Koubousen Companion: News And Notes From Japan
Shooto Rookie Recap
Jordan Breen Dec 12, 2006
What's been and what's to come for 2006's
Shooto rookie kings
In February, in the heart of Nagoya, the up-and-coming faces of Shooto began to strike and submit their way through fellow Class-B compatriots in the Shooto rookie tournament series. This past Saturday, in the brightest of bright light districts, many of the brightest of Shooto's annual rookie crop were on display, as the final Shooto rookie champions of 2006 were crowned at Japan's most fashionable fight hall, Shinjuku FACE.
Before the 2006 calendar struck the twelfth month, GUTSMAN Shooto
Dojo's Ryuichi Miki,
Shooting Gym Yokohama's "Wicky" Akiyo Nishiura (Pictures), and Paraestra Matsudo's Yoshihiro Koyama (Pictures) had all taken their respective
rookie thrones at 123 pounds, 143 pounds and 154 pounds.
First, on Oct. 14, it was "Wicky", who became the third consecutive 143-pound rookie from Shooting Gym Yokohama, following in the footsteps of his teammates "Lion" Takeshi Inoue (Pictures) and Tenkei Fujimiya (Pictures). After using his wild, flailing offense to take strong decisions over Tomonari Taniguchi in March, and Yuji Inoue in July, Nishiura fought a more disciplined fight against Sapporan super-striker Daisuke Ishizawa (Pictures), and was able to wrestle and pound his way to the 143-pound rookie crown.
GUTSMAN Shooto Dojo's Ryuichi Miki became the most unlikely rookie champion of the year — and perhaps ever in the rookie tournament series — on Nov. 30. Entering the 123-pound rookie tournament with a 1-2 pro record, and no considerably stalwart amateur background, Miki was able to earn a draw against "UK" Suguru Inoue (Pictures), and was then fortunate enough to draw the lucky envelope to advance to the next round of the tournament. Miki was then able to knock off All Japan amateur Shooto champion and BJJ black belt "GOZO" Ayumu Shioda, exploiting Shioda's uneasy transition to full Shooto rules en route to a decision victory. In the finals against gritty Paraestra Sapporo competitor Takuya Mori (Pictures), Miki was again the underdog, but used a solid blend of striking and wrestling to score standing, and set up opportune takedowns, earning him another decision victory to become perhaps the most unlikely Shooto rookie tournament champion ever.
Paraestra Hakodate's Mitsuhiro Takeda started his championship bid in dominant fashion, having little trouble submitting Seiji Furukawa in September with a Kimura, before taking on fellow Hokkaido native Atsushi Matsuki in the final. Both men were able to trade reversals and hard strikes on the mat in the first round, but in the second stanza, Takeda had retained far more of his stamina. Exploiting Matsuki's poor conditioning, Takeda was able to quickly take the mount and dish out heavy blows from the top, which netted him the stoppage and the 183-pound rookie title.
Sterling submission artist Shinya Murofushi met little resistance in this running through the 114-pound rookie tournament bracket. The 2005 All Japan amateur Shooto champion out-grappled Hiroyuki Ikeda in Oct. and locked up an armbar victory part way through the second frame. In the tournament final he met the winless Hiroaki Takezawa, who advanced to the final only due to consecutive byes: after bypassing the quarterfinals due to an uneven amount of competitors in the tournament, Takeshi Yamada pulled out of the semifinals due to injury, allowing Takezawa to advance to the final. Predictably, Murofushi had no trouble armbarring Takezawa in the first round to take the 114-pound rookie title.
Perhaps the most decorated of all the 2006 Shooto rookie aces, Masakazu Ueda entered the 132-pound rookie final against Teriyuki Matsumoto (Pictures) as an All Japan amateur Shooto champion, an All Japan Shooto grappling champion, and a Combat Wrestling national champion, all at 143 pounds. After a dominant victory over Nobuhiro Hayakawa in June, Ueda showed surprising versatility against Naoki Yahagi in October. Thought to be solely a top position grappler, Ueda traded blows with the rugged Yahagi, and floored him three times in under four minutes, knocking him out with a powerful right hook. Ueda again showed versatility in the final, working diligently off of his back after being taken down by Matsumoto. Ueda was able to earn another victory in the first round, this time with a triangle choke, en route to taking the 132-pound rookie crown.
Saving the best for last, "Leo" Yuki Konishi (Pictures) met Taisuke Okuno in the 167-pound rookie tournament finale. The heavy-handed Konishi was fortunate enough to draw the lucky envelope to advance in the tournament after a lackluster draw against Toshihiko Sugimoto in June, but atoned for his performance with a dominant whipping of Yoshitaro Niimi (Pictures) in Oct., when an extra few seconds in the final round would've afforded him the opportunity to lock out a tight armbar. Against Okuno, who sported a 3-0 record — with all three wins coming by destructive punching — Konishi was able to emerge as the primary puncher, knocking Okuno down in the first round. Both men traded top position and stints in the full mount, but after 10 minutes Konishi took a commanding unanimous decision victory. Even better than his performance in the final is the humanistic narrative: Konishi's childhood friend, Shinya Kobayashi, passed away before the rookie tournament began. Konishi said that he would win the rookie tournament for his fallen friend, and was able to make good on his promise, despite being a considerable underdog to the heavy-hitting Okuno.
And though all of the rookie champions have now been crowned, it is not necessarily time to turn a new page just yet.
First, perhaps most non-essential, are the rookie champion prizes. Three prizes are awarded annually among the rookie tournament winners: MVP, for the most outstanding rookie champion; Technique for the champion who exhibits the greatest degree of technical excellence; and Fighting Spirit, for the champion who demonstrates the greatest intangible qualities which make a great fighter.
In 2005, 132-pound rookie champion Takeya Mizugaki (Pictures) was awarded the MVP prize, while 167-pound champ "K-Taro" Keita Nakamura (Pictures) was given the Technique trophy, and 154-pound winner Mizuto Hirota (Pictures) took home the Fighting Spirit award.
This year, while perhaps the winners for each are not inevitable, there is assuredly clear-cut candidacy for each. The MVP may very well be given to Masakazu Ueda. Ueda decisively defeated all of his opponents in the rookie tournament, and was able to demonstrate an incredibly sculpted game, which may make him a favorite for the Technique prize, should he not win the MVP. Ueda also faced one of the harder paths to his championship, and yet was perhaps the most dominant in victory of all the rookie champions.
If "Wicky" Akiyo Nishiura (Pictures) had won his bout with Akitoshi Tamura (Pictures) on Dec. 2 following his rookie tournament win, he likely would have won the honor, but despite the fact his defeat was outside the rookie tournament it is likely that the award will now go elsewhere. Touted 154-pound champ Yoshihiro Koyama (Pictures) may be another candidate due to his growing hype, as well as his performance in the finals against Shinji Sasaki (Pictures), but his chances are hurt due to less-than-stellar bouts in the quarter and semifinals.
The Technique award will almost certainly belong to Masakazu Ueda should he not be elected as the rookie MVP. However, because of the strong possibility of him being tabbed as MVP, it is possible that the award may go to either submission stalwart Shinya Murofushi, who demonstrated great grappling skills in his two tournament wins (finishing both of them with armbars). Another possibility is Yoshihiro Koyama (Pictures), who in addition to the outstanding grappling you would expect out of a Paraestra Matsudo trainee that was a national-level collegiate wrestler showed great technique in the stand-up training under Takeshi Yamada at JB SPORTS GYM.
The Fighting Spirit prize will likely go to Yuki Konishi (Pictures), given both his scrappy style in the ring as well as the emotional current of his tournament win being dedicated to a deceased childhood friend. "Wicky" Akiyo and Ryuichi Miki may also be candidates, given Nishiura's wild, natural fighter appeal, and Miki's ability to win his tournament bracket despite being an underdog in each of his tournament bouts.
The aforementioned prizes will likely be awarded at the Feb. 17 card at Pacifico Yokohama, just as last year's rookie champions received their trophies, gifts and prizes on the same date this year at “The Victory of the Truth” at Yoyogi National Gymnasium 2.
Much more important than the prizes is the question of which competitors will gain their Class A licenses as a result of tournament victories. "Wicky" Akiyo has already been promoted to Class A following his win over Daisuke Ishizawa (Pictures) in the 143-pound final, however Shooto authorities have yet to announce any subsequent promotions.
It is likely that the weight-class champions promoted this year will mirror those that were promoted in 2005. Of last year's seven rookie champions, 132 champion Takeya Mizugaki (Pictures), 143 champion Tenkei Fujimiya (Pictures), 154 champion Mizuto Hirota (Pictures) and 167 champion "K-Taro" Keita Nakamura (Pictures) were promoted. One-hundred-fourteen-pound champion Kenichi Takeda, 123-lb. champion Yusei Shimokawa (Pictures) and 183 champion Masashi Yozen (Pictures) all retained their Class B status following their rookie tournament wins, though Shimokawa was able to earn his Class A license this past May when he defeated Class A veteran Takeyasu Hirono (Pictures).
Likewise for this year's rookie crop, it is the 132-, 143-, 154- and 167-pound champions who appear prime for promotion. "Wicky" has already earned his promotion, while Ueda, Koyama and Konishi seem to be foregone conclusions to be promoted given their track record and the nature of their tournament wins. However, due to the fact that Class A licensing for 114-pound competitors does not exist yet within the Shooto system, Shinya Murofushi will not be promoted, at least not immediately.
Despite an impressive underdog tournament win, 123 champ Ryuichi Miki still sports a fairly unimpressive record at 3-2-1, and it is imaginable that he will be matched up against another handful of Class B opponents before he is considered for promotion. One-hundred-eighty-three-pound winner Mitsuhiro Takeda had a relatively unimpressive tournament win — mostly due to the fact that Shooto's 183-lb. division is barren and stagnant — and will be forced to actively compete and win in the Class B circuit to gain his Class A promotion.
And most importantly, but perhaps most unpredictably, is how this rookie class measures up to the previous four classes of rookie champions dating back to 2002. While the track record of the rookie tournament suggest that the proverbial cream does in fact rise to the top, this certainly does not appear to be a powerhouse class such as 2002 — Tatsuya Kawajiri (Pictures), Kuniyoshi Hironaka (Pictures), and Yasuhiro Urushitani (Pictures) — or 2004, which included "BJ" Shinichi Kojima (Pictures), "Lion" Takeshi Inoue (Pictures), and Yusuke Endo (Pictures).
Due to the 114-lb. class being in its infancy, it's uncertain that Shinya Murofushi can be anything but a perpetrator of exciting but inconsequential submission battles in the near future. In a class which is as incredibly skilled at the top as 123, there are no signs that Ryuichi Miki will ascend to anything other than midlevel status, and he still has much to prove against Class B competition due to a relatively weak 123-pound class this year. Mitsuhiro Takeda has shown no particular outstanding qualities against weak competition, and competes in a very barren division.
"Wicky" Akiyo Nishiura (Pictures) is certainly ready for top competition at 143 pounds, however he faltered in his first Class A test against the very tough and skilled Akitoshi Tamura (Pictures), and predictably so: Nishiura's reckless style of offense is exciting and has already gained him the biggest fan following of all the rookie champions, but against technically skilled competitors, he will be out-grappled. And despite being able to seemingly escape every submission thrown at him, he'll be unable to win on the judges' cards. While his technical flaws may be correctable, he could run into trouble simply due to the fact that two of the aces of Shooto's 143-pound class — world champion "Lion" Takeshi Inoue (Pictures) and Tenkei Fujimiya (Pictures) — are his friends and training partners.
"Leo" Yuki Konishi (Pictures) may prove to be a valuable building block in the restructuring of a 167-pound class in need of young blood. He is both exciting and well rounded, and like Nishiura is certainly ready for Class A Shooto. However, despite an outstanding effort against Okuno in what was one of the best — if not the best — Class B fight of the year, he hasn't shown the intangible flickers of greatness that mark many future stars, especially those in the Shooto system. How far he can go should become more readily apparent as he begins to face more established competitors in the near future.
The greatest inklings of championship potential are in Masakazu Ueda and Yoshihiro Koyama (Pictures). Ueda's physical talents, combined with his versatility and seemingly constant improvement, could be a potent combination in the 132-pound class, and given the wide-open state of the division, he may be afforded his chances to excel sooner rather than later.
Meanwhile, Koyama has began to morph from a one-dimensional wrestler into a physically dominant fighter, both standing and on the ground. He is already training with a wealth of Japan's best MMA competitors, as well as working under one of MMA's hottest trainers in Takeshi Yamada, the bad boy boxing trainer who has spurred striking development of Yoshihiro Akiyama (Pictures), Kenji Osawa (Pictures), and Tatsuya Kawajiri (Pictures), whom Koyama has been compared to. If Koyama develops as a fighter as expected, he could become one of the most outstanding fighters in the division for years to come.
In February, in the heart of Nagoya, the up-and-coming faces of Shooto began to strike and submit their way through fellow Class-B compatriots in the Shooto rookie tournament series. This past Saturday, in the brightest of bright light districts, many of the brightest of Shooto's annual rookie crop were on display, as the final Shooto rookie champions of 2006 were crowned at Japan's most fashionable fight hall, Shinjuku FACE.
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First, on Oct. 14, it was "Wicky", who became the third consecutive 143-pound rookie from Shooting Gym Yokohama, following in the footsteps of his teammates "Lion" Takeshi Inoue (Pictures) and Tenkei Fujimiya (Pictures). After using his wild, flailing offense to take strong decisions over Tomonari Taniguchi in March, and Yuji Inoue in July, Nishiura fought a more disciplined fight against Sapporan super-striker Daisuke Ishizawa (Pictures), and was able to wrestle and pound his way to the 143-pound rookie crown.
Just under a month later on November 10, coveted prospect Yoshihiro Koyama (Pictures) of Paraestra Matsudo took the
154-pound rookie title with an utterly destructive thrashing of
submission slickster Shinji
Sasaki (Pictures). Koyama has made training
partners with many of Japan's top MMA competitors, including
Tatsuya Kawajiri
(Pictures), Mitsuhiro Ishida (Pictures), Hayato Sakurai (Pictures), Ryota Matsune (Pictures) and Kenji Osawa (Pictures), all of whom have sung his
praises and tabbed him as a fighter to watch in the future. After
two decisive but uninspiring decisions over Shinobu Miura in May and
Yoshiki Noguchi
(Pictures) in July, Koyama saved his
best for the tournament finale, where he pounded Sasaki with knees
in the clinch, and unloaded a ferocious ground-and-pound attack
that left Sasaki battered and bloody after 10 minutes. Perhaps the
only thing more impressive than Koyama's hammering offense was the
fact that Sasaki managed to make it to the final bell.
GUTSMAN Shooto Dojo's Ryuichi Miki became the most unlikely rookie champion of the year — and perhaps ever in the rookie tournament series — on Nov. 30. Entering the 123-pound rookie tournament with a 1-2 pro record, and no considerably stalwart amateur background, Miki was able to earn a draw against "UK" Suguru Inoue (Pictures), and was then fortunate enough to draw the lucky envelope to advance to the next round of the tournament. Miki was then able to knock off All Japan amateur Shooto champion and BJJ black belt "GOZO" Ayumu Shioda, exploiting Shioda's uneasy transition to full Shooto rules en route to a decision victory. In the finals against gritty Paraestra Sapporo competitor Takuya Mori (Pictures), Miki was again the underdog, but used a solid blend of striking and wrestling to score standing, and set up opportune takedowns, earning him another decision victory to become perhaps the most unlikely Shooto rookie tournament champion ever.
Paraestra Hakodate's Mitsuhiro Takeda started his championship bid in dominant fashion, having little trouble submitting Seiji Furukawa in September with a Kimura, before taking on fellow Hokkaido native Atsushi Matsuki in the final. Both men were able to trade reversals and hard strikes on the mat in the first round, but in the second stanza, Takeda had retained far more of his stamina. Exploiting Matsuki's poor conditioning, Takeda was able to quickly take the mount and dish out heavy blows from the top, which netted him the stoppage and the 183-pound rookie title.
Sterling submission artist Shinya Murofushi met little resistance in this running through the 114-pound rookie tournament bracket. The 2005 All Japan amateur Shooto champion out-grappled Hiroyuki Ikeda in Oct. and locked up an armbar victory part way through the second frame. In the tournament final he met the winless Hiroaki Takezawa, who advanced to the final only due to consecutive byes: after bypassing the quarterfinals due to an uneven amount of competitors in the tournament, Takeshi Yamada pulled out of the semifinals due to injury, allowing Takezawa to advance to the final. Predictably, Murofushi had no trouble armbarring Takezawa in the first round to take the 114-pound rookie title.
Perhaps the most decorated of all the 2006 Shooto rookie aces, Masakazu Ueda entered the 132-pound rookie final against Teriyuki Matsumoto (Pictures) as an All Japan amateur Shooto champion, an All Japan Shooto grappling champion, and a Combat Wrestling national champion, all at 143 pounds. After a dominant victory over Nobuhiro Hayakawa in June, Ueda showed surprising versatility against Naoki Yahagi in October. Thought to be solely a top position grappler, Ueda traded blows with the rugged Yahagi, and floored him three times in under four minutes, knocking him out with a powerful right hook. Ueda again showed versatility in the final, working diligently off of his back after being taken down by Matsumoto. Ueda was able to earn another victory in the first round, this time with a triangle choke, en route to taking the 132-pound rookie crown.
Saving the best for last, "Leo" Yuki Konishi (Pictures) met Taisuke Okuno in the 167-pound rookie tournament finale. The heavy-handed Konishi was fortunate enough to draw the lucky envelope to advance in the tournament after a lackluster draw against Toshihiko Sugimoto in June, but atoned for his performance with a dominant whipping of Yoshitaro Niimi (Pictures) in Oct., when an extra few seconds in the final round would've afforded him the opportunity to lock out a tight armbar. Against Okuno, who sported a 3-0 record — with all three wins coming by destructive punching — Konishi was able to emerge as the primary puncher, knocking Okuno down in the first round. Both men traded top position and stints in the full mount, but after 10 minutes Konishi took a commanding unanimous decision victory. Even better than his performance in the final is the humanistic narrative: Konishi's childhood friend, Shinya Kobayashi, passed away before the rookie tournament began. Konishi said that he would win the rookie tournament for his fallen friend, and was able to make good on his promise, despite being a considerable underdog to the heavy-hitting Okuno.
And though all of the rookie champions have now been crowned, it is not necessarily time to turn a new page just yet.
First, perhaps most non-essential, are the rookie champion prizes. Three prizes are awarded annually among the rookie tournament winners: MVP, for the most outstanding rookie champion; Technique for the champion who exhibits the greatest degree of technical excellence; and Fighting Spirit, for the champion who demonstrates the greatest intangible qualities which make a great fighter.
In 2005, 132-pound rookie champion Takeya Mizugaki (Pictures) was awarded the MVP prize, while 167-pound champ "K-Taro" Keita Nakamura (Pictures) was given the Technique trophy, and 154-pound winner Mizuto Hirota (Pictures) took home the Fighting Spirit award.
This year, while perhaps the winners for each are not inevitable, there is assuredly clear-cut candidacy for each. The MVP may very well be given to Masakazu Ueda. Ueda decisively defeated all of his opponents in the rookie tournament, and was able to demonstrate an incredibly sculpted game, which may make him a favorite for the Technique prize, should he not win the MVP. Ueda also faced one of the harder paths to his championship, and yet was perhaps the most dominant in victory of all the rookie champions.
If "Wicky" Akiyo Nishiura (Pictures) had won his bout with Akitoshi Tamura (Pictures) on Dec. 2 following his rookie tournament win, he likely would have won the honor, but despite the fact his defeat was outside the rookie tournament it is likely that the award will now go elsewhere. Touted 154-pound champ Yoshihiro Koyama (Pictures) may be another candidate due to his growing hype, as well as his performance in the finals against Shinji Sasaki (Pictures), but his chances are hurt due to less-than-stellar bouts in the quarter and semifinals.
The Technique award will almost certainly belong to Masakazu Ueda should he not be elected as the rookie MVP. However, because of the strong possibility of him being tabbed as MVP, it is possible that the award may go to either submission stalwart Shinya Murofushi, who demonstrated great grappling skills in his two tournament wins (finishing both of them with armbars). Another possibility is Yoshihiro Koyama (Pictures), who in addition to the outstanding grappling you would expect out of a Paraestra Matsudo trainee that was a national-level collegiate wrestler showed great technique in the stand-up training under Takeshi Yamada at JB SPORTS GYM.
The Fighting Spirit prize will likely go to Yuki Konishi (Pictures), given both his scrappy style in the ring as well as the emotional current of his tournament win being dedicated to a deceased childhood friend. "Wicky" Akiyo and Ryuichi Miki may also be candidates, given Nishiura's wild, natural fighter appeal, and Miki's ability to win his tournament bracket despite being an underdog in each of his tournament bouts.
The aforementioned prizes will likely be awarded at the Feb. 17 card at Pacifico Yokohama, just as last year's rookie champions received their trophies, gifts and prizes on the same date this year at “The Victory of the Truth” at Yoyogi National Gymnasium 2.
Much more important than the prizes is the question of which competitors will gain their Class A licenses as a result of tournament victories. "Wicky" Akiyo has already been promoted to Class A following his win over Daisuke Ishizawa (Pictures) in the 143-pound final, however Shooto authorities have yet to announce any subsequent promotions.
It is likely that the weight-class champions promoted this year will mirror those that were promoted in 2005. Of last year's seven rookie champions, 132 champion Takeya Mizugaki (Pictures), 143 champion Tenkei Fujimiya (Pictures), 154 champion Mizuto Hirota (Pictures) and 167 champion "K-Taro" Keita Nakamura (Pictures) were promoted. One-hundred-fourteen-pound champion Kenichi Takeda, 123-lb. champion Yusei Shimokawa (Pictures) and 183 champion Masashi Yozen (Pictures) all retained their Class B status following their rookie tournament wins, though Shimokawa was able to earn his Class A license this past May when he defeated Class A veteran Takeyasu Hirono (Pictures).
Likewise for this year's rookie crop, it is the 132-, 143-, 154- and 167-pound champions who appear prime for promotion. "Wicky" has already earned his promotion, while Ueda, Koyama and Konishi seem to be foregone conclusions to be promoted given their track record and the nature of their tournament wins. However, due to the fact that Class A licensing for 114-pound competitors does not exist yet within the Shooto system, Shinya Murofushi will not be promoted, at least not immediately.
Despite an impressive underdog tournament win, 123 champ Ryuichi Miki still sports a fairly unimpressive record at 3-2-1, and it is imaginable that he will be matched up against another handful of Class B opponents before he is considered for promotion. One-hundred-eighty-three-pound winner Mitsuhiro Takeda had a relatively unimpressive tournament win — mostly due to the fact that Shooto's 183-lb. division is barren and stagnant — and will be forced to actively compete and win in the Class B circuit to gain his Class A promotion.
And most importantly, but perhaps most unpredictably, is how this rookie class measures up to the previous four classes of rookie champions dating back to 2002. While the track record of the rookie tournament suggest that the proverbial cream does in fact rise to the top, this certainly does not appear to be a powerhouse class such as 2002 — Tatsuya Kawajiri (Pictures), Kuniyoshi Hironaka (Pictures), and Yasuhiro Urushitani (Pictures) — or 2004, which included "BJ" Shinichi Kojima (Pictures), "Lion" Takeshi Inoue (Pictures), and Yusuke Endo (Pictures).
Due to the 114-lb. class being in its infancy, it's uncertain that Shinya Murofushi can be anything but a perpetrator of exciting but inconsequential submission battles in the near future. In a class which is as incredibly skilled at the top as 123, there are no signs that Ryuichi Miki will ascend to anything other than midlevel status, and he still has much to prove against Class B competition due to a relatively weak 123-pound class this year. Mitsuhiro Takeda has shown no particular outstanding qualities against weak competition, and competes in a very barren division.
"Wicky" Akiyo Nishiura (Pictures) is certainly ready for top competition at 143 pounds, however he faltered in his first Class A test against the very tough and skilled Akitoshi Tamura (Pictures), and predictably so: Nishiura's reckless style of offense is exciting and has already gained him the biggest fan following of all the rookie champions, but against technically skilled competitors, he will be out-grappled. And despite being able to seemingly escape every submission thrown at him, he'll be unable to win on the judges' cards. While his technical flaws may be correctable, he could run into trouble simply due to the fact that two of the aces of Shooto's 143-pound class — world champion "Lion" Takeshi Inoue (Pictures) and Tenkei Fujimiya (Pictures) — are his friends and training partners.
"Leo" Yuki Konishi (Pictures) may prove to be a valuable building block in the restructuring of a 167-pound class in need of young blood. He is both exciting and well rounded, and like Nishiura is certainly ready for Class A Shooto. However, despite an outstanding effort against Okuno in what was one of the best — if not the best — Class B fight of the year, he hasn't shown the intangible flickers of greatness that mark many future stars, especially those in the Shooto system. How far he can go should become more readily apparent as he begins to face more established competitors in the near future.
The greatest inklings of championship potential are in Masakazu Ueda and Yoshihiro Koyama (Pictures). Ueda's physical talents, combined with his versatility and seemingly constant improvement, could be a potent combination in the 132-pound class, and given the wide-open state of the division, he may be afforded his chances to excel sooner rather than later.
Meanwhile, Koyama has began to morph from a one-dimensional wrestler into a physically dominant fighter, both standing and on the ground. He is already training with a wealth of Japan's best MMA competitors, as well as working under one of MMA's hottest trainers in Takeshi Yamada, the bad boy boxing trainer who has spurred striking development of Yoshihiro Akiyama (Pictures), Kenji Osawa (Pictures), and Tatsuya Kawajiri (Pictures), whom Koyama has been compared to. If Koyama develops as a fighter as expected, he could become one of the most outstanding fighters in the division for years to come.
