After watching the K1 63 kg tourney tonight...

I can't help but think that it's really sad that K1 discriminates against the Thai fighters. Yamato knocked out everyone they put in front of him to win the title, but was made to look like an amateur when he fought Saenchai. I wish K1 would try to show less bias towards the Japanese fighters and actually try to put together tournaments that really do represent the best in the world.

Great performance by Yamato though

They should have more Thai's, but the division is really new.

I like the rules however.

The first year was Japan only (excluding the one Korean). I am pretty sure they'll go global NYE and on.

So expect Saenchai fairly soon.

they hate the thai's, its so obvious... as seen by buakaw getting ripped off on more than one occasion.

Korean Zombie also mentioned the Japanese do the same with MMA. They don't like their fighters looking bad.

Jride wrote:Korean Zombie also mentioned the Japanese do the same with MMA. They don't like their fighters looking bad.

Of course they don't. The Japanese are very VERY nationalistic. It goes beyond "USA USA USA" chants with them, they do it silently.

I still found the tournament very good. Hopefully they bring some thai's in next tournament, as I'm sure they will. People are quick to go "OMG THEY DONT ALLOW THAI's IN MAX!" while not realizing there aren't exactly a plethora of thai's who are over 150lbs. I believe the highest weight class at lumpinee is 147lbs.

People are also quick to comment on how badly the K-1 rules hold back Thai fighters, without realizing it does the same to everyone else. Kyokushin fighter's are at a disadvantage with the punches, boxers are at a disadvantage with kicks, and it goes on and on.

I personally prefer the rules to full thai rules. No one wants to see a fight not start until the 4th round, or a boring clinch fest.

i agree dono

however i had no problem with the one knee clinch. they should have kept it the way it was

this one hand grab clinch is stupid...everyone loves knees in a clinch

They could have just made a rule like, "No clinching for over 10 seconds without throwing a meaningful blow".

Should be the same way in MMA, but with takedowns included.