12/12 DEEP Impact 33

DEEP has put up a very tight schedule in December. There are 4 events announced (there might be more). With the main so far being DEEP 33.

To me it seems there is no main event, nor fighter for the main event announced yet.

Here is the card so far:

Hidetada Irie 3-3-1 vs 8-9-0 Yuji Sakuragi
Jutaro Nakao 20-12-4 vs 1-1-0 Pang Sung Hwan
Hirotaka Miyakawa 2-3-0 vs 1-2-0 Min Suk Heo
Muscle Hiranuma 2-2-0 vs 0-3-0 (1NC) Iro Zeki
Isamu Sugiuchi 4-4-2 vs 0-3-0 Toshiaki Kitada
Junpei Hamada 4-9-0 vs 1-0-0 Shunske Inoue
Sen Nakadai 4-8-0 vs 23-26-10 Kosei Kubota
Koji Yoshida 2-4-2 vs 2-1-0 Koichiro Matsumoto
Hisae Watanabe 18-6-0 vs Genkamu Rukchamupokam (?)
Sojiro Orui 5-1-3 vs 1-3-0 Masataka Chinushi
Hirotaka Inoue vs 5-3-1 Yasushi Kitazaki

Also participating will be:
Yasuhito Namekawa, Sojiro Orui, Koichiro Matsumoto

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11/23 ZST.15 - 5th Anniversary

For ZST 15, the main event will include HEROs veteran, Hideo Tokoro against Inatsu Wataru. The card also includes former UFC and ZST veteran Noyuki Kotani.

Hideo Tokoro　18-12-1 vs 1-2-1 Inatsu Wataru
Masashi Takeda 8-3-0 vs 2-7-2 Hiroyuki Ito
Keisuke Fujiwara 3-0-2 vs 1-2-0 Tokuaki Ninomiya
Hiroyuki Ota 6-3-3 vs 2-2-2 Kenichi Ito
Hiroyuki Ota 6-3-3 vs 2-2-2 Kenichi Ito
Kenji Nagai 1-6-1 vs 2-1-0 Takashi Matsui

VT-Rule
Naoyuki Kotani 17-7-5 vs 7-2-4 Masanori Kanehara

Genesis Tournament fights
ＧＴ－Ｆ Final
Tetsuya Nishi 2-3-6 (1NC) vs 5-2-4 Shunichi Shimizu

Welterweight Semi-Finals
Keigo Hirayama 5-3-1 vs 3-0-1 Tomohiko Yoshida
Ichiro Kojima 2-3-2 vs 1-1-0 Takaya Asano
*Ryo Nakajima “Toraji” was injured and Takaya Asano takes his place

Also participating:
Uchimura Yojiro 4-1-0
Tetsuya Yamada 0-0-0

ZST girl, Saki Yoshida

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11/28 Pancrase Rising Tour

I have been falling behind on some of the cards last few weeks, so its time to update some of the cards that have been announced.

Pancrase will hold their last event in Korakuen Hall for this year (then next event for the year is held in Differ Ariake).

Main event: Middle weight King of Pancrase
Yuichi Nakanishi 6-6-3 vs 22-9-6 Izuru Takeuchi　

Daiki Hata “DJ.taiki” 7-4-2 vs 9-0-0 Marlon Sandro
Eriya Matsuda 6-4-0 vs 7-0-0 Hacran Dias
Mitsuhisa Sunabe 8-5-3 vs 4-4-2 Michihisa Asano
Tatsuya Mizuno 2-2-0 vs 3-2-0 Masayuki Kono
Takuya Wada 15-8-8 vs 3-7-2 Seiki Ryo
Shinsuke Shoji 3-3-1 vs 5-9-2 Wataru Takahashi
Yo Saito vs Tomoaki Honda
Ryota Sasaki vs Masamitsu Sato

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Josh Barnett returning to the ring!!

FormerPride fighter Josh Barnett is confirmed on the Pancrase 12.22 card, in Korakuen Hall! He makes his return after, as so many other fighters, being left stranded when Zuffa bought out Pride.

His last fight was a loss to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in December last year. However, 2006 was a very good year for him, a year when he made it to the final in the Pride Grand Prix.

He will fight Pancrase veteran Hikaru Sato in his return. The fight will be Catch Wrestling rules and go for 2x5min.

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11/8 Shooto "Back the Our Roots 6" - Pictures

Yesterday Shooto held their main event for the year, and I for one is not disapointed. There are a couple of fighters that need special mention, some will notice that there are a few additions to my favorite fighters as well.

Anyway, performance of the night, without a doubt went to the Brazilian Eduardo Dantas. The 18 year old made the best of his reach, and showed that he was more than good enough to match "BJ" and deserved the victory.

Fight of the night, Antonio "Pato" Carvalho vs. Hiroyuki Takaya. This was an unbelievable fight where both fighters showed a lot of heart. "Pato" looked to have the upper hand, but Takaya dug deep and pulled out an amazing victory.

For me, the reason I bought the ticket and took the day off work was one guy. Joachim Hansen made his return to the ring. He didnt win this fight, but in all honesty the decision could have gone either way.

Caol Uno was there to take care of his fighters. Here he is helping Mitusoka to victory. His fighters where clearly inspired by his presence and both won their fights.

In the main event, Katsuya Toida attempts a knee against "Lion" Takeshi. In the end Takeshi pulled of a victory by decision.


After an awesome night of fighting, there is not much left to say. Thank you to the fighters who took part!

When the group pictures where done, a few of the fighters stayed back to sign autographes and meet fans. In my eyes it was easy to see why a few of these fighters are so popular. This is also the reason for my additions to my favorite fighters.

Joachim Hansen took time for everyone who wanted to take pictures or get an autograph. They were almost done takeing down the ring and he was still there. He even took time to talk a bit and said he felt rusty during the fight. He will be back!

Antonio "Pato" Carvalho was also one of the fighters staying back. He was disapointed at his loss, but assured me that he will be back.

Megumi Fuji also stayed back long after most people had left the arena.

All these 3 fighters showed why they are such crowd favorites and they made it a special night. They were not all winners yesterday, but they gained a lot of fans. They will be back, and these are fighters I will make sure to see every time they fight.

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11/8 Shooto "Back the Our Roots 6" - RESULTS

An awesome Shooto event has finished. As has been normal this year, there were some major surprises:
-Dantas beat BJ, this was not close... Dantas was much better, expect a lot from him in the future!!!
-Mitusoka defeated Hansen, this was close.. In my eyes, too close to call. But the judges awarded it to Mitsuoka. After the fight Hansen told me he wants to come back to Japan to redeem himself. He felt rusty during the fight.
-Takaya beat "Pato", this was a deserved victory. "Pato" was close when Takaya needed a doctor check early. But the Japanese fighter fought back.
-Then, finally, one of my wishes came true... M16 was awesome!!! He was a far better fighter than Takabayashi. The ref could have stoped this earlier, but the result would have been the same. An great fight by "M16"

“Lion” Takeshi Inoue def. Katsuya Toida by decision 3-0
Takashi Nakakura def. Yusuke Endo by decision 3-0
Hiroyuki Takaya def. Antonio Carvalho by TKO, Round 3 1:58
Eiji Mitsuoka def. Joachim Hansen by decision 2-0
Eduardo Dantas def. Shinichi Kojima “BJ” by decision 3-0

Megumi Fujii “Mega Megu” def. Kyoko Takabayashi by decision 3-0
Rambaa Somdet “M16”def. Masaaki Sugawara by TKO Round 2 5:00
Leandro Batata Silva def. Masashi Yozen by decision 3-0
Shintaro Ishiwatari def. Hayate Usui by decision 3-0

Finally, I want to say thanks to the fighters. This was not a normal event (like the HEROs tournaments I`ve been to), you could see that there was more than money behind this. When everything was finished (they were actually removing the ring), I was standing talking with Joachim Hansen, Anthonio Carvalho and Megumi Fuji. All 3 of them great people and great fighters. I will post some pictures tomorrow.

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11/8 Shooto "Back the Our Roots 6" - Pre-view

Tomorrow is the main event for MMA fans in Japan. Shooto has not disapppinted with their "Super-card".

There are so many good fights on this card that I dont know where to begin. I have tried to find videos of the fighters. Anyway, things to look forward to:
-One of my favorite fighters, Joachim Hansen returns to the ring.
-Antonio Carvalho fights in what I see as the best match-up of the event, against HEROs veteran Hiroyuki Takaya.
-"Mega" Megu, Megumi Fujii faces Kyoko Takabayashi. I have not seen Mega Megu fight live yet, and this is a fight I am really looking forward to.
-Of course 2 Pacific rim title fights.
-18 year old Brazilian sensation, Eduardo Dantas in the biggest fight of his life.

Fight order is set as the Shooto web-site, not sure if this is actual order.

Fight #9 The main-event Shooto Light weight Pacific Championship fight:
Katsuya Toida 10-6-3 VS 13-2-0 “Lion” Takeshi Inoue
My tip: "Lion" Takeshi

Videos
Katsuya Toida:
vs. Baret Yoshida
vs. Rumina Sato
vs. Naoya Uematsu

"Lion" Takeshi
vs. Marc Duncan
vs. Hiroyuki Abe
vs. Hayate Usui


Fight # 8 Shooto Pacific Welter weight championship fight:
Takashi Nakakura 8-2-1 VS 　10-1-1 Yusuke Endo
My tip: Yusuke Endo

Takashi Nakakura
vs. Jani Lax

Yusuke Endo
vs. Seiki Uchimura


Fight #7
Antonio Carvalho 10-2-0 vs 8-4-1 Hiroyuki Takaya
My tip: Antonio Carvalho

Antonio Carvalho
vs. Rumina Sato
vs. "Lion" Takeshi

Hiroyuki Takaya
vs. Remigijus Morkevicius
vs. Andre "Dida" Amade
vs. Jani Lax
vs. Jarrod Card


Fight #6
Joachim Hansen 15-5-1 VS 11-5-2 Eiji Mitsuoka
My tip: Joachim Hansen

Joachim Hansen
vs. Metin Yakut
vs. Luiz Azeredo
vs. Caol Uno
vs. Rumina Sato
vs. Masakazu Imanari

Eiji Mitsuoka
vs. Koutetsu Boku - Part 1
vs. Koutetsu Boku - Part 2


Fight #5
Shinichi Kojima “BJ” 8-1-4 VS 2-1-0 Eduardo Dantas
My tip: "BJ"

Shinichi Kojima “BJ”
vs. Mamoru Yamaguchi - Round 1
vs. Mamoru Yamaguchi - Round 2
vs. Mamoru Yamaguchi - Round 3

Eduardo Dantas
vs. Fabio Oliveira - Round 1
vs. Fabio Oliveira - Round 2
vs. Fabio Oliveira - Round 3


Fight # 4
Masaaki Sugawara 6-1-0 VS 3-2-0 Rambaa Somdet “M16”
My tip: Sugawara (as much as I hope "M16" will take this)

Masaaki Sugawara
vs. Toshimishi Akagi

Rambaa Somdet “M16”
vs. Takumi Yano
vs. Rambong Chuchai Kiatchansing (turn off the sound)
vs. Joe Tsuchiya

Fight #3
Masashi Yozen 5-1-1 VS Leandro Batata Silva
My tip: Masashi Yozen

Masashi Yozen
vs. Kintaro


Fight #2
Megumi Fujii “Mega Megu” 11-0-0 VS 8-1-0 Kyoko Takabayashi
My tip: Megumi Fujii “Mega Megu”

Megumi Fujii “Mega Megu”
vs. Keiko Tamai
vs. Serin Muray
vs. Kyra Gracie (ADCC)

Kyoko Takabayashi
vs. "Kaori" (Grappling)

Fight #1
Hayate Usui 7-5-1 VS 3-1-2 Shintaro Ishiwatari
My tip: Hayate Usui

Hayate Usui
vs. "Lion" Takeshi
vs. Akitoshi Tamura

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Fedor to fight in Japan on NYE?

The last week rumors have been flowing regarding what will happen in Saitama Super Arena on NYE. Former DSE staff members are putting on what seems to be a double event. What is for sure is that Hustle, a Japanese pro-wrestling organization is holding an event in the afternoon. The trigger for the rumor seems to be an option to hold a MMA event the same evening.

As Fedor who has strong connections to Japan and has fought on NYE in Japan for 4 years running, has in an open letter stated that he would like to fight this year as well.Not only that, he has disucssed this option with the M-1 management, and they are supportive. The condition is that there is an event available. Now with Saitama Super Arena available to the former DSE staff, this might be possible. Time is short, but the Pride staff had strong connections with the DEEP staff. Is it possible that Saeki and the former DSE staff can pull this together?? If they can, they have half the main event ready to fight.

Sources:
http://d.hatena.ne.jp/gryphonjapan/20071103
http://www.fightopinion.com/2007/11/04/report-old-dse-staff-wants-to-book-fedor-in-japan/

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12/31 K-1 Dynamite! - Fight announced

FEG has announced a second fight for their NYE card. Masato will face the Korean WBA boxing champion, Yong Soo Choi. This fight will be fought under K-1 rules.

Previously, FEG has annouced that Masakatsu Funaki will return to the ring and face Kazushi Sakuraba. This will of course be under HEROs rules.

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Japan MMA November and December

This weekend has not had any major MMA events in Japan, but there have been a few annoucements of interest:

DEEP

Decemeber will without a doubt be a busy month for the DEEP staff, as 3 events are annouced for that month.

DEEP X 02
DEEP has annouced that they will hold DEEP X 02 on Dec. 3 in Shinjuku Face areana. This is their grappling event, and promises to be very entertaining. The main event (I assume this will be the main event) will have the DEEP chamption Hasegawa facing the BJJ world champion Lucas Lepri.

DEEP 33 Impact
DEEP also announce that they will hold DEEP 33 in Korakuen Hall on Dec, 12. No fights are annouced for this card yet.

DEEP Protect Osaka
For me the most interesting news is the annoucement of Protect Osaka. For this event, DEEP has set up a team format in which Japan and Korea will face off in a 3 fight competition.

Japan is represented by Maeda, Ikemoto and Murata. Korea with Gyon Nam Kim, Do Won So and Kim Ho Jin. MIKU and Yabu will also appear on this card.

SHOOTO

Back to our Roots 6
Shooto will of course have their supercard later this week (Nov. 8). This card features virtually all their stars in addition to a few more.

The card for Novemeber 8:
Takashi Nakakura 8-2-1 VS 　10-1-1 Yusuke Endo
Katsuya Toida 10-6-3 VS 13-2-0 “Lion” Takeshi Inoue
Antonio Carvalho10-2-0 vs 8-4-1 Hiroyuki Takaya
Shinichi Kojima “BJ” 8-1-4 VS 2-1-0 Eduardo Dantas
Joachim Hansen 15-5-1 VS 11-5-2 Eiji Mitsuoka
Masaaki Sugawara 6-1-0 VS 3-2-0 Rambaa Somdet “M16”
Masashi Yozen 5-1-1 VS Leandro Batata Silva
Megumi Fujii “Mega Megu” 11-0-0 VS 8-1-0 Kyoko Takabayashi
Hayate Usui 7-5-1 VS 3-1-2 Shintaro Ishiwatari

December 8
Shooto has also annouced 6 fights for their December 8 event in Shinjuku Face areana. In what looks to be the main event, Ikeda gets a chance to revenge his loss to Abe.

This event is the Rookie tournament finals, and we will undoubtedly find some of the new Japanese MMA stars in this event.

Hiroyuki Abe 7-13-3 vs. 1-3-1 Hiroyuki Ikeda
Tatsuro Kamei 2-0-0 vs 1-2-0 Kenji Hasoya
Hiromasa Ougikubo 3-0-1 vs 0-2-3 Yasuhiro Kanayama
Tomonori Taniguchi 2-3-0 vs 2-1-0 Kazuhiro Ito
Akihiro Yamazaki 8-2-1 vs 2-1-1 Tomokazu Yuasa
Hiroki Sato 2-0-0 vs 1-0-0 Takaaki Oban

Promotions
On that note, last year`s winner of the 115 pound class Shinya Murofushi and the winner of the 123 pound class Ryuichi Miki has been promoted to class A shooto fighters.

Murofushi is in my eyes a very strong fighter and someone we will see a lot from in the future. I have seen him on a couple of occations and been very impressed both times.

Cage Force

Cage Force EX - Eastern bound
Cage force has one event in November, the main event will determine who will meet Boku in the Light weight tournment final. In addtion to this, there are a couple of interesting fights on this card:

Tomonari Kanomata 11-1-3 ｖｓ 5-1-0 Artur Oumakhanov
Naoko Ohmuro　8-5-1　vs 7-8-3 Misaki Takimoto
Emi Fujino 6-0-0　vs　YukoYusaku
Tsukkumo 2-3-0 ｖｓ Nagamura一慶
Nakamura “K” Taro 13-2-2 ｖｓ 0-0-2 Takefumi Hanai
Keitaro Maeda 1-3-0 ｖｓ4-2-1 Masahiro Toryu
Fanjin Son 4-1-0 vs 3-1-2 Koji Yoshimoto　Y
oshihiro Koyama 7-2-1 ｖｓ 0-4-1 Yasuyoshi Kanehara
Daisuke Hoshino 2-0-0 ｖｓ 3-1-3 Yasutomo Tanaka
Naoki Miyamoto 2-1-0　ｖｓ 1-0-0 Takahashi Yoshiaki

Cage Force o5
This is the tournment finals Cage Force, and it promises to be an awesome event.

Welter weight Final
Yoshiyuki Yoshida 8-2-0 vs 16-5-0 Dan Hardy

Light weight Final
Koutetsu Boku 13-3-1 vs Winner Oumakhanov/Kanomata

Also on the card will be:
Toshikazu Iseno 5-3-1 vs 10-8-1 Takahito Iida

Also participating:
Pancrase stand-out Satoru Kitaoka
Shooto rank #1 Yasuhiro Urushitani
Shooto stand-out, now Cage Force fighter Takeya Mizugaki

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