that he wants to fight me. I feel strong, I've trained at Golden Glory with fighters like Errol Zimmerman and Gokhan Saki, and it's also part of my normal training to train in K-1 rules. So I'm very confident. Hari and I are going to have two fights, this New Year's Eve in K-1 rules then later in the year in DREAM rules. I can't wait to get my hands on him. He knocked out [fellow Golden Glory fighter] Zimmerman, so this is a little bit of a revenge match for me!"
Musashi vs Mousasi
Also under standup rules, Japanese K-1 veteran Musashi will fight Dutchman Gegard Mousasi in a battle of near namesakes.
Mousasi is another MMA fighter new to K-1 Rules: "Yes, this is new for me, so I don't know how I'm going to perform, but it's exciting. Because of my weight at 84kg, I was more focused on my ground game in the past, but I've been sparring with Jerrel Venetiaan, and training with the pads with Ernesto Hoost and my kyokushin karate friends. I have to read the K-1 rules again (laughs), but it's kicking kneeing and punching, so I think I'll be alright. I'm now going for a 93kg fighting weight, and once I get over 100kg I'll want to fight more in K-1 rules. I've watched Musashi's K-1 fights, and I know he's a good fighter and has experience that I don't, so I'll make up for that with speed and explosiveness."
Musashi arrived at the interview space merrily singing a song: "I'm in top condition and two days away from the fight, so I feel great," said the seidokaikan stylist. "I had injuries this year, maybe I wasn't treating them early with massage and so on so they got worse. I think I have to be more cautious now because I'm getting older, this year I learned to take better care of myself. Dynamite is my last fight of the year, so I want it to be a good one. Because Mousasi is lighter than me he can move faster, so the key will be keeping up with him, so I trained mainly for speed. I've seen videos of Mousasi's fights, they are mostly MMA fights, but I've also heard he has good striking techniques. Still, I think if I can fight my style of fight with speed, then I'll be ok."
Also in K-1 Rules it will be Japanese fighters Kozo Takeda and Tatsuya Kawajiri, while two-time K-1 Max Japan Champion Yoshihiro Sato will meet 22 year-old Ukrainian Artur Kyshenko in a 71 kg/157lbs contest.
K-1 Koshien
An added bonus on the Dynamite is the conclusion of the inaugural K-1 Koshien high school tournament -- for fighters aged 18 and under, with a 60kg/132lbs weight limit. It will be Hiroya vs Shota Shimada and Ryuya Kusakabe vs Koya Urabe in the semis, the best two boys then battling for the K-1 Koshien trophy. The Koshien reserve match pits Daizo Sasaki against Taishi Hiratsuka.
FieLDS DYNAMITE!! 2008 kicks off at 3 p.m. on Wednesday December 31 at the Saitama Super arena. The event will be broadcast live across Japan on the TBS Network. For scheduling information in other regions contact local broadcasters. For complete coverage of this and all DREAM and K-1 events visit the K-1 Official Website (
www.k-1.co.jp/k-1gp).The complete fight card, with weight classes, fight formats and rules, is here:
http://www.k-1.co.jp/k-1gp/top884.htmFieLDS DYNAMITE!! 2008 kicks off at 3 p.m. on Wednesday December 31 at the Saitama Super arena. The event will be broadcast live across Japan on the TBS Network. For scheduling information in other regions contact local broadcasters. For complete coverage of this and all DREAM and K-1 events visit the K-1 Official Website (
www.k-1.co.jp/k-1gp).
