One of the controversial problems with the K-1 Premium Dynamite card over the New Year's Eve round of events was that the rules between Yarennoka and K-1 were different, therefore causing confusion throughout the MMA community. A culmination of that very specific problem happened in one matchup at each event, the Akiyama vs. Misaki soccer kick and the Yamamoto vs. Yahya soccer kicks to end the fight. Both were debated as being illegal, and Misaki's win over Akiyama was deemed a no-contest later. Some interesting news surfaced Wednesday regarding the other matchup.

Fight Entertainment Group, K-1's Parent Company, decided to give Yamamoto the win even though he ended the fight by kicking Yahya with soccer kicks to end the fight. Rules for the event were still undetermined to many fans even after the event, but Yahya confirmed in an interview with Sherdog that in fact, soccer kicks were not allowed. It seems like this made a clear cut case for Yahya to have the judgement overturned, but he insisted that he lost fair and square. Apparently, the fight was still under review. Here's the reasoning behind their decision:

In judgement, HERO'S rules director Gen Isono explained that referee Minoru Toyonaga's choice to stop the fight was prompted by seeing Yahya's reaction following the left hook which dropped him to the mat. As the soccer kicks were therefore judged to be subsequent to the referee's choice to stop the fight, they were ruled to have no bearing on the outcome of the bout.

So, they were going to stop the fight after Yahya ate the big left hook, but Yamamoto managed to blast Yahya with soccer kicks before the referee could step in? In my opinion, I think this is incorrect. The referee did make a move to stop the battle, but Yahya was managing to regain position on the ground to begin ascending to his feet when he was struck with the kicks. Once he was struck, the referee then stopped the fight. If you look at the image above, the referee isn't breaking up the fight at the point where Yamamoto's soccer kick lands on Yahya's head. Clearly, he wasn't stopping the fight until after this moment. FEG must have blind mice watching the tapes.

It looks like Yahya got the short straw in this situation. He accepted his defeat already, so it isn't a huge deal for him as far as his record goes. It shows me some incompetence on the part of FEG though, and I don't need more controversy in the Japanese world of MMA, PRIDE brought us enough.

K-1 Premium Dynamite was by far the worst mixed martial arts event over the New Year's Eve extravaganza. It was mainly put together to produce huge ratings, but even failed to put up numbers that they have received in the past. One of the battles on that card, however, was interesting to even hardcore fans. Rani Yahya vs. “Kid” Yamamoto actually pitted two good MMA combatants against each other with K-1 benefiting in “Kid” Yamamoto's popularity in Japan. Young Japanese girls flocked to their TV screens.

Yahya put up a good fight even though he was heavily outmatched in the standup game. Yamamoto's wrestling skills are world renowned as being tough to deal with when trying to take him down. It proved to be Yahya's Achilles heel. Yahya was relegated to standing with Yamamoto and eventually took a flush punch that put him to the mat. This is where the controversy begins.

Yamamoto proceeded to soccer kick Yahya in the face, and won the match via a TKO/KO because of it. This was confusing because K-1 counterpart, Yarennoka, was not allowing soccer kicks to a downed opponent. K-1's rules were never mentioned and it was assumed that the kicks were legal. Yahya says differently to Martins Denis:

Denis: The outcome of that fight was controversial because fans weren't certain if soccer kicks were allowed. So are they or not?
Yahya: They weren't. He waited until the referee raised his arm, announcing he was the winner, and then he left the ring quickly to not be disqualified.

Denis: Just like that? Didn't your camp complain?
Yahya: My manager and my master, Ataide Jr., wrote a letter to contest the result. But to tell you the truth, I don't want them to overturn it. In my head this is simple: If I don't make it to the end of the fight, it's because I wasn't the winner. They can give the victory to the other guy because this is not going to change anything in my life. I fight in any type of rules.

Denis: Was the fight stopped by the soccer kicks or by punches?
Yahya: I dropped, a knockdown, and I was trying to grab his leg. So he landed the soccer kicks and the lights turned off.

It's interesting because situations like this have happened in the past, and those fighters have said the same things that Yahya states here. Most fighters won't admit that it altered the outcome of the fight, but in reality, a fighter may defend much differently when down on the ground.

The fact of the matter is that Yahya was cheated of a DQ win. If the rules were that soccer kicks were not allowed, Yamamoto won purely because he used illegal moves to defeat Yahya. Most likely, Yahya was behind on the cards and most likely would have lost via decision eventually, but that's not the point. As horrible as the event was for hardcore fans, this was a fight that had some interest and was marred by this incident. K-1, get your act together.

The battle for the Japanese ratings crown on New Year's Eve is in full force, and the mixed martial arts promotions in the nation are looking to soak up a majority of the viewership by providing an entertainment and spectacle show for the Japanese casual viewer. Many fans have been critical of the Japanese promotion's concept, but those fans have clearly been oblivious to how the television market and MMA model works during the New Year's Eve holiday. With that said, K-1 will hold their Dynamite Premium event at the Osaka Dome on New Year's Eve, and it will be featured on the Tokyo Broadcasting System or TBS network in Japan. The event will also include Fedor vs. Choi and Akiyama vs. Misaki during the televised event. With a huge lineup of popular fighters and a plethora of spectacle fights, look for K-1 to make a splash in the Japanese ratings war.

For the many MMA fans however, let's focus on the actual matchups on the card that seem to be interesting to at least the casual fan. We'll also look at some of the matchups that actually have some quality to them.

Main Event Card
Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Masakatsu Funaki

The battle of Japanese legends. Kazushi Sakuraba is probably most well-known for his epic battle with Royce Gracie at the 2000 PRIDE Grand Prix Finals. He's been coined the Gracie Hunter for defeating many of the Gracie family members and has made a career from it. He's a huge draw in Japan, but when up against stiff competition, hasn't been able to walk past some of the better fighters. He's been trounced by Wanderlei Silva three times, but did manage to defeat Rampage Jackson back in 2001. He has some good wins over some mid to upper level competition, but age is beginning to become a factor for Sakuraba.

Funaki, on the other hand, has some legendary wins in his career over very tough competition. The only problem is that he stopped fighting in 2000. We're talking about nearly 8 years on ring rust. His last bout was a loss to the undefeated Rickson Gracie, and toward the end of his career, lost 4 out of his last 9 fights, mostly in Pancrase. Funaki is a very, very good submission grappler, but his defense can be questionable at times. Sakuraba also has a bit more power in his hands, and he will have experience in the modern era on his side as well. Look for Sakuraba to pull this one out.

“Kid” Yamamoto vs. Rani Yahya

Yamamoto is one of the most popular fighters in Japan, wooing young Japanese women with his looks. He produces ratings, and it's no mystery as to why Yamamoto is one of the featured bouts on this card. He's also a very good mixed martial arts fighter who exhibits incredible power in his hands and has the ability to avoid the submission attempts of his opponents. He has a solid wrestling background, even going as far as trying out for the Japanese Olympic team. Yamamoto may have some trouble with Yahya though.

This is by far one of the more quality fights on the card, but Yahya does have his work cut out for him. Yamamoto has beaten champion BJJ practitioners in the past. Curran and Fernandes were both very tough BJJ fighters. Curran had some striking skills, but nobody wants to stand with Yamamoto's power. Yahya has excellent ground skills, but noone has been able to get Yamamoto in a submission. I think we'll see more of the same. Yamamoto by decision.

Bob Sapp vs. Bobby Ologun

The “Beast” vs. the comedian. Ologun has pulled big ratings for some of his fights because he is a celebrity comedian in Japan. This is another attempt to tap into that demographic that will be interested in seeing the spectacle in Sapp fight the comedian.

Ologun isn't a terrible fighter, but he will have problems with Sapp's size and power. Sapp should win this in the first round if he actually doesn't get caught up in trying to run down Ologun.