Caol Uno Takes on Pancrase Champion Shintaro Ishiwatari in Sept. 30 Shooto Return

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TOKYO -- Addressing the crowd at Pancrase “Progress Tour 9” on Sunday night, bantamweight King of Pancrase Shintaro Ishiwatari announced that he will face UFC veteran Caol Uno on Shooto’s Sept. 30 card at Korakuen Hall.

Ishiwatari (Pictured, file photo) will move up from 135 to 143 pounds for his scheduled three-round bout with the legendary Shootor.

Uno, 37, is in the twilight of an MMA career that has seen him fight under the banners of the UFC, Shooto, K-1 Hero’s and Dream. In 2000, Uno knocked out fellow Shooto icon Rumina Sato to become the organization’s 154-pound world champion. Though most of his career has been spent at lightweight, Uno made the drop to featherweight in 2010 and has since gone 1-2.

The bout with Ishiwatari will be Uno’s first fight in Shooto since a 2004 draw with Tatsuya Kawajiri. Uno has not competed since last September, when he was knocked cold by a head kick from another former Shooto champ, “Lion” Takeshi Inoue, at Dream 17.

Ten years Uno’s junior, Ishiwatari has distinguished himself as one of the best bantamweights in Japan over the past two years. Though he began his career with Shooto, the Osaka native has competed exclusively for Pancrase and the now-defunct Sengoku over the past two years, compiling a record of 6-1-1.