Russian based M-1 Global organization has announced the first two bouts on what looks to be the best card of New Year's Eve, now that the UFC no longer has a title fight occurring on their upcoming card.
The first two bouts were set up when M-1 and K-1 Heroes agreed to cooperate to put together the best card possible, and they have announced that the venue for the fight will be the world class Saitama Super Arena, the home of many Pride Fighting Championship cards over the years. The move is, without a doubt, a move to show the Japanese fans how serious they are about offering a quality product.
The first bout announced was for two time K-1 Lightweight tournament champion Gesias "JZ" Calvancante to take on legendary lightweight and master of the triangle choke Shinya Aoki. While this is a fight between two athletes that most American fight fans don't understand the value of, Calvancante and Aoki are both in good position to move to the top oof the world lightweight rankings, with the liquidation of Pride, the recent loss of former #1 man Takanori Gomi and the steroid scandal surrounding UFC Champion Sean Sherk. It will be a fight that puts even more on the line than just a W or an L, it's also about who is the best 155 pound fighter in this new M-1 organization and, while there is no belt on the line yet, there is alot of value on this fight.
Calvancante is coming off of his second consecutive win of the K-1 Heroes tournament, where he defeated Vitor "Shaolin" Ribiero to take the title. Calvancante is currently sitting at the top of the mountain of K-1's lightweight MMA division.
Aoki has been inactive since his fight with Pride back in April, immediately before the organization was bought out by the UFC. He has, though, fought in DEEP in a grappling match, where he showed the dominance of his Tobukan Judo.
This is more than just a classic grappler/striker matchup, as JZ brings a very interesting style of striking and groundnpound along with some versatility in submissions, and Aoki has shown some improved striking along with one of the two best submission games at 155 pounds. (the other comparable fighter is UFC top contender BJ Penn)
The other fight is Japanese organization DEEP's contribution to the card, of their champion Hidehiko Hasegawa, who will fight MMA staple and veteran of every major organization, Hayato "Mach" Sakurai. Sakurai is a warrior who's history in the sport intersects with every major organization, and Hasegawa is a fighter who has a great deal of fame in Japan. While Hasegawa's name isn't one American fans hear to often, it's one that is well known in Japanese MMA circles, where DEEP is one of the most established organizations (basically the Japanese equivalent of King of the Cage, or World Extreme Cagefighting).
If the Sakurai v Hasegawa matchup is setting the tone for the undercard of the fight, it is clear that M-1 is serious about rounding up as many top tier fighters as they can from smaller Japanese shows, especially one's like DEEP and K-1, which already have long histories and strong rosters. These could all make for a very solid event, and make it worth throwing a party to watch live MMA in the afternoon so we can catch the New Years Eve card.
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