Power was the difference as a Kharitonov right rattled Overeem badly. The Dutchman first turned his back, and then commenced to trot away. Overeem might have liked a longer ring for his retreat, because Kharitonov quickly caught up and pounded in another right. Again Overeem moved away, and again Kharitonov closed. Even as the referee chased the pair down, presumably to issue a standing count, Kharitonov planted another punch and now Overeem was not standing, but hanging gracelessly over the lower rope. An impressive performance from Kharitonov for the decisive win.

In an all-Japan Superfight, 38 year-old mixed martial arts legend Kazushi Sakuraba met a man 10 years his junior, pro-wrestler Katsuyori Shibata.

Shibuya cocked Sakuraba's head back with a tight hook soon after the opening bell, and put in a bunch of rights from guard after Sakuraba got a takedown. Things improved for Sakuraba when he went to the side mount, as he was able to constrain Shibata and put the fists in. Suddenly, Sakuraba went for Shibata's right arm, overcoming a strong resistance to finally wrest it free and hyperextend for the submission. A virtual love-in followed as Sakuraba went to the stands to greet and thank his legion of adoring fans.

"I wasn't very impressed with Shibata's technique," said Sakuraba afterward, "but he has great fighting spirit. Sometimes mixed martial arts fights can get deadlocked, I'm glad fans could see some action in this one!"

The highly anticipated Main Superfight saw Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto, whose bid for a spot on the Japanese Olympic wrestling team was thwarted by a training injury, make his return to Hero's in a 63kg/139lb contest with jiu-jitsu fighter Bibiano Fernandes of Brazil. This was one of the few fights on the card that went the distance, and really both men were in it up to the final bell.

Yamamoto started things off with a couple of hard low kicks before a Fernandes takedown deposited the fighters under the ropes. Fernandes didn't care for the referee's suggested center-ring reset position, but nevertheless soon achieved excellent positioning for an armbar. However, even as Yamamoto appeared compromised beyond hope, he somehow rotated himself out of the hold and out of danger. Toward the end of the round, after the two again got tangled in the ropes, there was another, longer, resetting delay, drawing no fewer than four befuddled officials into the ring for consultations as Fernandes protested, Yamamoto laughed and the crowd jeered. Otherwise a good round, Fernandes scoring with a solid right hook, the Kid landing a number of good low kicks.

Throughout this one, Fernandes guarded with bicycle kicks, Yamamoto backing off rather than trying to pass There was plenty of speed and creativity here, Yamamoto reversing a Fernandes takedown and mount in the second, landing a good right straight punch, and always charging in with punches when the two were standing. The third saw Fernandes looking for takedowns and inviting his opponent to grapple, Yamamoto remaining happy to stand and score with low kicks, racking up enough to take the win by unanimous decision.

"I think it was my recent work with a Brazilian trainer that helped me to get out of that armbar," said Yamamoto afterward. "Bibiano has great takedowns and grappling, and although I've been working on my ground fighting I still prefer standing, so I tried to stay up in the fight. I'm only sorry I couldn't get a KO!"

In undercard action featuring Japanese fighters, Takenori Sato beat Kengi Nagai and Tashiro Nishiuchi beat Wataru Takahashi.

The Hero's Middleweight World Championship Tournament Final attracted a crowd of 12,310 to the Yokohama Arena and was broadcast across Japan on the TBS network. For delay broadcast information in other regions contact local providers. As always, for complete post-event coverage of this and all Hero's and K-1 events check the K-1 Official Website (www.k-1.co.jp/k-1gp).


K-1 HERO's - Tournament Final (September 17, 2007)


Match Winner Loser Method Round Time


1 Tashiro Nishiuchi over Wataru Takahashi Decision (Unanimous) Round 3, 5:00

2 Takenori Sato over Kenji Nagai Submission (Armbar) Round 1, 2:46

3 Kazuyuki Miyata over Harvey Harra Submission (Armbar) Round 1, 1:13

4 Andre Amade over Caol Uno Decision (Unanimous) Round 3, 5:00

5 Gesias Calvancanti over Vitor Ribeiro TKO (Strikes) Round 1, 0:35

6 Ikuhisa Minowa over Kevin Casey TKO (Strikes) Round 2, 0:42

7 Dong Sik Yoon over Zelg Galesic Submission (Armbar) Round 1, 1:29

8 Melvin Manhoef over Fabio Silva TKO (Strikes) Round 1, 1:00

9 Sergei Kharitonov over Alistair Overeem TKO (Strikes) Round 1, 4:21

10 Kazushi Sakuraba over Katsuyori Shibata Submission (Armbar) Round 1, 6:20

11 Norifumi Yamamoto over Bibiano Fernandes Decision (Unanimous) Round 3, 5:00

12 Gesias Calvancanti over Andre Amade Submission (Armbar) Round 1, 4:48