K1 Max 63kg Tournament June 25th!!!!!!!!!!

Fight card so far (expect more superfights).
Opening fights:
Kojiman vs Hideto Fuji
Gentaro vs Takayoshi Kitayamai
Akihiro Kimura vs Yuji Tanaka
Shingo Yokoyama vs Yasuomi Soda

8 man Tournament:
Tetsuya Yamato vs HIROYA
Koya Urabe vs Yuki
Yuta Kubo vs Kizaemon Saiga
Ryuji Kajiwara vs Masaaki Noiri

Tournament reserve fights:
Yuto Watanabe vs Toshiki Taniyama
Shohei Asahara vs Koji Yoshimoto

Super fight:
Yoshihiro Sato vs Albert Kraus

good card cant wait

I wanna see some European talent in there and not just gooks

chill out, nick. No Ray Sist terms on TT

Fletch wrote:chill out, nick. No Ray Sist terms on TT

I wanna see european talent too,not just brave,proud Japanese people

It's gonna be on YT, live!!

I heard that as well, cant wait!

Sato is going to beat Kraus.

Thats great news,Japanese time zone was always more convenient

K-1 is back boys

fuck the haters

cant wait........K1 for life!!!

cant believe they shafted my nigga kazuhisa.

glad to hear it's on youtube. the quality is slick.

bfnick wrote:K-1 is back boys

fuck the haters

yo, in that still shot, who is that getting headkicked?

so pumped for this. here's a little write-up I did ranking the fighters in the tournament

1. Yuta Kubo - In the two major lightweight tournaments Kubo has been in, he made it to the finals of both. Unfortunately for him, he lost both as a result of a 3rd round knockdown and a 3rd round knockout in fights he was presumably winning, at the hands of Masahiro Yamamoto and Tetsuya Yamato, respectively. However, in the lead up to both of those finals and even in the finals themselves, Kubo displayed high level technique, accompanied with power, dispatching the likes of Naoki Ishikawa, leg kick wizard DJ Taiki, Keiji Ozaki and Yoshimichi Matsumoto, the last of which by spectacular KO. Kubo fell to Yamato in the exciting finals of last year's -63kg GP, seeming to have simply run out of steam in the third round of their fight. Despite his tournament finals shortcomings, Kubo brings to the table a variety of deceptive, powerful kicks and the hands to set them up, culminating in the ability to reach yet another tournament final. However this time, I feel it is his for the taking.

2. Koya Urabe - Just three months ago, it would seem ludicrous to not have Urabe as the tournament favorite. He was the king without a crown, being left out of last year's Final 8 despite winning his Final 22(16?) match quite handily. Then, in September of last year, after Tetsuya Yamato's tournament victory, Urabe dismantled the K-1 Champion over the course of three rounds, earning a decisive victory, leading many to call for his standing as the true K-1 Champion. After a close fight against rising sensation Sung Hyun Lee in the quarterfinals of the Krush 63kg Tournament and a relatively easy win over Takuya Shirahama in the semis, Urabe looked poised to stay atop the scene at 63kg before being upset by Ruyji Kajiwara in the finals. Urabe's strengths are his hands, which may be the best among the tournament field, and his defense, both of which make him a considerable favorite over his first round opponent Yuki. Revenge is on Urabe's mind, but will he be able to enact it? Only time will tell.

3. Ryuji Kajiwara - At age 34, Kajiwara is the resident grandfather of the tournament, being 5 years older than the next oldest competitor and nearly twice the age of his first round opponent Masaaki Noiri. However, Kajiwara's age has not stopped his success as he has scored 3 big upset wins in the past year over Naoki Ishikawa, Kizaemon Saiga and Koya Urabe, the latter 2 leading him to the Krush 63kg Tournament Championship. With the momentum from the Krush tournament and given his age, this may be Kajiwara's best chance to claim the K-1 crown. If he advances to the semifinals, Kajiwara could very well see himself with the same path to the K-1 Championship that he took to the Krush Championship, with a possible semifinal rematch with Saiga and a finals rematch with Urabe.

4. Tetsuya Yamato - He is the defending K-1 -63kg Tournament Champion, beating pre-tournament favorite Masahiro Yamamoto in the Round of 22 and dispatching three of the fighters in this tournament field en route to that Championship, yet here he finds himself at 4th. Tetsuya Yamato is the Rodney Dangerfield of the -63kg division. Despite taking last year's tournament, Yamato was embarrassed in his first post-tournament fight against Koya Urabe, being completely picked apart over the course of three rounds. Yamato followed this up with a disappointing draw against MMA fighter "Wicky" Akiyo Nishiura. Yamato got back on track last month with a TKO stoppage of Makoto Nishiyima at a NJKF event, however his reputation had already been severely diminished. Yamato may not be the most skilled fighter in this field, but he's one hell of a tournament fighter. His biggest asset is the power he possesses in his hands, and as he's shown in the past, he has the skill to compete with upper-tier fighters until he unleashes that power. Make no mistake about it, Yamato has the ability to take this tournament again and remain the only -63kg K-1 Champion.

5. Kizaemon Saiga - After leg kicking fan-favorite Fire Harada into oblivion in last year's Round of 22, Saiga shocked the world by beating Final 8 tournament favorite Naoki Ishikawa. And he didn't just beat Ishikawa, he absolutely crushed him. With a first round knockdown and a spectacular rolling heel-kick that could have ended Ishikawa's night if there were 20 seconds left in the round, Saiga made his way to the tournament semifinals with his flashy, arrogant ways. Aaaaand then he got KTFO'd by Tetsuya Yamato. A thrashing at the hands of then-unknown Sung Hyun Lee in Korea and a loss to Kajiwara in the Krush semis have significantly lowered Saiga's stock coming into this tournament. Not to mention that Ishikawa hasn't looked great recently, either, but who knows. Maybe Saiga's shellacking of Ishikawa sent him into a mini-slump and maybe Lee is the real deal at Lightweight, as his performance against Urabe would suggest. A first round matchup against my tournament favorite Yuta Kubo is the perfect chance for Saiga to show where he stands.

6. Masaaki Noiri - At 18 years of age, Noiri is both the youngest fighter in this tournament, and K-1's biggest rising star. A decision over K-1 golden boy HIROYA to advance him to the 2009 Koshien finals and ultimately, the championship at Dynamite!! vaulted Noiri into stardom, and since he has proven to have the goods, with a string of victories in Krush in 2010. Unfortunately, Noiri fell to "Crazy Fist" Yuji Takeuchi in a wild and exciting brawl in Krush's 60kg tournament in the semifinals. Despite displaying his skill and power in the fight, Noiri also displayed his lack of discipline, falling into a brawl with the more powerful Takeuchi, who has made a career of drawing more technical fighters into brawls. Noiri most definitely has the ability to win the tournament this year, however he is still growing as a fighter, and I do not believe this is his year. Barring the collapse of K-1, I see Noiri capturing multiple tournament titles in the future.

7. Yuki - While most would see Kajiwara as the dark horse despite his recent Krush tournament victory, Yuki is the true dark horse in this field. The least hyped of all the fighters, Yuki found himself in last year's Final 8 after an exciting KO victory over the previously mentioned Yuji Takeuchi. A quarterfinal knockout loss to Yamato eliminated him from the tournament, yet the fight could just have easily gone the other way. Though I feel he is not quite on Yamato's level, Yuki's key to winning this tournament is exactly the same as Yamato's; his power. So far, Japan's 63kg division has been largely unpredictable and a tournament victory from Yuki would make it even more of a mess. Things haven't been going very well for K-1 recently and this is probably the worst thing that could happen from a promotional standpoint for K-1, so it's not all that unlikely.

8. Toshiki Taniyama HIROYA - I feel that my opinion is shared by many kickboxing fans when I say that HIROYA is not as advertised. Pushed as the next Masato by K-1, HIROYA has failed to live up to expectations. Expected to win the Koshien title in 2007, 2008 and 2009, he was upset by YUDAI in 2007 and again by Masaaki Noiri in 2009, though he did manage to defeat Koya Urabe in 2008 to take the crown. Yes, HIROYA owns two wins over Saiga and a win over Koya Urabe. No, I don't think either are significant at this point. Since their time in the Koshien ranks, Urabe and Saiga have grown immensely into stars of the -63kg division. HIROYA has not followed suit, losing his only fight under the K-1 banner since his departure from the Koshien ranks, a clear decision against Yuta Kubo. I see his first round matchup with Yamato ending in him being planted face-down on the canvas. Maybe I'm completely underselling HIROYA. Here's hoping he proves me wrong and we get yet another star in the Lightweight division.

and if you're wondering why I have Urabe above Kajiwara, look at the brackets. Urabe has Yuki and HIROYA/Yamato while Kajiwara has Noiri and Kubo/Saiga. I think it's safe to say Urabe has a better chance at advancing to the finals than Kajiwara. also who do you guys think are the favorites?

Uh wow, that is pretty f'n good..

You should post that on LiverKick.

Shiny Aoki wrote:so pumped for this. here's a little write-up I did ranking the fighters in the tournament

1. Yuta Kubo - In the two major lightweight tournaments Kubo has been in, he made it to the finals of both. Unfortunately for him, he lost both as a result of a 3rd round knockdown and a 3rd round knockout in fights he was presumably winning, at the hands of Masahiro Yamamoto and Tetsuya Yamato, respectively. However, in the lead up to both of those finals and even in the finals themselves, Kubo displayed high level technique, accompanied with power, dispatching the likes of Naoki Ishikawa, leg kick wizard DJ Taiki, Keiji Ozaki and Yoshimichi Matsumoto, the last of which by spectacular KO. Kubo fell to Yamato in the exciting finals of last year's -63kg GP, seeming to have simply run out of steam in the third round of their fight. Despite his tournament finals shortcomings, Kubo brings to the table a variety of deceptive, powerful kicks and the hands to set them up, culminating in the ability to reach yet another tournament final. However this time, I feel it is his for the taking.

2. Koya Urabe - Just three months ago, it would seem ludicrous to not have Urabe as the tournament favorite. He was the king without a crown, being left out of last year's Final 8 despite winning his Final 22(16?) match quite handily. Then, in September of last year, after Tetsuya Yamato's tournament victory, Urabe dismantled the K-1 Champion over the course of three rounds, earning a decisive victory, leading many to call for his standing as the true K-1 Champion. After a close fight against rising sensation Sung Hyun Lee in the quarterfinals of the Krush 63kg Tournament and a relatively easy win over Takuya Shirahama in the semis, Urabe looked poised to stay atop the scene at 63kg before being upset by Ruyji Kajiwara in the finals. Urabe's strengths are his hands, which may be the best among the tournament field, and his defense, both of which make him a considerable favorite over his first round opponent Yuki. Revenge is on Urabe's mind, but will he be able to enact it? Only time will tell.

3. Ryuji Kajiwara - At age 34, Kajiwara is the resident grandfather of the tournament, being 5 years older than the next oldest competitor and nearly twice the age of his first round opponent Masaaki Noiri. However, Kajiwara's age has not stopped his success as he has scored 3 big upset wins in the past year over Naoki Ishikawa, Kizaemon Saiga and Koya Urabe, the latter 2 leading him to the Krush 63kg Tournament Championship. With the momentum from the Krush tournament and given his age, this may be Kajiwara's best chance to claim the K-1 crown. If he advances to the semifinals, Kajiwara could very well see himself with the same path to the K-1 Championship that he took to the Krush Championship, with a possible semifinal rematch with Saiga and a finals rematch with Urabe.

4. Tetsuya Yamato - He is the defending K-1 -63kg Tournament Champion, beating pre-tournament favorite Masahiro Yamamoto in the Round of 22 and dispatching three of the fighters in this tournament field en route to that Championship, yet here he finds himself at 4th. Tetsuya Yamato is the Rodney Dangerfield of the -63kg division. Despite taking last year's tournament, Yamato was embarrassed in his first post-tournament fight against Koya Urabe, being completely picked apart over the course of three rounds. Yamato followed this up with a disappointing draw against MMA fighter "Wicky" Akiyo Nishiura. Yamato got back on track last month with a TKO stoppage of Makoto Nishiyima at a NJKF event, however his reputation had already been severely diminished. Yamato may not be the most skilled fighter in this field, but he's one hell of a tournament fighter. His biggest asset is the power he possesses in his hands, and as he's shown in the past, he has the skill to compete with upper-tier fighters until he unleashes that power. Make no mistake about it, Yamato has the ability to take this tournament again and remain the only -63kg K-1 Champion.

5. Kizaemon Saiga - After leg kicking fan-favorite Fire Harada into oblivion in last year's Round of 22, Saiga shocked the world by beating Final 8 tournament favorite Naoki Ishikawa. And he didn't just beat Ishikawa, he absolutely crushed him. With a first round knockdown and a spectacular rolling heel-kick that could have ended Ishikawa's night if there were 20 seconds left in the round, Saiga made his way to the tournament semifinals with his flashy, arrogant ways. Aaaaand then he got KTFO'd by Tetsuya Yamato. A thrashing at the hands of then-unknown Sung Hyun Lee in Korea and a loss to Kajiwara in the Krush semis have significantly lowered Saiga's stock coming into this tournament. Not to mention that Ishikawa hasn't looked great recently, either, but who knows. Maybe Saiga's shellacking of Ishikawa sent him into a mini-slump and maybe Lee is the real deal at Lightweight, as his performance against Urabe would suggest. A first round matchup against my tournament favorite Yuta Kubo is the perfect chance for Saiga to show where he stands.

6. Masaaki Noiri - At 18 years of age, Noiri is both the youngest fighter in this tournament, and K-1's biggest rising star. A decision over K-1 golden boy HIROYA to advance him to the 2009 Koshien finals and ultimately, the championship at Dynamite!! vaulted Noiri into stardom, and since he has proven to have the goods, with a string of victories in Krush in 2010. Unfortunately, Noiri fell to "Crazy Fist" Yuji Takeuchi in a wild and exciting brawl in Krush's 60kg tournament in the semifinals. Despite displaying his skill and power in the fight, Noiri also displayed his lack of discipline, falling into a brawl with the more powerful Takeuchi, who has made a career of drawing more technical fighters into brawls. Noiri most definitely has the ability to win the tournament this year, however he is still growing as a fighter, and I do not believe this is his year. Barring the collapse of K-1, I see Noiri capturing multiple tournament titles in the future.

7. Yuki - While most would see Kajiwara as the dark horse despite his recent Krush tournament victory, Yuki is the true dark horse in this field. The least hyped of all the fighters, Yuki found himself in last year's Final 8 after an exciting KO victory over the previously mentioned Yuji Takeuchi. A quarterfinal knockout loss to Yamato eliminated him from the tournament, yet the fight could just have easily gone the other way. Though I feel he is not quite on Yamato's level, Yuki's key to winning this tournament is exactly the same as Yamato's; his power. So far, Japan's 63kg division has been largely unpredictable and a tournament victory from Yuki would make it even more of a mess. Things haven't been going very well for K-1 recently and this is probably the worst thing that could happen from a promotional standpoint for K-1, so it's not all that unlikely.

8. Toshiki Taniyama HIROYA - I feel that my opinion is shared by many kickboxing fans when I say that HIROYA is not as advertised. Pushed as the next Masato by K-1, HIROYA has failed to live up to expectations. Expected to win the Koshien title in 2007, 2008 and 2009, he was upset by YUDAI in 2007 and again by Masaaki Noiri in 2009, though he did manage to defeat Koya Urabe in 2008 to take the crown. Yes, HIROYA owns two wins over Saiga and a win over Koya Urabe. No, I don't think either are significant at this point. Since their time in the Koshien ranks, Urabe and Saiga have grown immensely into stars of the -63kg division. HIROYA has not followed suit, losing his only fight under the K-1 banner since his departure from the Koshien ranks, a clear decision against Yuta Kubo. I see his first round matchup with Yamato ending in him being planted face-down on the canvas. Maybe I'm completely underselling HIROYA. Here's hoping he proves me wrong and we get yet another star in the Lightweight division.

and if you're wondering why I have Urabe above Kajiwara, look at the brackets. Urabe has Yuki and HIROYA/Yamato while Kajiwara has Noiri and Kubo/Saiga. I think it's safe to say Urabe has a better chance at advancing to the finals than Kajiwara. also who do you guys think are the favorites?

very impressive

good job

You should post this on the teamtakeover.tv website!

DW LiverKick wrote:Uh wow, that is pretty f'n good..

You should post that on LiverKick.

uhhh, I'm not sure how to do a fanpost there, so you can go ahead and put it up.

StillWill wrote:You should post this on the teamtakeover.tv website!

how? lol. should I just PM it to fletch or something?

personally I see
Kajiwara > Noiri
Kubo > Saiga
Urabe > Yuki
Yamato > Hiroya

Kubo > Kajiwara
Urabe > Yamato

and the Kubo fanboy in me has him taking the tournament, though that upper bracket is soooo rough. hopefully he's still got something left in the finals.

Log in again and check the bottom of the page, there should be an "Author Submission" button down there.

Also, Urabe takes this.

StillWill wrote:I heard that as well, cant wait!

Sato is going to beat Kraus.

I respectfully disagree, sir...

DW LiverKick wrote:Log in again and check the bottom of the page, there should be an "Author Submission" button down there.

Also, Urabe takes this.

do you want me to front page it or what?

Shiny Aoki wrote:

DW LiverKick wrote:Log in again and check the bottom of the page, there should be an "Author Submission" button down there.

Also, Urabe takes this.

do you want me to front page it or what?

We already put it up last night

Sato by decision

Soy Chingon wrote:

Shiny Aoki wrote:

DW LiverKick wrote:Log in again and check the bottom of the page, there should be an "Author Submission" button down there.

Also, Urabe takes this.

do you want me to front page it or what?

We already put it up last night

Naw, we didn't. I posted something of my own breaking down the fights.

Yeah, front page it.

FUCKING WAR NOIRI !!!!