Monday, 20 May 2013 19:49

More details have arisen about It's Showtime's venture into Japan. As you may or may not know, It's Showtime announced that they would be going into Japan, starting off with countdown events until It's Showtime Japan debuts next year. This will be the first countdown event and It's Showtime is co-promoting with Stand up JAPAN! to bring REBELS X It's Showtime on July 18. Giorgio Petrosyan vs. HINATA was previously announced for the main event of the show.

Nightmare of Battle is reporting that now Mosab Amrani vs. Chi Bin Lim has been added to the card and will serve as an It's Showtime 65MAX World Title number one contender fight. This fight will also serve as the co-main event. Amrani is coming off of a loss to Houcine Bennoui last month for It's Showtime while Chi Bin Lim has won 4 fights in a row, although he hasn't been that active. The current It's Showtime 65MAX World Champion is Orono Wor Petchpun. Orono hasn't fought in a year, since he last defended his title. It's a good move by It's Showtime, as they've been trying to move towards keeping their champions and divisions active.

More fight card announcements should be on their way, as the event is just under a month and a half away. Be on the lookout here on Liverkick.com and also on Nightmare of Battle.

Monday, 20 May 2013 19:49

I'm not even sure if there is any other way to say this; Rob Kaman is one of the few living legends in the sport of kickboxing that deserves to be revered. Rob Kaman turns 51 years old today, and shows no signs of stopping as he is still training fighters to this day. Recently he has trained Jake Shields and Mark "Fightshark" Miller. Catch this highlight reel below, courtesy of Fight Game and make a toast to Mr. Lowkick.

Monday, 20 May 2013 19:49

Yesterday in Lyon, France, French promotions La Nuit Des Challenges and Explosion Fight Night came together to hold La Nuit Des Challenges 10. Five full Thai rules fights and a 4 man -71kg tournament. The original card was very stacked but unfortunately injuries ransacked a lot of the great matchups that were to happen. Nonetheless, the card still went on with some great fights.

The new It's Showtime 73MAX World Champion, Yohan Lidon got revenge against Kongjak Sor Tuanton with a 5 round decision. Kongjak had previously beaten Lidon in August of last year when Lidon was unable to continue due to a broken arm in the 4th round. It's a good win for Lidon as he avenges a loss and is now on a 3 fight win streak, including winning his 73MAX World Title in It's Showtime.

Abdallah Mabel got back in the win column with a victory over Chanachai Kaewsamrit with a 5 round decision win. Houcine Bennoui, the brother of It's Showtime's 61MAX World Champion Karim Bennoui, scored a TKO victory over Olan Kaewsamrit in the 2nd round with low kicks. That makes it 5 wins in a row for Bennoui, with all of them being stoppages, including a win over Mosab Amrani last month for It's Showtime.

In the Explosion Fight Night portion of the card, the Explosion Fight Night Vol. 4 Tournament took place at -71kg. Aziz Ali Kada knocked out Abdel El Fariki to advance to the finals while Ludovic Millet decisioned Hichem Chaibi to set up the tournament final. In the final, Millet decisioned Ali Kada to claim the tournament title.

Injuries definitely didn't help the card at all but overall, it sounded like a good event. Videos haven't gotten out yet but when they do, be sure to check here on Liverkick.com first.

Monday, 20 May 2013 19:49

Last night's Shoot Boxing event in Japan is looking to be one of the better shows coming from Japan recently, and it featured Toby Imada's return to the Shoot Boxing ring. Many will remember that Imada made his way into the S-Cup last year and surprised the world by making it to the Finals against Buakaw Por. Pramuk, with Buakaw able to overcome him. Imada squared off with two-time champion Hiroki Shishido last night, with the first round being Shishido's superior standup giving Imada trouble. In the second round Imada was able to execute a great slam, and continued to use his Judo to pull of the decision victory.

The other big upset of the night was for the Shoot Boxing Ladies Championship, a vacant title that was brought about by the recent rush in popularity for Shootboxing at the hands of RENA. RENA had a rematch with Ai Takahashi, who was able to best RENA this time in the Shootboxing ring. It was Takahashi's jabs and throws that were enough to exhaust RENA and lead to a decision victory.

The rest of the results are courtesy of Dan Herbertson.

Monday, 20 May 2013 19:49

K-1 MAX fighter Yuichiro "Jienotsu" Nagashima's way of keeping busy in K-1 MAX's offtime is that he has taken up a new hobby in the way of professional wrestling. His debut bout was last month against Kohei Sato in Zero-One MAX. Nagashima's second match will be a tag team bout, where he will face off against Shinjiro Ohtani and Shin'ya Hashimoto's son. His partner? Former K-1 fighter and sumo wrestler Akebono. [source]