War room for Japanese MMA NYE 2008
Published by on July 4th, 2008 in Current Events

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By Zach Arnold

Around this time each year, K-1 has to start planning what they want to book for their annual New Year’s Eve show on Tokyo Broadcasting System. Network producers have a lot of input regarding the matchmaking on the show because there is such a premium placed on drawing a high rating. Therefore, the NYE shows are traditionally filled with freak-show fights, lopsided mismatches, and heated spectacles rather than even-handed contests. Given this criteria, we decided to take a look at some of the options available on the table for both K-1 & TBS to book for their NYE 2008 event. We will analyze each of the options, try to place odds on the fight actually being booked, and what some of the reasons behind booking each possible fight might be.

One factor that should be taken into consideration is that Kazushi Sakuraba, who most hardcore fight fans hope will retire soon, is in heavy consideration for at least three of the top ten fights that could be booked for NYE. It’s both a realistic and scary proposition, which in many ways proves that K-1 has failed to make strong Japanese MMA stars under both the HEROs and DREAM banners.

1. Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama (3:2)

A re-match possibility from their NYE 2006 encounter, now is the time to pull the trigger if they want to rekindle any sort of heat for the bout. Sakuraba is coming off of a devastating loss to Melvin Manhoef, while Akiyama is on the rebound after a win over Denis Kang and a controversial no-contest decision in his fight against Kazuo Misaki. Akiyama is still a heel in the eyes of many Japanese fans, so setting up a re-match between the fading Sakuraba and the talented Akiyama makes a lot of marketing sense. If Sakuraba wins, the fading babyface gets his revenge for what happened in 2006. If Akiyama wins, it gives him a win over a big name and a chance to escape the skin lotion controversy that surrounded him after their first fight.

2. Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Kazuo Misaki (4:1)

If the heat between Sakuraba and Akiyama is intense, then the heat between Akiyama and Misaki is downright nuclear. Misaki, who was a relative unknown commodity to casual Japanese MMA fans, made a name for himself on NYE 2007 when he brutally knocked out Akiyama with a kick. After knocking out Akiyama, Misaki made some controversial statements on the house microphone towards Akiyama that set off a media firestorm. The finish of the match was changed to a no-contest after the bout. It’s no coincidence that Akiyama will play a critical role in the success of K-1 on NYE 2008, and a re-match from 2007 is an easy sell to make.

3. Shin’ya Aoki (or Lightweight tournament winner) vs. JZ Calvan (4:1)

When Aoki vs. Calvan fought last March for the first time, the fight went to a no-contest. In their re-match a little over a month later, Aoki won a decision after two rounds. It’s clear that a rubber match between the men is something K-1 would love to see happen, but Aoki has to win the Lightweight GP 2008 tournament first in order to make it happen. In all actuality, whether Aoki wins or loses the GP really doesn’t matter in terms of setting up this high-profile match. Technically speaking, Calvan said he wanted to face the Lightweight tournament winner. K-1 is certainly hoping Aoki can come through with a win here.

4. Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto vs. Hideo Tokoro (6:1)

With K-1 now establishing a featherweight division, Yamamoto is going to be their ‘ace’ in this weight class. Jordan Breen of Sherdog.com believes that this bout is a natural match-up to jumpstart the new division.

“They’re guys who are finally in a weight class more suitable for them; they’re both superstars in Japan, and both exciting. Moreover, even though Yamamoto would be a prohibitive favorite, Tokoro’s drawing power isn’t and has never been linked to his ability to win fights; he’s the perennial underdog. Therefore, they aren’t sacrificing a real draw.”

5. Badr Hari vs. Semmy Schilt (8:1)

Hari is K-1’s Heavyweight champion and Schilt is K-1’s Super Heavyweight champion. A natural champion vs. champion match-up is on the horizon here between the two highly-talented kickboxers. Schilt is the unstoppable giant and never seems to lose a fight, while Hari is a crowd-pleasing explosive fighter who makes things very interesting for the fans. Unless K-1 decides to book a revenge match between Hari and Remy Bonjasky (who Hari last lost to), it seems inevitable that Hari and Schilt are on a collision course. Both men said as much after their wins on June 29th in Fukuoka.

6. Mirko Cro Cop vs. Jerome Le Banner (10:1)

This is a fight that K-1 tried to book earlier in the year, but the booking fell apart due to Cro Cop pulling out at the last-minute (claiming that he suffered an injury). Both men are heavy-hitters and it would be interesting to watch them in a kickboxing match as opposed to an MMA bout.

7. Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Hidehiko Yoshida (10:1)

If K-1 is looking for a ‘safe’ match for Sakuraba to be placed in, you could do worse than booking him against Yoshida. Yoshida is the ‘ace’ of Sengoku, the smaller rival-promotion to K-1 right now. In short, Sengoku could use some support and having their ace take on a Japanese star from the rival promotion makes a lot of sense on paper. You would expect Sakuraba to win the fight, but then again who knows these days given the declining health of both men. It’s a natural, marketable match-up between two guys whose best days are behind them. TV executives would love to see this fight happen.

8. Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Kiyoshi Tamura (11:1)

How many years have promoters teased this fight being booked, only for Tamura to pull out at the last-minute and not make it happen? Well, the politics certainly got more interesting after Manhoef destroyed Sakuraba last June in Yokohama. If Tamura doesn’t accept a fight against Sakuraba this year, then you can officially put the nail in the coffin for this ever happening. If you’re Tamura’s agent, you have to consider taking this booking and pleading with your client on every count to accept it. The money is right, it’s a relatively good match-up for Tamura to win, and it will get star placement on national television. Despite all of these positive factors, there’s a reason we have placed an 11:1 line on this fight getting successfully booked at all in the first place.

9. Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto vs. Urijah Faber (12:1)

With K-1 starting a featherweight division, it was natural that the promotion would start looking for challengers to face Yamamoto. However, it was a bit of a surprise to see Yamamoto publicly and openly in the Japanese media discuss his interest in facing WEC’s 145-pound champion, Urijah Faber. As we have discussed before on MMA Memories, this is a match-up that everyone wants to see and yet the politics are clearly aligned to prevent this fight from ever getting booked. If it does get booked, however, what a fight it will be!

10. Mark Hunt vs. Keijiro Maeda (15:1)

Maeda is one of K-1’s new Japanese young guns and he recently defeated veteran Musashi on points at the promotion’s June 29th show in Fukuoka. Maeda has already faced one big fighter before in Mighty Mo, so facing a heavy-hitter like Hunt is clearly not out of the question. It could be quite a fun little fight and Hunt would certainly have a big size advantage going into the contest. We could definitely see this fight getting booked.

Besides these possible fights getting booked for K-1’s 2008 NYE event, Jordan Breen reminds me of K-1’s yearly constants for their big year-end events.

“There are some foregone conclusions for Dynamite!!, as per usual. Ikuhisa Minowa will fight a freakshow, and Masato will kickbox a completely outmatched opponent.”

Can the company rebound this year and produce a show that draws solid ratings as opposed to last year’s lackluster numbers?

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