Hideo Tokoro: Taro Irei | Sherdog.com
Fighting and Entertainment Group today continued to fill out the card for “Dynamite: The Power of Courage 2010,” adding a trio of MMA bouts and one kickboxing match to take place on New Year’s Eve at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.
Meanwhile, Dream light heavyweight champion Gegard Mousasi will take part in a K-1 rules bout against K-1 heavyweight champ Kyotaro Fujimoto, also known by the ring name Keijiro Maeda. Mousasi made his K-1 debut at last year’s “Dynamite,” where he scored a quick first-round technical knockout over promotional stalwart Musashi.
Tokoro will try to close out the year with a win, having gone 0-2 thus far in 2010, with losses to Joachim Hansen and “Wicky” Akiyo Nishiura. The ex-janitor from Reversal Gym will likely seek to apply his grappling game against the standup-oriented Watanabe, who makes his MMA debut. Since switching fom boxing to kickboxing in February 2009, Watanabe has gone just 1-4 under the K-1 banner, his lone win having come against MMA fighter Atsushi Yamamoto.
Last New Year’s Eve, “Minowaman” won Dream’s Super Hulk open-weight tournament by upsetting Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou. Since then, the popular pro wrestler has gone 3-1, besting oversized opponents Jimmy Ambriz, Imani Lee and Chang Hee Kim, while losing a decision in a short-notice bout against 2008 Olympic judo gold medalist Satoshi Ishii.
Minowa will try his luck against another decorated Olympic judoka in Izumi, a silver medialist at the 2004 Athens Games. Izumi comes to “Dynamite” on loan from Sengoku Raiden Championship, under whose banner he notched a pair of wins in 2010, including a narrow split decision over James Zikic in October. The 28-year-old light heavyweight’s MMA ledger currently stands at 3-1.