shooting Disco" event of 2009. These are smaller events held in Shinjuku Face, but they had some of the best fights of 2008. The secret of these events are good match-ups and great talent.

Added to the card is 2008 Rookie Tournament winner, Takuya Sato and winner of one of the best fights of 2008, Daiki Tsuchiya. Add to that the talent of Ryuichi Miki, Taisuke Okuno and Guy Delameau and you should have a very good event!

Fights announced so far:
Bantam: Ryuichi Miki 7-2-3 vs. 7-6-1 Homare Kuboyama
Middle: Taisuke Okuno 7-2-1 vs. 3-2-2 Takuya Sato
Light: Masatoshi Kobayashi 3-5-0 vs. 2-1-0 Daiki Tsuchiya
Fly: Takehiro "Tiger" Ishii 5-6-2 vs. 3-4-0 Katsuya Murofushi
Bantam: Hiroaki Iijima 1-1-0 vs. 1-1-0 "Akki" Kota Funaki
Welter: Guy Delameau 8-4-0 vs. 1-3-1 Kunio Nakajima

Read more...

12/31 DYNAMITE! - Fight Order - 19 (!) Fights on the Card!

FEG have added Errol Zimmerman vs. Minowaman to Dynamite! The fight has been rumored and the Japanese fans should be happy to see "Minowaman" on the card. The fight will be the opening fight for the main card. Errol Zimmerman will have his MMA debut against the very experienced "Minowaman".

Not unexpected, Tamura vs. Sakuraba is the main event, before the Tamura/Sakuraba battle will be the fight between Hellboy and JZ.

FEG have also added a reserve fight in the K-1 Youth Tournament. The tournament is where FEG promotes and builds the new talent. Last year YUDAI won the tournament by defeating HIROYA by split decision. Since then HIROYA have had 4 K-1 fights, and Yudai has not had any. This tournament provided some very good fights last year, and hopefully that continues this year.

As far as I am concerned, just the last 6 fights would have been a good event. This will be event of the year, without a doubt!

Have to be said though... First time since 2003 that Fedor is not fighting in Japan on NYE...

Fight Order:
19. Main-Event: DREAM-Rule: Kazushi Sakuraba 24-11-1 vs. 32-13-2 Kiyoshi Tamura
18: DREAM-Rule: Joachim Hansen 19-7-1 vs. 14-2-1 "JZ" Gesias Cavalcante
17: DREAM-Rule: Shinya Aoki 18-3-0 vs. 15-1-0 Eddie Alvarez
16. DREAM-Rule: Mark Hunt 5-4-0 vs. 3-1-1 Jerome Lebanner
15. K-1-Rule: Gegard Mousasi vs. Musashi
14. DREAM-Rule: Mirko "CroCop" Filipovic 23-6-2 vs. 1-1-0 Hong Man Choi
--BREAK--
13. K-1 Rule: Alistair Overeem vs. Badr Hari
12. K-1-Rule: Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Kozo Takeda
11. DREAM-Rule: Hayato "Mach" Sakurai 33-8-2 vs. 2-5-1 Katsuyori Shibata
10. DREAM-Rule: Semmy Schilt 25-14-1 vs. 3-0-0 Mighty Mo
9. DREAM-Rule: Bob Sapp 9-3-1 vs. Kinniku Mantaro
--BREAK--
8. K-1 Youth Tournament Final: Winner Fight 3 vs. Winner Fight 4
7. DREAM-Rule: Yukio Sakaguchi 3-3-0 vs. 1-1-0 Andy Ologun
6. DREAM-Rule: Hideo Tokoro 21-14-1 vs. 18-9-0 Daisuke Nakamura
5. K-1-Rule: Yoshihiro Sato vs. Artur Kyshenko
4. K-1 Youth Tournament (semi-final): Hiroya vs. Shota Shimada
3. K-1 Youth Tournament (semi-final): Tatsuya Kusakabe vs. Koya Urabe
2. DREAM-Rule: Ikuhisa Minowa "Minowaman" 40-29-8 vs. Errol Zimmerman

Opening Fight:
1. K-1 Youth (Reserve): Daizo Sasaki vs. Taishi Hiratsuka

Read more...

Joachim "HellBoy" Hansen - Training

I was lucky enough to be able to take some pictures of Joachim training before his big fight on NYE. As he did for DREAM 5, Antonio Carvalho has come over from Canada to help support and prepare Joachim. As I am sure you have seen, I was earlier this week also able to join when "HellBoy" met his sponsor (Opera).



Joachim is making sure he is prepared for anything and making sure he has the best preperation possible...



...and he is ready for anything!



I have a feeling the fight with JZ on NYE could be another fight of the year candidate, and it will be a highlight fight on an awesome card!

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Shooto December Rankings

Focus the last few weeks have been on the end of the year shows, but there have been things happeing in the smaller organizations also. Shooto have announced their last rankings for 2008.

There have been lots of changes to the Shooto rankings for December. Most of them coming from Shooto Brazil 9, which was held the same day as Shooto Tradition 4, November 29. We also got a new Shooto world Champion (Lightweight), "Lion" Takeshi defeated Hideki Kadowaki.

In Shooto Brazil 9, there were several Shooto South American titles on the line, and here are the new champions:
Bantamweight: Jucie Formiga
Featherweight: Eduardo Dantas
Lightweight: Renan Barao
Middleweight: Igor Fernandes
Light-Heavyweight: Andre Silva

Bantamweight:
Champion: → Shinichi “BJ” Kojima
-From October 14 2006, Defended 3 times against Mamoru, Akagi and Urushitani

1. → Yuki Shoujou
2. →Yasuhiro Urushitani
3. → Ryuichi Miki
4. → Junji Ikoma
5. → Mamoru Yamaguchi
6. ↑ Jucie Formiga
7. ↓ Masatoshi Abe
8. ↓ Shimokawa Yusei
9. ↓ Yasuhiro Akagi
10. ↓ Homare Kuboyama

Out ↓ Masaaki Sugawara

Jucie Formiga claims the Shooto South American title in Shooto Brazil 9 (November 29) and climbs up into 6th place on the world ranking; this pushes Masaaki Sugawara out of the ranking.

Featherweight:
Champion: → Masakatsu Ueda
-From March 28 2008, Defended 1 Time against Galvao

1. ↑ Eduardo Dantas
2. ↓ Marcos “Louro” Galvao
3. → Daniel Lima
4. → Koetsu Okazaki
5. → So Tazawa
6. → Atsushi Yamamoto
7. ↑ Hiromasa Ogikubo
8. ↓ Kenji Osawa
9. → Tetsu Suzuki
10. → Takeya Mizugaki

Eduardo Dantas won his fight in Shooto Brazil 9, and climbs one spot, into 2nd place on the December ranking. Ogikubo drew with So Tazawa November 29, and he also climbs one spot in the ranking.


Lightweight:
Champion: ↑ “Lion” Takeshi Inoue
-From November 29 2008.

1. → Akitoshi Tamura
2. ↑ Hatsu Hioki
3. ↓ Hideki Kadowaki
4. ↓ Antonio Carvalho
5. ↓ Savant Young
6. ↑ Renan Barao
7. → Bao Quach
8. → Hiroshi "Iron" Nakamura
9. ↓ Rumina Sato
10. → David Lejenas

Out: Katsuya Toida

Lots of changes here:
-“Lion” Takeshi claims the title on November 29. Kadowaki drops to 3rd place.
-Hatsu Hioki wins his fight with Rumina Sato November 29 and advances to 2nd place. Rumina Sato drops to 9th.
-Renan Barao debuts in the Shooto rankings at 6th place after his win in Shooto Brazil 9. that pushes Katsuya Toida out of the ranking.

Welterweight:
Champion: → Takashi Nakakura
-From May 3 2008 Defended 0 times)

1. → Yusuke Endo
2. ↑ Willamy Chiquerim "Chiqueirinho"
3. ↓ Ganjo Tensuku
4. ↓ Bendy Casimir
5. ↑ Hamid Corassani
6. ↓ Grzegorz Trendowski
7. ↓ Jani Lax
8. ↓ Brian Cobb
9. ↓ Mizuto Hirota
10. ↓ Eiji Mitsuoka

Out: Giovani Diniz

-Chiquerim wins his fight in Shooto Brazil 9 and climbs to 2nd place in the ranking, puching Tensuku and Casimir down.
-Hamid Corassani defeats Trendowski and debuts at 5th places, pushing everyone behind him down 1 spot and out of the ranking goes Giovani Diniz.


Middleweight:
Champion: → Shinya Aoki
-From February 17 2006, defended 0 times

1. → David Baron
2. ↑ Xavier Lucas
3. ↓ Wim Deputter
4. ↓ Niek Tromp
5. ↑ Igor Fernandes
6. ↓ Zelim Felican
7. ↓ Roemer Trumpert
8. ↓ Hernani Perpetuo
9. ↓ Tommy Depret
10. ↓ Scott Henze

Out: Amilcar Alves

-Xavier Lucas jumps another 2 spots (for no obvious reason)
-Igor Fernandes debuts in the ranking after a strong win against Hernani Perpetuo in Shooto Brazil 9. This pushes Amilcar Alves out of the ranking.


Light-Heavyweight:
Champ: → Siyar Bahadourzada (From July 15 2007, defended 0 times)
1. → Leandro Silva
2. → Akihiro Murayama
3. → Shiko Yamashita
4. ↑ Andre Silva
5. ↓ Grazhuydas Smailis
6. ↓ Masashi Yozen
7. ↓ Nathan Schouteren
8. ↓ Petras Morkevicius
9. ↓ Rolandas Agrba

Out: Edward O’Daniel
Out: Dustin Denes

-Andre Silva wins in Shooto Brazil 9 and debuts at 4th place in the ranking.
-Edward O’Daniel and Dustin Denes are taken out of the rankings.

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12/31 Dynamite! - Card Complete (?)/Public Press Conference

FEG finally confirmed the fight between Overeem and Hari yesterday. Of course, this had already been confirmed by both sides so there was no surprises. The fight will be K-1 Rule and it should be a good one.

Of course, K-1 rule should mean that Badr Hari comes in the favorite. But Overeem has competed with these rules before and should come in with a weight advantage. I would also guess that he will get the support of the Japanese crowd.

In addition to this fight, FEG announced yesterday that a public press conference will be held on December 30. This will be held in Shinjuku Station Square starting at 4.30PM and will of course feature the fighters, promoters and match-makers. I will be there covering it too.

So, it seems this year's Dynamite! card is complete (there might still be additions though). It should be an awesome event, as always!

The fights in no particular order:
K-1 Rule:
Gegard Mousasi vs. Musashi
Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Kozo Takeda
Yoshihiro Sato vs. Artur Kyshenko
Alistair Overeem vs. Badr Hari

DREAM Rule:
Kazushi Sakuraba 24-11-1 vs. 32-13-2 Kiyoshi Tamura
Joachim Hansen 19-7-1 vs. 14-2-1 "JZ" Gesias Cavalcante
Mirko "CroCop" Filipovic 23-6-2 vs. 1-1-0 Hong Man Choi
Mark Hunt 5-4-0 vs. 3-1-1 Jerome Lebanner
Shinya Aoki 18-3-0 vs. 15-1-0 Eddie Alvarez
Semmy Schilt 25-14-1 vs. 3-0-0 Mighty Mo
Hideo Tokoro 21-14-1 vs. 18-9-0 Daisuke Nakamura
Yukio Sakaguchi 3-3-0 vs. 1-1-0 Andy Ologun
Hayato "Mach" Sakurai 33-8-2 vs. 2-5-1 Katsuyori Shibata

K-1 Youth Tournament Semi-Final (Final held same night):
Hiroya vs. Shota Shimada
Tatsuya Kusakabe vs. Koya Urabe

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12/31 DYNAMITE! - Fight Odds ***UPDATED***

I have updated this post with more odds on the bottom, these are from www.bet-at-home.com curtisy of http://freefightvideos.blogspot.com

There are lots of good fights coming up on the Dynamite card, the first odds are out and I am getting them from BestFightOdds.com. It was the first time I have seen this page and I recommend you check it out if you are of the betting kind. They have the odds for several events and bookmakers making it easy to compare! A very useful tool!

Anyway, only 1 site has Dynamite! odds up so far, BetCRIS.

The odds are currently:
Joachim Hansen -115
Jz Cavalcante -115

Eddie Alvarez -115
Shinya Aoki -115

Semmy Schilt -600
Siala Siliga +450

Daisuke Nakamura -110
Hideo Tokoro -120

From what I have seen, JZ started out the favorite but "HellBoy" has even the odds out. Not much value currently, but if you belive in Mighty Mo it should be good odds.

Additional odds:
Hideo Tokoro - 1,65
Daisuke Nakamura - 2,00

Jerome Lebanner - 1,45
Mark Hunt - 2,50

Joachim Hansen - 1,70
J.Z. Calvancanti - 1,95

Kazushi Sakuraba - 1,50
Kiyoshi Tamura - 2,35

Mirko Filipovic - 1,35
Hong Man Choi - 2,90

Semmy Schilt - 1,12
Mighty Mo - 5,50

Shinya Aoki - 1,80
Eddie Alvarez - 1,80

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Joachim "Hellboy" Hansen - Meeting His Sponsor

Today I was fortunate enough to get invited to Opera's office in Tokyo. Joachim was there to meet his sponsor for Dynamite! It is the Norwegian software company Opera.



Just so everyone knows, Joachim does use internet and the Opera internet browser! What for? Same as everyone else, I guess.

Joachim was not very open about his opponent on NYE, but he said that JZ is much improved since their last encounter. It is 4 years since "Hellboy" fought JZ last and since then JZ has been the HEROs champion and beaten some great fighters.



"Hellboy" recognizes that JZ's strength is his well rounded game, he is a dangerous opponent on the ground and standing. He feels some some pressure coming in the champion, but it is just another fight and thats how he approaches this battle.

Regarding the Aoki vs. Alvarez match-up, "Hellboy" says: "it could go either way. Aoki's strength is Alvarez's weakness. Their weaknesses play into each other and this should be a very good fight that could go either way."



You can't have a conversation for long with Joachim without going into his other passion, music. Joachim can go on for hours talking about his passions, let's just say that currently MMA is where he makes money. Music is a huge part of his leisure time though, and his band has recorded serveral songs. They have not deceided on a name for the band yet though, and I hope to have a link to some songs shortly.

Except MMA and music, Joachim likes Norse mythology and it is clear when you look at his tatoos and the t-shirt he has disigned himself. On the back of the shirt is a rune that Joacim also has tattooed on his right arm. The meaning of the rune is complicated, but is one of the 18 runes that were given to Odin as a source of wisdom, this particular rune is the one sympolizes family, land and prosperity.



Today Joachim was signing t-shirts and other Opera promotional products, and I am sure it will all be put to good use. Everyone's focus is on NYE though, "Hellboy" has had the best preperation bring training partners in from overseas.



I had a GREAT day in the Opera office, I am proud of being Norwegian today and Opera sponsoring "Hellboy" is a great match.

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12/31 DYNAMITE! - 2 Fights Officially added

FEG have announced 2 additional fights for Dynamite! All I can say is that this is not the type of opponent I was hopeing Sakurai would face... Shibata won his 2 first MMA fights, since then he is yet to taste victory. Sakurai should really have his eyes on the DREAM title belt.

Yukio Sakagushi is takeing on Bobby's brother (that's how he is known in Japan...). But this is a matchup I like. Sakaguchi is a puncher, and it will be interesting to see how he deals with Ologun. Will this fight go to the ground? Ologun is not really an MMA fighter, even though he has had 2 fights previously. Ologun is happy to go the distance, Sakaguchi has NEVER gone past round 1. I really think it could be a fun fight!

The card is taking shape and 15 fights are officially announced. I am keeping the Overeem vs. Hari fight as a "rumored fight", since its not confirmed from FEG yet.

Added:
Dream-Rule
Yukio Sakaguchi 3-3-0 vs. 1-1-0 Andy Ologun
Hayato "Mach" Sakurai 33-8-2 vs. 2-5-1 Katsuyori Shibata

Rumored:
K-1 Rule:
Alistair Overeem vs. Badr Hari

Previously announced:
K-1 Rule
Gegard Mousasi vs. Musashi
Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Kozo Takeda
Yoshihiro Sato vs. Artur Kyshenko

DREAM Rule
Kazushi Sakuraba 24-11-1 vs. 32-13-2 Kiyoshi Tamura
Joachim Hansen 19-7-1 vs. 14-2-1 "JZ" Gesias Cavalcante
Mirko "CroCop" Filipovic 23-6-2 vs. 1-1-0 Hong Man Choi
Mark Hunt 5-4-0 vs. 3-1-1 Jerome Lebanner
Shinya Aoki 18-3-0 vs. 15-1-0 Eddie Alvarez
Semmy Schilt 25-14-1 vs. 3-0-0 Mighty Mo
Hideo Tokoro 21-14-1 vs. 18-9-0 Daisuke Nakamura

K-1 Youth Tournament Semi-Final (Final held same night):
Hiroya vs. Shota Shimada
Tatsuya Kusakabe vs. Koya Urabe

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12/31 DYNAMITE! - Overeem Confirms Opponent

Nightmare of Battle is referring to Alistair Overeem's website where there is a quick note, actually posted a couple of days ago:

NEXT VICTIM: BADR HARI!
The discussion was who would fight under whos rules first and Alistair stepped up first! Alistair will fight Badr Hari at K1 Dynamite 31 december under K1 rules! Since Badr Hari challenged Alistair he sees no other option than cause another demolition and knock Badr Hari out! Both fighters agreed to fight in MMA rules early 2009!

There has been a rumor that Overeem was ment to face Kharitonov for a 3rd time, but this seems to have been cancelled as Kharitonov came down with the flu.

Now Overeem will take on Badr Hari at his own game!! I can't wait to see it! Also, this confirms the speculations surrounding Badr Hari and any possible suspension.

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Good Fights from 2008 - Merry Christmas!

I have the poll going to get the fight of the year 2008. But there have been other fights that didn't quite make it into my poll.

It is also a chance for me to wish everyone a Merry Christmas!

It's been a quiet day for news, that's because its a holiday in Japan today. I expect the Dynamite card to be just about finalized tomorrow, until then here are some fights from 2008.

From Shooting Disco 5, a fight I really liked. Atsushi Takeuchi vs. Noboru Tahara.



Suggested as one of the fights to be added (unfortunately I was unable to...). Was the fight from Shooto Tradition 1, Rumina Sato vs. Akitoshi Tamura.

Akitoshi Tamura vs. Rumina Sato
Uploaded by banjorender

I know everyone have seen this fight... But looks like it will be the clear winner in my poll, and for good reason. Joachim Hansen vs. Eddie Alvarez.

Joachim Hansen vs. Eddie Alvarez - DREAM.3 LW GP 2008
Uploaded by moltisanti87

One fight that made it into my poll, but some of you might not have seen... Daiki Tsuchiya vs. Hidenori Nishino. This is from Shooting Disco 4, February 23.




Pancrase put on some very good card in 2008, one of the fights I really enjoyed was the Light-Heavyweight titlefight between Ryo Kawamura and Keiichiro Yamamiya.

Round 1


Round 2


Round 3



Another fight from Shooto, this time Tradition 3. Shintaro Ishiwatari vs Tenkei Fujimiya.




I love watching fighters that give everything, and Hideo Tokoro is a guy that always does. The fight between Darren Uyenoyama and Hideo Tokoro was definately one of my favorites this year!

Hideo Tokoro vs. Darren Uyenoyama - Dream.4 MW GP 2008
Uploaded by moltisanti87

From DREAM 3, Caol Uno vs. Mitsuhiro Ishida. A fight that sparked a lot of emotion amoung Japanese fans and fighters.

Mitsuhiro Ishida vs. Caol Uno - DREAM.3 LW GP 2008 2nd Round
Uploaded by moltisanti87

The last fight in my poll, Eddie Alvarez vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri.



I hope you enjoy these fights, and I am sure 2009 will add even more good fights and events! I can't wait!

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12/22 DEEP Protect - RESULTS

An interesting event in Shinjuku Face today. Built as a tripple main event, Mishima was coming in a big favorite against Kitada and didnt disappoint.

In the other 2 main-events, the favorites where coming in way lighter than their opponents. In the Kick-rule fight, Nagajima was 8kg lighter than his opponent, but still pulled out a win. In the female fight of the night, DEEP Champion Miku outmuscled her around 15kg heavier opponent.

The match-ups for the bantamweight tournament were drawn on the night, I am actually not sure when the finals will be held...

Tripple Main Event:
11. 65.8kg: Dokonjonosuke Mishima Def. Toshiaki Kitada by TKO Round 2 2:51
10. Kick-Rule 70.0kg: Nagajima☆Jienotsu☆Juichiro Def. Sakushi・K・River by TKO Round 2 0:39
9. 63kg: Miku Matsumoto Def. Hikaru Shinohara by arm-bar Round 1

8. Open: Seigo Mizuguchi Def. Ken Orihashi by KO Round 1 3:13
7. 70kg: Hirokazu "BULL" Konno Def. Osuma Ishizuka by Decision 3-0

Proctect Bantamweight Tournament:
6. Toru Harai Def. Ippo Watanuki by Decision
5. Seiji Akao Def. Tatsumitsu Wada by Decision
4. Isao Terada Def. Masaki Yokoyama by Decision 3-0
3. Tomohiko Hori Def. Toshihiro Shimizu by Decision 3-0

2. 83.9kg: 飛鷺輝(X-FORCE)(?) vs. Yusuke Masuda DRAW
1. 70kg: Sadao Kondo Def. Kazuya Hirose 1by TKO Round 2 3:54

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12/31 DYNAMITE! - Bob Sapp Added

Bob Sapp has always been a favorite with the Japanese crowd on NYE. This year he will be taking on Kinniku Mantaro. I have to say that I dont know who Kinniku Mantaro is... Sounds almost like a cartoon character.

Not only is Sapp taking on a cartoon character, but it will be under DREAM rules. This should be hit with the Japanese fans, but not sure if it is much of a draw for hard core MMA fans...

Dont know how you prepare for a fight like that, but he looks strong... Of course, last year Sapp got a cardio workout chasing Bobby Ologun around the ring, I hope we get a fight this year. Here is a recent picture of Sapp's opponent.




Nightmare of battle has figured out who will be wearing the Kinniku Man costume. It is Akihito Tanaka, he is a very accomplished amature wrestler and it should be a good fight!

Added:
DREAM Rule:
Bob Sapp 9-3-1 vs. Kinniku Mantaro

Previously announced:
K-1 Rule:
Gegard Mousasi vs. Musashi
Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Kozo Takeda
Yoshihiro Sato vs. Artur Kyshenko

DREAM Rule:
Mirko "CroCop" Filipovic 23-6-2 vs. 1-1-0 Hong Man Choi
Kazushi Sakuraba 24-11-1 vs. 32-13-2 Kiyoshi Tamura
Joachim Hansen 19-7-1 vs. 14-2-1 "JZ" Gesias Cavalcante
Mark Hunt 5-4-0 vs. 3-1-1 Jerome Lebanner
Shinya Aoki 18-3-0 vs. 15-1-0 Eddie Alvarez
Semmy Schilt 25-14-1 vs. 3-0-0 Mighty Mo
Hideo Tokoro 21-14-1 vs. 18-9-0 Daisuke Nakamura

K-1 Youth Tournament Semi-Final (Final held same night):
Hiroya vs. Shota Shimada
Tatsuya Kusakabe vs. Koya Urabe

Confirmed Participants:
Yukio Sakaguchi 3-3-0

Possible Participants:
Masato
Caol Uno
Mitsuhiro Ishida
Masakatsu Funaki
Katsuyori Shibata
Ikuhisa "Minowaman" Minowa
Hayato "Mach" Sakurai
Junichi Sawayashiki
Yasuhiro Kido
Taishin Kohiruimaki

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1/4 Sengoku - Public Viewing

Sengoku has a tradition for airing their shows in cinemas around Japan. To me it looks like it has not been a big success, hence this time it is only in Tokyo and Osaka they are offering this.

Either way, if you are in Tokyo or Osaka and would like to go to a public viewing, rather than going to Saitama, here is where to go:

Tokyo: Shinjuku Wald 9
Homepage
Access

Osaka: Umeda Burg 7
Homepage
Access

Tickets can be purchased at the door or ePlus. They are JPY4,500 and include 1 drink.

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1/25 ZST. 19 - Titlefight Announced!

ZST have announced the first fights for their first event in 2009. Looks like the main event will be the welterweight title fight between the Pancrase super-veteran Osami Shibuya and ZST star "mini Hong Man Choi" Masayuki Okude.

Also added is Korean "Ryo", previously "Ryo" has mainly fought in SpiritMC and he is a very good fighter. His luck in Japan has not been the best, but I would favour him against ZST fighter Kenji Nagai.

Announced:
Welterweight Title fight:
Osami Shibuya vs. Masayuki Okude

Light-Heavy: Kenji Nagai 5-7-1 vs. 10-5-0 Young "RYO" Choi
Bantam: Keisuke Fujiwara 5-1-3 vs. 2-1-0 Ryosuke Tanuma

Participants:
Yojiro Uchimura 6-4-0
Tetsuya Yamada 2-1-0
Shunichi Shimizu 13-4-4
Kenichi Ito 3-3-2

Read more...

12/21 ZST SWAT! 22 - RESULTS

ZST SWAT results from earlier today, SWAT is the lower level ZST fights and this event was held in Gold's Gym South Tokyo Annex. In general, these events put on some good fights with good talents.

Today was no different and the main-event was an interesting fight between 2 fighters looking to make their mark in 2009. Ueda was previously undefeated, but Futatsumori pulled out a strong win with just 3 seconds left in Round 2.

Tamaru showed experience and pulled off a quick win against the inexperienced Takahashi.

Normally, a fight that goes the distance, it is a draw, but due to the tournamanet, some of these fights are judged.

There was drama in the fight between Alliance's Ito and U-File's Hamagishi. Hamagishi was going for a takedown when a perfectly placed knee by Ito split his forhead open. At first it seemed like the win was secured for Ito, but he was not using kneepads, something the regulations require if you are using knees. Ito was disqualified.

13. Main-Event - Light: Takahiro Futatsumori Def. Atsushi Ueda by rear-naked choke Round 2 4:57

Genesis Flyweight Tournament 2008 (2009?) 1st Round
12. Keisuke Tamaru Def. Masanori Takahashi by arm-bar Round 1 1:55
11. Hiroyuki Aoh Def. Shohei Yamamoto by decision
10. Yoshinari Shinba Def. Sohei Ogawa by decision
9. Yasushi Yasunaka Def. Masakatsu Sekiguchi by arm-bar Round 2 3:37

Genesis Welteweight Tomurnament 2008 1st Round
8. Masayuki Hamagishi Def. Hiroyuki Ito by DQ Round 1 0:20
7. Yoshinori Asano Def. Kendo Kouda by decision

Non-Tournament Fight:
6. Bantam: Takahiro Baba Def. Kei Sato by KO Round 1 0:18
5. Bantam: Tetsuya Fusano Def. Masatoshi Kondo by rear-naked choke round 2 3:26
4. Feather: Hiryu Okamoto vs. Takashi Otaki DRAW
3. Light: Keigo Hirayama vs. Masaya Toi DRAW
2. Feather: Naohiro Hasegawa Def. Takayuki Kishi by KO Round 1 1:07
1. Feather (GT-F Rule): Shinji Ejiri Def. Kohei Kuraoka by rear-naked choke Round 1 2:55

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12/21 ZST SWAT! 22 - Fight Order

ZST is holding SWAT 22 in Gold's Gym South Tokyo Annex tomorrow afternoon. These are smaller events, but there is always some good talent involved.

This weekends event will have Fly- and Welterweight Genesis tournament fights, it says 2008, but since it is 1st round, I am wondering if its 2009.

The main event should be a very good fight. Ueda is undefeated and remeber that a fight that is not finished in ZST is an automatic draw. Both these fighters are very good at finishing fights and it should be an interesting fight.

Of course, the tournament should have some good talent in it and over all, this should be good value for money.

Fight Order:
13. Main-Event - Light: Takahiro Futatsumori 4-2-2 vs. 4-0-2 Atsushi Ueda

Genesis Flyweight Tournament 2008 (2009?) 1st Round
12. Keiske Tamura 3-7-3 (1NC) vs. 0-0-0 (1NC) Masanori Takahashi
11. Hiroyuki Aoh 0-1-0 vs. Shohei Yamamoto
10. Yoshinari Shinba 2-3-2 vs. Sohei Ogawa
9. Masakatsu Sekiguchi vs. Yasushi Yasunaka

Genesis Welteweight Tomurnament 2008 1st Round
8. Hiroyuki Ito 3-8-3 vs. 0-0-2 Masayuki Hamagishi
7. Yoshinori Asano 0-1-1 vs. 1-1-0 Kendo Kouda

Non-Tournament Fight:
6. Bantam: Kei Sato 4-2-1 vs. 0-1-0 Takahiro Baba
5. Bantam: Tetsuya Fusano 1-1-1 vs. 0-1-1 Masatoshi Kondo
4. Feather: Hiryu Okamoto 2-1-0 vs. Takashi Otaki
3. Light: Keigo Hirayama 5-4-2 vs. Masaya Toi
2. Feather: Takayuki Kishi 1-1-1 vs. 0-1-0 Naohiro Hasegawa
1. Feather (GT-F Rule): Kohei Kuraoka 5-3-0 vs. 5-1-0 Shinji Ejiri

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Best Fight and Event of 2008 (ONLY Japan) - Poll

Well, a huge task is in front of me. 2008 was a big year in Japanese MMA... There is no doubt about it!

I am planning to make it a poll, and I want to see what you guys think too! Any suggestions, add them in the comments fields or the chat box and I will check it out!

2008 was a very eventful year. Pride had to be replaced and DREAM was the new HERO's, trying take the open spot. Competition came from slow starting Sengoku. Looks like momentum has changed a bit though, no doubt it will be interesting to follow in 2009.

Organizations have disappeared too... Smackgirl started 2008 very optimistic, now there are 2 new female organizations fighting for that spot (Valkyrie and Jewels).

For most improved organization, Pancrase takes that honor closely followed by DEEP. Shooto have always maintained an impressive level, whereas Cage Force dropped off a bit due to financial difficulties in 2008.

I will start with what I think is the easier task, best fight of 2008. So what am I looking for? Basically, this is the kind of fight that makes you put down (or in my case spill) your beer. It should have a lot of intensity, skill and occasionally a happy ending.

I feel the choices I have made here are no surprises. But I will be reviewing both Shooto, DEEP and Pancrase carefully for candidates, I know there are some (help is appreciated)!

For now, here are some fights to get things started:
Eddie Alvarez vs. Joachim Hansen (DREAM 3)
Eddie Alvarez vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri (DREAM 5)
Hideo Tokoro vs. Darren Uyenoyama (DREAM 4)
Caol Uno vs. Mitsuhiro Ishida (DREAM 3)
Daiki Tsuchiya vs. Hidenori Nishino (Shooto 2/23/08)

There is no doubt that these 4 fights deserve to be in there! There will be more though.

Best event is harder. You might not think so, but my feeling is that the major events have a lot of fillers, especially since they are both in the initial stages. DEEP and Pancrase ended the year well, and Shooto have been putting up good cards all year!

But I will start with the obvious... Everyone loves tournaments, its a great way to great champions, and this year we have had some good tournaments! The lightweight division is stacked in Japan and it really showed in 2 great tournaments.

So, what was the best event of 2008... It is just really hard... I have had a great time at so many events this year.

It is obvious that DREAM 3 will be a candidate. Sengoku 6 was a solid card and even if non of the fights made it onto my best fight section, it is obvious here. DREAM 5 comes on, the drama and tension in the audience was indescribable.

DREAM 3
Sengoku 6
DREAM 5
DEEP 39
Shooto Tradition 1

Fighters that were discovered/re-discovered in 2008:
-Joachim Hansen (I think people had forgotten how good he really is)
-Eddie Alvarez (He was new for me, not any more)
-King Mo

Fighters forgotten in 2008:
-Bu Kyung Jung (put in an awesome performance against Shinya Aoki in Yarennoka...)

I will continue to work on this until the end of the year!

Just found a problem with the polls... Can't add options after someone has voted. So there is an "other" option.

To get you in the mood, here is a highlight video of 2008, this is global MMA though. Very well done and I watched the whole thing several times (its 30 min.). ENJOY!

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1/4 Sengoku - King Mo's opponent announced

King Mo has become a star in Sengoku this year, he is exciting to watch and has a show to go with it. There is no way Sengoku would not have him on this card. His opponent is the way more experienced Yukiya Naito. Naito is on a 6 fight winning streak, and this should be a very good fight.

Also added are 2 opening fights, Maximo Blanco gets his shot at the big time after paying his dues in Pancrase this year. I thought Blanco lost his chance at getting into this event after his loss in the last Pancrase event, but he is an exciting fighter and an opening fight will be good experience for him. Blanco is facing DEEP fighter Seigo Inoue, Inoue is experienced but I think Blanco will be too strong for him.

The other opening fight is between "Kingdom Ehrgeize" fighter Hidetaka Irie and Minoru Kato.

Added:
Light-Heavy: Muhammed Lawal "King Mo" 2-0-0 vs. 15-4-2 Yukiya Naito

Opening Fights:
Light: Maximo Blanco 1-1-0 (1NC) vs. 5-5-1 Seigo Inoue
Light-Heavy: Hidetaka Irie vs. Minoru Kato

Previously announced:
Heavy: Antonio Silva 11-1-0 vs. 7-1-0 (2NC) Yoshihiro "Kiss" Nakao
Light-Heavy: Hidehiko Yoshida 8-6-1 vs. 27-6-3 Sanae Kikuta
Light: Takanori Gomi 29-4-0 vs. 23-8-9 Satoru Kitaoka
Middle: Jorge Santiago 20-7-0 vs. 21-8-2 Kazuo Misaki
Light: Eiji Mitsuoka 14-6-2 vs. 12-6-0 Sergey Golyaev
Heavy: Dave "Pee-Wee" Herman 13-0-0 vs. 7-3-0 Choi Mu Bae

Read more...

12/31 DYNAMITE! - CroCop Confirms his opponent! **UPDATED**

**UPDATE** This is also confirmed by FEG today.

**UPDATE 2** FEG has confirmed that "Kid" Yamamoto will NOT fight this NYE. They also confirmed that Yukio Sakaguchi will fight! Sakaguchi went into the Pancrase rankings earlier this year after a huge KO win over Yuichi Ikari. He is also brother of famous actor Kenji Sakaguchi and son of famous pro-wrestler Seiji Sakaguchi.

There has been alot of speculation around who Crocop would be fighting on NYE. He has now conformed on his blog that he is fighting Hong Man Choi.

I'm excited to let you know that I have accepted DREAM's offer to fight against Hong-man Choi on December 31 at Dynamite show. We arranged all details and the contract has been signed - the fight is officialy on.

The fight will be contested under MMA Rules, and I am looking forward to it. Both fighters will be very eager to get back on the winning track.

Added:
DREAM Rule:
Mirko "CroCop" Filipovic 23-6-2 vs. 1-1-0 Hong Man Choi

Previously announced:
K-1 Rule
Gegard Mousasi vs. Musashi
Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Kozo Takeda
Yoshihiro Sato vs. Artur Kyshenko

DREAM Rule
Kazushi Sakuraba 24-11-1 vs. 32-13-2 Kiyoshi Tamura
Joachim Hansen 19-7-1 vs. 14-2-1 "JZ" Gesias Cavalcante
Mark Hunt 5-4-0 vs. 3-1-1 Jerome Lebanner
Shinya Aoki 18-3-0 vs. 15-1-0 Eddie Alvarez
Semmy Schilt 25-14-1 vs. 3-0-0 Mighty Mo
Hideo Tokoro 21-14-1 vs. 18-9-0 Daisuke Nakamura

K-1 Youth Tournament Semi-Final (Final held same night):
Hiroya vs. Shota Shimada
Tatsuya Kusakabe vs. Koya Urabe

Confirmed Participants:
Yukio Sakaguchi 3-3-0

Possible Participants:
Masato
Caol Uno
Mitsuhiro Ishida
Masakatsu Funaki
Katsuyori Shibata
Ikuhisa "Minowaman" Minowa
Hayato "Mach" Sakurai
Junichi Sawayashiki
Yasuhiro Kido
Taishin Kohiruimaki

Read more...

1/4 Sengoku no Ran 2009 - Dave Herman facing Choi Mu Bae

Sengoku have announced the match-up between Dave Herman and Korean Choi Mu Bae. Herman is a very experienced fighter, and a veteran of EliteXC. His debut in Japan will come against Korean Greco-Roman wrestler Choi Mu Bae.

Bae is not an opponent to be taken lightly, but "Pee-Wee" Herman should be favorite in this fight. It is also interesting to note that it looks like Sengoku is attracting more of the EliteXC talent.

Added:
Heavy: Dave "Pee-Wee" Herman 13-0-0 vs. 7-3-0 Choi Mu Bae

Previously announced:
Heavy: Antonio Silva 11-1-0 vs. 7-1-0 (2NC) Yoshihiro "Kiss" Nakao
Light-Heavy: Hidehiko Yoshida 8-6-1 vs. 27-6-3 Sanae Kikuta
Light: Takanori Gomi 29-4-0 vs. 23-8-9 Satoru Kitaoka
Middle: Jorge Santiago 20-7-0 vs. 21-8-2 Kazuo Misaki
Light: Eiji Mitsuoka 14-6-2 vs. 12-6-0 Sergey Golyaev

Read more...

Koichi Pettas - Training

I was able to go and watch Koichi Pettas work out at thee AE Factory earlier this month. He has had 2 K-1 fights, but ahead of him now is a slightly different challenge.



January 18 at MuayLok he is facing Keigo Takamori for the M-1 (Muay Thai, not MMA) heavyweight title.



The best facilities, training and coaches will make sure Koichi is ready for his next challenge.



K-1 and Muay Thai has 1 main difference, elbows. Koichi is making sure he is ready for any challenge.



Some of you will now realize I have a dilemma on January 18... Shooto is on the same day... There is no choice for me, I will be there to support Koichi this time.

If you want to go and check out this Muay Thai event, it is in Yoyogi 2nd Gymnasium in Tokyo. Doors open at 11AM fights start at noon.

Arena SRS 20,000円(Sold Out)
Arena RS　15,000円
Arena S　10,000円
Stand A 7,000円（Sold Out）
Stand B 5,000円
Stand Free seat 4,000円

Read more...

Olympic Gold Medalist Satoshi Ishii: "I Want to Fight in the UFC"

Olympic gold medlist Satoshi Ishii was meant to be the next big signing for FEG and DREAM. His value to them in Japan would have been huge, but yesterday the Ishii deceided to speak again. Everytime he does, its controversial...

“I’m only thinking of joining UFC. If I can’t join the UFC then my having quit judo was meaningless." He said. Zuffa on their side is saying they have not had any concrete negotiations with Ishii.

Everyone knows that the UFC contracts are exclusive and currently they dont hold events in Japan. You might think that Ishii would be a way for them to come back in to the Japanese market. Well, ishii has another golden nugget "The UFC that they hold here in Japan is a fake. I’m only shooting for America."

It looks like Ishii will debut in an MMA ring some time after next fall. Where, I think we have to wait and see. If you ask me, he is a matchmaker's dream and nightmare in one... Fact is that if not matched properly, he will end up on Jake Rossen's list.

Source:
SportsNavi

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Badr Hari's Punishment

Badr Hari lost his head in the K-1 World GP final against Remy Bonjasky. The punishment FEG has deceided on is harsh, but they also realize his popularity.

This is the punishment:
-Loss of his fight money
-Loss of second place in the GP
-Loss of his heavyweight title

This adds up to - He is available to fight on the upcoming DYNAMITE! event.

Read more...

12/22 DEEP Protect - Fight Order Announced

DEEP is putting on a very popular Protect Impact card this year, last year I had ringside seats but didnt get to go. This year I am on line to buy tickets and its just about sold out (Standing seats are left)...

I guess I have to sit it out this year too, but the card is looking very good.

There will be 11 fights on this card, and in Shinjuku face, everyone will have a good view!

It is built as a tripple main event, and the event is really built up around the last 3 fights. They will draw a good crowd and I wonder if they could have held it in a bigger arena... MIKU is giving up a few kilos in her fight with Shinohara, and Mishima should defeat Kitada, but they should both be good fights.

Tripple Main Event:
11. 65.8kg: Dokonjonosuke Mishima 18-6-2 vs. 7-3-2 Toshiaki Kitada
10. Kick-Rule 70.0kg: Nagajima☆Jienotsu☆Juichiro vs. Sakushi・K・River
9. 63kg: Miku Matsumoto 18-4-0 vs. 5-6-0 Hikaru Shinohara

8. Open: Seigo Mizuguchi 3-4-0 vs. 4-4-0 Ken Orihashi
7. 70kg: Hirokazu "BULL" Konno 0-2-0 vs. 1-3-0 Osuma Ishizuka

3-6. Proctect Bantamweight Tournament (fights drawn on the day):
Tomohiko Hori 7-3-3
Isao Terada 4-6-4
Seiji Akao 4-1-0
Ippo Watanuke 7-6-2
Toru Harai 5-2-0
Tatsumitsu Wada 0-4-0
Masaki Yokoyama 2-0-3
Toshihiro Shimizu 3-5-2

2. 83.9kg: 飛鷺輝(X-FORCE)(?) vs. 2-4-1 Yusuke Masuda
1. 70kg: Kazuya Hirose 1-0-0 vs. 2-0-0 Sadao Kondo

Future Fight:
Satoshi Inoue vs. 全建 Miyazato(バンゲリングベイ) (?)

Read more...

12/31 DYNAMITE! - Fights Added

Dynamite added some announcements today, following all the Sengoku announcements yesterday I expected something. The big announcement is Semmy Schilt's return to MMA rules (at a major event), he will be taking on Mighty Mo. This might end up to be more like K-1 rules, but it should be a good fight. It will be interesting to see if we get to see what Schilt is like on the ground now.

Hideo Tokoro should get a real test against Daisuke Nakamura. Tokoro will be giving up around 10kg in this fight (normally) and it will be a challenge for him.

They have also added the K-1 fight between Yoshihiro Sato and Artur Kyshenko.

This will, as always be a very good event.

DREAM Rule:
Semmy Schilt 25-14-1 vs. 3-0-0 Mighty Mo
Hideo Tokoro 21-14-1 vs. 18-9-0 Daisuke Nakamura

K-1 Rule:
Yoshihiro Sato vs. Artur Kyshenko

Previously announced:
K-1 Rule
Gegard Mousasi vs. Musashi
Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Kozo Takeda

DREAM Rule
Kazushi Sakuraba 24-11-1 vs. 32-13-2 Kiyoshi Tamura
Joachim Hansen 19-7-1 vs. 14-2-1 "JZ" Gesias Cavalcante
Mark Hunt 5-4-0 vs. 3-1-1 Jerome Lebanner
Shinya Aoki 18-3-0 vs. 15-1-0 Eddie Alvarez

K-1 Youth Tournament Semi-Final (Final held same night):
Hiroya vs. Shota Shimada
Tatsuya Kusakabe vs. Koya Urabe

Possible Participants:
Masato
Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto
Caol Uno
Hideo Tokoro
Mitsuhiro Ishida
Masakatsu Funaki
Katsuyori Shibata
Ikuhisa "Minowaman" Minowa
Hayato "Mach" Sakurai
Junichi Sawayashiki
Yoshihiro Sato
Yasuhiro Kido
Taishin Kohiruimaki
Mirko Crocop
Hong Man Choi

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12/14 HEAT 8 - Pictures!

A great event in Differ Ariake yesterday! HEAT really dont get the attention it deserves, but it will come. Yesterday's event included some great semi-finals, the finals will be held in March and they should provide some very good fights!

The night started with a kick (K-1) rule fight between Kinji and Yuso Matsumoto.


Kinji forced Matsumoto to take count twice in round 1, Matsumoto tried to work his way back into the fight with kicks.


A very good and action packed fight, Kinji got the decision, but it was a good fight to get the night started.


The next fight was the welterweight tournament semi-final between Max Fernandes and Korean Hyong Yo Im. I was really looking forward to this one cause I have heard very good things about the talented Max Fernandes. He didnt disappoint! The Korean come out strong, and looked like he could cause the Brazilian some problems with an arm-bar attempt.


Fernandes shook off the attempt and when he got his chance he didnt waste time, submitting Hyong by a toe-hold (or achilles hold, not sure from my angle).


The win was very popular with his fans that were celebrating, Fernandes is into the final!


The 3rd fight of the night was another semi-final, in the middleweight kick-rule tournament. Thai Fabiakat "RS Promotion" and Jotaro Usui.


Lots of leg kicks in this one, and both fighters were showing the battle scars. But despite being deducted a point of a low knee, the Thai fighter got the decision in an impressive performance.


Max Fernandes' opponent in the welterweight final would be deceided when Justin Holdaas and Yoshitaro Niimi faced off in the other semi-final. Niimi recently lost the Shooto Pacific Rim title fight against Xavier Lucas, and was out to redeem himself. Holdaas had other plans though, and his tactics worked. He took Niimi to the ground and with one exception (pictured here), Holdaas was never in danger.


Holdaas was able to take Niimi to the ground and inpose his will.


A good win and you will hear more from Justin Holdaas in the future!


Goutoku Onda and Yuuki really put on a show for the fans. A very close fight with both throwing leather, this was exciting to watch.


I was impressed that this fight went the distance, a true testament to the determination by both the fighters. It also gave the ring-girls work.


A very strong win by Goutoku Onda


The other non-tournament fight on the card was between Masataka Chinushi and Daiju Takase. Takase had Caol Uno in his corner, but it didnt help today. Chinushi was able to open up a cut in round 1, and Takase changed his tactics in the 2nd.


Coming out in the 2nd, Takase tried to go for a takedown, but Chinushi was able to sprawl and avoid it. With just seconds left of the fight, Chinushi loads and lands this right to end the fight early.


A good win for Masataka Chinushi.


The last 5 fights were part of the heavyweight kick- and MMA-rule tournaments. First up was the kick-rule fight between Moon Bo Ram and Nobutaka Baba. Moon Bo Ram proved to be much stronger than he looked.


Moon lands this uppercut that ends the night early for Baba.


Moon Bo Ram moves on in the tournament.


Makoto Uehara and Sun Wu had an unexpected ending, there was a scramble along the fence and Wu went down with pain in the groin area. The ref did not see an illegal blow, an Wu were not allocated time to recover. He was unable to continue and Uehara got the win in another good fight.


Dong Yi Yang was facing Ryuta Noji in an MMA-rules fight. Dong took Noji down early, and for large parts of round 1 Noji was fighting his way out of submissions.

First an arm-bar


Then a triangle choke


But Noji survived to round 2.


In the end I think Ryuta Noji got tired and Dong Yi Yang got a good win.


The last kick-rule of the night was "Prince" Ali against K-1 veteran Hiromi Amada. This is my pick for fight of the night, an awesome performance by both fighters.

"Prince" Ali looked in control early and was able to use his reach to knock Amada down.


But the veteran was able to fight back. With just 30 seconds left, "Prince" Ali's corner threw in the towel to save their fighter.


Hiromi Amada moves into the tournament semi-final.


The main event saw the return of Sentoryu facing Junpei Hamada. Sentoryu came out strong and had Hamada on the run early.


Sentoryu took Hamada to the ground and I am not sure if he got injured in the takedown or if it was this punch that finished the fight, either way you look like it, Sentoryu showed how strong he is.



A very good night of fights and I cant wait for the finals!!

The March event should include:
Welterweight MMA-Rule Final: Justin Holdaas vs. Max Fernandes
Middleweight Kick-Rule Final: Kinji vs. Fabiakato "RS Promotion" Lukafa (?)

Heavyweight MMA-Rule Semi-Final Participants:
Sentoryu
Dong Yi Yang
Christiano Kaminishi
Sang Soo Lee

Heavyweight Kick-Rule Semi-Final Participants:
Makoto Uehara
Hiromi Amada
Moon Bo Ram
Goutoku Onda

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