Saturday, 25 May 2013 05:37

A picture often says a thousand words, and for 23 year old Yuta Kubo, this picture explains exactly what he did last night. Kubo was definitely not the favorite going in, but looking back, he should have been on the radar. [source]

Saturday, 25 May 2013 05:37

The K-1 World Max 2011 -63kg Japan Tournament will be streaming live at 2:30 EST/11:30 PST. An eight man -63kg tournament featuring names such as Koya Urabe, Tetsuya Yamato and Yuta Kubo will fill most of the card. Along with the tournament, a super fight between long time K-1 MAX competitors Yoshihiro Sato and Albert Kraus will be fought at -70kg. You can watch the fight on K-1's Youtube channel, Ustream channel or Facebook page. Click on each one for links.If you'd like play by play, we'll be on twitter at @LiverKickdotcom or @rianscalia. Enjoy what's sure to be an action packed event.

Reserve Fight #1:

Toshiki Taniyama defeats Yuto Watanabe by Unanimous Decision in an Extra Round.

Reserve Fight #2:

Koji Yoshimoto defeats Shohei Asahara by Unanimous Decision in an Extra Round.

Quarter Final #1:

Tetsuya Yamato defeats HIROYA by Unanimous Decision.

Quarter Final #2:

Koya Urabe defeats Yuki by Majority Decision.

Quarter Final #3:

Yuta Kubo defeats Kizaemon Saiga by Majority Decision.

Quarter Final #4:

Masaaki Noiri defeats Ryuji Kajiwara by Split Decision in an Extra Round.

Semi Final #1:

Koya Urabe defeats Tetsuya Yamato by Unanimous Decision.

Semi Final #1:

Yuta Kubo defeats Masaaki Noiri by Unanimous Decision.

Super Fight:

Yoshihiro Sato defeats Albert Kraus by Majority Decision.

Final:

Saturday, 25 May 2013 05:37

It's Showtime officially sent out a press release today regarding their draws for their Fast and Furious 70kg MAX tournament, the draw takes place in Brussels, Belgium on June 30th at 1pm Eastern. [source]

Saturday, 25 May 2013 05:37

With this weekend's K-1 -63kg Tournament, I thought it would be appropriate to rank the fighters in terms of their chances of winning the tournament. Tetsuya Yamato entered the tournament last year as a relative unknown and powered his way through the tournament, concluding with an all-action final against Yuta Kubo in one of 2010's FOTY candidates. This year's field is comprised of eight of the very best Lightweights in Japan, all of whom have the legitimate ability to take this year's throne. Who are this year's favorites? Who are this year's dark horses? Who will reign supreme? We'll find out on June 25th, but for now, here's my speculation as to who's who in the -63kg division.

1. Yuta Kubo - In the two major lightweight tournaments Kubo has been in, he made it to the finals of both. Unfortunately for him, he lost both as a result of a 3rd round knockdown and a 3rd round knockout in fights he was presumably winning, at the hands of Masahiro Yamamoto and Tetsuya Yamato, respectively. However, in the lead up to both of those finals and even in the finals themselves, Kubo displayed high level technique, accompanied with power, dispatching  the likes of Naoki Ishikawa, leg kick wizard DJ Taiki, Keiji Ozaki and Yoshimichi Matsumoto, the last of which by spectacular KO. Kubo fell to Yamato in the exciting finals of last year's -63kg GP, seeming to have simply run out of steam in the third round of their fight. Despite his tournament finals shortcomings, Kubo brings to the table a variety of deceptive, powerful kicks and the hands to set them up, culminating in the ability to reach yet another tournament final. However this time, I feel it is his for the taking.

2. Koya Urabe - Just three months ago, it would seem ludicrous to not have Urabe as the tournament favorite. He was the king without a crown, being left out of last year's Final 8 despite winning his Final 22(16?) match quite handily. Then, in September of last year, after Tetsuya Yamato's tournament victory, Urabe dismantled the K-1 Champion over the course of three rounds, earning a decisive victory, leading many to call for his standing as the true K-1 Champion. After a close fight against rising sensation Sung Hyun Lee in the quarterfinals of the Krush 63kg Tournament and a relatively easy win over Takuya Shirahama in the semis, Urabe looked poised to stay atop the scene at 63kg before being upset by Ruyji Kajiwara in the finals. Urabe's strengths are his hands, which may be the best among the tournament field, and his defense, both of which make him a considerable favorite over his first round opponent Yuki. Revenge is on Urabe's mind, but will he be able to enact it? Only time will tell.

Saturday, 25 May 2013 05:37

I don't even know what to say about this. Watch it. Marvel.