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December 31 is a time for endings and goodbyes - people quit drinking and start diets - but today marked a particularly difficult consummation for me.

Today was the day I quit Japanese MMA.

Oh, the relationship has been on the decline for a while. Ever since its highpoint, August 28, 2005, when Fedor Emelianenko fought Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic, it's been a pretty steady downward slide, with only occasional milestones (the acquisition of PRIDE by the UFC, the immigration of great fighters to the U.S.) to mark its ongoing demise. But today was a biggie, because today the K-1 promotion not only trotted out an aging, overweight, and out of shape Bob Sapp, it paired him against a fighter portraying a Manga character, dressed as that Manga character, under the name of that Manga character.

I knew from the time of the fight's announcement that this was the promotion's conceit, and it's been the sport's worst kept secret who the real fighter portraying the character would be. So I kept waiting for them to drop the charade and just let the guy fight as himself. But they never did. He came out for the fighter introductions with the mask on, and then entered the ring wearing the costume of the character he was portraying.

Lest I be dismissed as a UFC "nuthugger," let me briefly provide my bona fides - I was introduced to MMA in Asia. Living in Korea in 2003, I fell in love first with the K-1 and then the PRIDE promotions. I have sat through freak show matches in the past without complaint, including the battles of such luminaries as Giant Silva and Zuluzinho, not to mention the ongoing and largely inexplicable career of Ikuhisa Minowa. I am not a fan afraid of a little showmanship, nor one who necessarily dismisses fights with more entertainment value than actual implications in the weight class. (Assuming there is a weight class, which is rarely a safe assumption in Japanese shows.)

Admittedly, I had more patience for things like a Giant Silva match when they were closely followed by Wanderlei Silva vs. Ricardo Arona clash, which just goes to underscore my point.

The continued decline in the quality of the actual fights, and the increasing brazenness of the (for lack of a better term) freak show fights has completely turned me off to MMA shows on that side of the Pacific.

And I know there are real shows going on over there, that real "heads" of the sport should care about. And if I were a better fan, a more devoted fan, with more time, no job, and no marriage, god knows I would get into things like Shooto and Pancrase and diligently scour YouTube for their title matches in the 121 lbs. weight class. Sadly, though, I am not that person. And now, when I listen to the Sherdog Radio Network and Jordan Breen runs down how great Daisuke Nakamura has been in recent M-1 cards, I honestly have a hard time caring.

This is all especially difficult, given the fact that it's hardly a rich playing field for promotions in the U.S. right now. Saying you don't care about Japan basically leaves you with the UFC and Affliction, and god knows Affliction doesn't seem to be in it for the long haul.

I'll be sad also to leave behind the few good remaining fighters still plying their trade in Japan. Shinya Aoki's submission of Eddie Alvarez is just the most recent example of his wizardry on the ground. But the fact that, after the Joachim Hansen vs. JZ Cavalcante fight was canceled, Aoki vs. Alvarez was really the only fight with any big-picture implications on the card goes to show just how few top-level combatants are really left in the Japanese talent pool. If you except these four, and the T-Blood boys, who else is really left? Jorge Santiago and Takanori Gomi have fights coming up later this week, but how long, honestly, before all of these fighters start making their way to America? I would take Satoshi Ishii's appearance at UFC 92 last weekend as the first sign of an all-out emmigration to come.

It's a disappointing development, to be sure, but in the end my self respect won't let me continue to care about fight cards involving cartoon characters versus Has-Beens (or maybe even Never-Wases) with so little payoff at the top of the ticket. Japanese MMA, we had some good times together, and I'll miss you, but you've changed.

And my resolution for 2009 is to not care about you anymore.