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Post by DUCE on Nov 23, 2007 5:52:48 GMT -5
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Post by DUCE on Nov 23, 2007 10:51:09 GMT -5
www.k-1.co.jp/k-1gp/top810.htmOne thing of note is that Hong Man Choi is in the K-1 world grand prix finals on December 8th. How is he going to manage to do both? Maybe Hong isn't fighting Fedor.
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Post by DUCE on Nov 23, 2007 12:10:30 GMT -5
www.graciemag.com/news/144/ARTICLE/8705/2007-11-21.htmlArona only back in 2008 “I’d be stoked to fight Fedor” Along with today’s announcement of M-1 Global’s first event on December 31st, rumors have surfaced that the former Pride fighter Ricardo Arona would participate on the show’s card, possibly fighting in the main event against Fedor. Not having fought since April this year, when he was knocked out by the Cameroonian fighter Thierry Sokodjou, at Pride 34, Arona’s name has been constantly a part of such rumors, as he is one of the few top fighters still not held under contract. GRACIEMAG.com went after the black belt to shed light on the situation and find out what is really in store for him in the future. “I’m training a lot with my team in Niteroi, I’ve been putting a lot into my physical conditioning. As for events, I’ve observed the world of MMA attentively, I have offers from 2 or 3 events but I’ll only return next year, when I hope to fight 3 or 4 times,” said the former ADCC champion. When queried about M-1 Global and Fedor, the athlete responded: “M-1 Global hunted me down to fight at the end of this year, but I’m having some personal problems and will not be able to go. They also offered me a fight in February and there is a great possibility of that. As for Fedor, nobody’s said anything about that to me; I’d be stoked to fight him, I think weight will not be a problem, he can either drop a bit or I’ll go up.” GRACIEMAG.com also wanted to find out what Arona thinks the outcome of the fight between Wanderlei Silva and Chuck Liddell, set for December 29th, will be. “I think the fight will play out standing, and I think Chuck has the greater reach and has a dangerous game. Wanderlei goes in for the kill and he steps back hitting, I think standing it would go to Chuck. Wanderlei has more resources, though, his takedowns and ground game is better, he could take him down like he did to Mark Hunt. Either one could win it, it will be a fight decided by the details,” said the black belt.
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Post by DUCE on Nov 24, 2007 1:09:50 GMT -5
thefightnetwork.com/news_detail.php?nid=5472News and Notes from Japan By Gino Mongelli A press conference held Nov. 21 in Saitama formally announced PRIDE heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko’s participation in the debuting Yarennoka promotion on Monday, Dec. 31 at the Saitama Super Arena. The event, entitled “Can't We Do It! New Year's Eve! 2007,” is being spearheaded by a group of ex-PRIDE Fighting Championship officials, including former matchmaker Hiroyuki Kato and top Dream Stage Entertainment executive Sataro Shinoda. The show will be held in association with M-1 Global, which was recently purchased by the U.S.-based company Sibling Entertainment. Both Emelianenko and M-1 Global executive committee member Vadim Finkelstein (also Emelianenko’s manager) were in attendance to unveil the event. M-1 Global president Monte Cox, whose promotion owns the rights to Emelianenko, confirmed late Tuesday that the Russian Sambo champion would be competing on the card. Emelianenko will be paid $1.5 million by the Japanese promotion. Cox, however, did not reveal what type of compensation M-1 Global will receive for lending out Emelianenko's services. An opponent for the former PRIDE heavyweight king was not named at the press conference. The Japanese MMA magazine Kamipro also mentioned that the former PRIDE staff members would be seeking the cooperation of other organizations, including the Fight Entertainment Group and World Victory Road. The event will be held immediately after the K-1 “Premium 2007 Dynamite!!” show in Osaka. FEG President Sadaharu Tanigawa was complimentary towards the group’s plans. “I think, given the situation they had, they really did a great job to come this far,” Tanigawa said. “So, I would like to show them my respect. It’s extremely admirable that they could summon their reserve strength to succeed after that critical moment of being all-at-once dismissed [after Zuffa LLC purchased PRIDE].” Tanigawa said he was open to the possibility of a cooperative relationship with the new promotion. “Thinking of this as a success for DYNAMITE!!, as well, and thinking about the future of Japanese MMA, I would like to positively examine what we can do together,” he said. Tanigawa refused to comment on the possibility of loaning K-1 fighters to the event, though he was quoted in a Nov. 22 interview with Gonkaku saying he would be willing to send Yoshihiro Akiyama to the Saitama Super Arena to give the New Year's Eve event a PRIDE versus K-1 flavor. Finkelstein said M-1 Global would be interested in working with the former PRIDE officials beyond the Dec. 31 show. “We would like to work with the PRIDE staff in Russia or in America because they have the best quality,” he said. Other fighters announced as participants in the New Year's Eve show included submission specialist Shinya Aoki, lightweight standouts Tatsuya Kawajiri and Mitsuhiro Ishida and Hayato “Mach” Sakurai – all veteran’s of PRIDE’s Bushido league. Former PRIDE stars Joachim Hansen, Ricardo Arona, Gilbert Melendez, Luiz Azeredo, Kazuo Misaki and DEEP veteran Hidehiko Hasegawa were also named as potential competitors on the seven- to eight-fight card.
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Post by DUCE on Nov 24, 2007 1:41:14 GMT -5
www.adcombat.com/Article.asp?Article_ID=14331Yarennoka! Ohmisoka! - Can You Do It! On New Year's Eve! - 2007 Supported by M-1 Global - 12/31/2007: 'Fedor Emelianenko Fighting on NYE But No Opponent Announced!' Submitted by:Shu Hirata Posted on : 11/22/2007 The former operation personnel of PRIDE Fighting Championship got together made a deal with M-1 Global and now the number one ranked MMA fighter in the world Fedor Emelianenko is fighting in Japan on New Year's Eve. This show is going to be promoted by "Yarennoka! Ohmisoka! 2007 Executive Committee". No one is appointed as the head of the committee but instead just like the old DSE, Nobuhiko Takada was named as "General Director." And the other professionals from PRIDE Fighting Championships are going to be involved in this show - Keiichi Sasahara, a former DSE staff who was in charge of PRIDE PR, along with DEEP head Shigeru Saeki, Daisuke Sato, who directed all of the introduction videos of PRIDE, and those two notable MC's Kay Grant and Lenny Hardt. At the press conference held on November 21st, the committee announced that the show is going to be at Saitama Super Arena and due to the cooperation of M-1 Global, Fedor Emelianenko is fighting in this show as well as Shinya Aoki, Tatsuya Kawajiri, Hayato "Mach" Sakurai, and Mitsuhiro Ishida, and the show is going to be broadcasted live PPV by Sky Perfect TV! Takada explained that this is going to be just a "show for one night only" and it fs sort of like "drawling clear the line for the fans." He went far as saying that this show is going to "put a period" to the PRIDE Fighting Championship. Apparently this is just an event for this year's New Year's Eve only so it's not the beginning of new promotion. In regards to Fedor's opponent, Sasahara denied what was already reported by the media outside Japan - Hong Man Choi. He clearly stated, "Nothing has been decided." Everyone knows that Choi is under the K-1 contract and everyone also knows that K-1 is also promoting the Dynamite!! Show at Kyocera Dome Osaka on NYE and this show is going to be broadcasted live by TBS one of the seven national stations in Japan. Therefore unless there is a huge benefit it makes absolutely no sense for K-1 to dispatch Choi to this show, which is not going to be broadcast by national television. For the past few weeks rumor has circulated in the Japanese MMA world that TBS might do a live broadcast from both Kyocera Dome Osaka and Saitama Super Arena. However this is also very difficult because TBS has the policy that they will not license the show that is also broadcast by the other stations. On this day, the committee already announced that the show is going to be broadcasted live PPV by a cable station therefore with no national TV coverage, unless this committee can find a way to provide something very beneficial for K-1, the chance of Hong Man Choi fighting at Saitama Super Arena on NYE has got to be very slim. After the press conference, at the customary casual junket session, Fedor's manager Vadim Finklestein told the reporters, "PRIDE may be gone now but M-1 Global would like to take over that role. No one can run the show better than these former PRIDE staff. I would like to use them for the shows outside Japan also." He also revealed that the first M-1 Global show probably is going to be in the summer next year, "We would also like to do 'M-1 Bushido' for the younger generation of fighters." Originally everyone thought this is going to be a part of the pro-wrestling show Hustle promoted by DSE but Sasahara explained that although Hustle is taking place in the afternoon of NYE at the same place, Saitama Super Arena, this show is completely different from the pro-wrestling show. Some presumes that it is because one of the sponsors of K-1 is a major competitor of one of the sponsors of Hustle therefore in order for the committee to even hope for Choi's service, being in the same show as Hustle itself was a big obstacle. According to Sasahara, M-1 Global Monte Cox would come to Japan to make additional announcements as early as next week. Does this mean the committee is still negotiating with K-1 about Choi and hoping to seal the deal by next week? Or Monte Cox is coming to Japan to announce the other fighter as Fedor's opponent? Not only Fedor's opponent, no cards were announced on this day and Japanese fighters attended this press conference never really said anything about their opponent either. Apparently this one is going to be sort of like a PRIDE reunion show but till the next announcement nothing seems to be very certain.
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Post by DUCE on Nov 24, 2007 1:46:31 GMT -5
WARNING-some four letter words within link russianmma.blogspot.com/2007/11/fedor-emelianenko-japan-fight-sherdog.htmlPress-conference in Japan. Fedor's fight against Hong Man Choi. Sherdog's expletive deletedSo all this is official information. What about the unofficial (from the M-1 camp) one? Here you go: do you see Sherdog't sentence about the sure Fedor Emelianenko vs Hong Man Choi fight? That's bullshit! Don't trust this information! The thing is that according to the contract, the receiving side can choose the opponent for Fedor Emelianenko. Hong Man Choi is only one of the candidates, even though a very good one. But nothing is 100% sure yet. Hong Man Choi has been already training to fight Fedor. Actually, Asian promoters already approached Fedor Emelianenko and his management this summer with the proposal to fight Hong Man Choi, but it didn't work out because of the Fedor's negotiations with the UFC at a time. People at the M-1 camp are angry for Sherdog for publishing this kind of rumours. By doing this they: * Increased the chance for negotiations to break up * Increased the monetary demands of the parties (Hong Man Choi, K-1?) * Increased the chance of this fight not to come true * Increased their own chances of being blamed for giving incorrect information (like I do now and like many people will do if Fedor will be fighting somebody else) Now who knows where this leaked information will lead... And now my personal opinion. I don't understand people, who call Hong Man Choi "a bag". He is not. Well, at least we don't know it yet. He is one of the top K-1 fighters in the world. Can we look at his fighting record and decide if he will be a good match up for Fedor Emelianenko? No. We can't really draw any conclusions from his only MMA win. Can we say anything about the success of people coming from the kickboxing/K-1 background and their results in MMA? No. On one hand we have such people as Mirko CroCop and Igor Vovchanchin, who were very successful. On another, we have Semmy Schilt, who wasn't that good at MMA. What can we say about Hong Man Choi? He is young, he is tall and strong. He is successful in K-1. His background is in Korean style of wrestling (sumo-like), which should be only to advantage in Mixed Martial Arts. He has been training a lot in MMA. Does it mean he will be successful? No. It only means that anything can happen. Obviously, Fedor Emelianenko will lose, sooner or later. Maybe Hong Man will be that guy? He might, even though I personally am doubtful. What is not doubtful, is that if Fedor Emelianenko and Hong Man Choi will fight, it will be a fight of perhaps two biggest stars in Asian fighting scene, and it makes a lot of sense for M-1 Global from the marketing and business perspective. Let's wait and see what happens! If we will see this fight at all... Posted by Mikko Vedru - Editor-in-Chief of Russian MMA |
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Post by DUCE on Nov 24, 2007 2:47:47 GMT -5
matchups I'd like to see
Sergei Kharitonov vs. Fedor Emelianenko
Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Kazuo Misaki
Shinya Aoki vs. Ishida
Joachim Hansen vs. Kawajiri 2
Gilbert Melendez vs. Sakurai
Alexander Emelianenko vs. Pedro Rizzo (Jeff Monson)
Roman Zentsov vs. Michael Russow(Fujita)
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Post by habbalah on Nov 24, 2007 14:58:55 GMT -5
Sergai vs Fedor would be a real fight. Which proves we're not likely to see it.. seeing as how Sergai is neither a can nor a 185 pounds.... hay FEDORS THE NEW WANDERLEI ! BWHAHAHAHAHA!
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Post by DUCE on Nov 25, 2007 4:45:36 GMT -5
You troll. You know Lindland weight 215.  Sergei's last fight was for K-1 and they are talking about working with this event so its possible. One thing you aren't thinking about probally because that Dana White Koolaid smile you got going is that NO ONE WANTS TO FIGHT FEDOR. If they did theyed be there or complaining Fedor is ducking them. |
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Post by habbalah on Nov 26, 2007 6:14:11 GMT -5
I do believe Babalu walks around at 220 (i've seen picks of him). It doesn't mean he fights at that weight.
Lindland record didn't reflect a heavy weight fighter in the least. I'm amazed your even trying to justify that one.
As for Fedor.. I just want a half way decent fight. Hell it doesn't even have to be top ten. Pedro.. Monson.. Sergai.... Arona... You know.. some one who's a somebody in mma. Is that to much to ask?
Hell i would took Butter fat (beat) over Choi.
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Post by DUCE on Nov 26, 2007 7:18:46 GMT -5
Hell yeah! Babalu vs. Fedor 2 would be awesome. Especially if Babalu won this time. Dana would be calling him minutes after the fight.
I think Bodog/M-1 was trying to sell Fedor versus Lindland as the fight for the BEST pound for pound fighter fight. Alot of websites have listed Matt Lindland as a top five best p4p for years. It worked in Russia with Putin. Russian Hero vs. American Hero. Its not that hard to picture why they did it. Matt nearly beat Rampage in WFA and if he beat Fedor down... his stock would have burned any the black lists he has been placed on. Fedor fighting Matt was risky. Lindland is tough and evil. He even knocked himself out for christ sake.
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Post by habbalah on Nov 26, 2007 23:20:34 GMT -5
Hell yeah! Babalu vs. Fedor 2 would be awesome. Especially if Babalu won this time. Dana would be calling him minutes after the fight.
Um Duce you missed what I was saying.
Babalu isn't a heavy weight. Matt Hughes walks around at 185 I think. He's not a middle weight fighter... Oh yeah i forgot.. Pride fans don't understand weight cutting.
Or weight divisions for that matter.
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Post by DUCE on Nov 26, 2007 23:38:55 GMT -5
Hell yeah! Babalu vs. Fedor 2 would be awesome. Especially if Babalu won this time. Dana would be calling him minutes after the fight. Um Duce you missed what I was saying. Babalu isn't a heavy weight. Matt Hughes walks around at 185 I think. He's not a middle weight fighter... Oh yeah i forgot.. Pride fans don't understand weight cutting. Or weight divisions for that matter. Pride fans... are you this way in person? You gonna put me in a concentration camp for loving Pride. You know if it wasn't for people like me you wouldn't have UFC. The would have folded long before Zuffa. Who cares about weight cutting if you walk around at 225 like Fedor does and you don't cut weight what does it matter when Matt Lindland who walks around at 200+ cuts to 185? So what he does it for a living. Eitherway he fights at 200+ like Babalu. OPENWEIGHT TITLE Al-Prison army. Weight ins are gai anyways.  |
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Post by habbalah on Nov 27, 2007 0:38:37 GMT -5
Over weight tournament.
Honestly are you telling me big Tim couldn't beat up Minowa?
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Post by DUCE on Nov 28, 2007 7:00:16 GMT -5
new matches added still no confirmed Fedor match
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Post by DUCE on Nov 28, 2007 10:04:27 GMT -5
 sukimma.blogspot.com/2007/11/fedor-interview-on-samurai-tv-s-arena.htmlTake her blog for what its worth... Fedor interview on SAMURAI TV `S Arena' SAMURAI TV which is a pay-per-view MMA news show had a private interview with Fedor on 22 Nov. - You have not been to Japan for a long time. I`m glad to be here in Japan again. I knew I would come back for all of my fans in Japan. - How did you know you can fight on NYE? Vadim asked me if I`m interested in and I accepted the offer immediately. I would like to prepare well for the fight and would like to have an exciting fight. - Do you have any comment to former PRIDE staff? I don`t think this is the last event I work with them. M-1 Global has a business plan to hold events starting next year. M-1 Global is actually approaching them and asking to support their events. I believe M-1 Global will corporate with former PRIDE employees to create great events like the PRIDE had before in Japan. - Why did you choose M-1 Global? M-1 Global is formed by trustworthy staff and we agreed to create the best MMA event. I accepted because M-1 Global is going to have an event in Japan, Russia and the Netherlands as well as in the U.S. - Who would you like to fight? I would like to fight champions in other MMA organization like Randy Couture, Gabriel Gonzaga and champions of UFC, Cage Rage and IFL etc. - What is the definition of the strongest fighter for you? The strongest fighter should be able to defeat all the opponents, respect other fighters, understand circumstances and communicate well with others. - Do you think you are the best now? I don`t think I`m the best now but I`m trying to be. - Do you have any message to your fans? I`m happy to have a fight in Japan again. I train hard to win and please come and see my fight. `S Arena' had interview with Mr. Saeki and Shinya Aoki. Aoki said he actually had a call about the interview of `Yarennoka!' at night on Nov 20. Aoki was anxious about the delay of the interview. Aoki had mentioned this event in a magazine interview which was published a couple of days before and he was worried about being called a liar. Mr.Saeki said the process of this event was delayed a lot and could not be announced until the last minute. He is sure that this event would not happen if he could not make an official announcement on Nov 21. |
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Post by DUCE on Nov 29, 2007 7:32:55 GMT -5
Politics of Promoting on New Year's Eve in Japan www.sherdog.com/news/articles.asp?n_id=10153In 2000, Japanese pro wrestling legend Antonio Inoki started putting on martial arts shows to compete with the Red and White Song Battle. Although the inaugural show was still held under pro wrestling rules, the three events that followed were more or less straightforward MMA shows -- K-1 fighters against members of the Inoki pro wrestling army. As the relationship between Inoki and co-promoters Dream Stage Entertainment and Fight Entertainment Group soured and as Inoki lost influence within Japanese martial arts circles with his Bom-Ba-Ye events, PRIDE and K-1 began hosting their own New Year's Eve shows in 2003. During the "NYE Wars" that followed the next three years, both promotions did very well audience-wise. In 2004, the peak year for MMA in Japan, PRIDE and K-1 combined for a market share of more than 34 percent. That means nearly 50 million people in Japan tuned into MMA programming on New Year's Eve 2004. Because Japanese MMA originated in pro wrestling, entertainment comes first when booking fights, especially on Dec. 31. This is why hardcore fight fans don't always get the fight that has the most meaning from a sporting perspective. More often the battle that is made has the most appeal to the casual viewer. For example, Fedor Emelianenko faced 400-pound behemoth Zuluzinho in 2005 instead of tested Russian Sergei Kharitonov and then fought former K-1 champion Mark Hunt (Pictures) in 2006 instead of top contender Josh Barnett. The same reasoning applies to why he'll face someone like Choi this year instead of a more seasoned MMA vet like Jeff Monson or Pedro Rizzo. However, Fedor's meeting with the 7-foot-2 Techno Goliath is not 100 percent certain either. Though FEG, which holds the contractual rights to the colossal Korean, has announced its cooperation with the Yarennoka! event that is supposed to stage the big fight, a number of factors influence the passing of one of FEG's major stars to a rival promotion. First and foremost is the fact that Choi has another fight scheduled on Dec. 8 against Jerome LeBanner. Should he win the battle against the 34-year-old Frenchman, this single-bout affair becomes a tournament with up to two more three-round, three-minute fights against the best kickboxers in the world. The effects of Choi's participation in the K-1 World Grand Prix Final, the most prestigious and most competitive kickboxing tournament in the history of the sport, are varied. |
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Post by habbalah on Nov 30, 2007 17:15:54 GMT -5
How come the ufc is always able to get this fights lined up ahead of time... and it's always a a mad dash for other orgs to get there main event straight?
It looks like M-1 is picking up one of Pride's bad traits.
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Post by DUCE on Dec 7, 2007 15:28:36 GMT -5
www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=5228&zoneid=13With New Year’s Eve just around the corner, HDNet has secured the rights to broadcast the highly anticipated Yarennoka! event taking place in Japan on Dec. 31 as confirmed to MMAWeekly.com by HDNet Fights CEO, Andrew Simon. "Today's announcement with M-1 Global/Fedor clearly demonstrates that HDNet Fights is committed to working on a unified basis to deliver the best fighters and the best fights," said Simon. "HDNet is clearly becoming the home for MMA action and this amazing live event featuring the return of Fedor is our holiday present to HDNet Fights fans. We are working hard every day improving HDNet Fights and this is a great first step in the process." The event will feature the return of Fedor Emelianenko to active competition against an as of yet unnamed opponent, and along with this deal, HDNet will also gain the rights to broadcast all of Fedor’s future international fights. The show has already announced many bouts with huge implications including a lightweight battle between two of the top fighters in the world, Gesias “JZ” Calvancante vs. Shinya Aoki. HDNet founder and owner, Mark Cuban also commented on the huge announcement to broadcast the show on his network. “This announcement reinforces our commitment to becoming the home for live MMA action,” Cuban stated. “No one else but HDNet will have the return of Fedor live from Japan.” The television juggernaut also today officially announced the rights to broadcast the upcoming International Fight League’s Grand Prix finals taking place on Dec. 29 from Connecticut. “This is a great opportunity to work with the IFL for the first time and to bring one of the best cards of the year live to MMA fans and HDNet customers,” said Andrew Simon about the broadcast of the IFL Grand Prix. The card will feature 5 title bouts and undercard fights featuring many of the top stars in the IFL.
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Post by habbalah on Dec 13, 2007 18:44:32 GMT -5
Fedor vs Hong Man Choi and Misaki vs Akiyama are both confirmed on the Yarennoka website now.
The avatar says it all.
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Sergei's last fight was for K-1 and they are talking about working with this event so its possible. One thing you aren't thinking about probally because that Dana White Koolaid smile you got going is that NO ONE WANTS TO FIGHT FEDOR. If they did theyed be there or complaining Fedor is ducking them. 