Hero's

Hero's
Company type	Defunct
Industry	Mixed martial arts promotion
Headquarters	Japan
Parent	Fighting and Entertainment Group

Hero's was a Japanese mixed martial arts promotion operated by Fighting and Entertainment Group, the parent entity behind kickboxing organization K-1. Grown from and branched off of K-1's earlier experiments in MMA, including the K-1 Romanex event and various MMA fights on its regular K-1 kickboxing cards, it held its first show on March 26, 2005. The promotion was handled by former Rings head Akira Maeda. At a press conference on February 13, 2008, FEG announced that they discontinued Hero's and were creating a new mixed martial arts franchise, Dream, in collaboration with former Pride FC executives from Dream Stage Entertainment.

History

Although not as popular worldwide as the Ultimate Fighting Championship or the now defunct Pride Fighting Championships, Hero's was very recognizable in the Japanese mixed martial arts scene, thanks in large part to the visibility and resources of FEG and K-1. Hero's events were sometimes co-sponsored and broadcast on the TBS national television network in Japan.^[1] In contrast to PRIDE and the UFC, Hero's promoted only three weight classes: middleweight (-70 kg/-154 lbs), light heavyweight (-85 kg/-187 lbs) and heavyweight (+85 kg/+187 lbs)

United States

On March 27, 2007, FEG (the Fighting Entertainment Group) held a press conference at the Los Angeles Coliseum to announce their first US event which was to be held on June 2, 2007. The show, named K-1 Dynamite!! USA, was a joint operated venture with the newly formed Elite XC, British MMA organization Cage Rage, BoDog Fight and the Korean-based Spirit MC. The show was broken down into two parts, with the first part (made up of three fights) being aired for free Showtime and the second part on pay-per-view.

Reformation into Dream

At a press conference on February 13, 2008, FEG announced that they discontinued Hero's and were creating a new mixed martial arts franchise, Dream, in collaboration with former Pride FC executives from Dream Stage Entertainment. In addition to established Hero's stars, (such as Calvancante, Akiyama, and Yamamoto) many other top fighters from around the world (such as Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipović and Shinya Aoki) joined the new promotion.

Notable fighters

Many notable mixed martial artists competed in Hero's, including:

Hero's Grand Prix Champions

Year	Weight class	Champion	Runner-up
2005	Middleweight (75 kg (165.3 lb))	Norifumi Yamamoto	Genki Sudo
2006	Light heavyweight (90 kg (198.4 lb))	Yoshihiro Akiyama	Melvin Manhoef
2006	Middleweight (75 kg (165.3 lb))	Gesias Calvancante	Caol Uno
2007	Middleweight (75 kg (165.3 lb))	Gesias Calvancante	André Amado

Events

Event	Date	Location	Venue	Attendance
Hero's 1^[2]	March 26, 2005	Saitama, Japan	Saitama Super Arena	13,000
Hero's 2	July 6, 2005	Tokyo, Japan	Yoyogi National Gymnasium
Hero's 3	September 7, 2005	Tokyo, Japan	Ariake Coliseum
Hero's 2005 in Seoul	November 5, 2005	Seoul, South Korea	Olympic Gymnastics Arena	7,460
Hero's Lithuania 2005	November 26, 2005	Vilnius, Lithuania	Siemens Arena
K-1 PREMIUM 2005 Dynamite!!	December 31, 2005	Osaka, Japan	Osaka Dome	53,025
Hero's 4	March 15, 2006	Tokyo, Japan	Nippon Budokan
Hero's 5	May 3, 2006	Tokyo, Japan	Yoyogi National Gymnasium
Hero's 6	August 5, 2006	Tokyo, Japan	Ariake Coliseum
Hero's 7	October 9, 2006	Yokohama, Japan	Yokohama Arena
Hero's Lithuania 2006	November 11, 2006	Vilnius, Lithuania	Siemens Arena
K-1 PREMIUM 2006 Dynamite!!	December 31, 2006	Osaka, Japan	Osaka Dome	51,930
Hero's 8	March 12, 2007	Nagoya, Japan	Nippon Gaishi Hall
Dynamite!! USA	June 2, 2007	Los Angeles, California, USA	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	18,340
Hero's 9: Middleweight Tournament Opening Round	July 16, 2007	Yokohama, Japan	Yokohama Arena
Hero's 10: Middleweight Tournament Final	September 17, 2007	Yokohama, Japan	Yokohama Arena
Hero's 2007 in Korea	October 28, 2007	Seoul, South Korea	Jangchung Gymnasium
Hero's Lithuania 2007	November 10, 2007	Vilnius, Lithuania	Siemens Arena
K-1 PREMIUM 2007 Dynamite!!	December 31, 2007	Osaka, Japan	Osaka Dome	47,928

Event locations

* Total event number: 19

Japan (13)

Tokyo – 5

Yokohama – 3

Osaka – 3

Nagoya – 1

Saitama – 1

Lithuania (3)

Vilnius – 3

South Korea (2)

Seoul – 2

United States (1)

Los Angeles, California – 1

References

^ "TBS mata fushōji". J-Cast News. 13 March 2007. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
^ Takagi, Hiromi (1 March 2005). "3-26 Saitama 'Hero's' kaisai kettei". SportsNavi. Yahoo. Archived from the original on 14 May 2012. Retrieved 1 January 2012.

External links

[1] "TBS mata fushōji". J-Cast News. 13 March 2007. Retrieved 1 January 2012.

[2] Takagi, Hiromi (1 March 2005). "3-26 Saitama 'Hero's' kaisai kettei". SportsNavi. Yahoo. Archived from the original on 14 May 2012. Retrieved 1 January 2012.

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