FEG Announce K-1 Yokohama Heavyweight Bracket, Kawajiri vs. Ebanez at DREAM.7
by Chris Nelson on Feb 27, 2009 12:31 PM EST
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Fighting and Entertainment Group announced a partial card for their first K-1 World Grand Prix event of 2009, which will take place in Yokohama on Saturday, March 28 and airs live on HDNet.
FieLDS K-1 WORLD GP 2009 IN YOKOHAMA
Saturday 28 March 2009
Yokohama Arena, Yokohama, Japan
K-1 Heavyweight Title Tournament
Melvin Manhoef vs. Chalid "Die Faust" Arrab
Ruslan Karaev vs. Gokhan Saki
Manhoef/Arrab vs. Karaev/Saki
K-1 Heavyweight Title Tournament Reserve Bout
Tyrone Spong vs. Keijiro Maeda
Superfights
Remy Bonjasky vs. Alistair Overeem
Badr Hari vs. Errol Zimmerman
Jerome Le Banner vs. Ewerton Teixeira
Junichi Sawayashiki vs. Glaube Feitosa
Also announced was a DREAM.7 (March 8th, not live on HDNet) matchup between Japanese star Tatsuya "Crusher" Kawajiri (22-5-2) and B.J. Penn protege Ross "The Boss" Ebanez (19-6). Kawajiri's last MMA bout was a DREAM.5 LWGP loss to Eddie Alvarez last July, but more recently, "Crusher" pulled an upset at K-1 Dynamite!! 2008, knocking out K-1 MAX veteran and former Thai national Muay Thai champion Kozo Takeda.
Japan-MMA had this interesting (if somewhat misleading) stat:
Both fighters have faced Eddie Alvarez, and lasted almost to the second as long (7:35 for Kawajiri and 7:32 for Ebanez).
The FanPosts are solely the subjective opinions of Bloody Elbow readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Bloody Elbow editors or staff.
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Wow, adding a reserve to that HW mini-tournament is a pleasant surprise. Coming off the Final 8 and Dynamite, this looks to be another hot card.
Will bloodyelbow be giving DREAM 7 the major card treatment like a WEC or UFC event?
by smoogy on Feb 27, 2009 11:49 AM EST reply actions 1 recs
Most likely
Live blogging these events can be tricky due to their air time, but we’ll make every effort.
by Luke Thomas on Feb 27, 2009 12:05 PM EST up reply actions
Smoogy, just get ready for epic Manhoef goodness.
Editor-in-chief of MMA-Analyst.com
by Leland Roling on Feb 27, 2009 12:11 PM EST up reply actions
Agreed...
Big time agreed. I was thinking the exact same thing. Although Manhoef vs. Saki could be an epic slugfest, I just want Melvin to move on. It’s all about the matchups, and Melvin always has a chance.
Melvin blasted a 45 lbs. heavier Slowinski was great, but I think weight-wise, Melvin will have an advantage as far as speed. The bigger guys will be very tough for him to get through though.
Editor-in-chief of MMA-Analyst.com
by Leland Roling on Feb 27, 2009 12:27 PM EST up reply actions
I was waiting for you to post my most coveted Smoogy gif ever.
Editor-in-chief of MMA-Analyst.com
by Leland Roling on Feb 27, 2009 3:13 PM EST up reply actions
Look at that crazy footwork, he’s giving Sexyama a run for his money on this one.
Editor-in-chief of MMA-Analyst.com
by Leland Roling on Feb 27, 2009 3:13 PM EST up reply actions
I think it’s the boots that kill me.
by Derek Suboticki on Feb 27, 2009 3:32 PM EST up reply actions
DREAM.7 liveblog is go!
Contributor Emeritus - BloodyElbow.com
by Chris Nelson on Feb 27, 2009 7:15 PM EST up reply actions
overeem
is his fight mma or k-1 rules? it seems a waste to have him continue to just do kickboxing
by bearcox13 on Feb 27, 2009 12:05 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
It’s under K-1 Rules.
Editor-in-chief of MMA-Analyst.com
by Leland Roling on Feb 27, 2009 12:12 PM EST up reply actions
This will be a HUGE fight!
Can’t wait for this one.
by MMASuPreMaCy on Feb 27, 2009 1:48 PM EST up reply actions
I agree
I want to see Alistair fighting MMA not kickboxing. Does anyone know if this will be his 2nd to last fight on his contract or what?
"the spirit of your average dumbass with more overblown rhetoric" OR "the self-appointed savior of MMA"
I called Strikeforce promoter Scott Coker and asked him. He said Overeem is under contract to DREAM for several more fights and Strikeforce uses him as part of regular fighter swaps the companies do. As a result, I don’t expect to see Overeem in the UFC soon.
Contributor Emeritus - BloodyElbow.com
by Chris Nelson on Feb 27, 2009 2:49 PM EST up reply actions
He’s not contracted to do K-1 bouts. He’s just under a general contract I believe, but since the whole Badr Hari vs. Overeem win, FEG wants to highlight these bouts. K-1 fighters make a lot of damn money, $400,000 for the WGP winner plus whatever other bonuses they get. Overeem isn’t exactly stupid for taking these bouts as he’s getting paid handsomely.
Everyone wants to see him the MMA arena, but if FEG is gonna throw these K-1 bouts at him as an MMA vs. K-1 idea, he’s going to take it. After this one, I’m sure he won’t be doing much K-1 at all. I think this is just one of those bouts in which FEG believes the fans will be intrigued by.
Editor-in-chief of MMA-Analyst.com
by Leland Roling on Feb 27, 2009 3:16 PM EST up reply actions
Hari vs Overeem II is very possible still.
by MMASuPreMaCy on Feb 27, 2009 3:19 PM EST up reply actions
I don’t think it will happen. The problem with K-1 fighters vs. MMA fighters that nobody really mentions is that MMA guys will push inside while K-1 guys really aren’t used to that kind of fighting. K-1 guys like to stand toe-to-toe and just tee off and try to out strategize their opponents with punches.
Overeem actually uses some very quick blows to overwhelm Hari, but in the other MMA vs. K-1 bouts, every single MMA guy moved quickly, closed distance, and teed off. It was very debilitating to those K-1 guys. Usually K-1 fighters stand the distance because kicks play such a huge roll, but when they got surprised by the closing of the distance, they didn’t kick to defend.
Also, most fighters in K-1 can’t throw the kick when close distanced. Remy is one guy who can probably KO you with a flying knee or flying kick while you’re almost hugging him. That’s one of the attributes that may come in very handy against Overeem.
Hari vs. Overeem could happen down the road, but honestly, Hari needs to be a bit more tenacious with the kicks this year. In the GP, he didn’t kick a whole lot except for backkicking Aerts.
Editor-in-chief of MMA-Analyst.com
by Leland Roling on Feb 27, 2009 3:24 PM EST up reply actions
HDNET needs to get in more homes dammit!
A man should never waste an opportunity to keep his mouth shut.
I can say enough how great the addition is to my viewing habits. Really excellent regional scene coverage.
by Luke Thomas on Feb 27, 2009 12:14 PM EST up reply actions
Absolutely!
From PFC and UWC, to Affliction, Sengoku, DREAM, and K-1.
Cant top that.
by MMASuPreMaCy on Feb 27, 2009 1:50 PM EST up reply actions
DREAM’s really trying to get a lot of attention & ratings for 7 in the absence of Kid Yamamoto, but at least they’re putting together what looks like a very good card. Hopefully Kawajiri makes a smooth transition back to MMA from K-1.
http://dcrage.wordpress.com
Well, it wasn’t for a prolonged period. He did the one K-1 bout due to the whole Japanese New Year K-1 vs. MMA hype. He should have no problems at all.
Editor-in-chief of MMA-Analyst.com
by Leland Roling on Feb 27, 2009 1:45 PM EST up reply actions
DREAM.7 Card:
HEIWA DREAM.7 Featherweight GP 2009 1st Round
Date: March 8th, 2009
Place: Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan
74 kg/163 lbs Fight:
Shinya Aoki vs. David Gardner
Lightweight Fights:
Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Ross Ebanez
Mitsuhiro Ishida vs. Daisuke Nakamura
Featherweight GP Fights:
Masakazu Imanari vs. Atsushi Yamamoto
Hiroyuki Takaya vs. Kim Jong Won
Chase Beebe vs. Joe Warren
Takafumi Otsuka vs. Bibiano Fernandes
Akiyo "Wicky" Nishiura vs. Abel Cullum
Micah Miller vs. Yoshiro Maeda
Mitsuhiro Ishida vs. Daisuke Nakamura → EPIC Looking forward to this one
Masakazu Imanari vs. Atsushi Yamamoto -
Micah Miller vs. Yoshiro Maeda – Could be a war
Hiroyuki Takaya vs. Kim Jong Won — Not complaining, good matchup
Bibiano could be an underdog winner as well. Solid BJJ and a well-rounded game for the most part. He gave Kid a run.
Editor-in-chief of MMA-Analyst.com
by Leland Roling on Feb 27, 2009 3:20 PM EST up reply actions
Damn strikethroughs...
Editor-in-chief of MMA-Analyst.com
by Leland Roling on Feb 27, 2009 3:20 PM EST up reply actions
I am interested in Beebe (coming in with injury perhaps) vs Warren (one of the best wrestlers to debut in MMA) and people are SLEEPING on Wicky vs Cullum. That will be a WAR!
by MMASuPreMaCy on Feb 27, 2009 3:23 PM EST up reply actions
Beebe v. Warren should be good, but it has potential to be a sleeper while Cullum vs. Wicky could be ok. I’ll be a bit surprised if it becomes a huge war, but it should be good. Really, the whole lineup is awesome.
Editor-in-chief of MMA-Analyst.com
by Leland Roling on Feb 27, 2009 3:25 PM EST up reply actions
I always thought of him as more of a middleweight.
by Derek Suboticki on Feb 27, 2009 2:02 PM EST up reply actions
5’9 210 pounds of muscle.
I don’t know if its possible for him to cut 20-30 lbs.
by MMASuPreMaCy on Feb 27, 2009 2:21 PM EST up reply actions
I’ve seen him at around 195 before, and that’s what he was considered to be at during his bout with Mark Hunt, maybe a bit more.
If he really tried, I bet he could make 180, but it’d probably be a horrendous cut. I think he’s done it before though.
Editor-in-chief of MMA-Analyst.com
by Leland Roling on Feb 27, 2009 3:18 PM EST up reply actions
Although, he wasn’t supposed to fight Hunt on that night, and was just there to corner Hari. FEG asked him the day before if he could fight, and he said sure. :)
by MMASuPreMaCy on Feb 27, 2009 3:21 PM EST up reply actions
True, but wouldn’t you think he’d weigh more that 195 then? He wasn’t cutting at all for that fight.
Editor-in-chief of MMA-Analyst.com
by Leland Roling on Feb 27, 2009 3:26 PM EST up reply actions
Yeah, he could do it, I just think it will be very tough for him as he gets older, unless he loses muscle.
by MMASuPreMaCy on Feb 27, 2009 3:57 PM EST up reply actions
Spong has a fucking ton of fights under his belt, and he’s booked for It’s Showtime 2009 in May – that’s probably why he’s not in it (I profess complete ignorance of this situation)
by Derek Suboticki on Feb 27, 2009 3:37 PM EST up reply actions
Chalid is probably going to get demolished by Manhoef, so I can see your point.
Editor-in-chief of MMA-Analyst.com
by Leland Roling on Feb 27, 2009 3:48 PM EST up reply actions
I really can’t remember the last time when Chalid won a fight in K-1. It has to have been a few years. And Spong is basically THE prospect in that weight range, so it’s weird for him to just be in a reserve fight.
Fixed, thanks.
Contributor Emeritus - BloodyElbow.com
by Chris Nelson on Feb 27, 2009 3:38 PM EST up reply actions
Kawajiri wants Penn
"DREAM assembles top fighters in the featherweight tournament, and all fights will be very exciting. However, it is the first appearance in DREAM for most fighters, and they are not well-known among DREAM fans. I accepted the offer because I felt the responsibility to make the event more attractive for fans. I saw Ebanez’s fight online. It’s hard to say his fighting style from the video because he finished his opponent in 9 seconds. I think he is a very aggressive striker and this is the great match up. Our fight will be the best bout of the night. I have to defeat him first before fighting BJ Penn. I want to impress BJ with my overwhelming victory over Ebanez."
http://www.mmafighting.com/japan/2009/02/27/tatsuya-kawajiri-i-want-impress-bj-penn
Contributor Emeritus - BloodyElbow.com
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