A press conference is set to be held on Thursday, at 7:00pm JST (6:00am EST) to announce the match ups for the K-1 World MAX 2011 Japan Tournament Final event on September 25th.

K-1 will be streaming the press conference live on Ustream, with Sadaharu Tanikawa handling the announcements. The promotion has also indicated that there will be English commentary offered during the press conference. Who knows how extensive that will be, but it signals at least a minimal interest in catering to international fans for the long-time kickboxing giant.

More details directly from the official K-1 website:

Fight cards announcement for "K-1 WORLD MAX 2011 -70kg Japan Tournament FINAL" will take place by Ustreaming on August 25!

K-1's event producer Sadaharu Tanikawa is going to make an announcement for the upcoming K-1 MAX. In the Ustream conference, EP Tanikawa will announce 8 participants and match ups of -70kg Japan tournament. Also some K-1 MAX single fights are announced. As a special hint, a big-name fighter is participating the tourney this year!

There will be some English commentary during the ustreaming conference. So please make sure you come on time and don't miss the program!

K-1 WORLD MAX 2011 -70kg Japan Tournament FINAL

- K-1 MAX USTREAM card announcement -

Date: 7pm, August 25th <Japan time / GMT+9 / PDT+16>
Attendant: K-1 EP Sadaharu Tanikawa
K-1's USTREAM Channel: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/k1-channel

Expected tournament participants include Hiroki Nakajima, Yuichiro Nagashima, and surprise Krush 70 kg. tournament winner Kenta. Other fighters, including one-time K-1 MAX champion Albert Kraus, have already been confirmed for non-tournament bouts.

Be sure to check out the K-1 MAX press conference and expect updates to come in soon.

[Update 1:24pm EST]

The match ups for the event were announced earlier this morning, per Nightmare of Battle:

A1. Albert Kraus vs. Yuji Nashiro

A2. Hirotaka Nakajima vs. Takafumi Morita

B1. Yuya Yamamoto vs. Shintaro Matsukura

B2. Yasuhiro Kido vs. KENTA

Tournament Reserve

Go Yokoyama vs. YOSHI

Superfights

-78kg: Yuichiro "Jienotsu" Nagashima vs. Kenmun

-63kg: Kizaemon Saiga vs. Valdrin Vatnika

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.

Although Rafi Zouheir was certainly not the big name among the competitors for the K-1 MAX tournament held today in Spain, he was able to come away atop the field at the event's conclusion. Zouheir, the Spanish representative in the Isuzu Thai Fight 2010 tournament and would-be representative for that nation in the second season of The Contender Asia, scored three successive victories on points to claim victory.

As Zouheir topped the Turkish Muay Thai champion Aydin Tuncay in the quarterfinals, Dutch fighter Nick Beljaards knocked out Rachid Belaini in the second round of their quarterfinal bout. On the other side of the bracket, Warren Stevelmans defeated Jonay Risco on points while Rafa del Toro did the same to WBC Muay Thai champion Alejandro Asumu Osa.

While Nick Beljaards may have spoiled the anticipated Belaini-Stevelmans final in the initial round of the tournament, he was ultimately the second fighter outdone by Zouheir on the night. For his part, Warren Stevelmans prevented an all-Spain final by outscoring Rafa del Toro in their semifinal bout. While Stevelemans secured his spot in the finals, Rafi Zouheir ultimately outscored the veteran to grab the tournament win.

More information as it comes, and some videos too if those become available. Expect full results to be listed in a "week in review" type post some time tomorrow.

K-1 is hosting one of its regional shows in Spain on Saturday, January 8th. The major attraction of K-1 MAX Madrid is the eight man 70kg. tournament that is scheduled. The two biggest names in the tournament are Warren Stevelmans and Rachid Belaini.

UPDATE: Evidently, the quarterfinal bouts aren't going to look like what I first heard they would. It seems Pauwels and Bassou are not competing at all and others have been switched around. Here are the new tournament match ups as I have them:

Rachid Belaini vs. Nick Beljaards

Rafi Zouheir vs. Aydin Tuncay

Alejandro Asumu Osa vs. Rafa del Toro

Warren Stevelmans vs. Jonay Risco

Stevelmans, the South African who was recently mentioned as Mohammed Medhar's opponent at the upcoming It's Showtime 46 in March, will take on Rafi Zouheir in the first round of the tournament. In the quarterfinals of the Isuzu Thai Fight 2010 tournament, Zouheir lost to eventual champion Fabio Pinca. You would also perhaps recognize Zouheir from the second season of The Contender Asia but, well, that never did end up going down.

Like Stevelmans, Mike's Gym product Rachid Belaini was also mentioned recently as a competitor at the upcoming It's Showtime 46, as he will be taking on William Diender. It was back at It's Showtime 43 that Belaini had his moment of brilliance, knocking out Kem Sitsongpeenong. In his first round bout, Belaini will be taking on the WBC Muay Thai super-welterweight kingpin, Alejandro Asumu Osa of Guinea.

Spain's Manzy Pauwels, winner of the K-1 Spain Battles 2009 70kg. tournament, will take on Hass Ait Bassou. Bassou, of the Netherlands, is a ranked by the WBC Muay Thai at super-lightweight and also holds a regional trinket as a welterweight boxer. Local fighters Rafa del Toro and Jonay Risco, who both had success at the national level as amateur kickboxers, will meet to round out the quarterfinal bouts.

The eight man tournament will be complimented by three non-tournament bouts featuring Spanish fighters. In all, this looks like it could be an enjoyable event that will be a nice warm-up for Krush on Sunday. Full list of bouts after the jump.

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While the hangover from the K-1 World Max tournament is still fresh in all of our minds, and Giorgio Petrosyan's deadly right hand is on ice, the television ratings for the K-1 World Max tournament have come out and they are less-than-favorable. The average for the show comes in at a very low 7.6% (credit: NOB), falling from last year's 10.7% for the World MAX Finals. To contrast this fully for you, the Final 8 last year pulled in a 15.0% rating.

This is not the end of the world, but if anything shows that the loss of Masato, Andy Souwer and Buakaw Por. Pramuk were much, much bigger than expected. Masato of course is the biggest loss for K-1 MAX, as there have been no Japanese stars to captivate audiences like he has. Apparently Nagashima and Sato have not been able to capture the fans' fickle attention during such a down economy in Japan.

On top of that, the ace FEG had hidden up their sleeve of Satoshi Ishii has shown to be a complete dud. Consider his leverage for contract negotiations null and void at this point and that the age of Satoshi Ishii being an important media figure all but dead. The Ishii vs. Shibata fight did draw a 12.1%, but even that is less-than-impressive.

It's becoming something of a K-1 MAX Grand Prix tradition - Giorgio Petrosyan emerges both victorious and damaged.  For the second year in a row, Giorgio Petrosyan claimed the GP crown, but injured his hand along the way. 

Initial reports had Petrosyan suffering a broken hand early in the semi-final match with Mike Zambidis.  Petrosyan visited a doctor today and discovered that his hand is not in fact broken, and he can resume training in two weeks.  Not sure if this will impact his currently scheduled December 11 bout with Pajonsuk, as this will cut Petrosyan's training time down to just 3 weeks.

Petrosyan suffered a similar hand injury last year in the Grand Prix.  At the time, the hand was indeed broken and forced the champion out of his planned New Year's Eve showdown with Masato.  He re-aggravated the injury during an It's Showtime fight with Khem Sitsonpeenong, and had to withdraw from a fight with Yoshihiro Sato as a result (although it should be noted that at the time of the scheduled Sato fight, Petrosyan's management was also very vocal about their frustration over not being paid for the 2009 GP win, and their need to be paid before Giorgio would fight for K-1 again). 

Petrosyan is such a young fighter that I hate to see him already have the kind of nagging injury that could plague him throughout his career, but at this point, it's definitely happened enough to be a recurring problem.  Hopefully he will have a speedy recovery and be back in time for the showdown with Pajonsuk.

Quick results from this morning's K-1 MAX Grand Prix:

In the final fight of the evening, reigning champion Giorgio Petrosyan defeated Yoshihiro Sato to claim his 2nd MAX GP crown.  Petrosyan was dominant throughout the tournament, combining his traditional technical mastery with a willingness to go punch for punch when needed. 

Early reports are praising Petrosyan's semi-final encounter with Mike Zambidis, calling it the fight of the night and Petrosyan's stiffest test yet in K-1.

Full results are as follows:

Giorgio Petrosyan def. Yoshihiro Sato, Un. Dec.
Yuya Yamamoto def. Seichi Ikemoto, KO Rd 2
Yoshihiro Sato def. Gago Drago, Un. Dec.
Giorgio Petrosyan def. Mike Zambidis, Un. Dec.
Yuta Kubo def. Hiroya, Un. Dec.
Yoshihiro Sato def. Michal Glogowski, Un. Dec.
Gago Drago def. Mohamed Khamal, Un. Dec.
Giorgio Petrosyan def. Albert Kraus, Un. Dec.
Mike Zambidis def. Yuichiro Nagashima, KO Rd. 3
Satoshi Ishii def. Katsuyori Shibata, Armlock Rd. 1
Hinata def. Andre Dida, Un. Dec.
Makoto Nishiyama def. Shunsuke Oishi, KO Rd. 2
Fabiano Da Silva def. Jan Kaszuba, Un. Dec.

We'll have more analysis later today.

We're less than 12 hours away from the 2010 edition of the K-1 MAX Grand Prix.  The show begins at 6:00 pm Monday Japan time, which translates to 4:00 am this morning for US fans on the east coast (though sadly it will not air on HDNet until November 19).  To get you all ready, here is our breakdown of the 11 fight card, plus our predictions.

• Hinata v. Andre Dida: This is the reserve fight for the GP.  Hinata is coming in to wrap up his break-out 2010 - a year where he scored wins over Yuya Yamamoto and Artur Kyshenko.  Dida is still cashing in on his 3 year old performances in MMA and one impressive round against Buakaw.  Watch for the Hinata train to keep rolling here. 
• Satoshi Ishii v. Katsuyori Shibata (Dream rules): For some extra MMA insight, here's Leland Rolling from BloodyElbow: "Satoshi Ishii is far from a complete mixed martial artist or a radiant star in the heavyweight prospect scene. In fact, he may never live up to the ridiculous hype that's been put on his shoulders. His stand-up is his most glaring weakness, but he remains threatening on the ground, mostly in a control game from top control. Shibata has looked absolutely awful in recent performances, and his most recent against Yoshiyuki Nakanishi was the icing on the cake of disappointment. A glance at that fight tells the story for this one. Ishii should be able to gain top control frequently and batter Shibata to victory. Satoshi Ishii via decision."
• Mike Zambidis v. Yuichiro "Jienotsu" Nagashima:  This is a fascinating clash between two wildly inconsistent fighters.  Most fans are picking Zambidis, as he is coming in off a spectacular win over Chahid at the Final 16, and is currently riding a 3 fight win streak.  Nagashima is on his own 4 fight win streak, but did not impress at the Final 16 with a somewhat lackluster win over Dida.  The real question for me is, which Nagashima shows up?  If it's the skilled, precise puncher we saw at this year's Japan GP, he can use movement to outbox the heavy hitting Zambo.  If it's the unfocused fighter who lost to Xu Yan last year, Zambo will steamroll him.  I still think the reinvented Nagashima shows up and takes this in a high quality boxing showdown.
• Giorgio Petrosyan v. Albert Kraus: A rematch from last year's Final 8, and one I talked about more yesterday.  Petrosyan easily won this last year; Petrosyan easily wins this this year.
• Gago Drago v. Mohamed Khamal: Predicting a Drago fight is a maddening experience.  Pair him with a top ranked fighter who should defeat him and Drago pulls off the shocking win (Pajonsuk, Sato).  Pair him with an over-matched opponent that Drago should be able to run through and he's likely to be upset.  He looked amazing in his crushing KO of Su Hwan Lee, but Khamal's upset win over Artur Kyshenko was highly impressive as well.  Logic says Drago, but I think Khamal is going to continue surprising people.  I'm going with my gut, and taking Khamal.
  
• Yoshihiro Sato v. Michal Glogowski: Once the heir apparent to Masato, Sato has since had that status taken away - a fact he is painfully aware of.  Just this week he stated that Ishii being on this card was necessary because Sato was a disappointment as Japan's representative.  That's just sad.  As hard as he is on himself, Sato is still a very accomplished fighter, with excellent technique and patience that pays off more often than not.  I don't see him having much trouble with Glogowski, who has the least K-1 experience of the Final 8 field.  Sato takes this.
  
• Yuta Kubo v. Hiroya: When the 63kg division started this year, it was widely assumed that it was primarily a showcase division for Hiroya.  When high school graduation got in the way, that didn't happen, and Hiroya has been out of action for nearly a year.  He's back now, and facing an incredibly stiff test.  Kubo was a finalist at the K-1 GP, a finalist at the Krush 2009 GP, and is one of the all around top 63kg fighters in the world.  He's able to really read his opponents impeccably - combine that with Hiroya's layoff and I see this as a Kubo victory.
• Semi-Final #1: I have this as Petrosyan v. Nagashima, but Nagashima or Zambidis, it makes no difference as I see it.  Petrosyan is just on a completely different level from both.  There's always the proverbial puncher's chance (particularly for Zambo), but it would be an astronomical upset for Petrosyan to lose here.
• Semi-Final #2: This is Sato v. Khamal in my books.  Sato is the obvious pick, but those continued comments about his lack of worth give me pause.  A fighter needs confidence, and if Sato is still doubting himself, that's going to hurt him.  I'm taking the upset here and going with Khamal.
• Yuya Yamamoto v. Seichi Ikemoto: A little palate-cleanser before the finals, this could go one of two ways.  If Ikemoto is game, we could see another one of the action-packed brawls Yuya loves to put on.  But in his K-1 debut, MMA fighter Ikemoto might be more tentative and sloppy, leading to a plodding affair.  K-1 has had it's share of underqualified fighters showing up and stinking up the joint this year - Watanabe v. Miyata and Komiyama v. Murahama both leap to mind.  Why we need another sub-par failed Dream fighter clogging up the MAX ranks is anybody's guess.  I'm hoping for a swift Yamamoto KO to send Ikemoto packing.
• GP Finals: I've got this as Petrosyan v. Khamal, and here's where I see Khamal's underdog run coming to an end.  I outlined it yesterday, but I just don't see anyone getting in the way of a Petrosyan repeat.  Whether it's Khamal, Sato, Drago, or even Glogowski across the ring at the end of the night, when the confetti falls, I expect it to be falling on the head of Giorgio Petorysan, the first back-to-back Grand Prix champion in K-1 MAX history.

For more on the MAX Grand Prix, check out the always excellent preview videos on K-1's YouTube channel, and check back tomorrow for more coverage.