[Event] K-1 World GP 2023 - 1st Middleweight Championship Tournament - Jun 3

Dent · **Posted:** Mon May 29, 2023 10:32 pm

K-1 World GP 2023 in Yokohama will be a kickboxing and Middleweight tournament event held by K-1 on June 3, 2023, at the Yokohama Budokan in Yokohama, Japan.

Fight Card

Main Card

Middleweight 75 kg TBD vs. TBD K-1 75kg World Grand Prix Final
Catchweight 56 kg Japan Akihiro Kaneko vs. Turkey Emre Karaca
Lightweight 62.5 kg Japan Yuki Yoza vs. Republic of Ireland Aaron Clarke
Middleweight 75 kg TBD vs. TBD K-1 75kg World Grand Prix Semi Final
Middleweight 75 kg TBD vs. TBD K-1 75kg World Grand Prix Semi Final
Bantamweight 53 kg Japan Toma Kuroda vs. Lebanon Ramadan Ondash
Super Lightweight 65 kg Japan Daizo Sasaki vs. Thailand Pakorn P.K. Saenchai Muaythaigym
Bantamweight 53 kg Japan Koji Ikeda vs. Thailand Petchmongkol Soonkelahuaytom
Super Featherweight 60 kg Japan Tomoya Yokoyama vs. Japan Tatsuya Oiwa
Super Featherweight 60 kg Japan Chihiro Nakajima vs. South Korea Han Kyungmin
Bantamweight 53 kg Japan Kazuki Miburo vs. Japan Yusei Shirahata
Featherweight 57.5 kg Japan Tatsuya Tsubakihara vs. Japan Riku Morisaka
Bantamweight 53 kg Japan Rui Okubo vs. Japan Ryunosuke Saito
Middleweight 75 kg Italy Mustapha Haida vs. Philippines MIKE JOE K-1 75kg World Grand Prix Quarter Final
Middleweight 75 kg Japan Katsuya Jinbo vs. China Li Hui K-1 75kg World Grand Prix Quarter Final
Middleweight 75 kg Brazil Danilo Zanolini vs. Turkey Hasan Toy K-1 75kg World Grand Prix Quarter Final
Middleweight 75 kg Japan Shintaro Matsukura vs. Brazil Vinicius Dionizio K-1 75kg World Grand Prix Quarter Final
Middleweight 75 kg Japan Aqil Bukhari vs. Japan Tomoki Yoshino K-1 75kg World Grand Prix reserve fight

Preliminary Fights

Middleweight 75 kg Japan Masaki Oishi vs. Japan Yashazaru
Featherweight 57.5 kg Japan Raita Hashimoto vs. Japan Kokoro Terashima

Background

K-1 Champions Yuki Yoza, Akihiro Kaneko and Toma Kuroda Return!

Yuki Yoza, Akihiro Kaneko, and Toma Kuroda will lead K-1's return to Yokohama Budokan.

K-1 announced several matches including three non-title fights for its champions for the 'K-1 World GP 2023 in Yokohama' event on June 3.

Newly crowned Lightweight champion, Yuki Yoza, looks to build on the momentum when he faces off against Irish fighter, Aaron Clarke. The former Kyokushin World Champion last outgunned and took the belt from his bitter rival, Taio Asahisa, in the co-main event of K'FESTA 6. Aaron Clarke is a 2x ISKA Irish and Cage Legacy champion, but is coming off decision losses to Alfie Smith for the ISKA Commonwealth Welterweight Muay Thai title and to Jamie McGowan. A tough rebound fight for "The Bounty Hunter"! The Japanese fighter commented, "I am happy that I get to fight a strong fighter from abroad, but I believe that the level is different, so I want to dominate and win".

Coming off his first title defense, Akihiro Kaneko, will face Turkey's Emre Karaca. In March 2023, Akihiro successfully defended his K-1 Super Bantamweight Title in a close decision win over Kompetch. His opponent, Emre holds an undefeated record of 10 wins and won the WAKO Senior And Master European Championship at 57 KG in 2022. Reflecting on his "lackluster performance" against Kompetch, Akihiro said he will aim for a knockout win over Emre.

Half a year after his tournament victory, K-1 Bantamweight champion, Toma Kuroda, will compete against Lebanese golden boy, Ramadan Ondash. Toma last competed last December, defeating Yodsila, Kazuki Miburo and Issei Ishii in one night to win the inaugural K-1 Bantamweight title. Ramadan is a top prospect in the Middle East, holding an amateur record of 108 wins, 3 defeats and 5 draws, and an undefeated professional record of 3 wins, including his last decision win in January 2023 over Shakhruz Djuraev.
A viral star in his childhood, praised as the next big thing, this presents a huge step for the still only 16-year-old.

[Event] K-1 World GP 2023 - 1st Middleweight Championship Tournament - Jun 3

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