9/22 Shooto Revolutionary Exchanges 2 - Fights Added

Added to the card are some very interesting fights! There are 2 fights added in the bantamweight division, and both should be very good fights. Ryuichi Miki will take on Yasuhiro Urushitani in what will be a re-match. They last met in Mai last year and the fight ended in a draw. Urushitani has not fought since November last year, and it will be good to see him back in Shooto.

The other bantamweight fight will see Yuki Shojo, who resently lost to the champion "BJ" take on DREAM veteran Junya Kudo.

In the lightweight division, Australian Gustavo Falciroli is making the trip to Japan to take on Paraestra Sapporo's Daisuke Ishizawa. Falciroli made it into the Shooto rankings last month after a win over Akiyo Nishiura and it will be interesting to see if he can build on that.

There are 10 fights on the card now, including 2 Pacific title fights. The card should be complete now, and it is looking very good!

Added:
Bantam: Ryuichi Miki 9-2-3 vs. 15-4-6 Yasuhiro Urushitani
Bantam: Yuki Shojo 8-5-2 vs. 7-2-2 Junya Kudo
Light: Gustavo Falciroli 6-1-2 vs. 4-5-0 Daisuke Ishizawa

Previously Announced:
Welterweight Shooto Pacific Champion Title Fight:
Yusuke Endo (Champion) 12-3-2 vs. 14-5-2 Kotetsu Boku

Middleweight Shooto Pacific Champion Title Fight:
Xavier Lucas (Champion) 6-1-1 vs. 11-2-1 Akihiro Yamazaki

Feather: Tetsu Suzuki 8-7-3 vs. 6-2-0 Teriyuki Matsumoto
Feather: Masatoshi Abe 8-2-1 vs. 5-1-1 Fumihiro Kitahara

Rookie Tournament:
Bantam: Nozomi Otsuka 2-1-1 vs. 1-0-1 Yasutaka Ishigami
Light: Atsushi Kobayashi 2-1-0 vs. 1-0-0 Yusuke Yachi
Feather: Haruo Ochi 4-1-0 vs. 2-0-0 Kota Onojima

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9/22 Shooto Revolutionary Exchanges 2 - 2 Title Fights Announced

Shooto have announced 2 Pacific Rim title fights for their next "Revolutionary Exchanges" event. In the welterweight division, Kotetsu Boku will aim to reclaim his title from the current champion, Yusuke Endo. This is not the first time these fighters meet. Endo was Boku's opponent when Boku returned to Shooto in January this year. That was a non-title fight and it ended with a draw.

In the other title fight announced, Australian Xavier Lucas will defend his middlweight Pacific Rim title against Japanese standout, Akihiro Yamazaki. This will be the first title defense for Xavier Lucas, and his first fight in Korakuen Hall. Yamazaki has not lost since February 2005, his opponent on that occation was Yoshiyuki Yoshida, and this should be a very good fight.

Also on the card is the Hadairo (Tetsu Suzuki), taking on a very interesting opponent in Teriyuki Matsumoto. Making his debut on the Shooto "main cards" is Fumihiro Kitahara, taking on Masatoshi Abe.

Welterweight Shooto Pacific Champion Title Fight:
Yusuke Endo (Champion) 12-3-2 vs. 14-5-2 Kotetsu Boku

Middleweight Shooto Pacific Champion Title Fight:
Xavier Lucas (Champion) 6-1-1 vs. 11-2-1 Akihiro Yamazaki

Feather: Tetsu Suzuki 8-7-3 vs. 6-2-0 Teriyuki Matsumoto
Feather: Masatoshi Abe 8-2-1 vs. 5-1-1 Fumihiro Kitahara

Rookie Tournament:
Bantam: Nozomi Otsuka 2-1-1 vs. 1-0-1 Yasutaka Ishigami
Light: Atsushi Kobayashi 2-1-0 vs. 1-0-0 Yusuke Yachi
Feather: Haruo Ochi 4-1-0 vs. 2-0-0 Kota Onojima

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9/22 Shooto Revolutionary Exchanges 2 - Boku aims at reclaiming his title

Shooto will end this year on a high, from "Revolutionary Exhcanges 2" they will have 3 big cards with just a month between them.

For this card 2 Pacific title fights are announced. For the welterweight title, Kotetsu Boku once wore the belt that now belongs to Yusuke Endo. Some will point out that Boku never lost the title in the ring. This is a re-match from January, on that occation the fight ended in a draw.

The other title fight is for the middleweight title. The title currently belongs to Australian Xavier Lucas, who claimed the title after defeating Yoshitaro Niimi in October last year. In his first title defence he will be taking on Akihiro Yamazaki, a fighter that has lots of talent and this will be a good fight.

Announced:
Pacific Welterweight Title Fight:
Yusuke Endo (C) 12-3-2 vs. 14-5-2 Kotetsu Boku

Pacific Middleweight Title Fight:
Xavier Lucas (C) 6-1-1 vs. 11-2-1 Akihiro Yamazaki

Feather: Tetsu "Hadairo" Suzuki 8-7-3 vs. 6-2-0 Teriyuki Matsumoto
Bantam: Masatoshi Abe 8-2-1 vs. 5-1-1 Fumihiro Kitahara

Rookie Tournament:
Feaher: Haruo Ochi 4-1-0 vs. 2-0-0 Kota Onojima
Light: Atsushi Kobayashi 2-1-0 vs. 1-0-0 Yusuke Yachi
Bantam: Nozomi Otsuka 2-1-1 vs. 1-0-1 Yasutaka Ishigami

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1/18 Shooto Tradition 5 - LIVE Results

Shooto is putting on an awesome event in Differ Ariake today. Hopefully people have recovered after staying up half the night (in my case) watching the UFC. This card might not compete with the names on the UF card, but for Shooto fans and fans of Japanese MMA, there is plenty of stories to get into on this card.

I have broken down the 2 main fights here

In addition to those fights, it is worth mentioning a few fighters:
"KODO" is a very talented guy with only 2 losses. One of those was stepping in on 1-2 days notice in DREAM to face Joseph Benavidez in DREAM 5. And I guess it was his 15 minutes of fame so far in his career, but I expect to hear from this guy again.

Akihiro Yamazaki, this guy is SERIOUSLY talented. At 20, he has had 13 fights and lost 2, to Kenji Arai and Yoshiyuki Yoshida!I am predicting a tough debut for a Korean fighter that I dont know the name of.

From a very talented fighter, to a very experienced fighter, Jin Akimoto is as experienced as they get in Shooto. The 38 year old veteran has had a hard 4 years, not winning since May 2002, when he took 2 years off. Returning in 20004, and not winning since... Thats 9 (!) fights without tasting victory. He has fought top fighters though, and I hope he can break the trend today.

With that, the event starts at 4 Japan time. There will be spoilers if you read on after that! As always at the events, my focus will be enjoying the fights and taking pictures. I will post results and some quick comments only. More when I get home.

The event is kicking off. The fighters are being presented.

1. Fly: Sakae Kasuya Def. Tomonori Taniguchi by Decision 3-0
Kasuya was dominating the ground game except for a short period in tbe 2nd when Taniguchi got some good gnp going. A solid win by Kasuya, who was really close to finishing by triangle.

2. Middle: Akihiro Yamazaki Def. Jun Yong Jae Round 2 1:39
The Korean debutant kept the fight standing in Round 1, and was dominating until the last seconds when Yamazaki finally got a takedown.
Round 2 the Korean fighter hits with a huge right that brings Yamazaki to the ground. Jun follows up, buut on the ground Yamazaki is god and quickly secures an armbar, or is it a triangle... Either way, Jun taps.

3. Feather: Junya Kudo "KODO" Def. Takahiro Hosoi by KO ROund 2 0:34
"KODO" wsa dominating the stnad up and Hosoi was not able to take the flurries. A strong punch hit the button and Hosoi was not getting up.

4. Bantam: Ayumu "Gozo" Shioda Def. Jin Akimoto by Decision 3-0
Akimoto cant buy a win at the moment...

In the break it is announced that Rumina Sato will fight in Shoot Boxing February 11. Not Sengoku or DREAM tournaments as it has been rumored. A new adventure for Rumina!

5. Light: Shintaro Ishiwatari vs. Michihiro Omigawa DRAW
Omigawa has some experienced support in his corner, includint Ryo Chonan and Kazuhiro Nakamura. Round 1 went to Omigawa, the fight was kept standing and no one managed to secure the advantage. Awesome fight so far!! Easily the fight of the night so far ends in a draw.

6. Light: Hiroshi "Iron" Nakamura Def. Hayate Usui by Decision 3-0
Fight was mainly standing and Nakamura was the better fighter.

7. Bantam: Shinichi "BJ" Kojima vs. Jesse Taitano DRAW 0-1
Fight was mainly kept standing in Round 1, BJ had 1 takedown but was unable to capitilize. The ref stood it up and Jess was contronlling on the feet.
The 2nd round was close, I would give it to Jess, BJ got a takedown at the end. I would give it to Jess, still I have a feeling it will be a draw...

The judges scored the fight 1 for Jess Taitano, 2 draws. This was close and I think Jess will be back in Japan.

8. Main Event - Welter: Yusuke Endo vs. Kotetsu Boku DRAW
1st round was close, probably the way of Boku. Boku started the 2nd fresh, but Endo had the upper hand on the ground in the 2nd. At this point it is a very close fight.

In the 3rd, I feel like Boku was doing most of the defending. This will be a close fight, and a very good one!

The judges score it Boku 1, Draw 2

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1/18 Shooto Tradition 5 - Fight Order

This is going to be a very busy couple of weeks in the world of MMA. This weekend in Japan, Shooto has the biggest event.

They have announced the fight order for Sunday, and I will be giving you these results live!

The main event is between the currrent Pacific Champion, Yusuke Endo and a former champion in Kotetsu Boku. Boku is coming off 2 straight losses and will be looking to redeem himself against a very tough opponent. This is not a title fight, but I dont think any of these fighters will care once the fight is on!

The card suffered a setback when the fight between So Tazawa and Katsuya Toida was cancelled and there are "only" 8 fights on the card. However, the card is still a strong one.

Fight Order:
8. Main Event - Welter: Yusuke Endo 12-2-1 vs. 13-5-1 Kotetsu Boku
7. Bantam: Shinichi "BJ" Kojima 9-3-4 vs. 4-1-0 Jesse Taitano
6. Light: Hiroshi "Iron" Nakamura 5-3-4 vs. 10-6-1 Hayate Usui
5. Light: Shintaro Ishiwatari 6-1-2 vs. 4-7-0 Michihiro Omigawa
4. Bantam: Jin Akimoto 10-12-4 vs. 4-6-0 Ayumu "Gozo" Shioda
3. Feather: Junya Kudo "KODO" 6-2-2 vs. 5-4-1 Takahiro Hosoi
2. Middle: Akihiro Yamazaki 10-2-1 vs. 全　龍左 Zon Yon Ze(?)
1. Fly: Sakae Kasuya 4-3-3 vs. 3-5-2 Tomonori Taniguchi

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1/18 Shooto Tradition 5 - BJ's Opponent & Fight Cancelled!

Shooto have announced "BJ" Shinichi Kojima's opponent today. It is Jesse Taitano, and it should be a very good fight! It is a fight at bantam weight, and is a good oppurtunity for Jesse Taitano to get into the Shooto rankings. This is NOT a title fight.

Taitano is not new to taking on top Japanese fighters. Just over a year ago I was impressed by his performance in Cage Force 5, where he fought a very good fight (ended in a draw) against Shooto star Yasuhiro Urushitani.

The featherweight fight between So Tazawa and Katsuya Toida is taken off the card due to injury on Katsuya Toida, he would need about 1 month to recover.

Added:
Bantam: Shinichi "BJ" Kojima 9-3-4 vs. 4-1-0 Jesse Taitano

Cancelled:
Feather: So Tazawa 8-3-3 vs. 10-9-3 Katsuya Toida

Previously announced:
Light: Hiroshi "Iron" Nakamura 5-3-4 vs. 10-6-1 Hayate Usui
Fly: Sakae Kasuya 4-3-3 vs. 3-5-2 Tomonori Taniguchi
Middle: Akihiro Yamazaki 10-2-1 vs. 全　龍左 Zon Yon Ze(?)
Welter: Yusuke Endo 12-2-1 vs. 13-5-1 Kotetsu Boku
Light: Shintaro Ishiwatari 6-1-2 vs. 4-7-0 Michihiro Omigawa
Feather: Junya Kudo "KODO" 6-2-2 vs. 5-4-1 Takahiro Hosoi
Bantam: Jin Akimoto 10-12-4 vs. 4-6-0 Ayumu "Gozo" Shioda

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1/18 Shooto - Tradition 5 (Differ Ariake)

Shooto have announced a few additions to their January 18 card, which was looking awesome already! This is not held in the usual Korakuen hall, but in Differ Ariake.

"BJ" is fighting a yet to be determined opponent, this should be a non-title fight. I am also happy to see that it looks like it will be at bantamweight.

This card is stacked with experienced Shooto fighters and the fight between Boku and Endo will probably be the main-event.

Also on the card is Katsuya Toida, who returns to Shooto after a performance in Cage Force that can only be described as embarrasing, he will be looking to redeem himself against So Tazawa.

Added:
Bantam: Shinichi "BJ" Kojima 9-3-4 vs. TBA
Light: Hiroshi "Iron" Nakamura 5-3-4 vs. 10-6-1 Hayate Usui
Fly: Sakae Kasuya 4-3-3 vs. 3-5-2 Tomonori Taniguchi
Middle: Akihiro Yamazaki 10-2-1 vs. 全　龍左 (?)

Previously announced:
Welter: Yusuke Endo 12-2-1 vs. 13-5-1 Kotetsu Boku
Feather: So Tazawa 8-3-3 vs. 10-9-3 Katsuya Toida
Light: Shintaro Ishiwatari 6-1-2 vs. 4-7-0 Michihiro Omigawa
Feather: Junya Kudo "KODO" 6-2-2 vs. 5-4-1 Takahiro Hosoi
Bantam: Jin Akimoto 10-12-4 vs. 4-6-0 Ayumu "Gozo" Shioda

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7/18 Shooto - Tradition 02 - Wicky Akio Participating

Shooto have added to their Tradition 02 card. I have made a comment earlier about value for money in these events, and as an audience I have to say that this card looks like very good value, with a ringside seat costing 10,000 yen!

Today it was announced that Wicky Akiyo will be participating. Earlier it has been announced that "BJ" Kojima is fighting also, so this should be a very good event if you add that to the fights that are already announced.

Shinji Sasaki 6-2-0 vs. 8-7-2 Jin Kazeta
Takehiro Harusaki 5-3-0 vs. 4-0-1 Shinya Murofushi
Teriyuki Matsumoto 5-2-0 vs. 4-4-1 Takahiro Hosoi
Akihiro Yamazaki 9-2-1 vs. 1-0-0 Naoko Hirayama
Naohiro Mizuno 2-1-0 vs. 1-0-0 Daiki Tsuchiya

Rookie Tournament Round 2:
Daiki Tsuchiya 1-0-0 vs. 2-1-0 Naohiro Mizuno
Yuta Nezu 4-1-0 vs. 1-0-0 Haruo Ochi

Participating:
Shinichi "BJ" Kojima 8-3-4
"Wicky" Akiyo Nishiura 7-2-1

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