Dynamite!! USA
SoftBank presents Dynamite!! USA was a mixed martial arts event co-promoted by Fighting and Entertainment Group, the promoters of K-1 kickboxing events and Hero's MMA events, EliteXC; the event was held on Saturday, June 2, 2007 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California. Mauro Ranallo, Bill Goldberg, Jay Glazer did commentary; the event featured the MMA debut of former professional wrestler Brock Lesnar and the anticipated rematch between Royce Gracie and Kazushi Sakuraba. The show featured the MMA debut of NFL wide receiver Johnnie Morton; the event was aired in two parts in the United States, with three preliminary bouts airing for free on Showtime and a main fight card shown on pay-per-view. In Japan, the card was aired as a two-hour edited broadcast on TBS on June 4, 2007. A condensed one-hour version of the entire event was broadcast on Showtime June 9, 2007; the event encountered numerous problems and controversies before it began. FEG had difficulties obtaining a promoter's license, was only granted a temporary one by the California State Athletic Commission eight days before the event.
Popular South Korean fighter Hong-Man Choi scheduled to fight Brock Lesnar, was denied a license to fight in the state a week and a half before the event due to medical reasons. K-1 continued to advertise a Lesnar vs. Choi bout up until the day of the fight, despite knowing that it would not occur. An announced women's bout featuring Jan Finney vs. Gina Carano was canceled on May 16, 2007, when Carano withdrew due to illness. Antônio Silva was removed from the card due to an undisclosed medical condition, was replaced by Tim Persey. An announced match between Ray Sefo and Marvin Eastman was dropped from the card with no explanation given. On June 7, 2007, the California State Athletic Commission announced that 42,757 tickets were distributed for the event – something promoters say validated the claim of having the largest attendance for a Mixed Martial Arts event in North America; the paid gate for the event was $2,545,590. However, the promoters of the event paid $2,342,500 of; the final verified paid attendance number for K-1 Dynamite stands at 3,674 which generated $203,090 in revenue.
Fighter Tim Percy tested positive for methamphetamines after his fight, was suspended by the CSAC. In addition, Johnnie Morton tested positive for anabolic steroids and Royce Gracie tested positive for Nandrolone, a used anabolic steroid; the overall disclosed fighter payroll for the event was $1,057,500. Elite Xtreme Combat K-1 Premium Dynamite!! List of K-1 Events List of EliteXC events Dynamite!! USA Official Website Official Discussion K-1 Official Website Official EliteXC Website
Canada
Canada is a country in the northern part of North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic to the Pacific and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering 9.98 million square kilometres, making it the world's second-largest country by total area. Canada's southern border with the United States is the world's longest bi-national land border, its capital is Ottawa, its three largest metropolitan areas are Toronto and Vancouver. As a whole, Canada is sparsely populated, the majority of its land area being dominated by forest and tundra, its population is urbanized, with over 80 percent of its inhabitants concentrated in large and medium-sized cities, many near the southern border. Canada's climate varies across its vast area, ranging from arctic weather in the north, to hot summers in the southern regions, with four distinct seasons. Various indigenous peoples have inhabited what is now Canada for thousands of years prior to European colonization. Beginning in the 16th century and French expeditions explored, settled, along the Atlantic coast.
As a consequence of various armed conflicts, France ceded nearly all of its colonies in North America in 1763. In 1867, with the union of three British North American colonies through Confederation, Canada was formed as a federal dominion of four provinces; this began an accretion of provinces and territories and a process of increasing autonomy from the United Kingdom. This widening autonomy was highlighted by the Statute of Westminster of 1931 and culminated in the Canada Act of 1982, which severed the vestiges of legal dependence on the British parliament. Canada is a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy in the Westminster tradition, with Elizabeth II as its queen and a prime minister who serves as the chair of the federal cabinet and head of government; the country is a realm within the Commonwealth of Nations, a member of the Francophonie and bilingual at the federal level. It ranks among the highest in international measurements of government transparency, civil liberties, quality of life, economic freedom, education.
It is one of the world's most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many other countries. Canada's long and complex relationship with the United States has had a significant impact on its economy and culture. A developed country, Canada has the sixteenth-highest nominal per capita income globally as well as the twelfth-highest ranking in the Human Development Index, its advanced economy is the tenth-largest in the world, relying chiefly upon its abundant natural resources and well-developed international trade networks. Canada is part of several major international and intergovernmental institutions or groupings including the United Nations, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the G7, the Group of Ten, the G20, the North American Free Trade Agreement and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. While a variety of theories have been postulated for the etymological origins of Canada, the name is now accepted as coming from the St. Lawrence Iroquoian word kanata, meaning "village" or "settlement".
In 1535, indigenous inhabitants of the present-day Quebec City region used the word to direct French explorer Jacques Cartier to the village of Stadacona. Cartier used the word Canada to refer not only to that particular village but to the entire area subject to Donnacona. From the 16th to the early 18th century "Canada" referred to the part of New France that lay along the Saint Lawrence River. In 1791, the area became two British colonies called Upper Canada and Lower Canada collectively named the Canadas. Upon Confederation in 1867, Canada was adopted as the legal name for the new country at the London Conference, the word Dominion was conferred as the country's title. By the 1950s, the term Dominion of Canada was no longer used by the United Kingdom, which considered Canada a "Realm of the Commonwealth"; the government of Louis St. Laurent ended the practice of using'Dominion' in the Statutes of Canada in 1951. In 1982, the passage of the Canada Act, bringing the Constitution of Canada under Canadian control, referred only to Canada, that year the name of the national holiday was changed from Dominion Day to Canada Day.
The term Dominion was used to distinguish the federal government from the provinces, though after the Second World War the term federal had replaced dominion. Indigenous peoples in present-day Canada include the First Nations, Métis, the last being a mixed-blood people who originated in the mid-17th century when First Nations and Inuit people married European settlers; the term "Aboriginal" as a collective noun is a specific term of art used in some legal documents, including the Constitution Act 1982. The first inhabitants of North America are hypothesized to have migrated from Siberia by way of the Bering land bridge and arrived at least 14,000 years ago; the Paleo-Indian archeological sites at Old Crow Flats and Bluefish Caves are two of the oldest sites of human habitation in Canada. The characteristics of Canadian indigenous societies included permanent settlements, complex societal hierarchies, trading networks; some of these cultures had collapsed by the time European explorers arrived in the late 15th and early 16th centuries and have only been discovered through archeological investigations.
The indigenous population at the time of the first European settlements is estimated to have been between 200,000
Brazil
Brazil the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At 8.5 million square kilometers and with over 208 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area and the fifth most populous. Its capital is Brasília, its most populated city is São Paulo; the federation is composed of the union of the 26 states, the Federal District, the 5,570 municipalities. It is the largest country to have Portuguese as an official language and the only one in the Americas. Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the east, Brazil has a coastline of 7,491 kilometers, it borders all other South American countries except Ecuador and Chile and covers 47.3% of the continent's land area. Its Amazon River basin includes a vast tropical forest, home to diverse wildlife, a variety of ecological systems, extensive natural resources spanning numerous protected habitats; this unique environmental heritage makes Brazil one of 17 megadiverse countries, is the subject of significant global interest and debate regarding deforestation and environmental protection.
Brazil was inhabited by numerous tribal nations prior to the landing in 1500 of explorer Pedro Álvares Cabral, who claimed the area for the Portuguese Empire. Brazil remained a Portuguese colony until 1808, when the capital of the empire was transferred from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro. In 1815, the colony was elevated to the rank of kingdom upon the formation of the United Kingdom of Portugal and the Algarves. Independence was achieved in 1822 with the creation of the Empire of Brazil, a unitary state governed under a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary system; the ratification of the first constitution in 1824 led to the formation of a bicameral legislature, now called the National Congress. The country became a presidential republic in 1889 following a military coup d'état. An authoritarian military junta came to power in 1964 and ruled until 1985, after which civilian governance resumed. Brazil's current constitution, formulated in 1988, defines it as a democratic federal republic. Due to its rich culture and history, the country ranks thirteenth in the world by number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Brazil is considered an advanced emerging economy. It has the ninth largest GDP in the world by nominal, eight and PPP measures, it is one of the world's major breadbaskets, being the largest producer of coffee for the last 150 years. It is classified as an upper-middle income economy by the World Bank and a newly industrialized country, with the largest share of global wealth in Latin America. Brazil is a regional power and sometimes considered a great or a middle power in international affairs. On account of its international recognition and influence, the country is subsequently classified as an emerging power and a potential superpower by several analysts. Brazil is a founding member of the United Nations, the G20, BRICS, Union of South American Nations, Organization of American States, Organization of Ibero-American States and the Community of Portuguese Language Countries, it is that the word "Brazil" comes from the Portuguese word for brazilwood, a tree that once grew plentifully along the Brazilian coast.
In Portuguese, brazilwood is called pau-brasil, with the word brasil given the etymology "red like an ember", formed from brasa and the suffix -il. As brazilwood produces a deep red dye, it was valued by the European textile industry and was the earliest commercially exploited product from Brazil. Throughout the 16th century, massive amounts of brazilwood were harvested by indigenous peoples along the Brazilian coast, who sold the timber to European traders in return for assorted European consumer goods; the official Portuguese name of the land, in original Portuguese records, was the "Land of the Holy Cross", but European sailors and merchants called it the "Land of Brazil" because of the brazilwood trade. The popular appellation eclipsed and supplanted the official Portuguese name; some early sailors called it the "Land of Parrots". In the Guarani language, an official language of Paraguay, Brazil is called "Pindorama"; this was the name the indigenous population gave to the region, meaning "land of the palm trees".
Some of the earliest human remains found in the Americas, Luzia Woman, were found in the area of Pedro Leopoldo, Minas Gerais and provide evidence of human habitation going back at least 11,000 years. The earliest pottery found in the Western Hemisphere was excavated in the Amazon basin of Brazil and radiocarbon dated to 8,000 years ago; the pottery was found near Santarém and provides evidence that the tropical forest region supported a complex prehistoric culture. The Marajoara culture flourished on Marajó in the Amazon delta from 800 CE to 1400 CE, developing sophisticated pottery, social stratification, large populations, mound building, complex social formations such as chiefdoms. Around the time of the Portuguese arrival, the territory of current day Brazil had an estimated indigenous population of 7 million people semi-nomadic who subsisted on hunting, fishing and migrant agriculture; the indigenous population of Brazil comprised several large indigenous ethnic groups. The Tupí people were subdivided into the Tupiniquins and Tupinambás, there were many subdivisions of the other gro
Mixed martial arts
Mixed martial arts is a full-contact combat sport that allows striking and grappling, both standing and on the ground, using techniques from various combat sports and martial arts. The first documented use of the term mixed martial arts was in a review of UFC 1 by television critic Howard Rosenberg in 1993; the term gained popularity when newfullcontact.com one of the largest websites covering the sport and republished the article. The question of who coined the term is subject to debate. During the early 20th century, various mixed-style contests took place throughout Japan, in the countries of the Four Asian Tigers. In Brazil, there was the sport of Vale Tudo, in which fighters from various styles fought with little to no rules; the Gracie family was known to promote Vale Tudo matches as a way to promote their own Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu style. An early high-profile mixed martial arts bout was Masahiko Kimura vs. Hélio Gracie in 1951, fought between judoka Masahiko Kimura and Brazilian jiu jitsu founder Hélio Gracie in Brazil.
In the West, the concept of combining elements of multiple martial arts was popularized by Bruce Lee's Jeet Kune Do during the late 1960s to early 1970s. A precursor to modern MMA was the 1976 Muhammad Ali vs. Antonio Inoki bout, fought between boxer Muhammad Ali and wrestler Antonio Inoki in Japan, where it inspired the foundation of Pancrase in 1993 and Pride Fighting Championships in 1997. In 1980, CV Productions, Inc. created the first regulated MMA league in the United States, called Tough Guy Contest, renamed Battle of the Superfighters. The company sanctioned ten tournaments in Pennsylvania. However, in 1983 the Pennsylvania State Senate passed a bill prohibiting the sport. In 1993, the Gracie family brought Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, developed in Brazil from the 1920s, to the United States by founding the Ultimate Fighting Championship MMA promotion company; the company held an event with no rules due the influence of Art Davie and Rorion Gracie attempting to replicate Vale Tudo fights that existed in Brazil, would implement a different set of rules, which differed from other leagues which were more in favour of realistic fights.
Promoted as a competition to find the most effective martial arts for real unarmed combat, competitors from different fighting styles were pitted against one another in contests with few rules. Individual fighters incorporated multiple martial arts into their style. MMA promoters were pressured to adopt additional rules to increase competitors' safety, to comply with sport regulations and to broaden mainstream acceptance of the sport. Following these changes, the sport has seen increased popularity with a pay-per-view business that rivals boxing and professional wrestling. In Ancient Greece, there was a sport called pankration, which featured a combination of grappling and striking skills similar to those found in modern MMA. Pankration was formed by a combination of the established wrestling and boxing traditions and, in Olympic terms, first featured in the 33rd Olympiad in 648 BC. All strikes and holds were allowed with the exception of gouging, which were banned; the fighters, called pankratiasts, fought until someone could not continue or signaled submission by raising their index finger.
According to E. Norman Gardiner,'No branch of athletics was more popular than the pankration.' From its origins in Ancient Greece, pankration was passed on to the Romans. In Ancient China, combat sport appeared in the form of Leitai, a no-holds-barred mixed combat sport that combined Chinese martial arts and wrestling. There is evidence of similar mixed combat sports in Ancient Egypt and Japan; the mid-19th century saw the prominence of the new sport savate in the combat sports circle. French savate fighters wanted to test their techniques against the traditional combat styles of its time. In 1852, a contest was held in France between French savateurs and English bare-knuckle boxers in which French fighter Rambaud alias la Resistance fought English fighter Dickinson and won using his kicks. However, the English team still won the four other match-ups during the contest. Contests occurred in the late 19th to mid-20th century between French Savateurs and other combat styles. Examples include a 1905 fight between French savateur George Dubois and a judo practitioner Re-nierand which resulted in the latter winning by submission, as well as the publicized 1957 fight between French savateur and professional boxer Jacques Cayron and a young Japanese karateka named Mochizuki Hiroo which ended when Cayron knocked Hiroo out with a hook.
No-holds-barred fighting took place in the late 1880s when wrestlers representing style of Catch wrestling and many others met in tournaments and music-hall challenge matches throughout Europe. In the USA, the first major encounter between a boxer and a wrestler in modern times took place in 1887 when John L. Sullivan heavyweight world boxing champion, entered the ring with his trainer, wrestling champion William Muldoon, was slammed to the mat in two minutes; the next publicized encounter occurred in the late 1890s when future heavyweight boxing champion Bob Fitzsimmons took on European wrestling champion Ernest Roeber. In September 1901, Frank "Paddy" Slavin, a contender for Sullivan's boxing title, knocked out future world wrestling champion Frank Gotch in Dawson City, Canada; the judo-practitioner Ren-nierand, who gained fame after defeating George Dubois, would fight again in another similar contest, which he lost to Ukrainian Catch wrestler Ivan Poddubny. Another early example of mixed martial arts was Bartitsu, which Edward William Barton-Wright founded i
Kickboxing
Kickboxing is a group of stand-up combat sports based on kicking and punching developed from karate mixed with boxing. Kickboxing is practiced as a contact sport. Japanese kickboxing originated with competitions held since then. American kickboxing originated in the 1970s and was brought to prominence in September 1974, when the Professional Karate Association held the first World Championships. Kickboxing can be considered a hybrid martial art formed from the combination of elements of various traditional styles; this approach became popular since the 1970s, since the 1990s, kickboxing has contributed to the emergence of mixed martial arts via further hybridization with ground fighting techniques from Brazilian jiu-jitsu and folk wrestling. There is no single international governing body. International governing bodies include International Combat Organisation, World Association of Kickboxing Organizations, World Kickboxing Association, International Sport Karate Association, International Kickboxing Federation, World Kickboxing Network, among others.
There is no single kickboxing world championship, champion titles are issued by individual promotions, such as K-1, Glory and Kunlun Fight among others. Bouts organised under different governing bodies apply different rules, such as allowing the use of knees or clinching, etc; the term "kickboxing" can be used in a broad sense. The narrow use is restricted to the styles that self-identify as kickboxing, i.e. Japanese kickboxing, Dutch kickboxing, American kickboxing. In the wider sense, it includes all stand-up combat sports that allow both punching and kicking, including Muay Thai, Kun Khmer, Adithada, Lethwei and certain styles of karate; the term kickboxing itself was introduced in the 1960s as a Japanese anglicism by Japanese boxing promoter Osamu Noguchi for a hybrid martial art combining Muay Thai and karate which he had introduced in 1958. The term was also adopted by the American variant. Since there has been a lot of cross-fertilization between these styles, with many practitioners training or competing under the rules of more than one style, the history of the individual styles cannot be seen in isolation from one another.
The French term Boxe pieds-poings is used in the sense of "kickboxing" in the general meaning, including French boxing as well as American and Japanese kickboxing and Thai boxing, any style of full contact karate, etc. Arts labeled as kickboxing in the general sense include: The Indochinese family of kickboxing sports including: Pradal Serey – similar to Muay Thai with an emphasis on elbow techniques. Known as Kun Khmer. Thai Muay Boran – Predecessor of Muay Thai, allows the use of headbutts. Thai kickboxing or Muay Thai – the modern Thai martial art with strong emphasis on knee and elbow strikes. Burmese Lethwei, a traditional Burmese martial art of which has now grown into a popular kickboxing event with strong emphasis on knee, elbow strikes and headbutt. Any part of the body may be used to be struck, it is known as Bando kickboxing. Laotian Muay Lao – Laotian boxing, similar to Muay Thai Filipino Yaw-Yan – Sayaw ng Kamatayan is the proper name for Yaw-Yan, a Filipino martial art developed by Napoleon Fernandez.
The art resembles Muay Thai in a sense, but differs in the hip torquing motion as well as downward-cutting nature of its kicks and with strong emphasis on delivering attacks from long range. Indian Musti yuddha and Adithada, a form of kickboxing that uses knee and forehead strikes in Southern kalaripayattu. French Savate, a historical sport which developed in the 19th century, it is known for its foot-kicking techniques. Modern competition-oriented hybrid martial arts that developed in parallel with Japanese and American kickboxing: Dutch Kickboxing — incorporate styles of Muay Thai and Kyokushin style of Karate. Any style of Full contact Karate Sanda – The applicable component of wushu/kung fu of which takedowns and throws are legal in competition as well as all other sorts of striking. Shoot boxing – A Japanese form of kickboxing which allows throwing and submission while standing, similar to Sanda. Since kickboxing is a broad term, understanding the history can be somewhat difficult; some of the earliest forms of kickboxing included the various Indochinese martial arts muay boran, which developed into modern Muay Thai.
However, in terms of modern competition, it was during the 1950s that a Japanese karateka named Tatsuo Yamada first established an outline of a new sport that combined karate and Muay Thai. This was further explored during the early 1960s, when competitions between karate and Muay Thai began, which allowed for rule modifications to take place. By the middle of the decade the first true kickboxing events were being held in Osaka. By the 1970s and 1980s, the sport had expanded beyond Japan and had reached North America and Europe, it was during this time. In Japan the sport was popular and was broadcast on television before going into a dark period during the 1980s. In North America the sport had unclear rules so kickboxing and full contact karate were the same sport. In Europe the sport did not thrive until the 1990s. Since the 1990s the sport has been dominated by the Japanese K-1 promotion, with some competition coming
Shinya Aoki
Shinya Aoki is a Japanese mixed martial artist, professional wrestler and grappler competing in ONE Championship's and Rizin Fighting Federation's Welterweight division. A professional competitor since 2003, he is noted for being the DREAM Lightweight Champion, ONE Lightweight Champion, former WAMMA Lightweight Champion and former Shooto Welterweight Champion. Aoki is an A-class Shoot wrestler and BJJ black belt, both under his long-term mentor Yuki Nakai, as well as a black belt judoka; as of 2008, along with DEEP champion Masakazu Imanari, Sengoku champion Satoru Kitaoka have founded the "Nippon Top Team" as a group of elite Japanese grapplers competing in MMA. As well as his MMA credentials, Aoki has garnered several submission grappling accolades including two All Japan Jiu-Jitsu Championships, a Japan Open Jiu-Jitsu Championship, a Budo Open Championship, an ADCC Japan Championship. Training in judo since chilhood, Aoki became a successful judoka and competed in national and international championships.
However, interested in modalities like kosen judo which were away from him due to the Kodokan competition rules, he moved to other combat sports, until landing in mixed martial arts. Aoki joined the judo-based RJJ gym before moving to Team Roken along with his longtime friend Masakazu Imanari, though he moved to Paraestra Shooto Gym, where he trained under former kosen representative Yuki Nakai, he earned both his A-class Shoot wrestler's rank as well as his Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt under Nakai, became one of the team's main teachers. Aoki has his MMA debut for DEEP in November 2003, winning a one night tournament by fast armbar submissions, he would show further unorthodox grappling skills against veteran Seichi Ikemoto and Keith Wisniewski, who he defeated by breaking his arm with a standing wakigatame. He would face legendary Hayato Sakurai in a Shooto event, losing a decision, seen as controversial. Aoki went to compete in both companies until 2007 defeating Akira Kikuchi to win the Shooto Welterweight Championship.
In August 2006, Aoki made his PRIDE Fighting Championships debut at Pride Bushido 12, submitting American fighter Jason Black in under two minutes with a triangle choke. Following that win, Aoki was booked to face rising Lightweight star Gilbert Melendez at the following Bushido card, Bushido 13. However, prior to the fight Melendez received an elbow injury in training and was forced to pull out of the fight. Aoki's opponent was changed to Clay French. Aoki submitted French in just under four minutes with a triangle choke. Afterwards, Melendez was shown in the crowd with a sling, announced he would like to face Aoki at Pride Shockwave 2006 on New Year's Eve. Aoki agreed. For unknown reasons, the proposed fight with Melendez did not take place. Instead, Aoki faced ranked Lightweight fighter Joachim Hansen. Aoki submitted Hansen with a gogoplata—this was the second successful gogoplata in MMA competition. After his win over Hansen, Aoki was set to rematch Kikuchi in Shooto, with Aoki's Shooto Welterweight title on the line.
Aoki defended his title against Kikuchi, winning via split decision. Following his victory, Aoki announced that he was to be the Shooto representative in the forthcoming Pride Lightweight Grand Prix tournament. Aoki's next fight was at Pride 34. At the event Aoki submitted Lo-A-Njoe in the first round with an armbar. Following the fight, Aoki once again confirmed his participation in the Lightweight Grand Prix. With the purchase of Pride by the majority owners of Zuffa LLC, the Pride Lightweight Grand Prix was cancelled. On November 21, 2007, Aoki's participation on the New Year's Eve MMA card Yarennoka! was announced. His opponent was to be two-time K-1 Hero's Middleweight Grand Prix champion Gesias "JZ Calvan" Cavalcante. Rumors that Cavalcante was injured surfaced only two weeks before the bout, though Cavalcante denied them before admitting the injury and withdrawing from the fight. Aoki defeated Korean Olympic Judo silver medalist Jung Bu-Kyung, Cavalcante's replacement, via unanimous decision in what was Jung Bu-Kyung's mixed martial arts debut.
Aoki had promised to use a never before seen submission in the match but was unable to finish the debut fighter. After the purchase of Pride by Zuffa LLC, most Japanese fighters signed to newly created mixed martial arts promotions, with Aoki signing to Dream. Here Aoki faced Cavalcante on March 15, 2008 at the opening round of the Dream Lightweight Grand Prix tournament. Early in the first round, the referee stopped the action when Cavalcante landed illegal elbow strikes to the back of Aoki's neck; the ringside doctor announced that Aoki was unable to continue due to the injury and Cavalcante apologized for the incident. The fight resulted in a no contest. Elbow strikes to the neck and spine area are illegal under Dream rules. Aoki was found to have sustained concussion of the cervical vertebra, they had their rematch at Dream 2 on April 29, 2008. In that match, Aoki defeated Cavalcante via unanimous decision, he sustained a bruised rib and tore cartilage in his costal area during the match. At Dream 4, Aoki defeated Katsuhiko Nagata via a mounted gogoplata submission to advance to the semi-finals of the Dream Lightweight Grand Prix.
At Dream 5, Aoki defeated Caol Uno by unanimous decision. That night, Eddie Alvarez was set to fight Aoki, but had to bow out due to injury from his previous match that evening. Joachim Hansen took his
Denis Kang
Denis Kang is a Canadian professional mixed martial artist who most competed in the Middleweight division. A professional competitor since 1998, Kang has competed for the UFC, PRIDE, DREAM, Impact FC, M-1 Global, K-1 HERO'S, ROAD FC, Pancrase. In his prime he scored notable wins over, Marvin Eastman, Akihiro Gono and Murilo Rua. Kang was born in the French overseas collectivity of Saint Pierre & Miquelon to a Korean-Canadian father and French mother, he and his family relocated to the Canary Islands and North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, in 1988 when he was 11 years old. After some years from their arrival to Vancouver, he started taking Hapkido lessons by encouragement of his parents. Kang transitioned into Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in high school because he wanted to improve in his ground game more than practice self-defense. Kang's MMA career began in 1998 at the Ultimate Warrior Challenge in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Kang was successful in his debut fight, winning by submission over Eric Harcrow.
Kang would go on to win his next 2 fights before going 2–5 over his next 8 with one no contest against Dennis Hallman. He would go 7–7 with one no contest in his first 15 fights, with a few convincing defeats. After winning five of his next six fights, Kang signed a contract with Spirit MC, a South Korea MMA organization. Denis was crowned the Spirit MC Heavyweight Champion. Following this, Denis joined American Top Team, it was at this time. Kang signed a contract with PRIDE and made his debut at PRIDE Bushido 6, where he defeated Japanese opponent Takahiro Oba via armbar at 4:24 of round one. Under the Korean banner, Denis went on to win his next two fights in PRIDE, with a victory coming over Englishman Mark Weir at PRIDE Bushido 10. In between fights for Pride, Denis fought American Albert Basconcelles and knocked him out within 12 seconds of the opening bell. At Bushido 11, Kang continued his winning streak by knocking out Chute Boxe member Murilo "Ninja" Rua in 15 seconds in the first round of the PRIDE Bushido Welterweight Grand Prix.
At Bushido 12, Denis submitted Armenian Amar Suloev via rear naked choke to advance to the semi-final round of the Welterweight Grand Prix. With this win, Kang was 18–0–1 in his last 19 contests. However, after advancing through the semi-final round of the Bushido tournament and beating Akihiro Gono on November 5, 2006 he was defeated by Kazuo Misaki in the final at Bushido 13. Kang had torn his right biceps muscle earlier that night in his win over Gono. Kang had only one match in 2007 after breaking his hand in a match against Jungkyu Choi for the Spirit MC Heavyweight Championship on March 11. Kang was unable to compete for several months. After the contract termination of PRIDE, Kang moved to K-1 Hero's maintaining the championship of Spirit MC. Kang made his K-1 Hero's debut on October 28, 2007, in "K-1 Hero's in Seoul", his opponent was Yoshihiro Akiyama, returning to MMA after a 10-month suspension. Kang lost via TKO. Kang next fight was on April 29, 2008, in the opening round of the Dream 2: Middleweight Grand Prix 2008 First Round, losing to Gegard Mousasi via triangle choke.
On August 30, 2008, Kang defended his Spirit MC Heavyweight Championship by defeating Kim Jae Young by TKO due to strikes at 1:31 of the first round. Kang defeated UFC veteran Marvin Eastman by TKO on October 25, 2008, at "Raw Combat: Redemption" in Calgary, Canada; the fight lasted 48 seconds. Kang made his UFC debut on January 17, 2009 against Alan Belcher despite suffering from ankle injury. Although Kang controlled the fight, he lost by guillotine choke at the end of round two after a takedown attempt. Kang redeemed himself with a victory over Xavier Foupa-Pokam at UFC 97 by unanimous decision. Kang faced Michael Bisping on November 14, 2009 at UFC 105. In an interview about his fight with Bisping, Kang revealed he wanted a title fight with Anderson Silva. Bisping TKO'd Kang in the 2nd round. Though Bisping was the crowd favourite in his home town Manchester and Kang was being booed on, Kang dropped Bisping with a right hand in the first round. Kang followed Bisping to the floor and attempted submissions, but Bisping defended well and neutralised Kang's attacks despite Kang having full mount.
In the 2nd round Bisping secured a single-leg takedown and the momentum of the fight shifted: he unleashed a vicious ground and pound attack on the Canadian, which Kang failed to recover from. The fight was awarded Fight of the Night honours, giving both Kang and Bisping a $40,000 bonus check. Kang was cut from the UFC on Rolando Delgado and Jason Dent. Kang announced he has signed with W1 MMA and will fight for their vacant middleweight title on December 18, 2010 in Montreal, Quebec. Denis defeated Dae Won Kim at W-1: Judgment day. Kang faced off against former WEC Middleweight Champion Paulo Filho on July 18, 2010 at an Impact Fighting Championships event; the fight was declared a split draw. Denis joined the Korean MMA promotion ROAD FC by signing a multi-fight non-exclusive deal. Denis lost to Melvin Manhoef by KO due to a knee to the body early in the first round of their DREAM 18 New Year's Eve fight at the end of 2012, his youngest brother, Julien Kang, is an model in South Korea. Kang is engaged to WBFF fitness model Christine Frances.
PRIDE Fighting Championships 2006 PRIDE Welterweight Grand Prix Runner-Up Spirit MC Spirit MC Heavyweight Championship Spirit MC Grand Prix 2004 Championship Ultimate Fighting Championship
Sam Greco
Antônio Silva
Carlos Newton
Ivan Menjivar
Caol Uno
Jerome Le Banner
Alistair Overeem
Ray Sefo
Joachim Hansen
Sergei Kharitonov
Jan Nortje
Kotetsu Boku
Gary Goodridge
Brad Pickett
Antonio McKee
Norifumi Yamamoto
Melvin Manhoef
Gesias Calvancante
Seoul, South Korea
Vilnius, Lithuania
Los Angeles, California, USA
