2/1 Pancrase Changing Tour 1 - PICTURES

It was a very entertaining day in Differ Ariake on Sunday. 32 fights, and there were some good ones in there. I always enjoy the Neo-Blood Tournament fights, you never really know what to expect. You can get guys that are just very talented, and you have guys making rookie mistakes.

Rookie mistake of the night went to Atsushi Masukura, who in his fight with Ben Henry got caught in a very tight arm-bar. Instead of tapping, he decided to stand up and pull away. From where I was sitting I could hear the arm break.



Keigo Hirayama had a very good day, winning both his fights decisively.





Then it was time for the main card. First up was the experienced "Strasser" Kiichi against a relative new-comer in Shingo Suzuki. I actually think this fight was won at the stare-down.



Asaki Honda and Kousei Kubota fought a close and entertaining fight to decision. Asahi Honda (in white) got the decision, but Kubota was rightly a bit upset. A close fight that could have gone either way.



Hikaru Sato showed why I am not a fan of the new leg lock trend in Japan... Most of the almost 4 minute fight, he was working on the lef-lock. It takes technique and skill to get it right, but when it takes most of the round its just not entertaining anymore...



Takuya Eizumi showed that he is a fighter to look for in the future. Last year's Neo-Blood Tournament finalist took just over 1 minute to knock Tokuaki Ninomiya out cold. It was his left hook that did the damage.





"AB" got his first ever win against the experienced Takafumi Ito. I am not sure that it was deserved though... "AB" finished the 2nd round in a dominating position, but I am not sure how that justifies giving him the 1st round too...

I am happy he got a win though, he has really fought some of the most talented fighters out there up until now.



"J-Taro" had a very provided more than a fight... I dont know if he was paid extra for the show...



The fight was over rather quickly though... Jameel "The Sargent" Massouh proved too strong on the night, and forced an early stoppage.



Masanori Kanehara put in a strong application for the Sengoku featherweight GP with a deceisive win over the veteran Kenji Arai. A straight left did the damage.



The main event saw lightweight King of Pancrase, Katsuya Inoue take on challenger Daisuke Hanazawa "13". Hanazawa needed to take this fight to the ground, and succeeded somewhat in the 1st round. But as the fight went on, Inoue was able to avoid Hanazawa's takedown attempts and get the decision.