4/5 Pancrase Changing Tour 2 - RESULTS

Pancrase held an event in Differ Ariake today too. It was an interesting one, with a title fight as the main event.

"AB" has really gotten into his stride after a very tough start to his pro MMA career. In the flyweight division, both the finalists from last years Neo-Blood tournament were in action and both were impressive.

The 2 Sengoku training fighters, Maximo Blanco and Shigeki Osawa had mixed fortunes.

Main-Event - Welterweight King of Pancrase title fight:
9. Takuya Wada Def. Tomoyoshi Iwamiya by Decision 2-0

8. Light: Koji Oishi vs. Maximo "Makishi" Blanco Draw
7. Middle: Takenori Sato Def. Ichiro Kanai by Decision 2-0
6. Welter: Masahiro Toryu vs. Seiki Ryo No contest
lowblow on Toryo who was unable to continue

5. Fly: Takuya Eizumi Def. Yuichiro "Yukito" Shirai by TKO Round 1:58
4. Fly: Isao Hirose Def. Takeyasu Hirono by Decision 3-0
3. Light: Hiroki "AB" Aoki Def. Yuichi Ikari by TKO Round 1 1:53
2. Feather: Tashiro Akai Def. Hirotoshi Saito by TKO Round 2 0:58
1. Feather: Shigeki Osawa Def. Hideo Matsui by Decision 3-0

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4/5 Pancrase Changing Tour 2 - Fight Order

Pancrase is putting on a card to "compete" with the DREAM event in Nagoya, and it is a decent card. I am not sure that the main event will be the best fight on the card, or the most interesting for that matter, but it is a title fight.

Koji Oishi is taking on Maximo Blanco, who will try out his new ring name "Makishi" for the first time. It will be a good test for Blanco, and at the same I think Oishi's style will suit him. I see Blanco taking this and look for some slams in this one.

If you go to this event, make sure to get there in time for the Neo-Blood fights! They start at 14:45, and it will be worth your time! A total of 22 fights on the card.

Main-Event - Welterweight King of Pancrase title fight:
9. Takuya Wada 18-8-9 vs. 6-7-0 Tomoyoshi Iwamiya

8. Light: Koji Oishi 17-8-5 vs. 2-1-0 (1NC) Maximo "Makishi" Blanco
7. Middle: Ichiro Kanai 9-9-3 vs. 7-5-4 Takenori Sato
6. Welter: Masahiro Toryu 6-4-4 vs. 3-8-2 Seiki Ryo
5. Fly: Takuya Eizumi 4-1-0 vs. 4-5-4 Yuichiro "Yukito" Shirai
4. Fly: Isao Hirose 4-0-0 vs. Takeyasu Hirono
3. Light: Yuichi Ikari 10-5-3 vs. 1-2-0 Hiroki "AB" Aoki
2. Feather: Hirotoshi Saito 2-0-1 vs. 9-5-9 Tashiro Akai (Nishiuchi)
1. Feather: Hideo Matsui 0-6-2 vs. Shigeki Osawa

Also on the card, starting from 14:45 are Neo-Blood Tournament fights. There are some very talented fighters in here, and I really enjoyed the Neo-Blood fights that were on the card last time.

Neo-Blood Fights:
13. Feather: You Saito vs. 2-4-1 Yuki Yashima
12. Feather: Yasutomo Tanaka 5-2-4 vs. 6-3-2 Motonobu Tezuka
11. Feather: Koji Tomita 1-0-0 vs. Masaru Ueda
10. Feather (Eliminator Final): Shigeyuki Uchiyama vs. Takehito Noguchi
9. Bantam: Ranki Kawana 9-1-6 vs. 3-2-0 Daisuke Endo
8. Bantam: Hayato Shimizu 4-2-1 vs. Nobuhiro Yoshitake
7. Bantam: Ryota Sasaki 1-2-1 vs. 3-0-0 Shoko Sato
6. Bantam (Eliminator Final):Daisuke Sugishima vs. Taro Shimmasaki
5. Fly: Kiyotaka Shimizu 0-1-1 vs. 1-0-0 Toshihiro Shimizu
4. Fly: Takuma Ishii 1-3-1 vs. 3-5-0 Tokuaki Ninomiya
3. Fly: Keiji Nakamura vs. 6-6-1 Yuichiro Yajima
2. Fly (Eliminator Final): Daisuke Tsujita vs. Gou Yamanaka
1. Light (Eliminator Final): Koshi Obata vs. Keigo Hirayama


Lightweight 70.3kg Participants
The participants here go directly to the semi-final.

-Hirotaka/Koji Tomiyama 0-5-1 (Think its the same guy twice on Sherdog)
-Koji Tamura
-ISAO
-Winner of Eliminator Final

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4/5 Pancrase Changing Tour 2 - Eizumi's Opponent Announced

Takuya Eizumi is one of the more entertaining fighters out there, he has gone the distance only once and that was in the Neo-Blood final in 2008. He suppered his only loss on that occation, but since then has been stopping all opponents in their tracks.

This time he is taking on a very experienced opponent in "Yukito", but Eizumi is raked #2 in the Pancrase Flyweight division, and I cant see him losing this one.

Pancrase have also announced that they will be selling a new T-shirt at this event.



Added:
Fly: Takuya Eizumi 4-1-0 vs. 4-5-4 Yuichiro "Yukito" Shirai

Previously Announced:
Welterweight King of Pancrase title fight:
Takuya Wada 18-8-9 vs. 6-7-0 Tomoyoshi Iwamiya

Welter: Masahiro Toryu 6-4-4 vs. 3-8-2 Seiki Ryo
Light: Koji Oishi 17-8-5 vs. 2-1-0 (1NC) Maximo "Makishi" Blanco
Fly: Isao Hirose 4-0-0 vs. Takeyasu Hirono
Middle: Ichiro Kanai 9-9-3 (Ranked #2) vs. 7-5-4 Takenori Sato
Light: Yuichi Ikari 10-5-3 (Ranked #3) vs. 1-2-0 Hiroki "AB" Aoki
Feather: Hirotoshi Saito 2-0-1 vs. 9-5-9 Tashiro Akai (Nishiuchi)

Also on the card, starting from 14:45 are Neo-Blood Tournament fights. There are some very talented fighters in here, and I really enjoyed the Neo-Blood fights that were on the card last time.

Neo-Blood Fights:
15th Neo-Blood Eliminator Finals (1x5min.):
Fly: Daisuke Tsujita vs. Gou Yamanaka
Bantam:Daisuke Sugishima vs. Taro Shimmasaki
Feather: Shigeyuki Uchiyama vs. Takehito Noguchi
Light: Koshi Obata vs. Keigo Hirayama

1st Round Fights:
Flyweight 58.0kg
Kiyotaka Shimizu 0-1-1 vs. 1-0-0 Toshihiro Shimizu
Takuma Ishii 1-3-1 vs. 3-5-0 Tokuaki Ninomiya
Keiji Nakamura vs. 6-6-1 Yuichiro Yajima

Bantamweight 61.2kg
Ranki Kawana 9-1-6 vs. 3-2-0 Daisuke Endo
Hayato Shimizu 4-2-1 vs. Nobuhiro Yoshitake
Ryota Sasaki 1-2-1 vs. 3-0-0 Shoko Sato

Featherweight 65.8kg
Yasutomo Tanaka 5-2-4 vs. 6-3-2 Motonobu Tezuka
You Saito vs. 2-4-1 Yuki Yashima
Koji Tomita 1-0-0 vs. Masaru Ueda

Lightweight 70.3kg Participants
Hirotaka/Koji Tomiyama 0-5-1 (Think its the same guy twice on Sherdog)
Koji Tamura
ISAO

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4/5 Pancrase Changing Tour 2 - Maximo Blanco Debuts with New Ring Name!

Pancrase have added a very interesting fight to this event. Maximo Blanco have been added to take on former King of Pancrase, Koji Oishi. Blanco have also deceided on a Japanese ring name (a must to get really big here) it is 真騎士 or Makishi.

Blanco has showed that he is a top athlete, and this fight can go either way. Koji Oishi usually goes the distance, and his takedown defense is very good. I really think it is a match-up that will suit Blanco, but he needs to finish this early. If it goes past round 2, I see Oishi taking this, but my guess is an early finish by Blanco. Look for a slam/suplex (his speciality).

The card also has a welterweight King of Pancrase fight, but I still felt it was missing something. The fight added today does a very good job of filling the empty space.

Added:
Koji Oishi 17-8-5 vs. 2-1-0 (1NC) Maximo "Makishi" Blanco

Previously Announced:
Welterweight King of Pancrase title fight:
Takuya Wada 18-8-9 vs. 6-7-0 Tomoyoshi Iwamiya

Welter: Masahiro Toryu 6-4-4 vs. 3-8-2 Seiki Ryo
Fly: Isao Hirose 4-0-0 vs. Takeyasu Hirono
Middle: Ichiro Kanai 9-9-3 (Ranked #2) vs. 7-5-4 Takenori Sato
Light: Yuichi Ikari 10-5-3 (Ranked #3) vs. 1-2-0 Hiroki "AB" Aoki
Feather: Hirotoshi Saito 2-0-1 vs. 9-5-9 Tashiro Akai (Nishiuchi)

Participating:
Takuya Eizumi 4-1-0
Hideo Matsui 0-6-2

Also on the card, starting from 14:45 are Neo-Blood Tournament fights. There are some very talented fighters in here, and I really enjoyed the Neo-Blood fights that were on the card last time.

Neo-Blood Fights:
15th Neo-Blood Eliminator Finals (1x5min.):
Fly: Daisuke Tsujita vs. Gou Yamanaka
Bantam:Daisuke Sugishima vs. Taro Shimmasaki
Feather: Shigeyuki Uchiyama vs. Takehito Noguchi
Light: Koshi Obata vs. Keigo Hirayama

1st Round Fights:
Flyweight 58.0kg
Kiyotaka Shimizu 0-1-1 vs. 1-0-0 Toshihiro Shimizu
Takuma Ishii 1-3-1 vs. 3-5-0 Tokuaki Ninomiya
Keiji Nakamura vs. 6-6-1 Yuichiro Yajima

Bantamweight 61.2kg
Ranki Kawana 9-1-6 vs. 3-2-0 Daisuke Endo
Hayato Shimizu 4-2-1 vs. Nobuhiro Yoshitake
Ryota Sasaki 1-2-1 vs. 3-0-0 Shoko Sato

Featherweight 65.8kg
Yasutomo Tanaka 5-2-4 vs. 6-3-2 Motonobu Tezuka
You Saito vs. 2-4-1 Yuki Yashima
Koji Tomita 1-0-0 vs. Masaru Ueda

Lightweight 70.3kg Participants
Hirotaka/Koji Tomiyama 0-5-1 (Think its the same guy twice on Sherdog)
Koji Tamura
ISAO

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4/5 Pancrase Changing Tour 2 - Fights Added

Pancrase have added 3 fights and announced the matchups for their 2nd event of the Changing tour.

Pancrase ranked #2 middleweight Ichiro Kanai will take on the experienced Takenori Sato. This is a good oppurtunito for Sato to climb into the Pancrase rankings, and he is on a 2 fight winning streak as well.

Lightweight ranked #3, Yuichi Ikari, will take on Hiroki Aoki. Aoki had a very tough start to his pro MMA career, facing Steve Magdaleno in his debut then Maximo Blanco in his second fight. He won his last fight, even though is was by a very tight decision and he will also be looking to get into the Pancrase rankings with a win here.

Added to the main-card:
Middle: Ichiro Kanai 9-9-3 /同級2位） vs. 7-5-4 Takenori Sato
Light: Yuichi Ikari 10-5-3 同級3位） vs. 1-2-0 Hiroki "AB" Aoki
Feather: Hirotoshi Saito 2-0-1 vs. 9-5-9 Tashiro Akai (Nishiuchi)

Previously Announced:
Welterweight King of Pancrase title fight:
Takuya Wada 18-8-9 vs. 6-7-0 Tomoyoshi Iwamiya

Welter: Masahiro Toryu 6-4-4 vs. 3-8-2 Seiki Ryo
Fly: Isao Hirose 4-0-0 vs. Takeyasu Hirono

Participating:
Koji Oishi 17-8-5
Takuya Eizumi 4-1-0
Hirotoshi Saito 2-0-1

Also on the card, starting from 14:45 are Neo-Blood Tournament fights. There are some very talented fighters in here, and I really enjoyed the Neo-Blood fights that were on the card last time.

Neo-Blood Fights:
15th Neo-Blood Eliminator Finals (1x5min.):
Fly: Daisuke Tsujita vs. Gou Yamanaka
Bantam:Daisuke Sugishima vs. Taro Shimmasaki
Feather: Shigeyuki Uchiyama vs. Takehito Noguchi
Light: Koshi Obata vs. Keigo Hirayama

1st Round Fights:
Flyweight 58.0kg
Kiyotaka Shimizu 0-1-1 vs. 1-0-0 Toshihiro Shimizu
Takuma Ishii 1-3-1 vs. 3-5-0 Tokuaki Ninomiya
Keiji Nakamura vs. 6-6-1 Yuichiro Yajima

Bantamweight 61.2kg
Ranki Kawana 9-1-6 vs. 3-2-0 Daisuke Endo
Hayato Shimizu 4-2-1 vs. Nobuhiro Yoshitake
Ryota Sasaki 1-2-1 vs. 3-0-0 Shoko Sato

Featherweight 65.8kg
Yasutomo Tanaka 5-2-4 vs. 6-3-2 Motonobu Tezuka
You Saito vs. 2-4-1 Yuki Yashima
Koji Tomita 1-0-0 vs. Masaru Ueda

Lightweight 70.3kg Participants
Hirotaka/Koji Tomiyama 0-5-1 (Think its the same guy twice on Sherdog)
Koji Tamura
ISAO

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4/5 Pancrase Changing Tour 2 - Fights Added

Pancrase have added 2 fights to the main-card for their April 5 event. In addition to that, 6 participants were announced. This card will also include the welterweight King of Pancrase fight and Neo-Blood Tournament fights!

If you are planning to go to this, I really recommend getting the most out of it, go to the Neo-Blood Tournament fights too!! They were very entertaining last time. The set up and explainations are after the main-card.

Speaking of the Neo-Blood Tournament, 3 of last year's finalists will be on the main card (Isao Hirose, Hirotoshi Saito and Takuya Eizumi).

Added to the main-card:
Welter: Masahiro Toryu 6-4-4 vs. 3-8-2 Seiki Ryo
Fly: Isao Hirose 4-0-0 vs. Takeyasu Hirono

Previously Announced:
Welterweight King of Pancrase title fight:
Takuya Wada 18-8-9 vs. 6-7-0 Tomoyoshi Iwamiya

Participating:
Koji Oishi 17-8-5
Ichiro Kanai 9-9-3
Yuichi Ikari 10-5-3
Takuya Eizumi 4-1-0
Tashiro Akai (Nishiuchi) 9-5-9
Hirotoshi Saito 2-0-1

That was the main-card, it will start at 5PM. The Neo-Blood fights start about 2:45 and I really recommend these. I promise that they will be just as entertaining as the main-card.

There are some things I am not 100% sure on, but the eliminators last week will fight finals this time. I can only assume they will enter the tournament with the other participants listed below (otherwise it doesnt make sense to me). The fighters that fought in the eliminators were inexperienced compared to some of the fighters that are entering the 1st round.

There are 6 (3 for lightweight) participants for each weight class listed below, but include the eliminator fights and it will make sense.

This will be the 1st round in the tournament, 2nd round will be in June and Finals in August.

15th Neo-Blood Eliminator Finals (1x5min.):
Fly: Daisuke Tsujita vs. Gou Yamanaka
Bantam:Daisuke Sugishima vs. Taro Shimmasaki
Feather: Shigeyuki Uchiyama vs. Takehito Noguchi
Light: Koshi Obata vs. Keigo Hirayama

15th Neo-Blood Tournament Participants:
Flyweight 58.0kg
Kiyotaka Shimizu 0-1-1
Takuma Ishii 1-3-1
Toshihiro Shimizu 1-0-0
Tokuaki Ninomiya 3-5-0
Yuichiro Yajima 6-6-1
Keiji Nakamura

Bantamweight 61.2kg
Daisuke Endo 3-2-0
Ranki Kawana 9-1-6
Hayato Shimizu4-2-1
Ryota Sasaki 1-2-1
Nobuhiro Yoshitake
Shoko Sato 3-0-0

Featherweight 65.8kg
Motonobu Tezuka 6-3-2
You Saito
Koji Tomita 1-0-0
Yasutomo Tanaka 5-2-4
Masaru Ueda
+ 1 TBA

Lightweight 70.3kg
Hirotaka/Koji Tomiyama 0-5-1 (Think its the same guy twice on Sherdog)
Koji Tamura
ISAO

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12/6 Cage Force 09 - RESULTS

Cage Force had their tournament finals today. I didnt make it there and had to rely on Sherdog's coverage, which this time was better than the Japanese!

Anyway, Cage Force now have a featherweight and a bantamweight champion! Before the tournaments started, I think few people were tipping Yuji Hoshino as the featherweight champion. But as the tournament progressed, he went in the the final as a slight favorite. He did deliver and I have been impressed with his performance. In the bantamweight division, I have to say that the favorite did deliver, I think Mizugaki was the favorite coming in and he has lived up to that. Now we have to see how long these champions stick around... There have been lots of changes this year, but these events always deliver entertaining fights.

I have updated the Preliminary fights as well. I am disappointed that Tsurumaki didn't get the win today either...

Tournament Finals:
Feather: Yuji Hoshino Def. "Wicky" Akiyo Nishiura by Decision 3-0
Bantam: Takeya Mizugaki Def. Masahiro Oishi by Decision 3-0

Light: Tomonari Kanomata Def. Eriya Matsuda by arm-bar Round 1 0:30
Welter: Motoki Miyazawa Def. Shigetoshi Iwase by TKO Round 3 1:47
Feather: Wataru Miki Def. Masaaki Hasegawa by arm-bar Round 3 1:40
Fly: Takeyasu Hirono Def. Yoshihiro Matsunaga by decision 3-0
Welter: Kenta Takagi Def. Keitaro Maeda by TKO Round 1 1:30
Feather: Wataru Takahashi Def. Nobutaka Hiyoshi by decision 3-0
Light: Yoshiaki "Bancho" Takahashi Def. Shinpei Sotoyama by decision 2-0

Preliminary Fights:
Middle: Shuji Morikawa Def. Nobuhiro Tsurumaki by TKO Round 2 0:37
Light: Koji Ando Def. Masayoshi Ichikawa by rear-naked choke round 2 1:17
Bantam: Shoko Sato Def. Hirokazu Nishimura by TKO Round 2 1:42
Bantam: Ryota Sasaki Def. Ryo Saito by rear-naked choke Round 3 1:21

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12/6 Cage Force 09 - Fight Order

Cage Force have announced the fight order for their event tomorrow in Differ Ariake. The main-event is the featherweight tournament final, which should be a good fight. That will follow the bantamweight tournament final.

A total of 13 fights on the card, and there has been a late addition! Kicking off the night will be Nobuhiro Tsurumaki, in his 11 (almost 12) years of fighting he has not yet recorded a win. I hope he gets this one! It should be said that he has fought some really big Japanese names early in his career. This time he is facing another winless fighter in Shuji Morikawa. (I am going by Sherdog when I refer these records, Tsurumaki does have a win in Conterders in 2001 and his first fight was in Rings in 1994).

Main-Events: Cage Force Tournament Finals:
13. Feather: "Wicky" Akiyo Nishiura 9-2-1 vs. 15-7-7 Yuji Hoshino
12. Bantam: Masahiro Oishi 19-10-7 vs. 10-2-2 Takeya Mizugaki

11. Light: Tomonari Kanomata 12-3-3 vs. 6-5-0 Eriya Matsuda
10. Welter: Motoki Miyazawa 4-1-0 vs. 7-10-3 Shigetoshi Iwase
9. Feather: Wataru Miki 13-8-3 vs. 2-0-0 Masaaki Hasegawa
8. Fly: Takeyasu Hirono 8-15-4 vs. 0-2-0 Yoshihiro Matsunaga
7. Welter: Keitaro Maeda 3-3-1 vs. 1-0-0 Kenta Takagi
6. Feather: Wataru Takahashi 6-10-4 vs. 2-0-0 Nobutaka Hiyoshi
5. Light: Shinpei Sotoyama 7-3-2 vs. 3-1-0 Yoshiaki "Bancho" Takahashi

Preliminary Fights:
4. Light: Koji Ando 1-0-1 vs. 0-1-0 Masayoshi Ichikawa
3. Bantam: Hirokazu Nishimura 2-2-1 vs. 3-0-0 Shoko Sato
2. Bantam: Ryo Saito 0-1-0 vs. 0-2-1 Ryota Sasaki
1. Middle: Shuji Morikawa 0-2-1 vs. 0-10-0 Nobuhiro Tsurumaki

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12/6 Cage Force 09 - Fights Added

THere have been 5 additions to the Cage Force card this weekend. I thought the card looked a bit thin for a Cage Force event, but it is defiantely a full card now. In the fights added we will see some experienced fighters going against some very good talent, and there have been more than a few upsets in Cage Force this year.

This event is of course mainly about the tournament finals, both the bantam- and the featherweight finals should be very good fights. Yuji Hoshino has surprised me in getting this far, and the 33 year old would be a slight underdog again this time (IMO). In the bantamweight final, there is a similar scenario... 40 year old Masahiro Oishi has impressed me, but I would have to favor the younger Takeya Mizugaki in this one. I am really bad at predicting the outcome so I will leave the rest...

It should be a good event, so if you're not going to the K-1 this should be a good alternative. It is being held in Differ Ariake and doors open at 16:00.

Added:
Feather: Wataru Miki 13-8-3 vs. 2-0-0 Masaaki Hasegawa
Welter: Keitaro Maeda 3-3-1 vs. 1-0-0 Kenta Takagi
Feather: Wataru Takahashi 6-10-4 vs. 2-0-0 Nobutaka Hiyoshi

Preliminary Fights:
Bantam: Hirokazu Nishimura 2-2-1 vs. 3-0-0 Shoko Sato
Bantam: Ryo Saito 0-1-0 vs. 0-2-1 Ryota Sasaki

Previously Announced:
Cage Force Tournament Finals:
Feather: "Wicky" Akiyo Nishiura 9-2-1 vs. 15-7-7 Yuji Hoshino
Bantam: Masahiro Oishi 19-10-7 vs. 10-2-2 Takeya Mizugaki

Non-Tournament Fights:
Motoki Miyazawa 4-1-0 vs. 7-10-3 Shigetoshi Iwase
Takeyasu Hirono 8-15-4 vs. 0-2-0 Yoshihiro Matsunaga
Tomonari Kanomata 12-3-3 vs. 6-5-0 Eriya Matsuda
Shinpei Sotoyama 7-3-2 vs. 3-1-0 Yoshiaki "Bancho" Takahashi

Preliminary Fight:
Koji Ando 1-0-1 vs. 0-1-0 Masayoshi Ichikawa

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12/6 Cage Force 09 - Fights Announced

Cage Force always put up good events, and there are usually some upsets. This time, again, they are putting talented fighters against more experienced ones and it makes for exciting fights.

Motoki Miyazawa is returning after his loss in DREAM 5, to meet the experienced Shigetoshi Iwase. Eriya Matsuda is fighting Tomonari Kanomata in a fight that should be very exciting.

The tournament finals this year should also be 2 very good fights. Masahiro Oishi, who just turned 40, is on a 5 fight winning streak and will face a big challenge in Takeya Mizugaki. The featherweight final will see the eccentric "Wicky" Akiyo against the veteran Yuji Hoshino. Hoshino is undefeated since 2004 and this should also be a very close fight.

Added:
Motoki Miyazawa 4-1-0 vs. 7-10-3 Shigetoshi Iwase
Takeyasu Hirono 8-15-4 vs. 0-2-0 Yoshihiro Matsunaga
Tomonari Kanomata 12-3-3 vs. 6-5-0 Eriya Matsuda
Shinpei Sotoyama 7-3-2 vs. 3-1-0 Yoshiaki "Bancho" Takahashi

Preliminary Fight:
Koji Ando 1-0-1 vs. 0-1-0 Masayoshi Ichikawa

Previously announced (Cage Force 2008 Tournament Finals):
Feather: "Wicky" Akiyo Nishiura 9-2-1 vs. 15-7-7 Yuji Hoshino
Bantam: Masahiro Oishi 19-10-7 vs. 10-2-2 Takeya Mizugaki

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