- HERO'S
:"For the fish, see
Heros genus ; for the TV Show, seeHeroes (TV series) . For other uses, seeHero (disambiguation) ."HERO'S was a
Japan esemixed martial arts promotion operated byFighting and Entertainment Group , the parent entity behindkickboxing organizationK-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 onMarch 26 2005 . The promotion was handled by former RINGS headAkira Maeda .History
Although not as popular worldwide as the
Ultimate Fighting Championship or the now defunctPRIDE 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, as well as the demise of PRIDE FC, and the current lack of a UFC coverage contract for Japanese audiences.HERO's in the USA
On
27 March 2007 , FEG (the Fighting Entertainment Group) held a press conference at theLos Angeles Coliseum to announce their first US event which was to be held on2 June 2007 . The show, named "K-1Dynamite!! USA ", was a joint operated venture with the newly formedElite XC , British MMA organizationCage Rage , BoDog Fight and the Korean basedSpirit 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 onpay-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 fromDream Stage Entertainment . In addition to established HERO's stars, (such as Calvancanti, Akiyama, and Yamamoto) many other top fighters from around the world (such asMirko Cro Cop andShinya Aoki ) joined the new promotion.Notable Fighters
Many notable mixed martial artists competed in HERO's, including:
*Yoshihiro Akiyama flagicon|JPN
*Gesias Calvancanti flagicon|BRA
*Royce Gracie flagicon|BRA
*Joachim Hansen flagicon|Norway
*Denis Kang flagicon|CAN
*Sergei Kharitonov flagicon|RUS
*Brock Lesnar flagicon|USA
*Lyoto Machida flagicon|BRA
*Melvin Manhoef flagicon|NED
*Yushin Okami flagicon|JPN
*Alistair Overeem flagicon|NED
*BJ Penn flagicon|USA
*Vitor Ribeiro flagicon|BRA
*Kazushi Sakuraba flagicon|JPN
*Bob Sapp flagicon|USA
*Jake Shields flagicon|USA
*Antonio Silva flagicon|BRA
*Genki Sudo flagicon|JPN
*Norifumi Yamamoto flagicon|JPNList of HERO's GP Champions
List of K-1 HERO's events
References
External links
* [http://www.hero-s.com/index.html HERO'S official website]
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