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.
Under-18 Tournament
Hiroya vs. Kizaemon Saiga
Kenji Kubo vs. Yudai
Finals matchup
This is interesting because all of the participants will be under 18, but for the most part, Hiroya will be the heavy favorite and is most likely being featured due to popularity or an attempt to build him up. Either way, Hiroya has a strong Muay Thai background and some excellent striking techniques. His story also resembles a potential dream marketing sale for the K-1 promotion to the Japanese public.
Hiroya was born in same town as Takanori Gomi, and he has been winning world championship Muay Thai titles in the amateur circuit in Thailand. He has tremendous potential and reports are that this tournament will be a send off before he moves onto a school in Thailand to learn English and Thai, and immerse himself in Muay Thai training to one day make a huge splash in K-1.
Look for Hiroya to successfully win this tournament.
Kazuyuki Miyata vs. Joachim Hansen
Hansen hasn't had too many fights this year. He dropped a controversial decision bout to Eiji Mitsuoka at Shooto: Back to our Roots 6 in November. The controversy was regarding the second round in action in which many fans felt that it should have been ruled a draw. Two out of the three judges felt differently, and Mitsuoka pulled out the majority decision. Hansen looks to get back on track with a win over Miyata.
Miyata doesn't have a solid record at 5-5, but his losses were to mostly top competition. Royler Gracie, Genki Sudo, “Kid” Yamamoto, and Vitor “Shaolin” Ribiero were four out of the five losses on his record. He recently defeated Harvey Harra on the September 17 HERO's card in quick submission fashion in the first round.
There really shouldn't be a reason why Hansen will not win this matchup. Miyata has some weak submission defense, and Hansen, for the most part, is well rounded. He has had problems stepping up and beating upper-echelon talent, but Miyata is far from upper-echelon. Hansen will be looking to get back on track with a decisive victory over Miyata. Hansen by submission, first or second round.
Melvin Manhoef vs. Yosuke Nishijima
A matchup that looks to excite the crowd at Osaka Dome, the dutch devastator will try to brutally knock out Japanese boxer Yosuke Nishijima. Yosuke has had some MMA fights in his career, but sports a 0-4 record from those battles. Yosuke was submitted in 3 of the 4 bouts and went 3 rounds with Mark Hunt only to be knocked out. This fight should be no different for a number of reasons.
Manhoef has awesome power in his hands and legs. He's a natural kickboxer from Holland who knows his way around the boxing aspect of fighting. He should have ample enough defense to stop Yosuke from landing stunning shots, and his leg kicks will most likely dishearten Yosuke's advance. This fight is set up for a brutal one-two decimation of Nishijima. Manhoef via knockout, first round.
Minowaman vs. Zuluzinho
The classic David vs. Goliath spectacle fight is a mainstay in the K-1 arsenal of matchups to put on network television that will produce interest. This is truly a David vs. Goliath battle however. Minowa is a natural middleweight (185 lbs.) and Zuluzinho fights at nearly 400 pounds. Minowa is no stranger to these types of matchups though, and his fans love him for it.
Minowa has a plethora of experience against bigger guys. He defeated “Butterbean” Eric Esch and “Giant” Silva by submissions, both who exceed 350 pounds. Can Minowa do it again against Zulu? I'm leaning toward Minowa in this fight for the mere fact that Zulu will have trouble dealing with Minowa's quickness and probably have problems trying to submit Minowa. Minowa by submission at some point.
Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Hideo Tokoro
This is somewhat an interesting battle for a couple of reasons. Both fighters have a good amount of experience, but Tokoro hasn't fought upper-echelon competition whereas Tamura has, but was unable to pull out wins against that type of competition. Their styles are a bit different as well. Tokoro looks to be the much more exciting fighter. He has an active striking game, but his bread and butter relies in his quick transitioning submission skills.
Tamura is also a submission fighter and has a professional background with some battles in UWF. He holds some wins over Minowa, Makoto Takimoto, Pat Miletich, Jeremy Horn, and Renzo Gracie, but many of those were back in 2000. When he made the transition to PRIDE, he was devastated by Wanderlei Silva and Bob Sapp. Although I like Tamura's experience, Tokoro seems to have some exciting aspects that I can't dismiss. Tokoro by armbar, second round.
Other bouts worth mentioning...
There are a few K-1 rules matches that are worth some mentioning. Musashi will take on Bernard Ackah, another popular TV celebrity. He's also known for knocking out Johnnie Morton, the former NFL player. Nicolas Pettas will take on Kim Young-Hyun, and Masato is pitted against Choi Yong-Soo. There is also some reserve fights on the card, Ryo Murakoshi vs. Arata Fujimoto and Takashi Tachikawa vs. Yoshihisa Inoue.
The card is purely an entertainment spectacle to get ratings, but there are a couple of great battles that may surprise fans. If you have a chance to check out the feed or see the fights once they hit the 'Net after New Years, do so.