K-1 Champion Tetsuya Yamato Dethroned at Krush

A lot of K-1's focus this year was on their inaugural 63kg Grand Prix, and while that event provided some fantastic fights and one of the best cards of the year in the finals, the whole 63kg division has been looked down somewhat.  Many fans view the Japanese 63kg division as weak, and look at GP champion Tetsuya Yamato as something of a paper champ.  Well, more fuel was added to that fire earlier today, as Yamato was defeated soundly by former Koshien fighter Koya Urabe in the main event of Krush.10.  Urabe scored a unanimous decision win, which included a knockdown in the first round.

Urabe, as fans may recall, was a participant in the 63kg GP, but after winning his opening round fight, he was not invited into the Final 8 - a victim of K-1's strange plan to have an excess of opening round competitors.  With this win, Urabe makes a clear case that K-1 made a mistake and that, for all intents and purposes, he is the rightful Grand Prix champion.  Huge win for the young fighter here.  Many have called Urabe a future champion, and at Krush.10, he helped solidify that opinion.

The semi-main event featured Urabe's brother, Hirotaka Urabe, taking on the current K-1 Koshien champion Masaaki Noiri.  Noiri has been on fire this year, and this fight was no different, as he scored a decision win over Hirotaka.

Also on the card were K-1 fighters Keiji Ozaki and Shunsuke Oishi, both of whom were triumphant in their fights.