MMA News

K-1 event producer, Sadaharu Tanikawa, gave an update today on the suspected injury that newly crowned K-1 MAX winner, Georgio Petrosyan, suffered last weekend at the K-1 World MAX 2009 Tournament Final.

Tanikawa subsequently elucidated the status of the main event bout between Petrosyan and the retiring K-1 MAX icon, Masato, for the Dynamite! event on New Year’s Eve.

Upon returning to Italy after defeating Yuya Yamamoto and Andy Souwer to capture the K-1 MAX crown, Petrosyan underwent an injury check-up, revealing that he has indeed injured his right fist. Though Petrosyan eagerly accepted Masato’s challenge immediately after his tournament victory and holds out hope for his NYE return, his doctor has admonished him against fighting.

Tanikawa commented that he would like to determine the opponent for Masato by the end of the week. If all goes as planned, he will receive a final update from Petrosyan’s camp this week and announce Masato’s new opponent on Thursday or Friday.

While Masato has the final say in the choice of his opponent for his farewell bout, the top candidate in case of Petrosyan’s withdrawal is Andy Souwer. Souwer, the two-time K-1 MAX champion (2005, 2007) has defeated Masato twice in as many encounters.

Besides Souwer, K-1 MAX standouts, Buakaw Por Pramuk and Yoshihiro Sato, are also in consideration. Pramuk has split a fight with Masato, while Sato has lost to Masato in the semi-final round of the K-1 World MAX 2008.

When asked about the possibility of former Pride FC lightweight champion, Takanori Gomi, as Masato’s opponent after Gomi sheepishly announced his wish to fight Masato on New Year’s Eve, Tanikawa commented:

“If Masato gives the green light, then the fight will happen; however, I think it is unlikely.”

Stay tuned to MMAmania for more announcements regarding the K-1 Dynamite! New Year’s Eve event as they become available.

For most MMA fans, the weekend’s non-stop MMA marathon of UFC 104 and DREAM 12 was already quite a feast.

For the dedicated followers of MMA and K-1, the weekend festivity ended with DREAM 12 but the marathon continued into a new week with K-1 MAX 2009 Tournament Final on Monday, Sept. 26. The event aired in North America on HDNet starting at 5 a.m. ET (perfect excuse to skip work on Monday).

At Yokohama Arena in Yokohama, Japan, four finalists of the 2009 K-1 MAX Tournament vied for the crown and possible bid to challenge the retiring K-1 MAX icon, Masato, at Dynamite! MMA/K-1 hybrid event on New Year’s Eve.

The tournament favorite, Giorgio Petrosyan, made a quick work of Yuya Yamamoto in the semi-final round. From the opening bell, Petrosyan picked Yamamoto apart from the inside and outside with superior technical striking. Yamamoto was clocked with a massive left hook early in the first round. Though he managed to get back to his feet and continue, Petrosyan swarmed him with a flurry of punches and scored a decisive KO at 2:09 of Rd. 1, proceeding to the final fresh and dangerous.

In the second tournament semi-final bout, the two-time K-1 MAX champions, Andy Souwer and Buakaw Por Pramuk, engaged in a furious war in hope of a triple crown at the end of the night. After three rounds, the bout was ruled a draw. In the extra rounds, Souwer eked out a split decision.

The tournament reserve bout pitted the 2006 and 2007 K-1 MAX Japan champion, Yoshihiro Sato, against the 2008 champion, Yasuhiro Kido. Sato landed a series of low kicks in the first round while Kido scored with jabs. Both fighters switched to a higher gear in the second round, picking up one knockdown each. Then they took the center of the ring for a fierce exchange: Sato emerged the winner with a right cross that shut off Kido’s light.

Petrosyan and Souwer passed the medical inspection and met in the ring for the much-anticipated tournament final. Petrosyan, clearly the fresher of the two, aggressively pursued the battle-worn slow starter. Souwer started the second round with urgency but Petrosyan utilized his sound defense to avoid damage and dropped Souwer with a punishing combination. The combo also opened a cut that Souwer sustained earlier in the night against Pramuk. Petrosyan cruised to victory and earned his first K-1 MAX crown.

Upon the crowning of 2009 K-1 MAX Champion, the question regarding who Masato will face at Dynamite! was quickly resolved. Masato stated earlier in the night that he rooted for Souwer to win the tournament for the grudge match — Souwer has defeated him twice in as many encounters — to materialize; however, he did not hesitate to step into the ring and ask Petrosyan for the fight. The young Italian eagerly accepted, confirming the main event of the NYE card.

Also on the card, K-1 veteran, Kozo Takeda faced the inaugural K-1 MAX champion, Albert Kraus, for his farewell bout. The 37 year-old Takeda has enthralled K-1 fans over the year with his fighting spirit. After a relative inactivity during the last few years, he finally stepped into the ring for one last time.

Once again, he lived up to his warrior reputation by displaying his kill-or-be-killed fighting style. He countered Kraus’ punches and landed his trademark low kicks in the first round. Even after absorbing a devastating low kick from Kraus, Takeda proceeded to the second round. Despite being picked apart at will, he fought courageously until the doctor forced a stop to the fight later in the round after checking the gash on his face.

K-1 MAX 2009 tournament final results:

Opening Fights

#1 – K-1 Koshien Final 8 – 3R x 2 min.
Masaaki Noiri def. Keisuke Miyamoto via unanimous decision (3-0)

#2 – K-1 Koshien Final 8 – 3R x 2 min.
Shota Shimada def. Hiroki Akimoto via unanimous decision (3-0)

#3 – K-1 Koshien Final 8 – 3R x 2 min.
Katsuki Ishida def. Tsukasa Fuji via unanimous decision (3-0)

#4 – K-1 Koshien Final 8 – 3R x 2 min.
HIROYA def. Ryuya Kusakabe via split decision (2-1)

Main card

#1 – Super Fight – 3R x 3 min. (Ext. 1R)
Xu Yan def. Yuichiro “Jienotsu” Nagashima via KO (left hook) at 1:04 of round one

#2 – K-1 MAX Final 4 – 3R x 3 min (Ext. 1R)
Giorgio Petrosyan def. Yuya Yamamoto via KO (right hook) at 2:09 of round one

#3 – K-1 MAX Final 4 – 3R x 3 min (Ext. 1R)
Andy Souwer def. Buakaw Por.Pramuk via split decision (2-1) in extension round

#4 – Reserve Fitght – 3R x 3 min (Ext. 1R)
Yoshihiro Sato def. Yasuhiro Kido via KO (right hook) at 2:23 of round two

#5 – 62kg Super Fight – 3R x 3 min (Ext. 1R)
Jae Hee Cheon def. Kazuhisa Watanabe via split decision (2-1) in round three

#6 – Super Fight – 3R x 3 min (Ext. 1R)
Albert Kraus def. Kozo Takeda via TKO at 2:19 of round two

#7 – Super Fight – 3R x 3 min. (Ext. 1R)
Gago Drago def. Taishin Kohiruimaki via unanimous decision (3-0) in round three

#8 – Super Fight – 3R x 3 min (Ext. 1R)
Artur Kyshenko def. Toofan “Storm” Salafzoon via KO (right straight) at 1:50 of round three

#9 – Super Fight – 3R x 3 min (Ext. 1R)
HINATA def. Mike Zambidis via unanimous decision (3-0) in round three

#10 – K-1 World MAX 2009 Tournament Final – 3R x 3 min. (Ext. 2R)
Giorgio Petrosyan def. Andy Souwer via unanimous decision (3-0) in round three

The winners of the Final 16 tourney have gathered to partake in the tournament draw to determine the match-up and the bout order for the K-1 World Grand Prix 2009 Final 8 from Japan’s Yokohama Arena on December 5.

The fighters picked numbered balls, and in the ascending order of the numbers on the balls, chose the block in which they will fight. There are four blocks, with each block containing red and blue corners that represent the slots in which the fighters enter — the slots are thus labeled A to H, with the first block containing A and B, the second containing C and D, and so on.

Depending on the luck of the draw, a fighter could pick an opponent whom he has a good chance of dispatching without incurring much damage, while tougher opponents square off against each other in other quarterfinal bouts. As the combat sport truism states, anything can happen in K-1 bouts, but needless to say, the outcome of the draw contributes to how the tournament unfolds.

Badr Hari, who had the fastest finish of the night (KO at 2:15 of round 1), was awarded the first pick. Following Hari, the other seven fighters picked the balls in the order that they fought on Saturday night, as their bouts all ended in decision (Ewerton Teixeira picked last, as his bout reached the extra rounds).

Ruslan Karaev picked the ball with the smallest number. Predictably, he chose the red corner of block 1, or slot A, for the first fight of the night: By picking the first fight of the night, he will have at least three fights to rest before fighting in the semifinal, should he win the fight.

Badr Hari ended up with the second smallest number, and thus had the next pick. Without hesitation, he chose the blue corner of block 1 for the rubber match with Karaev. Hari and Karaev have split the two fights 1-1: In the second meeting at the K-1 World Grand Prix 2007 in Yokohama, they enthralled the crowd with a fierce barn burner in which they traded knock downs.

Errol Zimmerman had the third pick and chose block G for the last of the four quarterfinal bouts. The reigning WGP champion, Remy Bonjasky picked fourth, and surprisingly, threw down the gauntlet to Zimmerman.

Jerome LeBanner, coming off the memorable bout with Musashi, had the fifth pick and entered himself in the red corner of the block 3 (slot E). Semmy Schilt picked sixth and headed for block 3 for the fourth bout with LeBanner: Schilt has won all three bouts with LeBanner thus far.

The remaining two fighters, Alistair Overeem and Ewerton Texeira, settled in block 2 for the second quarterfinal bout.

Side A:
Badr Hari vs Ruslan Karaev
Ewerton Texeira vs Alistair Overeem

Side B:
Jerome LeBanner vs Semmy Schilt
Remy Bonjasky vs Errol Zimmerman

For more on the K-1 World Grand Prix 2009 click here.

At age 21, Singh “Heart” Jaideep became the youngest fighter to qualify for the K-1 World Grand Prix (WGP).

He unfortunately did not endear himself to the fans with the lackluster, five-round snoozefest against Ewerton Teixeira at Olympic Park in Seoul, Korea. Unless he can stage an impressive comeback, he will not linger in the collective memory of the K-1 world for too long.

Nevertheless, his participation in the WGP bears the mark of an important milestone — given his ethnicity/nationality.

The K-1 website recently gave a glimpse of the nascent popularity of K-1 and the prevalence of combat sports in the world’s second most populous nation, India.

With a head count exceeding 1.1 billion, India possesses the potential of becoming a treasure trove of combat athletes. Currently, a handful of Indian athletes dot the combat sport landscape — most notably Kultar “Black Mamba” Gill, an Indian-Canadian MMA fighter who’s fought in K-1 Hero’s and DREAM.

Yet, India remains shrouded in mystery in the realm of combat sports.

According to Daniel Isaac, a representative from Tiger International Fight Team that houses numerous Indian fighters, cricket remains the king of sports in India with strong tradition and TV coverage. WWE has enjoyed heightened popularity due to the presence of several Indian wrestlers. While K-1 pales cricket and WWE in popularity, its viewership on the popular sports channel, Star Sports, has been on a rise.

In addition to the World Grand Prix series, Star Sports airs other events under the K-1 banner, such as MAX, DREAM, and Dynamite! Thanks to the coverage on Star Sports, K-1 events have grown to become the staples on the channel in recent years.

The K-1 Hero’s fight in which Black Mamba defeated Hideo Tokoro via KO apparently enthralled the Indian audience. Isaac further explained that, currently, many young men and combat sport enthusiasts regularly tune in to the Star Sport and K-1 channel on YouTube to learn about K-1 and MMA. He declares that K-1’s popularity will continue to rise in the coming years.

Indian martial arts tradition

Unbeknownst to many, India and the neighboring Pakistan have a long tradition of martial arts that dates back to ancient times. Kalaripayattu, a Dravidian martial art from Kerala in south India, is considered one of the oldest fighting systems in existence. Pehlwani, a style of wrestling indigenous to India and Pakistan, traces its root to 5th century BC. Some pehlwani wrestlers have earned international acclaim in amateur and professional ranks.

The Great Gama, a legendary Pehlwani wrestler who has vanquished numerous top names in international wrestling circuit including Stanislaus Zbyszko and Benjamin Roller during the early 20th century, stands as perhaps the most decorated combat athlete in Indian history.

Many of the traditional martial arts have seen the number of practitioners dwindle over the years. On the other hand, according to Isaac, a sizable number of Indians practice karate, taekwondo, kung fu, and other martial arts with international popularity in educational institution or as part of the military and law enforcement training.

Isaac estimates that martial arts practitioners constitute approximately 2% of the total population of India. Even at 2%, given the total population of over 1.1 billion, it translates to over 22 million practitioners.

With such a huge pool of talent, it is only a matter of time before a world class fighter emerges. Isaac elaborated on the possibilities: “Besides Black Mamba and Singh, the most popular fighter abroad is Alan “The Bull” Fenandes thanks to his 2005 fight in London against Mark Epstein for the IKF World Kickboxing Championship. For heavyweights, the most famous is Bhupesh Kamble. He has power and is definitely K-1 material.”

Apparently, Fenandes also did well in last year’s Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling World Championship. It would be interesting to see what he could accomplish in MMA.

In boxing, Vijender Kumar won the bronze as a middleweight in Beijing Olympics last year. The first Indian boxer to win a medal, Kumar has received a hero’s welcome in India for his accomplishment and good looks.

Martial Arts Powerhouse

Indian state of Punjab has become well-known for producing numerous world-class athletes. Black Mamba, Jaideep, Fernandes, The Great Kali, and many top wrestlers and boxers hail from Punjab. Punjabis are known for being tall, lithe, and athletic.

Isaac explains that Indians from the Northeastern states tend to be smaller but very strong: “Many boxers, karatekas, and weight lifters are from this region. Indian martial artists possess high level of skills and warrior spirit. If only they were given more opportunities, they certainly will prove their worth.”

Across the world, Indian athletes have made their names in sports such as cricket, hockey, tennis, soccer, boxing, track and field, and golf. While Singh Jaideep failed to make an impact in his WGP appearance, he epitomizes the potential for Indian athletes to make their mark in the world of combat sports. Given the right environment and ample opportunities, Indian combat athletes may see the light of day on a world stage.

Set in Seoul, South Korea, the K-1 World Grand Prix 2009 delivered an action-packed night with a star-studded lineup. After a series of three-round battles, the night culminated with a swift, but highlight reel-worthy finish in the last event.

The night kicked off with an abrupt and controversial finish.

In the non-tournament bout, southpaw Morosanu pressed the action in the first round with heavy artillery of punches and kicks. He relentlessly stalked the distinguished karateka and K-1 veteran, Kin. The fight saw an odd turn of events at the end of the round: Morosanu mistook hearing the bell with 10 seconds left, and Kin nailed him with a right hand. Morosanu then sent the shockwave throughout the arena by clocking Kin with two devastating shots immediately after the bell. With Kin lying cold on the mat, and Morosanu was disqualified for the sucker-punch.

Yet suspicion arose as to whether the gong was loud enough.

The reigning three-time K-1 WGP champion, Remy Bonjasky, completed a trilogy of victories over the “mini-Tyson,” Melvin Manhoef, via unanimous decision. Manhoef remained methodical throughout the fight, waiting for an opportunity to counter, In fact, he caught Bonajsky’s leg kicks and unleashed hooks to the body and big right hand to the head in the first round.

Manhoef stuck to his plan in the second round, trying to give Bonajsky — also a counter fighter — a taste of his own medicine. Bonjasky started to bear his fangs in the second round but Manhoef remained unfazed. Remy went on the offensive and dictated the pace in the third round: He opened up with his hands and low kicks and devastating knees from the close quarter.

Twenty three year-old Dutch standout, Errol Zimmerman, picked up a second victory over the Brazilian kyokushin karateka, Glaube Feitosa, via majority decision.

Zimmerman came out the aggressor in the first round with a barrage of strikes, but took a few minutes to start finding the target. Feitosa looked tentative throughout the first and second round but displayed a few nice counter strikes with mid-kicks and right hand to Zimmerman’s jaw. Despite making a good use of front kicks to keep his foe at bay, Feitosa struggled to remain active when faced with his opponent’s aggression. Feitosa picked up steam in the third round, countering effectively and pushing the action once Zimmerman started to slow down.

His third-round hurrah proved insufficient, however, as Zimmerman swayed the judges with crisp strikes and higher work rate.

Ruslan Karaev halted Kyotaro’s undefeated streak with relentless attack on the counter-attacking 2008 WGP winner. Kyotaro, formerly known as Keijiro Maeda, rose to the top last year with a Cinderella run through 2008 WGP, disposing of Melvin Manhoef and Gokhan Saki. Adhering to his trademark counter-striking style, Kyotaro got on his wheels to evade Karaev’s aggression with constant circular motion.

After an even first round, Karaev turned up the heat in the second round, stalking and cutting off the ring to land some nice combinations. In the third round, both fighters engaged, with Kyotaro switching gear and moving forward and finding the range. Karaev obliged, returning fire from close quarter. Despite having his moments, Kyotaro could not quite display the underrated power that took him to the top in the 2008 WGP, as Karaev scored the unanimous decision.

In a drawn-out battle that reached the second extension round, Singh Jaideep and Ewerton Teixeira frustrated the crowd with lackluster performance. At 21 years old, 6’5” Jaideep became the youngest fighter to enter the K-1 WGP. The decorated Kyokushin karateka, Teixeira scored with the trademark, stinging low kicks, but looked anemic throughout, not finding the target with his fist like he did in more impressive showings.

The fighters spent almost the entire fight trading strikes from range and clinching as the distance closed. Jaideep showed nimble footwork but could not capitalize on his reach advantage. He managed to stagger Teixiera with a knee strike in the third round. Sans the spurt of back and forth brawl in the later rounds, neither fighter found the aggression and killer instinct in the lone blight of the otherwise action-packed night.

Picking up the slack after the Teixeira vs. Jaideep snoozefest, the three-time K-1 World GP champion, Semmy Schilt, and Daniel Ghita came in ready for action. Schilt used his towering height and reach advantage to work the jab and front kick to effectively cut off the ring. Ghita, a Romanian who recently broke Peter Aert’s fastest K-1 GP win by defeating three opponents in 5:15, struggled to navigate his way inside.

Nevertheless, he landed several crisp counterpunches in the first round.

Despite fighting valiantly in his first World Grand Prix appearance, Ghita found himself stymied, unlike Badr Hari who effectively attacked from angles to nullify Schilt’s physical advantage. Schilt wore his opponent down with jabs, kicks, and knees from the clinch. He knocked down the fading Ghita successively in round three with a left jab and hook en route to a unanimous decision victory.

With their careers on the line, the two grizzled veterans, Musashi and Jerome LeBanner, lit the fistic firework.

LeBanner kept busy with a jab and low kick throughout the first round. Coming off a late-career losing streak, the Japanese K-1 legend, Musashi shined offensively and defensively. Showing his improved hand speed, he went toe to toe with the fellow K-1 veteran. In the third round, LeBanner dropped Musashi with a right hook. LeBanner went on a late-fight surge to dominate the last minute of the fight.

After three rounds of high-paced action, LeBanner took the unanimous decision victory to advance in his umpteenth WGP appearance. Having announced retirement prior to the bout, Musashi received warm applause from the crowd – a well-deserved reception for a warrior who carried the torch for Japanese K-1 world for many years.

Back in action after suffering a hand injury during a nightclub fracas, the flaky Alistair Overeem looked sharp and technical against Mr. K-1. Overeem battered the Dutch Lumberjack, Peter Aerts, with crisp combinations and cornered the undersized veteran. Aerts picked up steam in the second round for a spirited back-and-forth action.

Despite not inflicting significant damage, the two fighters kept busy, with Overeem mixing in leg kicks and knees from the clinch. Aerts stayed active with punch-kick combinations but his attack lacked power against the much bigger foe. To the surprise of some, Overeem displayed good stamina, showing no sign of fatigue late in the fight. He took charge in round three, landing stiff right hooks and straights on the fading Aerts.

In the end, Overeem scored a unanimous decision victory, edging out the two-decade veteran of the sports.

In the last event of the night, the K-1 Bad Boy, Badr Hari, punctuated the night with an exclamation mark.

Coming off the 45-second destruction of Semmy Schilt in the It’s Showtime event in Holland, the Moroccan-Dutch standout kicked off the round with bad intention. Landing stiff right straight and low kick on the overmatched Zabit Samedov, the 6’6” Hari methodically picked apart his opponent. Samedov countered with several high kicks, but the end came when Hari leaped forward with a swift body shot: Crouched and clearly hurt, Samedov was unable to continue.

Hari again validated his superstar status by ending the night on a high note: He scored the sole knockout victory of the night.

Quick Results:

Chi Bin Lim defeats Tahir Menxhiqi via unanimous decision.
Kin Taiei defeats Catalin Morosanu via DQ (late punch).
Remy Bonjasky defeats Melvin Manhoef via unanimous decision.
Errol Zimmerman defeats Glaube Feitosa via unanimous decision.
Ruslan Karaev defeats Kyotaro via unanimous decision.
Ewerton Teixeira defeats Singh Jaideep via unanimous decision.
Semmy Schilt defeats Daniel Ghita via unanimous decision.
Jerome Le Banner defeats Musashi via unanimous decision.
Alistair Overeem defeats Peter Aerts via unanimous decision.
Badr Hari defeats Zabit Samedov via KO, Round 1.

Miscellaneous notes:

• The HDNet commentator and the international “voice of K-1,” Mike Schiavello, delivered his usual, entertaining and jubilant performance behind the mic. He cleverly interspersed witty pop culture references with incisive commentary. I didn’t keep track of his remarks, but someone needs to start documenting the stuff that comes out of his mouth: He is more quoteworthy than Joe Rogan or Mike Goldberg.
• Some solid entrance music from the fighters — did anyone keep track of them?

Be sure to catch all the action LIVE on HDNet from the Olympic Gymnasium Arena in Seoul, South Korea on Saturday, September 26 at 12:30 a.m. PT/3:30 a.m. ET. The event will also be replayed that Saturday evening at 11:00 p.m. ET.