HERO's looking to add 143 lbs weight-class in 2008

In the wake of the HERO's 154 lbs tournaments first round, FEG is examining the possibility to add a 143 lbs (65 kg) weight-class next year. This comes after both Hideo Tokoro and Kazuyuki Miyata where eliminated in tournaments first round, both smaller fighters who would fit better in the 143 lbs weight-class. This would of course also cater better to the organizations big star Norifumi "KID" Yamamoto, a natural 143 pounder.

Also noteworthy is their plan to raise the weight limit for the 154 lbs (70 kg) division to a more PRIDE styled limit of 160 lbs (73 kg), again leaving questions if Gomi is going to fight for HERO's in the future.

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FEG expands their HERO's roster with Sokoudjou

Sokoudjou was close to signing with EliteXC. A verbal agreement between the two parties was in place, but all of a sudden FEG (and not K-1 as Sherdog's article noted) stepped up with "significantly more money" and snatched Sokoudjou away. Now significantly more money in relation to the reported $200k that EliteXC supposedly was going to pay Sokoudjou is quite a lot.

This however leaves a lot of questions, does this mean that FEG is serious about the heavier divisions? HERO's has recently signed two former PRIDE light-heavyweights, Sokoudjou and Alistair Overeem, and is possibly pitting them against each other in September. But after that there are not many more fighters to choose from, and their heavyweight division is more laughable then UFC's was a year ago.

There are more FEG signings that make little sense. A couple of months ago grappling ace Marcelo Garcia joined the promotion, but he has firmly expressed that he only wishes to fight at 170 lbs, a non existent division in HERO's. All this looks like preemptive strikes from FEG to prevent other promotions from signing the big names.

The alliance is broken, the gloves are off.

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HERO's announces fighters for 154 tournament

Sherdog reports that FEG released the first names for their upcoming 154 lbs tournament on the July 16th card at Yokohama Arena.

• Gesias "JZ" Calvancanti
• Caol Uno
• Vitor "Shaolin" Ribeiro
• Hideo Tokoro
• Katsuhiko Nagata
• Kazuyuki Miyata
• Kultar "Black Mamba" Gill
• Shuichiro Katsumura
• Alexandre Franca "Pequeno" Nogueira

I also hope we'll see Ivan Menjivar back in the tournament this year following his great fights against Uno and Tokoro in the HERO's 154 GP last year.

It's interesting to see that none of the PRIDE lightweights have jumped ship to HERO's so far, at least none that we are aware of yet. On the same note Shinya Aoki wrote on his blog today that PRIDE was fine and he was still training for the PRIDE lightweight GP, let's hope he's right.

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