This is the busiest week of MMA, in the busiest month, in what has been a very, very busy year. If you're all tapped out, the Japanese MMA scene is here to tell you to suck it up and stop being a wuss.
The 32-year-old former Shooto king will require surgery and maybe a liquid diet. With the injury expected to take six months to heal fully, Uno will not be a part of the K-1 Premium 2007 Dynamite show on New Year's Eve and may not be ready for March either, which is when Fight Entertainment Group normally promotes the first HERO'S card of the year.
In markedly better news for FEG, the TV ratings are in.
Japan's Video Research Ltd. has revealed that the Sept. 17 edited broadcast of the HERO'S tournament final, which aired on the Tokyo Broadcasting System from 9 p.m. to 10:54 p.m. Tokyo time, notched a 12.5.
The rating is the highest for FEG's MMA ventures this year.
For comparison the March 14 HERO'S event headlined by Hideo Tokoro (Pictures) vs. Kazuya Yasuhiro (Pictures) drew a 12.1, but subsequent events saw a decline in viewers. The decidedly disastrous K-1 Dynamite USA broadcast drew an 11.1 while the 154-pound tournament opener on July 16, with a broadcast that concluded with Caol Uno (Pictures) vs. Katsuhiko Nagata, garnered only a 10.9.
The 2006 HERO'S tournament finale, with Gesias Calvancanti (Pictures) and Yoshihiro Akiyama (Pictures) winning 154- and 187-pound tournaments respectively, drew a 14.6.
Nakamura, Omigawa Aim for Debut Wins in Anaheim
Though the PRIDE buyout may not have netted exactly what Zuffa wanted, the company will welcome two new Japanese competitors to the UFC on Saturday. Kazuhiro Nakamura (Pictures) and Michihiro Omigawa (Pictures), both students of Hidehiko Yoshida (Pictures), will make their octagon debuts at UFC 76 in Anaheim, Calif.
It was widely speculated following PRIDE's demise that Nakamura and Omigawa would make the jump to the UFC. Yoshida had expressed his and his team's interest in fighting for the American organization. Before the deals were made official in late July, Nakamura had spoken candidly about his Octagon ambition, telling Japanese media that he grew up in Pride, felt he had no place in HERO'S, and would therefore fight in the UFC.
Nakamura will immediately see high-profile action against the undefeated and highly regarded Ryoto Machida (Pictures). The main card bout should considerably bolster the stock of the victor.
Nakamura has won three of his last four fights, losing only to Mauricio "Shogun" Rua. The Japanese fighter scored a sensational victory in his stateside debut last October, stopping Canadian Travis Galbraith (Pictures).
Omigawa will take on "The Ultimate Fighter 5" alum "Handsome" Matt Wiman (Pictures) in the opening preliminary bout. Although he may be known best for his brutal knockout loss to Aaron Riley (Pictures) in his pro MMA debut, Omigawa has considerably improved while winning three straight bouts.
Nakamura and Omigawa arrived in Anaheim on Tuesday. Making the trek with the ippon-apt teammates is longtime Pancrase veteran and Yoshida Dojo trainer Daisuke Ishii (Pictures), who has reportedly worked extensively with both fighters in preparation for the bout. He is one of the few Japanese veterans with experience fighting stateside in a cage, having competed in both WEC and IFC.
Kang, Akiyama May Fight in Seoul HERO'S
FEG also revealed the return of HERO'S to South Korea on Oct. 28 at the Jang Chung Gymnasium in Seoul. While FEG routinely promotes events in Seoul under the K-1 banner, this will be their first venture to South Korea for HERO'S since November 2005.
None too surprisingly, FEG has tentative plans to use recent signee Denis Kang (Pictures) on the card. One of the biggest names in the South Korean MMA community thanks to his success in PRIDE and the preeminent South Korean promotion Spirit MC, Kang was slated to compete on the Sept. 17 HERO'S show. However, contractual difficulties and opponent problems nixed those plans. The HERO'S in Seoul is an ideal situation for both FEG and Kang, given his desire to compete soon and his status in South Korea.
FEG president Sadaharu Tanigawa has also suggested he wants Yoshihiro Akiyama (Pictures) to return. Although it seemed that New Year's Eve could mark Akiyama's comeback, the Seoul event offers an even more likely opportunity.
Akiyama remains popular in South Korea, even after the slippery situation that followed his bout against Kazushi Sakuraba (Pictures). In fact, he had topped the bill at the first HERO'S event in Seoul, knocking off Japan's Masakatsu Okuda in the main events.
A First Stop on The Road to RINGS Revival?
Even though Akira Maeda (Pictures) may have a hand in HERO'S, there's no question which promotion holds the warmest place in his heart.
After several months of publicly teasing a RINGS return, Maeda has announced that Sept. 24 will mark the first steps in the reemergence of one of MMA's first promotions. At the Tycoon restaurant in Yokohama, Maeda will have a dinner with an audience of RINGS fans. He'll field questions about a planned RINGS return and the climate of MMA in general. Maeda has also promised that special guests will attend the event.
Yokohama is a particularly apropos setting for the dinner; it was in the Yokohama Cultural Gymnasium that the final official RINGS Fighting Network card took place on Feb. 15, 2002.
Maeda began the RINGS Fighting Network in 1991 as a shoot-style pro wrestling organization. The organization moved toward legitimate MMA in the mid-1990s and is perhaps best known for the King of Kings series, which put a considerable portion of MMA's current stalwarts on the map, including Fedor Emelianenko (Pictures), Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (Pictures), Dan Henderson (Pictures), Ricardo Arona (Pictures) and Renato Sobral (Pictures).
Though the RINGS Fighting Network has not been officially active for the last five years, promotions in Holland and Eastern Europe, where RINGS was highly influential in the development of MMA, have continued to hold events under the RINGS banner while using King of Kings rules. In Japan niche promotion ZST is seen as RINGS' direct descendant and also uses King of Kings rules.
Hioki Heads Home for Clash with Kim
Hatsu Hioki (Pictures) will return in a familiar role on Oct. 8. The 145-pound standout heads back to his native Nagoya to headline the thirteenth edition of Shooto's GIG CENTRAL against South Korean import Jong Man Kim (Pictures).
Hioki has not competed since dropping a hotly contested split decision in May to former Shooto world title challenger Antonio Carvalho (Pictures). He had been scheduled to fight Gustavo Franca (Pictures) in August but pulled out after breaking his left ring toe.
His upcoming opponent, Kim, has amassed an extensive record in grassroots South Korean events. Most recently Kim gave DEEP champion Masakazu Imanari (Pictures) a scare in August before falling prey to a submission.
The Oct. 8 GIG CENTRAL card is a co-feature with Kakumei Kickboxing. It will host five professional Shooto bouts in addition to local kickboxing talent from central Japan.
High-Stakes Rematch Headlines Shooto
With a massive weekend of MMA coming up, it goes without saying that there must be something happening in Nihon.
That something? Leading Shooto promoter Sustain's BACK TO OUR ROOTS 05 event this Saturday at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo.
Two of Shooto's finest will square off for a second time in the main event, as longtime Shooto world champion Mamoru Yamaguchi (Pictures) and perennial contender Yasuhiro Urushitani (Pictures) battle in a high stakes 123-pound affair.
In December 2003 Mamoru and Urushitani met to crown the first 123-pound world champion of professional Shooto. A slight pre-fight favorite, Urushitani paid for his passivity when Mamoru, who was debuting his now-trademark Yoko Gushiken-inspired attire, accelerated the pace of the bout and took Urushitani to the floor. On the ground Mamoru controlled and pounded from the top position en route to a unanimous decision.
After reigning for nearly three years, Mamoru was shockingly dethroned last October when "BJ" Shinichi Kojima (Pictures) choked him unconscious a mere 98 seconds into the bout. BJ then defended his title in March for the first time, taking on Urushitani, whom he had fought before to a draw.
In the rematch Urushitani used his slick, speedy striking savvy to dominate the champion on the feet for 15 minutes. He failed, however, to capture the title because the bout was ruled a split draw -- a verdict fans and spectators unanimously denounced.
The Mamoru-Urushitani rematch is essentially a de facto title eliminator, with the victor likely getting a chance for revenge against the reigning king, BJ.
Shooto's charisma incarnate, Rumina Sato (Pictures), will also return Saturday, seeing duty against Wajyutsu Keisyukai veteran Hideki Kadowaki (Pictures).
Sato quickly dispatched of Swiss-based Brazilian Augusto Frota (Pictures) in March via a knee that opened a nasty cut on the Shooto Europe standout. After the bout Sato was expected by some to challenge then-champion Takeshi Inoue (Pictures) for the 143-pound world title, but a lingering shoulder injury put him on the shelf.
On that same March card, Kadowaki dropped a controversial split decision to upstart Yokohama wildchild Akiyo Nishiura (Pictures). A win over Sato would undeniably be the biggest win of Kadowaki's pro career, pushing him up the Shooto world rankings and into title contention.
In 132-pound action, fan-favorite Kenji Osawa (Pictures) will look to settle the score with Australian-based Brazilian Daniel Lima (Pictures). Osawa and Lima stalemated in November 2005. Osawa moved on to drop a close majority decision to divisional powerhouse Marcos Galvao (Pictures) in May, and in the meantime Lima picked up two wins in front of an Australian audience, with decisions this year over Shooto regular Ayumu Shioda and Albert Manners (Pictures), a pupil of B.J. Penn (Pictures).
Also in the 132-pound class, Killer Bee's Atsushi Yamamoto (Pictures) will hope to rebound from his May loss to upstart Osakan Koetsu Okazaki (Pictures) when he fights perhaps Shooto's foremost resident eccentric, "Hadairo" Tetsu Suzuki (Pictures). A win could jump Yamamoto up the Shooto world rankings, toward Akitoshi Hokazono (Pictures)'s world title.
Always outlandishly costumed, Suzuki battled to a hard-fought but disappointing draw in August against former Yamamoto victim So Tazawa (Pictures). Against Yamamoto he'll be seeking his first Class-A win.
Exiting the 132-pound division is 36-year-old Shooto elder statesman Jin Akimoto (Pictures), who will drop to the 123-pound division to face returning divisional firebrand Setsu Iguchi (Pictures). Both fighters are desperate for a win. The politically interested Akimoto is winless in his last five bouts while Iguchi's long-awaited move to Shooto has been largely disappointing at 0-2-1. Iguchi's most recent bout was in May of last year, when Mamoru bloodied and stopped him in their awaited grudge match.
Filling out a deep Class-B undercard, last year's 115-pound rookie champion Shinya Murofushi (Pictures) will strive for a Class-A promotion against "ATCH Anarchy," Atsushi Takeuchi (Pictures). Also, Sakae Kasuya (Pictures), a Rumina Sato (Pictures) student, looks to upgrade his Shooto license against Takumi Ota.
In semifinal rookie tournament action, 132-pounders Kazuya Tamura (Pictures) and Hiromasa Ougikubo square off, and 168-pounders Akihiro Yamazaki and Daisuke Okumiya step into the ring with finals berths on the line.
Amateur Shootors Shoot for the Pros
Although most ardent MMA enthusiasts are psyched for the fifth installment of BACK TO OUR ROOTS, another special Shooto event is on tap Sunday.
After Sustain hits Tokyo on Saturday for their pro Shooto feature, Shooto officials will head to the city of Odawara for the fourteenth All Japan Amateur Shooto Championships. The event will host 10 one-day tournaments, featuring both male and female competitors across nine weight classes. More than 100 Class-C amateur competitors are slated to compete in 103 scheduled bouts.
Competitors qualify for the All Japan by winning one of the regional amateur Shooto tournaments held throughout the course of the year. Additional applicants are chosen based on the strength of their amateur Shooto records. Tournament winners and standout performers at the annual event typically gain promotions to Class B Shooto, thereby becoming professional Shootors. Many competitors go on to the next year's Shooto rookie tournament series.
In 2005, 31 competitors were awarded pro Shooto promotions at the All Japan, and 33 at last year's event were given the blessing of Shooto officials.
Club DEEP Set for Sunday
West of Shooto, DEEP will continue its rapid nationwide Club DEEP tour in Yamaguchi City on Sunday.
Last weekend's edition of Club DEEP in Tokyo saw Ryuhei Sato (Pictures) run roughshod over longtime journeyman Kousei Kubota (Pictures). Sato's fellow R-BLOOD teammate Kosuto Umeda (Pictures) also picked up a narrow decision over heavy-hitting Takahiro Kajita.
"Andre" Yuta Watanabe (Pictures), a Tsuyoshi Kohsaka (Pictures) disciple, headlines Sunday's show against Mori Dojo novice Yuya Aikawa. The bout should serve as a showcase for the 22-year-old "Andre," who is one of the stronger young Japanese competitors in DEEP's heavier weight classes.
Also on the card, well-traveled veteran Seiji Otsuka (Pictures), who drew with Shooto rookie tournament competitor Junya Kudou (Pictures) in July, will take on another local Mori Dojo product, Toru Harai. Daiki Nagasako also faces Motomare Takahashi.
Additional Future King Tournament selections will take place, with young fighters competing at 143, 154, 168 and 181 pounds for spots in the next DEEP Future King Tournament.
The Club DEEP tour will continue on to Osaka on Oct. 13, to Hamamatsu on Oct. 21 and to Sendai on Oct. 28. The Dec. 9 edition of Club DEEP is tentatively scheduled for Kanazawa, but the show is currently without a venue.