On Monday, Sept. 18, the K-1 group held its inaugural 67.5-kilogram tournament from Tokyo, Japan.
In the night’s tournament action, the inaugural welterweight champion was crowned when eight fighters competed for the ultimate prize in a one-night tournament. Former top-10 fighters Minoru “Philip” Kimura and Yuta Kubo clashed in one leg of the tournament bracket. In the other three tournament bouts, former Krush 67-kilogram titleholder Hitoshi Tsukakoshi took on former Wu Lin Feng 70-kilogram champion Han Wenbao, Bigbang welterweight king Kazuki Yamagiwa met Wu Lin Feng 67-kilogram world champion Melsik Baghdasaryan, and Krush champion Daiki Watabe fought Nepal’s Mohan Dragon.
In the evening’s co-main event, K-1 featherweight champion Takeru defended his title against top Glory of Heroes kickboxer Wang Junguang. Two-division world champion Takeru held an incredible record of 30 wins to only one defeat with 18 wins by way of knockout. China’s Junguang had 21 victories, two losses, and one draw.
On the main card, current K-1 champions Taiga and Yoshiki Takei met Stauros Exakoustidis and Namito Izawa in non-title affairs. Former K-1 world champion Hirotaka Urabe took on former It’s Showtime and Krush GP champion Masahiro Yamamoto and top 70-kilogram fighter Hinata Watanabe fought WAKO European champion Sergio Sanchez.
The event aired live at 1:30 a.m. ET on Ameba TV (Japan).
Takeru def. Wang Juanguang by unanimous decision (30-29, 30-29, 30-28) – for featherweight title
Stauros Exakoustidis def. Taiga by knockout. Round 1, 2:41
Yoshiki Takei def. Namito Izawa by knockout. Round 3, 1:10
Yuta Kubo def. Hitoshi Tsukakoshi by knockout. Round 1, 2:36 – welterweight tournament semifinal
Mohan Dragon def. Kazuki Yamagiwa by knockout. Round 2, 2:58 – welterweight tournament semifinal
Hirotaka Urabe def. Masahiro Yamamoto by knockout. Round 2, 2:51
Hinata Watanabe def. Sergio Sanchez by unanimous decision (30-29, 30-29, 29-28)
Koji def. Kotaro Shimano by unanimous decision (29-25 x3)
Yuta Kubo def. Minoru “Philip” Kimura by unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 30-26) – welterweight tournament quarterfinal
Hitoshi Tsukakoshi def. Han Wenbao by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-27) – welterweight tournament quarterfinal
Melsik Baghdasaryan def. Kazuki Yamagiwa by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-28) – welterweight tournament quarterfinal
Mohan Dragon def. Daiki Watabe by knockout. Round 1, 2:15 – welterweight tournament quarterfinal
Keita Makihira def. Kenji by TKO. Round 3, 1:06 – tournament reserve bout
Junpei Sano def. Ryu Nakarai by unanimous decision (30-29, 30-28, 30-28)
Michitaka Uchida def. Ryo Shimoji by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-27)
Yu Nomura def. Kiyoshiya Kanatsuka by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-29, 30-28)
Hirayama Xun def. Toshiki Watanabe by knockout. Round 1, 0:44
Taichi Furuta def. NORI by majority decision (30-29, 29-29, 30-29)