Nippon Joho: News and notes from Japan
Stephen Martinez May 2, 2005
TOKYO — First I will like to give thanks to everyone who took the
time to drop me an E-mail about the PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix.
It’s good to know at least one person out there is reading all my
rants and comments about Japanese events. Because the list is kind
of long it won’t be fair to give names, but to everyone: thank you
very much.
(Under the same line I will like to say congratulations to my friend Carlos and Marcos for medals in the Florida state championship.)
Here we are once again after a long break following the rush from
the PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix opening round to deliver another
chapter of news from Japan.
While Japan is coming out from under of the PRIDE aftermath and “Golden week” is approaching, the different MMA organizations continue to put together their upcoming shows for May and June. So let’s check what we have in store this month.
PRIDE Bushido just recently announced part of its upcoming May 22 show at Differ Ariake with some amazing matches that actually show the best of the best from Japan in the 185-, 170- and 155-pound divisions.
Ryo Chonan vs. Nino Schembri
Yoshiro Maeda vs. Charles Bennett
Takanori Gomi vs. Luiz Azeredo
Phil Baroni vs. Ikuhisa Minowa
Hayato Sakurai vs. Luiz Firmino
From what I hear around the Japanese MMA circles, DEEP ex-middleweight champion Ryuki Ueyama and current DEEP welterweight champion Jutaro Nakao are expecting to see action in this event.
Another fighter surrounded by strong rumors to join this PRIDE Bushido is SHOOTO welterweight champion Tatsuya Kawajiri. But the SHOOTO “Crusher” is just coming out of from a quick TKO victory over Jani Lax on April 23, so with only one month to go before Bushido 7 personally I don’t expect to see Kawajiri jumping to PRIDE Bushido in this edition.
Also under the same line Hayato “Mach” Sakurai was training in Seattle, Wash. at Matt Hume’s AMC Pankration. While Sakurai was there we learned he had a great time training with American fighters. And currently sources say Sakurai is in the best shape of his life. (Sakurai always struggle with a weight-condition problem.)
His fight against Luiz “Buscape” is scheduled in the 155-pound division. While Sakurai is no stranger to fighting at lightweight (he started in SHOOTO with this weigh) it’s been a long time since he fought so light. But once again I understand he’s in top condition now and very comfortable to fight at this weight.
With the new changes, PRIDE Bushido seems to be taking life once again. Chonan and Minowa are PRIDE’s “main” welterweight fighters while Sakurai and Gomi will take care of the PRIDE lightweight division.
SHOOTO News
Talking about former SHOOTO fighters, the SHOOTO commission, along with their different promoters, is working hard this month to deliver five shows throughout Japan in Tokyo, Osaka and Okayama area. So in case you are around those places make sure check them out.
May 4 – Korakuen Hall (Tokyo)
Gilbert Melendez vs. Naoya Uematsu
Mamoru vs. Stonnie Dennis
Toshimichi Akagi vs. Masaaki Sugawara
Ray Cooper vs. Takashi Nakakura
Jin Akimoto vs. Kenji Osawa
(Special Grappling match) Rumina Sato vs. Yuki Nakai
(Ladies) Satoko Shinashi vs. Pamela Witz
This show looks action packed with Melendez taking on SHOOTO veteran Naoya Uematsu; current SHOOTO Pacific lightweight champion Rumina Sato grappling SHOOTO legend Yuki Nakai under special rules; Hawaiian’s Ray Cooper coming fresh off a knockout over top-ranked lightweight Hermes Franca; bantamweight champion Mamoru in non-title match.
Also, 16-year-old kickboxer Pamela Witz from France takes on Japan’s Sambo queen, Satoko Shinashi, who until a couple of weeks ago had a photograph book on sale with some “for mature readers only” pictures. (I understand my Sherdog partner Masa Fukui owns a copy and he told me this is a must check before bed-time.)
The next event is May 8 in Osaka:
Featherweight Class B *2005 Rookie Tournament 1st Round
Teruyuki Matsumoto vs. Jouji Shimada
Light heavyweight Class B *2005 Rookie
Tournament 1st Round
Masashi Yozen vs. Kintaro
Takehiro Harusaki vs. Atsushi Takeuchi
Tsutomu Shiiki vs. Fanjin Son
Junji Ikoma vs. Hiroaki Yoshioka
Pancrase is Back with Two Title Fights
Pancrase returned on Sunday in Kanagawa, Japan with its monthly show, this time featuring two-title defenses for the King of Pancrase welterweight and middleweight divisions.
Katsuya Inoue was originally scheduled to face Satoru Kitaoka for the King of Pancrase belt but Kitaoka pull out due to knee injury. So Inoue, now the provisional KOP welterweight champion, faced No. 10-ranked Kenji Arai, a strange decision with so many other fighters ahead of him in the rankings. Inoue held firm to stop Arai with punches 4:30 of round two.
Fighting each other for the third time KOP Nathan Marquardt finished Izuru Takeuchi via rear-naked choke 2:19 of round three. Takeuchi took the first bout by decision while Marquardt scored a KO to win the rematch.
Full Results:
Nathan Marquardt def. Izuru Takeuchi TKO 2:19 R3
Katsuya Inoue def. Kenji Arai TKO 4:30 R2
Ryuta Noji def. Jin Chul Oh KO 1:44 R1
Daisuke Watanabe def. Yuya Shirai majority decision 2R
Hidehiko Hasegawa def. Naoki Seki submission 1:59 R1
Takumi Yano def. Nukinpo! Nukinpo! TKO 3:48 R2
Daizo Ishige def. Hiroki Nagaoka unanimous decision 2R
D.O.G. Here to Stay
In other news looks like the cage is here to stay and Promoter GCM is almost ready to deliver another night of cage fights with D.O.G. After the success from the first edition the promoters are been busy looking around for some more international talent to face the Japanese boys inside the cage.
Card schedule for June 11 Differ Ariake:
Hidetaka Monma vs. David Strasser
Nakahara Taiyo vs. Mike Thomas Brown
Naito Yukiya vs. Adachi Akihiko
Aslan Khamzatov vs. Stewart Fulton
Ishida Mitsuhiro vs. TBA
Yushin Okami vs. TBA
Strasser and Brown are both UFC veterans. The rest of the card will be finished in the next couple of week but from the look of things so far this show seems like is going to surpass the first one in terms of exciting and talent inside the cage.
ZST Update
ZST is coming back with another show on May 3 and here are the upcoming matches:
(Tag Team fights)
Hideo Tokoro & Shuichiro Katsumura
vs. Remigijus Morkevicius & Erikas Peitras
(Single Fight) Naoyuki Kotani vs. Hiroyuki Nozawa
Masahiro Oishi vs. Ryuseke Ueyama
Masayuki Okude vs. Sergei Greeicho
Yuta Watanabe vs. Yusuku Masuda
Shunya Sato vs. Yuki Takaya
Takeaki Miyakawa vs. Yuichiro Yajima
Just in case anyone is wondering if the tag team concept included chairs and explosive barbwire, let me explain the ZST tag matches. They are like any other MMA bout with the exception of the ability to tag between partners at any time. Once a team is down to only one member the remaining fighter needs to face the other two members from the opposite team by himself. Strange isn’t it? Well I used to think the same until I got my hands in some ZST tag team matches and let me tell you: they are very fun to watch.
OK, this is all for now. Please check around the site to see any upcoming reports from my friends Jason Akira, Masa and I about the events in Japan.
(Under the same line I will like to say congratulations to my friend Carlos and Marcos for medals in the Florida state championship.)
Advertisement
While Japan is coming out from under of the PRIDE aftermath and “Golden week” is approaching, the different MMA organizations continue to put together their upcoming shows for May and June. So let’s check what we have in store this month.
PRIDE FC: Bushido Volume 7
PRIDE Bushido just recently announced part of its upcoming May 22 show at Differ Ariake with some amazing matches that actually show the best of the best from Japan in the 185-, 170- and 155-pound divisions.
Ryo Chonan vs. Nino Schembri
Yoshiro Maeda vs. Charles Bennett
Takanori Gomi vs. Luiz Azeredo
Phil Baroni vs. Ikuhisa Minowa
Hayato Sakurai vs. Luiz Firmino
From what I hear around the Japanese MMA circles, DEEP ex-middleweight champion Ryuki Ueyama and current DEEP welterweight champion Jutaro Nakao are expecting to see action in this event.
Another fighter surrounded by strong rumors to join this PRIDE Bushido is SHOOTO welterweight champion Tatsuya Kawajiri. But the SHOOTO “Crusher” is just coming out of from a quick TKO victory over Jani Lax on April 23, so with only one month to go before Bushido 7 personally I don’t expect to see Kawajiri jumping to PRIDE Bushido in this edition.
Also under the same line Hayato “Mach” Sakurai was training in Seattle, Wash. at Matt Hume’s AMC Pankration. While Sakurai was there we learned he had a great time training with American fighters. And currently sources say Sakurai is in the best shape of his life. (Sakurai always struggle with a weight-condition problem.)
His fight against Luiz “Buscape” is scheduled in the 155-pound division. While Sakurai is no stranger to fighting at lightweight (he started in SHOOTO with this weigh) it’s been a long time since he fought so light. But once again I understand he’s in top condition now and very comfortable to fight at this weight.
With the new changes, PRIDE Bushido seems to be taking life once again. Chonan and Minowa are PRIDE’s “main” welterweight fighters while Sakurai and Gomi will take care of the PRIDE lightweight division.
SHOOTO News
Talking about former SHOOTO fighters, the SHOOTO commission, along with their different promoters, is working hard this month to deliver five shows throughout Japan in Tokyo, Osaka and Okayama area. So in case you are around those places make sure check them out.
May 4 – Korakuen Hall (Tokyo)
Gilbert Melendez vs. Naoya Uematsu
Mamoru vs. Stonnie Dennis
Toshimichi Akagi vs. Masaaki Sugawara
Ray Cooper vs. Takashi Nakakura
Jin Akimoto vs. Kenji Osawa
(Special Grappling match) Rumina Sato vs. Yuki Nakai
(Ladies) Satoko Shinashi vs. Pamela Witz
This show looks action packed with Melendez taking on SHOOTO veteran Naoya Uematsu; current SHOOTO Pacific lightweight champion Rumina Sato grappling SHOOTO legend Yuki Nakai under special rules; Hawaiian’s Ray Cooper coming fresh off a knockout over top-ranked lightweight Hermes Franca; bantamweight champion Mamoru in non-title match.
Also, 16-year-old kickboxer Pamela Witz from France takes on Japan’s Sambo queen, Satoko Shinashi, who until a couple of weeks ago had a photograph book on sale with some “for mature readers only” pictures. (I understand my Sherdog partner Masa Fukui owns a copy and he told me this is a must check before bed-time.)
The next event is May 8 in Osaka:
Featherweight Class B *2005 Rookie Tournament 1st Round
Teruyuki Matsumoto vs. Jouji Shimada
Light heavyweight Class B *2005 Rookie
Tournament 1st Round
Masashi Yozen vs. Kintaro
Takehiro Harusaki vs. Atsushi Takeuchi
Tsutomu Shiiki vs. Fanjin Son
Junji Ikoma vs. Hiroaki Yoshioka
Pancrase is Back with Two Title Fights
Pancrase returned on Sunday in Kanagawa, Japan with its monthly show, this time featuring two-title defenses for the King of Pancrase welterweight and middleweight divisions.
Katsuya Inoue was originally scheduled to face Satoru Kitaoka for the King of Pancrase belt but Kitaoka pull out due to knee injury. So Inoue, now the provisional KOP welterweight champion, faced No. 10-ranked Kenji Arai, a strange decision with so many other fighters ahead of him in the rankings. Inoue held firm to stop Arai with punches 4:30 of round two.
Fighting each other for the third time KOP Nathan Marquardt finished Izuru Takeuchi via rear-naked choke 2:19 of round three. Takeuchi took the first bout by decision while Marquardt scored a KO to win the rematch.
Full Results:
Nathan Marquardt def. Izuru Takeuchi TKO 2:19 R3
Katsuya Inoue def. Kenji Arai TKO 4:30 R2
Ryuta Noji def. Jin Chul Oh KO 1:44 R1
Daisuke Watanabe def. Yuya Shirai majority decision 2R
Hidehiko Hasegawa def. Naoki Seki submission 1:59 R1
Takumi Yano def. Nukinpo! Nukinpo! TKO 3:48 R2
Daizo Ishige def. Hiroki Nagaoka unanimous decision 2R
D.O.G. Here to Stay
In other news looks like the cage is here to stay and Promoter GCM is almost ready to deliver another night of cage fights with D.O.G. After the success from the first edition the promoters are been busy looking around for some more international talent to face the Japanese boys inside the cage.
Card schedule for June 11 Differ Ariake:
Hidetaka Monma vs. David Strasser
Nakahara Taiyo vs. Mike Thomas Brown
Naito Yukiya vs. Adachi Akihiko
Aslan Khamzatov vs. Stewart Fulton
Ishida Mitsuhiro vs. TBA
Yushin Okami vs. TBA
Strasser and Brown are both UFC veterans. The rest of the card will be finished in the next couple of week but from the look of things so far this show seems like is going to surpass the first one in terms of exciting and talent inside the cage.
ZST Update
ZST is coming back with another show on May 3 and here are the upcoming matches:
(Tag Team fights)
Hideo Tokoro & Shuichiro Katsumura
vs. Remigijus Morkevicius & Erikas Peitras
(Single Fight) Naoyuki Kotani vs. Hiroyuki Nozawa
Masahiro Oishi vs. Ryuseke Ueyama
Masayuki Okude vs. Sergei Greeicho
Yuta Watanabe vs. Yusuku Masuda
Shunya Sato vs. Yuki Takaya
Takeaki Miyakawa vs. Yuichiro Yajima
Just in case anyone is wondering if the tag team concept included chairs and explosive barbwire, let me explain the ZST tag matches. They are like any other MMA bout with the exception of the ability to tag between partners at any time. Once a team is down to only one member the remaining fighter needs to face the other two members from the opposite team by himself. Strange isn’t it? Well I used to think the same until I got my hands in some ZST tag team matches and let me tell you: they are very fun to watch.
OK, this is all for now. Please check around the site to see any upcoming reports from my friends Jason Akira, Masa and I about the events in Japan.
