k-1 world max final-8 masato vs tatsuya kawajiri on july 13

apan’s Fighting and Entertainment Group (FEG) has announced that former two-time K-1 MAX Grand Prix Champion Masato is set to do battle with DREAM lightweight standout Tatsuya “Crusher” Kawajiri in a K-1 Rules bout at ‘K-1 World MAX Final 8’ from the Nippon Budokan Arena in Tokyo, Japan on Jul 13.

The fight continues the recent slew of K-1 vs. MMA fighters that FEG has been brewing, which has seen various mixed martial artists invade K-1 and try their hand out in the stand-up only combat. And more often then not it has seen the mixed marital artists win or at the very least give the K-1 stars a run for their money.

Now it appears “Crusher” will look to continue that trend against the K-1 legend in one of his final battles.

Though Kawajiri’s strongest base may be his wrestling, he is no stranger to K-1. He fought Kozo Takeda in a K-1 Rules bout and won in devastating fashion at ‘Dynamite!! 2008’ on New Years Eve, knocking the K-1 veteran out just two minutes into the opening stanza.

Though Masato is certainly a big leap in competition from Takeda and will present a mammoth challenge to Kawajiri, Crusher heads into the bout with some momentum after dominating highly regarded lightweight Gesias “JZ” Calvancante last month at ‘DREAM 9’.