The Weekly Wrap: Jan. 10 - Jan. 16

Sapp still ratings king; other Japan notes

Several pieces of news emerged this week about the biggest two weeks of the year in Japanese MMA and created a clearer picture of where the industry is in 2009 in that country. FEG and K-1's annual "Dynamite" broadcast on New Year’s Eve did a 11.9 share rating for the entire four-and-a-half hour presentation on the Tokyo Broadcasting System, according to The Wrestling Observer. That's well down from a 13.5 last year.

The biggest attraction for television viewers was Bob Sapp’s match against Akitoshi "Kinnuku Mantaro" Tanaka, a masked incarnation of a Japanese anime character. Coming in second was Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic vs. Hong Man Choi. Fight fans in Sweden will get the chance to see “Dynamite” when it airs Saturday on the Viasat Sport channel.

In other news from Japan, Dream will be hosting featherweight and welterweight tournaments in 2009, according to a report by Inside MMA's Ron Kruck. The 16-man featherweight tournament kicks off on March 1, and will tentatively feature the return from injury of top Japanese star Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto. The eight-man welterweight tournament begins April 5th. Both tournaments will air on HD Net.