Cage Force Tournaments Shaping Up
Tournaments Shaping Up
Jordan Breen Jan 21, 2008
With 2007's Cage Force tournaments over and one of the champions
Octagon bound, Greatest Common Multiple has revealed its program
for 2008.
This year's Cage Force series will pick up where last year's installment left off, with two new tournaments. The 2007 tournaments at 155 and 170 pounds were designed to give victors the opportunity to compete in the UFC, and the 2008 tournaments will be held at 135 and 145 pounds with the intention of having winners compete in Zuffa's sister promotion, WEC.
Last year's fields boasted odd numbers and irregular bracket
structures, but the upcoming tournaments will feature eight
competitors in each.
The 145-pound bracket has been fully fleshed out and organized. In the quarterfinals, former Shooto rookie champion "Wicky Akiyo" Akiyo Nishiura (Pictures) will take on upstart South Korean Jong Man Kim (Pictures); Australian export Adrian Pang (Pictures) will meet American Armando Sanchez; Grabaka vet Takeshi Yamazaki (Pictures) will face Daiki Ozaki; and former Shooto world title challenger Antonio Carvalho (Pictures) will take on Yuji Hoshino (Pictures).
Kim was one of the most unlikely breakout competitors of 2007. After a spirited loss that put a scare into Masakazu Imanari (Pictures), Kim bounced back with an improbable split decision over the highly regarded Hatsu Hioki (Pictures) in Hioki's hometown of Nagoya. He then followed up with a dead-even draw with Pancrase champ Yoshiro Maeda (Pictures) in Maeda's hometown of Osaka.
Adrian Pang (Pictures), one of the best fighters from Down Under, has experience in Cage Force, having submitted in-house fighter Taiyo Nakahara (Pictures) in November 2006. He also has a significant amount of experience against Japanese competition in his homeland, including bouts against visiting talents such as Katsuya Toida (Pictures), Hideki Kadowaki (Pictures) and Takumi Murata (Pictures). Against his Japanese foes, Pang has gone a very impressive 3-1-1.
A veteran of the first King of the Cage, Armando Sanchez has won four of his last five. His lone loss came to a revitalized Bao Quach (Pictures) in November 2006, and he followed the defeat with a 3-0 campaign in 2007. Sanchez stopped all three of his opponents last year, but he still figures to be a long shot in the tournament.
Takeshi Yamazaki (Pictures), the BJJ ace of the Grabaka team, has spent much of the last three years in the Deep ring, where he fought his last nine bouts. He has lost to the best opposition he's faced -- Deep champ Masakazu Imanari (Pictures), Miki Shida (Pictures) and Mike Thomas Brown -- but Yamazaki is a quality competitor who serves as an ideal trial horse for up-and-coming talent.
Daiki Ozaki is perhaps the most curious entrant in the draw. A relative novice, the Tottori native has spent his short career in Kansai-based grassroots promotion Powergate. However, Ozaki emerged as one of Powergate's best talents in 2007, winning the Kaiser Grand Prix at 143 pounds and going 4-0 on the year.
Yuji Hoshino (Pictures) is a very well-traveled veteran who has competed at welterweight, lightweight and now featherweight. The 32-year-old fighter is unbeaten in his last eight bouts, spanning over three years. While he's largely filled a journeyman role in the Japanese MMA community, he had considerably more success in 2007. Last year he knocked off Pancrase prospects Shoji and Eriya Matsuda (Pictures) and fought to a draw with fellow tournament entrant Jong Man Kim (Pictures).
Carvalho, the prohibitive tournament favorite, is the most accomplished of the entrants. A perennial top-10 competitor in the division, he is coming off a disappointing loss to Hiroyuki Takaya (Pictures) in November in what was one of the best fights of the year.
The 135-pound tournament is also scheduled for eight competitors with four already named. GCM is currently recruiting another four fighters to go alongside Takeya Mizugaki (Pictures), Taiyo Nakahara (Pictures), Daichi Fujiwara (Pictures) and Paul McVeigh (Pictures).
Mizugaki, a standout competitor in the division, first ventured outside Shooto and into Cage Force late last year. He picked up two quick and dominating wins over former Shooto world title challenger Kentaro Imaizumi (Pictures) and veteran Seiji Otsuka (Pictures). With a physical, pounding attack, Mizugaki may be best suited for the cage and may be an early tournament favorite.
The GCM-based Nakahara has competed for most of his career as a featherweight. At 2-5 in his last seven bouts, albeit against very reputable competition, Nakahara will cut to 135 hoping to find more success in the cage.
Also cutting to 135 pounds will be Pancrase competitor Daichi Fujiwara (Pictures). The 24-year-old Osakan known for his wild offense and colorful hair has spent his Pancrase career at 141 pounds. After an undefeated 2007, capped with a sizzling highlight-reel knockout of Mitsuhisa Sunabe (Pictures), Fujiwara figures to be one of the lead dogs in the tournament.
McVeigh, the Cage Warriors 135-pound champion, is the United Kingdom's most outstanding bantamweight. Having never lost as a 135-pounder, the submission savvy McVeigh's inclusion in the bracket should provide an interesting statement on the international talent pool at 135 pounds.
GCM has announced card dates for Feb. 11, April 5, June 22 and a to-be-determined card in September, all at the familiar digs at Differ Ariake in Tokyo.
The event structure was reportedly largely tailored around Antonio Carvalho (Pictures). GCM was so eager to have Carvalho included in the 145-pound tournament that it scheduled the opening rounds of the 145 field around Carvalho's personal commitments. As such, the 145-pound tournament will open on Feb. 11 with the Ozaki-Yamazaki and Nishiura-Kim quarterfinals. The April 5 card will feature Carvalho-Hoshino and Pang-Sanchez bouts, and the 135-pound tournament will also begin.
Also, the Feb. 11 card will feature former Shooto rookie champions Mizuto Hirota (Pictures) and Yoshihiro Koyama (Pictures) and GCM regular Hidetaka Monma (Pictures) in non-tournament bouts.
This year's Cage Force series will pick up where last year's installment left off, with two new tournaments. The 2007 tournaments at 155 and 170 pounds were designed to give victors the opportunity to compete in the UFC, and the 2008 tournaments will be held at 135 and 145 pounds with the intention of having winners compete in Zuffa's sister promotion, WEC.
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The 145-pound bracket has been fully fleshed out and organized. In the quarterfinals, former Shooto rookie champion "Wicky Akiyo" Akiyo Nishiura (Pictures) will take on upstart South Korean Jong Man Kim (Pictures); Australian export Adrian Pang (Pictures) will meet American Armando Sanchez; Grabaka vet Takeshi Yamazaki (Pictures) will face Daiki Ozaki; and former Shooto world title challenger Antonio Carvalho (Pictures) will take on Yuji Hoshino (Pictures).
The free-swinging Nishiura opened 2007 with a split decision over
veteran Hideki Kadowaki
(Pictures) in the Shooto ring.
Following the victory, Nishiura moved up to 154 pounds under
promotional pressure, due to his senior Shooting Gym Yokohama
teammates "Lion Takeshi" Takeshi Inoue (Pictures) and Tenkei Fujimiya (Pictures) also competing in Shooto's
143-pound division. Nishiura was unimpressive in his lightweight
debut in August, narrowly avoiding defeat in a majority draw
against Joe Camacho
(Pictures) in a foul-laden fight.
Outside the confines of Shooto, the Cage Force tournament allows
the 24-year-old wild child the ability to return to his more
natural weight class.
Kim was one of the most unlikely breakout competitors of 2007. After a spirited loss that put a scare into Masakazu Imanari (Pictures), Kim bounced back with an improbable split decision over the highly regarded Hatsu Hioki (Pictures) in Hioki's hometown of Nagoya. He then followed up with a dead-even draw with Pancrase champ Yoshiro Maeda (Pictures) in Maeda's hometown of Osaka.
Adrian Pang (Pictures), one of the best fighters from Down Under, has experience in Cage Force, having submitted in-house fighter Taiyo Nakahara (Pictures) in November 2006. He also has a significant amount of experience against Japanese competition in his homeland, including bouts against visiting talents such as Katsuya Toida (Pictures), Hideki Kadowaki (Pictures) and Takumi Murata (Pictures). Against his Japanese foes, Pang has gone a very impressive 3-1-1.
A veteran of the first King of the Cage, Armando Sanchez has won four of his last five. His lone loss came to a revitalized Bao Quach (Pictures) in November 2006, and he followed the defeat with a 3-0 campaign in 2007. Sanchez stopped all three of his opponents last year, but he still figures to be a long shot in the tournament.
Takeshi Yamazaki (Pictures), the BJJ ace of the Grabaka team, has spent much of the last three years in the Deep ring, where he fought his last nine bouts. He has lost to the best opposition he's faced -- Deep champ Masakazu Imanari (Pictures), Miki Shida (Pictures) and Mike Thomas Brown -- but Yamazaki is a quality competitor who serves as an ideal trial horse for up-and-coming talent.
Daiki Ozaki is perhaps the most curious entrant in the draw. A relative novice, the Tottori native has spent his short career in Kansai-based grassroots promotion Powergate. However, Ozaki emerged as one of Powergate's best talents in 2007, winning the Kaiser Grand Prix at 143 pounds and going 4-0 on the year.
Yuji Hoshino (Pictures) is a very well-traveled veteran who has competed at welterweight, lightweight and now featherweight. The 32-year-old fighter is unbeaten in his last eight bouts, spanning over three years. While he's largely filled a journeyman role in the Japanese MMA community, he had considerably more success in 2007. Last year he knocked off Pancrase prospects Shoji and Eriya Matsuda (Pictures) and fought to a draw with fellow tournament entrant Jong Man Kim (Pictures).
Carvalho, the prohibitive tournament favorite, is the most accomplished of the entrants. A perennial top-10 competitor in the division, he is coming off a disappointing loss to Hiroyuki Takaya (Pictures) in November in what was one of the best fights of the year.
The 135-pound tournament is also scheduled for eight competitors with four already named. GCM is currently recruiting another four fighters to go alongside Takeya Mizugaki (Pictures), Taiyo Nakahara (Pictures), Daichi Fujiwara (Pictures) and Paul McVeigh (Pictures).
Mizugaki, a standout competitor in the division, first ventured outside Shooto and into Cage Force late last year. He picked up two quick and dominating wins over former Shooto world title challenger Kentaro Imaizumi (Pictures) and veteran Seiji Otsuka (Pictures). With a physical, pounding attack, Mizugaki may be best suited for the cage and may be an early tournament favorite.
The GCM-based Nakahara has competed for most of his career as a featherweight. At 2-5 in his last seven bouts, albeit against very reputable competition, Nakahara will cut to 135 hoping to find more success in the cage.
Also cutting to 135 pounds will be Pancrase competitor Daichi Fujiwara (Pictures). The 24-year-old Osakan known for his wild offense and colorful hair has spent his Pancrase career at 141 pounds. After an undefeated 2007, capped with a sizzling highlight-reel knockout of Mitsuhisa Sunabe (Pictures), Fujiwara figures to be one of the lead dogs in the tournament.
McVeigh, the Cage Warriors 135-pound champion, is the United Kingdom's most outstanding bantamweight. Having never lost as a 135-pounder, the submission savvy McVeigh's inclusion in the bracket should provide an interesting statement on the international talent pool at 135 pounds.
GCM has announced card dates for Feb. 11, April 5, June 22 and a to-be-determined card in September, all at the familiar digs at Differ Ariake in Tokyo.
The event structure was reportedly largely tailored around Antonio Carvalho (Pictures). GCM was so eager to have Carvalho included in the 145-pound tournament that it scheduled the opening rounds of the 145 field around Carvalho's personal commitments. As such, the 145-pound tournament will open on Feb. 11 with the Ozaki-Yamazaki and Nishiura-Kim quarterfinals. The April 5 card will feature Carvalho-Hoshino and Pang-Sanchez bouts, and the 135-pound tournament will also begin.
Also, the Feb. 11 card will feature former Shooto rookie champions Mizuto Hirota (Pictures) and Yoshihiro Koyama (Pictures) and GCM regular Hidetaka Monma (Pictures) in non-tournament bouts.
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