Tuesday, 21 May 2013 15:04

As we saw earlier this week from tweets from Yodsanklai as well as Tiffany Van Soest, Lion Fight 10 is going down on July 26th live on AXS TV at the Joint in the Hard Rock Casino in Las Vegas. The show is to be headlined by Yodsanklai against a still-unnamed opponent with a co-headliner of a big fight that we learned of from Kevin Ross before his last fight, where he'll take on Matt Embree. On top of that, Tiffany Van Soest will fight for the Lion Fight Bantamweight Title against Lucy Payne and we'll also see fights from Joe Schilling, Malaipet Sasiprapa and Ognjen Topic.

The last few Lion Fight events have been stacked cards and have helped to usher in a new era of Muay Thai awareness and fandom in the United States with Lion Fight 10 looking to do nothing different and keep delivering quality fights for fans.

Tuesday, 21 May 2013 15:04

Earlier today at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, former K-1 Heavyweight champion Kyotaro Fujimoto stepped into the ring for his 7th pro boxing bout against another former kickboxer in Fabrice Aurieng. After making the switch to boxing in late 2011, Kyotaro started his career with 5 straight wins including 3 knockouts before challenging Austrailia's Solomon Haumono for the OBPF Heavyweight title this past New Year's Eve. That fight didn't end so well for Kyotaro, who was rocked early in the 5th round, then, while seemingly out on his feet, put away for good with a monstrous right hand. Today, it was Kyotaro handing out the punishment as he knocked Aurieng down four times over the course of 7 rounds before forcing a corner stoppage at 1:11 in the 7th. He came in with an aggressive style and his defense still seems to be a bit shaky, but it was another good showing from the former K-1 champ against a fighter with a lot of fight experience, although Aurieng's boxing experience is about the same as Kyotaro's. Clearly, he has a long way to go before challenging some of boxing's top heavyweights and his management would probably be smart to put him in with some of the less powerful punchers in the division to get him some rounds and help him improve his defense. However, Kyotaro has shown good power, improved footwork and a solid chin on top of his kickboxing experience, so there's no reason that, with some polishing and a couple more years, he can't be a viable contender in a depleted Heavyweight landscape.

Tuesday, 21 May 2013 15:04

This one is just a bit too odd. Ruslan Karaev, the former K-1 fighter who has kept a rather low profile over the past few years after he suffered a series of injuries, has once again gotten his name in the news. This time around it is not the way that he or his fans would like to see him, though, as he has been implicated in a case from last year where millions of dollars of paintings were stolen from a museum in Rotterdam.

Karaev, who is said to have some connections to Russian crime organizations, was named by suspect Radu Dogaru, with Dogaru claiming that he gave four of the paintings to the athlete after the initial theft. Karaev is not in custody nor is it clear what, if any involvement he actually had in this robbery, but we'll keep an eye out for more on this story. [Source]

Tuesday, 21 May 2013 15:04

To those that have been asking about it, it looks like GLORY will once again show up on American airwaves as they will return to CBS Sports Network for the time being. That deal will be effective as of this weekend with GLORY 7 Milan, which takes place on Saturday but will air on tape delay early Sunday morning.

GLORY 8 Tokyo is also set to air on tape delay and it is unclear if we'll see live events on CBS Sports any time soon or if they'll continue the tape delay. It is also unclear for how long this agreement lasts or if it will be like the last one and only be for a few events and expire. The fact that GLORY 9 is set to go down in New York City and GLORY 10 is rumored for Los Angeles gives us hope for live GLORY on television here in the US, though.

This comes as a bit of a surprise as GLORY were in talks with other, larger networks before signing this deal with CBS Sports, but we do know that CBS Sports was very aggressive about bringing the GLORY brand into the fold for more events and looking fore more original content to air on the network.

For those that wish to watch GLORY 7 live, you can of course purchase the PPV through LiverKick.com or on GloryWorldSeries.com for $20.

Tuesday, 21 May 2013 15:04

I mean, need I say anymore? Fan favorite Yodsanklai will once again return to America as he'll fight for Lion Fight Promotions on July 26th. Still no opponent named yet, but we are expecting the formal announcement from Lion Fight at just about any moment now. Yodsanklai is coming off of wins over Kem Sitsongpeenong, Gregory Chopin and Yohan Lidon heading into this fight in July. [Source: @Yodsanklai1]