Head Kick Legend

Tyrone Spong v. Singh Jaideep Rumored for Yokohama

2010-03-11T03:18:20Z

Will Jaideep use his reach to keep Spong at bay in Yokohama?

A new fight looks to be added to the K-1 Yokohama show on April 3 as #12 ranked fighter Tyrone Spong faces #18 Singh "Heart" Jaideep. This has not yet been announced by K-1, though Spong's management team indicate it is a done deal.

This is a tough fight for both men, and one where they both need to impress. Spong came into K-1 behind a whirlwind of hype, but was instantly deflated by a tough loss to Gokhan Saki and some time on the sidelines. He returned late last year with an impressive decision win over Kyotaro, but he has yet to show K-1 fans the kind of skills that made him such a sought after prospect. This will be a good test for Spong's continued work with Ernesto Hoost as he tries to work the kinks out of his transition to HW. Fighting a tall, rangy fighter like Jaideep may be the perfect kind of practice Spong needs before facing some of the top level big men in K-1.

Jaideep was a fighter who came out of nowhere in 2009, earning an impressive win in the Seoul GP and turning some heads with his well-utilized reach advantage. However, any fans he picked up along the way were soured by his terribly boring Final 16 fight with Ewerton Teixeira. After that loss, Jaideep was shuffled into an unaired prelim at the GP where he defeated Makoto Uehara via KO. Win or lose, Jaideep needs an exciting fight here, as another dull performance will leave him without many supporters among the K-1 fanbase.

An interesting email just came through that states that ASTRA, Hidehiko Yoshida's retirement show...

2010-03-10T17:42:01Z

An interesting email just came through that states that ASTRA, Hidehiko Yoshida's retirement show will be broadcast online on Cavea.jp. The site looks like it is just starting up, the service will kick off on April 1st. They claim to be looking to broadcast the event worldwide via this website, so stay tuned for pricing and availability.

K-1 Warsaw and Vilnius Tournament Brackets Set

2010-03-10T03:30:46Z

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There's been so many K-1 cards announced in recent weeks it can be tough to keep up. Well, here are two more to add to the list. The brackets have been announced for the K-1 regional tournaments to be held March 28 in Warsaw, Poland, and April 10 in Vilnius, Lithuania. Winners of both of these tournaments will qualify for the East Europe GP in Bucharest on May 21, and the winner of that event will earn a spot in the Final 16.

The first round matches for Warsaw on March 28 are:

Izu Ugonoh (Poland) vs. Martynas Knyzelis (Lithuania)
Daniil Sapljoshin (Estonia) vs Kiril Pendjurov (Bulgaria)
Dmitri Bezus (Ukraine) vs Rowan Tol (Netherlands)
Tomasz Sarara (Polond) vs Almaz Kacenow (Kazakstan)

The name that jumps out as an early favorite here is Dmitri Bezus. Bezus was a reserve fighter at last year's Europe GP in Lodz who earned a spot in the tournament when another fighter was injured. There, he was defeated by Sergei Lascenko, but he looked promising in his reserve fight win. He also holds a victory over the tough Konstantin Gluhov.

Already announced for this show in non-tournament action: Paul Slowinski v. Konstantin Gluhov, and Remigijus Morkevicius v. Michal Glogowski.

First round matches for Vilnius on April 10 are:

Mindaugas Sakalauskas (Lithuania) vs. Vasijlav Vecislav (Russia)
Wieslaw Kwasniewski (Poland) vs Todor Todorov (Bulgaria)
Sergeij Maslabojavas (Lituania) vs Fatih Ulusoy (Turkey)
Andrei Bokan (Estonia) vs Utley Meriana (Netherlands)

My pick here is Sakalauskas, who took ranked fighter Zabit Samedov to an extra round at last year's Europe GP before losing a close decision. Also look for a strong showing from Andrei Bokan, who won a regional tournament in Estonia last year.

Hesdy Gerges v. Brice Guidon in Milan This Weekend

2010-03-10T03:09:54Z

Hesdy Gerges with trainer Thom Harinck

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Though not yet officially announced by It's Showtime, it appears Hesdy Gerges's opponent has been set for this weekend's Milan show. Gerges will be facing French fighter Brice Guidon.

A training partner of Jerome Le Banner, Guidon may be familiar to K-1 fans for his appearance in last year's Tokyo GP (the event won by Daniel Ghita). There, Guidon defeated Rico Verhoeven via decision in the quarterfinals before losing to Sergei Lascenko in the semis. He comes in to this fight off a win over Chris Knowles at the UKC France event on February 6 where he won by TKO in round 1 due to cuts.

At 6'6", Guidon brings in the size needed to fight with some of the bigger heavyweights, and with a 19-5 record he definitely is a fighter to watch. Still, taking a fight against Gerges on such short notice is a tough call, and he'll have to come in with a strong gameplan if he hopes to score the upset win on Saturday.

The History of "K-1 Yokohama"

2010-03-09T18:51:36Z

On K-1's English site there was an in-depth article posted today by Stuart Tonkin entitled, Slay Or Be Slain - The Heavyweight Champion, that documents the history behind the K-1 Yokohama events. It's a pretty good read, here's a small snippet:

Since 2007 the first locally held K-1 event of the year has traditionally been held in Yokohama Arena. Thankfully, this year there will be no changes to what has somehow become a simple, yet magical formula to events a level of which is rarely seen.

Many of the jaw-dropping bouts of the past 4 years have taken place at this event. In 2007, among several other surprises, Mighty Mo did the unthinkable when he landed his "M-over hand"-right to ruin Hong-man Choi's night. And fan-favorite Ray Sefo dropped reining Champion Semmy Schilt for the first time ever in K-1, only to then be stopped by Hightower, also for the first time in K-1.

In 2008 Mark Hunt's long awaited return hit its' first bump when Semmy planted a spinning back kick into the Samoan's ample gut. Badr Hari came out with fire in his eyes and defeated Sefo inside of 1 round. And the Kyokushin star, Ewerton Teixeira made his successful debut.

Last year we saw Tyrone Spong's first appearance in a Japanese K-1 event, albeit an unsuccessful one. Ichigeki stable-mates Glaube Feitosa and Ewerton defeated their respective opponents. Peter Aerts beat young gun Errol Zimmermann. And, Remy Bonjasky defended the honor of K-1 fighters around the world by beating Alistair Overeem; dropping him in the process.

The common theme is that these Yokohama events rival even the WGP for the level of excitement, and there has been a wicked upset or two on each and every card thus far. What is more surprising is that there is just a single team responsible for each and every one of the upset-of-the-night fights.

You can checkout the full article here.

March Rankings: HW Division

2010-03-09T03:23:43Z

**HW Division Rankings**

**(70 kg and over)**
#1	Semmy Schilt
#2	Remy Bonjasky
#3	Badr Hari
#4	Alistair Overeem
#5	Peter Aerts
#6	Errol Zimmerman
#7	Ewerton Teixeira
#8	Hesdy Gerges
#9	Daniel Ghita
#10	Pavel Zhuravlev
#11	Nathan Corbett
#12	Tyrone Spong
#13	Ruslan Karaev
#14	Kyotaro
#15	Zabit Samedov
#16	Melvin Manhoef
#17	Gokhan Saki
#18	Singh Jaideep
#19	Ashwin Balrak
#20	Mourad Bouzidi
#21	Jerome Le Banner
#22	Raul Catinas
#23	Attila Karacs
#24	Anderson Braddock Silva
#25	Dzevad Poturak

A lot of fight announcements came in February, but not a lot of fights. The end result is that we have a lot to look forward to, but not many changes in rankings from last month (aside from our expansion to a Top 25 instead of the former Top 20).

Reigning GP and K-1 SuperHW champion Semmy Schilt holds strong at #1, though he will face a good challenge in Golden Glory teammate #6 Errol Zimmerman on April 3.

That event is already shaping up to be a stacked HW card as it will also feature #3 Badr Hari v. Alexey Ignashov, #6 Peter Aerts v. #14 Kyotaro, #4 Alistair Overeem v. #25 Dzevad Poturak, and #13 Ruslan Karaev v. #21 Jerome Le Banner. Big night in Yokohama on April 3.

The other major upcoming card is May 29 for It's Showtime. That one features #3 Badr Hari v. #8 Hesdy Gerges (who also fights an opponent yet to be named this Saturday in Milan), #12 Tyrone Spong v. #16 Melvin Manhoef, #20 Mourad Bouzidi v. #24 Anderson Silva, and #9 Daniel Ghita v. an opponent yet to be named.

Finally, we can also look forward tothe East Europe GP in Bucharest on May 21. That card includes #15 Zabit Samedov looking to reenter the Final 16 in the qualifying tournament. He'll be joined by a few fighters barely outside the top 25, including Alexey Ignashov, Roman Kleibl, and Sergei Lascenko. Rumored for this card: #2 Remy Bonjasky, though that remains unconfirmed. Samedov also has a small fight scheduled for March 19 against Rodney Glunder.

That only leaves 2 top 10 fighters currently on the sidelines - #7 Ewerton Teixeira (who I doubt many fans are clamoring to see back) and #10 Pavel Zhuravlev, who has yet to really capitalize on his big win over #17 Gokhan Saki last fall.

Team Super Pro Anniversary Results: Kraus, Verhoeven, More

2010-03-09T03:20:57Z

Albert Kraus - battered, but victorious

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This past weekend saw some top names fighting in Holland as part of the Team Super Pro 10th Anniversary event. The double main event featured Albert Kraus v. William Diender and Alviar Lima v. Warren Stevelmans.

Kraus continued his resurgance, earning a decision victory over Diender. After being somewhat written off in 2008, Kraus has been on a great run of late, going 9-1 in his last 10, with his only loss coming to #1 Giorgio Petrosyan. Kraus continues to look the best he has in a few years, and for fans of his, it's exciting to see just how far this surge can take him. Diender meanwhile continues to be a fighter more about what could be than about what is, as he continues to struggle against higher level opposition.

In the co-main event, Alviar Lima dropped a decision to Warren Stevelmans. These men fought two years ago when Stevelmans defeated Lima in Lima's K-1 debut and this result was no different. This marks back to back loses for Lima, while Stevelmans gets back in the winners column after losing to Thai fighter Saiyok at Slamm VI.

Also of note, exciting heavyweight prospect Rico Verhoeven won via TKO over Alex Novovic, while Tahir Menxhiqi, who made his K-1 debut last year at the Final 16 in a loss to Chi Bin Lim, earned a decision over Golden Glory fighter Ait Breda. Full results after the jump.

Albert Kraus DEC Wiliam Diender
Warren Stevelmans DEC Alviar Lima
Rico Verhoeven TKO Alex Novovic
Tahir Menxhigi DEC Aitsaid Breda
MMA Rules: Danny Verhoeven KO Christopher Martha
MMA Rules: Hans Stringer KO Eddie Mermis
Jordy Sluis DEC Soufiane Charkoui
Rini van Gelder DEC Ryan Semeral
Bart Korteray DRAW Peter Janssen
Gradus Kraus DEC Jermey F.K. Den Bosch

Japanese MMA: Shooto SPIRIT 2010 Results

2010-03-08T21:04:04Z

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Paraestra ran their Shooto SPIRIT 2010 event this past Sunday March 7th from the Accel Hall in Sendai.

In the main event, Sou Tazawa (8-5-4) and Daisuke Ishizawa (5-6-1) ended their match in a draw. The Featherweight semi-main also ended in a draw between Toshiaki Hayasaka (0-5-1) and Daiki Takashima (0-0-1).

Takeshi Wagatsuma and Hitoshi Watanabe both had decision wins in the KuDo (Karate Rules) fights. Hitoshi Watanabe and Tetsu "Hadairo" Suzuki were both victorious in their Shooto Grappling rule matches.

In the 2010 Rookie Tournament bouts, Yo Saito (Lightweight), Jin Takano (Featherweight) and Yoshikazu Fujiishi (Welterweight) all picked up wins.

Shooto Brazil 15 is the next scheduled event from the Faculdade Bennett, Flamengo in Rio de Janeiro on Friday March 19th. Geovani Diniz (9-4) will meet Paulo Bananada (12-7) for the vacant South-Americas Welterweight Championship title.

Full results from Shooto SPIRIT 2010 after the jump.

Shooto SPIRIT 2010 Spring
Accel Hall, Sendai (Miyagi, JAPAN)
March 7th, 2010

9. -62kg contract 2 × 5min. rounds
      draw
      Sou Tazawa (Draw 0-0) Daisuke Ishizawa
      *19-19,19-19,19-19

   8. Featherweight (-60kg) 2 × 5min. rounds
      draw
      Toshiaki Hayasaka (Draw 1-0) Daiki Takashima
      *19-19,19-18,19-19

   7. KuDo (Karate) Special Rules (Openweight)
      winner
      Takeshi Wagatsuma (Decision 3-0) Tomonori Sugiwara

   6. KuDo (Karate) Special Rules (66kg)
      winner
      Hitoshi Watanabe (Decision 3-0) Takamaro Watari

   5. Shooto Grappling Rules (Lightweight)
      winner
      Tetsu "Hadairo" Suzuki (1R 0:48, sub) Shin Katayama

   4. -54kg contract 2 × 5min. rounds
      winner
      Shigeyasu Fujita (2R 2:52,guillotine choke) Kazuyuki Yoshida

   3. Lightweight(-65kg) 2 × 5min. rounds
      (Rookie Tournament 2010: 1st round)
      winner
      Yo Saito (1R 3:58,guillotine choke) Fumiya "Kuwai-D" Sasaki

   2. Featherweight(-60kg) 2 × 5min. rounds
      (Rookie Tournament 2010: 1st round)
      winner
      Jin Takano (Decision 3-0) Takuya Ogura
      *19-18,20-18,20-19

   1. Welterweight(-70kg) 2 × 5min. rounds
      (Rookie Tournament 2010: 1st round)
      winner
      Yoshikazu Fujiishi (1R 0:13,KO) Yuya Onodera

Nieky Holzken off It's Showtime Amsterdam Show

2010-03-08T02:47:40Z

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Reports out of the Golden Glory camp indicate that Nieky Holzken will no longer be participating in the big May It's Showtime show coming from the Amsterdam ArenA. Holzken was scheduled to face MAX champion Giorgio Petrosyan, however due to some contractual disputes, it appears Holzken has opted out of the fight. It's Showtime has yet to make it official, so details and specifics remain uncertain at this point.

This is an unfortunate turn of events for Holzken, who quietly snuck into the top 10 with solid performances throughout 2009. Undoubtedly Petrosyan reprsents a huge challenge, and Holzken would have been considered a massive underdog, but fighting an athlete of Petrosyan's caliber can only help your career, and it is a shame to see that opportunity disappear for Holzken.

Holzken is very popular in Amsterdam, and many fans are upset to see him removed. In addition, this is the second recent change to the May card to cause some irritation among fans, coming fast on the heels of Khalid Bourdif being pulled from Rayen Simson's retirement fight. Considering how early It's Showtime announced these match-ups, some shuffling of the card was inevitable, though that is little consolation to fans who wanted to see their hometown star take on the best in the world.

UPDATE: New word is that Holzken and It's Showtime management have worked things out and Holzken v. Petrosyan is still set for May 29.

March Rankings: MW/MAX Division

2010-03-07T21:06:57Z

**MW Division Rankings**

**(70 kg)**
#1	Giorgio Petrosyan
#2	Andy Souwer
#3	Buakaw Por. Pramuk
#4	Artur Kyshenko
#5	Yoshihiro Sato
#6	Albert Kraus
#7	Yuya Yamamoto
#8	Murat Direkci
#9	Nieky Holzken
#10	Gago Drago
#11	Yodsaenklai Fairtex
#12	Cosmo Alexandre
#13	Yasuhiro Kido
#14	Marcus Oberg
#15	Taishin Kohiruimaki
#16	Hinata
#17	Chi Bin Lim
#18	Sahin Yakut
#19	John Wayne Parr
#20	Leroy Kaestner
#21	Marco Pique
#22	Chris Ngimbi
#23	Chahid Oulad el Hadj
#24	Yuichiro Nagashima
#25	Aalviar Lima

The biggest change from last month is the drop of Yodsaenklai Fairtex. Ranked #6 in February, Fairtex lost to unranked fighter Colossa and as a result, ends up down at #11. The other change is purely cosmetic. In keeping in line with other SBN pages, we've expanded to a top 25 ranking instead of our former 20.

Expect a good amount of changes for the April rankings, as between now and then we will get the Japan GP on March 27. Tons of fights on that card worth looking at, but none more so than #1 Giorgio Petrosyan v. #5 Yoshihiro Sato in what should be a great battle. Before that fight, Petrosyan also faces the unranked, but dangerous, Khem Sitsongpeenong, next weekend in Milan.

Beyond Petrosyan v. Sato, the 27th event also includes the Japan qualifying tournament featuring some great quarter-final matches. #8 Yuya Yamamoto faces #16 Hinata, #15 Taishin Kohiruimaki meets #24 Yuichiro Nagashima, and #13 Yasuhiro Kido faces Ryuji.

Other top ranked fighters will take part in the It's Showtime event on May 29. The biggest MW fight there is #4 Artur Kyshenko v. #8 Murat Direkci. This will be a real test for Direkci, and a chance for him to move way up the rankings. Also on May 29: #1 Petrosyan keeps his busy schedule against ~~#9 Nieky Holzken~~, #2 Andy Souwer v. Pajonsuk, #10 Gago Drago v. #20 Leroy Kaestner, #18 Sahin Yakut v. Rayen Simson, plus #23 Chris Ngimbi and #24 Chahid Oulad el Hadj in action. That's a lot of good fights.

Today also sees some action in Europe, as #6 Albert Kraus faces William Diender and #25 Aalviar Lima faces Warren Stevelmans. Look for results later today.

Finally, It's Showtime includes a few other marquee fights before Amsterdam. Next weekend, in addition to Petrosyan v. Khem, the card includes #13 Cosmo Alexandre v. Dmitry Shakuta and Chahid v. Sudsakorn.

Notably not scheduled: #3 Buakaw Por. Pramuk, who is once again in his periodic state of "Will he fight for MAX again or won't he?"

UPDATE: Just as these are published, reports are surfacing that Holzken may be off the May 29 event. We'll keep you posted.

Sengoku Raiden Championship 12 Results

2010-03-07T14:02:36Z

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Results have trickled in from the Sengoku Raiden Championship 12 show.

A few announcements came at intermission, SRC 13 will take place on Sunday June 20th returning to the Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan.

Lightweight champion, Mizuto Hirota (12-4-1), will vacate his title. Hirota's right arm was busted up by Shinya Aoki on New Year's Eve. Hirota told the crowd that he hopes to return in September.

Featherweight champion Masanori Kanehara (16-7-5) will most likely defend his title at SRC 13 against the winner of Sandro/Kanomata.

SRC 12 will not be broadcast in North America until next Friday, so results will be posted after the jump to avoid any spoilage.

SRC 12
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
Sunday Match 7th, 2010

SRC Middleweight Title Fight:
8. Jorge Santiago (c) Def. Mamed Khalidov by Decsion 3-0 (48-47, 48-47, 49-47)
7. WW: Akihiro Gono Def. Diego Gonzalez by Decison 3-0
6. LW: Maximo Blanco Def. Chang Hyun "Armbar" Kim by KO (Round 1 1:10)
5. FW: Marlon Sandro Def. Tomonari Kanomata by KO (Round 1 0:09)
4. HW: Yoshihiro “KISS” Nakao Def. Henry "Sentoryu" Miller by TKO (Round 2 3:27)
3. FW: Yuji Hoshino Def. Nick Denis by guillotine choke (Round 2 0:47)
2. LW: Leonardo Santos Def. Kiuma Kunioku by rear-naked choke (Round 1 3:06)
1. FW: Shigeki Osawa Def. Kyung Ho Kang by Decision 3-0

K-1 East Europe GP in Bucharest Line-Up

2010-03-06T18:09:17Z

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Busy day for K-1. They've just announced the initial card for their April 3 Yokohama show, and now we have details on the almost complete card for the East Europe GP to be held in Bucharest May 21. The main feature of this card is of course the 8 man GP qualifying tournament, with the winner receiving a pass into the Final 16 this fall. The tournament participants are: Zabit Samedov, Alexey Ignashov, Sebastian Ciobanu, Sergei Lascenko, Roman Kleibl, Mladen Brestovac, and the winners of the March 27 Polan GP, and April 10 Lithuania GP.

Right off the bat, this is a ridiculously strong field of competitors. Samedov comes in the defending Europe GP champion, having won in Lodz last year. He's an early favorite, but there's plenty of other names who could take it. Ignashov is on something of a resurgence, looking strong in his recent win over Ron Sparks and finally returning to higher profile events. Kleibl won the K-1 ColliZion GP in 2009 and looked good in the process, while both Ciobanu and Brestovac fell in that same tournament. Also exciting to see Lascenko back - one of the unsung heroes of K-1 in 2009, Lascenko made the finals in both Lodz and Tokyo last year, losing to Samedov and Ghita respectively. An exciting and popular fighter, Lascenko earned a lot of fans and a lot of respect last year - look for him to make his 3rd GP outing a win. Finishing up the tournament, Coco Rus will face Mihaita Golescu in the reserve fight.

Non-tournament action also features some big names and fights, most notably Ray Sefo v. Ionut IIftimoaie and Ruslan Karaev v. Catalin Morosanu. Sefo has made it clear he wants to return to the GP in 2010 and looks to extend his current win streak to 3 in a row here. Meanwhile, both Karaev and Morosanu look to erase some recent embarrassing performances - Karaev in his crushing loss to Gerges, and Morosanu in his foolish DQ loss to Taiei Kin. Both exciting fighters, this one could be a show stealer. The kickboxing portion of the card is rounded out with Phillipe Salmon v. Mihai Barbu.

Finally, two interesting MMA fights will take place. The first pits ColliZion mega-star Alexandru Lungu against fellow behemoth Bob Sapp, in a definite sideshow attraction bout. Should be fun while it lasts. Also, Valentijn Overeem faces Catalin Zmarandescu.

Also rumored for the show, but not yet scheduled: Remy Bonjasky, Mike Zambidis, Freddy Kamayo, and Dmitry Bezus.

Sengoku Raiden Championship 12: Weigh-In

2010-03-06T15:50:29Z

via www.src-official.com

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World Victory Road/Sengoku held a press conference and weigh-in a day before the Sengoku Raiden Championship 12 show that takes place tomorrow, Sunday March 7th, from the Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan. The headliner will be a re-match between SRC Middleweight Champion Jorge Santiago (21-8) and Mamed Khalidov (20-3-1). Last November Khalidov stunned Santiago ending the fight (TKO/punches) just 1:45 into the 1st round in a non-title match.

All fighters made weight, with the following results:

Jorge Santiago (82.6 kg)
Mamed Khalidov (82.9 kg)

Akihiro Gono (76 kg)
Diego Gonzalez (75.9 kg)

Maximo Blanco (69.8 kg)
Chang Hyun "Armbar" Kim (69.9 kg)

Tomonari Kanomata (64.9 kg)
Marlon Sandro (64.7 kg)

Yoshihiro "Kiss" Nakao (99.7 kg)
Henry Sentoryu "Miller (109.9 kg)

Nick Denis (64.9 kg)
Yuji Hoshino (64.9 kg)

Kiuma Kunioku (69.3 kg)
Leonardo Santos (69.6 kg)

Shigeki Osawa (65 kg)
Kang Kyung Ho (65 kg)

SRC12 will be televised in North American on HDNet, Friday March 12th.

SRC 12 Broadcast Info:
Japan: Sky Perfect! PPV, March 7th, 4 PM (JPN/KOR)
South Korea: MBC ESPN, March 7th, 5 PM (JPN/KOR)
USA/Canada: HDNet, March 12th, 10 PM (EST)

(Official Fight Card)

K-1 World Grand Prix in Yokohama Fights Announced; Badr Hari, Semmy Schilt and Alistair Overeem on Deck

2010-03-06T03:49:30Z

Badr Hari will welcome Alexey Ignashov back to K-1 in Yokohama

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The first official K-1 card of the year is beginning to finally take shape as K-1 producer Tanigawa took to the podium and ran down a blistering opening card for the K-1 Grand Prix season. This simply clears up and confirms a lot of the rumors that have been floating around. As we already know, Peter Aerts vs. Kyotaro for the Heavyweight title has been announced, and as it turns out, that will not be the only title defended at this show. K-1 has been making an effort to focus more on titles as opposed to just the tournament formats.

So of course, what comes to mind is the Super Heavyweight Title that Semmy Schilt holds. Schilt will actually defend that very title against fellow Golden Glory fighter Errol Zimmerman. We've heard Bas Boon say in the past that his fighters are always prepared for a fight, even if it is against each other and he was not lying in the least bit. The rumored bout of Jerome Le Banner vs. Ruslan Karaev was confirmed, billed as "old school vs. new school" and should be a great fight. Alistair Overeem, the man whose schedule would make Mirko Cro Cop blush will still fight on this card against the Bosnian Dzevad Poturak. Tanigawa mentioned when questioned as to the involvement of Overeem in the GP this year that he knows Alistair wants to focus on MMA and fight Fedor Emelianenko, that they tried to put that very fight together for DREAM but Fedor's contract with M-1 and Strikeforce got in the way. He also does not rule out Alistair Overeem fighting in the Grand Prix later this year.

Alexey Ignashov will officially make his return to K-1, and just like what was rumored, this will not be an easy fight for Ignashov, as he faces off against the K-1 World Grand Prix finalist from the past two years, Badr Hari. According to Tany, Ignashov flew out to Japan on his own dime to meet with Tanigawa and begged for him to let him back into K-1, no matter what it took. Well, what ended up happening was he got a return bout and it is against Badr Hari. He was hesitant to take such a fight, but wants so badly to be back in K-1 that he accepted.

The Eastern Europe GP in Bucharest we already know of, it will include Alexey Ignashov and Zabit Samedov as well as the winners of the Warsaw and Vilnius GPs. In June there will be a Western Europe GP (no location announced yet). There will also be an Asia and Oceania GPs. The four winners of these tournaments will qualify for the Final 16 tournament. They hope to bring in some new blood with these tournaments, much like they did with Zimmerman in '08 and Ghita in '09. They also plan to air these shows in Japan, on PPV if they have to, which means they plan to have a full crew there, which increases the chances of HDNet picking these up. Please?

K-1 Press Conference Tomorrow!

2010-03-05T17:04:01Z

Semmy Schilt should be headlining the K-1 Yokohama Arena show on 4/3.

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K-1 will hold a press conference tomorrow where they announce more of the card for the April 3rd Yokohama Arena show. So far Peter Aerts vs. Kyotaro for the K-1 Heavyweight Championship is the only fight booked. No other fights have been announced, but there was a list of names they were using the promote the show. On the K-1 Japanese website, they are using images of Semmy Schilt, Badr Hari, Errol Zimmerman and Alistair Overeem to promote the show.

Of course, K-1 producer Tanigawa (or Tanikawa to the picky) has claimed on Twitter that Alistair Overeem will participate in the Yokohama Arena show, which flies in the face of logic as Overeem has mentioned fighting at DREAM.13, will fight Brett Rogers on in Strikeforce on May 15 and of course has other fights planned as well. We will at least have some solid answers at 12 noon Tokyo time on Saturday.

K-1 will broadcast the press conference online on their U-Stream channel, and Tanigawa will be updating his Twitter throughout (@K1_Tany).

It's Showtime Milan Card Finalized

2010-03-05T01:20:58Z

Giorgio Petrosyan, back in action in Milan

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We're a little over a week away from the second It's Showtime card of 2010 and the first real blockbuster fight of the year. On March 13, It's Showtime comes from Milan with a strong card headlined by #1 fighter Giorgio Petrosyan v. Khem Sitsongpeenong. As we've said before, Khem provides a nice challenge for the unstoppable-looking Petrosyan, and this is a main event many are looking forward to.

In addition to this fight, It's Showtime has finalized the rest of the card, adding in a fight with K-1's Chahild Oulad El Hadj. Chahid will meet Thai fighter Sudsakorn sor Klinmee. For Chahid, this is a must win as his career has been on a massive slide in the past year. Once pegged as a potential breakout star of 2009, Chahid has gone 1-5 in his last 6, including a current 3 fight losing streak to Murat Direkci, Chris Ngimbi, and Hafid el Boustati. He desperately needs to turn it around and get back to winning here. His opponent, Sudsakorn, is a 23 year old traditional Thai fighter, whose biggest fight to date was a loss to Khem at Lumpinee Stadium last year. He'll bring a strong Muay Thai game to the table, and it will be interesting to see how he does in a featured bout.

The main card also includes Hesdy Gerges facing an opponent yet to be announced. Gerges comes in off his win over Ashwin Balrak last weekend and looks to continue building momentum before his May showdown with Badr Hari. Dmitry Shakuta defends his It's Showtime 77kg title against Cosmo Alexandre, who comes in off a pair of impressive tournament victories in 2009. Armen Petrosyan, brother to Giorgio, faces the man Giorgio defeated in his K-1 debut, Dzhabar Askerov. And Hicham Bettani faces Yavuz Kayabasi. The undercard includes an additional five fights featuring Wendell Roche and Orono vor Petchpoon among others.

Look for more from us next week in anticipation of this event.

MATCHMAKING OKTAGON PRESENT'S IT'S SHOWTIME MILAN, ITALY
MARCH 13, 2010

PART 1
Sergio Wielzen VS Matteo Luppi
Robert van Nimwegen VS Federico Pacini
Ali Cenik VS Bruno Franchi
Wendell Roche VS Luca Panto
Egon Racz VS Orono vor Petchpoon

PART 2
Yavuz Kayabasi VS Hicham Bettani
Dzhabar Askerov VS Armen Petrosyan
TBA VS Hesdy Gerges
Sudsakorn sor Klinmee vs Chahid Oulad el Hadj
It's Showtime World Title 77 max
Cosmo Alexandre VS Dmitri Shakuta
Khem Sitsonpeenong VS Giorgio Petrosyan

Japanese MMA: Miku Matsumoto's Retirement Bout will be an Exhibition against Megumi Fujii at DEEP 47

2010-03-04T19:22:06Z

Today the DEEP organization announced the retirement bout of 28-year-old Miku Matsumoto (23-4). She will face Megumi Fujii (19-0) in an exhibition which will see two of the world's top pound-for-pound female fighters meet for the first time. The match will happen at DEEP 47 on April 17th.

Matsumoto, the Deep Women's Lightweight (106 lbs.) Champion announced her retirement at last weekends DEEP.46 show. In a blog entry on March 2, Matsumoto stated that she had become detached from MMA and no longer had the ability to continue serious training or perform as a professional fighter. She further stated that she had no regrets about her decision to retire. Matsumoto is the #3-ranked pound-for-pound female MMA fighter in the world by MMARising.com

Megumi Fujii, the current #1-ranked pound-for-pound female MMA fighter is undefeated in 19-fights dating back to May 2004. She most recently defeated veteran striker "Windy" Tomomi Sunaba by first-round armbar at Shooto: "Revolutionary Exchanges 3" on November 23, 2009.

It's a shame that Matsumoto is retiring so young, but female fight fans will be elated that a match between these two ladies is finally taking place.

Bob Sapp Participation at K-1 ColliZion 2010 Croatia

2010-03-04T18:18:05Z

American K-1 fighter Bob Sapp will be the main attraction at the March 27th K-1 ColliZion Croatia (Obracun u Ringu 10) event in Split Croatia. It will be the shows 10th anniversary which was highlighted last year by Stefan Leko who suffered a KO at the hands of Romanian Raul Catinas that attracted a sell out crowd of 9,000 to the Spaladium Arena.

Sapp, who will take part in one of four K-1 super fights, has been abysmal in kickboxing of late. Although he's only fought five times in the past five years, all the outcomes have resulted in a loss. His last kickboxing victory came over Tatsufumi Tomihira at the K-1 World Grand Prix 2005 in Hiroshima. Despite the fact that this is not the Bob Sapp who knocked out four-time WGP Champion Ernesto Hoost, he'll still be a popular draw. His opponent will be Croatian Marko Tomasović who qualified for the 2008 Beijing Olympics at super heavyweight. At last year's Croatia ColliZion event, Tomasović defeated Serbian Milan Dalešić by TKO in the second round.

Former Croatian Muay Thai champion and 2009 K-1 ColliZion 2009 Final Tournament runner-up Mladen Brestovac will go up against Moroccan Hichan Tourar in a K-1 super fight and Golden Glory's Denis Stojnic will meet Omar Bellamar in one of two MMA super fights.

Frane Radnic will defend his WAKO World title against Frenchman Philippe Salmon, who last month in Budapest won the K-1 Collizion seeding himself in the finals in Japan.

K-1 ColliZion Croatia
27 March 2010,
Spaladium Arena, Split Croatia

Super Fight K-1 Rules
Marko Tomasovic (Croatia) vs. Bob Sapp (U.S.A.)
Rol Strukl (Croatia) vs. Damir Tovarovic (Croatia)
Mladen Brestovac (Croatia) vs. Hichan Tourar (Morocco)
Ionut Iftimoaie (Romania) vs. Milko Dalesic (Croatia)

Super Fight MMA Rules
Catalin Zmarandescu (Romania) vs. TBA
Denis Stojnic (Bosnia) vs. Omar Bellamar (Morocco)

WAKO Pro World Title (-71.8 Kg)
Frane Radnic (Croatia) vs. Philippe Salmon (France)

K-1 - 4 Man Tournament
Bogdan Stoica (Romania) vs. James Phillips (U.S.A. / Germany)
Agron Preteni (Croatia) vs. Patrick Berger (Austria)

K-1 Max - 4 Man Tournament
Ivan Stupalo (Croatia) vs. Marius Tita (Romania)
Luka Tomic (Croatia) vs. Mirko Vorkapic (Slovenia)

It's Showtime Controversially Pulls Khalid Bourdif from Amsterdam ArenA

2010-03-04T03:09:34Z

Is Khalid Bourdif (right) being unfairly punished by It's Showtime?

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There's an interesting story making the rounds in European kickboxing circles regarding the big It's Showtime Amsterdam ArenA show in May. One of the original scheduled fights was Rayen Simson v. Khalid Bourdif in Simson's retirement fight. Now, It's Showtime has announced that Bourdif is off the card and instead it will be Simson v. Sahin "Kass" Yakut. Here's the official statement on the switch:

Rayen Simson will face a new opponent in the Amsterdam ArenA on May 29. The reason is that the opponent he was supposed to fight, Khalid Bourdif, accepted a fight which will take place 4 weeks before his match in the Amsterdam ArenA. We at IT’S SHOWTIME always agree that a fighter can’t/won’t fight at another event minimal 5 or 6 weeks prior to the ArenA event, this to prevent injuries. Exceptions will be made for K-1 fighters but this will always be discussed first, and put in a contract. Regarding the management of Bourdif, we at IT’S SHOWTIME find this not professional and we have expressed we will not use Khalid Bourdif’s services.

This was followed by the announcement that Yakut would indeed take Bourdif's spot. This news has been met by some harsh criticism of It's Showtime, and has caused some to raise questions about this policy.

To give some background, Simson v. Bourdif was first discussed late last year as an option for Slamm VI, but was then pushed back to this show. Simson, a Muay Thai legend in Amsterdam, hand-picked Bourdif as his final opponent for a number of reasons, including their history as training partners, personal friendship, and his belief that Bourdif was the best fighter in his weight class. There is no doubt this is the fight Simson wanted to go out on, and for many fans, It's Showtime is acting disrespectfully by not honoring his wishes in his final fight. To further complicate matters, there are accusations from Bourdif's camp that It's Showtime has not handled this properly, refusing to discuss options with them before removing Bourdif from the event.

For It's Showtime and matchmaker Simon Rutz, the argument is that this is a question of practicality. If Bourdif is hurt in his earlier fight (against Ali Gunyar in a main event fight on May 2) he could be forced to drop out of the Simson fight, forcing a late change to the card. As Rutz states, this is the It's Showtime policy, and it is one you can see the rationale behind. Where things get murky and somewhat controversial are in regards to the exceptions to the rule, and the choice of Yakut to replace Bourdif.

As their statement says, It's Showtime is willing to bend their rule for K-1 fighters. Why then would they not make such a concession for Bourdif? The obvious answer is that he does not have the same star power as a K-1 fighter and, like it or not, being an in demand fighter allows you to have more pull in your contract negotiations. But the real trouble comes in the fact that their replacement opponent, Sahin Yakut, is a fighter represented by It's Showtime management, leading some to argue that Rutz and company have used Bourdif's May 2 fight as an excuse to drop him and move their own fighter into a higher profile fight.

The question then becomes, is it a conflict of interest for a matchmaker and promoter to also manage his own stable of fighters? Looking specifically at Yakut, he has not been given a tremendous amount of high profile fights by It's Showtime, and this will be his biggest fight in quite some time, maybe ever. So you can't say that the company has been giving a huge advantage to Yakut previously. Still, the potential conflict of interest is enough to make many fans cry foul.

So far, Rutz has not officially addressed this controversy, and he may not. They've made their policy clear, and Bourdif violated that policy, so for them, there's not much else to say. I can see why some disagree with this move, but provided this policy was made clear in Bourdif's contract, I don't see It's Showtime acting in an unfair manner here.

Head Kick Legend Video Preview: K-1 World MAX Japan 2010

2010-03-03T19:17:22Z

In an attempt to explore other forms of media, let a shouting Semmy Schilt welcome you to Head Kick Legend's video preview of the K-1 World MAX Japan 2010 tournament. K-1's first show of the year is fast-approaching, so we give you the essentials for this event.

Stay tuned to our YouTube channel for future updates and as always, leave your comments and feedback as they are valuable to us.