For fans of Japanese MMA, 2008 is going out with a bang.
Fighting & Entertainment Group (FEG) President Sadaharu Tanigawa has confirmed the scheduling of a New Year's Eve supershow featuring participants from DREAM, K-1, K-1 MAX and K-1 Koshien.
FieLDS Dynamite!! will take place on December 31, 2008 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, and could feature as many as 20 fights.
Fighters scheduled to compete are Joachim Hansen, Hayato "Mach" Sakurai, Kazushi Sakuraba, Shinya Aoki, Tatsuya Kawajiri, Mitsuhiro Ishida, Masakazu Imanari, Takeshi Yamazaki, Atsushi Yamamoto, Kuniyoshi Hironaka, Minowaman, Kiyoshi Tamura, Seichi Ikemoto, Yuichi Nakanishi, Yasuhiro Kido and Yoshihiro Sato.
Also expected to participate are Norifumi "KID" Yamamoto, Caol Uno, Hideo Tokoro, Masakatsu Funaki, Katsuyori Shibata, Junichi Sawayashiki, Taishin Kohiruimaki, Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic, Gegard Mousasi and Hong Man Choi.
While it's hard not to be excited about the endless match-making possibilities for this event, one name noticeably missing from the list of superstars is the 12-1 Judo sensation Yoshihiro Akiyama.
Akiyama, one of Japan's biggest stars (and heels) is no longer under contract to FEG and is reportedly negotiating with both Sengoku and the UFC.
Therefore, at the very least, an appearance for DREAM on December 31 is unlikely as the two sides are currently not on the best of terms.
Still, with so much talent in one night, nothing short of Godzilla himself could diminish the anticipation for this event. My only hope is that FEG can make arrangements to televise the fights on pay-per-view (PPV) and not some cable channel that nobody can seem to access.
Who knows, maybe they can even pencil in some of the recently unemployed Elite XC fighters who are looking for a home. And does anybody want to lay odds on another meaningless cameo from Fedor Emelianenko?
Stay tuned as this massive event continues to take shape.
Get the latest gear
