Three New Fights Set for K-1 MAX GP

At a press conference yesterday, K-1 president Tanigawa announced three new fights for the MAX Grand Prix Finals on November 8.

HINATA v. Andre Dida (GP Reserve Fight)
Yuya Yamamoto v. Seichi Ikemoto
Hiroya v. Yuta Kubo

Glad to see Hinata making his return to K-1 here.  K-1's scheduling problems froze him out of the GP itself, which is a shame as he's really established himself this year with the wins over Yamamoto and Artur Kyshenko.  He's absolutely earned a GP spot, and fitting him in as a reserve fighter makes perfect sense.  Making less sense is the idea of Andre Dida as a reserve fighter.  Dida is an entertaining fighter, and he had some strong wins in MMA, but those wins were way back in 2007.  Since then he's 0-3 in MMA and 1-2 in K-1.  He had a strong showing against Buakaw last year, but does one good showing in defeat plus a handful of 3 year old wins in MMA really entitle him to a reserve fight at the Grand Prix?  Seems like he is being brought in as an entertaining, but relatively easy win for Hinata - and I expect Hinata to deliver.

No surprise to see Yamamoto here.  His Final 4 showing last year greatly increased his profile, making him one of the MAX mainstays.  In the past year, fights with Yoshihiro Sato and Hinata have shown that Yamamoto was perhaps a bit overhyped last year, but fights with Gago Drago and Scott Shaffer showed that against the right opponent, Yamamoto can not only win, but can also do so in very entertaining fashion.  Ikemoto is a MMA veteran making his K-1 debut here.  He's competed in Pride Bushido, Shooto, and Deep, but is probably best known for taking part in the 2009 Dream Welterweight tournament, where he lost a highly entertaining affair to eventual tournament champion Marius Zaromskis.  He's a very action oriented fighter, and pairing him with Yamamoto should make for a great fight.  That action style also plays right to Yuya's strengths, and given his significant advantage in experience, Yamamoto should take this one.

Finally, Koshien star Hiroya makes his return to the ring.  Hiroya has been out of action since Dynamite 2009 as he focused on finishing high school.  For the past few years, K-1 has been grooming Hiroya to be one of their major stars of the future.  At 18 years old, and with a record of 17-3, Hiroya has come to a point where he needs to start facing real competition instead of spoon fed opponents.  But Kubo will be a very tough test for him, easily the hardest challenge of the young fighter's career.  Kubo has turned in a series of great performances in the past two years, ultimately making his way to the K-1 63kg GP finals.  He's a very technical fighter with a great ability to read his opponent and capitalize on their weaknesses.  It will be a great challenge for Hiroya to take him down.

With the 7 GP fights, that brings the total card up to 10.  Add in a few opening fights, and that is likely the complete card for the MAX finals.