Live in:
Missing ‘Tiger’
Pancrase has been forced to cancel its headlining bout on the 2007
Rising Tour card Sunday in Tokyo, after former heavyweight King of
Pancrase Kestutis "Tiger"
Arbocius (Pictures) failed to show for the fight.
Arbocius, scheduled to face reigning heavyweight Pancrase champion Assuerio Silva (Pictures), was booked for a noon flight on Friday from Riga to Tokyo via Copenhagen. Hailing from Alytus in Lithuania, he had to go 200 miles by car to reach the Latvian capital.
Initial reports from Japanese media, which attributed information to Arbocius' management, suggested that the 32-year-old Lithuanian* may have had difficulty with local police.
A Pancrase official disputed that report, telling Sherdog.com via e-mail, "Nobody knows where he is, even his manager. Pancrase is trying to keep in touch with him."
Viktor Rutkovski of Realfight.lt, a Lithuanian Web site covering MMA, called reports of problems with local authorities "nonsense." Citing a training partner of Arbocius, Rutkovski told Sherdog.com that the fighter had sustained a very serious eye injury, and did not travel to Japan as planned.
When Arbocius was nowhere to be found, Pancrase officials quickly attempted to find a replacement, offering the bout to three Japanese competitors. However, all three fighters stated that it was too short notice to face a fighter of Silva's caliber.
The card will now proceed with Yuki Kondo (Pictures)-Yuji Sakuragi (Pictures) as the headliner. Pancrase will offer ticket refunds on the day of the event.
*Sherdog.com incorrectly identified Arbocius as a native of Latvia.
Sherdog.com's Tim Leidecker and Jordan Breen contributed to this report.
Arbocius, scheduled to face reigning heavyweight Pancrase champion Assuerio Silva (Pictures), was booked for a noon flight on Friday from Riga to Tokyo via Copenhagen. Hailing from Alytus in Lithuania, he had to go 200 miles by car to reach the Latvian capital.
Initial reports from Japanese media, which attributed information to Arbocius' management, suggested that the 32-year-old Lithuanian* may have had difficulty with local police.
A Pancrase official disputed that report, telling Sherdog.com via e-mail, "Nobody knows where he is, even his manager. Pancrase is trying to keep in touch with him."
Viktor Rutkovski of Realfight.lt, a Lithuanian Web site covering MMA, called reports of problems with local authorities "nonsense." Citing a training partner of Arbocius, Rutkovski told Sherdog.com that the fighter had sustained a very serious eye injury, and did not travel to Japan as planned.
When Arbocius was nowhere to be found, Pancrase officials quickly attempted to find a replacement, offering the bout to three Japanese competitors. However, all three fighters stated that it was too short notice to face a fighter of Silva's caliber.
The card will now proceed with Yuki Kondo (Pictures)-Yuji Sakuragi (Pictures) as the headliner. Pancrase will offer ticket refunds on the day of the event.
*Sherdog.com incorrectly identified Arbocius as a native of Latvia.
Sherdog.com's Tim Leidecker and Jordan Breen contributed to this report.
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