MMA season not over yet

Dec 30, 2008 - 9:48 PM By Anthony Malakian PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

While the hours and minutes are slowly ticking away until the conclusion of 2008, the mixed martial arts season is running right up to the end of the year.

On December 31 in Japan, K-1 will kick off its New Year's Eve card which will feature an astounding 19 fights. Some of the bouts will be fought under K-1's kickboxing rules, others will use DREAM's MMA rules.

Most importantly, the card will feature most of the best fighters in the world not fighting in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

After Wednesday, the two best lightweights in the world (whose names aren't B.J. Penn) will be decided. American Eddie Alvarez will face local hero Shinya Aoki and DREAM lightweight champion Joachim Hansen of Holland will fight Brazilian Gesias "J.Z." Calvancante.

The Alvarez-Aoki fight will be for the World Alliance of Mixed Martial Arts (WAMMA) lightweight championship belt. Some would argue that this is a slight toward Hansen, who beat Aoki to win July's DREAM lightweight tournament.

The counter argument, though, is that Alvarez defeated Hansen earlier in the tournament but then suffered a cut above his eye later that forced him out of the competition. Otherwise, it would've been Alvarez, and not Hansen, facing Aoki in the finals.

C'est la vie. Hopefully DREAM and/or K-1 will be around long enough (since there are rumors of financial distress) to have the two winners fight one another to decide who the true "best lightweight in the world" is -- again, not named B.J. Penn.

At a Tuesday press conference Hansen said that regardless of the WAMMA belt, he will fight at his usual frenetic pace, according to Japanese Web site Sportsnavi.

"Tomorrow's fight (with Calvancante) will be difficult," the Dutchman said. "(But) the winner (of the fight) is the best."

Also on the card, Armenian-born Gegard Mousasi, who now calls Holland home, will fight K-1 legend Musashi in a K-1 rules bout. Mousasi is the DREAM middleweight champ and since he's not fighting in an MMA rules fight, he said he has nothing to fear.

"I have nothing to lose, so I will do everything to win," Mousasi said.

The 36-year-old Musashi is 1-2 in K-1 fights this year, with both losses coming by way of decision. He is 49-28-5 lifetime.

Mousasi, 23, has defeated highly regarded middleweights Ronaldo Souza (to win the DREAM belt), Melvin Manhoef and Denis Kang in three of his last four fights.

The year-end card will also feature the return of Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic. He will face 7-2, 355-pound Hong Man Choi, who was submitted by WAMMA heavyweight champ Fedor Emelianenko last New Years Eve, in an MMA rules bout.

The last time Filipovic was seen in a ring, he was writhing around in pain after an accidental knee from Alistair Overeem lodged one of his testicles up into his body. Filipovic was badly losing the fight before the infraction. The fight was ruled a no contest.

Overeem will also be fighting on the card, in a K-1 rules fight, against 2008 K-1 World Grand Prix runner-up Badr Hari.

Coincidentally, Hari was disqualified in the Grand Prix finals against Remi Bonjasky. Hari apparently lost his mind temporarily and stomped down on Bonjasky's head while the referee was trying to help the downed fighter up.

Bonjasky said he was having trouble with his eye sight after the foul and, thus, won the title while sitting on his stool.

In the main event, MMA-legend and Japanese icon Kazushi Sakuraba will face Kiyoshi Tamura in a long-simmering bout. While it's not a meaningful fight since Sakuraba is long past his prime - as is Tamura - it's a major fight in Japan.

Unfortunately, the card will not be available on television in North America. But outside of the UFC, this is the most meaningful event of the year.