The Death of Japanese MMA?
A Yahoo News article reports that Mixed Martial Arts is on its way out in Japan, with top fighters fleeing from FEG’s Dream and K-1 to sign with American MMA promoters:
It’s not a secret that FEG has been battling financial problems stemming from the decline in interest in both kickboxing and MMA. Ratings are down. Attendance is down. Money is beyond tight. Fighters, who often have to wait months before getting paid after a fight, are looking to get out.
The most telling news about the scene was UFC’s signing of Dream’s biggest drawing card and best known current star, Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto, earlier this month, eliminating him from appearing on the December 31 show.
Yamamoto (18-3, 1 no contest), who will compete as a bantamweight and debut on Feb. 5 in Las Vegas against Demetrious Johnson, was Japanese MMA’s biggest remaining draw. He was a key ratings draw because of his popularity with younger women fans. He came from a well-known and respected amateur wrestling family – his father wrestled in the 1972 Olympics and was later the country’s Olympic team coach. His two sisters, who both looked like models, were both world champions in wrestling.
“It’s pretty bad,” K-1 U.S. representative Michael Kogan said about Yamamoto depature for the UFC. “It’s not deadly. But it’s certainly not a good thing. He was a big draw, both with TV ratings and ticket sales. It’s obviously going to hurt.”
It’s telling that Yamamoto, like Yoshihiro Akiyama before him, walked away from a scene in which they were major celebrities, to start from scratch in a place where they were not going to be pampered and where it would be almost impossible to maintain their level of success and popularity.
Another Dream fighter, Michihiro Omigawa, arguably Japan’s top featherweight, although someone who is not a star past the very small hardcore audience, also just signed with UFC. It’s hardly a secret in the industry that most of the top MMA names in Japan are making inquiries about coming to the U.S., where things are more financially stable.
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