It’s tragically appropriate that the poster for FEG’s Dynamite!! show depicts a rather lonely and barren ambience.

Holding steadfast to Japanese tradition, the New Year’s Eve mega-event has only announced two official fights for the card, and even heavyweight judoka Hidehiko Yoshida is annoyed with the last-minute shenanigans.

“They’re making light of the MMA fans by not having announced any fights until now,” said Yoshida.  “My fight is already decided but they haven’t announced any other fight after that. I feel sorry for the fighters.”

There is light at the end of the tunnel with a handful of confirmed competitors and a few scattered rumors on expected match-ups, and also a press conference scheduled for tomorrow that will surely unveil more information.

Under the World Victory Road (WVR) banner, Yoshida was originally scheduled to face Satoshi Ishii in Sengoku’s first show under their newly re-branded name “Sengoku Raiden Championships” (SRC).  Shortly after, news shook the MMA world that WVR would cancel Sengoku and form a partnership with longtime promotional rival Fighting and Entertainment Group (FEG), the company that runs the prominent DREAM and K-1 promotions that compete with WVR’s Sengoku shows.

The Yoshida vs. Ishii fight, which was the centerpiece of the SRC show and also marks Ishii’s highly anticipated MMA debut, was relocated to the Dynamite!! lineup.  Satoshi Ishii is a highly decorated Judo player who took home the gold medal in the 2008 Summer Olympics, and his pairing with fan favorite Hidehiko Yoshida is sure to be a monumental ratings hook.

The finals of DREAM’s “Super Hulk” open weight tournament pitting Ikuhisa Minowa against Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou serves as the second official bout.  The crowd will be heavily rallying behind Minowa to win the tournament in dramatic fashion as the smallest competitor amongst the giants in this Japanese-themed version of “David vs. Goliath”.

Newly signed Strikeforce middleweight Melvin Manhoef has confirmed his participation, and Strikeforce light-heavyweight champion Gegard Mousasi will be competing in his second fight under K-1 rules, but neither have opponents as of yet.

The rumor mill is running strong for this show, but it looks promising that the front page of the Xtreme Couture website lists Ray Sefo vs. Yosuki Nishijima for December 31^st in Japan.  Middle Easy reported a mixfight.nl post pointing towards Alistair Overeem meeting Kazuyuki Fujita, and headkicklegend hints at Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Kazuo Misaki (who was recently taken off suspension for some rebellious behavior), Semmy Schilt vs. Hong Man Choi, and Badri Hari vs. Jerome Le Banner.

Stay tuned for the results of the Dynamite!! press conference tomorrow.

 

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