News From Japan on Upcoming Krush & RISE Cards

The non-K-1 side of the Japanese kickboxing scene has received a bit of a boost in attention lately thanks to the K-1 63kg Grand Prix and their emphasis on fighters from Krush and RISE.  Both organizations look to capitalize on that interest with some exciting upcoming cards.

First up, RISE will present RISE 65 on May 16.  The main event is a good fight between Su Hwan Lee and Yukihiro Komiya.  Lee has been quietly moving up the rankings ever since his impressive, KO-heavy performance at last year's MAX Korea GP Qualifier.  There, he made it to the finals before losing to top Korean fighter Chi Bin Lim.  Lee has since returned to K-1 in a loss to Yasuhiro Kido, before bouncing back with wins over Xu Yan (at The Khan 2) and Kenji Kanai (at a Shootboxing event).  A win here would very likely earn Lee another K-1 opportunity.  Also at RISE 65: Oh Doo Suk v. Yusuke Sugawara in a 65kg fight. 

RISE also announced some rule changes to mirror K-1.  They've taken the new K-1 rule limiting strikes in the clinch, as well as added new weight classes at 57.5, 63, and 67.5kg.

Krush also revealed some details about their next event.  Scheduled for June 12 is their latest Next Generation Fight 2010 event.  The main event for that show is partially announced, as 2009 Koshien champion Masaaki Noiri faces an opponent yet to be determined.  The 16 year old Noiri made his K-1 debut last year, going 4-0 in the Koshien tournament and defeating Koshien ace Hiroya en route to a championship win over Shota Shimada.  Despite these wins, Noiri was left out of the K-1 63kg GP, perhaps due to his age, and perhaps due to K-1's history of not keeping around those who defeat Hiroya (see also Yudai, who defeated Hiroya to win the 2007 Koshien title and was never seen in K-1 again).  Since the Koshien win, Noiri has had one fight, a TKO victory at Krush.6.  Nothing else yet set for this Krush show.