5/3 Shooto - Road to 20th Anniversary - Warm-Up

Tomorrow Shooto will hold a BIG event, it is huge! The first evet to be held in the new JCB Hall in the Tokyo Dome area.

I have also decided to do a live Play-by-Play, if you are in Japan you should be watching on SkyPerfect (PPV).

The event provides some very interesting match-ups and here are some videos of some of the fighters participating:

Takashi Nakakura
vs. Jani Lax (very good fight!)
vs. Yusuke Endo (rd 1)
vs. Yusuke Endo (rd 2)
vs. Yusuke Endo (rd 3)

Ganjo Tentsuke
vs. Emmanuel Fernandez

Hayato Sakurai
vs. Hidetaka Monma
vs. Haroldo Bunn
vs. Caol Uno
vs. Jens Pulver
Highlights
vs. Olaf Alfonso
vs. Ronny Rivano
vs. Frank Trigg

David Baron
vs. Dan Hardy
Highlights

Akitoshi Tamura
vs. Hayate Usui
vs. Masaomi Saito
vs. Sakae Kasuya

Rumina Sato
Highlight
vs. Erikas Petraikis
vs. Alan Fried
vs. Bao Quach
vs. Augusto Fronta

"Lion" Takeshi Inoue
vs. Jin Kazeta
vs. Marc Duncan
vs. Hayate Usui
vs. Antonio Carvalho

Shinji Sasaki
vs. Michiyuki Ishibashi
vs. Paulo Milano

Bendy Casimir
Highlight
vs. Chris Stringer
vs. Ian Jones
vs. Juri Ivlev

Yusuke Endo
vs. Koumei Okada
vs. Clay Guida
vs. Seiki Uchimura

Ryuichi Miki
vs. Kenji Hosoya (pt. 1)
vs. Kenji Hosoya (pt. 2)

Yasuhiro Urushitani
vs. Lorenzo Coca
vs. Daniel Lima
vs. Shinichi Kojima (pt. 1)
vs. Shinichi Kojima (pt. 2)
vs. Mamoru Yamaguchi (pt. 1)
vs. Mamoru Yamaguchi (pt. 2)

Sakae Kasuya
vs. Takumi Ota

Read more...

5/3 Shooto - Road to 20th Anniversary - Fight Order Announced

Shooto has released the fight order for their awesome card on Saturday. I am not going, but have ordered this on PPV so if the SkyPerfect gods are with me, I will be able to do a PBP of this event. It is Golden Week in Japan, so I am expecting a decent crowd in for this event.

7. Takashi Nakakura 9-2-1 vs. 9-2-2 Ganjo Tentsuku
6. Hayato "Mach" Sakurai vs. 13-2-0 David Baron
5. Akitoshi Tamura 11-6-2 vs. 24-11-2 Rumina Sato
4. "Lion" Takeshi Inoue 14-2-0 vs. 8-7-0 Savant Young
3. Shinji Sasaki 6-1-0 vs. 13-4-2 Bendy Casimir
2. Yusuke Endo 10-2-1 vs. Vince Ortiz
1. Ryuichi Miki 6-2-2 vs. 14-3-5 Yasuhiro Urushitani

Opening fights:
Hayate Usui 8-6-1 vs. 3-2-3 Sakae Kasuya
Katsuya Murofushi 3-2-0 vs. Shinpei Tahara

Read more...

5/3 Shooto - Road to 20th Anniversary - Participants announced

Shooto have added 2 participants to their BIG May 3. card. This will be an awesome event, and one I am really looking forward to.

They have added 2 very talented fighters, Yusuke Endo 10-2-1 and Shinji Sasaki 6-1-0 to this card, their opponets are yet to be announced.

The card now looks like this:

Takashi Nakakura 9-2-1 vs. 9-2-2 Ganjo Tentsuku
Hayato "Mach" Sakurai vs. 13-2-0 David Baron
Akitoshi Tamura 11-6-2 vs. 24-11-2 Rumina Sato
Ryuichi Miki 6-2-2 vs. 14-3-5 Yasuhiro Urushitani
"Lion" Takeshi Inoue 14-2-0 vs. 8-7-0 Savant Young

Opening fights:
Hayate Usui 8-6-1 vs. 3-2-3 Sakae Kasuya
Katsuya Murofushi 3-2-0 vs. Shinpei Tahara

Participating:
Yusuke Endo 10-2-1
Shinji Sasaki 6-1-0

Read more...

5/3 Shooto - Road to 20th Anniversary - Lion Takeshi's opponent annouced

Finally Shooto has annouced "Lion" Takeshi's opponent. It's Savant Young, who is an IFL veteran. It will be an interesting fight.

Added:
"Lion" Takeshi Inoue 14-2-0 vs. 8-7-0 Savant Young

Previously announced:
Takashi Nakakura 9-2-1 vs. 9-2-2 Ganjo Tentsuku
Hayato "Mach" Sakurai vs. 13-2-0 David Baron
Akitoshi Tamura 11-6-2 vs. 24-11-2 Rumina Sato
Ryuichi Miki 6-2-2 vs. 14-3-5 Yasuhiro Urushitani

Opening fights:
Hayate Usui 8-6-1 vs. 3-2-3 Sakae Kasuya
Katsuya Murofushi 3-2-0 vs. Shinpei Tahara

Read more...

5/3 Shooto - Road to 20th Anniversary - Rumina's opponent announced

Rumina Sato has finally got his opponent for the May 3. event. This will be a huge fight, he will meet Akitoshi Tamura who recently lost his title to Kadowaki in a close fight.

This card is looking awesome!

Added:
Akitoshi Tamura 11-6-2 vs. 24-11-2 Rumina Sato

Previously announced:
Takashi Nakakura 9-2-1 vs. 9-2-2 Ganjo Tentsuku
Hayato "Mach" Sakurai vs. 13-2-0 David Baron
Ryuichi Miki 6-2-2 vs. 14-3-5 Yasuhiro Urushitani

Opening fights:
Hayate Usui 8-6-1 vs. 3-2-3 Sakae Kasuya
Katsuya Murofushi 3-2-0 vs. Shinpei Tahara

Participating:
"Lion" Takeshi Inoue 14-2-0

Read more...

3/28 Shooto - Back to Our Roots 8 - PICTURES

IMG_0268
Originally uploaded by japanmma

I was a little late and got there just in time for the Hioki vs. Yoshida fight. Hioki was confident as he entered the ring.

IMG_0275
Originally uploaded by japanmma

Hioki was never really threatened in this fight. He used his reach when standing.

IMG_0279
Originally uploaded by japanmma

And on the ground he was too strong for Baret this time.

IMG_0281
Originally uploaded by japanmma

He was able to mount Baret Yoshida several times

IMG_0282
Originally uploaded by japanmma

On one occation he had an arm-bar attempt that looked like it would end the fight, but Baret Yoshida showed a lot of skill in getting out of it.

IMG_0287
Originally uploaded by japanmma

In the end, it was ground and pound that settled it for Hioki, an impressive TKO victory.

IMG_0294
Originally uploaded by japanmma

Ueda vs. Okazaki was the first title fight of the night.

IMG_0400
Originally uploaded by japanmma

Ueda was able to get the take downs, but unable to end the fight.

IMG_0435
Originally uploaded by japanmma

In the end it was Ueda by decision.

IMG_0447
Originally uploaded by japanmma

The main event saw champion Tamura take on Kadowaki.

IMG_0453
Originally uploaded by japanmma

This was a very close fight.

IMG_0510
Originally uploaded by japanmma

Kadowaki was able to get the take downs, but Tamura's guard was very good.

IMG_0567
Originally uploaded by japanmma

On a couple of occations it looked as if Kadowaki was going to get caught in some kind of submission, but he was always able to escape.

IMG_0603
Originally uploaded by japanmma

Kadowaki got the decsion and is the new Shooto Lightweight champion.

IMG_0606
Originally uploaded by japanmma

And it was a very popular victory.

Read more...

3/28 Shooto - Back to Our Roots 8 - RESULTS

Shooto put on a great event tonight. There were less fights on that card than I am used to, and unfortunately I missed most of it. But I was assured that this was a great event!

The main event was VERY close. Kadowaki pulled out a very thin decision honestly, I expected it to be a draw. However, for once the Japanese fans cheered on their favorite (I have never experienced anything like it in Japan). Kadowaki is the new camp!

In the fight that I was really looking forward to, Baret Yoshida never really got to use his guard. Hioki was just too strong and won a first round TKO.

Update: Totally forgot to mention when I wrote this, Rumina Sato is currently without an opponent for the May Shooto event. Yesterday he said he would like to fight Hatsu Hioki. That would be a great fight, lets see if Shooto can make it happen.

Hideki Kadowaki Def. Akitoshi Tamura by decision 2-0
Masakatsu Ueda Def. Koetsu Okazaki by decison 3-0
Hatsu Hioki Def. Baret Yoshida by TKO Round 1 4:15
Mamoru Yamaguchi Def. Masaaki Sugawara by Decision 3-0
Tetsu Suzuki Def. Hiroyuki Tanaka by decision 3-0
Hiroshi Nakamura Def. Tenkei Fujimiya by decision 3-0

Rookie Lightweight Tournament:
Lightweight: Hiroshige Tanaka Def. Kenichiro Marui by KO Round 1 3:01

Read more...

3/28 Shooto - Back to Our Roots 8 - Fight Cancelled

Fight 2 on the Shooto card for tomorrow is taken off. It seems Hayato Sato is carrying an injury and will not be able to compete. That leaves us with 7 fights. Still, the best fights are still on the card and this will be a good event.

Akitoshi Tamura 11-5-2 vs. 12-7-2 Hideki Kadowaki
Masakatsu Ueda 7-0-1 vs. 5-0-1 Koetsu Okazaki
Baret Yoshida 5-5-1 vs. 14-3-1 Hatsu Hioki
Mamoru Yamaguchi 19-4-3 vs. 6-2-0 Masaaki Sugawara
Tetsu Suzuki 5-5-3 vs. 6-3-1 Hiroyuki Tanaka
Tenkei Fujimiya 7-2-2 vs. Hiroshi Nakamura

Rookie Lightweight Tournament:
Lightweight: Kenichiro Marui vs. Hiroshige Tanaka

http://sportsnavi.yahoo.co.jp/fight/other/headlines/etc/20080327-00000020-spnavi-fight.html

Read more...

3/28 Shooto - Back to Our Roots 8 - Fights

Shooto has added 2 more fights to their Back to Our Roots 8 card. It looks like a very good card, only disappointment is that "Lion" Takeshi Inoue is no longer listed as a participant and I can only assume he is taken off the card.

The 2 new fights added today are:
Mamoru Yamaguchi 19-4-3 vs. 6-2-0 Masaaki Sugawara
Junji Ito 2-1-0 vs. 1-4-1 Hayato Sato

It will be very interesting to see what Sugawara can do against the much more experienced Mamoru.

The complete card looks like this:

Main Event: Lightweight Title Match:
Akitoshi Tamura 11-5-2 vs. 12-7-2 Hideki Kadowaki

Masakatsu Ueda 7-0-1 vs. 5-0-1 Koetsu Okazaki
Baret Yoshida 5-5-1 vs. 14-3-1 Hatsu Hioki
Mamoru Yamaguchi 19-4-3 vs. 6-2-0 Masaaki Sugawara
Tetsu Suzuki 5-5-3 vs. 6-3-1 Hiroyuki Tanaka
Tenkei Fujimiya 7-2-2 vs. Hiroshi Nakamura
Junji Ito 2-1-0 vs. 1-4-1 Hayato Sato

Rookie Lightweight Tournament:
Kenichiro Marui vs. Hiroshige Tanaka

Read more...

3/28 Shooto - Back to Our Roots 8

I have a lot of Shooto cards to catch up on... Truth is that there are SO many of them this month. This will one of the big ones. Shooto has a lot of passionate fans and they have a lot of great fighters, this event we will see more than a few of them in action.

The main event will be for the Lightweight title. As has been discussed earlier, rumor is that Antonio Carvalho gave up this title shot to fight in the Cage Force tournament. The title fight has gone to Hideki Kadowaki. Kadowaki will not be an easy opponent for Tamura thought, in his last fight he choked out Rumina Sato and he is very strong on the ground. Other names to take note of Baret Yoshida (returning after almost 5 years), Hatsu Hioki, Koetsu Okazaki (let's see if he can finish Ueda, all his fights seem to go the distance), Masakatsu Ueda and "Lion" Takeshi.

There are more fights to be announced, this will be a very good event!

Main Event:
Akitoshi Tamura 11-5-2 vs. 12-7-2 Hideki Kadowaki
Masakatsu Ueda 7-0-1 vs. 5-0-1 Koetsu Okazaki
Baret Yoshida 5-5-1 vs. 14-3-1 Hatsu Hioki
Tetsu Suzuki 5-5-3 vs. 6-3-1 Hiroyuki Tanaka
Tenkei Fujimiya 7-2-2 vs. Hiroshi Nakamura

Rookie Lightweight Tournament:
Kenichiro Marui vs. Hiroshige Tanaka

Also participating:
"Lion" Takeshi Inoue 14-2-0

Read more...