From MMANEWS.COM

K-1 being kicked off TV network

Fuji TV President Koichi Murakami is claiming that after the next K-1 show on March 30th, Fuji TV will no longer air K-1 shows on their network.

K-1 is currently trying to arrange deals with TBS (Tokyo Broadcasting System) or even Nippon TV so that they will have another network to go to immediately after Fuji TV ends their deal with them, if that ever happens.

how about eurosport?

NTV has also been trying to dump k-1 shows from their network. this of course is not news. they've been disappointed that the k-1 org can't produce a japanese fighter who can hang with the top fighters in the world.

it's news to me

Me too. I think K-1 and NTV both are more interested in making money, all other considerations being secondary.

this development with fuji-tv is indeed news. k-1 and ntv have never had a very arm in arm relationship.

Hopefully it will be kicked off British TV as well.

Why would they want to drop it after having record viewers for the grand final? Surely its good business for everyone involved?

i don't know.

the tax thing with ishii might have something to do with it. also the suicide of the pride boss looks bad.

the ratings of the grand prix was a record high [35%] this year but that is only one night. the previous record was just shy of [20%]. compare that to kimtaku's romantic drama which draws 30% once a week and we can see that the k-1 is peanuts in terms of negotiating power.



shaun keddle,
what's up with that? you on the rag or something?

Exclude the likes of Hoost and Aerts, and its a freakshow for fat people and steriod enhanced drug cheats. Its like the Jerry Springer show with gloves on. Most fights are just a slugging matches that could be sorted out in a pub at kicking out time.

As regards to rag week - I would sooner bleed for 7 days than watch the likes of Bob Sapp.

You Guys forget that with out the publicity of K-1 much of the interest and ultimately money generated for traditional kickboxing would not be as high as it currently is.

Before you guys get on my case and tell that k-1 Does little or nothing for Muay Thai - shows the interest in Kickboxing shows in most countries which hold K-1 has increased significantly.

The problems with being a purist and a traditionalist is that you make no allowance / felxibility for something different - to your detriment. I hate Bob Sapp as much as the next man - but hey he beat Hoost twice so stop your whinging - he beat him with punches not a body slam.

sure these organisations are abnout making money but with Guys getting paid $NZ1500 - 2000 for a decent title fight (UK 1000 pounds max) I'll taske the US $5000 for a K-1 beginner ( i.e. journeyman fight) in a heart beat. In NZ our fighters fighting on a K-1 show will all earn around the vacinity (ie. cant talk exact figures) of $5000 for a one off super fight coming up. Thats 20,000 to NZ fighters alone - K-1 , sponsorship and TV rating have allowed this - not sticking to tradition.

If you want to fight for love and the art fine but you will do so in relative obscurity and earning small purses and when at the end of your career which you have decicated so much to you will have achieved in title terms/ in experience terms but having given so much physically what are your financial rewards ... Simply put K-1 offers those opportunities if you are good enough or big enough.

Unless you guys can can set up a similar organisation which can promote fights with simlar entertainment values, promise similar purses I suggest you leave out the criticism of K-1. Come up with a viable alternative / format and I'll take you seriously.

Im in agreement. I will make no comparison between K1 and MT because their simply isn't one. Two differing sports with two different sets of rules. As I said above - I just dont like K1 and unfortunately money WILL ruin true MT.

I will not offer any 'alternative' to K1 because something that bad makes daytime TV look good and I dont have to, but that does not deny me the right to voice my opinion on something that I think is not very good.

I know that Sapp beat Hoost twice but I guarantee it wasn't a fight that viewers would want to watch.

Mind you, John Merrick attracted quite a crowd.

Nasty .... Elephant Man no less

I love MT over K-1, I don't like its direction currently but I do support the opportunities it provides. I think if you are going to invest so much into a sport it should pay you back financially if you are good enough (in some cases fortunate enough) and K-1 offers that where as MT doesn't by and large.

I dont see why we bag something so mauch when none of our collective brain power / commericial acumen can come up with a viable alternative.

PS I like Oprah so maybe thats why I like K-1 ??

Also Sapp vs Hoost - garantee the viewers would watch fight three, they certainly watched fight 2 in greater numbers.

Yup true Mike. Sapp is the biggest draw in K-1 by far. I don't know what upsets "TR00 moo TIe" practitioners more the fact that a giant-sized ex NFL guy with minimal to no skill beat up top level K-1 guys or the fact that he helps sell tickets and puts butts in seats. Anyhow for what it's worth Sapp Vs.Hoost III would be gigantic.

You guys think this might have something to do with Ishi leaving?

I agree Mike, for the pain and the effort these guys go through, the money just simply is not enough. My own two brothers have gone through 75 MT fights between them and the sacrifice, pain and effort they went through just was not worth the money.

With this 'MT needs more money' opinion, I'm against it, because I feel the sport will be diluted and disappear if access was gained to a wider and more commercial audience. People would be up in arms against the harshness of the sport and as a result new laws and legaslations will be introduced to kerb and ban the art.

K1 is an avenue for guys to put some green in their pocket, and I respect that principle, but it is limited to the super heavyweights and I believe that money has turned it into a freakshow.

Really, the situation is caught between the ocean and the deep blue sea. Our sports need more money but I believe that it will be of a detrimental affect to the sport, an option I am not in favour of. Cue, Bob Sapp. A steriod enhanced freak of science, here just for the money. I believe their is a lot more Bob Sapps to come. The public might want to see 8 Bob Sapps slugging it out, but not me.

Monkey, - I have no probs with the fact that Bob Sapp beat Hoost twice, in fact it did not surprise me at all. Hoost should have retired a while ago, but again the money element has over ruled common sense (imo). MT fighters are only at their best when they stick to MT. Good luck if they can deviate. Its the same in boxing - plenty of MT fighters who make the switch get beaten by boxers. However, It would be interesting to see the tables reversed, but saying that I probably still would not watch it.

True, with all the Thai fights you have, ie: all the stitches broken up body parts, you end up with a pat on the back, A big wooe-who, K-1 well looks like you get money in your pocket.

well shaun,
let me assure you that thailand and muay thai have absolutely nothing to do with the k-1/fuji-tv contract. no one in japan could give a rat's ass about purity this or ruined that. if their money ruins muay thai forever, they won't even blink. i sure won't.

personally, i don't like the elbows, knees, clinch, 5-round [or shorter] matches. but i do feel that the taste for kickboxing will change the way muay thai is taught.

feel free to cling to the past though. "little skinny guys hugging," you can say to your grandkids "was the way it used to be."

as for me, until proven otherwise, only the heavyweights can be trusted to show up at their contracted weight. the others are unreliable bastards who put promoters in a pinch when they show up 5lbs over and say "shit happens man".

finally, seeing how you decided to jump on brian's thread about k-1 and fuji-tv and rant about muay thai purity, i'm sure you won't mind if those of us who merely tolerate muay thai jumps on one of your threads and criticises the silly dancing, crappy music, butt wiggling and tasseled tennis racquet.

adam,

i do.

Actually I understand what Shaun means about the freakshow aspect a bit. Sapp doesn't do much to make a strong arguement for learning kickboxing or striking skills, since he just mauls everyone with little to no skill applied. But the truth is muay thai lost any purity the second it left the shores of Thailand and went across the ccean. The freakshow aspect I do actually partially agree with. Nonetheless K-1 has done more for public awareness of even muay thai in my opinon than any event in the past 10 years that I can think of. But what's the alternative? A bunch of elitists competing against each other and slapping each other on the back and assuring each other they're the best when the truth is they aren't? Muay Thai has evolved immeasureably since it's inception. Any deviation from what it once was is already a loss of purity.

I have the opposite view, this sport and fightsport in general should be as populist as possible. I want every man, woman, child in the world to watch K-1. Muay Thai does need more money. Shaun, if you want to maintain your level of 'purity' then I guess all muay thai fighters should be entirely amatuer and never ask for money. Because demand for money will always lead to demand for more money. Can you blame them? Getting your ass kicked for crap pay really is hard enough as is. I fault no one for trying to earn more through a sport they love.

As for Felix, yeah I could care less about 'purity' as well but I do love muay thai and my opinon is conflicted regarding whether mongkons and ram muay pays much respect to muay thai and Thailand in general. But to refer to them as tennis rackets or whatever is disrespectful. But I do respect people's rights to use both. The real irony is that many thais in Thailand are now learning NHB as well as muay thai and I have no doubts that time will show them excelling in both. Apparently not too many of them have any issue with branching out or much concern about purity dilution through participation in other related sports.

Lastly, isn't K-1 trying to get more middle weights involved through K-1 Max? By the way that represents a big(ger) payday for them as well. Seriously, do you think K-1 should stop that as well?