K-1 MAX 2010 Grand Prix Limps Into Action This Monday

The first half of the calendar year is always a bit slow in the world of K-1.  Because of their Grand Prix schedule, K-1 shows are very heavy in the back half of the year, with these earlier months typically providing little more than a nice setting of the table.  This year, that sense of waiting is particularly true for K-1 MAX. 

As we head into this weekend, we are looking towards the start of the K-1 MAX Grand Prix 2010.  But what should be a major event is instead upstaged by the finals of the new 63kg Grand Prix.  The end result: very little discussion of MAX and a real sense that this weekend is still just place setting.

There's a lot of factors you could point to for this switch - an increased focus on the new division, the desire to expand into Europe by splitting the Final 16, uncertainty over the participation of top names - but really, there's one factor that stands above them all, and that factor can be summed up in two words:

No Masato.

Now, certainly it's not that simple.  Obviously these other factors do play a part.  But you can't help but notice that the first year without K-1 MAX's figurehead has seen a definite decline in promotion.  Of course, Masato wasn't directly involved in last year's GP, but the story of his pending retirement loomed large throughout the year, as did the promise of the GP champion earning the privilege of being Masato's final opponent.  Now Masato is out, and with MAX's 2010 season focused around Japanese fighters, the big question being asked today is "Who is the next Masato?" 

That question could be the subtitle of this Monday's show.  Already much of the pre-show hype revolves around this idea of "the next Masato" with a number of fighters stepping up to the challenge, both from the 63 and 70kg divisions.  Focusing on the 70kg GP for now, there are two men on Monday's card who will surely look to fill those shoes.

The first is an unlikely candidate - Yuichiro Nagashima.  This cosplaying cross-dresser came onto the K-1 scene last year, making a big splash more for his antics and his entrances than his actual fighting.  After a pair of brutal loses in 2009 to Albert Kraus and Xu Yan, most everyone wrote Nagashima off as a gimmick fighter.  Wrong.  He came back strong (after training with Masato's gym) at the 2010 Japan GP.  At that event, Nagashima showed superb boxing, scoring 3 straight stoppage victories en route to a tournament crown.  Now vastly improved over last year, Nagashima seems to have found a good comfort zone between his antics and his fighting.  And K-1 looks to reward that, as this year Nagashima gets a Final 16 opponent almost tailor made for him.  Last year, Nagashima was thrown into the deep waters, facing the stronger, more experienced, better all around fighter Albert Kraus.  This year, he draws Andre Dida in a fight that Nagashima should win.  Like Nagashima, Dida keeps his focus on his hands more than an all around game.  Expect this to be more of a traditional boxing match, and in that setting, the technical skill of Nagashima should trump the brawling of Dida.

The other "next Masato" in the MAX GP is the man hand picked by Masato himself - Hiroki Nakajima.  The Krush veteran entered K-1 earlier this year behind a mountain of hype, largely generated by Masato picking Nakajima as the tournament winner and his heir apparent.  It didn't quite play out like that, as Nakajima looked strong in the early rounds (especially in a dominant KO of Hinata in the semi-finals), before being KO'd by Nagashima in the finals.  To take the next step on his K-1 path, he'll have to get through the resurgent Albert Kraus.  Not nearly enough has been made of Kraus's return to the upper echelon of 70kg fighters.  A former MAX GP champion, Kraus looked like he might be at the end of the line 2 years ago.  But he's since bounced back with an incredible 11-1 run and is coming in off a nasty KO victory.  Like last year, Kraus looks to squash the hopes of the up and coming Japanese fighter, and like last year, I expect he will succeed.

The final MAX fight on Monday should serve as a cautionary tale for both Nagashima and Nakajima, as it features two men who were once in the running to replace Masato.  No one in K-1 better embodies the danger of lofty expectations than Yoshihiro Sato.  In 2008, Sato knocked out Buakaw, earning himself acclaim as the next great Japanese fighter.  He lost his next two fights, but they were to tough opponents (Kyshenko and Masato) so there was no great concern.  The real worry came at this time last year, when he was defeated by Gago Drago.  People began having serious doubts about Sato.  He's scored wins since then, but is again coming in off a loss, this time to Thai fighter Pajonsuk.  There's no denying the skill Sato has, but his spotty performance history in the past year has led many to believe the tag of Next Masato is beyond his reach.  Sato's opponent is another former winner looking to bounce back.  Yuya Yamamoto was an unlikely success in 2009, making it to the Final 4 behind some very exciting wins.  Again, he followed that high point up with back to back loses, first to Giorgio Petrosyan, then to Hinata.  He's bounced back with an awesome KO of Scott Shaffer in Krush, but the Hinata loss seemed to expose the fundamental weaknesses in Yamamoto's game and his inability to adjust his gameplan.  Both Yamamoto and Sato have felt the pressure of expectation, and this fight will be telling for both.

So with K-1 eyes on these men, and with Masato watching ringside, the pressure will be on.  Can one of these men capture the attention of the Japanese fans the same way Masato himself once did?  And can any of them rekindle interest in MAX?  These are the big questions to watch for on Monday.