News K-1 announces return of the famous WGP + launch of global expansion, also plans to get back into MMA

Did you grow up watching K-1 WGP and PRIDE FC?

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After years of limiting themselves to the Japanese market, K-1 is making its return to the international stage.

This means we'll see some changes from the system we've had in place these past few years:

- Carlos Kikuta replaces Takumi Nakamura as the company's producer.
- The K-1 World GP branding will refer to weightclasses 90 kgs and above.
- K-1 WGP will have an international elimination system.
- The K-1 World MAX branding is returning and will refer to weightclasses below 90 kgs.
- K-1 MAX will be more Japan-based.
- K-1's main partner will be Kyokushin Kaikan/IKO1/Matsui group, which is the world's largest Kyokushin organisation.
- K-1 is also partnering with multiple international promotions like KOK and WGP.
- KOK will host one of the K-1 WGP elimination tournaments in 2024.
- Other tournaments are expected in the US, France, Korea, Thailand, China, Brazil and (presumably) Romania.

The first event after the K-1 rebranding takes place on September 10th in the Yokohama Arena.

This event will feature:

55kg Championship Bout
- Akihiro Kaneko vs. Masashi Kumura 3

8-Man Open Weight Tournament
- Michał Turyński (KOK Champion)
- Ariel Machado (Glory veteran, current WGP Champion)
- Valentin Bordianu (DFS veteran)
- Liu Ce (WLF)
- Mahmoud Sattari (K-1 Japan veteran, Krush Champion)
- TBA
- TBA
- TBA

Event Thread

Additionally, K-1 is partnering with Kazushi Sakuraba and his QUINTET organisation to promote Team Grappling events.
After a 5 year hiatus, QUINTET is making a comeback of its own.

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Some details were announced:

- QUINTET.4 (their first comeback event) will start after the K-1 Yokohama card ends at the same venue.
- K-1 Yokohama and QUINTET.4 cards will have separate ticket sales.
- Sakuraba is the CEO of QUINTET and will be captaining a team of his own.
- Other team captains include Eddie Bravo, Gregor Gracie and John Danaher.
- Akira Maeda (Puroresu legend, MMA promoter and former HERO'S producer) will act as supervisor.
- QUINTET will have its own World GP.
- There are plans for a QUINTET World Cup featuring national teams.
- Their goal is to partner up with the Japanese Judo Federation.
- Sakuraba's son Taisei will make his pro grappling debut here against Masato Uchishiba.
- The card will also feature a women's fight.

Event Thread

U-NEXT, ABEMA and GAORA are partners of #K1ReBIRTH and #QUINTETreStart.
International broadcast details will be announced at a later moment.

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Props to @Loriquero , @Shadess and Daniel Dziubicki for sharing the main bullet points.
 
BoxerMaurits said:
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OOOHHH MY F@CKING GOD! How the hell did I miss this?

This could be a new Golden Era. K-1 back and willing to work with the other big dogs? We're going to get at least 4 different legitimate world grandprix tournaments every year. With K-1, Glory, and ONE all doing their own tournaments. Man, this could realy help establish kickboxing into a more mainstream sport.
 
Blazeblack said:
OOOHHH MY F@CKING GOD! How the hell did I miss this?

This could be a new Golden Era. K-1 back and willing to work with the other big dogs? We're going to get at least 4 different legitimate world grandprix tournaments every year. With K-1, Glory, and ONE all doing their own tournaments. Man, this could realy help establish kickboxing into a more mainstream sport.
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K1, One, and Glory all doing their own tourneys is the exact problem with kickboxing right now. It's too scattered and fragmented. As far as right now it's just KoK and WGP as their feeder leagues for international talent. But it's a start in the right direction. Hopefully this means they'll be in English with @Mike Schiavello I could see them getting picked up by a streaming service like DAZN
 
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WolverReem said:
K1, One, and Glory all doing their own tourneys is the exact problem with kickboxing right now. It's too scattered and fragmented. As far as right now it's just KoK and WGP as their feeder leagues for international talent. But it's a start in the right direction. Hopefully this means they'll be in English with @Mike Schiavello I could see them getting picked up by a streaming service like DAZN
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Why? If the promotions are willing to work with each other, it won't be a problem. Other sports have several major tournaments a year, but the best are competing against the best. This just means that we are going to need a team of professional, independent observers (like the old school ring magazine) to rank all the top fighters, and potentially recognize the lineal champion.

I honestly think that having three or 4 major promotions that have their own major grandprix and individual titles, assuming that they do actually intend to work together. The old k-1 was great, but it didn't always honor it's promise to invite qualifying/ regional gp winners to come to Japan and fight for a place in the finals. If fighters prove themselves in one international promotion, it will be harder to snub them from bigger opportunities down the line. It means more opportunities for fighters, more world class fights more often.
 
Loriquero said:
Is always the same crap every time @BoxerMaurits creates a Kickboxing thread in the UFC forum and the UFC crybabies come to the kickboxing forum after it gets moved here

"Yes bro, I was so K-1 hardcore, but is dead"
"yes bro, no Hoost, Hari, Bonsyaski, Aerts etc... Now is not good anymore"

Always the same shitty posts over and over again when someone mentions the sport in Kickboxing on their forum. Yes, they were so hardcore and now Kickboxing is dead so that's the excuse they have for just watching UFC and nothing else.

Yes, Kickboxing is so dead that last year, one Kickboxing event did more gate revenue that the biggest UFC event on the UFC history....

If you are a fan of the UFC and their crappy striking (two Glory guys went to the UFC and killed everyone on the historical best division of this organization) is ok, please watch all the UFC's crappy striking you want. But bear in mind that there is a sport called Kickboxing (fragmented, yes, but boxing is even more fragmented and nobody is complaining about it the whole time) with elite strikers, high KO ratio, non-stop action and usually very fun and violent events being hosted every week in the Netherlands, France, Germany (Glory, Enfusion), Japan (K-1, RISE), China (Wu Lin Feng, Kunlun Fight) and South East Asia (ONE Championship, RWS) while you are watching two dudes hugging against a cage stomping each oher feets.
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I notice the interest from a lot MMA guys in Kickboxing is growing more and more because I made them aware of certain events and fights happening, so I guess that’s the upside of all of it:)
 
JohnMc said:
Sounds cool. Anyway to watch K-1 events outside of Japan?
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Arashikage4Life said:
I typically don't worry about watching them live. K-1's Youtube channel almost always has individual fight vids up a week after they air on Japanese TV, so I usually wait to watch it then. It's a little bit easier to avoid spoilers for K-1 than it is something like UFC.
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JohnMc said:
Thanks. I'll check their channel out.
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Arashikage4Life said:
The bad thing about K-1's channel is the fights are in Japanese, but if your browser translates, you can usually find whatever you're looking for.

Rise is the same thing (one week delay) but they are in English and Japanese.
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To watch K-1 events live you should visit Abema.tv and most definitely use a VPN.
Works fine though
 
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