HERO'S
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- For the fish, see Heros genus; for the TV Show, see Heroes (TV series). For other uses, see Hero (disambiguation).
HERO'S was a Japanese mixed martial arts promotion operated by Fighting and Entertainment Group, the parent entity behind kickboxing organization K-1. Grown from and branched off of K-1's earlier experiments in MMA, including the K-1 Romanex event and various MMA fights on its regular K-1 kickboxing cards, it held its first show on March 26, 2005. The promotion was handled by former RINGS head Akira Maeda.
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[edit] History
Although not as popular worldwide as the Ultimate Fighting Championship or the now defunct PRIDE Fighting Championships, HERO'S was very recognizable in the Japanese mixed martial arts scene, thanks in large part to the visibility and resources of FEG and K-1, as well as the demise of PRIDE FC, and the current lack of a UFC coverage contract for Japanese audiences. HERO'S began expansion into the American market, where their proclaimed motto is "Stop the UFC"[1]
[edit] HERO's in the USA
On 27 March 2007, FEG (the Fighting Entertainment Group) the organization that owns and operates both K-1 and HEROs held a press conference at the Los Angeles Coliseum to announce their first US event to be held on 2 June 2007. The show, named K-1 Dynamite!! USA, was a joint operated venture with the newly formed Showtime Elite XC MMA organization as well as the British MMA organization Cage Rage, the newly formed MMA organization BoDog Fight and the Korean based MMA organization Spirit MC. The show was broken down into two parts, with the first part (made up of three fights) to be aired on Showtime, and the second part of the show will be aired on PPV. The proposed headliner of the event was between former WWE champion Brock Lesnar in his debut MMA fight against K-1 veteran the Korean giant Choi Hong-man.[2]
[edit] Reformation into DREAM
At a press conference on February 13th, 2008, the FEG announced that they discontinued HERO's and were creating a new mixed martial arts franchise in collaboration with the former Pride FC executives, known as DREAM. In addition to established HERO's stars, (such as Calvancanti, Akiyama, and Yamamoto) many other top fighters from around the world (such as Mirko Cro Cop and Shinya Aoki) joined the new promotion.
[edit] Notable Fighters
Many notable mixed martial artists competed in HERO's, including:
- Yoshihiro Akiyama
- Gesias Calvancanti
- Royce Gracie
- Joachim Hansen
- Denis Kang
- Sergei Kharitonov
- Brock Lesnar
- Lyoto Machida
- Melvin Manhoef
- Yushin Okami
- Alistair Overeem
- BJ Penn
- Vitor Ribeiro
- Kazushi Sakuraba
- Bob Sapp
- Jake Shields
- Antonio Silva
- Genki Sudo
- Norifumi Yamamoto
[edit] List of HERO's GP Champions
| Year | Weight class | Champion | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Middleweight | Norifumi Yamamoto |
Genki Sudo |
| 2006 | Light Heavyweight | Yoshihiro Akiyama |
Melvin Manhoef |
| 2006 | Middleweight | Gesias Calvancanti |
Caol Uno |
| 2007 | Middleweight | Gesias Calvancanti |
Andre Dida |
[edit] List of K-1 HERO's events
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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