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HERO’s 9/17 Yokohama Arena
By Zach Arnold | September 16, 2007
JZ Calvan repeats as Middleweight champion. Claimed attendance was 12,310 at Yokohama Arena. Some more news and notes here. Official results here.
How the event played out in the Japanese media… Sankei Sports notes that the event was a nice springboard for New Year’s Eve, with the major names likely being Sakuraba, Yamamoto, Akiyama, and Rickson (with Yoshida perhaps). Sports Nippon notes the encounter between Minowaman and Rickson Gracie. Plus, the newspaper has plenty of event pictures. Daily Sports takes note of Sakuraba vs. Rickson implications for New Year’s Eve.
Tokyo Sports is teasing some of the plans for K-1’s New Year’s Eve event and what the creative direction for the promotion is going to be. The pro-wrestling hating North American hardcore fans will dislike it immensely. The newspaper claims that the promotion will adopt a “Maeda’s UWF army vs. Gracie” storyline, with a scenario featuring the winner of Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Masakatsu Funaki facing Rickson Gracie. The proposed theme would then result in a 7 vs. 7 Tokyo Dome-level program series. Some names the paper teased for the Maeda army — Sakuraba, Minoru (Suzuki), Funaki, Tamura, Minowaman, Shibata, and Tokoro.
Topics: HERO's, Japan, K-1, Media, MMA, Zach Arnold | 39 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
w00t, can’t WAIT!!
any results
The stream got delayed…can’t start watching until 5am PST.
Current results (SPOILER THREAD):
http://www.k-1fans.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=37128
When does this show end?
Part of me wishes I hadn’t checked results now and simply downloaded the show in blissful ignorance.
So Sakuraba v Funaki NYE then?
Shibata is getting put in the ring v a calibre of opponent far to early. Where next for him?
Cant wait to download these fights later.
Great sold performance from Saku, brutal ground and pound and a nice battle for the armbar. The tease of Rickson v. Saku is too good to be true.
(Glad I’m not working today, first time watching the feed!)
What the ….! I went to get a drink and skip the fantastic ‘Bee Kids Club’ ad (3rd time in 20 min), and I return to a replay of Manhoef v. Silva!! I already missed a match, albeit an extremely brief one.
Next up… WAR MINOWMAN!!
I must be the only one enjoying this insanity does it really matter, nothing like Monday Morning Massacres.
Rickson warned MINOWAMAN – but superheros never listen. Wait.. who the funk is Kevin Casey. Watch out, the mullet has returned!
Silly Rickson, Jiu-Jitsu’s for kids. Minowa has shown how strong superhero’s really are. Another great win for the former ‘Punk’.
Excuse me while I go get a Suntory at ABC Mart
KID vs Fernandez… when will KID get high quality opponents.
What the heck is up with the restarts/reposistioning in the center, are the refs not paying attention. It appears like they’re searching for any position possible that will benefit KID. Sometimes its restarted standing, sometimes repositioned in completely different spots – huh? Once again, incredibly horrendous reffing in Hero’s, what a shocker. I wonder if Hero’s conducts the famous Japanese questionaires or has contests to win a chance to ref a fight – from the Killer Bee Kids Club.
Decent fight but how long before statements/excuses are issued about Fernandez cheating on repositioning or the red trunks were a distraction. KID did not look that fantastic here. Take nothing from Fernandez though, he came prepared and did a good job.
I’ve felt this way for a while and it’s not a popular opinion but I believe Urijah Faber would defeat KID handily.
Time for the big one 🙂 Damn, I’m really not gunna get any work done today 🙁 This will be my first proper look at JZ.
Wowzers… that wasn’t supposed to happen was it 😛 How long was that? 20 seconds?
I hate myself. I had to step out for 10 min and the world collapsed. How I could I have missed that fight (JZ v Ribiero)….arrrr
Oh look, it’s Uno…. why does he never excite me. Can someone direct me to a good fight he’s had.
Jason, you did see Bibiano’s fight against Faber as well right? He’s not some scrub, but that’s what happens when you don’t look great against an unknown. KID has never been that comfortable on the ground against submission specialists. And KID laughing at the shitty restarts was classic. I had him winning that fight 2-1 (rounds).
Fernandes is a good fighter and proved it.
“Oh look, it’s Uno…. why does he never excite me. Can someone direct me to a good fight he’s had.”
Uno vs. Rumina Sato 1 is one of the best fights ever. His fight against Tokoro in HERO’S was awesome as well.
I can’t believe they cut the Overeem vs Kharitonov fight. What a jip.
Andre Dida looked good against Uno. Pretty good fight too.
JZ was fantatic tonight. Looks like he’s officially one of the best out there right now.
Good show. Enjoyed myself
Big thanks Kamatari, I’ll definitely check those Uno fights out. I know he’s good but man if I don’t always catch the weaker ones.
As for Fernandes, I’d never seen him fight, but was aware he had potential. The outcome of the fight didn’t shock me that me much, I kinda thought he’d be game. I just don’t see KID getting a lot of high quality matchups, especially since he’s considered by many a top P4P talent. I guess the weight class is quite scattered and keeps a lot of these guys from fighting each other.
I uploaded the Uno/Rumina fight on YouTube and trust me you’re not the only one that feels that way about Uno. But Uno’s fights in HERO’S have generally been fun. I almost forgot about his fight against Hansen.
If HERO’S can get some talent to drop down in weight, then KID has a whole new division to focus on. If they can somehow involve some Shooto guys that would make up for the lack of talent. Now I just want Kawajiri and Gomi in HERO’S or else JZ will continue to reign surpreme. Nothing wrong with that, but he crushed Shaolin like he didn’t even belong in the same ring with him.
Another thing, I found it hilarious how KID still looked a weightclass below Bibiano.
Yoshinori Umeki was truly awful in reffing this event. Lots of bullshit with repositioning in Bibiano/KID, and he stood them up after Bibiano took KID down in the second because they fell outside the ropes. In Uno/Dida he gave Uno time to recover when Dida clearly had him hurt in the first round.
LMAO Allistair Overeem looked like he was having a very very bad nightmare. Coming from a Sergei fan, I’d say the ending of that fight makes up for ending of their first fight.. Rubber match anyone? lol
Did anybody find a feed for it? I was looking for awhile and couldn’t get one.
Kharitonov vs. Overeem:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2zzx3_alistair-overeem-vs-sergei-khariton_sport
jerome le banner vs rumino sato
surprised with the riberio fight. thought he would go all the way
Well it’s nice to see that some things never change (Overeem)…
JZ is the man…he looked impressive.
And while I can’t deny being a big Chute Boxe fan – I was still quite impressed with Dida. The guy is only 23 and I think he’s going to be a real force at 155 in the years to come…boy’s got dynamite in those mitts.
K-1 is going to promote JZ vs Kid as bad boy vs bad boy for new years. They have the bidding power against UFC. K-1, I am sure, wants to promote K-1 vs. UFC for new years eve to get exposure in both markets for both companies but I know D DUB-Ya Dana White is too scared to put it on.
Mark these words Zach.
Why would Dana White want to put on a K-1 vs. UFC show? K-1 has basically no fans in North America.
I dont think Dana would bother giving free press to another company like that…he’s got nothing to gain from it.
I don’t even think K-1 gives a rat’s ass about the US market after that debacle that was “Dynamite!” – excuse me “Dynamite!!”. K-1 is probably better served pursuing the emerging fight markets in China, Korea and Macau.
“Dynamite!” – excuse me “Dynamite!!” LMAO I love the Gaijin, both you and the representation of the word. Ah, you are right, China, Korea, and Macau are much better investments.
Thanks for the link to the Sergei fight. That boy needs a sun tan – his legs are so white they disappear into the canvas!
Wow, that was like the shortest event ever.
Overeem – the guy just has no heart. This fight looked like a replica of his fight against Liddell.
Yoon Dong Sik – I’d love to see how this guy might do at 170 in the UFC, but he might be a bit of a tweener between 170 and 185. A judo vs. judo fight against Karo would be fucking superb. That sweep to armbar transition was slick.
Shaolin – Is the game passing him by, or was he never really that good, or is JZ really just that good? I think maybe a combination of all three. I think the inter-competition in Shooto between Gomi/Hansen/Shaolin/Kawajiri really defined “Top LWs” for many years, much like Fedor/CC/Big Nog as the “Top HWs”. And I think some of these stars are not shining as brightly as they face new blood. In truth, at 155, I think Shaolin/Kawajiri are too one-dimensional, Hansen is too small and Gomi is…well, he’s just a bit of a headcase.
JZ – How old is this guy? The fact that he wins with pure athleticism mixed with a bit of skill is impressive. If he’s young, he could be good for a while once he learns the game better.
Sak – His ears must hate him.
“Shaolin – Is the game passing him by, or was he never really that good, or is JZ really just that good?”
JZ was the absolutely perfect guy to replicate what Kawajiri did. Shaolin can fight, but only on his terms. JZ punched him in the head and threw his ass on the ground. Shaolin don’t want it like that. JZ is Megatron. JZ “Calvin Johnson” Calvancanti. Mark it.
Also, I’m curious as to why you think Kawajiri is one dimensional. I think perhaps technically ill-advised is perhaps more apt; he goes out swangin’ like the Melendez and Gomi fights when it’s of no real advantage to him. Kawajiri has some ‘manliness’ kinda issues that are evident in the fact him and Ryuta Sakurai are always having posedowns. But he’s got good striking, fantastic wrestling, some of the best takedown defense in all of MMA, and contrary to what most people realize, his submission game is actually pretty damn good. He prefers to pound from the top, but knows how to use subs there, and very very early in his Shooto career, he won a ton of fights off of his back. So while he sometimes may not fight the smartest, I don’t think being one-dimensional is the problemo.
Also, Isono said that Akiyama needs to attend some refereeing seminars? I think Umeki should maybe tag along.
Who else does HEROS have at HW? Are Sergei and Overeem going to have perpetual rematches that would make even Joe Silva blush?
The only HW guys I can think of them having are their K-1 guys: LeBanner, Sefo, Mo etc. maybe Goodridge and Kim?? Barnett?
They should just stick to the lower weight classes – it really wouldn’t hurt my feelings.
It’s not that I think Kawajiri is purely one-dimensional, just that I think he would be more one-dimensional to against other top competition at 155. In those fights where, granted maybe he is fighting stoopid, or perhaps where he cannot secure a takedown, I think his hands are too slow and the true KO power is not there for him to consistently win a fight on his feet. And with the way new fighters are coming in with crazy athleticism and cross-training in wrestling, I don’t know that it is necessarily a given that Kawajiri would be able to get the takedown every time against other top 155ers.
Have not seen all the fights yet. Sakuraba looked good. Manhoef looked his usual destructive self. He never fails to disappoint. All action.
The NYE theme sounds interesting, like Mr Arnold said US MMA fans will not like it one bit!!! Be interesting if Minoru comes back to MMA.