With the world of Shooto getting a regulatory overhaul, which includes abandoning the much-maligned knockdown rule as well as strikes to the back of the head, there has been much rejoicing amongst MMA fans. However, there are also some questions as to how these new rules will function in the current Shooto environment.

Earlier this month, the ISC announced that the two most contentious parts of the Shooto rules would be reformed in the near future. After the European Shooto Commission launched a request in March for the ISC to re-evaluate these two guidelines, the ISC decided that in accordance with Shooto's vision of synthesizing "striking, throwing and submitting," as well as issues of medical safety, the rules would be eliminated.

Because Shooto's ongoing rookie tournament series already defined its rules at the year's onset, the knockdown rule will be abolished officially on Jan. 1, 2009. However, strikes to the back of the head will be outlawed as of Sept. 1, due to the more pressing medical issue involved.

However, repealing the knockdown rule poses an interesting question as to judging and scoring criteria within Shooto. In the past, fighters who knocked down their opponent were often afforded a 10-8 round. The issue was particularly problematic in Class B Shooto bouts between up-and-comers, which last only two rounds. With only two stanzas, being knocked down was often a death knell for a fighter if he couldn't finish his foe.

Compounding the difficulty is the catch rule, which acts as a grappling counterpart to the knockdown rule. Under Shooto rules, if a fighter fully locks on a submission hold, the referee will signal a "catch," often resulting in a 10-8 round for the fighter. With the knockdown rule gone, many have begun to question the status of the catch rule.

Thankfully, International Shooto Commission secretary general and lead Shooto official Toshiharu Suzuki is around to clear things up.

"Because the evaluation of striking was [so] large up to now, I think that it is a good balance," explains Suzuki.

Although some may view this new "balance" more grappling-oriented by maintaining the catch rule, Suzuki assures that the flexible scoring that allows for 10-8 and 10-7 rounds will still be present, and now a flash knockdown will no longer be an automatic loss for a fighter.

"Also, KO's will increase by this rule change," adds Suzuki, noting that abolishing the knockdown rule may actually help strikers, who can now pounce on their toppled opponents to finish the fight, which may refute claims of creating a pro-grappling advantage.

However, one debated Shooto rule remains for many fans: the Shooto glove.

While brands and designs may differ slightly, most promotions all over the world typically use a standard MMA glove weighing four or five ounces. However, Shooto has long employed their own style of glove, which is a larger, finger-looped glove with extra padding in the neighborhood of eight ounces. Many fighters and fans alike have long complained of the Shooto "pillows," critiquing them as cumbersome and counterproductive in aiming for the knockout.

"The Shooto glove is the best MMA glove," Suzuki says adamantly. "The Shooto glove is an excellent glove that was researched and developed with leading boxing glove company, Winning. The glove used with the UFC doesn't consider safety at all."

Broken arm puts ‘Saku' on the shelf, Gono's hand heals

After a brutal, crushing defeat, MMA icon Kazushi Sakuraba (Pictures) has more than just injured pride.

At last Sunday's Dream card in Yokohama, Sakuraba was demolished in 90 seconds in his Dream middleweight grand prix quarterfinal against Dutch powder keg Melvin Manhoef (Pictures). Following the bout, Dream event producer Keiichi Sasahara revealed that Sakuraba sustained a broken ulna in his left arm, the result of attempting to block a Manhoef high kick.

Sasahara said that it was originally his hope to have Sakuraba back in the ring by September, a goal that's obviously unrealistic due to the broken arm. However, Sasahara refuted all talk of potential retirement for the "IQ Wrestler," stating that Sakuraba would be in the ring as soon as he's recovered, and that if nothing else, he would fight on the most important night of the year for Japanese MMA -- New Year's Eve.

In significantly more positive news, Akihiro Gono (Pictures) is ready to get back into the swing of things in the gym after spending the last few months on the shelf due to a hand injury.

The colorful Japanese veteran, who made a successful Octagon debut last November against Tamden McCrory, was forced to pull out of a slated March bout with soon-to-be welterweight title challenger Jon Fitch (Pictures) after sustaining a broken right hand against McCrory. Gono had agreed to the Fitch bout and resumed training before it was discovered that the persistent pain in his right hand was the result of a break.

Since his hand surgery in February, Gono has focused largely on his conditioning, allowing his hand time to fully heal. Aiming for a return in the early autumn, Gono has consulted with several doctors who have given him the green light to resume pro training in the gym. After gradually easing back in, Gono hopes to have his hand reexamined before he jumps back into full training.

The 33-year-old Grabaka star has a history of hand problems. He first broke his right hand in his December 2001 bout with Yuki Kondo (Pictures), and he broke his left hand nine months later against Osami Shibuya (Pictures). With nearly 50 professional bouts in his 14-year career, Gono was advised to be particularly careful in recovering from his hand injury, as re-breaking it before it's fully healed could have spelled the end of his career.

Hioki to meet Nakamura in August Nagoya homecoming

One of the featherweight division's finest will be back in the ring this August, when Hatsu Hioki (Pictures) makes another Nagoya homecoming.

The preeminent headliner of the Shooto Gig Central cards promoted by his gym Alive, Hioki will take on Hiroshi "Iron" Nakamura in the main event of the fifteenth installment of Gig Central at Zepp Nagoya on Aug. 3.

Hioki will be looking to continue a thus-far successful 2008 after a woefully disappointing '07 campaign. After a May 2007 split decision loss to Antonio Carvalho (Pictures), Hioki made another Nagoya homecoming last October where he was upset by rugged South Korean Jong Man Kim in a miserable performance. Since his back-to-back setbacks, the 24-year-old Hioki has won three straight, including blowout victories over veterans Katsuya Toida (Pictures) and Baret Yoshida (Pictures) earlier this year. Hioki was supposed to meet Shooto icon Rumina Sato (Pictures) in May, however, after tweaking his knee in his destruction of Yoshida, his spot was taken by former Shooto world champ Akitoshi Tamura (Pictures).

Undefeated in his last five, Nakamura is coming off of the biggest win of his career, taking a majority decision over Tenkei Fujimiya (Pictures) in March. Undefeated in his last five, the Noboru Asahi student has shown marked improvement over his last several bouts, leading to his Class A Shooto promotion.

Also scheduled for the card, Takahiro Kajita (Pictures) will meet Komei Okada (Pictures), Takeshi Okada (Pictures) will face Akira Kibe (Pictures), Kenichi Hattori (Pictures) rematches Hisaki "Kotobukimaru" Hiraishi, Keisuke Kurata squares off with Hiroshi Sakamoto (Pictures), and Kenya Kato (Pictures) does battle with Teppei "Bull" Masuda.

In rookie tournament action on the bill, prohibitive tournament favorite Takesuke Kume (Pictures) faces Yoichiro Sato in a 168-pound semifinal, Yukinari "Hibiki" Tamura meets Kunio Nakajima (Pictures) in a 154-pound quarterfinal, Yasuaki "Aki" Nagamoto tangles with Keita Yoshida in a 132-pound quarterfinal, and in 115-pound quarterfinal action, Hiroyuki "Ron" Kondo squares off with Masatomi Yamagami.

Saeki teams with South Korea's Gladiator FC for August Okayama card

Shigeru Saeki just can't go a week without getting up to something else in the world of international MMA.

After revealing last week that he would work with M-1 Mixfight to promote the ongoing M-1 Challenge series in Japan and is taking over executive duties of the Japanese M-1 team, Saeki has announced that he will work with South Korea's groundbreaking Gladiator FC promotion to promote a joint effort on Aug. 16 at the Momotaro Arena in Okayama.

South Korea has emerged over the last four years as a strong developing market for the sport, with large growing fan bases for Japanese MMA promotions, as well as a strengthening crop of native fighters. However, in June 2004, Gladiator FC put on a watershed event for MMA in South Korea, promoting an enormous two-day event that featured a deep roster of international talent.

The event's first day featured the likes of Dan Severn (Pictures) and Ikuhisa Minowa (Pictures), and a main event between Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (Pictures) and Alex Stiebling (Pictures), while the event's second day saw Paulo Filho (Pictures), Daijiro Matsui (Pictures) and Mu Bae Choi (Pictures) in action, and the high-profile main event between Anderson Silva and Jeremy Horn (Pictures). The event greatly raised the profile of South Korean MMA, drawing considerable international attention. However, because of the purse demands of many of the standouts, the event was a financial disaster, nixing hopes for future Gladiator FC events.

August's card will feature many of the original Gladiator FC competitors. In the main event, Ikuhisa Minowa (Pictures) will continue his "real pro-wrestler" antics taking on ever-gritty veteran Don Frye (Pictures), while Daijiro Matsui (Pictures) takes on Eun Soo Lee (Pictures). Also, current Deep lightweight champion and South Korean banger Sung Hwan Pang (Pictures) will take on Akihiko Mori (Pictures) in a non-title affair.

What is also salient is the choice in location. Despite Japan being seen as a big market for MMA, the vast majority of MMA happens in Tokyo, and to a lesser extent, Osaka and Nagoya, while some larger promotions make occasional trips to some other cities such as Yokohama, Sapporo, Hiroshima or Okinawa. Although Deep tours heavily and brings many shows to smaller cities such as Toyama and Yamagata, a card in Okayama is certainly unique.

With the unique locale, Saeki has revealed that he's extended invitations to shoot-style icon Kiyoshi Tamura (Pictures) and Pancrase's resident eccentric Hikaru Sato (Pictures), both Okayama natives.