Aoki-Nagashima, Uno-Miyata Announced for New Year’s Eve

---

With just over two weeks to go before its biggest event of the year, K-1 and Dream parent company Fighting and Entertainment Group confirmed five bouts Monday for “Dynamite: The Power of Courage 2010,” set to take place on New Year’s Eve at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

Dream lightweight champion Shinya Aoki will meet cosplaying K-1 Max veteran Yuichiro “Jienotsu” Nagashima in a “mixed rules” bout. While event organizers were not yet sure of exactly how the match would be executed, it appears likely that one round will feature K-1 rules, with the second being mixed martial arts.

In MMA action, Dream welterweight champion Marius Zaromskis will defend his title for the first time against 41-year-old superstar Kazushi Sakuraba; UFC veteran Caol Uno will make his long-awaited featherweight debut against Sydney Games Olympian Kazuyuki Miyata; and Tatsuya Kawajiri will face former Strikeforce lightweight champ Josh Thomson in a bout confirmed last week by Strikeforce.

Also announced was a K-1 Max matchup between knockout artist Tetsuya Yamato and colorful “Wicky” Akiyo Nishiura.

An unexpected guest at the press conference was legendary pro-wrestler and MMA innovator Antonio Inoki, who was announced as an executive producer for this year’s “Dynamite.” FEG president Sadaharu Tanikawa said that he expects Inoki to plan a surprise for this year’s show, but would not elaborate further. The 64-year-old’s inclusion is seemingly a nod to the fact that Inoki initiated the tradition of New Year’s Eve fighting events 10 years ago with his “Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2001.”

The five announced bouts bring the card’s total to six, including the Dream featherweight title rematch between champion Bibiano Fernandes and Hiroyuki Takaya. Tanikawa has stated that the final lineup will consist of approximately 13 fights, with most being MMA contests.