MMA
The Great Fight North - Kang Booked for Dream 5
/ June 10, 2008 - 10:30am
Denis Kang confirmed over the weekend that he will compete at Dream 5 on Monday, July 21 at the Osaka Castle Hall in Osaka, Japan. No opponent has been announced, though the only other middleweight confirmed for the show, Yoshihiro Akiyama, handed Kang the first knockout loss of his career in October.
The bout will complete Kang's current contract with the Dream promotion, which was transferred from K-1 Hero's in 2007.
Kang (29-10-1) returned home Saturday from Costa Rica, where the 32-year-old was a guest on "El Gran Peleado" ("The Great Fighter"), a new Central American MMA reality show similar to "The Ultimate Fighter" series. The Canadian-raised French Korean middleweight will be home just long enough to catch up on rest and laundry before he hops a plane to Montreal. There, Kang will jump into a month-long training camp with UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre, Nate Marquardt, Patrick Cote and Rashad Evans, among others.
Kang looks forward to returning to the ring and redeeming himself after his latest loss - a first-round submission defeat to Armenian Gegard Mousasi at Dream 2 in April. He blames the setback on a number of factors.
"It was a bunch of different things," Kang said. "I found my focus again. I kind of lost it for a little while. I'm training hard. I just can't wait to fight again and to get to Montreal and really train hard with those guys."
One factor Kang pointed to was his continued separation from his American Top Team training facility in Coconut Creek, Fla. Visa issues stemming from a misdemeanor criminal charge have made it impossible for Kang to re-enter the United States, despite the fact he has lived there since 2005. A victim of increased security measures implemented after the 9/11 attacks, Kang remains hopeful his lawyer will have the issues sorted out by year's end.
His inability to gain entry to the U.S. has also limited his options on signing with American promotions. Kang has been in contract talks with several promotions in the past year, but negotiations will remain at a standstill until he can iron out his visa problems.
"I've talked to organizations, like Affliction and the UFC, in the past few months, but this visa thing is what's holding things up," Kang said. "It's tough. If can't fight in the U.S., how am I going to fight for them?"
Kang turned down an opportunity to appear on "The Ultimate Fighter" in order to compete in the Spirit Martial Challenge Heavyweight Grand Prix, but said his interest in one day fighting for the Las Vegas-based promotion has not waned. Kang won the Spirit MC grand prix in 2007 but may have fought his last fight for the South Korean promotion; his contract expires on Monday, June 30.
"I don't know if I'll do another [Spirit MC] grand prix," Kang said. "My contract's almost over with them. We're talking to them, but we'll see."
A couple of options exist for Kang here in Canada, including the Calgary, Alberta-based joint venture between Raw Combat and Legacy Fighting Championships, plus the Championship Fighting Group LLC. Both promoters seem intent on inking top-tier competitors.
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BOSSE STOPS SIMS IN BIZARRE TKO 34 MAIN EVENT
Professional hockey enforcer turned mixed martial artist Steve Bosse added another notch on his belt with a victory against controversial heavyweight journeyman Wes Sims in the main event at TKO 34 on Saturday at the Bell Centre in Montreal.
Sims suffered an ankle injury and developed a staph infection leading into the bout but went against doctor's orders to withdraw from the event in order to honor his contract.
However, it was Bosse's actions, not those of Sims, that led to a series of unfortunate events that left fans scratching their heads.
Referee Jerry Bolen, in a move indicative of ending a match, appeared to stop the bout with Bosse in Sims' guard dropping punches. Visibly upset with the apparent stoppage, Sims kicked Bolen in the chest before being joined in the cage by cornerman Mark Coleman. Together, they pleaded for a restart.
Bolen then relayed to Coleman that he was penalizing Bosse for grabbing the fence despite repeated warnings and allowed the match continue. After the restart, Bosse caught Sims in a surprise ankle lock that elicited a cry of pain and a series of head movements from the 6-foot-10 American, movements Bolen took as a verbal submission. Afterwards, Sims claimed he moaned because the submission, applied to his injured angle, caught him off guard and maintained he never submitted.
In other action, Toronto native Adrian Wooley bested Danny Martinez by unanimous decision to capture the vacant TKO bantamweight championship. The undefeated Wooley improved to 5-0 with the win.
TKO 34: Sims vs. Bosse / Saturday, June 7 / Bell Centre / Montreal
TKO Bantamweight Championship
Adrian Wooley def. Danny Martinez - Unanimous Decision (50-45, 49-46, 49-46)
Steve Bosse def. Wes Sims - Verbal Submission (Ankle Lock) 3:05 R1
Stephane Dube def. Yannick Galipeau - TKO (Strikes) 3:42 R1
Thierry Quenneville def. Ben Greer - TKO (Strikes) 0:54 R3
Stephane Vigneault def. Yaotzin Mesa TKO (Strikes) 2:38 R2
Icho Larenas Larenas def. Guido Carlo - TKO (Strikes) 4:21 R1
Tom Murphy def. Gregory Milliard - Tapout (Armbar)3:21 R1
Wadsworth def. Jeff Harrison - TKO (Strikes) 3:33 R1
Guillaume Lamarche def. Syd Barnier - TKO (Strikes) 2:27 R1
Eric Leclerc def. Devin Henry - Tapout (Triangle Choke) 1:13 R1
Mike Ricci def. Stephane Chretien - TKO (Strikes) 4:58 R3
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GOULET WALKING WOUNDED
Jonathan "The Road Warrior" Goulet will not run the roads for at least a couple more weeks. The Victoriaville, Quebec, native - who was forced to postpone a scheduled UFC bout with Paul Kelly due to a previously undisclosed injury - revealed he has been suffering from a fractured foot.
Goulet sustained the injury in his fight with Kuniyoshi Hironaka at UFC 83 in April and aggravated it during training. Though he has not fully healed, he remains optimistic he will return to full-time training soon.
"I have a doctor's appointment this week," Goulet said. "I've been training light for now, and I will be back to training when the doctor says it's all right."
Although too soon to tell when he will appear again inside the Octagon, Goulet (22-9) aims for an August return and has named Karo Parisyan (18-5) as the opponent on whom he has his sights set.
"I'd love to fight Karo Parisyan if my foot is healed and I can train properly," Goulet said. "That would be a really good fight for me."
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CANADIAN CALENDAR
* June 20 - King of the Cage: Moment de Verite, Pierre Charbonneau
Centre, Montreal
* June 20 - Legacy Fighting Championship-Raw Combat: Resurrection, Max Bell Centre, Calgary, Alberta
* June 27 - Ultimate Cage Warriors: Heatwave, Winnipeg Convention
Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba
* July 19 - King of the Cage: Ex-Calibur, Rexall Place, Edmonton, Alberta
* July 25 - Maximum Fighting Championship 17: Hostile Territory, River
Cree Resort and Casino, Enoch, Alberta
* July 26 - Freedom Fight: Title Quest, Robert Guertin Arena, Gatineau, Quebec
