When a particularly potent weekend of MMA rolls around, some of that hot fire is going to be burning in Japan. This fight filled weekend: certainly not an exception.

Wajyutsu Keisyukai is a preeminent force in the Japanese MMA world, with gym affiliates all over Japan and fighters in every promotion the country has to offer. However, it appears 26 gyms were not enough, adding three more gyms to the WK Network.

Meanwhile, the promotional arm of WK, Greatest Common Multiple, has some good and bad news about Sept. 9's CAGE FORCE card. While there is much to be excited for when it comes to Hiroyuki Takaya (Pictures) returning to the featherweight division, fans will be forced to wait until October to see Tomonari Kanomata (Pictures) and Artur Oumakhanov (Pictures) tangle in the 155-pound tournament.

A set of Sunday cards will see DEEP return to Korakuen Hall for 31 Impact, with four DEEP champs -- Hidehiko Hasegawa (Pictures), Hisae Watanabe (Pictures), Masakazu Imanari (Pictures) and Kazunori Yokota (Pictures) -- all in tow, while across town in Shinjuku, GUTSMAN gears up for SHOOTING DISCO 2, headlined by guaranteed action in a 154-pound clash between Ganjo Tentsuku (Pictures) and Mizuto Hirota (Pictures).

However, that isn't all that Nihon has to offer Sunday's MMA marathon, as Japanese export Hiromitsu Miura (Pictures) will make his return to the WEC. More importantly, Miura isn't the only Japanese fighter making the jump to the cage stateside, as Kazuhiro Nakamura (Pictures) and Michihiro Omigawa (Pictures) are set for octagon debuts in Anaheim.

Osaraba, Kami no Puroresu

The world of MMA has lost a true pioneer, with the passing of wrestling legend Karl Gotch. Gotch passed away surrounded by friends and family Saturday in Tampa, Fla. August 3 would have been Gotch's 83rd birthday.

Born Karl Isatz, Gotch represented Belgium in both freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling at the 1948 Olympics Games in London. He later made the transition to pro-wrestling after training at The Snakepit, Billy Riley's famous catch wrestling school in Wigan, England. He then adopted the ring name 'Gotch' in honor of legendary catch wrestler Frank Gotch.

Gotch rose to prominence, competing all over North America in the AWA, NWA and WWWF (now the WWE), however it was in Japan where his impact would be felt most. Gotch headlined the first ever New Japan Pro Wrestling event in 1972 against Antonio Inoki, and would go on to become a trainer for New Japan.

More importantly, some of Gotch's students -- Akira Maeda (Pictures), Yoshiaki Fujiwara, Nobuhiko Takada (Pictures), Satoru Sayama -- went on to form the Universal Wrestling Federation, the beginning of the "UWF system" which gave rise to the popularity of the shoot style pro-wrestling that would later evolve into MMA.

Sayama would go on to found Shooto in 1986, while Akira Maeda (Pictures) formed the RINGS Fighting Network in 1991. Yoshiaki Fujiwara's star students, Masakatsu Funaki (Pictures) and Minoru Suzuki (Pictures), founded Pancrase in 1993, while Nobuhiko Takada (Pictures) played a pivotal role in bringing MMA to the forefront in Japan due to his battles with Rickson Gracie and his participation in PRIDE.

Fittingly, the Japanese call Gotch "Kami no Puroresu," meaning "The God of Pro Wrestling."

VAMOS, Knuckles, Yamaguchi widen WK Network

One of the most prominent entities in Japan, Wajyutsu Keisyukai is set for further expansion.

Already boasting five flagship gyms (Tokyo Headquarters, A-3 GODS, RJW, Tiger Place) and 26 gyms in total, Wajyutsu Keisyukai has added another three gyms to its network, making a total of 29.

Team Knuckles, represented by Yuta Yasunaga, and TEAM VAMOS, represented by former Shooto rookie champion Yu Shiori (Pictures), have officially become WK-affiliated gyms. Yasunaga and Shiori have enjoyed a relationship with the organization in the past, having both competed in events promoted by Greatest Common Multiple, the promotional arm of Wajyutsu Keisyukai.

Also, the WK Network will welcome the Wajyutsu Keisyukai Yamaguchi branch, to be represented by Yuichi Hirokawa.

Takaya talks featherweight return, fancies fight with Faber

When GCM modified its Demolition of Octagon Gear promotion late last year, renaming the programme CAGE FORCE, and introducing the Unified Rules to Japan, it attracted much attention from fans and pundits, who viewed the facelift as a portent of the growing international influence of Zuffa and the UFC. However, it also drew the attention of some fighters, including Hiroyuki Takaya (Pictures).

Takaya remarked earlier this year that he would like to compete in CAGE FORCE, saying simply that he was intrigued by the promotion and wanted to challenge himself in the cage. However, it still came as a surprise when GCM announced Takaya would compete against a yet-to-be-determined opponent on the Sept. 8 CAGE FORCE 04 card at Differ Ariake in Tokyo.

"Since the cage is growing in the world of MMA, I decided to fight and show my strength in the Japanese cage," Takaya told the media.

Of particular interest is that Takaya will return to the featherweight class in which he started his career. Takaya was Shooto's 2003 rookie champion at 143 pounds, and quickly asserted himself as one of the best in the division. After his scintillating knockout of Stephen Palling (Pictures), a 143-pound eliminator fight against Jens Pulver (Pictures) was slated for Dec. 2004 to determine a challenger for longtime divisional champion Alexandre Franca Nogueira (Pictures). However, Pulver pulled out of the fight for a larger payday, stepping up to 161 pounds to fight Takanori Gomi (Pictures) in PRIDE, and Takaya lost to late replacement Gilbert Melendez (Pictures).

Following his loss in pro Shooto, Takaya opted for larger paydays, jumping to K-1 HERO'S to compete at 154 pounds. Takaya has had mixed results since moving up in weight, notching a 3-3 mark in HERO'S.

"I also want to enter into the cage overseas," he said. "Since it is said that Urijah Faber (Pictures) is the top of the division, that's a goal I want to aim at."

Ugly Oumakhanov excursion postpones CAGE FORCE tournament semifinal

While Takaya will be a boost to Sept. 8's CAGE FORCE card, the event has taken a hit as the 155-pound semifinal bout between Artur Oumakhanov (Pictures) and Tomonari Kanomata (Pictures) will be pushed back on the calendar.

In what may have been an ill-advised choice, Oumakhanov, who advanced to the semifinals in the tournament by beating Wataru Miki (Pictures) in June, stepped into the July 16 HERO'S card in place of the injured Gesias Calvancanti (Pictures) to face Chute Boxe up-and-comer "Dida" Andre Amade (Pictures); the Russian was knocked out in highlight-reel fashion in only 80 seconds.

Typically observing a rule that competitors must be 50 days removed from a knockout loss before competing, GCM deliberated on whether or not to allow Oumakhanov to compete as scheduled on Sept. 8 and eventually opted against it.

GCM then weighed several options of how to proceed with the tournament, including replacing Oumakhanov with another fighter to be seeded against Kanomata or simply allowing Kanomata to advance to the Dec. final by default. In the end, the decision was made to postpone the Oumakhanov-Kanomata semifinal until October at a yet-to-be-scheduled GCM card.

The Eiji Mitsuoka (Pictures)-Koutetsu Boku (Pictures) semifinal will continue as planned on Sept. 8. The winners will then square off at the Dec. 1 CAGE FORCE event in the tournament finals.

Four aces accentuate DEEP 31 Impact

Shigeru Saeki is a busy, busy man.

After having hit Osaka for the first time in over three years with July's DEEP 30 Impact card, Saeki promoted the second annual CMA Festival and a hybrid kickboxing-MMA card, DEEP GLOVE before turning the calendar over. This weekend will see DEEP's fourth event in less than a month, as DEEP 31 Impact returns to Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, with four DEEP champions on the bill.

The main event will see a non-title clash between current welterweight titlist and proud sambist Hidehiko Hasegawa (Pictures), and one of South Korea's hottest MMA exports in Dong Hyun Kim (Pictures).

Originally, Saeki stated that he was negotiating for an American to be brought into Japan to face Hasegawa, and said that a bout with the surging Kim would be possible for October. The parties involved played up the potential match for the media, with Hasegawa's manager telling the fight press that his fighter was in fact scared of the Korean, and would postpone the bout as long as possible. However, after apparent negotiations for an American opponent fell apart, Saeki announced this past Tuesday that Hasegawa and Kim would square off in a non-title bout.

Hasegawa has gone undefeated in his last six bouts over roughly two years. In Feb. he unseated long-reigning champion Jutaro Nakao (Pictures) to become DEEP's 168-pound champion. Hasegawa controlled and pounded Nakao from top position, and escaped a tight armbar in the last two minutes of the bout to cinch the title victory. On that same card, Kim destroyed journeyman enhancement talent Hidenobu Koike (Pictures), utilizing him as a punching bag before crumpling him to the mat with a crushing punch to the body.

Kim has looked sensational in DEEP as of late, rattling off five victories. In addition to his victories in Japan, Kim has dominated the grassroots competition in his native South Korea, putting his true MMA record at a verifiable 13-0.

In the evening's only title bout, female star Hisae Watanabe (Pictures) will look for redemptions of sorts as she puts her 106-pound female championship on the line against Miku Matsumoto (Pictures). Watanabe suffered a monumental upset in Feb. in losing a non-title bout to South Korean Muay Thai champ and MMA neophyte Su Hi Ham (Pictures).

While Watanabe got back into the ring and took a dominant win over ironwoman Masako Yoshida (Pictures) in April, Miku notched a win over the aforementioned Ham in a title eliminator bout to earn the right to face Watanabe, who will make the first defense of the title she won last Aug. in an epic rematch with rival and fellow female star Satoko Shinashi (Pictures).

The other two DEEP champions will be in non-title action on Sunday in what amount to tune-up fights. At 143 pounds, leading leg-lock authority Masakazu Imanari (Pictures) will return to the DEEP ring against tough and powerful Korean Jong Man Kim (Pictures); while at 154 pounds, DEEP lightweight champion Kazunori Yokota (Pictures) returns to action against American Anthony McDavitt (Pictures).

Imanari and Yokota both scored title wins in Feb., as Imanari notched a 27-second flying armbar win over Robbie Olivier (Pictures) in London to win the vacant Cage Rage featherweight title, while Yokota upset PRIDE Bushido and Takanori Gomi (Pictures) teammate Nobuhiro Obiya (Pictures) to win DEEP gold at 154 pounds.

Also adding some punch to the line-up, longtime Shooto 143-pounder Makoto Ishikawa (Pictures) will make his return to the 154-pound division which he started his career in, to take on "Barbaro44" Yoshihiro Tomioka (Pictures). And two DEEP Future King champions will get their first major tests as Soujirou Ohrui (Pictures) faces Hidehiko Yosihda pupil Ryuichi Murata (Pictures), and Yoshisuke Kitada (Pictures) fights former DEEP title challenger Takeshi Yamazaki (Pictures) from GRABAKA.

Tentsuku-Hirota Clash Heats Up SHOOTING DISCO 2

Also on Sunday, GUTSMAN Shooto Dojo returns to the always-mod Shinjuku FACE with its second promotion this year, SHOOTING DISCO 2: Tonight, The Heat Rises.

The main event features a hotly anticipated match-up in Shooto's 154-pound division, with two of pro Shooto's most outstanding young fighters in Mizuto Hirota (Pictures) and Ganjo Tentsuku (Pictures) squaring off.

Hirota and Tentsuku are both coming off of tough losses at Sustain's Feb. BACK TO OUR ROOTS 01 supercard. The then-undefeated Hirota was the favorite in his Pacific Rim welterweight championship bout with Takashi Nakakura (Pictures), but was upset by native the Osakan, who took a unanimous decision over the young GUTSMAN competitor. Hirota, typically the dominant striker in his bouts, was surprised -- as were onlookers -- at the counterstriking ability Nakakura had developed, and struggled to impose his will on the feet as he had in the past, even being knocked down by a sharp Nakakura counter during the bout.

On the same card Tentsuku dropped a unanimous decision to Yusuke Endo (Pictures). Tentsuku previously defeated Tentsuku, handing him his first career loss in Dec. 2005 with a vicious ground-and-pound attack. However, in their rematch, Endo picked his shots on the feet, and Tentsuku's pounding attack was too little too late, as Endo walked away with all three judges' cards.

The bout is a particularly compelling one for two reasons: first, both fighters are in dire need of a win to keep pace in the Shooto 154-pound class, as the division is now wide open with the world championship currently vacant; secondly, the aggressive, offensive-minded styles of both fighters, which made the match-up a particularly enticing one for Shooto promoters to organize.

Also on the card, a crucial fight for two 132-pounders will pit "Hadairo" Tetsu Suzuki (Pictures) against So Tazawa (Pictures). The two met in 2004's 132-pound rookie tournament in Nov. 2004, with Tazawa taking a majority decision over the eccentric Suzuki. However, Tazawa has fallen on hard times, losing his last three bouts.

After dropping two competitive decisions to Koetsu Okazaki (Pictures) and Atsushi Yamamoto (Pictures), Tazawa was dominated and choked out by Masakatsu Ueda (Pictures) in March. Altough Suzuki lost his last bout in HERO'S, competing against Masanori Kanehara (Pictures) at 154 pounds -- 22 pounds over his usual fight weight -- he has won his last two bouts at 132 pounds in Shooto, en route to earning his Class A license. The winner of the bout is poised to make a big leap ahead in one of pro Shooto's most competitive divisions.

Other highlights of the SHOOTING DISCO 2 undercard include power punching 143-pound up-and-comer Shintaro Ishiwatari (Pictures) returning to the ring against a very dynamic grappler in Noboru Asahi pupil Hiroshi Nakamura and the return of last year's 123-pound rookie champion Ryuichi Miki, who has spent the last few months recovering from a bacterial infection, as he takes on "Heat" Takeshi Inoue (Pictures), and continues his journey toward Class A Shooto.

Miura set for second WEC clash with Gonzalez

Also in action this weekend will be Japanese native Hiromitsu Miura (Pictures), as he makes his second appearance stateside in the WEC, going up against Fernando Gonzalez (Pictures).

Miura impressed in the biggest bout of his career this past May. Taking on MMA cult hero Jason Miller, Miura was a considerable underdog and was thought to be little more than a showcase bout for "Mayhem." However, Miura survived Miller's aggressive ground work while controlling the fight on the feet. While Miura lost the contest 29-28 on all three cards, he more than certainly opened up the eyes of those who figured the highly touted Miller would trounce him.

After representing Pancrase affiliate MEGATON-Tokin and more recently SAMURAI SWORD, Miura has spent the last few months in Jupiter, Fla. training out of The Armory with the likes of Hermes Franca (Pictures) and Kurt Pellegrino (Pictures), which led to him getting the opportunity to fight in the WEC.

The 25-year-old Fukuoka native will face Gonzalez, a KOTC and WEC veteran, this Sunday. Gonzalez, who has fought thrice in the WEC, scored his biggest career win last Aug. when he stopped slumping PRIDE veteran Alex Stiebling (Pictures) on a cut. The fight will be a preliminary bout on the non-televised portion of the card, which will air its main card live on the Versus Network beginning at 9 p.m. ET.

Nakamura, Omigawa octagon bound in Anaheim

The exodus from PRIDE is continuing to Zuffa and the UFC, as two Japanese competitors are set to make the jump to the octagon this Sept.

Representatives from J-ROCK, the management company of Yoshida Dojo, have confirmed that Yoshida pupils Kazuhiro Nakamura (Pictures) and Michihiro Omigawa (Pictures) will make their UFC debuts at UFC 76 in Anaheim on Sept. 22.

It was widely speculated that Nakamura and Omigawa would make the jump to the UFC after their trainer Hidehiko Yoshida (Pictures) had remarked about his and his team's interest in competing abroad in the UFC. While J-ROCK representatives declined to speak on Yoshida's personal negotiations, Nakamura had been somewhat talkative during his negotiations, telling the media at a recent Yoshida Dojo-operated VIVA JUDO! seminar that as he grew up in PRIDE, he felt he didn't belonged in HERO'S and thus would soon fight in the UFC.

Nakamura will immediately jump into a high profile fight in his UFC debut. After winning three of his last four bouts -- sans a loss to divisional star "Shogun" Mauricio Rua (Pictures) , who will also debut on the card -- Nakamura will square off with undefeated and dangerous contender Lyoto Machida. The bout will reportedly be a part of the live pay-per-view telecast.

Omigawa will make his first foray into the octagon against TUF 5 alum Matt Wiman (Pictures) in a preliminary bout. While he is perhaps best known for a brutal KO loss to Aaron Riley (Pictures) in his pro MMA debut, the internationally accomplished judoka has vastly improved his overall game, winning four of his last five bouts. His lone loss in that time was a majority decision loss in his fourth pro bout against now-DEEP lightweight champion Kazunori Yokota (Pictures).