Koya Urabe and Masaaki Noiri lead the pack as Krush has announced half of the participants for its sixteen-man, 63 kg. Supernova Tournament. The tournament, which will showcase fighters under the age of 22, is scheduled for October 10th at Shinjuku Face.

Despite losing in the finals of both the Krush 63 kg. Tournament and the K-1 World MAX 2011 63 kg. Japan Tournament, Koya Urabe continues to be central to the discussion of who the division's best fighter may be in Japan. Neither of Urabe's tournament losses on the year have done much to detract from his standing in the division. In fact, the K-1 63 kg. MAX Japan tournament gave Urabe a certain aura of resilience, as he took a massive amount of damaging leg kicks in his quarterfinal bout against Yuki, subsequently topped Tetsuya Yamato for a second time, and then fought a competitive final against Yuta Kubo.

For Masaaki Noiri, his inclusion in the Krush Supernova Tournament signals that he may be sticking around at 63 kg. Noiri was a semifinalist in the Krush 60 kg. Tournament before moving up to 63 kg. for the K-1 Japan event in June. There, Noiri again made it to the semifinal round, where he lost to eventual tournament winner Yuta Kubo. At just 18 years old, Noiri holds a great deal of potential, and his K-1 Koshien win in 2009 gives him credentials to match.

The other six tournament competitors announced by Krush are: Sho Ogawa, Shimpei Keita, Tsukasa Fuji, Daizo Sasaki, Kengo Sonoda, and Fumiya Osawa.

Look for the other eight competitors for the Krush Supernova Tournament to be released soon.

Initial details have come in a Krush event scheduled for next month, and it is evident that the Japanese kickboxing promotion is looking to continue building on a strong showing in early 2011.

Scheduled for August 14th, Krush.11 will feature multiple championship bouts and an appearance from promotional 55 kg. champion Shota Takiya.

In a move that speaks to Krush's willingness to operate alongside other organizations, Krush.11 will also host two ISKA title bouts. Former AJKF champion and Krush 55 kg. tournament competitor Nobuchika Terado will be featured in one of the two ISKA title bouts, while RISE standout Keiji Ozaki will be featured in another.

It seems that Krush will have a pretty solid set of bouts coming up through the course of the next month. The promotion will complete their fourth championship tournament of the year next weekend, as the semifinal and final rounds of their 70 kg. bracket will be hosted on July 16th. That event will feature semifinal bouts pitting Hiroki Nakajima against Kenta and Shintaro Matsukura against Yutaro Yamauchi, as well as an appearance by promotional 60 kg. champion Hirotaka Urabe.

Through the first half of 2011, Japanese kickboxing promotion Krush has done considerable work in establishing the next generation of domestic kickboxing talent. Krush has also been busy crowning champions in a number of divisions through eight-man tournaments.

Thus far, the promotion has seen Shota Takiya shock Shootboxing favorite Ryuya Kusakabe to take the 55 kg. crown, Hirotaka Urabe dominate a final to win at 60 kg., and Ryuji Kajiwara defy a much younger field of competitors to stand atop 63 kg.

Krush's 70 kg. division will receive a champion, perhaps in similar fashion, on July 16th.

Early tournament favorite Hiroki Nakajima will meet NJKF veteran Kenta in the first semifinal bout of the evening, while the upstart Shintaro Matsukura will square off against Yutaro Yamauchi in the other.

A final between Nakajima and Matsukura is anticipated, and the July 16th event should serve as a solid preview of the K-1 MAX Japan tournament planned for some time later this year. Both Hiroki Nakajima and Shintaro Matsukura have been announced as competitors for that tournament, as have fellow Krush competitor Yuya Yamamoto, K-1 MAX veteran Yuichiro Nagashima, Yasuhiro Kido, and Go Yokoyama.

The July event will also feature Hirotaka Urabe squaring off against a Chinese Muay Thai champion and a number of other non-tournament bouts.

Krush began the quest to crown another divisional champion over the weekend, as the promotion's 70 kg. tournament began on Sunday in Japan.

Tournament favorite Hiroki Nakajima knocked out YOSHI to secure the lone stoppage victory of the opening round. Nakajima has struggled a bit since making it to the final round of the K-1 World MAX 2010 Japan tournament, though his three consecutive losses leading into Sunday's event came to Yuichiro Nagashima, Albert Kraus, and Buakaw Por. Pramuk.

Shintaro Matsukura was also able to advance to the semifinal round with a decision victory over K-1 MAX veteran Yuya Yamamoto. Yamamoto, a semifinalist at the K-1 World MAX 2009 tournament, won back-to-back bouts against Masakazu Watanabe and Akihiro Gono earlier in the year under the Krush banner. While Matsukura's win is definitely an upset, the K-1 Koshien 2009 champion must look ahead to the opportunity to establish himself among the small grouping of Japan's elite 70 kg. kickboxers. A potential tournament bout against Nakajima would certainly provide that opportunity for Matsukura.

The other tournament quarterfinals saw Yutaro Yamauchi avenge a knockout loss in defeating Yuji Nashiro by decision, while NJKF standout Kenta came out ahead of Masakazu Watanabe.

Krush's 70 kg. tournament is set to conclude on a July 16th card which will also feature the promotion's newly-crowned 60 kg. champion, Hirotaka Urabe.

Keep an eye out for more news related to Krush and the 70 kg. tournament, as well as any fight videos that may pop up in the near future.

When it comes to Japanese kickboxing events, sometimes you've got to wait months to get fight videos online. Other times it's a matter of weeks, perhaps even days. Fortunately, Krush's April 30th event was quickly broadcast in Japan by Gaora and the fight videos have made their way online. They've been online for a couple days now, but here's hoping that fans will still appreciate a pretty comprehensive look at the night's important tournament action.

Krush Triple Final delivered solid action as expected, while also turning most everything we thought we knew about the three divisions represented that night on its head. None of the three tournament favorites walked away victorious; Koya Urabe lost in the 63 kg. final, Masaaki Noiri ate a huge hook in his 60 kg. semifinal bout, and Ryuya Kusakabe was dispatched in the 55 kg. final.

Tournament victors Ryuji Kajiwara, Hirotaka Urabe, and Shota Takiya are all solid fighters but lack the sort hype that any of the anticipated winners came in with. Plainly, Kajiwara is likely to be dismissed as old by many fans while Urabe and Takiya have been fighting in the shadow of others. For Hirotaka Urabe, it would be his brother Koya. For Shota Takiya, it would certainly be the 55 kg. favorite Ryuya Kusakabe. Regardless, all three fighters were able to secure victory and become champions in divisions where much of the important action really is still happening in Japan.

The videos of the fights that are available are posted below. We'll begin by taking a look at the 63 kg. tournament action.

Koya Urabe vs. Takuya Shirahama (63 kg. semifinal): Koya Urabe did what was expected in his 63 kg. semifinal bout against Takuya Shirahama: he went out there and won. Nothing spectacular, but the tournament favorite did enough to secure victory and moved on.

Ryuji Kajiwara vs. Kizaemon Saiga (63 kg. semifinal): Ryuji Kajiwara advanced to the 63 kg. final with a sound victory over Kizaemon Saiga. Saiga has plenty of qualities that will keep him relevant, but we can only hope that the young fighter will round out his game a bit.

After the jump, the 63 kg. final and the available fight videos for both the 60 kg. and 55 kg. tournaments.

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Japanese kickboxing got a real boost as the Krush Triple Final event took place in Tokyo on Saturday. The event, which crowned promotional champions at the 63 kg., 60 kg., and 55 kg. weight limits, featured a number of established veterans and touted prospects in both tournament and non-tournament bouts. The main attraction was surely the 63 kg. tournament finals, as Koya Urabe looked to further solidify himself as the 63 kg. kingpin, having defeated Tetsuya Yamato just a couple bouts ago. Masaaki Noiri and Ryuya Kusakabe were the biggest names in the 60 kg. and 55 kg. fields respectively, though they certainly had stiff competition to look forward to. The biggest non-tournament bout of the evening pitted mixed martial arts veteran Akihiro Gono against K-1 World MAX 2009 semifinalist Yuya Yamamoto.

The first 63 kg. semifinal saw Kizaemon Saiga matched up with Ryuji Kajiwara. Kajiwara seems to have been just one step ahead of the young Saiga in the bout, ultimately securing a decision victory over the K-1 63 kg. Japan Tournament semifinalist. Tournament favorite Koya Urabe also took a decision victory in the semifinal round, reportedly employing effective defense en route to a clear win over Takuya Shirahama.

It was the 63 kg. final which offered the biggest surprise of the evening. While the bout is reported to have been well fought, Ryuji Kajiwara used an effective jab and managed to floor Koya Urabe in the second round en route to a majority decision victory. The 34-year-old Kajiwara, who seems to have expressed a desire to face Tetsuya Yamato after the bout, became champion following scorecards which read 29-28, 30-28, and 28-28.

The first 60 kg. semifinal saw 2009 K-1 Koshien 60 kg. champion Masaaki Noiri matched up with Yuji Takeuchi. The bout, which by all reports seems to have been action-packed, was ultimately decided as Takeuchi floored the young Noiri with a left hook late in the final round. The other 60 kg. semifinal saw Hirotaka Urabe defeat Dynamite Yuta via majority decision, scorecards reading 30-29, 29-28, 30-30.

Hirotaka Urabe did his best to come from out the shadow of his brother Koya in the 60 kg. final. Yuji Takeuchi, having already managed to spoil the anticipated run of Masaaki Noiri, was quickly sent packing by Urabe, who landed a head kick early in the first round to secure Krush's 60 kg. title.

The first 55 kg. semifinal bout, which pitted Shota Takiya against KENJI, ended up going to an extension round before a winner was declared. Takiya ultimately prevailed in the battle of the two 22-year-old fighters, advancing to the tournament final against the winner of the bout between Ryuya Kusakabe and Hiroaki Mizuhara. It was to be Ryuya Kusakabe that Takiya would meet in the final, as Kusakabe secured a decision victory over Mizuhara with scorecards of 30-29, 30-29, and 30-28.

With the semifinals complete, Ryuya Kusakabe was well on the way to completing his expected tournament win. The young Shootboxing champion entered the tournament the favorite and delivered back in December in an absolute slugfest against Nobuchiko Terado. While Shota Takiya did not have the same buzz as his 18-year-old opponent, both fighters cut their teeth on the K-1 Koshien circuit in 2008 and 2009. Kusakabe and Takiya battled it out for two rounds in the final bout before it suddenly ended in the third. When the dust settled, the 55 kg. title did not belong to Kusakabe, as reports indicate that the Shootboxing champion was floored by Takiya, who then swarmed his opponent and finished the bout with a head kick.

Akihiro Gono and Yuya Yamamoto competed in one of the evening's non-tournament bouts, the two fighters exchanging blows over the course of three rounds. Gono, who entered the bout having been the only fighter failing to make weight, was simply unable to overcome the offensive prowess of Yamamoto, the latter employing body shots and leg kicks effectively en route to a decision win.

Japanese kickboxing promotion Krush has announced the postponement of the Krush First Generation Kings Tournament Triple Final event originally scheduled for this Saturday, March 19th. While having tried to move forward with the event as planned, it seems the promotion has finally opted to move the date in light of the broader situation in Japan and, more directly, the resulting damage to the event's venue, Korakuen Hall. The event is now scheduled to take place on April 30th.

The Krush Triple Final event is set to host the semifinal and final bouts in the promotion's three ongoing tournaments, in the 55 kg., 60 kg., and 63 kg. weight classes. The three tournaments will feature a lot of Japanese domestic talents, with Shootboxing champion Ryuya Kusakabe scheduled to face Hiroaki Mizuhara and Kenji facing Shota Takiya in the 55 kg. tournament. 2009 K-1 Koshien champion Masaaki Noiri will face Yuji Takeuchi in one 60 kg. semifinal, while Hirotaka Urabe will meet Dynamite Yuta in the other. The 63 kg. semifinals will feature the brash Kizaemon Saiga taking on Ryuji Kajiwara while divisional favorite Koya Urabe will meet Takuya Shirahama.

It will certainly be interesting to see how a few of the details surrounding this event end up being hashed out.

First and foremost, 55 kg. semifinalist Ryuya Kusakabe was among the participants announced for the April 23rd Shootboxing event at the promotion's first major event in February. Announced alongside Andy Souwer and RENA as participants for the event, Kusakabe's importance in Shootboxing should be evident.

What's more, Krush already had plans to initiate a 70 kg. tournament at an event on April 30th. No word on whether that will be postponed or if we will just see one huge event. If the latter, I would expect the bout between Yuya Yamamoto and Akihiro Gono, originally scheduled as one of the super fights for this Saturday, to become a tournament quarterfinal.

Japanese kickboxing promotion Krush has announced that Akihiro Gono will make his return to kickboxing at Krush's Triple Final Round event on March 19th, as he will meet Yuya Yamamoto in a 70kg. superfight.

Yamamoto's inclusion at the event was recently announced and, as promised, Krush relayed the news of his opponent at a press conference Friday, amid the promotion's release of their Krush 2010 DVD.

Nightmare of Battle reports:

K-1 World MAX 2009 Final 4 Yuya Yamamoto’s March 19th "Krush The First Championship Tournament ~Triple Final Round~" superfight opponent was announced at the public press conference today and it is Former All-Japan Kickboxing Heavyweight champion, PRIDE veteran, and recent Lightweight convert Akihiro Gono.

Gono made the move to lightweight at Sengoku Raiden Championship 14, surprising many fans by dropping a wide decision to Mongolian K-1 MAX veteran Jadamba Narantungalag. We know that Narantungalag is no easy opponent though, as highlighted by his background and continued display of skill in knocking out Kazunori Yokota.

For his part, Yamamoto had quite the knockout against Masakazu Watanabe at the earlier Krush event in January. Although Yamamoto is 2-3 in his last five bouts, those losses have come against Giorgio Petrosyan, Hinata, and Yoshihiro Sato. Before encoutering Petrosyan in the K-1 World MAX 2009 Final, Yamamoto held tournament wins against South Korean Chi Bin Lim and the consistently exciting, consistently inconsistent Gago Drago.

The event will of course be headlined by the conclusion of the promotion's three ongoing tournaments, at the 55kg., 60kg., and 63kg. weight limits.