a rag doll. Soon, Minowaman managed to get to his feet and began running circles again. Had the bout been fought on a tennis court this might have gone on forever. As it was Zulu cut off the ring and got another takedown, but was woefully unable to work a submission before the bell sounded. Zulu tracked and downed his prey again in the third, and this time his hammer punches prompted Minowaman's corner to throw the towel.

The ever-aggressive Dutch kickboxer Melvin Manhoef made his Dynamite!! debut, testing his mixed martial arts skills against Japanese boxer Yosuke Nishijima. The two strikers squared off from the start, Manhoef coming in with a flurry of punches that left Nishijima stunned against the ropes. Somewhat surprisingly, Manhoef then elected to execute a takedown, quickly assuming a full mount to finish his opponent with the good old-fashioned ground 'n pound.

In a 70kg/154lbs bout, it was wrestler Kazuyuki Miyata of Japan versus lean mean multidisciplinary fighting machine Joachim Hansen of Norway. After a bit of sparring, Miyata got the takedown and mount, but Hansen's guard forced a stalemate and re-stand. Miyata connected with a high kick and a left hook, but Hansen scored a strong down with a left hook. As a vulnerable Miyata lay on his back Hansen approached, only to be stopped by the bell. Miyata got another takedown to start the second. Hansen was good in guard, then suddenly rolled his opponent into a choke sleeper for the tapout win.


There were some big names competing in the K-1 Rules side of the Dynamite!! card.

World Max star Masato of Japan made his annual appearance, hosting accomplished South Korean boxer Yong Soo Choi. This was a fast and furious fight, Choi using his reach to chase Masato with straight punches in the early going, Masato answering in kind. Choi would have loved to box with Masato, but this is K-1, and Masato positively flummoxed the Korean with his legwork. Choi never found his distance, as most everything he swung sailed harmlessly past Masato. With excellent timing, Masato released a high kick that rocked Choi's jaw and put him down in a heap. Masato turned away, apparently believing that was the finish -- but Choi valiantly beat the count, and managed to get out of the round. In the second, Masato controlled the fight with his kicks and knees, and although Choi connected with a good right straight punch here, so did Masato. In the third Masato kept up the pressure, unleashing his full arsenal of attacks on an exasperated and exhausted Choi, whose corner had little choice but to throw the towel.

"I didn’t want the towel to be thrown in," said Masato afterward, "I wanted to finish him with a punch. I could feel that my punches were solid, but his punches didn't do squat. As for going for K-1 Max Championship again, I say this every year -- but yes, I want to. The training menu has already been decided. My trainer said it's going to be tough, with lots of running (laughs). As long as I'm in the game, I want to shoot for number one. If I don't, I'll regret it. I'll fight until I’m satisfied. I tried a bunch of different things recently, but in the end I'm addicted to the fight game!"

Seidokaikan fighter Nicholas Pettas of Denmark pledged to mark the 20th anniversary of his first-ever karate lesson with a victory over ssirium wrestler Young Hyun Kim of South Korea. This was no small challenge, as Kim brought a 37cm/12" height and 50kg/134lbs weight advantage to the ring. Both fighters had a plan -- Kim wanted to close and bring up the knees; Pettas wanted to chop away with the low kicks.

Pettas' plan prevailed. The Dane avoided the knees while repeatedly firing in hard low kicks, and as the clapper sounded, scored a down when Kim's battered left leg gave out. In the second, incredibly, Pettas got a high kick up to his opponent's head, then moved in with big overhand punches. It was a right that proved the decisive blow, as Kim began to sway, and like a tired old redwood, lumbered slowly to the ground and just lay there. A triumphant performance by Pettas that brought the crowd to their feet in delirium.

Japanese seidokaikan fighter Musashi took on the card's second African-born Japanese television comedian when he meets Bernard Ackah of Cote d'Ivoire. Musashi chided Ackah at the pre-event press conference, "I love comedians and respect Ackah for what he is, but this is K-1…" The remark prompted Ackah to retort, "I'm also a fighter, don't worry, there will be no comedy in the ring when we meet."

The Osaka-born Musashi did not come out particularly hard in front of his hometown crowd. Instead he found himself eating a lot of leather as Ackah put him on the ropes and unloaded a dozen quick punches. Musashi's guard stayed high and close, but a number of the blows, especially a couple of uppercuts, made good contact. The second round saw Musashi looking truer to form, pressing well and hurting Ackah with low kicks, pumping in the body blows and a good right hook. Ackah answered with straight punches but Musashi simply had more power on his stuff. In the third Musashi took total control, throwing middle kicks and hooks past his opponent's clumsy guard, pounding in a right then a left hook to drop Ackah and pick up the KO win.

In an undercard bout, Japanese fighter Takashi Tachikawa withstood a determined early challenge before cutting down Yoshihisa Inoue with low kicks.

Dynamite!! 2007 also featured a special K-1 Rules tournament for fighters aged 18 and under, with a 60kg/132lbs weight limit. Meant to develop the next generation of Japanese K-1 fighters, the K-1 U-18 Japan Tournament mirrored the classic K-1 elimination format, but with four fighters participating instead of eight.

The preeminent Japanese K-1 prospect is undoubtedly kickboxer Hiroya, who will turn 16 next week and names Masato as his hero. Hiroya had prevailed in all three of his previous K-1 bouts. In his semifinal bout here, he faced karate stylist Kizaemon Saiga.

Hiroya went with the hard low kicks from the start, while a flashy Saiga responded with flying and flip kicks before being stopped by a low blow. After resumption Saiga was again quick and creative with the legs, just missing with an ax and then making partial contact with a kyokushin kick. Hiroya stayed with the low kicks, and brought the knees up late in the round. Throughout, the boys showed very good balance and blocking. The second saw Hiroya using the front kick to control the distance while firing in more hard low kicks; Saiga mostly missing, albeit spectacularly, with his jazzy legwork. In the third Saiga landed a good right straight punch early, but Hiroya came across with the better stuff later, including a nice left hook, to wrap up the win with a unanimous decision.

The second U-18 semifinal featured kickboxers Kenji Kubo and Yudai. Both youngsters mixed up