1/31 Shooting Disco 7 - RESULTS

Saturday 31 January 2009



The Shooto event in Shinjuku Face is over. I was not able to make it to this one, but I will be at Pancrase tomorrow.

It was a strong card, good talents and match-ups on this one. Takuya Sato got a strong win over Taisuke Okuno and Guy Delameau is continuing his strong form. Will be be able to climb into the Shooto rankings?

10. Main-Event - Bantam: Ryuichi Miki Def. Homare Kuboyama by TKO (GnP) Round 1 4:58
9. Middle: Takuya Sato Def. Taisuke Okuno by Decision 3-0
8. Light: Daiki Tsuchiya Def. Masatoshi Kobayashi by Decision 3-0
7. Welter: Guy Delameau Def. Kunio Nakajima by Rear-Naked choke Round 2 1:33
6. Bantam: Hiroaki Iijima Def. "Akki" Kota Funaki by Decision 3-0
5. Fly: Katsuya Murofushi Def. Takehiro "Tiger" Ishii by Decision

Rookie Tournament Fights:
4. Middle: Yoichiro Sato Def. Hiroaki Sakuma by TKO Round 2 1:04
3. Light: Kenichiro Marui Def. Toshiaki Hayasaka by Decision 3-0
2. Bantam: Nozomi Otsuka vs. Tatsuya "Nakashi" Nakashima DRAW
1. Welter: Mitsushi Matsumoto Def. Keiji Sakuta by kneebar Round 2 2:23

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2/20 DEEP 40 - Lightweight Tournament Announced

Friday 30 January 2009

DEEP have announced that they are holding a lightweight tournament, with 4 fighters to deceide the next challenger for the lightweight title. From memory, I think Obiya was awarded the title at DEEP 39 (I might be wrong about that though, not able to find confirmation now). Either way, 4 fighters will participate in this tournament and 3 were announced today.

The tournament is looking very strong!! Announced so for are Jutaro Nakao, Katsunori Kikuno ad Kichiro Matsumoto. I dont care how they match these guys up, it will be good. One more fighter is going to be announced for this tournament. I suspect someone pulled out...

Announced today:
Jutaro Nakao 22-13-4
Katsunori Kikuno 9-1-1
Koichiro Matsumoto 6-1-0
+ 1 Fighter TBA

Hiroki Nagaoka 12-13-8 vs. 6-8-2 Yoshitomo Watanabe

Future Fights:
Muneyuki Sato 2-2-0 vs. 0-2-0 Yasuhiro Motomura
Hideto Sato vs. 2-3-0 Hiroshi Kobayashi

Previously Announced:
Seichi Ikemoto vs. 15-8-3 Hidetaka Monma
Riki Fukuda 12-4-0 vs. 18-14-4 Ryuta Sakurai
Kazuhisa Tazawa 3-0-1 vs. 9-2-0 Tim "Big Perm" Persey
Hiroto 6-1-0 vs. 4-2-0 Naohiro Mizuno
Shunsuke Inoue 4-3-1 vs. 2-6-0 Minoru Kato

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2/10 DEEP & CMA - Shoji Fighting DJ Taiki for Spot in DREAM

It is official, but I got the date wrong earlier... Shoji Maruyama and "DJ Taiki" will fight for a spot in the DREAM featherweight tournament. Shoji has had a fight in DREAM before though, he fought in DREAM 3 where he lost a decision to Takeshi Yamazaki.

For "DJ Taiki", a spot in the DREAM tournament would mean a step up in level of opponents. This is a HUGE fight for both fighters, and its on a card that will have more pro-wrestling influence than usual.

The fight will take placec at 65kg, but that is probably no indication that the featherweight tournament will...

Announced:
DREAM Featherweight Qualifier: Shoji Maruyama 6-4-1 vs. 9-5-3 Daiki "DJ Taiki" Hata

Full Card:
7. Main Event - Pro-Wrestling:
Minoru Suzuki vs. Minowaman

6. Tag-Team U-Rule: Kazuo Takahashi/Eiji Mitsuoka vs. Ryushi Yanagisawa/Makoto Kato
5. Kick-Rule: Taichi vs. Ryota Matsui
4. MMA-Rule: Shoji Maruyama 6-4-1 vs. 9-5-3 Daiki "DJ Taiki" Hata
3. Royale Rumble: 10 Fighters (names not announced)
2. Tag-Team U-Rule:
Daijiro Matsui/Takemura Hikariichi (?) vs. Kosei Kobuta/Yukio Sakaguchi
1. MMA-Rule: Fanjin Son 5-4-0 vs. 0-2-3 Asato Hashimoto

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What Happened to the DREAM Sponsors??

Thursday 29 January 2009

Gryphon talkeds about this subject in his last post, and it is something I have been wondering too...

Last year Olympia and Heiwa (Pachinko machine makers, I believe) sponsored all the events. Hence the events were called:

-Heiwa DREAM 1
-Olympia DREAM 2
-Heiwa DREAM 3
-Olympia DREAM 4
-Heiwa DREAM 5
-Olympia DREAM 6

DREAM 7 is only called that... Has DREAM lost their major sponsor, who also used to sponsor HERO's??

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2/28 Cage Force-EX - Hirota will Defend His Title



Cage Force have announced 3 more fights for the February 28 event in Tokorozawa. What is likely the main-event, will feature Sengoku veteran Mizuto Hirota defending his lightweight title against a yet to be determined opponent.

Also on the card will be the lightweight fight between the 2000 Olymipic silver medalist and DREAM veteran Katsuhiko Nagata and Akiyama student Yasunori Kanehara. Kanehara's record is a bit misleading as he has been taking on some very good opponents like: Yoshihiro Koyama, Donald Cerrone, Wataru Miki (x2) and Tomonari Kanomata. His draw is against Yuji Hoshino. This should turn out to be a good fight.

Announced:
Ligtweight Title Fight: Mizuto Hirota 10-3-0 vs. TBA
Light: Katsuhiko Nagata 4-4-0 vs. 1-5-1 Yasunori Kanehara
Middle: Rikuhei Fuji 3-3-0 vs. 5-3-4 Sojiro Orui

Previously announced:
Kazue Matake 3-1-0 vs. 2-6-1 Kinuka Sasaki
Kayo Nagayasu 7-6-1 vs. 4-5-1 Maho Muranami

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3/20 Sengoku - Hatsu Hioki in the Featherweight GP

Wednesday 28 January 2009



Sengoku have announced some of the participants in their Featherweight GP. Of course, we already knew that King of Pancrase, Marlon Sandro will participate, but there are still some surprises.

Hatsu Hioki have been rumored to be headed for the WEC, but has signed on for the Sengoku GP.

Other participants include Nick Denis (KOTC FW Champion), Ronnie Ushiwaka (better know as Ronnie Mann) and ATT's Chris Manuel.

This is looking like a very good tournament!

Participants:
Hatsu Hioki 17-3-2
Marlon Sandro 12-0-0
Ronnie Mann Ushiwaka 16-1-1
Chris Manuel 6-0-2
Nick Denis 6-0-0

Priviously Announced:
Ryo Kawamura 9-3-2 vs. 3-0-0 Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal

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Mach Dojo - Gym Visit

Yesterday I had a chance to go out, meet "Mach" and check out his gym in Ryugasaki, Ibaraki. For visitors coming in, it might not be the perfect location (a little far from Tokyo). However, the facilities are some of the best I have seen and if you are coming in to prepare for a fight, the location should be perfect. I only took pictures in the Dojo, but there is a connected gym that is very well equipped as well.



There are a lot of young fighters coming out of the gym there, and it is easy to see why when you watch them train. These guys are very serious about what they do, in addition to having top facilities and training staff.



Of his fighters competing in the upcoming weeks, Kunio Nakajima and Hiroaki Sakuma are fighting at the Shooting Disco event this Saturday. In addition to that, Hideto will make his debut in DEEP on February 20. Hideto is a guy that "Mach" himself thinks will be a champion in the future, he just turned 19 yesterday and it should be an exciting debut!



"Mach" himself is expecting to be in the DREAM welterweight GP. The date nor opponent are set, but most likely March or April. I can't wait for the fight! His exciting style and determination has gained him a lot of fans, globally, over the years and I am sure he will be one of the favorites going into the GP.



Thanks to "Mach" and the guys up in Ryugasaki for letting me come and watch the training, and everything else! I really had a great day!

Also, check out the Mach Dojo Homepage

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2/1 Pancrase Changing Tour 1 - Neo-Blood Fights Added / Card Complete

The first Changing Tour card has been final for a while, but for those going to this event, there is an extra 24 (!) fights before the main card starts. These are the first and second round fights in this years Pancrase Neo-Blood Tournament.

The Neo-Blood fights start at 14:30, main-card starts at 17:00.

The Neo-Blood fights are using Pancrase Gate rules (meaning shinpads and knee-guards), and the fights are 1x5min. with 1x3min. extention in case of a draw. There will be fights in the Fly- (58kg), Bantam- (61.2kg), Feather- (65.8kg) and Lightweight (70.3kg) tournaments.

This is the complete (including the main-card) card and fight order for the day.

Neo-Blood Tournament:
1. Fly: Yoshihiro Matsunaga vs. Daisuke Tsujita
2. Fly: Masaki Watanabe vs. TBA
3. Fly: Gou Yamanaka vs. Teppei Shimizu
4. Fly: Hiroyuki Hara vs. Yukitoshi Takahashi

5. Bantam: Atsushi Masukura vs. Ben Henry
6. Bantam: Daisuke Sugishima vs. Takanori Saito
7. Bantam: Ichiro Kudo vs. Kazuki Itaya
8. Bantam: Taro Shimazaki vs. Takatoshi Urasaki

9. Feather: Shigeyuki Uchiyama vs. Pitan
10. Feather: Masakazu Takafuji vs. Akira Omura
11. Feather: Takehito Noguchi vs. Yutaka Inada
12. Feather: Satoru Takahashi vs. Yuki Terashima

13. Light: "Randleman" Ichikawa vs. Kazuyoshi Kiyama
14. Light: Ikki Miyakawa vs. Koshi Obata
15. Light: Katsunori Takahashi vs. Daisuke Tairaku
16. Light: Keigo Hirayama vs. Yuichi Inafuku

17. Fly: Winner fight 1 vs. Winner fight 2
18. Fly: Winner fight 3 vs. Winner fight 4

19. Bantam: Winner fight 5 vs. Winner fight 6
20. Bantam: Winner fight 7 vs. Winner fight 8

21. Feather: Winner fight 9 vs. Winner fight 10
22. Feather: Winner fight 11 vs. Winner fight 12

23. Light: Winner fight 13 vs. Winner fight 14
24. Light: Winner fight 15 vs. Winner fight 16

Main-Card:
1. Welter: Shingo Suzuki 1-0-0 vs. 5-3-0 "Strasser" Kiichi Kunimoto
2. Welter: Asaki Honda 4-3-1 vs. 24-28-10 Kousei Kubota
3. Light-Heavyweight: Ryuji Ohori 3-3-0 vs. 18-19-3 Hikaru Sato
4. Fly: Takuya Eizumi 3-1-0 vs. 3-4-0 Tokuaki Ninomiya
5. Light: Takafumi Ito 34-27-10 vs. 0-2-0 Hiroki "AB" Aoki
6. Feather: Masaya Takita "J-Taro" 9-10-2 vs. 19-4-0 Jameel "The Sargent" Massouh
7. Feather: Kenji Arai 13-12-2 vs. 10-5-5 Masanori Kanehara

Main Event - Lightweight King of Pancrase:
8. Katsuya Inoue 17-6-3 vs. 11-9-5 Daisuke Hanazawa "13"

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Kazuyuki Miyata opens his gym - "BRAVE"!

Monday 26 January 2009



I know this is something Miyata has been working to do for a while now, and the time has come!!

I mentioned this when I posted his training pictures, and now it is a reality. I went along to the gym opening today, but it was too crowded and I was unable to get inside (maybe there will be an oppurtunity later).



Anyway, the gym is located 5 min walk from Kita-Senju station, and it is a pretty convenient location if you're coming to Tokyo. I know Miyata speaks English and he is a very nice guy, so this might be an option for someone coming from overseas.

The price is pretty standard, JPY10,500 to join, and the same in monthly fee. There is an option for visitors to pay JPY2,500 for 1 time.



This is the gym home-page: K.Miyata - Brave
From the site, it looks like the classes will start February 1.
Instructors include: Kazuyuki Miyata, Hiroshi Tsuruya and Masutatsu Yano.
This should secure world class training in wrestling and jiu-jitsu.

Good luck to Miyata! I really hope the gym becomes a big success!!

Japanese media is reporting that Miyata has asked to participate in the featherweight GP at the gym opening today! We will have to wait and see if he gets his chance.

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2/1 Pancrase Changing Tour 1 - Change to the card



There has been a change on the Pancrase card for February 1.

Laughter 7's Takenori Sato sustained a neck injury during practice and wont be able to fight. The popular and versatile Pancrase fighter Hikaru Sato will step in and take this fight on short notice. Popularity wise, this might actually be a boost for the card. Hikaru Sato has not tasted victory since February 2007, and I am sure he would love a win here.

The change also means that the fight will go at light-heavyweight, instead of middleweight.

Main Event - Lightweight King of Pancrase:
8. Katsuya Inoue 17-6-3 vs. 11-9-5 Daisuke Hanazawa "13"

7. Feather: Kenji Arai 13-12-2 vs. 10-5-5 Masanori Kanehara
6. Feather: Masaya Takita "J-Taro" 9-10-2 vs. 19-4-0 Jameel "The Sargent" Massouh
5. Light: Takafumi Ito 34-27-10 vs. 0-2-0 Hiroki "AB" Aoki
4. Fly: Takuya Eizumi 3-1-0 vs. 3-4-0 Tokuaki Ninomiya
3. Light-Heavyweight: Ryuji Ohori 3-3-0 vs. 18-19-3 Hikaru Sato
2. Welter: Asaki Honda 4-3-1 vs. 24-28-10 Kousei Kubota
1. Welter: Shingo Suzuki 1-0-0 vs. 5-3-0 "Strasser" Kiichi Kunimoto

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DREAM Featherweight GP Participants - Rumored and Confirmed fighters




There are a lot of speculation around who will participate in the DREAM featherweight GP. It seems to me that the weight will depend on "Kid", who I am sure they will make room for.

There is some other inside information that has come my way too, that I will share. DEEP 40 will have some qualifer fights. Some have already happened and so there are 2-3 participants that are ready.

Chase Beebe has announced his intentions to sign with Dream and participate, and this should be a very good addition.

Here are the fighters that I know are in:
-Takafumi Otsuka (confirmed by several sources, his fight in DEEP 39 was a qualifier)
-Chase Beebe
-Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto

Fighting at DEEP 40 to get in:
-Shoji Maruyama vs. Daiki "DJ Taiki" Hata
-A DREAM lightweight tournament participant will drop down in weight (HUGE surprise to me, if its true) and fight a qualifier at this event.

So, that is some of what I know.

Read more...

1/25 ZST 19 - Results

Sunday 25 January 2009



This is the main ZST card of the day. This event starts at 6PM (Japan time and it should be a very good event.

The main-event is the welterweight title fight between 2 experienced fighters, crowd favorite "Mini-Hong Man Choi" Masayuki Okude is taking on Pancrase super-veteran Osami Shibuya, who has more than 80 professional fights to his name.

Other than the main event, there are some good ZST fighters on this card, Keisuke Fujiwara and Shunichi Shimizu to name a couple.

Making his ZST debut is Korean "RYO". "RYO" participated in the DEEP Middleweight tournament last year, but lost by decision to Daijiro Matsui (a fight I thought he should have won), he went on to loss again in the tournament reserve fight to Ryuta Sakurai. He is a very good fighter though, and I look forward to seeing him in ZST.


Quick results
Genesis Fights (1x5min):
1. Feather: Ryota Kobayashi vs. Masato Arai DRAW
2. Feather: Takahiro Baba vs. Takeshi Otaki DRAW (entertaining fight)

Opening Fights (1x7min.):
3. Welter: Yoichiro Karasuyama vs.Teruhiko Higashitani DRAW
4. Feather: Toshihiro Shimizu Def. Hiroyuki Yamashiro by arm-bar
5. Minimum (Female GT-F): Miki Aiba vs. Miyoko Kusaka DRAW
6. Feather (GT-F Rule): Daisuke Yokoyama Def. Yasuo Munakata by Guilliotine choke

Main-Card:
7. Bantam: Keisuke Fujiwara Def. Ryosuke Tanuma by Ko Round 2
8. Light: Kenichi Ito Def. Taku Aramaki by arm-bar round 1
9. Feather: Shunichi Shimizu Def. Takeaki Miyakawa by arm-bar round 1
10. Light-Heavy: Kenji Nagai vs. Young "RYO" Choi Draw
11. Lightweight Tag-Team (1x15 min.):
Naoyuki Kotani & Tatsuya Yamada Def. Yojiro Uchimura & Koji Tomiyama by Banana-split
Uchhimura called out Kotani to continue the fight after Tomiyama was carried out on a streacher, but Kotani declined.

12. Main-Event - Welterweight Title fight:
Osami Shibuya Def. Masayuki Okude by straight arm-bar Round 5

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1/25 ZST SWAT! in FACE Vol. 2 - Live Results

Saturday 24 January 2009



The focus might be on Affliction (with good reason) tomorrow, but in Tokyo ZST is putting on 2 events! I am there for both, and will give you live results! The first event is SWAT! in FACE Vol. 2. This is the smaller and cheaper (in terms of ticket price) of the 2 cards, but there is some good talent in this event.

Part of this card is the Genesis flyweight semi-finals and final, and that should provide excitement in itself (who doesnt like tournaments). But the main-event should be a very good fight! Tomohiko Yoshida is an up and coming star in ZST and he is taking on an experienced competitor in "Toraji".

The event starts at 13.00, so it should be going on as the Affliction card goes towards the main event.

I am not allowed to use a computer or take picuters at this event, so safe to say this is the last time I pay to go to ZST. The results will be up in a few hours.

Sorry for the inconvenience.

Ok, so after I have come over the frustrations... The managed to pull off 11 fights in 2 hours, and I have to say that any organization that want to improve on that has to work hard!! Tsuruya really showed the difference between a world class grappler and a good grappler today. It was a fun, but once it hit the ground, one sided fight.

Yoshida also proved himself as a talented guy. Next he would like to challenge for the welterweight title, the champion will be be determined later today.

Genesis Flyweight Tournament Semi-Finals:
1. Semi-Final 2: Hiroyuki Ai Def. Keisuke Tamaru by decision
Ai is clearly the muay thai fighter and is close to ending the with knees. Again as the bell rings, Ai is clearly in control, this time on the ground and the rear naked choke takes Tamaru to the verge of being out cold. It goes to the judges though and its an easy decision.

2. Semi-Final 1: Yoshiya Shinba Def. Yasushi Yasunaka by arm-bar Round 1
Shinba is the better guy on the ground, he gets the fight there and secures the arm-bar win in the 1st round.

Non-Tournament:
3. Feather: Keizo Hisamoto Def. Tetsuya Nishi
Hisamoto takes the fight to the ground, from there he transitions into an arm-bar, but Nishi defends well. Hisamoto transitions into a triangle and does a straight arm-bar from there.

4. Light: Yujiro Yamamoto vs. Yosuke Ako DRAW
Yamamoto gets out of several arm-bar attempts, Ako is unable to secure the win and the time runs out. It ends in a DRAW.

5. Welter: Kendo Kouda vs. Masaya Doi
This seems like a missmatch, Doi is the better fighter but is unable to finish the fight. Clearly frustrated he throws everything at Kouda but time runs out. Again, it ends in a draw.

6. Minimum (female): Mamiko Mizoguchi Def. Ayumi Funakoshi
Mizuguchi has come to bang! She dominates the standup and Funakoshi is attempting takedowns. Mizuguchi is clearly the more rounded fighter, and the ref has to step in to save Funakoshi while the fight is standing.

7. Middle - GT-F Rule: Hiroshi Tsuruya Def. Ichiro Kojima
Tsuruya comes out wearing a gi, and somehow I know what is coming. It takes a few minutes before he gets the takedown, but once it hits the ground Kojima has no answers, Tsuruya gets mount and pulls his gi around Kojima's neck, securing the lapel choke. Kojima is forced to tap.

Genesis Finals:
8. Welter Final: Hiroyuki Ito Def. Yoshinari Asano by Decision
Ito utilizes his better stand-up, I would have liked to see more uppercuts and he would have finished Asano. It goes to the judges and Ito gets the decision.

9. Flyweight Final: Hiroyuki Ai Def. Yoshiya Shinba by mounted triangle-choke
Hiroyuki Ai does not want this fight on the ground, but that is where it goes. Shinba has a very tight arm-bar that Ai defends well. Somehow in round 2 Ai finds himself on top, Shinba is tired and Ai is able to pull off a mounted triangle choke! A good and very deserving winner on the night!

Non-Tournament:
10. Bantam: Ichiro Sugita Def. Shin Takenaka by TKO Round 2 0:33
Takenaka goes for a leg-lock early, but Sugita gets out and deciedes he wants to keep the fight standing. Both fighters are willing to trade punches and it is a very entertaining fight. When round 2 starts, they continue to trade but Takenaka is hit early and a big cut has opened over his right eye. The doctor dont need much time to determine that this fight can not continue. TKO win to Sugita.

11. Welter: Tomohiko Yoshida Def. Ryo "Toraji" Nakajima by toe-hold Round 1
I have been looking forward to seeing Yoshida in action. He does not disappoint and showes good balance and composure. "Toraji" is giving it everything, but Yoshida is able to over power him. I think it is a toe-hold, but hard to see from my angle. A good performance by Yoshida.

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2/4 JEWELS 2 - Fights Announced

Friday 23 January 2009


JEWELS have announced another couple of fights for their event February 4. This will be held in Shinjuku Face and is the 2nd Jewels event.

It was announced that the experienced fighters Saori Ishioka and Mayumi "Benkei" Aoki will take on 2 debutants. The 20 year old Hanako Kobayashi is a pro-wrestler that will take on the experienced Saori Ishioka. This should be a quick fight for Saori Ishioka.

The other debutant is Chihiro Oikawa, also a debutant and also transitioning from pro-wrestling. She is taking on "benkei", who does not have an impressive record. This fight will probably go the distance.

Added:
Saori Ishioka 6-3-0 vs. Hanako Kobayashi
Mayumi Aoki "Benkei" 2-6-0 vs. Chihiro Oikawa

Previously Announced:
Open: Hiroko 5-1-0 vs. 3-2-1 Michiko Takeda
48kg: Misaki Takimoto 9-9-4 vs. 8-4-3 Yasuko Tamada
52kg: Masako Yoshida 14-14-5 vs. 0-1-0 Shinsaki Ozawa
60kg: Shizuka Sugiyama 1-0-0 vs. 1-0-0 Shiho

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2/28 Cage Force-EX - 2 Valkyrie Fights Added


GCM have added 2 Valkyrie (female) fights to the EX card in Saitama. I dont think this will be an all female card, but there might be a 2 parts card.

Anyway, today the first 2 fights were added, Kazue Matake will take on Kinuka Sasaki and Kayo Nagayasu will take on Maho Muranami. There are some very experienced female fighters in there, and I think these should be ok fights. I am really looking forward to seeing the rest of the card though.

Added:
Kazue Matake 3-1-0 vs. 2-6-1 Kinuka Sasaki
Kayo Nagayasu 7-6-1 vs. 4-5-1 Maho Muranami

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3/20 Sengoku 7 - First Fight Announced



The fight was rumored on Nightmare of Battle and has been announced as official today.

Ryo Kawamura will take on rising Sengoku star, King Mo. Kawamura is the current light-heavyweight King of Pancrase, and this should be a very good fight.

Sengoku also confirmed that they have about 80% of the participants ready for the featherweight GP. There will be an announcement shortly, but Marlon Sandro have said that he is in.

Fight Announced:
Ryo Kawamura vs. Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal

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Satoko Shinashi - Out of Fighting until December

DEEP have announced that their female flyweight champion, Satoko Shinashi, is out until December.

And I am happy to hear that it is NOT due to injury. She is 4 months pregnant, and congratulations are in order to the young family. From memory she got married a while back, and this is very good news!

She is due in July, and is planning to a return to the ring in December.

Read more...

2/20 DEEP 40 - Fights Added



DEEP have added 4 fights to this event that is looking increasingly good.

Added today is a fight between Riki Fukuda and Ryuta Sakurai. These fighters met in the first round of last year's middleweight tournament and Fukuda got a decision win on that occation. The winner will challenge Yuichi Nakanishi, who won the tournament last year.

Also added is a last years Shooto Rookie tournament finalist Naohiro Mizuno, facing Hiroto and Kazuhisa Tazawa is taking on American veteran Tim "Big Perm" Persey.

Hidehiko Hasegawa is confirmed as a participant.

I have a feeling you will see some of these fighters on DREAM cards this year, so it will be interesting to see. This is looking like a very good card from DEEP.

Added:
Riki Fukuda 12-4-0 vs. 18-14-4 Ryuta Sakurai
Kazuhisa Tazawa 3-0-1 vs. 9-2-0 Tim "Big Perm" Persey
Hiroto 6-1-0 vs. 4-2-0 Naohiro Mizuno
Shunsuke Inoue 4-3-1 vs. 2-6-0 Minoru Kato

Previously announced:
Seichi Ikemoto vs. 15-8-3 Hidetaka Monma

Participants:
Jutaro Nakao 22-13-4
Katsunori Kikuno 9-1-1
Koichiro Matsumoto 6-1-0
Hidehiko Hasegawa 15-11-5

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2/11 Shoot Boxing - Fight Order Announced



Shoot Boxing have just about finalized their card for next months event in Korakuen Hall. The card will have 12 fights, and the main event will see Japanese Shoot Boxing star Hiroki Shishido face the Chinese champion Wei Shu Lei (I am not sure on spelling).

This card will feature 3 MMA fighters as well. Rumina Sato and Mamoru Yamaguchi are making their debuts, while DEEP female champion Miku Matsumoto is having her second go at Shoot Boxing.

If you are not seen any Shoot Boxing fights, here is a link to some of the best they have had: Shoot Boxing Best Bouts

12. Main-Event - 70kg: Hiroki Shishido vs. Wei Shu Lei (?)
11. 70kg: Kenji Kanai vs. TBA
10. 56kg: Mamoru Yamaguchi vs. Noriyuki Enari
9. 60kg: Takeshi Ishikawa vs. Akifumi Utagawa
8. 65kg: Rumina Sato vs. TBA
7. 71kg: Taiga Yamaguchi vs. Takaaki Umeno
6. 60kg: Koya Shimada vs. Hiroaki Suzuki
5. 51kg: Miku Matsumoto vs. Misato Tomita
4. 55kg: Kazuyuki Fushimi vs. Masahiro Fujimoto
3. 55kg: Hiroaki Okuwa vs. Shinsaki (?) Ozawa
2. 57kg: Yoshifumi Arai vs. Tatsuhiro Takashima
1. 71kg: Masatomi Kawachi vs. Hideto Imano

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DREAM - Overeem, Schilt and Hansen questions

Thursday 22 January 2009

Event Producer Sasahara also answered questions relating to the transfer of Alistair Overeem and Semmy Schilt to the UFC. He said that that would not happen.

Regarding the injury to Crocop and Hansen, Sasahara said that for Crocop they are planning a return in May or July depending on his condition.

Relating to lightweight champion Hansen's condition, Sasahara said that he was in Norway resting now. Once his doctors declare him fit, he will be back. If it takes more than 1 year, DREAM will have a fight to determine an interim champion.

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3/8 DREAM 7 - "KID" fighting?


There has been a lot of speculation around this, today it was announced that DREAM 7 will take place in Saitama Super Arena!

The confusion is now complete, DREAM is saying that "Kid" will indeed fight. They are also saying that the featherweight tournament will be in in the 62-64kg range.

The featherweight tournament will have 16 participants, 8 will fight in March, 8 in April.

For the welterweight tournament they are planning 8 fighters to face off in the first round in March.

The schedule:
3/8 Saitama Super Arena
4/5 Aichi-ken, Gaishi Hall
May - In Kanto (Tokyo area)
July - In Kanto (Tokyo area)
September - In Kanto (Tokyo area)
October - Outside Kanto (Tokyo) area
12/31 Saitama Super Arena

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Chase Beebe to Sign with DREAM

Former WEC champion confirms to MMA Weekly that he is intending to sign a 3 fight deal with DREAM. The intention is to participate in the upcoming DREAM featherweight tournament in March. This means that he is moving up from bantam to featherweight to do this, I am not sure how much the weight difference is though. DREAM might have a featherweight division a little lighter than Sengoku (Sengoku: 65kg, DREAM: 63kg).

Source: MMA Weekly

Kid Yamamoto announced earlier this week that he would NOT fight in March.

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2/23 K-1 World Max Japan Tournament - Sergey Golyaev Added!!

Wednesday 21 January 2009



FEG has added 2 super fights to the K-1 World Max Japan Tournament they will hold in Yoyogi 1st Gymnasium on February 23.

The rumor that "Dida" will fight in this card persists, but I think that is not the case any more... Japanese media is no longer listing him as a participant, but I am not sure either way or what would be the reason for him not competing. He was definitely announced earlier.

There is a new MMA name on the card though... And this might be even more interesting than "Dida"... Sergey Golyaev has had his fights in Sengoku until now, this time he is fighting in K-1, which means a switch to FEG. I dont know if this is a sign that the organizations are looking to cooperate, but after his win over Takanori Gomi in Sengoku, Golyaev was definitely a profile Sengoku wanted to keep (or so I would think). Golyaev is taking on another Japanese favorite in Yoshihiro Sato.

The other fight added sees Japanese boxing champion Kazuhisa Watanabe taking on kickboxer Daisuke Uematsu.

Added:
Super fights - 3x3min. 1 round extention.
Yoshihiro Sato vs. Sergey Golyaev
Daisuke Uematsu vs. Kazuhisa Watanabe

Previously Announced:
Japan Tournament 1st. round fights, all rounds are 3x3min with 1 round extention if draw:
1. Nagajima☆Jienotsu☆Juichiro vs. HAYATO
2. TATSUJI vs. Yuya Yamamoto
3. Yasuhiro Kido vs. Hinata Watanabe
4. Andy Ologun vs. Taishin Kohirumaki

Semi-finals (winners will face off in the final):
Winner fight 1 vs. Winner fight 2
Winner fight 3 vs. Winner fight 4

Reserve fight:
Keiji Ozaki vs. Yasuhito Shirasu

Superfight (no extention round):
Hiroya vs. Kizaemon Saiga

Participants:
Kozo Takeda
Shingo Garyu
Hiroyuki Owatari

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4/5 Pancrase Changing Tour 2 - King of Pancrase Fight Announced



Last year Pancrase held a tournament to determine who would challenge the interim champion, Takuya Wada, for the title "King of Pancrase". Takuya Wada had a title fight in December though, he faced Masahiro Toryu and is now the 4th welterweight King of Pancrase. On April 5, he will face the winner of last year's tournament, Tomoyoshi Iwamiya, for the title. Iwamiya defeated Kiichi Kunimoto and Hiroyuki Nozawa, both by unanimous decision to earn this title shot.

Pancrase will be looking to step it up in 2009, and I have really high expectations for the cards and fighters they bring in.

The schedule for the Chaning Tour currently looks like this:
2/1 Differ Ariake
4/5 Differ Ariake
6/7 Differ Ariake
8/8 Differ Ariake (Neo-Blood Finals)

Announced:
Welterweight King of Pancrase title fight:
Takuya Wada 18-8-9 vs. 6-7-0 Tomoyoshi Iwamiya

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1/25 ZST. 19 - Fight Order

The other ZST event on the 25 is ZST 19. In general terms, this should be the event with the bigger fights on it, but I actually think the entertainment should be very good on both of these cards.

I will be there for both, and will be updating the results live! This event is almost sold out, so if you are planning to get tickets I would try to get there as early as possible (doors open at 17.00).

The main-event is the ZST welterweight title fight between Osami Shibuya and Masayuki Okude. This should be a good fight, Shibuya is by far the more experienced competitor, but Okude is a very popular guy and the crowd is sure to get into this one.

Other fighters to look for on this card include up and coming ZST star Keisuke Fujiwara, the experienced Shunichi Shimizu taking on Takeaki Miyakawa (on a 4 fight winning streak) and making his ZST debut is Korean Young "Ryo" Choi.

There are 12 fights on the card, and is should be a good way to finish a long day of fights! I cant wait for Sunday!

12. Main-Event - Welterweight Title fight:
Osami Shibuya 36-32-15 vs. 5-5-5 Masayuki Okude

11. Lightweight Tag-Team (1x15 min.):
Naoyuki Kotani & Tatsuya Yamada vs. Yojiro Uchimura & Koji Tomiyama

10. Light-Heavy: Kenji Nagai 5-7-1 vs. 10-5-0 Young "RYO" Choi
9. Feather: Shunichi Shimizu 13-4-4 vs. 6-3-1 Takeaki Miyakawa
8. Light: Kenichi Ito 3-3-2 vs. 6-8-0 Taku Aramaki
7. Bantam: Keisuke Fujiwara 5-1-3 vs. 2-1-0 Ryosuke Tanuma

Opening Fights (1x7min.):
6. Feather (GT-F Rule): Daisuke Yokoyama vs. Yasuo Munakata
5. Minimum (Female GT-F): Miki Aiba vs. Miyoko Kusaka
4. Feather: Toshihiro Shimizu 3-6-2 vs. 2-2-1 Hiroyuki Yamashiro
3. Welter: Yoichiro Karasuyama 1-3-1 vs. 1-0-0 Teruhiko Higashitani

Genesis Fights (1x5min):
2. Feather: Takahiro Baba 1-1-0 vs. 0-0-1 Takeshi Otaki
1. Feather: Ryota Kobayashi vs. 0-1-0 Masato Arai

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1/25 ZST - SWAT! in FACE Vol.2 - Fight Order

ZST is putting on a double header this Sunday in Shinjuku Face. Shinjuku Face is an awesome place to watch fights, as it is very small and intimate it is impossible to get a bad seat.

There are 2 cards, hence you do need 2 tickets if you want to go to both of these.

The SWAT event starts at 12.30, and it should be well worth the ticket price. 11 fights are on the card, and for a SWAT card this is very good.

Worth noting on the SWAT card, there are 2 tournaments. The welterweight tournament will only have the final in this event. Due to injury on Masayuki Hamagishi, Hiroyuki Ito will take the place in the final.

There is also a flyweight genesis tournament, which we will have 2 semi-finals and a final on the night.

The main event is the welterweight fight between ZST talent Tomohiko Yoshida and AACC's "Toraji".

I am really excited about this event, reason is that my BJJ instructor is fighting and it will be the first time I get a chance to watch him live. Hiroshi Tsuruya is an experienced grappler, and here are just some of his titles:

2005 Japan Shooto Grappling Championships Middleweight Winner
2005 LUTADOR NO-GI JIU-JITSU Open weight Winner
2007 Bogona Grappling Absolute weight winner

Source: BoutReview

It should be a good grapping match, and a very good evening of fights.

11. Main-Event - Welter: Tomohiko Yoshida 5-1-1 vs. 4-5-2 Ryo "Toraji" Nakajima
10. Bantam: Ichiro Sugita 6-2-5 vs. 1-2-0 Makoto Takenaka

Genesis Finals:
9. Flyweight Final: Winner Semi-Final 1 vs. Winner Semi-Final 2
8. Welter Final: Yoshinari Asano vs. 3-9-3 Hiroyuki Ito

Non-Tournament:
7. Middle - GT-F Rule: Hiroshi Tsuruya vs. Ichiro Kojima
6. Minimum (female): Ayumi Funakoshi 0-0-1 vs. 1-3-1 Mamiko Mizoguchi
5. Welter: Kendo Kouda 1-2-0 vs. 3-2-3 Masaya Doi
4. Light: Yujiro Yamamoto 1-2-2 vs. 3-4-0 Yosuke Akahiro
3. Feather: Tetsuya Nishi 2-5-6 vs. 2-2-0 Keizo Hisamoto

Genesis Flyweight Tournament Semi-Finals:
2. Semi-Final 1: Yoshiya Shinba 3-3-2 vs. 1-0-0 Yasushi Yasunaka
1. Semi-Final 2: Keisuke Tamaru 4-7-3 vs. 0-1-0 Hiroyuki Ai

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Shooto January Rankings

Tuesday 20 January 2009



There are not many fighters changing positions in this ranking, but there is a MAJOR change. Shooto have now added the flyweight division to this ranking. And some would say that it was about time! The have had a very strong division, and the fights are exciting. But until now, there has not be a champion, nor have there been a ranking. Now we have the ranking, so hopefully we get the champion soon too!

Flyweight:
Champion: Open

1. Ramba “M-16” Somdet
2. Shinya Murofushi
3. Shinpei Tahara
4. Takehiro Harusaki
5. Atsushi Takeuchi

This is the first time for the flyweight ranking to be published, hence all these are new.

Bantamweight:
Champion: → Shinichi “BJ” Kojima
-From October 14 2006, Defended 3 times against Mamoru, Akagi and Urushitani

1. → Yuki Shoujou
2. →Yasuhiro Urushitani
3. → Ryuichi Miki
4. → Junji Ikoma
5. → Mamoru Yamaguchi
6. → Jucie Formiga
7. → Masatoshi Abe
8. → Shimokawa Yusei
9. → Yasuhiro Akagi
10. → Homare Kuboyama

No Change

Featherweight:
Champion: → Masakatsu Ueda
-From March 28 2008, Defended 1 Time against Galvao

1. → Eduardo Dantas
2. → Marcos “Louro” Galvao
3. → Daniel Lima
4. → Koetsu Okazaki
5. → So Tazawa
6. → Atsushi Yamamoto
7. → Hiromasa Ogikubo
8. → Kenji Osawa
9. → Tetsu Suzuki
10. → Takeya Mizugaki

No change


Lightweight:
Champion: → “Lion” Takeshi Inoue
-From November 29 2008.

1. → Akitoshi Tamura
2. → Hatsu Hioki
3. → Hideki Kadowaki
4. → Antonio Carvalho
5. → Savant Young
6. → Renan Barao
7. → Bao Quach
8. → Hiroshi "Iron" Nakamura
9. → Rumina Sato
10. → David Lejenas

No change


Welterweight:
Champion: → Takashi Nakakura
-From May 3 2008 Defended 0 times)

1. → Yusuke Endo
2. → Willamy Chiquerim "Chiqueirinho"
3. → Ganjo Tensuku
4. → Bendy Casimir
5. → Hamid Corassani
6. → Grzegorz Trendowski
7. → Jani Lax
8. → Brian Cobb
9. → Mizuto Hirota
10. → Eiji Mitsuoka

No change


Middleweight:
Champion: → Shinya Aoki
-From February 17 2006, defended 0 times

1. → David Baron
2. → Xavier Lucas
3. → Wim Deputter
4. → Niek Tromp
5. → Igor Fernandes
6. → Zelim Felican
7. → Roemer Trumpert
8. → Hernani Perpetuo
9. → Tommy Depret
10. → Scott Henze

No change


Light-Heavyweight:
Champ: → Siyar Bahadourzada (From July 15 2007, defended 0 times)

1. → Leandro Silva
2. → Akihiro Murayama
3. → Shiko Yamashita
4. → Andre Silva
5. ↑Sauli Heilimo
6. ↓ Grazhuydas Smailis
7. ↓ Masashi Yozen
8. ↓ Nathan Schouteren
9. ↓ Petras Morkevicius
10. ↓ Rolandas Agrba

Sauli Heilimo comes into the ranking at #5 on the back of a win in FinnFight 10.

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2/28 Shooto Gig Tokyo Vol. 1 - Fights Announced

Shooto announced the start of a new "tour" on Sunday. It is an extention of the "Gig" tours. This time they are adding "Gig Tokyo" to the gig's they already have (North, Central, West etc.). The first Gig Tokyo event will be held in Shinjuku Face Saturday 28.

There are already a few interesting fights added to this card. Ganjo Tantsuku is currently ranked #3 in the Shooto welterweight division. He has had 3 losses in his career, and this time he gets a chance to re-match the first fighter to defeat him in professional Shooto. Kenichiro Togashi defeated Tentsuku by deceision in their last encounter almost 4 years ago. Since then, Togashi has only won once but he has faced fighters such as Mitsuhiro Ishida, Joachim Hansen and Yusuke Endo to name a few. This should be a good fight and I am guessing it might be the main event.

Announced:
Welter (A): Ganjo Tentsuku 9-3-2 vs. 7-6-5 Kenichiro Togashi
Welter (B): Komei Okada vs. 5-8-1 vs. 2-4-3 Shinobu Miura

Rookie Tournament Fights:
Welter: Junpei Konno vs. Yohei Ota
Welter: Yoshio Tokuhisa vs. Koji Nishioka
Welter: MIKE vs. Fumihiko Kawamura
Feather: Yuki Yasunaga vs. Yoshihiko Matsumoto
Bantam: 保貴 (?) Ishigami vs. Yuya Kaneuchi

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2/11 Shoot Boxing - Miku Fighting



Shoot Boxing is an organization that somehow always manages to get names to make a switch for a fight or 2. DEEP female champion, Miku, made her Shoot Boxing debut at the S-Cup finals event in November last year. She defeated the experienced Shoot Boxer Lena by decision and it clearly left her hungry for more.

I was hoping to see Miku fight at the DEEP event on February 20, or even the Jewels card on the 4. But yesterday it was announced that Miku is fighting on the Shoot Boxing card February 11. She will be taking on an experienced competitor in Misato Tomita.

Other MMA fighters also competing on this card are Mamoru, Rumina Sato and now Miku.

Also added is the fight between 2 Shoot Boxing veterans, Takeshi Ishikawa is taking on Akifumi Utagawa.

Announced:
Miku Matsumoto vs. Misato Tomita
Takeshi Ishikawa vs. Akifumi Utagawa

Previously Annouced:
Rumina Sato vs. TBA
Hiroki Shishido vs. Wei Shu Lei (?)
Mamoru Yamaguchi vs. Noriyuki Enari

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1/18 Shooto Tradition 5 - Pictures

Monday 19 January 2009

Back from the Shooto event yesterday, a lot of the fights went the distance. Fight of the night was easily the Omigawa vs. Ishiwatari fight. It is speculated that Omigawa will participate in one of the featherweight GPs coming up, the question if a draw was good enough. The performance was good though.

The night started with an entertaining fight between Sakae Kasuya and Tomonari Taniguchi. Kasuya was too strong on the ground for Taniguchi and Taniguchi was saved by the ball taking the fight to the judges. The result was the same though, a strong win for Kasuya.



Korean newcomer Yong Jae Jun was able to keep the fight standing for the 1st round with Akihiro Yamazaki. While the fight was standing, the Korean was able to maintain some control of the much more experienced Yamazaki. Yamazaki managed to get the fight to the ground in the 2nd round and showed why he was a clear favorite coming into this fight. Forcing the tap by arm bar early in the 2nd.



With DREAM experience under his belt, "Kodo" came in with confidence against Takahiro Hosoi. "Kodo" was looking to keep this fight standing, while Hosoi made it clear that he wanted this fight on the ground. Early in the 2nd. "kodo" connected though, and Hosoi went down. A good win for "Kodo" and he should be on to look for in Shooto this year.



The punch that sends Hosoi to the ground:



Jin Akimoto has not had an easy time finding wins lately. He has had 2 draws since returning, both to Junji Ikoma. Those fights were exciting though... Yesterday the fight didn't really get the fans going. Ayumu Shioda got the decision and its almost 7 years since Akimoto tasted victory.



The next fight was good though. Ishiwatari was showing great skills in his stand up. Omigawa was able to take everything though, and when on the ground it was his turn to show skills. Both fighters were unable to end the fight, but it was very entertaining.



Hiroshi "Iron" Nakamura got a close decision win over Hayate Usui.



Jesse Taitano was again very close to taking the scalp of a top Shooto fighter. He has now drawn with both Urushitani and "BJ". I just hope he gets another shooto fight soon! "BJ" was unable to capitalize on the ground and Taitano was unable to finish it standing. Taitano should debut in the Shooto rankings soon.



The main event was the fight between Kotetsu Boku and current Pacific Champion Yusuke Endo. Boku did get to show some of his superior boxing skills, but most of this fight took place on the ground. Neither fighter was able to establish the upper hand and it ended a draw.


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2/4 JEWELS 2 - First Fights Announced



Jewels have announced the first fights for their 2nd event, called 2nd ring. This event will be held in Shinjuku Face, and of course it will be an all female lineup.

The question I have is really: What happened to the competition (Valkyrie)? Roxanne Modafferi was one of the fighters on the original Valkyrie card and she has written a post for Fightlinker on the topic, you can read that here.

To me, it has been very quiet from the Valkyrie side... On their blog there is nothing since new year. We just have to wait and see, I guess.

Meanwhile, for those of us who are missing Smack Girl, Jewels will be putting on a card that resemble what you would have been abel to see with Smack Girl.

The first fight is a re-match of a fight that did happen in Smack Girl, that was almost 2 years ago and Hiroko got a decision win over Michiko Takeda. Takeda has not fought since that split decision loss, while Hiroko has had 3 fights.

Also added are 2 veterans, Misaki Takimoto and Yasuko Tamada will square off in what should be in interesting fight between to very experienced female fighters.

In terms of talent, Jewels has called back to debutants from the first event. Both Shizuka Sugiyama and Shiho won their fights on Jewels 1, this time they will face eachother.

Open: Hiroko 5-1-0 vs. 3-2-1 Michiko Takeda
48kg: Misaki Takimoto 9-9-4 vs. 8-4-3 Yasuko Tamada
52kg: Masako Yoshida 14-14-5 vs. 0-1-0 Shinsaki Ozawa
60kg: Shizuka Sugiyama 1-0-0 vs. 1-0-0 Shiho

Participating:
Saori Ishioka 6-3-0
Mayumi "Benkei" Aoki 2-6-0

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Congratulations to Koichi Pettas!

Yesterday was a big day for martial arts enthusiatst in Tokyo. I chose to go to the Shooto event in Differ Ariake, but that was not my original plan.

In Yoyogi Gymnasium there was a big muay thai event on, and I wrote an article earlier about one of the fighters on that card. Koichi Pettas was fighting for the M-1 heavyweight title and I know he worked very hard to prepare for that fight. You can see the pictures I took of him training here.

This was Koichi's debut with full Muay Thai rules (including elbows), and I happy to see that he won that fight by KO in the 4th round! So I just want to say congratulations to Koichi on a well deserved win, and he is now the new M-1 Heavyweight Champion!

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"KID" Yamamoto NOT Fighting in DREAM in March

Japanese media is writing today that "Kid" Yamamoto's knee injury is not yet fully healed, and he will not be able to participate in the upcoming DREAM event in March. This is of course another blow to DREAM who needs their Japanese star to return as soon as possible.

Currently he is training at 50%, and he does not want to risk possible injuries by stepping into the ring too early. This means that he is possibly out of the featherweight GP, but I have a feeling FEG will be able to keep a spot open for him. Currently he is rebuilding the muscles around his right knee, and working on his striking.

"Kid" is hinting at a return after April, but with all the injuries I am thinking it might go even longer than that. I hope we get to see a fully fit "Kid" soon, and DREAM needs the ratings that would bring too.

Source:SportsNavi

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Rumina Sato is Fighting in Shoot Boxing

Sunday 18 January 2009

In the break at Shooto today, it was announced that Rumina Sato will fight in Shoot Boxing February 11. Not Sengoku or DREAM tournaments as it has been rumored. A new adventure for Rumina!

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1/18 Shooto Tradition 5 - LIVE Results

Shooto is putting on an awesome event in Differ Ariake today. Hopefully people have recovered after staying up half the night (in my case) watching the UFC. This card might not compete with the names on the UF card, but for Shooto fans and fans of Japanese MMA, there is plenty of stories to get into on this card.

I have broken down the 2 main fights here

In addition to those fights, it is worth mentioning a few fighters:
"KODO" is a very talented guy with only 2 losses. One of those was stepping in on 1-2 days notice in DREAM to face Joseph Benavidez in DREAM 5. And I guess it was his 15 minutes of fame so far in his career, but I expect to hear from this guy again.

Akihiro Yamazaki, this guy is SERIOUSLY talented. At 20, he has had 13 fights and lost 2, to Kenji Arai and Yoshiyuki Yoshida!I am predicting a tough debut for a Korean fighter that I dont know the name of.

From a very talented fighter, to a very experienced fighter, Jin Akimoto is as experienced as they get in Shooto. The 38 year old veteran has had a hard 4 years, not winning since May 2002, when he took 2 years off. Returning in 20004, and not winning since... Thats 9 (!) fights without tasting victory. He has fought top fighters though, and I hope he can break the trend today.

With that, the event starts at 4 Japan time. There will be spoilers if you read on after that! As always at the events, my focus will be enjoying the fights and taking pictures. I will post results and some quick comments only. More when I get home.

The event is kicking off. The fighters are being presented.

1. Fly: Sakae Kasuya Def. Tomonori Taniguchi by Decision 3-0
Kasuya was dominating the ground game except for a short period in tbe 2nd when Taniguchi got some good gnp going. A solid win by Kasuya, who was really close to finishing by triangle.

2. Middle: Akihiro Yamazaki Def. Jun Yong Jae Round 2 1:39
The Korean debutant kept the fight standing in Round 1, and was dominating until the last seconds when Yamazaki finally got a takedown.
Round 2 the Korean fighter hits with a huge right that brings Yamazaki to the ground. Jun follows up, buut on the ground Yamazaki is god and quickly secures an armbar, or is it a triangle... Either way, Jun taps.

3. Feather: Junya Kudo "KODO" Def. Takahiro Hosoi by KO ROund 2 0:34
"KODO" wsa dominating the stnad up and Hosoi was not able to take the flurries. A strong punch hit the button and Hosoi was not getting up.

4. Bantam: Ayumu "Gozo" Shioda Def. Jin Akimoto by Decision 3-0
Akimoto cant buy a win at the moment...

In the break it is announced that Rumina Sato will fight in Shoot Boxing February 11. Not Sengoku or DREAM tournaments as it has been rumored. A new adventure for Rumina!

5. Light: Shintaro Ishiwatari vs. Michihiro Omigawa DRAW
Omigawa has some experienced support in his corner, includint Ryo Chonan and Kazuhiro Nakamura. Round 1 went to Omigawa, the fight was kept standing and no one managed to secure the advantage. Awesome fight so far!! Easily the fight of the night so far ends in a draw.

6. Light: Hiroshi "Iron" Nakamura Def. Hayate Usui by Decision 3-0
Fight was mainly standing and Nakamura was the better fighter.

7. Bantam: Shinichi "BJ" Kojima vs. Jesse Taitano DRAW 0-1
Fight was mainly kept standing in Round 1, BJ had 1 takedown but was unable to capitilize. The ref stood it up and Jess was contronlling on the feet.
The 2nd round was close, I would give it to Jess, BJ got a takedown at the end. I would give it to Jess, still I have a feeling it will be a draw...

The judges scored the fight 1 for Jess Taitano, 2 draws. This was close and I think Jess will be back in Japan.

8. Main Event - Welter: Yusuke Endo vs. Kotetsu Boku DRAW
1st round was close, probably the way of Boku. Boku started the 2nd fresh, but Endo had the upper hand on the ground in the 2nd. At this point it is a very close fight.

In the 3rd, I feel like Boku was doing most of the defending. This will be a close fight, and a very good one!

The judges score it Boku 1, Draw 2

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1/18 Shooto Tradition 5 - Warm-Up

Saturday 17 January 2009



After Shooto announced the fight between Boku and Endo, I have been looking forward to this event. Even if its not a title fight, there is little doubt that the fight is a worthy main event. But this event has more than a very good main event.

Jess Taitano (and I am happy to see that Sherdog has updated the profile for the occation!) is a very good fighter, on his last visit to Japan he faced Urushitani. This time he is facing THE top Shooto fighter at the weight, Shinichi "BJ" Kojima (maybe he should change nickname to "Velcro"?).

Well, determined to actually finish this post I wont preview all the fights (I start one of these a couple times a month, but think I am yet to actually finish one...) I will jump straight into it.

Fight #8: The main-event: Yusuke Endo 12-2-1 vs. 13-5-1 Kotetsu Boku

These are two fighters that very rarely lose.

-Kotetsu Boku- has lost 2 on the trot though, and I will call him the "challenger" here. In a very competitive Cage Force Tournament in 2007 Boku reached the final by defeating Eiji Mitsuoka in the semi-final. The final was a very close decision loss to Artur Oumakhanov (who defeated Tomonari Kanomata, there was some controversy around that one though).

Before his loss in the Cage Force final, you have to look back to 2003 (10 fights) to find another loss.

Boku's last fight was against Joachim Hansen in the DREAM lightweight tournament, and to be honest, I think a lot of sites didn't show Boku the proper respect in front of that fight. It was an awesome performance by Hansen, yet he was unable to put away Boku. Hansen is a world class fighter, and he knew not to underestimate Boku.

Kotetsu Boku's career highlight is winning the welterweight Shooto Pacific rim tournament in 2004/2005. In the final he defeated Ryan Bow and claimed the Shooto Pacific title, a title he never lost in the ring.

Notable wins: Eiji Mitsuoka, Hermes Franca, Ryan Bow, Alexandre Franca Nogueira
Losses: Joachim Hansen, Artur Oumakhanov, Kenichiro Togashi, Mitsuhiro Ishida, Takaharu Murahama.

Kotetsu Boku highlight by Bestrafer7



-Yusuke Endo- is the current holder of the title Boku never lost. Endo claimed the title by defeating Kenichiro Togashi last year. At the time, the title had been vacated by Takashi Nakakura who upgraded to the world Shooto title. Endo lost to Nakakura in November 2007, in a fight that was the same title Endo was to claim just 8 months later.

When Boku was competing in the welterweight Pacific tournement (2004), Endo was just starting his career. He won the Shooto rookie tournament that year, defeating Heima Hashimoto, Kenichi Hattori and Seiki Uchimura in the process.

Notable wins: Clay Guida, Ganjo Tentsuku, Kenichiro Togashi
Losses: Ganjo Tentsuku, Takashi Nakakura



Fight # 7: Shinichi "BJ" Kojima 9-3-4 vs. 4-2-1 Jess Taitano
Just for the record, this fight is Class B rules (2x5min.). This is obviously because this is Jess Taitano's Shooto debut.

-Jess Taitano-
I dont know why, but I believe there will be an upset in this fight (gut feeling), I saw Jess Taitano agaist Yasuhiro Urushitani on his last visit to Japan, and know that this guy should not be underestimated. Taitano is from Japan, and that is also where he has done most of his fighting. But a win against "BJ" here, would certainly open doors.

Taitano has 2 career losses, the first came in his debut (according to Sherdog, I have a feeling he has had more fight than what is recorded) against Takeyasu Hirono, a loss he later revenged. His other loss was in his last fight against Shooto veteran Hiroyuki Tanaka.

Taitano has never been finished, and I dont think "BJ" will put him away either (unless he has grown a fro since I last saw him). All the kidding aside, Taitano would like this fight standing and his takedown defence will be key.

Notable wins: Takeyasu Hirono
Notable Draw: Yasuhiro Urushitani
Losses: Hiroyuki Tanaka, Takeyasu Hirono

Just for fun, here is a review I wrote after his previous fight in Japan (more than a year ago). It is just interesting looking back at that card as a whole, the quality was just unbelievable.
Cage Force 5 Results

Jess Taitano promotion video (a bit old, but all I could find)


-Shinichi "BJ" Kojima-
Kojima is the undisputed champion at 56kg, and he has only lost once at that weight. That loss was to Junichi Sase, a name to take note of for the next time you want to start a "Why did he stop fighting" type thread.

If "BJ" is unbeatable at 56kg, he cant by a win at 60kg, he lost 2 fights trying to make that transition, a project that now seems to be put on ice.

"BJ" was not able to claim the Bantamweight title on his first try, at that time Mamoru "The Fro" was the champion, but the fight ended in a draw. Just 6 months (on October 14. '06) later "BJ" got another shot, this time he needed just 1 minute and 38 seconds to put away the champion. Mamoru had the title for almost 3 years, and the rivalry is still healthy.

"BJ"s last fight was a title defence against Mamoru, it looked to be going to a decision and maybe a Mamoru win when the he got caught in a guillotine choke. "BJ" has beaten them all in the bantamweight division, and there is one similarity.

Both these fighters have fought and drawn against Urushitani.

This is not a title fight, "BJ" is facing a fighter that is unranked. I have a feeling "BJ" might not be as prepared as he was in his last fight. I guess for "BJ", the question is really who is the next challenger? Currently, it would be Yuki Shoujou, but I think Taitano has a chance to change that here.

Notable wins: Mamoru Yamaguchi, Setsu Iguchi, Yasuhiro Akagi
Losses: Junichi Sase, Eduardo Dantas (at Featherweight) and So Tazawa (at Featherweight)

"BJ" Kojima vs. Yusei Shimokawa


LIVE results tomorrow!

Read more...

Marlon Sandro Confirmed for the Sengoku Featherweight GP

Friday 16 January 2009

Tatame is writing that Marlon Sandro is confirmed for the Sengoku Featherweight GP. This is not surprising, as the King of Pancrase I was expecting him to compete.

Needless to say, he is a very good addition and I cant wait to see him fight world class competition!

Source: Tatame

Read more...

1/18 Shooto Tradition 5 - Fight Order

This is going to be a very busy couple of weeks in the world of MMA. This weekend in Japan, Shooto has the biggest event.

They have announced the fight order for Sunday, and I will be giving you these results live!

The main event is between the currrent Pacific Champion, Yusuke Endo and a former champion in Kotetsu Boku. Boku is coming off 2 straight losses and will be looking to redeem himself against a very tough opponent. This is not a title fight, but I dont think any of these fighters will care once the fight is on!

The card suffered a setback when the fight between So Tazawa and Katsuya Toida was cancelled and there are "only" 8 fights on the card. However, the card is still a strong one.

Fight Order:
8. Main Event - Welter: Yusuke Endo 12-2-1 vs. 13-5-1 Kotetsu Boku
7. Bantam: Shinichi "BJ" Kojima 9-3-4 vs. 4-1-0 Jesse Taitano
6. Light: Hiroshi "Iron" Nakamura 5-3-4 vs. 10-6-1 Hayate Usui
5. Light: Shintaro Ishiwatari 6-1-2 vs. 4-7-0 Michihiro Omigawa
4. Bantam: Jin Akimoto 10-12-4 vs. 4-6-0 Ayumu "Gozo" Shioda
3. Feather: Junya Kudo "KODO" 6-2-2 vs. 5-4-1 Takahiro Hosoi
2. Middle: Akihiro Yamazaki 10-2-1 vs. 全 龍左 Zon Yon Ze(?)
1. Fly: Sakae Kasuya 4-3-3 vs. 3-5-2 Tomonori Taniguchi

Read more...

2/10 DEEP & CMA - Minowa fighting Pro-Wrestling!



The first fight for this event in Korakuen Hall is announced. It should be an event that is more a "fun" type, I guess. But for the price and the names, it should be worth the trip out.

Today it was announced that Ikuhisa Minowa "Minowaman" will face pro-wrestler and Pancrase legend Minoru Suzuki. This should be a fight that will draw the Japanese crowd.

In addition to this match-up, there are lots of big names announced as participants. Among them are Kazuo Takahashi (Sengoku and former Pride fighter), Yukio Sakaguchi (fought at Dynamite!) and Daijiro Matsui (former Pride fighter)

Announced:
Pro-wrestling: Ikuhisa Minowa vs. Minoru Suzuki

Participating:
Kazuo Takahashi
柳沢龍志
Kosei Kobuta
Yukio Sakaguchi
Daijiro Matsui
Makoto Kato

Read more...

1/25 ZST. 19/SWAT! - Fights Announced

Thursday 15 January 2009



ZST is holding a double header in Shinjuku Face on January 25. The first event starts at 13.00, and is the "SWAT! in FACE vol. 2" event. The main card is the ZST. 19 event, which starts at 17.00 in the same arena.

Today they have added fights to both these cards, but keep you eyes on a grappling match on the SWAT! card. Hiroshi Tsuruya (who happens to be my BJJ instructor), is taking on Ichiro Kojima. The card also includes 2 tournament finals, in the fly- and welterweight Genesis tournament.

The main-card includes a welterweight title fight between Osami Shibuya and the very popular Masayuki Okude. Another interesting fight to keep an eye on is the fight between Shinichi Shimizu and Takeaki Miyakawa. Miyakawa is on a 4 fight winning streak and Shimizu lost his last fight by KO. Shimizu will be looking to come back with a win here, and he is very efficient in finishing fights. It should be a good battle.

P.S. You have to buy ticket for each of these events separately.

SWAT! in FACE vol.2
Doors Open: 12:30 Start: 13:00

Genesis Tournament (all fights 2x5min):
Welter Final: Yoshinari Asano vs. 3-9-3 Hiroyuki Ito
※Masayuki Hamagishi was injured so Hiroyuki Ito takes his place in the final.

Flyweight Semi-Final 1: Yoshiya Shinba 3-3-2 vs. 1-0-0 Yasushi Yasunaka
Flyweight Semi-Final 2: Keisuke Tamaru 4-7-3 vs. 0-1-0 Hiroyuki Ai
Flyweight Final: Winner Semi-Final 1 vs. Winner Semi-Final 2

Non-Tournament fights:
Welter: Tomohiko Yoshida 5-1-1 vs. 4-5-2 Ryo "Toraji" Nakajima
Welter: Kendo Kouda 1-2-0 vs. 3-2-3 Masaya Doi
Light: Yujiro Yamamoto 1-2-2 vs. 3-4-0 Yosuke Akahiro
Feather: Tetsuya Nishi 2-5-6 vs. 2-2-0 Keizo Hisamoto
Bantam: Ichiro Sugita 6-2-5 vs. 1-2-0 Makoto Takenaka
Minimum (female): Ayumi Funakoshi 0-0-1 vs. 1-3-1 Mamiko Mizoguchi
Middle - GT-F Rule: Hiroshi Tsuruya vs. Ichiro Kojima


ZST.19
Doors Open 17:00 Main-Card 18:00
※Genesis Fights start 17:40

Welterweight Title fight:
Osami Shibuya 36-32-15 vs. 5-5-5 Masayuki Okude

Lightweight Tag-Team (1x15 min.):
Naoyuki Kotani & Tatsuya Yamada vs. Yojiro Uchimura &Koji Tomiyama

Light-Heavy: Kenji Nagai 5-7-1 vs. 10-5-0 Young "RYO" Choi
Bantam: Keisuke Fujiwara 5-1-3 vs. 2-1-0 Ryosuke Tanuma
Feather: Shunichi Shimizu 13-4-4 vs. 6-3-1 Takeaki Miyakawa
Light: Kenichi Ito 3-3-2 vs. 6-8-0 Taku Aramaki

Opening Fights (1x7min.):
Feather: Toshihiro Shimizu 3-6-2 vs. 2-2-1 Hiroyuki Yamashiro
Welter: Yoichiro Karasuyama 1-3-1 vs. 1-0-0 Teruhiko Higashitani
Feather (GT-F Rule): Daizuke Yokoyama vs. Yasuo Munakata
Minimum (Female GT-F): Miki Aiba vs. Miyoko Kusaka

Genesis Fights (1x5min):
Feather: Takahiro Baba 1-1-0 vs. 0-0-1 Takeshi Otaki
Feather: Ryota Kobayashi vs. 0-1-0 Masato Arai

Read more...

2/20 DEEP 40 - First Fight and Participants Announced

DEEP have announced the first fight for what should be a very good event on February 20. I am predicting that this will be one of the better DEEP cards for a while, just from what I am hearing, but already it looks good.

Announced today is the match-up between DEEP welterweight champion Seichi Ikemoto and Hidetaka Monma. Monma has only fought once since losing to "Mach" Sakurai in DREAM 1, that was a win in Cage Force - Eastern Bund in November. He won that fight against debutant Andre Mafetoni in the first round.

Monma and Ikemoto have fought before, in DEEP 13. On that occation Monma won in the 2nd round. Now, Ikemoto is the DEEP welterweight champion, and this should be good fight.

Also announced as participants are some very good fighters in Katsunori Kikuno, Hiroto and Koichiro Matsumoto.

Announced:
Seichi Ikemoto vs. 15-8-3 Hidetaka Monma

Participants:
Jutaro Nakao 22-13-4
Katsunori Kikuno 9-1-1
Koichiro Matsumoto 6-1-0
Hiroto 6-1-0

Read more...

2/11 ShootBoxing - "The Fro" Mamoru Fighting!



"The Fro" is one of the bigger personalities in Shooto, and has been ranked in the top of the Shooto bantamweight division for a long time. Only his inability to get out of "BJ"'s guillotine choke (some would say due to the fro), stopped him from reclaim that title last year. Mamoru Yamaguchi is facing ShootBoxing's Japanese champion in the superbantam weight division, Noriyuki Enari, it does not look like it will be for the title though.

Also on the card is ShootBoxing star Hiroki Shishido against Chinese Wei Shu Lei.

Announced:
Hiroki Shishido vs. Wei Shu Lei (?)
Mamoru Yamaguchi vs. Noriyuki Enari

Read more...

2/23 K-1 World Max -Japan Tournament Match-ups Announced

Wednesday 14 January 2009



Yesterday FEG announced the fighters for the K-1 World Max Japan Tournament. Today they have announced the match-ups that will be the first round in this 1-Day tournament. In addition to that, the reserve fight was also announced.

The big fight in the 1st. round is the match-up between Kohirumaki and Ologun. But this tournament is full of talent. I have a feeling Yasuhiro Kido will take home the title this year as well. Last year he won the Japan Tournament and made it all the way to the final 8, where he lost to Artur Kyshenko.

"Dida" seems to have been taken off the list of participants, he was announced last year and I dont know if it is just a misuderstanding. I will take him off to have the list consistant with what is reported in the Japanese media. I hope he fights though!

Japan Tournament 1st. round fights, all rounds are 3x3min with 1 round extention if draw:
1. Nagajima☆Jienotsu☆Juichiro vs. HAYATO
2. TATSUJI vs. Yuya Yamamoto
3. Yasuhiro Kido vs. Hinata Watanabe
4. Andy Ologun vs. Taishin Kohirumaki

Semi-finals (winners will face off in the final):
Winner fight 1 vs. Winner fight 2
Winner fight 3 vs. Winner fight 4

Reserve fight:
Keiji Ozaki vs. Yasuhito Shirasu

Superfight (no extention round):
Hiroya vs. Kizaemon Saiga

Other participants:
Yoshihiro Sato
Kozo Takeda
Daisuke Uematsu
Shingo Garyu
Hiroyuki Owatari

Read more...

1/31 Shooto - Shooting Disco 7 - Card Complete / Rookie Tournament Fights Added

Tuesday 13 January 2009

The card for Shooting Disco 7 is now complete. As always this card is relying on talent and matchmaking to ensure that it is an exciting event. The main event will have an impact on the bantamweight rankings though. Ryuichi Miki is ranked #3 and Homare Kobuta is ranked #10.

Last year's Rookie Tournament winner, Takuya Sato gets a chance to climb in the rankings, as he takes on Pacific Rim ranked #1 Taisuke Okuno.

The main card was announced in December, but now there are some Rookie Tournament fights added.

The card looks complete and this is the fight order:

10. Main-Event - Bantam: Ryuichi Miki 7-2-3 vs. 7-6-1 Homare Kuboyama
9. Middle: Taisuke Okuno 7-2-1 vs. 3-2-2 Takuya Sato
8. Light: Masatoshi Kobayashi 3-5-0 vs. 2-1-0 Daiki Tsuchiya
7. Welter: Guy Delameau 8-4-0 vs. 1-3-1 Kunio Nakajima
6. Bantam: Hiroaki Iijima 1-1-0 vs. 1-1-0 "Akki" Kota Funaki
5. Fly: Takehiro "Tiger" Ishii 5-6-2 vs. 3-4-0 Katsuya Murofushi

Rookie Tournament Fights:
4. Middle: Yoichiro Sato (Gracie Barra Tokyo) 1-1-1 vs. 2-2-0 Hiroaki Sakuma (Mach Dojo)
3. Light: Kenichiro Marui (Academia Az) 0-2-0 vs. 0-1-0 Toshiaki Hayasaka (Paraestra Sendai)
2. Bantam: Nozomi Otsuka (Team Locks) 1-1-0 vs. 0-2-0 Tatsuya "Nakashi" Nakashima (Wajyutsu Keisyukai Toikatsu Dojo)
1. Welter: Mitsushi Matsumoto (FSFA) vs. Keiji Sakuta (Paraestra Chiba)

Read more...

2/1 Pancrase Changing Tour 1 - Fight Order Announced



Pancrase have announced the fight order for their first event of the Changing Tour.

The main event is the lightweight title fight between Katsuya Inoue and Daisuke Hanazawa. Kenji Arai has only 1 loss in his last 5 fights and has been finding back to his old self after a bad 2006. He will fight in the co-main event against Masanori Kanehara. Remember that Sengoku has a featherweight GP coming up, and I think you will see at least 1 if not 2 fighters coming from this card.

If you are going to this event, it might pay off to get in early. The doors open at 14.30, this is because there will be Neo-Blood fights on before the main card starts. The main card should start at 17.00.

Main Event - Lightweight King of Pancrase:
8. Katsuya Inoue 17-6-3 vs. 11-9-5 Daisuke Hanazawa "13"

7. Feather: Kenji Arai 13-12-2 vs. 10-5-5 Masanori Kanehara
6. Feather: Masaya Takita "J-Taro" 9-10-2 vs. 19-4-0 Jameel "The Sargent" Massouh
5. Light: Takafumi Ito 34-27-10 vs. 0-2-0 Hiroki "AB" Aoki
4. Fly: Takuya Eizumi 3-1-0 vs. 3-4-0 Tokuaki Ninomiya
3. Middle: Ryuji Ohori 3-3-0 vs. 7-5-4 Takenori Sato
2. Welter: Asaki Honda 4-3-1 vs. 24-28-10 Kousei Kubota
1. Welter: Shingo Suzuki 1-0-0 vs. 5-3-0 "Strasser" Kiichi Kunimoto

Read more...

2/23 K-1 World Max -Japan Tournament



FEG have added some fighters to this event which will be held in Yoyogi 1st Gymnasium.

This should be a good tournament again. Hinata is a very talented fighter making his K-1 debut. The 22 year old went 4-0 in RISE last year, beating HAYATO in the process.

For me, the favorite would be Yasuhiro Kido or Andy Ologun, but it will be a close tournament and anything can happen.

Announced as fighting outside the tournament is Andre Dida. It will be interesting to see how he does. MMA fighters have done very well against K-1 fighters lately, and though Dida might be considered more an K-1 fighter than Kawajiri, it will be interesting to see here. Kozo Takeda will of course be looking to redeem himself, regardless of opponent.

Tournament participants:
Yasuhiro Kido
HAYATO
Andy Ologun
TATSUJI
Yuya Yamamoto
Taishin Kohirumaki
Hinata Watanabe
Nagajima☆Jienotsu☆Juichiro

Other Participants:
Yoshihiro Sato
Kozo Takeda
Buakaw Por. Pramuk
Andre "Dida" Amade
Daisuke Uematsu
Hiroya
Shingo Garyu
Hiroyuki Owatari
Kizaemon Saiga
Keiji Ozaki
Yasuhito Shirasu
...and more

Read more...

Pancrase Changing Tour T-Shirt

It is a tradition, every year Pancrase choses a tour name. Once that is done, they will make a T-shirt for the tour. It is likely that they will print the card on the back of some of these too (for some events), but for now, it is the tour shirt.

These are have been very high quality in the past, and I have the shirt for the previous 2 tours and been very happy with them.

So, the shirt for the Changing Tour will look like this:

Changing Tour


The shirt will be sold at the Pancrase events through the year, and they are also available at the Pancrase on-line store: http://www.pancrase-store.com
The price is JPY 3,500 + tax.

The first event on the Changing Tour is being held February 1 in Differ Ariake.

This is the card as it looks now (there will be Neo-Blood tournament fights on this too):
Lightweight King of Pancrase:
Katsuya Inoue 17-6-3 vs. 11-9-5 Daisuke Hanazawa "13"

Feather: Masaya Takita "J-Taro" 9-10-2 vs. 19-4-0 Jameel "The Sargent" Massouh
Fly: Takuya Eizumi 3-1-0 vs. 3-4-0 Tokuaki Ninomiya
Welter: Shingo Suzuki 1-0-0 vs. 5-3-0 "Strasser" Kiichi Kunimoto
Light: Takafumi Ito 34-27-10 vs. 0-2-0 Hiroki "AB" Aoki
Feather: Kenji Arai 13-12-2 vs. 10-5-5 Masanori Kanehara
Welter: Asaki Honda 4-3-1 vs. 24-28-10 Kousei Kubota
Middle: Ryuji Ohori 3-3-0 vs. 7-5-4 Takenori Sato

Read more...

Getting There: Differ Ariake/Ariake Colosseum

Monday 12 January 2009

I have been planning this for a while, and since my time in Japan might be running out I thought it was time to get it done.

The goal for me when I set up this blog, was to help people who come to Japan and wanted to see MMA events. Key in that, is of course getting to the venues.

So, my goal is to make a description on how to get to the most common arenas used in Tokyo.

Differ Ariake is one of the more used and popular venues. Organizations like the UFC have held events there, but it is most commonly used by Cage Force. This month Shooto is holding an event there too. The arena can take about 1,200 spectators. It is located next to Ariake Colosseum as well, so this explaination can be used for both.

For my explanations, I will start at Akihabara. I think it is a place most tourists also are familiar with.

Differ Ariake is one of the more out of the way venues they hold events, but getting there is not that hard.

I will use my preferred way (there is another, but it is a bit more complicated to explain).

Take the JR Yamanote line, and you dont need to get to Akihabara to do that, to Shinbashi station. The "Yamanote line" is the bright green line, the blue line might work too, but some times of the day it might not stop at Shinbashi.



Get off at Shinbashi station.



From Shinbashi station, you need to get the "Yurikamome" line to "Ariake Tennis no Mori".

The Shidome Exit will take you to the "Yurikamome" station. The blue logo is the one for "Yurikamome".



And this is what the enterance to the station looks like.



Station 13 is Ariake Tennis no Mori, get off there.



You should be able to see Differ Ariake after you have passed the ticket gates, it is on the right. You can also get to the Ariake Colosseum, as you can see behind Differ Ariake.



You need to enter Differ Ariake from the opposite side, the enterance looks like this:


Read more...

Update on Joachim Hansen's Condition

Maeda-san from Team Hellboy MMA has updated on Joachim Hansen's blog about Joachim's current condition and the reason for him not competing on NYE.

On the blog it says:

当日は、やはり頭痛と嘔吐がひどく、試合を出来るような状況ではなかったので、私もかなり心配になりましたが、今は普段のヨアキムに戻っているので、ホッと一安心です。


Which means that on the day, Joachim had a headacke and was throwing up. There is no more update on the reason.

As for his current condition, it says that he is ok. This is very good news and I hope we get to see a re-match, I know Joachim was very well prepared for this fight and JZ looked in awesome shape as well.

Source: Joachim Hansen's Blog

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2/10 DEEP & CMA

Saturday 10 January 2009

DEEP and CMA are putting on a co-production in Korakuen February 10. This should be good value, tickets are 5,000 JPY for the VIP seats and 3,000 for seats behind row 2 (no seat allocation).

Ikuhisa Minowa "Minowaman" and Kazuo Takahashi are set to participate on this card. They are old friends and this should be a fun event. There will be both MMA and Pro Wrestling fights on the 8 fight card.

Also annouced today was DEEP Impact 40, it will be held on February 20 and from what I am hearing, the card should be very good.

Read more...

2/1 Pancrase Changing Tour 1 - Title Fight Announced



Pancrase have added a title fight to their first event in the Changing Tour.

Katsuya Inoue is putting his title on the line agaist Daisuke Hanazawa "13". Hanazawa beat the very athletic Maximo Blanco in his last fight, and is in good shape being undefeated in 2008.

This is most likely the main event on this card, which looks like another solid one from Pancrase.

Lightweight King of Pancrase:
Katsuya Inoue 17-6-3 vs. 11-9-5 Daisuke Hanazawa "13"

Previously Announced:
Feather: Masaya Takita "J-Taro" 9-10-2 vs. 19-4-0 Jameel "The Sargent" Massouh
Fly: Takuya Eizumi 3-1-0 vs. 3-4-0 Tokuaki Ninomiya
Welter: Shingo Suzuki 1-0-0 vs. 5-3-0 "Strasser" Kiichi Kunimoto
Light: Takafumi Ito 34-27-10 vs. 0-2-0 Hiroki "AB" Aoki
Feather: Kenji Arai 13-12-2 vs. 10-5-5 Masanori Kanehara
Welter: Asaki Honda 4-3-1 vs. 24-28-10 Kousei Kubota
Middle: Ryuji Ohori 3-3-0 vs. 7-5-4 Takenori Sato

Read more...

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Read about this blog here.

If you have any suggestions for improvements, event we should cover etc.

Please contact me on japanmma@gmail.com
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