Koubousen Companion
Jordan Breen Apr 18, 2007
After an unnecessarily elongated interruption in this column's
battle logging, it would be uncomely to serve up a longwinded
introductory paragraph; let's get on with the fightiness.
While this past weekend's biggest focus was on bodogFIGHT in St. Petersburg, Russia, not too far away in Tallinn, Estonia, a healthy contingent of Japanese fighters were plying their trade against their Eastern European counterparts. Meanwhile, back in Tokyo, despite many high profile competitors on the shelf or on deck due to MMA bouts, some notable fighters took the mats to punch their tickets to this year's Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling World Championships.
And though this weekend MMA fans will have their eyes fixed on
England for the UFC's march into Manchester and the latest from
Cage Rage, some of the best young fighters in western Japan will
get to strut their stuff at Azeria Taisho Hall. This year's 132-
and 168-pound Shooto rookie tournaments were the two most
anticipated, and with two quarterfinal bouts in each bracket, the
Class B fighters of Kansai will get to show whether or not they're
next wind to blow in from the west.
While Shooto enthusiasts get their first peek at some of Kansai's rookies, North American MMA fans will get to see some Pancrase stalwarts in the coming weeks. In January, the home of the hybrid wrestlers hooked up with bodogFIGHT, and the pairing got to work immediately, sending a quality crop of fighters to Costa Rica for the third season of the MMA series, which will play out on television screens over the next two months.
And speaking of high stakes, two of Shooto's biggest stars have their next bouts set. While Lion Takeshi had hoped for a fight with Shooto's Charisma, his dream bout will take a backseat for now as he heads into what could be a nightmare of a first title defense against a former adversary who has just knocked off two of his teammates.
Meanwhile, another of Lion's teammates, recently dethroned Shooto world titlist Mamoru Yamaguchi (Pictures), will bring his afro back to action this June. Mamoru was the first fighter to win Shooto world titles in two different weight classes, and in order to become the first fighter to regain the Shooto title he lost, he will have to go through action-minded upstart Yusei Shimokawa (Pictures) at Shinjuku FACE.
Yoshida, Kanehara take easy wins in Estonia
Some years ago it would be hard to predict that Japanese and Lithuanian fightsport would share the symbiotic relationship they do now. Now, competitors like Remigijus Morkevicius (Pictures), Kestutis Smirnovas (Pictures) and Darius Skliaudys are no strangers to Japanese fight fans, and similarly, though on a lower profile, many Japanese fighters have ventured into the rings of eastern Europe.
Lithuanian Bushido returned this past Saturday with a trip to Talinn, Estonia, promoting a hybrid card featuring bouts under both professional Shooto and ZST rules, as well as K-1 rules.
Under Shooto rules, results for the Japanese side were a mixed bag. Longtime Shooto veteran Takayuki Ohkouchi (Pictures) was unable to snap his six-fight winless streak, being taken out in only 59 seconds by Finland's Anton Kuivanen. However, former professional pugilist Koji Yoshida (Pictures) showed some submission savvy, tapping out Ruslan Kolodko just over two minutes into the first stanza with a triangle choke.
Under the ZST banner, Masanori Kanehara, perhaps ZST's best up-and-coming talent, had little trouble with Arunas Jurgelenas, choking him out less than two minutes into the first round. Also, it would not be representative of ZST if there was not two-on-two action involved. In the evening's featured tag-team bout, the Japanese squad of Shinya Sato (Pictures) and Masayuki Okude battled to a time-limit draw with the Lithuanian team of Marius Liaukevicius (Pictures) and Sergei Greeicho.
Okami, Uematsu, Amazon and Joshi stars bound for ADCC Worlds
Despite the considerable depth and definitive caliber of Japanese grapplers, it was certainly a disappointment when MMA and grappling enthusiasts alike saw favorites such as Shinya Aoki (Pictures), Rumina Sato (Pictures), Masakazu Imanari (Pictures), Kuniyoshi Hironaka (Pictures) and Keita Nakamura (Pictures) among others decline participation in this year's ADCC Japan Trials due to both injury and MMA pursuits. Nonetheless, several notable MMA competitors wound up punching their tickets this past Sunday in Tokyo to May's ADCC World Submission Wrestling Championships in New Jersey.
Only a week removed from knocking off hometown hero Mike Swick (Pictures) at UFC 69 in Houston, Texas, Yushin Okami (Pictures) took to the mats at Kitazawa Town Hall. After taking out Soujirou Ohrui and Shooto world champion Shikou Yamashita (Pictures) in the quarter and semifinals, Okami notched a 2-0 points victory over 2005 ADCC Japan Trials winner Hidemi Mihara to win the 192-pound division. The win was Okami's second ADCC Japan Trials victory, having taken the crown in 2003 before going on to compete in the World Championships in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Also earning tickets to the World Championships were Shooto standouts Naoya Uematsu (Pictures) and "Amazon" Daisuke Sugie (Pictures). Uematsu, who competed at the ADCC World Championships in 2001, knocked off Masashi Kameda and BJJ black belt Tatsuya Onose before blowing out 2005 Trials winner and fellow Shooto competitor Tetsu Suzuki (Pictures) 10-0 in the finals to take the 145-pound crown. After vowing to return to Shooto upon testing his luck at this year's BJJ Mundials, "Amazon" took wins over Yohei Ohta and Jun Yong Jae before beating Shinya Aoki (Pictures) comrade Sotaro Yamada (Pictures) 0-(-2) to win the 168-pound division.
Joshi kakutougi will be represented strongly at the World Championships as well, with prominent female MMA competitors taking the four trial titles: up-and-coming AACC'er Sayaka Shioda (Pictures) won the 121-pound division; Smackgirl star Takayo Hashi (Pictures) dominated en route to taking the 132-pound title; bodogFIGHT veteran Keiko Tamai (Pictures), better known as Tama Chan, took the 147-pound championship; and female MMA pioneer Yoko Takahashi (Pictures) locked up the 148-and-up division. The four women will join fellow female MMA standouts Hitomi Akano (Pictures) and Megumi Fujii (Pictures) at the World Championships May 5-6 in Trenton.
Western rookies in Shooto spotlight Saturday in Osaka
Admittedly, Osaka-based Shooto cards are not what they once were.
Seemingly gone are the days when then-Shooto standouts such as Hayato Sakurai (Pictures), Takanori Gomi (Pictures), Rumina Sato (Pictures) and Alexandre Franca Nogueira (Pictures) strutted their stuff the heart of Kansai. However, a strong wind has blown from the west through Shooto, with the emergence of titlists such as Akitoshi Hokazono (Pictures) and Takashi Nakakura (Pictures). As well, Kansai-based grassroots promotions such as Real Rhythm and POWERGATE have began facilitating the development of young western fighters.
Coupled together, these factors create a considerable intrigue in Kansai's young MMA talent, which will be prominently featured at Azeria Taisho Hall this Saturday.
The seventh installment in the GIG WEST series was originally slated to be headlined by Osaka native and 2004 Shooto featherweight rookie champion Koetsu Okazaki, and had a 115-pound rookie tournament bout on the bill between Tomohiko Yoshida and Masashi Nishizaki. However, an opponent never materialized for Okazaki, while Nishizaki suffered a torn left pectoral muscle, which will sideline him for approximately four months.
Nonetheless, GIG WEST 7 will continue with a six-fight card to top off a full day of fights in Osaka, with amateur Shooto meet Naniwa Free Fight 32 taking place directly beforehand at Azeria Taisho Hall. The main focus will be on four of this year's rookie tournament bouts in the 132-pound and 168-pound brackets, with semifinals slots on the line.
In arguably this year's most talented rookie class, 168-pounders Toru Ishinaka of PUREBRED Kyoto and Toshihiko Sugimoto of Paraestra Hakata will square off, with the winner advancing to the tournament semifinal to meet Shooting Gym Osaka's Tomokazu Yuasa (Pictures). Ishinaka has cut his teeth as a young pro in Real Rhythm, while Sugimoto is an intriguing figure due to both his amateur wins over fellow 2007 rookie competitors Tomokazu Yuasa (Pictures) and Takesuke Kume, and his even draw with last year's rookie 168-pound rookie champion "Leo" Masaki Konishi (Pictures).
Speaking of whom, Konishi's older brother Hirotoshi, also fighting out of Shooting Gym Kobe, will meet Paraestra Hakata's Daisuke Okumiya. While Okumiya has yet to make his pro debut, Konishi, better known as "KING JOH," stepped into the pro ring for the first time last November, drawing Takuya Sato. The winner of this bout will advance to the other middleweight rookie tournament semifinal to meet submission slickster Akihiro Yamazaki.
At 132-pounds, PUREBRED Kyoto's Yasuhiro Kanayama and Shooting Gym Osaka's "Mike" Nobuhiro Hayakawa will attempt to reverse their early fortunes and kickstart their young careers. After becoming an All Japan amateur Shooto champion in 2005, Kanayama has struggled early in his pro MMA career competing in small Western shows, and will now for better or worse jump into the pro Shooto talent pool, while the winless Hayakawa simply has yet to get out of first gear, dropping his first three pro Shooto bouts.
The winner of Kanayama-Hayakawa will see their semifinal opponent materialize in the main event, where Shooting Gym Kobe representative Junya Kudou, campaigning under the moniker "KODO," will take on PUREBRED Kyoto's Yasuaki Nagamoto, under the guise of his ringname, "AKI."
With early rookie favorites such as Yoshihiko Oyama and Kousuke Eda taking quick exits from the tournament due to injury and the luck of the lottery respectively, a strong performance by the victor could see KODO or AKI emerge as the tournament favorite heading into the second half of the year.
Pancrasists prominent in third season of bodogFIGHT
With the third season of bodogFIGHT having kicked off Tuesday night, the coming weeks will give North American MMA fans a chance to watch a solid sampling of Japanese talent on television.
Having signed a cooperative deal in late January, Pancrase sent four competitors to participate in the taping of bodogFIGHT's third season in Costa Rica this past February. The first Pancrasist to make his presence felt will be Takuya Wada (Pictures). Wada's bout with Philadelphian Fight Factory leader Stephen Haigh (Pictures) will be featured on the season's third episode, set to air May 1.
The fourth episode on May 8 will feature a highly compelling bout for fans of female MMA. One of female MMA's most feared strikers, IKMF Oriental kickboxing champion WINDY Tomomi, will square off with Cage Warriors' titlist and doctorate holder Rosi Sexton, who made a prominent impression in the second season of bodogFIGHT with a win over Brazilian Carina Damm.
May 15's fifth episode will feature well-traveled veteran and former heavyweight King of Pancrase Yoshiki Takahashi (Pictures). Takahashi, who said prior to heading to Costa Rica that he planned for a year of high activity in the ring, takes on bodog veteran Mark Burch (Pictures), who dropped a unanimous decision to Mario Rinaldi (Pictures) in the series' first season.
The fourth and final of the Pancrase competitors to compete in the series will be World Combat Sambo Championships silver medalist and Combat Wrestling national champion Izuru Takeuchi (Pictures). Takeuchi, who challenged for the vacant middleweight King of Pancrase this past December in a bloody brawl with Yuichi Nakanishi (Pictures), will face off against season one bodog veteran Kyacey Uscola (Pictures) on the season's seventh episode, airing May 29.
Also, while not tied into the Pancrase-bodog affiliation, Smackgirl regular and bodog veteran Keiko Tamai (Pictures), better known as Tama Chan, also took part in the third season of the series. After being submitted by current Smackgirl titlist Hitomi Akano (Pictures) on the second season of bodogFIGHT, Tamai went to Costa Rica to face Jan Finney (Pictures), which will be aired as part of the season's sixth episode on May 22.
One-night female tourney marks K-GRACE genesis In May
One of the most dominant currents of mixed martial arts in 2007 has been the spotlight on the sport's female contingent. Promotions such as EliteXC and bodogFIGHT have given face time to female fighters, which has inspired smaller promoters to give other femmes the chance to shine on the local level. Moreover, MMA's established queens have emerged as true names in the sport.
Resultantly, the timing could not be more apt for K-GRACE, a new MMA venue engineered by Wajyutsu Keisyukai affiliate Marupro Gym. In the works is an eight-woman, one-night open-weight tournament, with a purse of $10,000 USD up for grabs. The card will take place on May 27 at Differ Ariake in Tokyo, with the K-GRACE event immediately following up CAGE FORCE card, which takes place earlier that day at the same venue.
Three Japanese and five foreign competitors are currently sought to make up the tournament roster. So far, former Smackgirl open-weight champion Megumi Yabushita (Pictures) is the lone official Japanese entrant, while bodog veteran Roxanne Modaferri, Dutch star Marloes Coenen (Pictures), Polish shidokan champion Magdalena Jarecka, and Lithunian Muay Thai champion Jurgita Leitonaite have all been confirmed on the foreign side.
Perhaps most interestingly, the K-GRACE executives are currently in negotiation to fill the final foreign slot in the tournament with EliteXC poster girl Gina Carano (Pictures). The likelihood of ironing out a deal for Carano to compete in the tournament is unknown, but the potential should be met with some skepticism, given Carano's scheduled participation as part of K-1 and EliteXC's joint venture on June 2.
The K-GRACE project will be the first Japanese promotion to utilize a cage for female MMA since Ladies Legends Pro Wrestling's L-1 events years ago. Under the direction of CAGE FORCE and HERO'S rule director Gen Isono, the bouts will use a rule structure akin to HERO'S, with neither elbows nor knees on the ground. Tournament bouts will feature two three-minute rounds, with superfights utilizing two five-minute rounds.
Tetsuma Yamada, who has stated that his current aim is to run three cards per year under the K-GRACE banner, will produce the event. Yamada is currently the managing editor of lowbrow newspaper Naitai Sports, better known as Naispo, as well as the head of the Japan Adult Entertainment Industry Writers Association. He is connected to the product through the Naitai Group firm, who sponsor the Marupro Gym.
Shooto stars Lion and Mamoru set for ring returns
It was the hope of many that next month's BACK TO OUR ROOTS 3 Shooto card would feature the ballyhooed showdown between Shooto legend Rumina Sato (Pictures), and current 143-pound Shooto world champion "Lion" Takeshi Inoue (Pictures).
After Sato defeated Augusto Frota this past March at Korakuen Hall, he and the current champion met in the ring, where they revealed a mutual desire to square off in the near future in what would serve as either a symbolic torch-passing from the last generation's star to the next's, or as the fulfillment of what has seemed an impossible dream over the course of Sato's 12 year career.
However, a showdown between Lion and Sato will have to wait, as Inoue's first defense of his Shooto world lightweight championship will take place May 18 at Korakuen Hall against former adversary and current Shooto Pacific Rim lightweight champion Akitoshi Tamura (Pictures).
It was originally thought the large hurdle in promoting a title clash between Lion and Sato would be the circumstance of Sato's last win. Because Augusto Frota launched an appeal to the International Shooto Commission, stating that he felt the fight-ending cut he sustained was the result of an illegal Sato knee while he was downed, there was considerable potential for the bout being ruled a No Contest, which would reverse Sato's rise in the Shooto world rankings, making him informally ineligible to be a world title challenger.
While Frota's appeal was denied and though Shooto Europe leader Martijn de Jong is currently continuing to petition the ISC on Frota's behalf, the given reason behind Tamura as the championship choice instead of Sato is simply due to injury. Sato, who fought the Frota bout with his left shoulder heavily taped, pulled out of both the ADCC Japan Trials and the potential title fight with Inoue due to an aggravated shoulder injury.
Now, in Akitoshi Tamura (Pictures), Lion will face one of his toughest adversaries from the past. The two previously squared off in Nov. 2005, where in a gritty three round contest fought mostly from the clinch, Inoue took a very close majority decision, which polarized many onlookers. The fight does wield it's own unique storyline, as Tamura has exploded from gatekeeper to contender status in the past few months, largely due in part to his back-to-back wins over Lion's Shooting Gym Yokohama teammates "Wicky" Akiyo Nishiura (Pictures) and Tenkei Fujimiya (Pictures).
And speaking of Shooting Gym Yokohama studs, Kenji Kawaguchi (Pictures)'s original star pupil has announced his return.
There is perhaps no one better suited to headline a club-themed card titled SHOOTING DISCO 1 than Shooto's afroed ace Mamoru Yamaguchi (Pictures), the only fighter to ever hold Shooto world titles in two separate weight classes. In his first action since his shocking title loss to now-champion "BJ" Shinichi Kojima (Pictures) in only 98 seconds, Mamoru will square off with 2005 Shooto bantamweight rookie champion Yusei Shimokawa (Pictures).
Shimokawa, who will have his 26th birthday the day before his bout with the former champion, is coming off of a sensation win over Yasuhiro Akagi in what was one of the sport's best albeit little-seen fights of 2006. With both fighter's only recent losses coming to the current champion BJ, a win for either man puts the victor directly back in immediate title contention in Shooto's intensifying bantamweight class.
While this past weekend's biggest focus was on bodogFIGHT in St. Petersburg, Russia, not too far away in Tallinn, Estonia, a healthy contingent of Japanese fighters were plying their trade against their Eastern European counterparts. Meanwhile, back in Tokyo, despite many high profile competitors on the shelf or on deck due to MMA bouts, some notable fighters took the mats to punch their tickets to this year's Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling World Championships.
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While Shooto enthusiasts get their first peek at some of Kansai's rookies, North American MMA fans will get to see some Pancrase stalwarts in the coming weeks. In January, the home of the hybrid wrestlers hooked up with bodogFIGHT, and the pairing got to work immediately, sending a quality crop of fighters to Costa Rica for the third season of the MMA series, which will play out on television screens over the next two months.
One of bodogFIGHT's acclaimed features have been their emphasis on
promoting women in the sport, helping to set the trend in 2007
which has seen female fighters step into the spotlight. Further
aiding in that case is Japanese upstart promotion K-GRACIE, which
is set to jump off next month with a one-night, eight-woman,
winner-take-all tournament with some of the best female fighters in
the game.
And speaking of high stakes, two of Shooto's biggest stars have their next bouts set. While Lion Takeshi had hoped for a fight with Shooto's Charisma, his dream bout will take a backseat for now as he heads into what could be a nightmare of a first title defense against a former adversary who has just knocked off two of his teammates.
Meanwhile, another of Lion's teammates, recently dethroned Shooto world titlist Mamoru Yamaguchi (Pictures), will bring his afro back to action this June. Mamoru was the first fighter to win Shooto world titles in two different weight classes, and in order to become the first fighter to regain the Shooto title he lost, he will have to go through action-minded upstart Yusei Shimokawa (Pictures) at Shinjuku FACE.
Yoshida, Kanehara take easy wins in Estonia
Some years ago it would be hard to predict that Japanese and Lithuanian fightsport would share the symbiotic relationship they do now. Now, competitors like Remigijus Morkevicius (Pictures), Kestutis Smirnovas (Pictures) and Darius Skliaudys are no strangers to Japanese fight fans, and similarly, though on a lower profile, many Japanese fighters have ventured into the rings of eastern Europe.
Lithuanian Bushido returned this past Saturday with a trip to Talinn, Estonia, promoting a hybrid card featuring bouts under both professional Shooto and ZST rules, as well as K-1 rules.
Under Shooto rules, results for the Japanese side were a mixed bag. Longtime Shooto veteran Takayuki Ohkouchi (Pictures) was unable to snap his six-fight winless streak, being taken out in only 59 seconds by Finland's Anton Kuivanen. However, former professional pugilist Koji Yoshida (Pictures) showed some submission savvy, tapping out Ruslan Kolodko just over two minutes into the first stanza with a triangle choke.
Under the ZST banner, Masanori Kanehara, perhaps ZST's best up-and-coming talent, had little trouble with Arunas Jurgelenas, choking him out less than two minutes into the first round. Also, it would not be representative of ZST if there was not two-on-two action involved. In the evening's featured tag-team bout, the Japanese squad of Shinya Sato (Pictures) and Masayuki Okude battled to a time-limit draw with the Lithuanian team of Marius Liaukevicius (Pictures) and Sergei Greeicho.
Okami, Uematsu, Amazon and Joshi stars bound for ADCC Worlds
Despite the considerable depth and definitive caliber of Japanese grapplers, it was certainly a disappointment when MMA and grappling enthusiasts alike saw favorites such as Shinya Aoki (Pictures), Rumina Sato (Pictures), Masakazu Imanari (Pictures), Kuniyoshi Hironaka (Pictures) and Keita Nakamura (Pictures) among others decline participation in this year's ADCC Japan Trials due to both injury and MMA pursuits. Nonetheless, several notable MMA competitors wound up punching their tickets this past Sunday in Tokyo to May's ADCC World Submission Wrestling Championships in New Jersey.
Only a week removed from knocking off hometown hero Mike Swick (Pictures) at UFC 69 in Houston, Texas, Yushin Okami (Pictures) took to the mats at Kitazawa Town Hall. After taking out Soujirou Ohrui and Shooto world champion Shikou Yamashita (Pictures) in the quarter and semifinals, Okami notched a 2-0 points victory over 2005 ADCC Japan Trials winner Hidemi Mihara to win the 192-pound division. The win was Okami's second ADCC Japan Trials victory, having taken the crown in 2003 before going on to compete in the World Championships in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Also earning tickets to the World Championships were Shooto standouts Naoya Uematsu (Pictures) and "Amazon" Daisuke Sugie (Pictures). Uematsu, who competed at the ADCC World Championships in 2001, knocked off Masashi Kameda and BJJ black belt Tatsuya Onose before blowing out 2005 Trials winner and fellow Shooto competitor Tetsu Suzuki (Pictures) 10-0 in the finals to take the 145-pound crown. After vowing to return to Shooto upon testing his luck at this year's BJJ Mundials, "Amazon" took wins over Yohei Ohta and Jun Yong Jae before beating Shinya Aoki (Pictures) comrade Sotaro Yamada (Pictures) 0-(-2) to win the 168-pound division.
Joshi kakutougi will be represented strongly at the World Championships as well, with prominent female MMA competitors taking the four trial titles: up-and-coming AACC'er Sayaka Shioda (Pictures) won the 121-pound division; Smackgirl star Takayo Hashi (Pictures) dominated en route to taking the 132-pound title; bodogFIGHT veteran Keiko Tamai (Pictures), better known as Tama Chan, took the 147-pound championship; and female MMA pioneer Yoko Takahashi (Pictures) locked up the 148-and-up division. The four women will join fellow female MMA standouts Hitomi Akano (Pictures) and Megumi Fujii (Pictures) at the World Championships May 5-6 in Trenton.
Western rookies in Shooto spotlight Saturday in Osaka
Admittedly, Osaka-based Shooto cards are not what they once were.
Seemingly gone are the days when then-Shooto standouts such as Hayato Sakurai (Pictures), Takanori Gomi (Pictures), Rumina Sato (Pictures) and Alexandre Franca Nogueira (Pictures) strutted their stuff the heart of Kansai. However, a strong wind has blown from the west through Shooto, with the emergence of titlists such as Akitoshi Hokazono (Pictures) and Takashi Nakakura (Pictures). As well, Kansai-based grassroots promotions such as Real Rhythm and POWERGATE have began facilitating the development of young western fighters.
Coupled together, these factors create a considerable intrigue in Kansai's young MMA talent, which will be prominently featured at Azeria Taisho Hall this Saturday.
The seventh installment in the GIG WEST series was originally slated to be headlined by Osaka native and 2004 Shooto featherweight rookie champion Koetsu Okazaki, and had a 115-pound rookie tournament bout on the bill between Tomohiko Yoshida and Masashi Nishizaki. However, an opponent never materialized for Okazaki, while Nishizaki suffered a torn left pectoral muscle, which will sideline him for approximately four months.
Nonetheless, GIG WEST 7 will continue with a six-fight card to top off a full day of fights in Osaka, with amateur Shooto meet Naniwa Free Fight 32 taking place directly beforehand at Azeria Taisho Hall. The main focus will be on four of this year's rookie tournament bouts in the 132-pound and 168-pound brackets, with semifinals slots on the line.
In arguably this year's most talented rookie class, 168-pounders Toru Ishinaka of PUREBRED Kyoto and Toshihiko Sugimoto of Paraestra Hakata will square off, with the winner advancing to the tournament semifinal to meet Shooting Gym Osaka's Tomokazu Yuasa (Pictures). Ishinaka has cut his teeth as a young pro in Real Rhythm, while Sugimoto is an intriguing figure due to both his amateur wins over fellow 2007 rookie competitors Tomokazu Yuasa (Pictures) and Takesuke Kume, and his even draw with last year's rookie 168-pound rookie champion "Leo" Masaki Konishi (Pictures).
Speaking of whom, Konishi's older brother Hirotoshi, also fighting out of Shooting Gym Kobe, will meet Paraestra Hakata's Daisuke Okumiya. While Okumiya has yet to make his pro debut, Konishi, better known as "KING JOH," stepped into the pro ring for the first time last November, drawing Takuya Sato. The winner of this bout will advance to the other middleweight rookie tournament semifinal to meet submission slickster Akihiro Yamazaki.
At 132-pounds, PUREBRED Kyoto's Yasuhiro Kanayama and Shooting Gym Osaka's "Mike" Nobuhiro Hayakawa will attempt to reverse their early fortunes and kickstart their young careers. After becoming an All Japan amateur Shooto champion in 2005, Kanayama has struggled early in his pro MMA career competing in small Western shows, and will now for better or worse jump into the pro Shooto talent pool, while the winless Hayakawa simply has yet to get out of first gear, dropping his first three pro Shooto bouts.
The winner of Kanayama-Hayakawa will see their semifinal opponent materialize in the main event, where Shooting Gym Kobe representative Junya Kudou, campaigning under the moniker "KODO," will take on PUREBRED Kyoto's Yasuaki Nagamoto, under the guise of his ringname, "AKI."
With early rookie favorites such as Yoshihiko Oyama and Kousuke Eda taking quick exits from the tournament due to injury and the luck of the lottery respectively, a strong performance by the victor could see KODO or AKI emerge as the tournament favorite heading into the second half of the year.
Pancrasists prominent in third season of bodogFIGHT
With the third season of bodogFIGHT having kicked off Tuesday night, the coming weeks will give North American MMA fans a chance to watch a solid sampling of Japanese talent on television.
Having signed a cooperative deal in late January, Pancrase sent four competitors to participate in the taping of bodogFIGHT's third season in Costa Rica this past February. The first Pancrasist to make his presence felt will be Takuya Wada (Pictures). Wada's bout with Philadelphian Fight Factory leader Stephen Haigh (Pictures) will be featured on the season's third episode, set to air May 1.
The fourth episode on May 8 will feature a highly compelling bout for fans of female MMA. One of female MMA's most feared strikers, IKMF Oriental kickboxing champion WINDY Tomomi, will square off with Cage Warriors' titlist and doctorate holder Rosi Sexton, who made a prominent impression in the second season of bodogFIGHT with a win over Brazilian Carina Damm.
May 15's fifth episode will feature well-traveled veteran and former heavyweight King of Pancrase Yoshiki Takahashi (Pictures). Takahashi, who said prior to heading to Costa Rica that he planned for a year of high activity in the ring, takes on bodog veteran Mark Burch (Pictures), who dropped a unanimous decision to Mario Rinaldi (Pictures) in the series' first season.
The fourth and final of the Pancrase competitors to compete in the series will be World Combat Sambo Championships silver medalist and Combat Wrestling national champion Izuru Takeuchi (Pictures). Takeuchi, who challenged for the vacant middleweight King of Pancrase this past December in a bloody brawl with Yuichi Nakanishi (Pictures), will face off against season one bodog veteran Kyacey Uscola (Pictures) on the season's seventh episode, airing May 29.
Also, while not tied into the Pancrase-bodog affiliation, Smackgirl regular and bodog veteran Keiko Tamai (Pictures), better known as Tama Chan, also took part in the third season of the series. After being submitted by current Smackgirl titlist Hitomi Akano (Pictures) on the second season of bodogFIGHT, Tamai went to Costa Rica to face Jan Finney (Pictures), which will be aired as part of the season's sixth episode on May 22.
One-night female tourney marks K-GRACE genesis In May
One of the most dominant currents of mixed martial arts in 2007 has been the spotlight on the sport's female contingent. Promotions such as EliteXC and bodogFIGHT have given face time to female fighters, which has inspired smaller promoters to give other femmes the chance to shine on the local level. Moreover, MMA's established queens have emerged as true names in the sport.
Resultantly, the timing could not be more apt for K-GRACE, a new MMA venue engineered by Wajyutsu Keisyukai affiliate Marupro Gym. In the works is an eight-woman, one-night open-weight tournament, with a purse of $10,000 USD up for grabs. The card will take place on May 27 at Differ Ariake in Tokyo, with the K-GRACE event immediately following up CAGE FORCE card, which takes place earlier that day at the same venue.
Three Japanese and five foreign competitors are currently sought to make up the tournament roster. So far, former Smackgirl open-weight champion Megumi Yabushita (Pictures) is the lone official Japanese entrant, while bodog veteran Roxanne Modaferri, Dutch star Marloes Coenen (Pictures), Polish shidokan champion Magdalena Jarecka, and Lithunian Muay Thai champion Jurgita Leitonaite have all been confirmed on the foreign side.
Perhaps most interestingly, the K-GRACE executives are currently in negotiation to fill the final foreign slot in the tournament with EliteXC poster girl Gina Carano (Pictures). The likelihood of ironing out a deal for Carano to compete in the tournament is unknown, but the potential should be met with some skepticism, given Carano's scheduled participation as part of K-1 and EliteXC's joint venture on June 2.
The K-GRACE project will be the first Japanese promotion to utilize a cage for female MMA since Ladies Legends Pro Wrestling's L-1 events years ago. Under the direction of CAGE FORCE and HERO'S rule director Gen Isono, the bouts will use a rule structure akin to HERO'S, with neither elbows nor knees on the ground. Tournament bouts will feature two three-minute rounds, with superfights utilizing two five-minute rounds.
Tetsuma Yamada, who has stated that his current aim is to run three cards per year under the K-GRACE banner, will produce the event. Yamada is currently the managing editor of lowbrow newspaper Naitai Sports, better known as Naispo, as well as the head of the Japan Adult Entertainment Industry Writers Association. He is connected to the product through the Naitai Group firm, who sponsor the Marupro Gym.
Shooto stars Lion and Mamoru set for ring returns
It was the hope of many that next month's BACK TO OUR ROOTS 3 Shooto card would feature the ballyhooed showdown between Shooto legend Rumina Sato (Pictures), and current 143-pound Shooto world champion "Lion" Takeshi Inoue (Pictures).
After Sato defeated Augusto Frota this past March at Korakuen Hall, he and the current champion met in the ring, where they revealed a mutual desire to square off in the near future in what would serve as either a symbolic torch-passing from the last generation's star to the next's, or as the fulfillment of what has seemed an impossible dream over the course of Sato's 12 year career.
However, a showdown between Lion and Sato will have to wait, as Inoue's first defense of his Shooto world lightweight championship will take place May 18 at Korakuen Hall against former adversary and current Shooto Pacific Rim lightweight champion Akitoshi Tamura (Pictures).
It was originally thought the large hurdle in promoting a title clash between Lion and Sato would be the circumstance of Sato's last win. Because Augusto Frota launched an appeal to the International Shooto Commission, stating that he felt the fight-ending cut he sustained was the result of an illegal Sato knee while he was downed, there was considerable potential for the bout being ruled a No Contest, which would reverse Sato's rise in the Shooto world rankings, making him informally ineligible to be a world title challenger.
While Frota's appeal was denied and though Shooto Europe leader Martijn de Jong is currently continuing to petition the ISC on Frota's behalf, the given reason behind Tamura as the championship choice instead of Sato is simply due to injury. Sato, who fought the Frota bout with his left shoulder heavily taped, pulled out of both the ADCC Japan Trials and the potential title fight with Inoue due to an aggravated shoulder injury.
Now, in Akitoshi Tamura (Pictures), Lion will face one of his toughest adversaries from the past. The two previously squared off in Nov. 2005, where in a gritty three round contest fought mostly from the clinch, Inoue took a very close majority decision, which polarized many onlookers. The fight does wield it's own unique storyline, as Tamura has exploded from gatekeeper to contender status in the past few months, largely due in part to his back-to-back wins over Lion's Shooting Gym Yokohama teammates "Wicky" Akiyo Nishiura (Pictures) and Tenkei Fujimiya (Pictures).
And speaking of Shooting Gym Yokohama studs, Kenji Kawaguchi (Pictures)'s original star pupil has announced his return.
There is perhaps no one better suited to headline a club-themed card titled SHOOTING DISCO 1 than Shooto's afroed ace Mamoru Yamaguchi (Pictures), the only fighter to ever hold Shooto world titles in two separate weight classes. In his first action since his shocking title loss to now-champion "BJ" Shinichi Kojima (Pictures) in only 98 seconds, Mamoru will square off with 2005 Shooto bantamweight rookie champion Yusei Shimokawa (Pictures).
Shimokawa, who will have his 26th birthday the day before his bout with the former champion, is coming off of a sensation win over Yasuhiro Akagi in what was one of the sport's best albeit little-seen fights of 2006. With both fighter's only recent losses coming to the current champion BJ, a win for either man puts the victor directly back in immediate title contention in Shooto's intensifying bantamweight class.
