Coming off a very impressive knockout victory over Kenichi Takeda (Pictures) on Jan. 26, "ATCH Anarchy" Atsushi Takeuchi (Pictures) cemented his place as the top 114-pound competitor in Shooto. However, this past week, he found out that his win was even more valuable than he previously realized.
Currently, Shooto officials recognize approximately 20 Class B fighters at 114 pounds. Since the division was introduced in professional Shooto in 2003, it has been slow to develop, typically with few fighters advancing from the amateur ranks to the pros, and fewer fighters actively competing once they've obtained their professional licenses. However, more recently, larger crops of flyweights have began to appear, providing a measure of promise for the future of the developing division.
Shooto authorities have stated that their goal, though ambitious, is to sanction a 114-pound Shooto world title match-up by late 2008, to determine the first champion.
ZST livens line-up with Kotani, Imaizumi and Oishi
ZST solidified the line-up for Feb. 12 at Differ Ariake with two more bouts featuring some of their most notable talent.
In what may equate to a tune-up prior to his scheduled UFC debut, ZST regular Naoyuki Kotani (Pictures) is scheduled for a meeting with the highly unorthodox Masayuki Okude. Kotani is tentatively scheduled to make his UFC debut on April 5 against Brazilian Thiago Tavares (Pictures).
The other feature bout will see Kentaro Imaizumi (Pictures) meeting Masahiro Oishi (Pictures). While both men were top competitors in Shooto's 132-pound division for years, they have never faced one another before.
Both men are looking to rebound from considerable disappointment. The aging Oishi was ripped apart in just over 30 seconds this past Sept. by unheralded Lithuanian youngster Sergei Greeicho. Imaizumi, meanwhile, is desperate for a win, and has not yet been able to acclimate himself to ZST's finish-focused fight style, with his two ZST bouts ending in disappointing time limit draws.
Pancrase opens up Okinawa appearances this April
While Okinawa is storied as both a focal point of combat sport history and an island paradise, kakutougi in Japan has seldom slipped south to awe Okinawan audiences.
It was from Okinawa that the martial art of karate emerged. Okinawa boasts one of the richest traditions in pugilism in all of Japan, having been the birthplace of world champions such as Yoko Gushiken, Katsuo Tokashiki and Tsuyoshi Hamada, as well as laying claim to one of Japan's hottest young boxing stars in world champion Nobuo Nashiro, who is considered an Okinawan by blood lines.
Yet, despite the rich history in combat and the paradisiacal sub-tropical climate, promoters have been very reluctant to leave the island of Honshu and take their show on the road to Okinawa.
However, Pancrase has decided it’s time for a change.
Pancrase officials revealed that they will begin regular visits to Okinawa, beginning with an April 8 card at Teruya Hall. Much as the Osaka Pancrase cards often act as a showcase for fighters from Osaka-based Pancrase Inagakigumi. The Okinawa card will operate in much the same fashion for fighters from the Okinawa-based gym REAL, featuring Mitsuhisa Sunabe (Pictures), Tomoichi Miyagi and Takafumi Shiroma, among others yet to be announced.
Japanese business technology solution company OLGA, which is based in Okinawa and sponsors the REAL gym, will also sponsor the card.
HERO'S to make first Nagoya landing this March
Fight Entertainment Group has announced that the March HERO'S card will not only be their first of 2007, but it will also be the first HERO'S card in the city of Nagoya.
HERO'S: Nagoya First Landing will take place March 12 at the Nagoya Rainbow Hall, and is slated to feature the usual cast of HERO'S stars, including Kazushi Sakuraba (Pictures), Hideo Tokoro (Pictures), Caol Uno (Pictures), Gesias Calvancanti (Pictures), Katsuhiko Nagata (Pictures)and Kazuyuki Miyata (Pictures), with more fighter announcements.
While FEG will continue to focus HERO'S on a tournament-based structure throughout the year, the March card will serve as a prelude to the 154- and 187-pound tournaments, as it did last year.
Perhaps the most intriguing part of the early announcements is the inclusion of Caol Uno (Pictures), with a rumored return to the UFC around the corner in April. If Uno still takes the fight, and it appears unlikely at this point, he could face Joe Stevenson (Pictures) in early April, which would offer him very little recovery time with a bout on March 12.
However, given how FEG booked last year's March HERO'S card, it is likely that Uno may not receive a particularly competitive match-up, and that the bout could serve as a tune-up for a bout in April.
Shooto continues back to its roots, With "BJ"-Urushitani title clash in sight
With the month of February playing host to their BACK TO OUR ROOTS card on Yokohama, leading Shooto promoter Sustain won't lose steam in March, when they take BACK TO OUR ROOTS II to Korakuen Hall in Tokyo.
Sustain has already revealed that the March 16 card will feature four 2007 rookie tournament bouts, in addition to a 132-pound showdown between So Tazawa (Pictures) and 2006's most outstanding rookie champion, Masakazu Ueda.
Tazawa is looking to rebound from two tough, competitive losses to Koetsu Okazaki and Atsushi Yamamoto (Pictures), while Ueda is looking to score his first win in Class A Shooto, pushing his pro record to 5-0. It is also worthy of note, especially given recent events, that Ueda holds a win in amateur freestyle wrestling competition over "KID" Norifumi Yamamoto (Pictures).
Not yet announced is the main event, however, Sherdog.com has learned that the International Shooto Commission has given their approval to a 123-pound world title contest between newly crowned champion "BJ" Shinichi Kojima (Pictures) and No. 1 contender Yasuhiro Urushitani (Pictures), which is now penciled in to headline the March 16 Korakuen card.
Kojima and Urushitani met previously in Sept. 2005, where the two traded strikes tit-for-tat for 15 minutes en route to a hotly competitive draw. Since then, Kojima has gone on to shockingly snatch the championship from long reigning champion Mamoru Yamaguchi (Pictures), who became the first bantamweight Shooto world titlist in Dec. 2003, when he beat Urushitani for the vacant title.
Meanwhile, Urushitani hasn't tasted defeated in Shooto in over three years, and after his last win in Nov. over Junji Ikoma (Pictures), he appealed to the audience, and the International Shooto Commission, to give him another shot at the title.
Since the ISC has blessed the title encounter, Sustain should officially announce the bout in the very near future. However, one match that won't be announced is one between Kenji Osawa (Pictures) and Ryota Matsune (Pictures).
Sustain had originally hoped to put together an Osawa-Matsune bout as a 132-pound title eliminator, with the winner going on to face world champion Akitoshi Hokazono (Pictures). However, according to Shooto officials, the former titleholder Matsune declined the fight. It is not yet known if Osawa will still compete on the March 16 card, or if Sustain plans to find a replacement opponent.