A press conference for K-1 BEYOND, scheduled to be held on Saturday, May 31, at Yokohama BUNTAI in Yokohama, Japan, took place on the 27th in Tokyo.
K-1 announced that K-1 WORLD GP Cruiserweight Champion Liu Ce will participate in the event and defend his title. In attendance at the press conference were K-1 producer Mitsuru Miyata, Liu, and Wu Lin Feng (WLF) producer Shi Qing from China. It was also announced that K-1 and WLF have entered into a partnership. Additionally, the previously announced event name, K-1 WORLD MAX 2025, has been changed to K-1 BEYOND.
Since before its establishment in 2009, K-1 has had exchanges with WLF. Through CFP (Chinese Fighting Promotion, led by Hiroyuki Iwakuma), fighter exchanges have been actively conducted. On January 25 this year, K-1’s Hirotaka Asahisa participated in WLF’s 16-man tournament, which had been ongoing since last year, and advanced to the final four tournament. Asahisa fought in the finals but unfortunately lost, finishing as the runner-up. As previously reported, WLF’s March 29 event will feature K-1 Team Captain Yoshihiro Sato, along with K-1 representatives Yodkhunpon Weerasakreck (Thailand/K-1 Super Lightweight Champion), Kacper Muszyński (Poland), and Shota Meguro (Yuya Dojo).
Additionally, at K-1 BEYOND on May 31 at Yokohama BUNTAI, Liu Ce will defend his title, and K-1 WORLD GP Super Welterweight Champion Ouyang Feng will also make his first title defense. Opponents are currently being arranged and will be announced later.
At the press conference, Shi Qing stated, “Today in Tokyo, we are witnessing a historic moment with the signing of the cooperation agreement between WLF and K-1. This agreement is not merely a signing ceremony; I would like to emphasize that it marks the beginning of a new cooperative relationship between WLF and K-1.
In 2006, K-1 held its first event in China as an organization. Since then, WLF and K-1 have maintained a deep friendship and cooperative relationship for 19 years. During this time, we have experienced countless exciting moments together and witnessed the legends of many fighters.
Looking to the future, the matches created by these two top organizations will become even more thrilling. I am certain they will bring unforgettable excitement to the audience. We expect that every fight and every challenge will become a part of the new history of martial arts and combat sports. Going forward, we are considering new initiatives such as holding inter-promotional battles between Wulinfeng and K-1 champions and organizing title matches. We aim to take on new challenges.”
Moving forward, he hops that K-1 and WLF can establish a unified ranking system. He also aims to host joint events in the future, facilitating inter-promotional matches among top fighters worldwide.
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