New Years Eve Previews: K-1, Shockwave, and Inoki

So we miss out on a number of great events here in the U.S. However, events like the Pride SP and the K-1 show will likely be made available on DVD next year. The Pride Bushido show from last October will also be made available for us here in the U.S. Now if I was in Japan and could actually see one live, which show would I pick? I think I'd go with the Inoki show. Not just because of the fact it likely won't be available here but because of the match-ups. The Suloev/Thomas, Overeem/Matyushenko and Barnett/Schilt bouts are all tough calls where with most of the Pride bouts it seems fairly obvious who is going to win.

The K-1 show would be best to watch with friends at a party on PPV with friends who know little or nothing about MMA. Besides the obvious Sapp/Akebono, look at the Filho/Toa, Hoost/Silva, Abidi/Terkay, Nortje/Naruse and Sudo/Esch bouts. That is a total spectacle card with match-up after match-up pitting diminutive fighters against the giants of the sport. There are a lot of first-timers there too. That show will have tons of shock value and people who care nothing about the sport would plop themselves down on the couch with a drink in their hand just to see what happens.

The hardcore MMA fans will want to see the Pride card but some of those matches will be highly competitive and you know how novices look at groundfighting. The Yoshida/Gracie bout alone will likely spend 2/3 of each round on the mat, Nogueira/Sakuraba and Sakurai/Takase as well. Besides, you'll get the Pride show on DVD eventually. So I guess I'm saying if you're partying in Japan on New Year's Eve and get to see one of these shows…whichever one you happen to watch, thousands of MMA fans in the U.S. will think you're one lucky devil!