Stage set for Buakaw-Yodsaenklai showdown

Tuesday, July 4, 2006

All eyes were on the Thailand’s Muaythai glamour fighters Yodsaenklai Fairtex and Buakaw Por Pramuk at the fifth K-1 Max held at the Yokohama Arena, Japan.

Buakaw (24) - the winner of the tournament championship in 2004 - won the event for the second time and became the first-ever fighter to win the title twice.

Yodsaenklai - the WBC Muaythai world champion - made his first appearance on a K-1 Max card in a separate contest that saw him outclass Germany’s Kamal El Amrani. The win sets the stage for a titanic match-up between Yodsaenklai and Buakaw, the two Thai Muaythai superstars.

K1-Max rules don’t allow clinching, grappling or elbow strikes and sets a maximum weight limit of 70 (154lbs). Buakaw defeated K1-1 Max Champion Andy Souwer (26) of Holland in the tournament final winning $175,000.

The first ever K-1 Max champion Albert Kraus of Holland lost to Armenia’s Drago who went down to Buakaw in the second semi.