Zach Arnold gives us his personal outlook on the Japanese MMA scene and it isn't pretty but it's a good read to get us in the mood for more bad news. Greg Savage at Sherdog.com is reporting that his sources are telling him that the Calvancante vs. Aoki bout will not take place on New Year's Eve. That's by far the fight I was most interested in watching over the holidays. If that bout is indeed scratched from the Yarennoka! card, it will be a huge letdown. The fight card (promoted in the USA as HDNet Fights: Fedor Returns) is short on fights as it stands. If Aoki and Calvancante are not fighting, that leaves the card with only six confirmed fights:
- Fedor Emelianenko (26-1-0) vs. Hong Man Choi (1-0-0)
- Yoshihiro Akiyama (10-1-0) vs. Kazuo Misaki (18-8-2)
- Kawajiri Tatsuya (19-4-2) vs. Luiz Azeredo (11-6-0)
- Hayato "Mach" Sakurai (30-7-2) vs. Hidehiko Hasegawa (14-8-4)
- Mitsuhiro Ishida (15-3-1) vs. Gilbert Melendez (13-0-0)
- Murilo Bustamante (14-6-1) vs. Makoto Takimoto (3-3-0)
Rather disappointing considering the support the show has from so many different promotions. Hopefully a Christmas miracle can deliver some late booking that adds a few more good fights to the card.
Get the latest gear
