Hero's was a Japanese mixed martial arts promotion operated by Fighting and Entertainment Group, the parent entity behind kickboxing organization K-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 on March 26, 2005. The promotion was handled by former Rings head Akira Maeda. 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 from Dream Stage Entertainment.
History
Although not as popular worldwide as the Ultimate Fighting Championship or the now defunct Pride 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. Hero's events were sometimes co-sponsored and broadcast on the TBS national television network in Japan. In contrast to PRIDE and the UFC, Hero's promoted only three weight classes: middleweight (-70 kg/-154 lbs), light heavyweight (-85 kg/-187 lbs) and heavyweight (+85 kg/+187 lbs)
United States
On March 27, 2007, FEG (the Fighting Entertainment Group) held a press conference at the Los Angeles Coliseum to announce their first US event which was to be held on June 2, 2007. The show, named K-1 Dynamite!! USA, was a joint operated venture with the newly formed Elite XC, British MMA organization Cage Rage, BoDog Fight and the Korean-based Spirit 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 on pay-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 from Dream Stage Entertainment. In addition to established Hero's stars, (such as Calvancante, Akiyama, and Yamamoto) many other top fighters from around the world (such as Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipović and Shinya Aoki) joined the new promotion.
Notable fighters
Many notable mixed martial artists competed in Hero's, including:
Sam Greco
Antônio Silva
Gesias Calvancante
Hermes Franca
Lyoto Machida
Rani Yahya
Royce Gracie
Vítor Ribeiro
Carlos Newton
Denis Kang
Ivan Menjivar
Caol Uno
Genki Sudo
Hideo Tokoro
Hiroyuki Takaya
Kazuo Misaki
Kazushi Sakuraba
Kiuma Kunioku
Michihiro Omigawa
Norifumi Yamamoto
Shungo Oyama
Yoshihiro Akiyama
Yushin Okami
Jerome Le Banner
Alistair Overeem
Melvin Manhoef
Peter Aerts
Ray Sefo
Joachim Hansen
Sergei Kharitonov
Jan Nortje
Kotetsu Boku
Gary Goodridge
Brad Pickett
Antonio McKee
B.J. Penn
Bob Sapp
Don Frye
Heath Herring
Jake Shields
Nam Phan
Rich Clementi
Brock Lesnar
Hero's Grand Prix Champions
Events
Event locations
* Total event number: 19
Japan (13) Tokyo – 5 Yokohama – 3 Osaka – 3 Nagoya – 1 Saitama – 1
Lithuania (3) Vilnius – 3
South Korea (2) Seoul – 2
United States (1) Los Angeles, California – 1