MARS Returns With Two Summer Cards
Jordan Breen Jul 6, 2006
The Trinity Corporation have announced that the MARS Project's
inaugural year will continue with another pair of cards in the
coming weeks.
On December 22, 2005, GCM Communications held a press conference at the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo, where they unveiled a new promotion under the Greatest Common Multiple banner: the MARS Project.
There was already a strong and diverse contingent of promotions
under the GCM umbrella: the grassroots level Demolition, Japan's
only cagefighting promotion Demolition of Octagon Gear, female
promotion Cross Section, and grappling event The Contenders. With
the advent of MARS, GCM Communication President Kubo stated that
MARS would provide exciting, and high quality mixed martial
arts.
The first MARS event didn't quite live up to expectations. underwhelming ticket sales and a defensive stalemate in the main event, fought mostly in the ring corner, were not the results that GCM were looking for.
On April 29, MARS: World Fighting Grand Prix was held at the Jang Choong Stadium in Seoul, South Korea, and featured a blend of mixed martial arts and kickboxing bouts, with a strong international influence. MARS executive producer Yuki Amano said that the new direction of MARS was to fuse the energy and talent of Japan and South Korea in a new, and exciting battlefield.
After a strong outing in South Korea, MARS returned to Japan for an event at Makuhari Messe Hall in Chiba just two weeks later. With another card split between MMA and kickboxing, MARS again delivered with a solid show highlighted by a kickboxing match between R.I.S.E. G-BAZOOKA champion Alex Roberts and Australian nak muay Nathan "Carnage" Corbett. The card also featured HERO'S and ROTR veteran Yushin Okami (Pictures), welterweight King of Pancrase Katsuya Inoue (Pictures), top ranked Shooto fighters Yasuhiro Urushitani (Pictures) and Daniel Lima (Pictures), the eccentric Takumi Yano (Pictures), and Korean rising star Un Sik Son.
After the back-to-back successes with MARS headed in a new direction, the Trinity Corporation has announced that it will promote two more MARS cards in the coming weeks: MARS ATTACK 01 on July 21 at Japan's second busiest fight hall, Shinjuku FACE, and NEW DEAL on August 26 at the legendary Ryogoku Kokugikan, the largest sumo hall in Japan.
While few details have yet been released regarding the cards, it has been revealed that July 21's MARS ATTACK 01 card will feature a one night tournament of 83-kilogram Japanese fighters, including Pancrase veterans Hidemi Mihara and Kozo Urita (Pictures).
Also in action will be Brazilian brother-sister duo Rodrigo and Carina Damm. Rodrigo, a 2003 Brazilian jiu-jitsu World Cup runner-up and seven time campaeo de submission (Champion of Submission) in Brazil, and Carina, a national champion in both freestyle wrestling and Brazilian jiu-jitsu in addition to being a state capoeira champion, will both compete in mixed martial arts bouts against yet-to-be-named opponents.
MARS' August 26 card will feature both kickboxing and mixed martial arts bouts. Already scheduled to participate are Japanese national karate champion Yuzo Matsumoto, who knocked out Daisaku Kaze at MARS' May 13th card under kickboxing rules, and 21-year-old South Korean rising star Un Sik Son. Son competed on the last two MARS cards, defeating Australian up-and-comer Jason Wild on April 29 in South Korea, before traveling to Japan, where he defeated Pancrase and ZST veteran Takumi "The Oriental Mystery" Yano, just two weeks later.
On December 22, 2005, GCM Communications held a press conference at the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo, where they unveiled a new promotion under the Greatest Common Multiple banner: the MARS Project.
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The first MARS event didn't quite live up to expectations. underwhelming ticket sales and a defensive stalemate in the main event, fought mostly in the ring corner, were not the results that GCM were looking for.
Yet, just over two months after the first event, the MARS Project
was back. This time, no longer under the sponorship of GCM
Communications, MARS took the show on the road under the promotion
of the Shinjuku-based Trinity Corporation.
On April 29, MARS: World Fighting Grand Prix was held at the Jang Choong Stadium in Seoul, South Korea, and featured a blend of mixed martial arts and kickboxing bouts, with a strong international influence. MARS executive producer Yuki Amano said that the new direction of MARS was to fuse the energy and talent of Japan and South Korea in a new, and exciting battlefield.
After a strong outing in South Korea, MARS returned to Japan for an event at Makuhari Messe Hall in Chiba just two weeks later. With another card split between MMA and kickboxing, MARS again delivered with a solid show highlighted by a kickboxing match between R.I.S.E. G-BAZOOKA champion Alex Roberts and Australian nak muay Nathan "Carnage" Corbett. The card also featured HERO'S and ROTR veteran Yushin Okami (Pictures), welterweight King of Pancrase Katsuya Inoue (Pictures), top ranked Shooto fighters Yasuhiro Urushitani (Pictures) and Daniel Lima (Pictures), the eccentric Takumi Yano (Pictures), and Korean rising star Un Sik Son.
After the back-to-back successes with MARS headed in a new direction, the Trinity Corporation has announced that it will promote two more MARS cards in the coming weeks: MARS ATTACK 01 on July 21 at Japan's second busiest fight hall, Shinjuku FACE, and NEW DEAL on August 26 at the legendary Ryogoku Kokugikan, the largest sumo hall in Japan.
While few details have yet been released regarding the cards, it has been revealed that July 21's MARS ATTACK 01 card will feature a one night tournament of 83-kilogram Japanese fighters, including Pancrase veterans Hidemi Mihara and Kozo Urita (Pictures).
Also in action will be Brazilian brother-sister duo Rodrigo and Carina Damm. Rodrigo, a 2003 Brazilian jiu-jitsu World Cup runner-up and seven time campaeo de submission (Champion of Submission) in Brazil, and Carina, a national champion in both freestyle wrestling and Brazilian jiu-jitsu in addition to being a state capoeira champion, will both compete in mixed martial arts bouts against yet-to-be-named opponents.
MARS' August 26 card will feature both kickboxing and mixed martial arts bouts. Already scheduled to participate are Japanese national karate champion Yuzo Matsumoto, who knocked out Daisaku Kaze at MARS' May 13th card under kickboxing rules, and 21-year-old South Korean rising star Un Sik Son. Son competed on the last two MARS cards, defeating Australian up-and-comer Jason Wild on April 29 in South Korea, before traveling to Japan, where he defeated Pancrase and ZST veteran Takumi "The Oriental Mystery" Yano, just two weeks later.
