KANG FACES AKIYAMA IN K-1 HERO'S DEBUT

[complete]

KANG FACES AKIYAMA IN K-1 HERO'S DEBUT
Tuesday, October 16, 2007 - by Ricardo Mendoza - MMAWeekly.com

Fight Entertainment Group on Monday announced the full card for the next K-1 Hero’s event, which is scheduled to take place on Oct. 28 in Jang Chung Gymnasium in Seoul, Korea.

Pride Fighting Championships veteran Denis Kang will make his Hero’s debut in the main event against judoka Yoshihiro Akiyama.

Kang returns to action following a decision victory over Jung Gyu Choi at a Spirit MC show in March, where he suffered a broken right hand that has kept him out of action until now.

Akiyama hasn’t fought since K-1 Premium 2006 Dynamite!! this past New Year’s Eve, where he was accused of cheating against Kazushi Sakuraba. He allegedly used a lotion on his body, which resulted in him being slippery and more difficult to be taken down. Akiyama initially won the fight, but several days later, the result was changed to a no-contest and he was suspended indefinitely.

Grappling expert Marcelo Garcia will make his mixed martial arts debut, when he faces Pride veteran Dae Won Kim at a catch weight of 181 pounds.

Garcia is a multiple time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world champion and Abu Dhabi Combat Club world champion. Kim enters this fight following a submission loss to Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran Joe Doerksen at DEEP 29.

Another Pride veteran, Ikuhisa Minowa, will face Korean judoka Min Soo Kim.

In his most recent fight, Minowa earned a TKO stoppage victory over Kevin Casey at Hero’s 10. Kim hasn’t fought since losing to Brock Lesnar at K-1 Hero’s Dynamite!! USA.

Current International Fight League coach Carlos Newton returns to Hero’s to face longtime Pride and Hero’s veteran Shungo Oyama.

Newton last fought at an IFL show in Houston, losing to UFC veteran Matt Lindland. Oyama has recently been concentrating on stage acting in Japan and hasn’t fought for more than a year.

K-1 Hero’s 11
Jang Chung Gymnasium
Seoul, Korea
Oct. 28, 2007

Denis Kang vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama
Marcelo Garcia vs. Dae Won Kim
Ikuhisa Minowa vs. Min Soo Kim
Taiei Kin vs. Zelg Galesic
Yoon Dong Sik vs. Fabio Silva
Carlos Newton vs. Shungo Oyama
Bernard Ackah vs. Poai Suganama
Yoshihisa Yamamoto vs. Lee Tae Hyun