TOKYO, Jan. 26 — The mixed martial arts season kicked off Thursday in Japan at the Mecca of MMA, Korakuen Hall, with a Pancrase show headlined by a title match for the welterweight King of Pancrase belt, as well as the opening round of the Heavyweight King of Pancrase tournament.
Top featherweight Pancrase contender Miki Shida (Pictures) was on the same train as me with a group of his friends, who were coming to catch the Pancrase show. Once at Suidobashi station and after checking my always trusty and reliable Sherdog Budget, I decided to stop for a quick meal at the popular McDonald’s restaurant before the show. There I spotted current DEEP featherweight champion and PRIDE Bushido veteran Masakasu Imanari in the same position as me, probably spending his DEEP earnings on a quick meal.
After finishing, I decided to finally make my way to Korakuen, not without first noticing another Bushido and D.O.G. veteran, Eiji Mitsuoka (Pictures), as he closed the final days of preparation for his fight against lightweight contender Vitor Ribeiro (Pictures) at the Feb. 4 MARS show by catching a quick meal at the Subway just a few buildings away.
The Pancrase organization decided to crown once and for all a legit welterweight King of Pancrase, as No. 1 contender Satoru Kitaoka (Pictures) faced interim champion Katsuya Inoue (Pictures).
These two were supposed to meet last year in the finals of the Pancrase welterweight tournament, but Kitaoka had to withdraw due to injury. Pancrase was left without any other option but to crown Inoue an interim champion until Kitaoka was available to fight again. Since then, both fighters have been busy talking trash until they finally met to decide who is the real champion.
The size and reach difference played a big factor against Kitaoka, who received the short end of the stick in the striking department. Kitaoka took notice of this disadvantage and tried to bring the fight down to the canvas early in the first round. Inoue, however, sprawled and avoided tackles while working from the top.
With just a minute to go, Kitaoka, working underneath, closed a tight guillotine choke that saw Inoue escape at round one came to an end.
The second period started with a freak accident when Kitaoka, after scoring with kicks, shot for a takedown and was punched in the face by Inoue. However, in the process Kitaoka’s right eye was poked by one of Inoue’s fingers.
The fight was stopped and the ringside doctor checked on Kitaoka. After a while it was assumed that the cornea of the challenger’s right eye might be damaged, but the doctor cleared him and let the action continue.
The third and final round began with Kitaoka again trying to bring the fight down. But Inoue started with his usual come-from-behind game by sprawling and brawling. The interim champ nailed Kitaoka’s face with several punches, both standing and on the ground.
With Kitaoka sporting a bloody nose and red face, both fighters engaged in a standing brawl with one minute left, throwing everything they had with power. But once again Inoue’s reach and size advantage played the big difference, as he rocked Kitaoka in the last seconds and shot in again for a takedown to finish the bout.
The judges scored 29-28, 29-29 and 29-29, with the one judge picking Kitaoka. However, the fight was ruled a majority draw and Inoue retained the title.