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K-1 and The Infinite Incompetence

By Luke Thomas
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Over at Fight Opinion, Zach Arnold has the best explanation of why the K-1 show may fold, why this scandal is a typical by-product of Japanese businesses related to combat athletics operating in America, and what this may mean for not only K-1, but the entire Japanese MMA scene.  Notable quote(s):

The reality is that the rules of doing fight-related business activities in Japan are entirely different than they are in any other country. A first-class image with third-world politics behind the scenes. There is a thuggish lawlessness and taint of criminal activity that has all but self-destructed the Japanese fight industry as being a major global player. The various Japanese power brokers have brought this onto themselves and they have no one else to blame for it. A culture of corruption turned a $60-75 million USD-a-year Japanese fight business (the MMA side) into total extinction overnight.
And:

The storyline that you should pay close attention is the Japanese TV situation between Tokyo Broadcasting System and K-1. TBS is paying K-1 a lot of money for the broadcasting rights in Japan to air the show on free TV, which is supported by advertisers and sponsorships. Without the Japanese TV money, the K-1 Dynamite show would likely not be happening. If the California show is canceled, it will cause major headaches for K-1 in regards to their relationship with Tokyo Broadcasting System. That could cause damage in regards to promoting their World MAX and normal K-1 kickboxing events on TBS.

Without major Japanese free-to-air television support, K-1 would be crippled.

It's hard to believe in a country with such a gigantic and vital market for MMA that business leaders with so much to gain are either this corrupt or this incompetent, but apparently not.  Stay tuned.  Global MMA is increasingly becoming the responsibility of Zuffa, not the natural state of healthy international competition.

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