The event has just started in Korakuen Hall, I will be updating the results as soon as they become available. It is the best Shooto card I can remember and some of their biggest Japanese stars are participating. This event will shake up the Shooto rankings as well.
The first fight of the night was cancelled, Korean Sol didnt make weight and he is disqualified.
1. Middle: Sol Kyung Pyo(?) vs. Takesuke Kume Cancelled
2. Fly: Megumi Fuji Def. Chu Won Bun by arm-lock Round 1 0:52
3. Light: "Wicky" Akiyo Nishiura Def. Takumi Ota by Decision (20-18, 20-18, 10-17)
Accourding to the Shooto site, "Wicky" takes round 1.
There is a short break.
Inside report: I have some friends on the crowd who are telling me the atmosphere is great. "Mega-Megu" barely broke a sweat in her fight, while the fight between "Wicky" and Ota was very entertaining.
There are now 40 former and current Shooto champions and stars in the ring and they are having a 20 year anniversary ceremony. Some of the fighters in the ring are: "Mach", Uno, Kawajiri, Aoki, Hioki, Mamoru, Enson, BJ, Matsune... The list goes on...
There has been some announcements for the Shooto event in Korakuen Hall 19. July. Shooto Featherweight champion, Masakatsu Ueda, will put his title on the line against the young and very talented Brazilan, Eduardo Dantas. Also participating will be bantamweight champion "BJ" Kojima.
Announced: Featherweight title fight:
Masakatsu Ueda vs. Eduardo Dantas
4. Welter: Koutetsu Boku Def. Yutaka Ueda by TKO Round 1 4:56
5. Welter: Kenichiro Togashi Def. Tetsuji Kato by decision 2-0 (30-28, 29-29, 29-28)
Sounds like round 1 went the way of Togashi. Round 2, fighters were feeling eachother out, and did not engage as much as round 1. Sounds like round 2 is a draw.
Inside report: The crowd showed a lot of appriciation for the 40 Shooto ledgends that came to the ring. Boku vs. Ueda was a very good fight and lots of good hits. Togashi and Kato was evenly matched, as the scorecard also suggests.
No wins coming out of the blue corner so far.
6. Welter: Mizuto Hirota Def. Mitsuhiro Ishida by TKO Round 1 1:33
The event has an upset, Hirota is better than his reputation though. But defeating Ishida showes how good he is. Hirota floors Ishida with a left hook, followed by a straight right. Ishida is struggling to recover when the referee steps in.
7. Welter: Willamy Chiquerim "Chiqueirinho" Def. Yusuke Endo by Guilliotine Round 1 5:00
How long before "Chiqueirinho" gets a shot at the title or is picked up by a bigger organization? A very strong win!
Inside report: Ishida looked in control when Hirota struck, not unusual for Hirota to strike like that. Chiquerim was very impressive in his performance and the 1st win for the blue corner.
8. Welter: Takanori Gomi Def. Takashi Nakakura by TKO Round 2 4:24
Gomi looks to have come out on top in Round 1. A very strong win by Gomi. Nakakura had not lost since August 2005, on that occation to Ishida. Gomi needed this win, coming off 2 straight losses.
Inside Report: From my friends in the stands: Lots of attention for this fight, and it delivered! This is a FOTY candidate. Gomi showes that he is very happy to get this win, he was definately under pressure coming in.
Lightweight Title Fight:
9. "Lion" Takeshi Inoue Def. Rumina Sato by TKO Round 1 4:14
"Lion" retains his title, Rumina has now lost 4 in a row.
From SportsNavi May 10, 2009:
1st roundBoth take an orthodox stance Rumina, keeping low springs up with a swinging hook Lion blocks with his arm and doesn’t allow it to hit. After that Rumina crouches like he’s ducking and from that position unleashes a right hook, jab and backfist, looking like he might put Lion off balance。But with Lion’s strong press he was unable to find a good opening.
Rumina’s tricky moves like a superman punch prevented getting closing the distance from the front. Rumina throws an axe kick. Lion doesn’t allow it to connect but he receives a back spinning kick from Rumina after that. After Rumina’s attack Lion lands a right straight.
From a crouching position Rumina continues his tricky attacks with a side kick. From there he lands a clean hit with a swinging hook which he makes good on by grabbing a hold of Lion. All at once Rumina moves in and locks up, then gets Lion’s knees. The match looks like it is about to finish but Lion, ignoring the armlock throws a flurry of hooks that give Rumina some damage. When Rumina falls near the corner Lion follows with the pound and finishes the match with a final rush.
Inside report: It finishes with another good fight. A very good event, all the fighters show a lot of passion and heart. It is easy to see that the fighters have a lot of passion for Shooto and that is why it has survived all these years and the stars continue come back.
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