K-1 MAX WGP 2009 Final 8
Eight men fought for a place in the K-1MAX World Grand Prix Final on the 13th July at Budokan Arena in Tokyo. The victors Buakaw, Souwer, Petrosyan and Yamamoto will meet on the 26th October to contest the Final. It was a bad night for MMA fighters Kid Yamamoto, Tatsuya Kawajiri and Atsushi Yamamoto how all lost by stoppage
Drago vs. Yuya Yamamoto
Round 1:
Yuya starts the round off nicely, working well off his leading leg, mixing his targets up and down DRAGO’s right side.DRAGO doesn’t appear to be throwing as much, but he misses with two or three uppercuts before landing 2 left hooks. They don’t faze the gutsy Japanese fighter though, so DRAGO throws in a solid high kick and some right hooks to the jaw to see how he likes them. He didn’t like them at all, and in fact he stumbled a few steps. Smelling blood, DRAGO flurries to finish things, but Yuya manages to hold on, and even starts to recover as the round ends.
Round 2:
DRAGO comes out looking to end this fight in round 2, and incorporates a grunt that would make even Serena Williams proud in an attempt to do so.He lands one hook after another, and a knee to the jaw, though as has come to be expected of Yuya, he just keeps coming.And coming. Landing not only his lead leg kicks anymore, but his own clean high-kick and some colossal combinations to have DRAGO covered in the corner hoping the clock ticking down the remaining seconds of the round would starting ticking at triple time.
Round 3:
DRAGO knows he has to win the final round, and Yuya is not cooperating at all.
The Armenian fighter is hitting Yuya with absolutely everything he has; yet he is having no success in even slowing the Japanese fighter down.In fact, Yuya seems to be picking up pace every time he gets hit, and DRAGO has absolutely no answer for his pace, or his amazing chin. After a barrage of straight lefts and rights that seems to go on forever, the referee steps in to stop the fight for a cut check as Drago is bleeding.The fight is restarted and Drago gives what little he has left in his tank, but he is spent and Yuya, despite what the damage to his face would have you believe, is fighting as fresh as if it was still round 1.
Giorgio Petrosyan vs. Albert Kraus
Round 1:
The round begins with both fighters clearly respectful of the others’ abilities. They both feel out their distance, and Giorgio starts to teep and throw some very solid low kicks.Kraus is fighting a little stiffer than usual, and I suspect his work-rate is far below what it is usually. When he has thrown, Giorgio has managed to avoid any of them landing and has countered each with a blow or two of his own.
Round 2:
Kraus picks up the pace in this round, though that also means he gets counter attacked far more often than in the first round.Giorgio is showing what slipping and ducking a punch while countering is all about, and even when Kraus tries to turn it into a brawl he comes off looking like he is swatting at flies for the most part, while being hit once or twice himself.
Round 3:
Giorgio quickly gets Kraus’s attention up high before attacking his legs with some kicks. He then repeated the exact same process with punches and knees, before going back to slipping and countering again.Kraus seems to be getting frustrated as he just cannot seem to land anything, and Giorgio takes advantage of that emotion with some offensive boxing of his own. It is clear just how confident the Italian fighter is of not being hit when he throws in a spinning kick for good measure.While this fight might not have been the most exciting to watch for some fans, those that appreciate the art of technique will absolutely love it.
Artur Kyshenko vs. Andy Souwer
Round 1:
Artur comes out looking very light on his toes, and throwing many faints before committing to his shots. He is mixing up his hands with teeps and low kicks fluently, while Souwer is, as usual, blocking a lot but not being very aggressive in the opening round.That changes when Artur sweeps him to the mat hard. Andy gets up and lands a solid right, only to be swatted with an equally hard left within a second. Artur appears to have a small cut on his eyelid, and Souwer a swollen eye as the round ends.
Round 2:
Both fighters are fighting at full pace now, and they are two of the best in the game. Souwer is working Artur’s cut, while every combination Artur seems to throw ends with a very respectable body shot.This is a beautiful round to witness. Technique, speed and shear balls. Neither fighter willing to move back or take one shot without offering two of their own.Andy’s guard is dropping a little, so that body shot of Artur’s must be taking effect, though he is bleeding more now too.The round ends giving them both a chance to recover.
Round 3:
There is no slowing down for either of these men. Nor is there any backing down. Artur is finding success with his left hook and high kick combination, and Andy is slipping what he can and offering hooks and uppercuts followed with his typical low kick at the end.That low kick seems to be paying off, as Artur does seem to be favoring his leg slightly, and stumbles when his weight is on it slightly just as the final bell rings.
Extra Round:
Artur comes out looking a little tired, though throws 5 kicks and some punches before Andy lands a single low kick. He seems to then try to play the counter fighter until Andy nails him with a high kick followed by another low.Andy’s stamina and defense look as good as ever here, and he picks apart Artur’s legs.Artur throws, and lands, a spinning back-fist and turns that into a nice flurry to end the round, but it wasn’t quite enough to seal it as his own, and Andy takes the victory.
Nieky Holzken vs. Buakaw Por.Pramuk
Round 1:
The round starts with a bang after Buakaw unceremoniously sweeps Nieky high, and dumps him on his back. Once it is restarted, he paws out his left hand while throwing what appear to be half-speed mid and low kicks. Nieky is game though, and not only throws a long right and uppercut several times, but he mixes in some spinning kicks that almost land solidly twice in this round..
Round 2:
Nieky starts out jabbing, and Buakaw does the equivalent for a Thai with his teep.The Golden Glory fighter is doing rather well with his hands, though his mid-section is taking a pounding from Buakaw’s knees and kicks, and as usual, he is proving rather hard to land a solid shot to the jaw on.In the final 15 seconds or so it seems those shots to the body as starting to add up, though Nieky fires back with a nice flurry to end the round.
Round 3:
Not as flashy as the start to the first round, though this one also has another sweep from the Thai fighter putting Nieky down. Buakaw seems happy to just stick to his bread and butter teeps and mid kicks, as frankly, Nieky is having trouble finding a way around them.Even though Nieky is doing his best with his hands, he isn’t landing them cleanly at all. Those teeps and knees are landing over and over though, and Buakaw is finally announced the winner at the end of this round.
Jae Hee Chean vs. Norifumi “KID” Yamamoto
Round 1:
KID immediately rushes across the ring to throw some shots, though Jae isn’t flustered at all, and lands a nice left of his own.On the ropes, KID drills Jae with a right hook that seems to hurt him, and KID rushes in to finish him off. He makes the mistake of throwing exactly the same right hook five times in a row trying to take the Korean’s head off, and gets countered hard with a classic right uppercut followed by a left hook that causes him to face-plant. He struggles to get up, but it is clearly only his central nervous system reacting to his will to win, and thankfully the referee stops the fight.
Kazuhisa Watanabe vs. Atsushi Yamamoto
Round 1:
Like his trainer KID, Yamamoto wastes no time is closing the distance once the bell rings. After landing several teeps, Watanabe points to his stomach and invites KID’s number one student to kick him again. Yamamoto tries, and eventually gets clipped with a wild swing and goes down. Being a MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) fighter, he then shoots in to tackle Watanabe and they both end up on the mat. After it is restarted Watanabe rushes Yamamoto and lands several more wild haymakers that drop Yamamoto in the corner. One or two even after he was on one knee.Thinking he had won the fight, and forgetting that in MAX they have a 10-count, Watanabe then jumps on the ropes celebrating his victory, only the be shocked when the count was finished and the fight restarted. After that restart he immediately drilled Yamamoto with a straight for another down to earn a win with 3 knockdowns. Whether it was his MMA training again, or just the fact he didn’t want to see Watanabe on the ropes is anyone’s guess, but Yamamoto then tackled Watanabe once more, holding him down.
Masato vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri
Round 1:
Masato comes in for a low kick and almost gets caught with a hook. He backs out and lands a right hook of his own.Masato is trying to land the low kicks, while Kawajiri times his counter punches. Tatsuya is getting caught by Masato’s punches in the process, though he has only just missed with several fight-ending bombs of his own.
Kawajiri tries a fancy front, gets counter perfectly and goes down for a count. After the restart he tries to punch his way out of trouble, but ends up falling just as the bell rings ending the round.
Round 2:
Kawajiri rushes in and gets counted again. It looks like the writing is on the wall when he lands his own shot and Masato backs up. Kawajiri is all over him trying to take advantage of any damage, and walks into some shots of his own, turing it into a brawl. Having a stand up brawl with a 2-time MAX Champion is never a good idea though, and Kawajiri soon learnt this the hard way when Masato gets him on the ropes and beats on him until Kawajiri’s corner threw the towel. It may have been a second too late, as Kawajiri then dropped to the ground.
Masato subsequently took to the microphone and announced in English “I am champion” before going on to say he would train his hardest for his fight at Dynamite on December 31, 2009.
15 July 2009
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