K-1’s recent super fight between Masato and Tatsuya Kawajiri drew an impressive 19.8 television rating in Japan. In simplest terms, this means that 1 out of every 5 people watching TV in Japan at that time were watching the fight. Many of K-1’s most watched fights drew in the low to mid-20s, putting Masato v. Kawajiri as a definite success.

At a time when MMA and kickboxing are at a low profile in Japan, this rating is a good sign for K-1. The real test will be on New Year’s Eve, when Masato competes in his final fight against the 2009 K-1 World MAX Champion.