K-1 World MAX 2011 70 KG. Japan Tournament Announced for September 25th

by Brent Ducharme on Aug 11, 2011 12:01 AM EDT in K-1 MAX News

Yuichiro Nagashima won the K-1 World MAX 2010 Japan tournament, but will he be able to repeat? (Photo courtesy of FEG Inc.)

The K-1 World MAX 2011 70 kg. Japan tournament has officially been announced for September 25th. The event date was recently pushed back a month, after originally being announced at the K-1 World MAX 2011 63 kg. Japan tournament in June.

Per the first acknowledgement of the event in June, the upcoming 70 kg. tournament looks to include Hiroki Nakajima, Yuichiro Nagashima, Yuya Yamamoto, Shintaro Matsukura, Yasuhiro Kido, and Go Yokoyama. Fans should also expect that Kenta, NJKF standout and winner of the recent Krush 70 kg. tournament, will also appear

While the K-1 MAX Japan tournament will be the focal point of the event, there are some top names set to appear in super fights as well. Albert Kraus is set to appear, as are Kizaemon Saiga and K-1 World MAX 2011 63 kg. Japan tournament winner Yuta Kubo.

Confirmation of this event happening on September 25th bolsters an already massive weekend for the sport of kickboxing, as It's Showtime will be hosting its Fast and Furious 70 kg. tournament on September 24th. While the field of competitors that we'll see in Japan may not quite rival what we'll see from It's Showtime in Belgium, this tournament is another great sign for the return of the promotion.

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Cool

I’m slowly trying to learn my K-1. Who, would you say, is the darkhorse of the tournament of those listed so far? And who are the sacrifical lambs?

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by David Castillo on Aug 11, 2011 2:02 AM EDT reply actions

Hmm... Here's the roles as I see them thus far...

Yuichiro Nagashima is a favorite, Hiroki Nakajima will be close behind in the mind of most people. Yuya Yamamoto would be in there, but his loss early in the Krush 70 kg. tournament hurts him.

Kenta is probably the dark horse pick, if it’s fair to really call him that.. he did just win the Krush 70 kg. tournament. Shintaro Matsukura falls in there too, having been the one to beat Yamamoto in that tournament.

Kido and Yokoyama are long shots at this point.

by Brent Ducharme on Aug 11, 2011 3:34 AM EDT up reply actions

Takafumi Morita, YOSHI and Yuji Nashrio were announced as participants for the event, too, but Matsukura and Nakajima weren’t. They were only announced at the -63kg tournament, so idk what’s going on there. I’d expect Morita in the main field. he’s the new RISE champion and he beat Soichiro Miyakoshi back in May when he was still the WBC Muay Thai Japan champ.

by mocavious sam on Aug 11, 2011 10:47 AM EDT reply actions