K-1 - Premium 2008 Dynamite!! card

calex71

Matchups:
MMA Rules
Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Kiyoshi Tamura
Eddie Alvarez (No. 2 LW, No. 10 PFP) vs. Shinya Aoki (No. 4 LW)
Joachim Hansen (No. 3 LW) vs. Gesias Cavalcante (No. 5 LW)
Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic vs. Hong Man Choi
Semmy Schilt vs. Siala Siliga
Jerome LeBanner vs. Mark Hunt
Hideo Tokoro vs. Daisuke Nakamura

K-1 Rules
Gegard Mousasi (No. 5 MW) vs. Musashi
Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Kozo Takeda
Yoshihiro Sato vs. Artur Kyshenko

Looks like an interesting card, Cro Cop taking on Hong Man Choi is an odd one for me , would have prefered to see a rematch with Overeem.

Looking forward to seeing Joachim Hansen in action , havent seen him fight since his win at dream 5

Edit: unlikely to come about but nice if it did http://www.sherdog.com/news/news/update-sylvia-aims-at-japan-ken-shamrock-15363

Fozzy

calex71 wrote: »

Cro Cop taking on Hong Man Choi is an odd one for me , would have prefered to see a rematch with Overeem.

They originally wanted Cro Cop vs a sumo wrestler. I think that they just want Cro Cop in a match that will draw rather than one that he'll lose (all signs point to an Overeem win in a rematch)

I can't wait for Sakuraba vs Tamura

There was already a thread about it here too: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055433408 They've dropped the "K-1 Premium" part of the name this year, it's just "Dynamite!! 2008" :pac:

calex71

Thanks fozzy didnt see the other thread when I searched. Mod's can bin this one as its not needed.

Kazooie

Hong man Choi? that's ridiculous. Fedor although never in serious trouble looked like he was taking a poundin before he grabbed the arm. I can honestly see Mirko losing this one.
Can his kick even reach that high? I wanna see crocop getting back to his best so he should be fighting guys his own size not freaks like this dude. Overeem rematch should be happening not this.
:mad:

dunkamania

http://www.mmaconvert.com/2008/12/22/bob-sapp-to-fight-animated-drawing-at-dynamite-2008seriously/

Bop Sapp vs cartoon character apparently....

calex71

Kazooie wrote: »

Hong man Choi? that's ridiculous. Fedor although never in serious trouble looked like he was taking a poundin before he grabbed the arm. I can honestly see Mirko losing this one.
Can his kick even reach that high? I wanna see crocop getting back to his best so he should be fighting guys his own size not freaks like this dude. Overeem rematch should be happening not this.
:mad:

Watched Fedor take him on again when i heard about this one there could have been an upset there alright http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2i0iZcLIrTQ

While I dont think a loss would be too black a mark on cro cops record I really dont see that he has anything to gain from this fight win lose or draw.

Tim Sylvia wanted in on this card for god sake

A rematch with cro cop vs sapp would have been better than putting them in with freaks.

Fozzy

dunkamania wrote: »

http://www.mmaconvert.com/2008/12/22/bob-sapp-to-fight-animated-drawing-at-dynamite-2008seriously/

Bop Sapp vs cartoon character apparently....

Awesome!

The idea of a popular cartoon character being "brought to life" has been done many times in pro wrestling in Japan. Some of the best Japanese wrestlers have been guys portraying characters like that (Tiger Mask, Black Tiger, Jushin Liger). So that's the idea behind it

Although I'm pretty sure that the show that the character Sapp's fighting is from ended a few years ago, so I wouldn't be too sure about how successful this particular venture will be

The fighter portraying the character was one of the best college wrestlers in the country, he won the Japanese national tournament four times

And this guy will be in his corner: http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=oynaN7GOAjg



This is everything that I love about Japan :pac:


I don't think that Cro Cop will have much trouble. Hong Man Choi isn't the same fighter as he was before he had his pituitary gland surgery. I think that Cro Cop will have him figured out

Professey Chin

Ooooo. Alvarez/Aoki . Me likey.
Mirko vs Choi. Now thats just plain weird......And heres me wanting to see the left leg of doom again. Although if he gets that high I'll be a happy man

Fozzy

Another fight added, Badr Hari vs Alistair Overeem under K-1 rules

Overeem's losing that one

That's 15 fights scheduled right now

calex71

Fozzy wrote: »

Another fight added, Badr Hari vs Alistair Overeem under K-1 rules

Overeem's losing that one

That's 15 fights scheduled right now

Should have made Badr fight mma as that seemed to be what he wanted to do in the GP final with those punches on the ground and the stomp to the head with the ref in the way

What was Badr thinking in that match ?? pure moment of madness though he was taunting the other guy from across the ring and his corner too so more a psychotic episode than a moment of madness

Fozzy

calex71 wrote: »

Should have made Badr fight mma as that seemed to be what he wanted to do in the GP final with those punches on the ground and the stomp to the head with the ref in the way

What was Badr thinking in that match ?? pure moment of madness though he was taunting the other guy from across the ring and his corner too so more a psychotic episode than a moment of madness

The idea is to have them rematch under MMA rules within a few months

Two more matches were announced:

Hayato Sakurai vs. Katsuyori Shibata
Yukio Sakaguchi vs. Andy Ologun

Both under MMA rules

Kazooie

Why is Mousasi fighting K1 rules? UfC should sign him to fight the spider. Would love to see that one.

Fozzy

Kazooie wrote: »

Why is Mousasi fighting K1 rules? UfC should sign him to fight the spider. Would love to see that one.

FEG wanted a fight between Mousasi and Musashi as their names are pronounced the same in Japan. They agreed to a K-1 fight rather than an MMA fight. In an MMA fight Mousasi would just take Musashi down and submit him. This way it's at least somewhat competitive

goo

Does anyone have any links for the fights?

Name Changed

When is this? Tonight?

I'll try to find a link. I would love to see Cro Cop fight again as he is probably my favourite fighter. He did not show his best in the UFC.

goo

Its happened already.

Pride Fighter

goo wrote: »

Its happened already.

It is still on according to Sherdog. Just 2 more bouts to go.

Manhoef KO'd Hunt

goo

Sorry yeah this seems to still be going on.
Good stream:
http://www.channelsurfing.net/watch-online-tv.php?w=emmatv

If when that starts the noise is unbearable, like it was for me, fiddle with the volume and the disgusting hiss seems to go away. Mirko v Hong Man right now

goo

I just remembered reading that they weren't showing this live. I don't think the fights are being shown in the other they occurred because Musashi v Mousasi was supposed to be after CroCop v Choi but now they're showing the final of the little lad mini tournament thing. I most wanted to see Aoki v Alvarez and Sakuraba v Tamura. Hellboy v JZ should've been great but apparently its been cancelled.

goo

I don't enjoy Saku's fights anymore, I can't stand to see him punched in the face.
But the entrance, as always, was cool.

Pride Fighter

I am a huge Sakuraba fan. He is the greatest ground fighter in MMA history. Between 1997 and 2001 he was untouchable. He will go down in the annals as a great. Tamura wont, although he has achieved more than most.

chopperbyrne

Anyone who beats that many Gracies by submission is a legend.

calex71

heres the cro cop fight for what it was http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtgXQDrdLok

cant kick him in the head might as well wear shoes

wasnt expecting much to be honest and was far from last years fight fedor v hong man choi

looks like neither lad really wanted to be there to be honest

dunkamania

There is a reason why a a reputable sanctioning body wouldnt allow a fighter to wear a mask. Whether or not a a fighter making his debut would be allowed to fight 350 pound bob sapp is also questionable

Killme00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeO4AjE3cdE

Power = Pain

calex71

Killme00 wrote: »

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeO4AjE3cdE

Power = Pain

Wow did overeem look a little bigger than his normal big self there :eek:

ginoginelli

Not a bad show, a few mismatches mind you..

Very impressed with Mousasi - the guy can do it all. Most well rounded dutch fighter since el guapo..

Pride Fighter

ginoginelli wrote: »

Not a bad show, a few mismatches mind you..

Very impressed with Mousasi - the guy can do it all. Most well rounded dutch fighter since el guapo..

I thought he was Armenian, did some research on google and he is both apparently. He fought in Ireland as well according to his wikipedia page, anyone here ever see that fight? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gegard_Mousasi

ginoginelli

calex71 wrote: »

Wow did overeem look a little bigger than his normal big self there :eek:

Yea overeem looked enormous! I cant believe he used to make 205.. If you compare his physique to even when he fought cro cop, he's way bigger. Go back to his pride days and he has a completely different body type.

He must really be hitting those weights and "supplements"

jayteecork

Did CroCop actually break Choi's leg with that kick?

Just wondering why the ref stopped the fight, Mirko didn't even have time to follow up before the ref stopped it.

Clive

Pride Fighter wrote: »

He fought in Ireland as well according to his wikipedia page, anyone here ever see that fight?

I saw it, it was the strongest martial art!

Nothingcompares

Mixed reactions to this show. It was very entertaining and some of the fights were great but at the same time I was a little embarrassed by it. It seems the Japanese want to run MMA shows a bit like a combination of a circus, a pro-wrestling event and a UFC event.

The most attractive part of the sport of MMA (and combat sports in general) is that you aim to match up two guys of the same size, experience and quality and let them go at it using their wits, strength and technique to see who comes out the victor. The UFC, almost always has very fair match up with few people being fed to big names etc. etc. So while the UFC has gone for consistency, this show seems to have gone for theatrics.

Guys dressed in stripey pants, masks, cartoon character costumes, wrestling shoes, shin pads, k1 rules, mma rules, 7 foot guys versus 6 foot guys, 300 lbs guys versus 200 lb guy, debutants versus veterans, it was bizarre. Guys being matched up based on the pronunciation of their names...

But then again, all that stuff really isn't all that important. But the most scandalous part of the night was the refereeing in my opinion. Musashi shouldn't have taken that much punishment. He was fooked as soon as he was knocked down.

The pre-fight entrances were great, really entertaining etc. but i think 90% of the fights I watched didn't last half as long as the entrances. Maybe it's just sour grapes on my behalf but when you look at a ufc fight you know for a fact that both of the guys in the cage have trained on a daily basis in all 3 ranges for years to work their way to the top to justify getting a call up into the ring. You only have to look at Tom Egan to see proof of this. But how many of the guys fighting on that card are actually legimate MMA fighters? Like I've huge respect for semmy schilt, but based on the amount of time it took for him to triangle might mo...I'm not sure what his level is really on the ground. With the exception of Houston Alexander and Corey hill I can't think of many ufc people that have demonstrated such naivety on the ground then what I saw in some bouts at dynamite (e.g. bob sapp). Like if someone told me Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard were going to be on a Cage Rage card I'd defintely watch it and even If anderson silva was fighting rampage I'd probably watch the footballers fight first.

Having said that, Tokoro and Nakamura was a great little grappling battle and I really enjoyed that.

In conclusion, I love the Japanese shows because they're bizarre, but I'm glad UFC is striving to bring credibility to the sport.

calex71

I agree with alot of what u say , japan do theatrics well

Watch the normal dream and K1 events they are not as farsicle as this was
or some of the fights where, i mean cro cop and sapp's management should be shot for allowing those fights to take place regardless of ᅜ$$$$$$$$

" but I'm glad UFC is striving to bring credibility to the sport" ??????????

thats a whole other debate, UFC is striving for bottom dollar, market share and PPV numbers end of (its a business so who can blame them), if they thought what the dynamite event was would increase those they would would do exactly the same

Fozzy

calex71 wrote: »

Watch the normal dream and K1 events they are not as farsicle as this was

That's pretty much it. The New Year's Eve shows have always been about getting the casual fan to watch. The casual fan doesn't care about the best fighters. They care about the guys like Bob Sapp and "freak show" fights like a few on this card. Although there's always been that sort of element to Japanese MMA since the beginning anyway. It was more of a pure sport when it was still pro wrestling :pac:

I really enjoyed the show. I'm just finished watching it the full way through. I really wish that Sakuraba vs Tamura had happened at least five years earlier

Kawajiri and Overeem had my favourite KOs I think. They were both set up to lose and ended up looking really impressive. Same with Mousasi

Tokoro vs Nakamura was the best fight, it was a lot of fun

I don't know if anybody noticed considering how many fights there were, but Hansen vs Calvancante never took place. Hansen was diagnosed with a head injury in the pre-fight medical. A pity since I was looking forward to that

Aoki did great. I knew that if he could just get it to the ground then he'd have it. I think that he knew that too :pac: He's so good on the ground

The TV rating for the show wasn't great from what I remember reading, but the boxing fight on before it did worse, so it looks like the 2009 NYE MMA show should be safe