''SoftBank presents Dynamite!! USA'' was a
mixed martial arts
Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...
(MMA) event co-promoted by
Fighting and Entertainment Group (FEG), the promoters of
K-1
K-1 is a professional kickboxing promotion established in 1993, well known worldwide mainly for its heavyweight division fights and Grand Prix tournaments. In January 2012, K-1 Global Holdings Limited, a company registered in Hong Kong, acquired ...
kickboxing events and
Hero's MMA events, and
EliteXC. The event was held on Saturday, June 2, 2007 at the
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (also known as the L.A. Coliseum) is a multi-purpose stadium in the Exposition Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Conceived as a hallmark of civic pride, the Coliseum was commissioned in 1921 as a mem ...
in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
.
Mauro Ranallo,
Bill Goldberg
William Scott Goldberg (born December 27, 1966), often known mononymously as Goldberg, is an American semi-retired professional wrestler and former professional football player. He is best known for his tenures in WCW and WWE.
One of the most ...
, and
Jay Glazer did commentary.
Background
The event featured the MMA debut of former professional wrestler
Brock Lesnar
Brock Edward Lesnar ( ; born July 12, 1977) is an American-Canadian professional wrestler, former mixed martial artist (MMA), amateur wrestler, and professional American football player who holds both American and Canadian citizenship. He is ...
and the anticipated rematch between
Royce Gracie and
Kazushi Sakuraba. The show also featured the
MMA
Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...
debut of NFL
wide receiver Johnnie Morton
Johnnie James Morton, Jr. (born October 7, 1971) is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) during the 1990s and 2000s. He played college football for the University of Southern California (USC), and was ...
.
The event was aired in two parts in the
United States, with three preliminary bouts airing for free on
Showtime
Showtime or Show Time may refer to:
Film
* ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film
* ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur
Television Networks and channels
* Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...
and a main fight card shown on pay-per-view. In
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, the card was aired as a two-hour edited broadcast on
TBS on June 4, 2007. A condensed one-hour version of the entire event was broadcast on Showtime June 9, 2007. The Pay Per View cost viewers $29.95
Controversy
Pre-fight problems
The event encountered numerous problems and controversies even before it began. FEG had difficulties obtaining a promoter's license, and was only granted a temporary one by the California State Athletic Commission eight days before the event.
Popular South Korean fighter
Hong-Man Choi
Choi Hong-man (Korean: 최홍만, Hanja: 崔洪萬; born October 30, 1980), often anglicised to Hongman Choi, is a South Korean kickboxer, mixed martial artist, and former ssireum wrestler. In Asia, he is called "Che Man", "Techno Goliath", " ...
, initially scheduled to fight
Brock Lesnar
Brock Edward Lesnar ( ; born July 12, 1977) is an American-Canadian professional wrestler, former mixed martial artist (MMA), amateur wrestler, and professional American football player who holds both American and Canadian citizenship. He is ...
, was denied a license to fight in the state roughly a week and a half before the event due to medical reasons (later reported to be a tumor on his pituitary gland). K-1 continued to advertise a Lesnar vs. Choi bout up until the day of the fight, despite knowing that it would not occur.
An originally announced women's bout featuring
Jan Finney vs.
Gina Carano was canceled on May 16, 2007, when Carano withdrew due to illness.
Antônio Silva was also removed from the card due to an undisclosed medical condition, and was replaced by Tim Persey.
An announced match between
Ray Sefo and
Marvin Eastman was dropped from the card with no explanation given.
Attendance and live gate
On June 7, 2007, the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) announced that 42,757 tickets were distributed for the event – something promoters say validated the claim of having the largest attendance for a Mixed Martial Arts event in North America (a record previously held by
UFC 68). The paid gate for the event was $2,545,590. However, the promoters of the event paid $2,342,500 of that to buy 39,083 tickets to its own event. The final verified paid attendance number for K-1 Dynamite stands at 3,674 which generated $203,090 in revenue.
Post-fight
Fighter Tim Percy tested positive for methamphetamines after his fight, and was suspended by the CSAC. In addition, Johnnie Morton tested positive for anabolic steroids and Royce Gracie tested positive for
Nandrolone, a commonly used anabolic steroid.
Results
Purses
The overall disclosed fighter payroll for the event was $1,057,500.
See also
*
Elite Xtreme Combat
*
K-1 Premium Dynamite!!
K-1 PREMIUM Dynamite!! (or Dynamite!!) was an annual kickboxing and mixed martial arts event held in Japan by the Fighting and Entertainment Group. It began as a co-production between PRIDE Fighting Championships and K-1 held on August 28, 2002 ...
*
List of K-1 Events
*
List of EliteXC events
References
External links
Dynamite!! USA Official WebsiteOfficial DiscussionK-1 Official WebsiteOfficial EliteXC Website
{{2007 K-1 Events
Elite Xtreme Combat events
K-1 events
Hero's events
2007 in mixed martial arts
Mixed martial arts in Los Angeles
2007 in sports in California