K-1 MAX 2009: More of the same?
Posted by Fraser on February 10th, 2009
As K-1 MAX Gears up to begin 2009, now is a good time to look ahead to what the year has in store for the company. Right now, K-1 MAX is in a similar problematic position to where K-1 was a year ago. That problem can best be summarized in one word.
Stagnation.
The company has fallen into something of a rut with your same basic stars at the top constantly – Souwer, Sato, Buakaw, Masato, Drago, Kraus, Kyshenko… It’s a good amount of names, but there’s a definite feeling of going around in circles with no one new able to step in and shake things up. K-1 snapped out of this rut in 2008 with Badr Hari joining the elite and names like Teixeira and Zimmerman gaining momentum, but MAX has not yet found those new names. They did have some success last year with the unexpected Japan tournament win from Yasuhiro Kido, but Kido needs wins in order to keep that popularity going (and one win over Chi Bin Lim is not enough).
Which is where this year’s Japan tournament on Feb. 23 comes in. Kido looks to be the tournament favorite, with Andy Ologun and the oft-pushed and typically under performing Hayato as other possible winners. Yet even there, the stagnation becomes apparent. Last year’s 4 semi-finalists in this tournament were Kido, Ologun, Hayato, and Hiroyuki Maeda. This year, 3 of those 4 look to make the semi-finals once again, and chances are good for a repeat of last year’s Kido v. Hayato final. Even at this level, MAX goes around in circles.
So how does the company break through this wall? It’s an obvious, yet difficult answer – find new names. Easy to say, harder to do. Part of what makes both K-1 and K-1 MAX who they are is that they only use the elite level of competition. They truly are home to the best kickboxers in the world, which makes for great fights (last year’s K-1 MAX tournament was filled with exciting, close fights) but also creates this situation – fighters at this level are not to be found on any random show.
Still, K-1 MAX needs to take a chance on some new names. Two come to mind:
Tatsuya Kawajiri – While Kozo Takeda is not exactly a world beater, Kawajiri handled him with ease at the New Year’s show and looked great in the process. It would be a step up for him to fight any of the bigger names, but he has shown he has the power and skills to get a shot. This could be a great move for Kawajiri as well, as the DREAM LW division is very full, and Kawajiri is in the unenviable position of being fifth wheel to the top 4 stars. Moving up the division there will be a hard road, but a switch to K-1 competition could be just what he needs for renewed success.
Kenichi Ogata – The S-Cup 2008 finalist and 2006 champion (where he defeated Andy Souwer) would make a great addition. Charismatic and skilled, he’s the perfect combination for MAX. Frankly, with a win over Souwer, I’m not sure why he hasn’t been brought in already.
These 2 names won’t suddenly renew interest in K-1 MAX, but showing a commitment to bringing in new names might. For MAX to break out of its rut, they need to look at K-1’s 2008 and learn from the smart moves that company made. If they don’t, you can still look forward to great MAX fights in 2009 – they’ll just continue to be great fights that no one is talking about.
February 10th, 2009 at 2:42 pm
It’s Andy Ologun.
The way he crushed Morkevicius, you’d think they would bring back DIDA to the Max ranks. He’s another guy that could freshen things up in the match-up department.
February 10th, 2009 at 3:25 pm
I’m not sure if Ologun is the guy. I really liked Kawajiri on the NYE show, and hope he can continue to deliver. I love K-1 MAX and can only hope it continues to kick ass.
February 10th, 2009 at 4:17 pm
Right, Andy, not Bobby. My bad. Dida is also a good call and one that slipped my mind.
February 10th, 2009 at 4:58 pm
New blood seems to trickle in to K-1 Max every year and a half or so. I remember Kyshenko being that breath of fresh air when he arrived.
It seems like they’re past due again.
I’ll have to look out for Ogata.
February 13th, 2009 at 3:16 am
Dida already made it clear he had visa issues, he was scheduled to compete on this show.
Hinata is a serious threat in this tournament, but unfortunately for him he’s fighting Kido. It’s a very tough match up on paper. “Jienotsu” Nagashima may look like a complete weirdo, but he can bang and beat fighters he realistically shouldn’t have with his total disregard for defense.
Finding new names isn’t difficult at all. K-1 has always failed to do their part to aid the Japanese kickboxing landscape. Even now they’re using the majority of the AJKF roster to gather lightweight fighters and AJKF aren’t exactly stupid and started holding K-1 rules events under the “Krush” banner. Yutaro Yamauchi MAX will fight on the next Krush instalment. Hopefully that’ll be a way for him to get back there after K-1 neglected Ryusuke Mochizuki’s success in 2007-2008.
In March the Dutch K-1 MAX tournament will take place and Chahid El Oulad is supposed to be fighting Masato at the final 16. There’s countless of Dutch fighters they can just fill up their ranks with. What I’d like to see is more Thai fighters, but we all know the mindset there.
While I wouldn’t mind it - Kawajiri in K-1 would be stupid, if he can show these kind of improvements in his stand up in MMA he’ll be fine. Plus he himself has stated he’d like to focus on DREAM. Tanigawa on the other hand wanted a pointless rematch against Takeda.
Ogata will likely spend the last years of his career in Shootboxing and to be honest he probably should have retired after his S-Cup victory.
February 16th, 2009 at 10:01 pm
If I didn’t mention it already, nice article Fraser
Do you have any interest in writing for Total-MMA as well, Kamatari?