Ouyang Feng is absent due to injury, Stojan Koprivlenskiy will face Buakaw at Yoyogi Stadium on July 7thOn Tuesday, June 18th, a press conference was held in Tokyo for K-1 WORLD MAX 2024, which will be held at the National Yoyogi Stadium Second Gymnasium on Sunday, July 7th, and it was announced that Ouyang Feng (China), who was scheduled to face Buakaw Banchamek (Thailand) in the K-1 WORLD MAX-70kg World's Strongest Tournament, will not be participating.

K-1 producer Carlos Kikuta explained the reason for Ouyang's absence, saying, "Ouyang was injured during training and will be unable to compete. The circumstances are as follows: He was injured during training on June 5th and the doctor told him he had a broken rib and would need four weeks to recover. After the wildcard fight against Buakaw was announced, it seemed Ouyang was even more eager to compete, so he rested for 10 days, but unfortunately it was too late and he has now withdrawn."

They also announced that Stojan Koprivlenskiy (Bulgaria) would be Ouyang's replacement. Producer Carlos explained the reason for his selection: "Although he was narrowly defeated by Mushinski in the opening match on March 20, his skills are among the best in the world. We decided that Stojan was the only one who could match the reality."Producer Carlos was in Romania to observe the K-1 Fighting Network tournament held on June 13th, and was with Stoyan, who withdrew just before the match. "He said he's ready. I saw his recent training video and he's in great shape, so I think if he wins against Buakaw he has a shot at winning," he said, expressing his expectations.

Stoyan is a strong fighter ranked second in the GLORY lightweight (-70kg) and defeated current GLORY World Lightweight Champion Tijani Beztati in 2017. He came to Japan for the first time in December 2022 and faced shootboxing champion Kaito in the RISE ring. It was a close match with neither of them giving an inch. In March 2012, he faced Kasper Muzinski in the opening match of the K-1 WORLD MAX -70kg World's Strongest Tournament, but was knocked down near the end of the match and lost by decision.

In a video message, Stoyan said, "First of all, I would like to thank K-1 for giving me this opportunity. I am focusing on this tournament, including the first round, and I am ready for this big match. To me, Buakaw is a living legend. Fighting against him is like a dream come true. When I was a child, I learned a lot from watching Buakaw's matches. He is a motivator for me. That's why I am really excited about this card. I would like to express my gratitude to K-1 once again. I will show you the best Stoyan of all time. To all K-1 fans, I'm back. Don't miss this tournament. I'll put on the best show."

Incidentally, Buakaw commented on the change in opponent, saying that he was not concerned about it, saying, "I just want to win no matter who I'm up against."

It's unfortunate that Ouyang, the favorite to win, won't be participating, but Stoyan's return to the tournament is likely to make it an even more chaotic tournament.

<7/7 Final Tournament First Round Matchup> *After change Stoyan Koprivlenskiy (Bulgaria) vs. Buakaw Banchamek (Thailand)

Deng Silva (Brazil) vs. Daryl Verdonk (Netherlands)

Viktor Akimov (Russia) vs. Romano Bakvord (Suriname)

Kasper Muszynski (Poland) vs. Zora Akapyan (Armenia)The Thai kickboxing great returns to Japan.Twenty years after winning his first K-1 World MAX tournament, Buakaw Banchamek returns to Japan to reclaim his throne. The two-time champion has been announced as the last entry for this year's Grand Prix on July 7 at the Yoyogi 2nd Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan.

He will have a tall order in front of him, as he's been paired against tournament favorite and reigning K-1 champion Ouyang Feng. The crafty Chinese fighter, ranked No. 9 in the Beyond Kickboxing Rankings, is considered one of the biggest Lightweight prospects, boasting an impressive 38-3 record.

After his performance against Pascal Schroth in the tournament's opening round, the other six participants wanted nothing to do with him during the quarter-final draw, leaving him with the – at that time yet to be announced – wild card.

For the past few weeks, K-1 had trouble securing a worthwhile wild card for the tournament. Obvious picks, such as Masaaki Noiri and Kaito Ono had other plans and cross-promotional efforts with ONE Championship to get Marat Grigorian or Chingiz Allazov on board have not come to fruition.

Alongside Masato, Andy Souwer, and Giorgio Petrosyan, Buakaw has been one of the faces of the MAX generation. Throughout his storied career, he has most certainly inspired many of the current tournament entrants to get their start in the sport.

At 42 years of age, the Thai might not be in his prime, but he has kept busy over the last few years and continued to pick up quality wins. In his latest outing, he knocked out heavy-hitting Minoru Kimura at RIZIN Landmark 9.

Buakaw against Minoru Kimura. Photo: RIZIN FF