Koubousen Companion: Notes from Japan
Jordan Breen Aug 16, 2007
Let's talk kakutougi, baby.
Back by popular demand are the latest rankings from the fight friendly folks at the International Shooto Commission and the World Pancrase Create, with a couple new champions in tow. However, even a bit of popularity can't solve all your problems, as pro Shooto's new popular programme Battle Mix Tokyo will take an unexpected seat on the sidelines for September.
But, no worries, as there's still some MMA for you to keep an eye
on this weekend. First of all, Shooto Japan is set to land
stateside this Saturday with Tenkei Fujimiya (Pictures), Akiyo Nishiura (Pictures), and Kenichiro Togashi
(Pictures) on the bill for what could
mark a big boost for the further globalization of pro Shooto.
Meanwhile, as Shooto Japan is heading to North America, Greatest Common Multiple is bringing a bit of North America to Japan. GCM's Demolition series is back this Sunday in Tokyo looking to continue its quest to establish the Unified Rules abroad.
Skyrocketing Shoujou and Siyar highlight Shooto rankings
After a host of professional Shooto events all around the globe in July, including the fourth installment of Sustain's BACK TO OUR ROOTS series, the International Shooto Commission has released its official monthly rankings. The rankings consider all international professional Shooto activity through July 31, therefore, it does not account for the outcomes of pro Shooto cards such as Aug. 2's SHOOTING DISCO 2.
Unsurprisingly, the biggest changes in the world rankings come as a result of the aforementioned BACK TO OUR ROOTS 04 card held on July 21 at Korakuen Hall, in Tokyo. The most pertinent alteration sees exciting upstart bantamweight Yuki Shoujou (Pictures), who upset formerly No. 1-ranked Masatoshi Abe (Pictures), make the leap from tenth, to third in the rankings at 123 pounds. As a result of his shocking submission loss, the veteran Abe falls to fourth.
At 132 pounds, 2006 rookie champion Masakatsu Ueda (Pictures) edges into the back door after his draw with the seventh-ranked Takeya Mizugaki (Pictures), while in the 143-pound division, former Shooto world champion "Lion Takeshi" Takeshi Inoue (Pictures)'s win over Marc Duncan (Pictures) sees him jump to the No. 2 spot over the legendary Rumina Sato (Pictures). Current 154-pound Pacific Rim champ Takashi Nakakura (Pictures)'s win over the sixth-ranked Jani Lax (Pictures) has seen him jump to No. 1 in the division. This is of particular significance as it all but assures that Nakakura will be part of the Shooto world title bout to crown a new champion in the vacant division.
With his 183-pound title win over Shikou Yamashita (Pictures), formerly first-ranked Siyar Bahadurazada becomes the fifth world light heavyweight champion of professional Shooto. The former champion Yamashita slips to third as a result of the loss.
The Official World Rankings of Professional Shooto, July 2007:
Bantamweight Division (123.5 Pounds)
C (C) "BJ" Shinichi Kojima (Pictures) - The Second World Bantamweight Champion of Professional Shooto
1 (2) Mamoru Yamaguchi (Pictures)
2 (3) Yasuhiro Urushitani (Pictures)
3 (10) Yuki Shoujou (Pictures)
4 (1) Masatoshi Abe (Pictures)
5 (4) Junji Ikoma (Pictures)
6 (5) Yusei Shimokawa (Pictures)
7 (6) Yasuhiro Akagi (Pictures)
8 (7) Masaaki Sugawara (Pictures)
9 (8) Homare Kuboyama (Pictures)
10 (9) Setsu Iguchi (Pictures)
Featherweight Division (132.3 Pounds)
C (C) Akitoshi Hokazono (Pictures) - The Fourth World Featherweight Champion of Professional Shooto
1 (1) Ryota Matsune (Pictures)
2 (2) "Louro" Marcos Galvao (Pictures)
3 (3) Koetsu Okazaki (Pictures)
4 (4) Kenji Osawa (Pictures)
5 (5) Miguel Torres (Pictures)
6 (6) Atsushi Yamamoto (Pictures)
7 (7) Takeya Mizugaki (Pictures)
8 (8) Naoya Uematsu (Pictures)
9 (9) Daniel Lima (Pictures)
10 (-) Masakatsu Ueda (Pictures)
Lightweight Division (143.3 Pounds)
C (C) Akitoshi Tamura (Pictures) - The Sixth World Lightweight Champion of Professional Shooto
1 (1) Antonio Carvalho (Pictures)
2 (3) "Lion Takeshi" Takeshi Inoue (Pictures)
3 (2) Rumina Sato (Pictures)
4 (4) Katsuya Toida (Pictures)
5 (5) Tenkei Fujimiya (Pictures)
6 (6) Makoto Ishikawa (Pictures)
7 (7) Marlon Sandro
8 (8) Hatsu Hioki (Pictures)
9 (9) Hiroyuki Abe
10 (10) Jeff Curran (Pictures)
Welterweight Division (154.3 Pounds)
C (-) Vacant
1 (2) Takashi Nakakura (Pictures)
2 (1) Mitsuhiro Ishida (Pictures)
3 (3) Joachim Hansen (Pictures)
4 (4) Tatsuya Kawajiri (Pictures)
5 (5) Yusuke Endo (Pictures)
6 (6) Jani Lax (Pictures)
7 (7) Ganjo Tentsuku (Pictures)
8 (8) Mizuto Hirota (Pictures)
9 (9) "Wicky Akiyo" Akiyo Nishiura (Pictures)
10 (10) Gilbert Melendez (Pictures)
Middleweight (167.5 Pounds)
C (C) Shinya Aoki (Pictures) - The Eighth World Middleweight Champion of Professional Shooto
1 (1) "K-Taro" Keita Nakamura (Pictures)
2 (2) Ronald Jhun (Pictures)
3 (3) Scott Henze
4 (4) Akira Kikuchi (Pictures)
5 (5) Brent Weedman (Pictures)
6 (7) Grzegorz Trendowski
7 (6) Niek Tromp
8 (8) "Mach" Hayato Sakurai (Pictures)
9 (9) Kuniyoshi Hironaka (Pictures)
10 (10) Shigetoshi Iwase (Pictures)
Light Heavyweight Division (183.0 Pounds)
C (1) Siyar Bahadurzada (Pictures) - The Fifth World Light Heavyweight Champion of Professional Shooto
1 (2) Joseph Baize
2 (3) Edward O'Daniel
3 (C) Shikou Yamashita (Pictures)
4 (4) Dustin Denes (Pictures)
5 (5) Grazhuydas Smailis (Pictures)
6 (6) Masashi Yozen (Pictures)
7 (7) Eiji Murayama (Pictures)
8 (8) "Batata" Leandro silva
9 (9) Petras Morkevicius
10 (10) Kalib Starnes (Pictures)
Pancrase Post Retooled Ranks
The International Shooto Commission is not the only organization dishing out rankings, as the World Pancrase Create has also released its latest Pancrase divisional rankings.
Although there was not a large amount of Pancrase activity in the past few weeks, July 27's Neoblood Tournament Final did see Katsuya Inoue (Pictures) regain his provisional welterweight King of Pancrase status, after defeating Fabricio Nascimento (Pictures).
Inoue was slated to face full champion Daizo Ishige (Pictures), but Ishige was unable to defend his title due to injuries sustained in his May CAGE FORCE bout with England's Dan Hardy (Pictures). The two will likely rematch for ownership of the undisputed title later this year.
The other alterations see fresh blood jump into the rankings, as Riki Fukuda (Pictures)'s bashing of Hikaru Sato (Pictures) sees him ranked third at 181 pounds, while successful lightweight newcomers Sa Jin Kwok and Jose Aldo grab the fourth and fifth slots at 153 pounds.
These lists may soon get a facelift of sorts, as Sept. 5's RISING TOUR card at Korakuen Hall figures to impact the rankings significantly, with no less than eight Pancrase-ranked fighters scheduled to compete on the card.
The Official Pancrase Rankings, July 2007:
Open-Weight Division
C (C) Josh Barnett (Pictures) - The Tenth Open-Weight King of Pancrase
Super Heavyweight (+220.5 Pounds)
C (C) Vacant
Heavyweight Division (220.5 Pounds)
C (C) Assuerio Silva (Pictures) - The Third Heavyweight King of Pancrase
1 (1) "Tiger" Kestutis Arbocius (Pictures)
2 (2) Tatsuya Mizuno (Pictures)
Light Heavyweight Division (199.0 Pounds)
C (C) Yuki Kondo (Pictures) - The Third Light Heavyweight King of Pancrase
1 (1) Fabio Silva (Pictures)
2 (2) "Tiger" Kestutis Arbocius (Pictures)
3 (3) Ryo Kawamura (Pictures)
Middleweight Division (181.0 Pounds)
C (C) Yuichi Nakanishi (Pictures) - The Sixth Middleweight King of Pancrase
1 (1) Izuru Takeuchi (Pictures)
2 (2) Bryan Rafiq (Pictures)
3 (-) Riki Fukuda (Pictures)
Welterweight Division (165.7 Pounds)
C (C) Daizo Ishige (Pictures) - The Second Welterweight King of Pancrase
P (2) Katsuya Inoue (Pictures) - The Second Provisional Welterweight King of Pancrase
1 (1) Satoru Kitaoka (Pictures)
2 (3) Koji Oishi (Pictures)
3 (4) Robert Emerson (Pictures)
Lightweight Division (152.5 Pounds)
C (C) Vacant
1 (1) Artur Oumakhanov (Pictures)
2 (2) Takafumi Ito (Pictures)
3 (3) Eriya Matsuda (Pictures)
4 (-) Sa Jin Kwok
5 (-) Jose Aldo
Featherweight Division (141.4 Pounds)
C (C) Yoshiro Maeda (Pictures) - The First Featherweight King of Pancrase
1 (1) "DJ.taiki" Daiki Hata (Pictures)
2 (2) Miki Shida (Pictures)
3 (3) Manabu Inoue (Pictures)
4 (4) Mitsuhisa Sunabe (Pictures)
5 (5) Naoji Fujimoto (Pictures)
Battle Mix Nixed Until November
Shooto promotional group G-STYLE has formally announced the postponement of the fifth edition of its Shooto series Battle Mix Tokyo.
The event, which was to be co-promoted with the Paraestra network, was scheduled to take place Sept. 8 at the usual digs of the Tokyo Kinema Club. However, Sept. will be a particularly busy month for pro Shooto authorities, as Sept. 2 will see the debut the Shooto GIG North series in the northern region of Hokkaido, the 22nd will feature the fifth installment of this year's marquee tour BACK TO OUR ROOTS in Tokyo, and the 29th will see action in Osaka with GIG West 8. Furthermore, the next month will begin with GIG Central 13 in Nagoya on Oct. 8.
Shooto authorities confirmed to Sherdog.com that because of the great number of cards utilizing fighters, and in particular up-and-coming Class B talent, it would have been particularly difficult to fill out that Battle Mix Tokyo card, and thus it was moved to a yet-to-be-determined date in Nov.
The last Battle Mix Tokyo card took place on July 20, and was headlined by a Class A 115-pound contest -- only the second Class A contest in the history of the nascent division -- between Takehiro Harusaki (Pictures) and former Rajadamnern Muay Thai competitor "M-16" Rambaa Somdet (Pictures).
The Battle Mix Tokyo series was devised late last year, evolving out of the G-Shooto Special events that combined both G-Shooto women's talent and up-and-coming men in pro Shooto. While the cards have quickly and successfully carved out an important niche within Shooto, G-STYLE's goal was originally to have six bimonthly cards over the course of 2007, which they will now fall short of, as the Nov. edition will be the fifth and final Battle Mix Tokyo card of the year.
Shooto Japan on a stateside stage
While typically pro Shooto fans around the world turn their gaze to Japan when fight-laden weekends roll around, this weekend will be an exception.
The Arrival, Chapter 1 "This is Shooto" will take place Saturday at the No Limits Events Center in Irvine, Calif. The event, which has been put together by Jason Manly of Manly Media LLC, as well as prominent MMA trainer and No Limits Inc. founder Colin Oyama, will feature a trio of prominent Shooto Japan competitors in stateside action.
The main event features a clash between 2005 Shooto 143-pound rookie champion Tenkei Fujimiya (Pictures) and hometown favorite and Oyama pupil Bao Quach (Pictures), who also has experience in Shooto Japan. The bout is of large significance to the 27-year-old Fujimiya, who was tabbed as a potential Shooto world title contender before back-to-back disappointments in his last two bouts.
After a lackluster and disappointing draw against Katsuya Toida (Pictures) last Nov., Fujimiya dropped a unanimous decision loss to now-world champion Akitoshi Tamura (Pictures) in Feb. A win is paramount for Fujimiya to keep pace in an intensifying, and globalizing featherweight class.
Fujimiya's teammate and fellow former 143-pound rookie champion "Wicky Akiyo" Akiyo Nishiura (Pictures) will also be in action. Wicky, who last competed in March where he took a hard fought split decision over Hideki Kadowaki (Pictures), recently decided to move up to 155 pounds, where he will now make his divisional debut against Joe Camacho (Pictures). Camacho recently dispatched longtime Shooto mainstay Tatsuji Kato in a bout in Guam.
Also appearing on the bill, albeit not in his stateside debut, will be Hiroshiman Kenichiro Togashi (Pictures). Togashi made his debut on U.S. soil in April, where he quickly armbarred Darren Crisp (Pictures). He will now take on Gladiator Challenge 155-pound champion Brian Cobb (Pictures), who recently defeated nemesis John Reedy (John Reedy' class='LinkSilver'>Pictures) for the third time in less than two years on the undercard of the first ShoXC card.
The event, which will feature a total of 11 bouts, will be the first of six shows planned by promoters at the No Limits Event Center over the course of the next year and a half. Subsequent events for the year are tentatively scheduled for Oct. 27 and Dec. 31, while events are penciled in for '08 on Feb. 23, April 26 and June 28. In addition to featuring more Shooto Japan talent, it is the hope of promoters to crown North American Shooto champions under the revamped regional Shooto system.
GCM set for Demolition, with rule revamping
And while pro Shooto will be making an impact stateside, Greatest Common Multiple is set to strike back with the next edition of their long-running Demolition series on Sunday night at the Differ Ariake in Tokyo.
In the main event, well-traveled veterans Wataru Takahashi (Pictures) and Takahito Iida (Pictures) will square off. Both men are looking to rebound from hardship, as Takahashi was ousted from the ongoing CAGE FORCE 155-pound tournament by Tomonari Kanomata (Pictures) in June, while Iida has been working to recover from career-threatening eye damage that he sustained in his bout last Sept. with Artur Oumakhanov (Pictures). Oumakhanov's ground-and-pound attack necessitated a series of surgeries that have seen Iida spend the last 11 months on the shelf.
In a standout female contest, the well-traveled Naoko Ohmuro (Pictures) will return to action against undefeated female prospect Fukuko Hamada. Ohmuro is coming off a decision loss to Mai in Smackgirl this past May, while Hamada, the 2006 Smackgirl Next Cinderella champion at 106 pounds, is coming off of a win over Akemi Morihara in her native Osaka this past April.
Further action will see Brazilian jiu-jitsu standout and Class B Shooto regular Mateus Irie Nechio (Pictures) take on undefeated Demolition veteran Motoki Miyazawa, while veteran Takumi Murata (Pictures) takes on upstart Hirokazu Nishimura.
However, what is most pressing about this Demolition card is the revamping of the rules. GCM revealed that Demolition will utilize rules much akin to the Unified Rules used in North America, just as has been done with their CAGE FORCE programme. In addition to the use of the weight classes outlined by the Unified Rules, knees and kicks to the head of grounded opponents are now prohibited, and elbows strikes are now permitted. Furthermore, fighters will be allowed to use Vaseline on their faces, which is prohibited under the guidelines of many Japanese promotions, while referees will also be quicker to stand competitors up if there is a lack of action on the ground.
Okami to oppose MacDonald in octagon return
Yushin Okami (Pictures) is primed for his Octagon return.
The Fight Network reported earlier this week that Canadian Jason MacDonald (Pictures) had verbally agreed to face off with Okami at UFC 77. Sources within Okami's camp did not confirm MacDonald as an opponent, but revealed to Sherdog.com that that the 26-year-old Wajyutsu product would compete on the Oct. 20 card at the U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio.
With a 4-1 mark in the UFC, Okami is the winningest Japanese fighter to compete in the UFC, besting elder teammate Caol Uno (Pictures)'s three wins in the octagon. Okami last competed in June, dropping a unanimous decision to former UFC champion Rich Franklin (Pictures) in Belfast, Ireland. MacDonald also appeared on the same bill, notching a stoppage victory over former Okami victim Rory Singer (Pictures).
The all-but-official bout figures to be a part of the live PPV telecast, which will be headlined by the 185-pound title rematch between the aforementioned Cincinnati native Franklin and the man who dethroned him last Oct., Anderson Silva.
Fukuda fit for Showtime against Villasenor
And another one of Japan's middleweight standouts is ready to cross the ocean again as well, as Sept. 15's Elite XC card in Honolulu, Hawaii will feature Riki Fukuda (Pictures) squaring off with Joey Villasenor (Pictures).
Fukuda, who has recently split his time training with American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose and KILLER BEE in Tokyo, was originally scheduled to face Hawaiian favorite Falaniko Vitale (Pictures) on the event's main card, however Vitale signed a deal earlier this week which will put him both in the K-1 HERO'S ring and the Strikeforce cage.
Sources inside Fukuda's camp have confirmed to Sherdog.com that Joey Villasenor (Pictures), who was defeated in his June EliteXC title clash by "Ninja" Murilo Rua (Pictures), will replace Vitale. The bout will be part of the main card televised live on Showtime.
Considered one of Japan's best prospects in the higher weight classes over the past few years, Fukuda was a strong collegiate grappler in Japan, taking a third place finish at the 2000 All Japan collegiate wrestling championships in the 187-pound Greco-Roman category, and a second place finish at the 2002 collegiate championships in the 211-pound freestyle category.
Fukuda made his Elite XC debut earlier this year, easily running over late replacement Chris Gates (Pictures) in Feb., but saw action just three weeks ago in Pancrase, where he bulldozed Hikaru Sato (Pictures), who had to be carried from the ring on a stretcher.
Fukuda is no stranger to Hawaii. In a sense, the bout will bring the 26-year-old's career full circle, as not only has he already competed in Hawaii twice, but also it was in Honolulu that he began his pro career in April 2004, losing a hard-fought unanimous decision against the vastly more experienced Joe Doerksen (Pictures).
Back by popular demand are the latest rankings from the fight friendly folks at the International Shooto Commission and the World Pancrase Create, with a couple new champions in tow. However, even a bit of popularity can't solve all your problems, as pro Shooto's new popular programme Battle Mix Tokyo will take an unexpected seat on the sidelines for September.
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Meanwhile, as Shooto Japan is heading to North America, Greatest Common Multiple is bringing a bit of North America to Japan. GCM's Demolition series is back this Sunday in Tokyo looking to continue its quest to establish the Unified Rules abroad.
And this transpacific trade route is just getting stronger, as two
of Japan's marquee middleweights are set to square off on American
soil once again. Yushin
Okami (Pictures) is now the winningest Japanese
fighter in UFC history, and he'll be looking to add to his octagon
resume in Oct. against "The Athlete" while Riki Fukuda (Pictures) will be headed to the strangely
homey Honolulu to scrap with Greg Jackson's finest.
Skyrocketing Shoujou and Siyar highlight Shooto rankings
After a host of professional Shooto events all around the globe in July, including the fourth installment of Sustain's BACK TO OUR ROOTS series, the International Shooto Commission has released its official monthly rankings. The rankings consider all international professional Shooto activity through July 31, therefore, it does not account for the outcomes of pro Shooto cards such as Aug. 2's SHOOTING DISCO 2.
Unsurprisingly, the biggest changes in the world rankings come as a result of the aforementioned BACK TO OUR ROOTS 04 card held on July 21 at Korakuen Hall, in Tokyo. The most pertinent alteration sees exciting upstart bantamweight Yuki Shoujou (Pictures), who upset formerly No. 1-ranked Masatoshi Abe (Pictures), make the leap from tenth, to third in the rankings at 123 pounds. As a result of his shocking submission loss, the veteran Abe falls to fourth.
At 132 pounds, 2006 rookie champion Masakatsu Ueda (Pictures) edges into the back door after his draw with the seventh-ranked Takeya Mizugaki (Pictures), while in the 143-pound division, former Shooto world champion "Lion Takeshi" Takeshi Inoue (Pictures)'s win over Marc Duncan (Pictures) sees him jump to the No. 2 spot over the legendary Rumina Sato (Pictures). Current 154-pound Pacific Rim champ Takashi Nakakura (Pictures)'s win over the sixth-ranked Jani Lax (Pictures) has seen him jump to No. 1 in the division. This is of particular significance as it all but assures that Nakakura will be part of the Shooto world title bout to crown a new champion in the vacant division.
With his 183-pound title win over Shikou Yamashita (Pictures), formerly first-ranked Siyar Bahadurazada becomes the fifth world light heavyweight champion of professional Shooto. The former champion Yamashita slips to third as a result of the loss.
The Official World Rankings of Professional Shooto, July 2007:
Bantamweight Division (123.5 Pounds)
C (C) "BJ" Shinichi Kojima (Pictures) - The Second World Bantamweight Champion of Professional Shooto
1 (2) Mamoru Yamaguchi (Pictures)
2 (3) Yasuhiro Urushitani (Pictures)
3 (10) Yuki Shoujou (Pictures)
4 (1) Masatoshi Abe (Pictures)
5 (4) Junji Ikoma (Pictures)
6 (5) Yusei Shimokawa (Pictures)
7 (6) Yasuhiro Akagi (Pictures)
8 (7) Masaaki Sugawara (Pictures)
9 (8) Homare Kuboyama (Pictures)
10 (9) Setsu Iguchi (Pictures)
Featherweight Division (132.3 Pounds)
C (C) Akitoshi Hokazono (Pictures) - The Fourth World Featherweight Champion of Professional Shooto
1 (1) Ryota Matsune (Pictures)
2 (2) "Louro" Marcos Galvao (Pictures)
3 (3) Koetsu Okazaki (Pictures)
4 (4) Kenji Osawa (Pictures)
5 (5) Miguel Torres (Pictures)
6 (6) Atsushi Yamamoto (Pictures)
7 (7) Takeya Mizugaki (Pictures)
8 (8) Naoya Uematsu (Pictures)
9 (9) Daniel Lima (Pictures)
10 (-) Masakatsu Ueda (Pictures)
Lightweight Division (143.3 Pounds)
C (C) Akitoshi Tamura (Pictures) - The Sixth World Lightweight Champion of Professional Shooto
1 (1) Antonio Carvalho (Pictures)
2 (3) "Lion Takeshi" Takeshi Inoue (Pictures)
3 (2) Rumina Sato (Pictures)
4 (4) Katsuya Toida (Pictures)
5 (5) Tenkei Fujimiya (Pictures)
6 (6) Makoto Ishikawa (Pictures)
7 (7) Marlon Sandro
8 (8) Hatsu Hioki (Pictures)
9 (9) Hiroyuki Abe
10 (10) Jeff Curran (Pictures)
Welterweight Division (154.3 Pounds)
C (-) Vacant
1 (2) Takashi Nakakura (Pictures)
2 (1) Mitsuhiro Ishida (Pictures)
3 (3) Joachim Hansen (Pictures)
4 (4) Tatsuya Kawajiri (Pictures)
5 (5) Yusuke Endo (Pictures)
6 (6) Jani Lax (Pictures)
7 (7) Ganjo Tentsuku (Pictures)
8 (8) Mizuto Hirota (Pictures)
9 (9) "Wicky Akiyo" Akiyo Nishiura (Pictures)
10 (10) Gilbert Melendez (Pictures)
Middleweight (167.5 Pounds)
C (C) Shinya Aoki (Pictures) - The Eighth World Middleweight Champion of Professional Shooto
1 (1) "K-Taro" Keita Nakamura (Pictures)
2 (2) Ronald Jhun (Pictures)
3 (3) Scott Henze
4 (4) Akira Kikuchi (Pictures)
5 (5) Brent Weedman (Pictures)
6 (7) Grzegorz Trendowski
7 (6) Niek Tromp
8 (8) "Mach" Hayato Sakurai (Pictures)
9 (9) Kuniyoshi Hironaka (Pictures)
10 (10) Shigetoshi Iwase (Pictures)
Light Heavyweight Division (183.0 Pounds)
C (1) Siyar Bahadurzada (Pictures) - The Fifth World Light Heavyweight Champion of Professional Shooto
1 (2) Joseph Baize
2 (3) Edward O'Daniel
3 (C) Shikou Yamashita (Pictures)
4 (4) Dustin Denes (Pictures)
5 (5) Grazhuydas Smailis (Pictures)
6 (6) Masashi Yozen (Pictures)
7 (7) Eiji Murayama (Pictures)
8 (8) "Batata" Leandro silva
9 (9) Petras Morkevicius
10 (10) Kalib Starnes (Pictures)
Pancrase Post Retooled Ranks
The International Shooto Commission is not the only organization dishing out rankings, as the World Pancrase Create has also released its latest Pancrase divisional rankings.
Although there was not a large amount of Pancrase activity in the past few weeks, July 27's Neoblood Tournament Final did see Katsuya Inoue (Pictures) regain his provisional welterweight King of Pancrase status, after defeating Fabricio Nascimento (Pictures).
Inoue was slated to face full champion Daizo Ishige (Pictures), but Ishige was unable to defend his title due to injuries sustained in his May CAGE FORCE bout with England's Dan Hardy (Pictures). The two will likely rematch for ownership of the undisputed title later this year.
The other alterations see fresh blood jump into the rankings, as Riki Fukuda (Pictures)'s bashing of Hikaru Sato (Pictures) sees him ranked third at 181 pounds, while successful lightweight newcomers Sa Jin Kwok and Jose Aldo grab the fourth and fifth slots at 153 pounds.
These lists may soon get a facelift of sorts, as Sept. 5's RISING TOUR card at Korakuen Hall figures to impact the rankings significantly, with no less than eight Pancrase-ranked fighters scheduled to compete on the card.
The Official Pancrase Rankings, July 2007:
Open-Weight Division
C (C) Josh Barnett (Pictures) - The Tenth Open-Weight King of Pancrase
Super Heavyweight (+220.5 Pounds)
C (C) Vacant
Heavyweight Division (220.5 Pounds)
C (C) Assuerio Silva (Pictures) - The Third Heavyweight King of Pancrase
1 (1) "Tiger" Kestutis Arbocius (Pictures)
2 (2) Tatsuya Mizuno (Pictures)
Light Heavyweight Division (199.0 Pounds)
C (C) Yuki Kondo (Pictures) - The Third Light Heavyweight King of Pancrase
1 (1) Fabio Silva (Pictures)
2 (2) "Tiger" Kestutis Arbocius (Pictures)
3 (3) Ryo Kawamura (Pictures)
Middleweight Division (181.0 Pounds)
C (C) Yuichi Nakanishi (Pictures) - The Sixth Middleweight King of Pancrase
1 (1) Izuru Takeuchi (Pictures)
2 (2) Bryan Rafiq (Pictures)
3 (-) Riki Fukuda (Pictures)
Welterweight Division (165.7 Pounds)
C (C) Daizo Ishige (Pictures) - The Second Welterweight King of Pancrase
P (2) Katsuya Inoue (Pictures) - The Second Provisional Welterweight King of Pancrase
1 (1) Satoru Kitaoka (Pictures)
2 (3) Koji Oishi (Pictures)
3 (4) Robert Emerson (Pictures)
Lightweight Division (152.5 Pounds)
C (C) Vacant
1 (1) Artur Oumakhanov (Pictures)
2 (2) Takafumi Ito (Pictures)
3 (3) Eriya Matsuda (Pictures)
4 (-) Sa Jin Kwok
5 (-) Jose Aldo
Featherweight Division (141.4 Pounds)
C (C) Yoshiro Maeda (Pictures) - The First Featherweight King of Pancrase
1 (1) "DJ.taiki" Daiki Hata (Pictures)
2 (2) Miki Shida (Pictures)
3 (3) Manabu Inoue (Pictures)
4 (4) Mitsuhisa Sunabe (Pictures)
5 (5) Naoji Fujimoto (Pictures)
Battle Mix Nixed Until November
Shooto promotional group G-STYLE has formally announced the postponement of the fifth edition of its Shooto series Battle Mix Tokyo.
The event, which was to be co-promoted with the Paraestra network, was scheduled to take place Sept. 8 at the usual digs of the Tokyo Kinema Club. However, Sept. will be a particularly busy month for pro Shooto authorities, as Sept. 2 will see the debut the Shooto GIG North series in the northern region of Hokkaido, the 22nd will feature the fifth installment of this year's marquee tour BACK TO OUR ROOTS in Tokyo, and the 29th will see action in Osaka with GIG West 8. Furthermore, the next month will begin with GIG Central 13 in Nagoya on Oct. 8.
Shooto authorities confirmed to Sherdog.com that because of the great number of cards utilizing fighters, and in particular up-and-coming Class B talent, it would have been particularly difficult to fill out that Battle Mix Tokyo card, and thus it was moved to a yet-to-be-determined date in Nov.
The last Battle Mix Tokyo card took place on July 20, and was headlined by a Class A 115-pound contest -- only the second Class A contest in the history of the nascent division -- between Takehiro Harusaki (Pictures) and former Rajadamnern Muay Thai competitor "M-16" Rambaa Somdet (Pictures).
The Battle Mix Tokyo series was devised late last year, evolving out of the G-Shooto Special events that combined both G-Shooto women's talent and up-and-coming men in pro Shooto. While the cards have quickly and successfully carved out an important niche within Shooto, G-STYLE's goal was originally to have six bimonthly cards over the course of 2007, which they will now fall short of, as the Nov. edition will be the fifth and final Battle Mix Tokyo card of the year.
Shooto Japan on a stateside stage
While typically pro Shooto fans around the world turn their gaze to Japan when fight-laden weekends roll around, this weekend will be an exception.
The Arrival, Chapter 1 "This is Shooto" will take place Saturday at the No Limits Events Center in Irvine, Calif. The event, which has been put together by Jason Manly of Manly Media LLC, as well as prominent MMA trainer and No Limits Inc. founder Colin Oyama, will feature a trio of prominent Shooto Japan competitors in stateside action.
The main event features a clash between 2005 Shooto 143-pound rookie champion Tenkei Fujimiya (Pictures) and hometown favorite and Oyama pupil Bao Quach (Pictures), who also has experience in Shooto Japan. The bout is of large significance to the 27-year-old Fujimiya, who was tabbed as a potential Shooto world title contender before back-to-back disappointments in his last two bouts.
After a lackluster and disappointing draw against Katsuya Toida (Pictures) last Nov., Fujimiya dropped a unanimous decision loss to now-world champion Akitoshi Tamura (Pictures) in Feb. A win is paramount for Fujimiya to keep pace in an intensifying, and globalizing featherweight class.
Fujimiya's teammate and fellow former 143-pound rookie champion "Wicky Akiyo" Akiyo Nishiura (Pictures) will also be in action. Wicky, who last competed in March where he took a hard fought split decision over Hideki Kadowaki (Pictures), recently decided to move up to 155 pounds, where he will now make his divisional debut against Joe Camacho (Pictures). Camacho recently dispatched longtime Shooto mainstay Tatsuji Kato in a bout in Guam.
Also appearing on the bill, albeit not in his stateside debut, will be Hiroshiman Kenichiro Togashi (Pictures). Togashi made his debut on U.S. soil in April, where he quickly armbarred Darren Crisp (Pictures). He will now take on Gladiator Challenge 155-pound champion Brian Cobb (Pictures), who recently defeated nemesis John Reedy (John Reedy' class='LinkSilver'>Pictures) for the third time in less than two years on the undercard of the first ShoXC card.
The event, which will feature a total of 11 bouts, will be the first of six shows planned by promoters at the No Limits Event Center over the course of the next year and a half. Subsequent events for the year are tentatively scheduled for Oct. 27 and Dec. 31, while events are penciled in for '08 on Feb. 23, April 26 and June 28. In addition to featuring more Shooto Japan talent, it is the hope of promoters to crown North American Shooto champions under the revamped regional Shooto system.
GCM set for Demolition, with rule revamping
And while pro Shooto will be making an impact stateside, Greatest Common Multiple is set to strike back with the next edition of their long-running Demolition series on Sunday night at the Differ Ariake in Tokyo.
In the main event, well-traveled veterans Wataru Takahashi (Pictures) and Takahito Iida (Pictures) will square off. Both men are looking to rebound from hardship, as Takahashi was ousted from the ongoing CAGE FORCE 155-pound tournament by Tomonari Kanomata (Pictures) in June, while Iida has been working to recover from career-threatening eye damage that he sustained in his bout last Sept. with Artur Oumakhanov (Pictures). Oumakhanov's ground-and-pound attack necessitated a series of surgeries that have seen Iida spend the last 11 months on the shelf.
In a standout female contest, the well-traveled Naoko Ohmuro (Pictures) will return to action against undefeated female prospect Fukuko Hamada. Ohmuro is coming off a decision loss to Mai in Smackgirl this past May, while Hamada, the 2006 Smackgirl Next Cinderella champion at 106 pounds, is coming off of a win over Akemi Morihara in her native Osaka this past April.
Further action will see Brazilian jiu-jitsu standout and Class B Shooto regular Mateus Irie Nechio (Pictures) take on undefeated Demolition veteran Motoki Miyazawa, while veteran Takumi Murata (Pictures) takes on upstart Hirokazu Nishimura.
However, what is most pressing about this Demolition card is the revamping of the rules. GCM revealed that Demolition will utilize rules much akin to the Unified Rules used in North America, just as has been done with their CAGE FORCE programme. In addition to the use of the weight classes outlined by the Unified Rules, knees and kicks to the head of grounded opponents are now prohibited, and elbows strikes are now permitted. Furthermore, fighters will be allowed to use Vaseline on their faces, which is prohibited under the guidelines of many Japanese promotions, while referees will also be quicker to stand competitors up if there is a lack of action on the ground.
Okami to oppose MacDonald in octagon return
Yushin Okami (Pictures) is primed for his Octagon return.
The Fight Network reported earlier this week that Canadian Jason MacDonald (Pictures) had verbally agreed to face off with Okami at UFC 77. Sources within Okami's camp did not confirm MacDonald as an opponent, but revealed to Sherdog.com that that the 26-year-old Wajyutsu product would compete on the Oct. 20 card at the U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio.
With a 4-1 mark in the UFC, Okami is the winningest Japanese fighter to compete in the UFC, besting elder teammate Caol Uno (Pictures)'s three wins in the octagon. Okami last competed in June, dropping a unanimous decision to former UFC champion Rich Franklin (Pictures) in Belfast, Ireland. MacDonald also appeared on the same bill, notching a stoppage victory over former Okami victim Rory Singer (Pictures).
The all-but-official bout figures to be a part of the live PPV telecast, which will be headlined by the 185-pound title rematch between the aforementioned Cincinnati native Franklin and the man who dethroned him last Oct., Anderson Silva.
Fukuda fit for Showtime against Villasenor
And another one of Japan's middleweight standouts is ready to cross the ocean again as well, as Sept. 15's Elite XC card in Honolulu, Hawaii will feature Riki Fukuda (Pictures) squaring off with Joey Villasenor (Pictures).
Fukuda, who has recently split his time training with American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose and KILLER BEE in Tokyo, was originally scheduled to face Hawaiian favorite Falaniko Vitale (Pictures) on the event's main card, however Vitale signed a deal earlier this week which will put him both in the K-1 HERO'S ring and the Strikeforce cage.
Sources inside Fukuda's camp have confirmed to Sherdog.com that Joey Villasenor (Pictures), who was defeated in his June EliteXC title clash by "Ninja" Murilo Rua (Pictures), will replace Vitale. The bout will be part of the main card televised live on Showtime.
Considered one of Japan's best prospects in the higher weight classes over the past few years, Fukuda was a strong collegiate grappler in Japan, taking a third place finish at the 2000 All Japan collegiate wrestling championships in the 187-pound Greco-Roman category, and a second place finish at the 2002 collegiate championships in the 211-pound freestyle category.
Fukuda made his Elite XC debut earlier this year, easily running over late replacement Chris Gates (Pictures) in Feb., but saw action just three weeks ago in Pancrase, where he bulldozed Hikaru Sato (Pictures), who had to be carried from the ring on a stretcher.
Fukuda is no stranger to Hawaii. In a sense, the bout will bring the 26-year-old's career full circle, as not only has he already competed in Hawaii twice, but also it was in Honolulu that he began his pro career in April 2004, losing a hard-fought unanimous decision against the vastly more experienced Joe Doerksen (Pictures).
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