Most MMA and K-1 fans didn't give former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Gegard Mousasi much of a chance when his K-1 Rules battle with Keijiro Maeda was officially announced. After all, K-1 is Kyotaro's world, and Mousasi had been busy honing his craft within the context of mixed martial arts. Unfortunately, those fans failed to remember that Mousasi was a highly-regarded kickboxing prospect before he moved to mixed martial arts, and his support system in Holland includes some of the best kickboxing camps in the world.
His training and background paid off big at K-1 Dynamite!! 2010 as Mousasi defeated Kyotaro in a three-round decision victory. The first round of action was rather pedestrian as both fighters landed leg kicks and punches, and by most accounts -- it was considered a draw round by K-1 standards.
But the second round was the game changer as Mousasi landed a brutal one-two combination that downed Kyotaro and put him into survival mode for most of the second round. Mousasi nearly finished off the K-1 superstar before the bell, but the damage was done and Mousasi cruised through the third round of action by simply defending Kyotaro's rushes.
While this victory has no significance in the realm of the mixed martial arts world, it does lend some credence to the possibility that K-1 might try to request the services of Gegard Mousasi on the K-1 circuit. After all, one of Strikeforce's champions, Alistair Overeem, fights in the K-1 circuit already and has gained considerable popularity. Can the same happen for Mousasi? Unlikely as his personality isn't that of Overeem's, but he may still be able to find fighting success under the K-1 banner in the future. Consider this a litmus test.
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