Honoring a Tradition: Part 1
Honoring a Tradition
Jordan Breen May 1, 2008
Once upon a time, Satoru Sayama, the legendary Tiger Mask of
pro-wrestling lore, dreamed of a truer form of combat than the
world of puroresu could offer. Sayama's ambition led to the
creation of Shooto, which has served as a vital cornerstone in the
development of international MMA.
Now, as we head toward the 20th anniversary of Sayama's blessed invention, leading Shooto promoter Sustain serves us Shooto Tradition 1 this Saturday from the new and spiffy digs of JCB Hall in Tokyo. The show will be the first MMA event to grace the ring at the freshly opened JCB Hall and figures to kick things off right for the new venue, which was designed to become a sibling to Japan's Mecca of combat sports, Korakuen Hall.
Here we take a look at the first five of nine bouts on the bill,
with MMA's most diminutive ladyboy, unlikely underdogs, anonymous
Mexicans and, of course, top-notch lightweights -- all par for the
course.
Yasuhiro Urushitani (Pictures) vs. Ryuichi Miki (Pictures)
He has been one of the top fighters in Shooto's 123-pound class since its conception and was the favorite to be its first world champion before being mildly upset by afroed ace Mamoru Yamaguchi (Pictures) in December 2003.
In March of last year, Urushitani challenged for the title a second time, taking on Shinichi "BJ" Kojima, who had shockingly ended Mamoru's reign in October 2006. Over the course of three rounds, Urushitani expertly outclassed BJ in Whitaker-esque fashion with a superb slickness and an awkward generalship that made the champion look absolutely horrendous. However, the bout was judged a split draw in arguably the most incomprehensible and indefensible piece of judging I've ever seen in the sport.
Even though he would avenge his loss to Mamoru last September, Urushitani got slapped with more heinous judging when he was handed another draw against up-and-coming Guamanian product Jesse Taitano (Pictures) in GCM's Cage Force in December. Whether it is the fact that his counter-based defensive style does little for the eyes of judges or simply miserable luck, Shooto's premier metrosexual was royally screwed in 2007.
On the other hand, the 25-year-old Miki has been one of Shooto's feel-good stories over the last two years. In spite of seeming horribly average in every way, he earned a Shooto rookie championship as an underdog against all of his rookie tournament opponents and also earned a Class A Shooto promotion.
Miki has no real awesome aspects to his arsenal, but he has managed to mix it up and squeeze every last bit out of a solid-but-unspectacular well-rounded MMA game to get to this point. If there's anything he does have in spades, it's gameness.
By all means, this is a fight that Miki deserves. It's been two years and seven fights since he's lost, and despite the fact he ostensibly appears unremarkable in every way, he finds a way to win more often than not. Deserving does not always equal competitive, though, and it likely won't here.
Urushitani is quite simply too slick and too skilled for Miki. Urushitani prefers to fight on the feet, and he generally gets his way because he is able to jab and counter with his hands while being too elusive for his opponent to actually get a hold of. Although it may not make for the most exciting fights you'll ever see, the approach is absolutely effective and extremely difficult to deal with.
Since Miki is mildly well rounded but has no real standout offense, it is hard to point out any skills that would allow him to contend with Urushitani's speed, fluidity and footwork. Even if Miki gets Urushitani in his sights, making it past the jab or the counterpunching seems a bridge too far to cross.
Miki will certainly stalk, but Urushitani will be able to jab, jab, jab and then counter in combination with great effect, as is usually the case. In spite of Miki's best efforts, Urushitani will win every round en route to an elementary unanimous decision.
If there is any sort of cosmic justice for this sport, another commanding victory should earn Urushitani the chance to fight once again for the world title that should already belong to him.
Yusuke Endo (Pictures) vs. Vince Ortiz
When Sustain brings in a handful of foreign fighters for an event, you can rest assured that at least one native is going to hit the jackpot. This time, it's Yusuke Endo (Pictures)'s lucky day.
There is great precedent for major pro Shooto cards turning into mismatched international slaughterhouses. Perhaps the last great example was the October 2006 Champion Carnival card in which a hapless trio of Swedes were put against three of Shooto's foremost stars with foregone, depressing results. Although Per Eklund (Pictures) was at least deserving if not outmatched against Tatsuya Kawajiri (Pictures), David Lejenas (Pictures) facing Ryota Matsune (Pictures) and Navid Yousefi (Pictures) against "Lion Takeshi" Takeshi Inoue (Pictures) were simply embarrassing squashes.
In this case, Mexican Vince Ortiz heads to Japan to face the very solid and talented Yusuke Endo (Pictures). Ortiz, who reportedly carries a record of 5-1, has been given this fight because his teammate at Antonio McKee (Pictures)'s Bodyshop Fitness Team, Trenell "Savant" Young, will be facing the aforementioned Lion Takeshi on the card. He's absolutely unknown and discernibly underqualified.
At the very least, Ortiz does have a decent team behind him. Antonio McKee (Pictures)'s products are always, if nothing else, in great shape. Endo is a legitimate fighter, though, and it's hard to imagine the anonymous Ortiz being able to offer him much.
Endo has some liabilities, such as his takedown defense and the fact he's relatively hittable on the feet. Yet he is a good offensive fighter, active from the southpaw stance, with good takedowns. His submission game is also highly underrated, as was showcased when he notched the biggest victory of his career in July 2006, submitting popular breakneck lightweight Clay Guida (Pictures) in the first round.
This bout is no doubt intended to be a rehabilitation for Endo. In November he was on the wrong end of a 15-minute pistol-whipping from Takashi Nakakura (Pictures) -- the kind of thumping that can set a young fighter back. Here the 25-year-old part-time noodle cook has been given the chance to right his ship against an overmatched opponent. Short of the faceless Ortiz being surprisingly extra-strength tough, this should be an easy if not early victory for Endo, likely by way of submission.
Now, as we head toward the 20th anniversary of Sayama's blessed invention, leading Shooto promoter Sustain serves us Shooto Tradition 1 this Saturday from the new and spiffy digs of JCB Hall in Tokyo. The show will be the first MMA event to grace the ring at the freshly opened JCB Hall and figures to kick things off right for the new venue, which was designed to become a sibling to Japan's Mecca of combat sports, Korakuen Hall.
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Yasuhiro Urushitani (Pictures) vs. Ryuichi Miki (Pictures)
If there were a year-end superlative for unluckiest fighter,
Yasuhiro Urushitani
(Pictures) should've taken it home in
a landslide.
He has been one of the top fighters in Shooto's 123-pound class since its conception and was the favorite to be its first world champion before being mildly upset by afroed ace Mamoru Yamaguchi (Pictures) in December 2003.
In March of last year, Urushitani challenged for the title a second time, taking on Shinichi "BJ" Kojima, who had shockingly ended Mamoru's reign in October 2006. Over the course of three rounds, Urushitani expertly outclassed BJ in Whitaker-esque fashion with a superb slickness and an awkward generalship that made the champion look absolutely horrendous. However, the bout was judged a split draw in arguably the most incomprehensible and indefensible piece of judging I've ever seen in the sport.
Even though he would avenge his loss to Mamoru last September, Urushitani got slapped with more heinous judging when he was handed another draw against up-and-coming Guamanian product Jesse Taitano (Pictures) in GCM's Cage Force in December. Whether it is the fact that his counter-based defensive style does little for the eyes of judges or simply miserable luck, Shooto's premier metrosexual was royally screwed in 2007.
On the other hand, the 25-year-old Miki has been one of Shooto's feel-good stories over the last two years. In spite of seeming horribly average in every way, he earned a Shooto rookie championship as an underdog against all of his rookie tournament opponents and also earned a Class A Shooto promotion.
Miki has no real awesome aspects to his arsenal, but he has managed to mix it up and squeeze every last bit out of a solid-but-unspectacular well-rounded MMA game to get to this point. If there's anything he does have in spades, it's gameness.
By all means, this is a fight that Miki deserves. It's been two years and seven fights since he's lost, and despite the fact he ostensibly appears unremarkable in every way, he finds a way to win more often than not. Deserving does not always equal competitive, though, and it likely won't here.
Urushitani is quite simply too slick and too skilled for Miki. Urushitani prefers to fight on the feet, and he generally gets his way because he is able to jab and counter with his hands while being too elusive for his opponent to actually get a hold of. Although it may not make for the most exciting fights you'll ever see, the approach is absolutely effective and extremely difficult to deal with.
Since Miki is mildly well rounded but has no real standout offense, it is hard to point out any skills that would allow him to contend with Urushitani's speed, fluidity and footwork. Even if Miki gets Urushitani in his sights, making it past the jab or the counterpunching seems a bridge too far to cross.
Miki will certainly stalk, but Urushitani will be able to jab, jab, jab and then counter in combination with great effect, as is usually the case. In spite of Miki's best efforts, Urushitani will win every round en route to an elementary unanimous decision.
If there is any sort of cosmic justice for this sport, another commanding victory should earn Urushitani the chance to fight once again for the world title that should already belong to him.
Yusuke Endo (Pictures) vs. Vince Ortiz
When Sustain brings in a handful of foreign fighters for an event, you can rest assured that at least one native is going to hit the jackpot. This time, it's Yusuke Endo (Pictures)'s lucky day.
There is great precedent for major pro Shooto cards turning into mismatched international slaughterhouses. Perhaps the last great example was the October 2006 Champion Carnival card in which a hapless trio of Swedes were put against three of Shooto's foremost stars with foregone, depressing results. Although Per Eklund (Pictures) was at least deserving if not outmatched against Tatsuya Kawajiri (Pictures), David Lejenas (Pictures) facing Ryota Matsune (Pictures) and Navid Yousefi (Pictures) against "Lion Takeshi" Takeshi Inoue (Pictures) were simply embarrassing squashes.
In this case, Mexican Vince Ortiz heads to Japan to face the very solid and talented Yusuke Endo (Pictures). Ortiz, who reportedly carries a record of 5-1, has been given this fight because his teammate at Antonio McKee (Pictures)'s Bodyshop Fitness Team, Trenell "Savant" Young, will be facing the aforementioned Lion Takeshi on the card. He's absolutely unknown and discernibly underqualified.
At the very least, Ortiz does have a decent team behind him. Antonio McKee (Pictures)'s products are always, if nothing else, in great shape. Endo is a legitimate fighter, though, and it's hard to imagine the anonymous Ortiz being able to offer him much.
Endo has some liabilities, such as his takedown defense and the fact he's relatively hittable on the feet. Yet he is a good offensive fighter, active from the southpaw stance, with good takedowns. His submission game is also highly underrated, as was showcased when he notched the biggest victory of his career in July 2006, submitting popular breakneck lightweight Clay Guida (Pictures) in the first round.
This bout is no doubt intended to be a rehabilitation for Endo. In November he was on the wrong end of a 15-minute pistol-whipping from Takashi Nakakura (Pictures) -- the kind of thumping that can set a young fighter back. Here the 25-year-old part-time noodle cook has been given the chance to right his ship against an overmatched opponent. Short of the faceless Ortiz being surprisingly extra-strength tough, this should be an easy if not early victory for Endo, likely by way of submission.
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