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39-595: Originally under the ownership of the Fighting and Entertainment Group (FEG), K-1 was considered to be the largest Kickboxing organization in the world. The organization was known for its heavyweight division fights and Grand Prix tournaments . K-1 also promoted mixed martial arts events, with some events having both kickboxing and MMA matches on their cards (such as their Dynamite!! series). The promotion has also held several tournaments under K-2 and K-3 banners from 1993 to 1995. FEG would later face financial issues in

78-524: A Japanese publication that, "The current course is that FEG will die", leading to further speculation about the future of FEG. FEG USA's Mike Kogan added, "[U]nless the money comes now, meaning the investors that have been talking commit and we start to move forward, the company will die. There is no way for it to survive, we have exhausted all good will." On July 28, 2011, FEG sold K-1 along with most of its trademarks to Japanese real estate firm Barbizon Co. Ltd. On May 16, 2012, Tanikawa officially declared

117-551: A heavyweight World Grand Prix, as well as a new partnership with Kyokushinkaikan. On August 8, 2023, former executive producer Mitsuru Miyata was appointed as the Krush producer. On January 19, 2024, Kazuyoshi Ishii was appointed as an advisor. K-1 rules are as follows: While under FEG ownership, K-1 events were centred around the K-1 World Grand Prix, including qualifying tournaments and preliminaries held around

156-475: A multi-year broadcast deal with Videoland in the Netherlands. The deal covers all Glory events starting from Glory 81: Ben Saddik vs. Adegbuyi 2 . On 16 February 2024 a multi-year broadcast deal with DAZN covering France and Belgium was announced. In January 2022 Glory announced a new series of events called Glory Rivals, jointly promoted with regional promotions. The first Rivals event with Enfusion

195-738: A new company K-1 Global Holdings Ltd. in Hong Kong . K-1 Global Holdings, Ltd., became the new official owner of the K-1 brand. K-1 Global's agreement with promotion required that certain fighters signed under It's Showtime appear in upcoming K-1 Global events. The K-1 World MAX Final 16 took place on May 27, 2012, at the Palacio Vistalegre in Madrid, Spain. After the event, controversy and rumors circulated over fighters not being paid for their performances, unpaid financial obligations of FEG, and

234-601: A new multi-year deal with ESPN . Glory was broadcast on Veronica TV in the Netherlands from July, 2018 to February, 2020. Beginning in 2019, Glory initiated a partnership with the UFC for the former's events to be exclusively carried in the U.S by UFC Fight Pass . The first event to be broadcast as part of this partnership was Glory 63: Houston on February 1 and the last event was Glory 75: Utrecht on February 29, 2020. Events from Glory 76 to Glory 80 Studio were available through pay-per-view. 28 June 2022 Glory announced

273-458: Is also seen as its own style of kickboxing and sometimes is erroneously considered as a standalone martial art/combat sport. Kickboxing governing bodies such as the ISKA and WKN have also crowned their own "K-1 rules" champions. K-1's predecessor, Seidokaikan Karate, was formed in 1980 by Kazuyoshi Ishii , a former Kyokushin karate practitioner who had formed his own organization to help promote

312-679: Is an event where 16 participants compete for the final eight spots in the Final ("Final 8"). Eight participants from the Final Eliminator meet at the K-1 World Grand Prix Final. Other elements of the tournament format would be modified over the years. The final was held at Tokyo Dome from 1997 to 2006, while the 2012 final took place for the first time in history outside Japan, in Zagreb, Croatia . By 2002, K-1 started

351-484: The Tenshin Nasukawa vs. Takeru crossover pay-per-view event, known as " THE MATCH 2022 ". On February 28, 2023, M-1 Sports Media acquired the global licensing rights for the K-1 brand, which was from that point forward managed by K-1 International Federation (KIF). On July 17, 2023, Takumi Nakamura stepped down stepped down from the position of producer. Former Glory Japan General Manager Carlos Kikuta

390-630: The Tokyo Broadcasting System and Fuji TV during FEG ownership. Following the reformation of K-1 under the "K-1 World League" & "K-1 World GP" banners, events would air through other broadcasters such as GAORA SPORTS, BS Sky PerfecTV! and TV Tokyo . K-1 events are currently broadcast through streaming service Abema TV domestically in Japan. The promotion regularly uploads full fights, press conferences, and general media to its global YouTube channel. On August 30, 2023, it

429-458: The 2010s, and eventually went bankrupt in 2012. That same year, K-1 Global Holdings Limited, a company registered in Hong Kong, acquired the rights to K-1. In 2023, global rights to the K-1 brand were acquired by M-1 Sports Media. The letter K in K-1 is officially designated as a representation of words karate , kickboxing and kung fu . Nevertheless, some reports suggest that it represents

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468-539: The K-1 World MAX ("Middleweight Artistic Xtreme") tournament for 70 kg (154 lb) Middleweight division, following a similar scheme to K-1 World Grand Prix (with theoretically four regional eliminators). In 2007, K-1 introduced two new title belts separate from K-1 World GP Champions, Super Heavyweight World Title for fighters over 100 kg/220 lbs and Heavyweight World Title for fighters under 100 kg/156–220 lbs. K-1 events have been shown on

507-503: The KHAOS brand, which is seen as the third tier of competition, as a stepping stone between amateur and professional competition. K-1 maintains a number of gyms throughout Japan, from which potential kickboxers can transition from training to amateur competition to professional competition. A fighter can viably spend their entire career under the K-1 umbrella. On September 20, 2016, "K-1 World GP" executive producer Kensaku Maeda retired, and

546-541: The Rock , Hero's and Dream , as well doing co-productions with Dream Stage Entertainment , the parent company of PRIDE Fighting Championships . On December 31, 2010, after the Dream event Dynamite!! 2010 , Tanikawa announced a three-month hiatus for FEG, stating, "2011 is a comeback year for us. We will restructure the company for three months and start holding events in the spring." In January 2011, Sadaharu Tanikawa told

585-528: The World League acquiring naming rights and exclusive license for the Japanese region from K-1 Global Holding Ltd. "K-1 World League" would focus on fighters in the 55 kg, -60 kg, -65 kg, -70 kg and heavyweight weight classes; and would be structured around professional events, amateur competitions and K-1 gyms. M-1 Sports Media is in charge of planning and production. "K-1 World League"

624-567: The bankruptcy of FEG. This article about a Japanese corporation- or company-related topic is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Glory (kickboxing) Glory (formerly Glory World Series ) is an international promotion kickboxing promotion founded in 2012. It is owned by Pierre Andurand , Yao Capital, Scott Rudmann and other investors. When K-1 began suffering from extreme financial difficulties in 2011, Total Sports Asia, TSA CEO Marcus Luer, Pierre Andurand , and Scott Rudmann of Nectar Capital attempted to buy

663-586: The best stand-up martial artists. Seidokaikan arranged several successful challenge events against other martial arts organizations, originally using rules based on the Kyokushin Knockdown karate rules, but gradually adapting and changing closer to kickboxing rules. In 1993, Mr. Ishii founded the K-1 exclusively as a kickboxing organization, closely cooperating with, but independent from Seidokaikan. In 2010, rumours began to surface regarding financial issues with K-1, and parent company FEG . Simon Rutz,

702-481: The brand. K-1 was instead sold to Mike Kim and EMCOM Entertainment Inc. In the aftermath, Pierre Andurand, Scott Rudmann and TSA decided to start a brand new kickboxing promotion and acquired United Glory, Golden Glory , and It's Showtime to secure a top event production team and contracts to each promotion's top fighters. Forming the Glory World Series , Pierre Andurand was named Chairman and Rudmann

741-408: The direction that its owner was taking K-1. The entire K-1 brand, along with most of its trademarks, with the exception of, 'K-1 Koshien', 'K-1 MAX' and ' Dream ', were sold to Japanese real estate firm, Barbizon Corporation Limited, on July 28, 2011. On February 1, 2012, EMCOM Entertainment Inc. purchased K-1 from Barbizon. In March 2012, It's Showtime announced that EMCOM Entertainment established

780-458: The executive producer. On January 26, 2019, Krush was renamed "K-1 KRUSH FIGHT" to further announce the connection between the two brands. However, on December 7, 2019, it was renamed back to Krush. The aim of renaming the competition back to Krush was to dispel the image of the brand as the second tier of K-1. On February 10, 2023, K-1 agreed on a mutual exchange of fighters with fellow Japanese promotion RISE , after they successfully co-promoted

819-620: The global CEO of Glory Sports International. In August, 2014 Andrew Whitaker moved into an advisory role within GLORY and Jon J. Franklin was appointed as the new CEO. Under Franklin's leadership Glory was named the Number one kickboxing league in the world by Combat Press and one of the three most important global combat sports leagues by Fox Sports (along with the UFC and Bellator). In 2018, Glory announced that former CEO Jon J. Franklin had moved to

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858-583: The incomplete transfer of ownership of the K-1 name. As a result, the K-1 World Grand Prix scheduled for 2012 would be cancelled if these issues were not resolved. The chairman of the new K-1 resolved these issues by paying fighters what was owed and including a 50% bonus. It was announced in June 2012 that It's Showtime was purchased by Glory Sports International, eventually to be merged in their new promotion GLORY . On August 10, 2012, K-1's co-promotion agreement with Romanian -based kickboxing promotion SUPERKOMBAT

897-467: The initial K found in competing disciplines such as karate, kickboxing, kung fu, kempo , kakutougi (the generic Japanese term for "combat sports"), and taekwondo . Another theory claims that the K simply comes from kakutougi and the "1" component pertains to the single weight division (in earlier competition) and the champion's unique position. K-1 has its own unique ruleset different from other styles of Kickboxing. Because it has become so popular, K-1

936-411: The largest kickboxing promotion in the world, K-1 . FEG was founded in order to administrate K-1 after its founder and president Kazuyoshi Ishii was arrested for money laundering . Sports journalist and Ishii's acquaintance Sadaharu Tanikawa was his successor and created FEG as a holding company for K-1, eventually including other events under its umbrella, such as MMA promotions Rumble on

975-735: The number of actual elimination tournaments or change locations. K-1 attempted to gain popularity in the United States by holding two GPs, however only a few Americans have ever qualified for the Finals. In 2006, one of the American GPs was relocated to Auckland . Additionally the K-1 Paris GP lost its qualifying right in favor of Amsterdam . Eventually, Amsterdam would lose it in favor of Łódź , and then Łódź in favor of Bucharest . K-1 World Grand Prix Final Eliminator ("Final 16")

1014-526: The owner of the Dutch -based kickboxing promotion It's Showtime , claimed in January 2011 that some fighters from It's Showtime had not been paid for fights in K-1. In early 2011, FEG publicly announced that they were facing financial problems and that the organization would take some months off to restructure. Many fighters and managers spoke out against FEG, due to unpaid fight purses, as well as objections to

1053-488: The role of Chief Development Officer, and former UFC executive Marshall Zelaznik had been hired as the new CEO. On May 15, 2020, Glory announced Zelaznik had resigned as Glory CEO. On May 26, 2020, Glory Sports International went into receivership, and soon after ownership of Glory was transferred to London-based GSUKCO Limited. Rudmann is the Executive Vice-Chairman, running the league since it

1092-414: The world. Under the "K-1 World GP" brand from 2014 to present, K-1 events almost exclusively took place in Japan. Its event schedule would feature a mix between traditional, single-fight events, and events featuring one-night tournaments to determine the champion in one of its weight classes. The following is a list of countries that K-1 has held events in chronological order: The original K-1 Grand Prix

1131-550: Was a single-event tournament held in Japan where competitors participated on invitation. By 1998, K-1 introduced the K-1 World Grand Prix format composed of K-1 Regional Elimination Tournaments (theoretically amounting to six), which qualify fighters for the K-1 World Grand Prix Final, along with licensed K-1 Fighting Network events designed to hold national preliminaries for regional qualification. K-1's popularity differs greatly among six K-1 regions, which may limit

1170-420: Was announced as the new K-1 producer on July 18, 2023. That same day, K-1 announced a collaborative event with Quintet called ReBOOT , which will be held on September 10, 2023. The promotion subsequently announced their intention to re-brand their weight classes (under the "K-1 WORLD GP" and "K-1 WORLD MAX" banners, for heavyweights and fighters weighting -75 kg and under, respectively), that they would hold

1209-524: Was announced that DAZN would begin distributing future K-1 events in 200 countries, beginning with the ReBOOT～K-1 ReBIRTH～ event on September 10. Fighting and Entertainment Group Fighting and Entertainment Group (FEG) was the leading Japanese combat sport promoter founded on September 3, 2003. Its last president was Sadaharu Tanikawa and it was the parent company behind the now-defunct mixed martial arts series Dream and formerly,

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1248-401: Was announced. Though the agreement would eventually end, SK president Eduard Irimia stated that while its company will be independent in 2013 it will still continue to have cooperation with any interested promotion, including K-1, by offering fighters. On May 29, 2014, the launch of a "K-1 World League" in Japan was announced. It is considered to be a separate entity from the K-1 of 2012, with

1287-519: Was appointed again as CEO. In June 2013, after having its first U.S. event in New York, Glory 9: New York on June 22, 2013, Spike TV signed a multi-year agreement to broadcast Glory kickboxing events; their partnership began with Glory 11: Chicago on October 12 of that year. The broadcast deal with Spike was extended in May 2014 to cover 2015. In February 2016, Glory CEO Jon J. Franklin announced

1326-592: Was held on September 17, 2022, in Alkmaar, Netherlands. Glory Rivals 3 was organized at Sporthallen Zuid in Amsterdam on November 5, 2022. Ibrahim El Bouni defeated Muhammed Balli by knock-out in the first round. Glory Rivals 4 took place on December 25 at Ryogoku Sumo Arena in Tokyo, Japan, in collaboration with Rise and Shoot boxing . Kento Haraguchi defeated Serhii Adamchuk by unanimous decision. GLORY Rivals 5

1365-709: Was named vice-chairman. A number of people formerly involved with these three entities event became Glory consultants. Glory World Series signed most of the world's top kickboxers, such as Peter Aerts , Remy Bonjasky , Semmy Schilt , Gokhan Saki , Daniel Ghiţă , Albert Kraus , and Giorgio Petrosyan . The company includes a mix of entrepreneurs and senior level executives from different environments. The company's current investors include Pierre Andurand , Scott Rudmann and Nectar Capital and Yao Capital . Former investors have been Liberty Global , and TwinFocus Capital Partners . In February 2013, Glory announced that former WWE Executive VP Andrew Whitaker had been hired as

1404-533: Was scheduled for May 21, 2022, at the Lotto Arena in Antwerp , Belgium. The event was later cancelled due to the finances of Enfusion's local promoter partner Antwerp Fight Organization catching the attention of Belgian authorities. Glory Rivals 1 was instead held on June 11, 2022, in Alkmaar, Netherlands. In the main event Luis Tavares defeated Florent Kaouachi by knockout in the third round. Glory Rivals 2

1443-451: Was subsequently renamed K-1 World GP on September 24, 2014. After its formation, "K-1 World League" formally incorporated the Krush brand. Launched prior to the folding of FEG, in 2009, Krush was a collaboration between K-1 and AJKF . It was seen at the time as the second tier of K-1 competition, and produced a number of future K-1 fighters such as Takeru Segawa , Tatsuya Tsubakihara and Leona Pettas , among others. K-1 would later add

1482-566: Was subsequently replaced by the Krush executive producer Mitsuru Miyata. From June 2017 onward, "K-1 World GP" started once again started holding events at the Saitama Super Arena . It was further revealed that fighters were signed exclusively to K-1, which wasn't the case previously. On December 17, 2018, it was announced that the former Krush and K-1 commentator and martial arts writer Takumi Nakamura would replace Mitsuru Miyata as

1521-410: Was taken over by GSUKCO. In a press release on October 2, 2023, Glory announced that Maurice Hols was named as the new Executive Director. Citing "different vision of the future of the organization" with Executive Vice Chairman Rudmann, Hols resigned on February 19, 2024, after just a few months as Executive Director. In March 2024, it was announced by Glory that Zelaznik returned to the company and

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