K-1 Dynamite! Fights Announced
by Robert Sargent
Setting the stages for its annual "Premium Dynamite!" New Year's Eve show, DREAM and K-1 parent company FEG has begun to announce fights for the stellar MMA and kickboxing event, including a rumoured bout between Eddie Alvarez and Shinya Aoki.
The MMA portion of the card will finally pit Japanese legends Kazushi "The Gracie Hunter" Sakuraba and Kiyoshi Tamura against one another, with Aoki vs Alvarez as another top fight.
While the show will be billed under the K-1 banner, rather than DREAM, there will be a steady influence from the new DREAM promotion. Though the bout has not yet been officially confirmed, a battle between Aoki and Alvarez, the co-runners-up in the DREAM Lightweight Grand Prix, could have major title implications for DREAM's 2009 season.
Whether Alvarez's knockout power would be enough to overcome the tactical submission wizardry of Aoki remains to be seen. Should the fight go ahead as rumoured, it could prove to be one of the best on the card.
First rumoured to be facing Caol Uno, Japanese standout Tatsuya "Crusher" Kawajiri will instead compete in a K-1 rules kickboxing match on the card. Similarly, after being unable to come to terms with the ever-controversial Yoshihiro Akiyama, DREAM Middleweight Grand Prix Champion Gegard "Young Vagabond" Mousasi will also compete in a kickboxing match, rather than an MMA fight.
A rematch between heavyweights Alistair "Demolition Man" Overeem and Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipović is set to take place on the MMA portion of the card, though Overeem has recently accused Filipovć of ducking him and having no interest in receiving another beating.
Other fighters scheduled to be a part of the event, either in MMA or kickboxing bouts, include featherweight phenom Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto, multi-time K-1 World Grand Prix Champion Semmy "High Tower" Schilt, Yoshihiro Akiyama, Hong Man Choi and "Marvellous" Melvin Manhoef.
Though New Year's Eve in Japan will be without the best fighter in the world, Fedor Emelianenko, for the first time since 2002, the annual event will carry on without him and should prove to be among the best events of 2008.
