Ahead of the biggest fight of Thian de Vries' career—a title challenge against reigning champion Liu Ce—the Chinese fighter has pulled out with a broken nose. The late withdrawal comes less than a week before K-1’s long-awaited return to Yokohama on May 31.
As a result, the promotion has stripped Ce of his title and brought in Mahmoud Sattari as a replacement. Sattari, once a top prospect in Japan’s dwindling cruiserweight scene, has recently struggled, losing his last three fights. Still, his athleticism and explosive style mirror de Vries’, who enters the bout undefeated in 29 fights, setting up an intriguing clash for the now-vacant title.
The rest of the card remains strong, with three other titles on the line. Ouyang Feng defends his K-1 Super Welterweight Championship against Darryl Verdonk, Thai slugger Yodkhunpon puts his belt on the line against Shu Inagaki, and the vacant Super Featherweight (-60 kg) title will be decided in a stacked one-night Grand Prix.
The tournament includes Tomoya Yokoyama, Egor Bikrev, Huang Shuailu, Rémi Parra, and more.
