Japan-MMA.com

1/8 DEEP in Macao - Cancelled

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 07:47:00 +0000

Just a few days out the DEEP event in Macao is cancelled. Deep is calling it postponed, but I am sure this will feel different for those that have bought the ticket package with flight from Japan.

Discuss in the FORUM

12/31 FEG Dynamite - Overeem's Oppenent Confirmed

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 12:33:00 +0000

FEG has confirmed today that Alistair Overeem will be taking on Todd Duffee in his fight. The recently crowned K-1 champion will then go back to MMA and face a very good opponent. This is tougher opponent than I expected Overeem to face.

Duffee has not fought since May and is coming in on short notice. Overeem's last MMA fight was in May as well, when he fought Brett Rogers in Strikeforce. Since 2007 none of his fights have gone past the first round and I am expecting fireworks here again.

Added:
Heavy: Alistair Overeem 33-11-0 vs. 6-1-0 Todd Duffee

MMA Rules:
Dream Featherweight title fight:
Bibiano Fernandes 8-2-0 vs. 14-8-1 Hiroyuki Takaya
Feather: Hideo Tokoro 26-23-1 vs. 0-0-0 Kazuhisa Watanabe
Welter: Hayato “Mach” Sakurai 35-11-2 vs. 11-3-0 Jason High
Open: Ikuhisa Minowa 47-31-8 vs. 3-1-0 Hiroshi Izumi
Heavy: Satoshi Ishii 3-1-0 vs. 3-1-1 Jerome Le Banner
Heavy: Tatsuya Mizuno vs. Sergey Kharitonov
Welter: Katsuaki Furuki vs. 2-1-0 Andy Ologun
Feather: Caol Uno 25-13-5 vs. 10-7-0 Kazuyuki Miyata
Light: Josh Thomson 18-3-0 vs. 26-6-2 Tatsuya Kawajiri
Welter: Marius Zaromskis 13-5-0 vs. 26-14-1 Kazushi Sakuraba

Other Rules:
K-1 rules: Kyotaro vs. Gegard Mousasi
IGF Special Rules: Shinichi Suzukawa vs. Bob Sapp
DREAM/K-1 Mixed rules: Shinya Aoki vs. Yuichiro Nagashima
K-1 Lightweight: Akiyo “Wicky” Nishiura vs. Tetsuya Yamato

Discuss in the FORUM

12/30 SRC Soul of Fight - Fight Order

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 11:25:00 +0000

Here is the fight order for tomorrows SRC 28 fight card. There has been a change from my previous card. Dan Hornbuckle is not fighting (I am currently not aware or why) and has been replaced by Taisuke Okuno.

Main Event: SRC Featherweight title match (5min x 5):
28. Marlon Sandro 17-1-0 vs. 22-4-2 Hatsu Hioki

27. Middle 5min x 3: Kazuo Misaki 22-11-2 vs. 13-13-1 Mike Seal
26. KB 3min x 3 (70 kg): Buakaw Por Pramuk vs. Hiroki Nakajima
25. Female MMA 5min x 3 (53.5 kg): Megumi Fujii 22-1-0 vs. 9-4-0 Emi Fujino

SRC vs. Dream (5min x 3):
24. Feather: Masanori Kanehara 16-8-5 vs. 27-9-2 Yoshiro Maeda
23. Welter: Ryo Chonan 18-11-0 vs. 10-5-2 Taisuke ”Goten” Okuno
22. Light: Maximo Blanco 7-2-1 vs. 9-2-1 "Parky" Won Sik Park

SRC Welterweight GP Final:
21. Keita "K-Taro" Nakamura 20-4-2 vs. 6-1-0 Yasubey Enomoto
20. Light: Kazunori Yokota 11-4-3 vs. 3-2-0 Jadamba Narantungalag
19. Middle: Yuki Sasaki 22-18-1 vs. 20-4-2 Mamed Khalidov
18. Heavy: Yoshihiro Nakao 9-2-0 vs. 19-2-0 Dave Herman

SRC Bantamweight Asia Tournament Semifinals (5min x 2):
17. Akitoshi Tamura 15-9-2 vs. 11-6-0 Taiyo Nakahara
16. Manabu Inoue 11-5-1 vs. 18-6-9 Shunichi Shimizu

15. Female MMA 5min x 2 (61 kg): Roxanne Modafferi 15-6-0 vs. 16-8-0 Hitomi Akano
14. Female MMA 5min x 3 (Open 3x3min): Rin Nakai 9-0-0 vs. 6-23-1 Mika “Hari” Harigai
13. Female MMA 5min x 2 (48 kg): Amy Davis 1-1-0 vs. 12-11-4 Misaki Takimoto

12. Female MT 2min x 5 (47.62 kg): Erika Kamimura vs. Chiharu
11. MT 3min x 3 (86.18 kg): Fabiano Cyclone vs. Andrew Peck
10. KB 3min x 3 (86.18 kg): Kazuki Ozawa vs. Lee Chang Seob
9. MT 3min x 3 (73 kg): Musashi Miyamoto vs. Hiroki Komata
8. MT 3min x 5 (60 kg): Kanongsuk Weerasakreck vs. Genki Yamamoto
7. MT 3min x 5 (52 kg): Arashi Fujiwara vs. Mutsuki Ebata
6. KB 3min x 3 (70 kg): Yutaro Yamauchi vs. Gou Yokoyama
5. KB 3min x 3 (70 kg): Yusuke Ikei vs. Shintaro Matsukura
4. KB 3min x 2 (61.23 kg): Hironobu Ikegami vs. Yuji Tanaka

3. SRC Jacket match 5min x 1 (Light): Yukio Sakaguchi vs. Jung Jin Suk
2. SRC Jacket match 5min x 1 (59 kg): Kiyotaka Shimizu vs. Ichiro Sugita
1. SRC Jacket match 5min x 1 (Light): Sotaro Yamada vs. Kim Lee Sak

Discuss in the FORUM

Pancrase 2011 Tour Title

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 17:16:00 +0000

Pancrase has released their 2011 tour title, it will be "Impressive".

And the schedule up until April:
1/30 Golds Gym Tokyo South Annex (Neo-Blood fights)
2/6 Differ Ariake, Tokyo
3/13 Azalea Hall, Osaka

Discuss in the FORUM

12/30 SRC Soul of Fight

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 10:58:00 +0000

As tradition is in Japan, the main organizations need to put on a NYE card. SRC has been playing second fiddle to FEG and their Dynamite card, and they will again this year.

The SRC event is being held in Ariake Colosseum, which is next to Differ Ariake. If you are wondering how to there there, I did some directions a while back, you can read them here.

The card has no less than 28 fights, a mix of MMA, Muay Thai, Kickboxing and "jacket rule".

I have put the fights in the order the appear on the SRC web-site.

SRC Featherweight title match:
Marlon Sandro 17-1-0 vs. 22-4-2 Hatsu Hioki

Middle: Kazuo Misaki 22-11-2 vs. 13-13-1 Mike Seal
KB (70 kg): Buakaw Por Pramuk vs. Hiroki Nakajima
Feather: Masanori Kanehara 16-8-5 vs. 27-9-2 Yoshiro Maeda
Light: Maximo Blanco 7-2-1 vs. 9-2-1 "Parky" Won Sik Park
Welter: Ryo Chonan 18-11-0 vs. 22-3-0 Dan Hornbuckle
Middle: Yuki Sasaki 22-18-1 vs. 20-4-2 Mamed Khalidov
Light: Kazunori Yokota 11-4-3 vs. 3-2-0 Jadamba Narantungalag
Heavy: Yoshihiro Nakao 9-2-0 vs. 19-2-0 Dave Herman

SRC Welterweight GP Fianl:
Keita "K-Taro" Nakamura 20-4-2 vs. 6-1-0 Yasubey Enomoto

SRC Bantamweight Asia Tournament Semifinals:
Akitoshi Tamura 15-9-2 vs. 11-6-0 Taiyo Nakahara
Manabu Inoue 11-5-1 vs. 18-6-9 Shunichi Shimizu

Female MMA (53.5 kg): Megumi Fujii 22-1-0 vs. 9-4-0 Emi Fujino
Female MMA (Open 3x3min): Rin Nakai 9-0-0 vs. 6-23-1 Mika “Hari” Harigai
Female MMA (61 kg): Roxanne Modafferi 15-6-0 vs. 16-8-0 Hitomi Akano
Female MMA (48 kg): Amy Davis 1-1-0 vs. 12-11-4 Misaki Takimoto

SRC Jacket match (Lightweights): Yukio Sakaguchi vs. Jung Jin Suk
SRC Jacket match (Lightweights): Sotaro Yamada vs. Kim Lee Sak
SRC Jacket match (59 kg): Kiyotaka Shimizu vs. Ichiro Sugita

MT (86.18 kg): Fabiano Cyclone vs. Andrew Peck
KB (86.18 kg): Kazuki Ozawa vs. Lee Chang Seob
MT (73 kg): Musashi Miyamoto vs. Hiroki Komata
KB (70 kg): Yusuke Ikei vs. Shintaro Matsukura
KB (70 kg): Yutaro Yamauchi vs. Gou Yokoyama
MT (60 kg): Kanongsuk Weerasakreck vs. Genki Yamamoto
MT (52 kg): Arashi Fujiwara vs. Mutsuki Ebata
KB (61.23 kg): Hironobu Ikegami vs. Yuji Tanaka
Female MT (47.62 kg): Erika Kamimura vs. Chiharu

KB = Kickboxing
MT = Muay Thai

Discuss in the FORUM

12/26 Shooto Border Season 2

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 08:51:00 +0000

Shooto will hold their Border Season 2 event in Hirano Kumin Hall, Osaka. The card will feature a main event between Shooto veteran Junji Ikoma and Teppei Masuda.

Shooto will also be kicking off their 2011 rookie tournament here

8. Fly: Junji Ikoma 12-12-5 vs. 5-3-1 Teppei "BULL" Masuda
7. 67kg: Takumi Nakayama 13-13-4 vs. 6-3-0 "Jackknife" Tsuneo Kimura
6. Welter: Hiroshi Shiba 8-7-1 vs. 5-4-3 "Gypsy" Taro Kusano

Rookie Tournament:
5. Light: Motohiro Takenawa 4-5-0 vs. Shiro Stronger Amakusa
4. Fly: Toshio Mitani 0-3-0 vs. Satoshi Takeo
3. Welter: Tomoya "Russian" Suzuki 2-1-0 vs. Tatsuhiko Hirase
2. Bantam: Kouki Ota vs. Santouhei Yokoyama
1. Feather: Monjiro TK Hanareme vs. Naritoshi Kakuta

Discuss in the FORUM

Omigawa signs with the UFC

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 07:02:00 +0000

Japanese featherweight standout Michihiro Omigawa has signed a deal with the UFC. His debut is set for 2/5 at UFC 126, the opponent will be Chad Mendes.

Discuss in the FORUM

12/31 FEG Dynamite

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 13:12:00 +0000

True to tradition FEG is putting on a Dynamite event on New Year’s Eve. And like always it’s a stacked card, that should entertain and excite hard core fans as well as casual MMA fans.

The show aspect is taken toned down a bit this year, but an IGF special rules (no idea what that means) featuring Bob Sapp and former sumo wrestler Shinichi Suzukawa should keep the casual fans entertained. Suzukawa is a former sumo wrestler and went by the name of Wakakirin, and made it to the top of the Juryo division. His last sumo tournament was in January 2009, where he went 9-6. He was then thrown out of the sport after a big scandal where he was arrested for possession of cannabis. Suzukawa seems to be no stranger to controversy, and it should be no surprise therefore that is just about cheated (who really knows what heppened) his way into this fight, check out this Sherdog discussion (with video).

For the MMA fans FEG has lined up some very good fights, a title fight between champion Bibiano Fernandes and Hiroyuki Takaya should be a very good fight. Takaya has had a very good 2010 and he will be hoping to cap that off with a win here. This is a rematch of the final in the featherweight tournament, that time it ended in a very close decision win for Fernandes and Takaya will be looking for revenge here.

Personally I am really excited about 2 fights, Miyata vs. Uno and Kawajiri vs. Thomson.

Miyata will be looking to add a big win here over the UFC veteran. A win over Caol Uno would be one of the biggest in his career, and would extend his winning streak to 6. Uno on the other hand needs to get a win after 3 unsuccessful fights in the UFC’s lightweight division.

This year, the card is mainly MMA, but there are some K-1 and a mixed K-1 and MMA fight on the card.

Alistair Overeem’s opponent should be announced soon. There are unconfirmed rumors that this will be a Dream title fight.

MMA Rules:
Dream Featherweight title fight:
Bibiano Fernandes 8-2-0 vs. 14-8-1 Hiroyuki Takaya
Feather: Hideo Tokoro 26-23-1 vs. 0-0-0 Kazuhisa Watanabe
Welter: Hayato “Mach” Sakurai 35-11-2 vs. 11-3-0 Jason High
Open: Ikuhisa Minowa 47-31-8 vs. 3-1-0 Hiroshi Izumi
Heavy: Satoshi Ishii 3-1-0 vs. 3-1-1 Jerome Le Banner
Heavy: Tatsuya Mizuno vs. Sergey Kharitonov
Welter: Katsuaki Furuki vs. 2-1-0 Andy Ologun
Feather: Caol Uno 25-13-5 vs. 10-7-0 Kazuyuki Miyata
Light: Josh Thomson 18-3-0 vs. 26-6-2 Tatsuya Kawajiri
Welter: Marius Zaromskis 13-5-0 vs. 26-14-1 Kazushi Sakuraba
Heavy: Alistair Overeem 33-11-0 vs. TBA

Other Rules:
K-1 rules: Kyotaro vs. Gegard Mousasi
IGF Special Rules: Shinichi Suzukawa vs. Bob Sapp
DREAM/K-1 Mixed rules: Shinya Aoki vs. Yuichiro Nagashima
K-1 Lightweight: Akiyo “Wicky” Nishiura vs. Tetsuya Yamato

Discuss in the FORUM

1/8 DEEP Mayhem in Macao!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 16:37:00 +0000

Since its been a while since I have been posting, I have the privilage of being able to chose news that are a bit old. Here is one of them, DEEP is going to Macao in January. The venue will be the Macao Venetian Hotel Resort.

The main even for this one will be the DEEP Megaton title. Also on the card, in non-title fights are the DEEP bantamweight champion Masakazu Imanari and DEEP welterweight champion Yuya Shirai.

BJJ black belt, Marcos Souza will be making his MMA debut (as far as I know) but he should be no stranger to DEEP fans. Last year he took on and defeated Motoki Miyazawa in DEEP X 04.

Another familiar name on the card is TUF 5 veteran Andy Wang.

9. Main-Event: DEEP Megaton Title Fight:
Yusuke Kawaguchi 13-3-0 vs. 6-1-1 Kazuhisa Tazawa

8. Masakazu Imanari 21-7-2 vs. 0-1-0 Jae Hun Moon
7. Yuya Shirai 20-8-0 vs. 0-1-0 Jeong Gyo Park
6. Ryuta Sakurai 20-16-6 vs. 2-3-0 Yoann Gouaida
5. Saori Ishioka 11-5-0 vs. 1-0-0 Ann Wongkhamma
4. Yasushi Kitazaki 10-7-1 vs. 7-7-1 Andy Wang
3. Luiz Andrade I 12-8-3 vs. 4-3-0 Rodrigo Caporal
2. Marcos “Marquinhos” Souza vs. 0-1-0 Alex “Dragon Slayer” Niu
1. Quinton Arendse 1-1-0 vs. Ye Won Nam.

Discuss in the FORUM

12/18 Shooto Rookie Tournament Champions

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 07:31:00 +0000

Shooto have again crowned their Rookie tournament champions, and for the 3rd year running the MVP is coming out of the Krazy Bee gym. Koji Horiguchi deserved that after defeating two veterans, both Ranki Kawana and Seiji Akao lost to this newcomer out of “Kid” Yamamoto’s gym.
It is also worth noticing that “Rambo” Suzuki has notched up his 3rd straight win by KO, he also won the fighting spirit award.
Technique price winner was Yuta Sasaki.

The winners:
Fly: Masayoshi Kato
Bantam:　Kosuke ”Rambo” Suzuki
Feather:　Koji Horiguchi
Light:　Yuta Sasaki
Welter:　Kota Shimoishi
Middle: Yusaku Inoue

Discuss in the FORUM

Rin Nakai goes sexy

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 19 Dec 2010 10:45:00 +0000

This will be my first post for a very long time, and what wakes me up from hypernation? One of my favorite female fighters, Rin Nakai has deceided to follow Mika Nagano and do some sexy pictures. There has already been some of those on the net, but she has now added to the collection.

The pictures were posted in relation to an interview she did with GBR, which of course you need to be a paying member to view. However, she has posted most of the pictures on her own blog

Personally I am torn in my opinons of female MMA fighters doing this to get attention. All publicity is good publicity, or so they say. But I wish the female MMA fighters could get attention for being the athletes they are, not the way they look.

Either way the pictures are nice and she didnt go as far as Hisae Watanabe once did in her acting career.

Of course there are more good news for Rin Nakai fans, the Valkyrie champion is taking on Hari in a MMA fight on SRC's New Year card.

Now for some pictures:

Discuss in the FORUM

Sayonara!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 19:48:00 +0000

It's been a long time coming, and regular visitors have noticed a drop in my posting over the last few months. As it is now, there are not enough hours in the day for me to be able to keep it up. I have also moved from Japan, and its harder to keep on top of things.

I have met a lot of nice people through this blog over the close to 3 years I have been following the MMA scene in Japan. There are a lot of people I want to say a big thank you to (in no particular order): Joachim Hansen, Antonio Carvalho, Steve Magdaleno, Kazuyuki Miyata, "Mach" Sakurai, Paul McVeigh, Celine Haga, Koichi Pettas, Sean Frew and all my freinds that joined me at these events. Also everyone who has followed my blog, commented and sent me mails.

I've had a great time writing and going to events, and I will continue to write when I go to events, but the updates will be fewer and not as regular as it used to.

So for now, sayonara!

Discuss in the FORUM

6/19 Valkyrie 06 - Fight Order

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 20:51:00 +0000

GCM have announced the fight order for their 6th Valkyrie event. Unfortunately there are only 5 (!) fights on the card...

Considering that the men's card has 6 fights later, I dont know why they havent made this into one ticket event.

The Vakyrie card does have some good fights though, and I am really looking forward to seeing if Rin Nakai can extend her winning streak.

Main-Event - Flyweight (-45.4kg) Tournament Final:
5. Naoko Omuro 11-7-3 vs. 11-4-3 Yasuko Tamada

4. -61.2kg: Megumi Yabushita 19-16-0 vs. 6-0-0 Rin Nakai
3. -56.7kg: Mutsumi Kasai 4-1-0 vs. 1-0-0 Ayame Miura
2. -48.5kg: Naho "Sugi Rock" Sugiyama vs. 1-0-0 Megumi Morioka
1. -52.2kg Novice-Rule: Kimie "Sakura" Okada vs. "Butterfly knife" Yuka

Discuss in the FORUM

6/20 SRC 13 - Fight Order

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 20:29:00 +0000

WVR have announced the fight order for SRC 13. The main event will be the title fight between Masanori Kanehara and challenger Marlon Sandro. SRC are using the 5 round title fight rule and this should be a good battle, I would not be surprised if it goes the distance.

This is another card where WVR are giving talented fighters a shot on a higher profile card along side some of the big stars in Japan.

Main Event - Sengoku Featherweight Title Fight (5×5min.):
10. Masanori Kanehara 16-7-5 vs. 16-1-0 Marlon Sandro

Light-Heavy: Hiroshi Izumi 1-1-0 vs. 3-4-0 Chang Seob Lee
9. Welter: Sanae Kikuta 28-6-3 vs. 3-1-0 Yasubey Enomoto
8. Light: Maximo "Maxi" Blanco 5-2-1 vs. 9-3-0 Rodrigo Damm

Welterweight Tournament Round 1 (Block A):
7. Keita "K-Taro" Nakamura 18-4-2 vs. 6-2-0 Omar de la Cruz
6. Takuya Wada 19-8-10 vs. 5-5-0 Jae Sun Lee

5. Feather: Shigeki Osawa 5-1-0 vs. 12-9-3 Katsuya Toida
4. Feather: Ikuo Usuda 6-0-0 vs. 5-3-0 Kang Kyung Ho
3. Light-Heavy: Ryo Kawamura 11-5-2 vs. 7-3-2 Hidetada Irie

Opening Fight:
2. Light: Kazuki Tokutome 4-1-1 vs. 2-5-0 Yuma Ishizuka
1. Middle: Ikkei Nagamura 3-2-1 vs. 3-1-0 Ye Won Nam

Discuss in the FORUM

7/10 DREAM 15 - JZ Calvan vs. Kikuno Announced

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 19:43:00 +0000

FEG have announced 2 additional fights for DREAM 15 to take place in Saitama Superarena on July 10. Returning is HEROs champion JZ Calvan, who will take on DEEP chamption Katsunori Kikuno. Sherdog's Tony Loiseleur made this interview with the DEEP champion (well worth a read).

FEG also announced a light-heavyweight fight, the very popular Melvin Manhoef will take on Tatsuya Mizuno.

At DREAM 14 FEG announced what will most likely be the main event as two of Japan's favorite fighters will battle for the title. Tatsuya Kawajiri will challenge for Shinya Aoki's belt.

Lightweight Dream title fight:
Shinya Aoki vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri

Light: JZ Calvan vs. Katsunori Kikuno
Light-Heavy: Melvin Manhoef vs. Tatsuya Mizuno

Discuss in the FORUM

6/5 Pancrase Passion Tour 5 - Results

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 09:57:00 +0000

Pancrase is currently holding an event in Differ Ariake and I will update these results as soon as I have the updates.

On the card are the Neo-Blood Semi-Finals, a welterweight title fight and Pancrase favorite Satory Kitaoka.

Sherdog has a Live PBP and chat up:

Read on for results!

Main-Event: Welterweight King of Pancrase title fight:
16. Kengo Ura Def. Keiichiro Yamamiya by MUST decision 2-1 (all judges score it 30-30)

15. Light: Satoru Kitaoka Def. Jorge "Jorjao" Rodrigues by Decision 3-0
14. Light: Eriya Matsuda Def. Yoshifumi Dogaki by TKO Round 1 3:34
13. Feather: Masaya "J-Taro" Takita Def. Shigeyuki Uchiyama by TKO Round 2 2:57
The doctor stopped the fight after, it sounds like part of Uchiyama's ear fell off!

12. Fly: Ryosuke Tanuma Def. Takuya Eizumi by Decision 3-0
11. Bantam: Takumi Murata Def. Ryota Sasaki by Decision 3-0
10. Light-Heavy: Yuhei Fukuda Def. Jason "Mutant" Symak by Armbar Round 1 4:44
9. Fly: Yuichiro Yajima Def. Narongchai by Armlock Round 1 2:15

Neo-Blood Tournament Semi-Finals:
8. Light: Katsunori Takahashi Def. Junichi Ota by KO Round 1 1:39
7. Light: Jyuntaro Ami Def. Keigo Hirayama by Decision
6. Feather: Motoshi Miyaji Def. Kensaku Nakamura by Triangle choke Round 2 0:42
5. Feahter: Masakazu Takafuji Def. Hiroshi Tomita by TKO Round 2 0:13
4. Bantam: Yuki Uejima Def. Shoko Sato by Decision
3. Bantam: Motonobu Tezuka Def. Yuta Numakura by Decision
2. Fly: Yoshihiro Matsunaga Def. Go Yamanaka by Decision
1. Fly: Hiroyuki "Katsuo" Nakajima Def. Daichi Kitakata by Decision

Discuss in the FORUM

7/4 SRC Asia Vol. 1

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 09:27:00 +0000

WVR have added some fights to their "SRC Asia Vol. 1" event to be held in Differ Ariake. With the addition of these type of events it will be interesting to see where SRC's future is.

Either way, they will be holding a bantamweight tournament and there will also be some interesting fights on this card.

Yesterday they announced 2 non-tournament fights, one of them a heavyweight fight with Team Tackler's Kanechika taking on Korean Sang Soo Lee.

Heavy: Koji "Takauji" Kanechika 5-2-0 vs. 13-8-0 Sang Soo Lee
Welter: Masahiro Toryu 7-5-4 vs. 1-1-0 Noah Villanueva

SRC Bantamweight Asia Tournament 2010
Participants:
Takuya Eizumi 6-4-0
Wataru Takahashi 10-13-4
Wataru Inatsu 6-6-2
Hiryu Okamoto 4-3-1
Kyu Jin Choi (?) 3-1-0

Discuss in the FORUM

6/19 Valkyrie 06 - Rin Nakai Fighting

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 19:59:00 +0000

GCM have added a fight to their Valkyrie event in Differ Ariake on June 19. This starts at 12.30 and will be followed by the Cage Force event.

Today they have announced the addition of the undefeated and very promising Rin Naka. She will be taking on the very experienced Megumi Yabushita.

Also on the card will be the Flyweight tournament final between Naoko Omuro and Yasuko Tamada.

Added:
-61.2kg: Megumi Yabushita 19-16-0 vs. 6-0-0 Rin Nakai

Previously Announced:
Flyweight (-45.4kg) Tournament Final:
Naoko Omuro 11-7-3 vs. 11-4-3 Yasuko Tamada

-56.7kg: Mutsumi Kasai 4-1-0 vs. 1-0-0 Ayame Miura
-48.5kg: Naho "Sugi Rock" Sugiyama vs. 1-0-0 Megumi Morioka
-52.2kg Novice-Rule: Kimie "Sakura" Okada vs. "Butterfly knife" Yuka

Discuss in the FORUM

6/6 ShootBoxing - "V Hajime"s Opponent Announed

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 19:47:00 +0000

Shootboxing have announced "V Hajime"s opponent for June 6, it will be J-Girls fighter Ikue Tanimura.

Also announced is a fight between Yuji Sugahara and AACC's Ben Henry, who has had a few fights in Pancrase as well.

On the card is also a tournament with semi-finals and final. Should be a good one, and I am guessing the Korakuen Hall will be packed for this one.

Mei "V Hajime" Yamaguchi vs. Ikue Tanimura
Yuji Sugahara vs. Ben Henry

- YOUNG CAESARS TOURNAMENT 55 -
Super Bantamweight Tournament Finals
SF1: Kazuyuki Fushimi vs. Genki
SF2:Ryuya Sakabe vs. Masanori Ito

Final: Winner SF1 vs. Winner SF2

Previously Announed:
Hiroki Shishido vs. Virgil Kalakoda
Hiroaki Suzuki vs. Tenkei Fujimiya
Kenji Kanai vs. Satoru Suzuki
Takeshi Ishikawa vs. Taylor "Ninja" McCorriston

Rena vs. ☆MIKA☆
Hisae Watanabe vs. Sumie Yamada

Discuss in the FORUM

June Schedule Japanese MMA/Kickboxing

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 18:51:00 +0000

Coming up in the month of June are good events. No DREAM event, but there is an SRC event which should be very interesting and the highlight of this month. Also on the schedule is Pancrase, DEEP, Shooto, ShootBoxing and Cage Force, among others.

If I have missed something, feel free to add it in the comments.

6/5
- Pancrase Passion Tour - Differ Ariake

6/6
- M-1 Muay Thai - Differ Ariake
- ShootBoxing - Korakuen Hall
- Shooto "Shooting Disco 12" - Shinjuku Face
- ZST SWAT! 34 - Golds Gym Omori
- DEEP Cage Impact 2010 in Osaka - Zepp Osaka

6/12
- Krush (kickboxing) - Shinjuku Face

6/13
- Shooto Gig Centra Vol. 20 - Zepp Nagoya

6/19
- GCM Valkyrie 06 - Differ Ariake
- GCM Cage Force - Differ Ariake

6/20
- WVR SRC 13 - Kokugikan
- The Outsider 12 - Differ Ariake
- J-Network (kickboxing) - Korakuen Hall

6/27
- New Japan Kickboxing - Differ Ariake
- Rise 67 (kickboxing) - Golds Gym Omori
- Demolition West Project - Osaka
- Gladiator 7 - Sapporo Teisen Hall

Discuss in the FORUM

7/3 DEEP 48 Impact - Participants Announced

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 18:31:00 +0000

DEEP have announce 7 fights today for their 48 Impact event to be held in Differ Ariake. There are some very interesting fights between some talented fighters here.

In particular I like the Tatsunao Nakakura vs. Tomoya Kato matchup, but also Yoshiki Harada vs. Masato Kobayashi is a very good and interesting fight between 2 talented fighters.

Also participating at this event will be Eiji Ishikawa and Yusuke Kawaguchi.

Announced:
Shigetoshi Iwase 9-12-3 vs. Jung Hwan Cha
Seigo Mizuguchi 7-6-0 vs. 5-1-1 Kazuhisa Tazawa
Tomohiko Hori 11-8-5 vs. 9-4-5 Hiroshi "Iron" Nakamura
Tatsunao Nagakura 5-1-0 vs. 8-2-0 Tomoya Kato
Yuki Ito 8-5-9 vs. 5-1-1 Yasuhiro Kawasaki
Sadao Kondo 5-0-1 vs. 8-8-3 Kosuto Umeda
Yoshiki Harada 3-0-0 vs. 4-1-0 Masato Kobayashi

Participants:
Yusuke Kawaguchi 11-2-0
Eiji Ishikawa 19-16-2

Discuss in the FORUM

5/30 The Way of SHOOTO 03 - RESULTS

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 30 May 2010 10:49:00 +0000

Shooto is putting on an awesome event in JCB Hall in Tokyo today. This is a new venue, and it looks as though they have built it without internet access creating some difficulties for the Sherdog live PBP. But they are still getting the message out there.

Right now they are in the last 3 fights, which are all title fights.

Read on for spoilers.

The fighters from Paraestra Matsudo have really not had a good day... First Koyama lost a close decision (Sherdog had him winning), then Ogikubo gets choked out on his way to a decision. Then the legend, "The Shooto Junkie", gets KO'ed in his first fight for 4 years. Not a good day.

So far the rest of the fights have gone the distance.

"Chiquerim" has JUST won the title when he returns it!! He informs the crowd that he has signed an exlusive contract with an organization that will stop him from defending it!

Lightweight World Title Fight:
8. Hatsu Hioki Def. "Lion" Takeshi Inoue by Decision 2-1

Welterweight World Title Fight:
7. Willamy "Chiquerim" Freire Def. Yusuke Endo by Decision 2-1

Bantamweight World Title Fight:
6. Yasuhiro Urushitani Def. Ryuichi Miki by Decision 3-0

5. 62kg: Rumina Sato Def. Ryota Matsune by KO Round 2 0:21
4. Feather: Masakatsu Ueda Def. Akitoshi Tamura by Decision 3-0
3. Feather: Eduardo "Dudu" Dantas Def. Hiromasa Ogikubo by Rear-Naked choke Round 3 1:21
2. Welter: Kotetsu Boku Def. Yoshihiro Koyama by Decision 3-0
1. Light: Shintaro Ishiwatari Def. Wataru Miki by Decision 2-0

Discuss in the FORUM

5/29 DREAM 14 - RESULTS

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 29 May 2010 11:46:00 +0000

Dream has another one in the books. A strong card, but without any heavyweights or light-heavyweights (now that the GP was scratched).

Lots of strong featherweights on the card though. Add to that the legends of "Mach" Sakurai, Sakuraba and Minowa, what more can you ask for?

Spoilers if you read on.

Gracie broke the curse when he won the judges decision, he was simply the better man on the ground. Sakuraba had his chances though, and what the ref was thinking when he in the last round tried to pull up Ralek's pants I have no idea. Still a deserved victory.

Nick Diaz proved too strong on the ground for the legend "Mach" Sakurai, meaning that 2 of the really big Japanese stars lost on this card.

Other Japanese fighters made sure that the home crowd had plenty to cheer for though. "Kid" looks to be back on track with a quick KO win, and Minowa is staying on track with a submission win in the 1st round.

Hiroyuki Takaya has secured his spot at the #1 featherweight contender as he got a strong KO win over Joachim Hansen.

Osawa and Miyata edge out split decision wins

8. Welter: Nick Diaz Def. Hayato "Mach" Sakurai by armbar Round 1 3:54
7. 88kg: Ralek Gracie Def. Kazushi Sakuraba by Decision 3-0
6. Feather: Hiroyuki Takaya Def. Joachim Hansen by KO Round 1 4:27
5. Feather: Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto Def. Federico "Kiko" Lopez by KO Round 1 1:41
4. Feather: "Wicky" Akiyo Nishiura Def. Hideo Tokoro by KO Round 1 2:10
3. Feather: Kazuyuki Miyata Def. Takafumi Otsuka by Decision 2-1
2. Feather: Kenji Osawa Def. Yoshiro Maeda by Decision 2-1
1. Open: Ikuhisa Minowa Def. Imani Lee by rear-naked choke Round 1 4:16

Discuss in the FORUM

5/29 DREAM 14 - Weigh-in

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 28 May 2010 19:00:00 +0000

FEG held the weigh-in for the 14th DREAM earlier today, broadcast live on their website.

Lots of good fights on the card, and Minowaman is giving up 70kg in this fight! Can he do it again?

If you, like me, are wondering about the difference in weight for the featherweights. Nightmare of Battle has the answer:

"As you can see from the weigh-in results everything isn’t as it should. All Featherweight fights on the card are contracted at different weights.

KID/Lopez is at 60kg
Takaya/Hansen is at 65kg
Tokoro/Wicky is at 63kg
Miyata/Otsuka is at 64.5kg
Maeda/Osawa is at 61kg
Mach/Diaz is at 76.6kg

As you can see, it appears that Kiko Lopez missed weight, I am not sure if he weighed in again though. Also, I am sure the fight would still be on.

Main-event:
8. Welter: Hayato "Mach" Sakurai (76.5kg) 35-10-2 vs. 21-7-0 (76.0kg) Nick Diaz

7. 88kg: Kazushi Sakuraba (86.5kg) 26-12-1 vs. 2-0-0 (87.4kg) Ralek Gracie
6. Feather: Joachim Hansen (65.0kg) 19-9-1 vs. 12-8-1 (65.0kg) Hiroyuki Takaya
5. Feather: Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto (59.8kg) 17-3-0 vs. 4-2-0 (62.0kg?) Federico "Kiko" Lopez
4. Feather: Hideo Tokoro (63.0kg) 26-21-1 vs. 10-5-1 (62.8kg) "Wicky" Akiyo Nishiura
3. Feather: Kazuyuki Miyata (64.2kg)8-7-0 vs. 10-4-1 (64.4kg) Takafumi Otsuka
2. Feather: Yoshiro Maeda (60.7kg) 26-8-2 vs. 15-9-2 (61.0kg) Kenji Osawa
1. Open: Ikuhisa Minowa (88.0kg) 45-30-8 vs. 1-2-0 (150.0kg) Imani Lee

Discuss in the FORUM

Celine Haga Interview

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 27 May 2010 20:55:00 +0000

I've always thought female MMA fighters didn't get the attention and respect they deserve. When Smackgirl went under about 2 years ago, Jewels and Valkyrie both fought to fill space they left.

Jewels seems to have filled that spot the best. At SmackGirl's last event Mika Nagano was one of the new rising stars and Celine Haga was in the crowd.

Now Celine has just gotten her first win, stopping Mika Nagano's winning streak at 5. And I got a chance to ask her a few questions!

Make sure you check out her blog:
http://violentbydesign101.wordpress.com

Thank you for taking the time to answer a few questions, and congratulations with the win over Mika Nagano!

-First of, can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

55kg of energy in motion, starting to get close to a purple belt in life experience now, love the feeling of being free and independent of others. I am cursed, or blessed? With an intensity that makes me give
101% to reach the goals I set. :D

-How long have you been doing martial arts, and how did you get into
MMA? How did you end up with fights in Japan?

I have been doing martial arts for 3 years now – MMA for a total of 1.5 years. Started MMA because if felt like the ultimate challenge both physically and mentally.

I had no experience earlier, just trained 1 year track and field and a year of strength (that I was forced to because I was so weak my doctor told me I needed to add some muscle).

I won a bit of money playing poker and decided to invest in a Japan trip (the money lasted 2 months). During my stay I got to know Megumi and the rest of AACC. I also fought my first fight (semi-pro) in an
underground event called "Smokers".

-How did you feel during the fight with Mika? What was your tactics
before the fight, and did it go to plan?

The tactics were just to aim and hit her. I knew she was southpaw and good at takedowns, so I wanted to keep to basic boxing. One or two punches and move, to avoid takedowns. If it went to the ground the plan was to work for the best possible position. The plan was to give it everything, fight smart, not stress and have fun.

I knew this was probably the last chance Jewels wanted to give me, they were cool and asked who I wanted to fight, if I could choose. I picked Nagano. I knew I had to win against a good opponent this time
for it to matter.

The plan worked, not a 100%, but good enough. :D

-You had 4 losses before this fight, what had you learnt in the
previous fights that helped you in this one? Did you change something
in your preparation?

I always overestimated my opponents, and underestimated myself and it showed in my performances. I might have been a bit too eager when I went to Japan to have my first pro fight after just 1 year of grappling and 3 months of MMA training. HAHA And tapping breeds tapping, that breeds low confidence
and depressions.

But I continued to prioritize training above everything else. I chose not to give up, continue to train hard but forgot the most important aspect of the sport… The mental aspect.

Before this fight I worked harder, focused more on conditioning and self esteem. I was focusing on what I knew and tried to improve that, I got help from Miyata’s coach Sean, some wrestling tips from Miyata, loads of
good training at AACC and not least from Roxanne and Kunioku.

A person I respect a lot told me that I have the technique and strength, but I lack self confidence and wasn’t fighting with my heart. And the last two things are more important than the former.

-I saw Joachim Hansen in your corner, did he give you some good advice?

I actually had Mohsen (Team Hansen) and Sean Frew in my corner during the fight.

Didn’t want any special advice this time, I just wanted positive energy and support. Joachim has given me loads of good advice over the last 3 years that are like tattooed in my brain forever. :D I have had many sparring partners and coaches, but it is first and foremost his style and advice that will be the fundamentals in my game.

-I know you have been training a bit in Japan, how it is to train
there compared to home in Norway? What are the biggest differences?

In Norway I only train with boys that are 15-20kg heavier. Joachim and the others at Team Hellboy have used a lot of time to help me. Sparring with them has made me stronger and given me better balance, and more tolerant to pain. hahaha

In Japan I train with girls. The biggest differences are that girls are a lot more flexible and agile/quick, that increases the stress factor a lot of times.

There are more training opportunities for me in Japan, since there are a lot of girls my size doing MMA/grapping.

-There is not a lot of non-Japanese fighting in Jewels on a regular
basis, you have had 4 fights there. How is it being the only
non-Japanese, do you get extra attention/support?

I think I mix well?? Don’t look typically Norwegian… hehe

I feel like Japan is my second home! Have lots of good friends here and enjoy it a lot.

I don’t receive more attention than the other fighters here. To fight in Japan is pretty special, the biggest have been jetlag, communication (very few speak English) and the culture. But when you settle in, it’s the martial arts’ Shangri-la in my opinion.

The support I have received is first and foremost from my friends here and from Team Hellboy (that have always supported me) I am so lucky and grateful for having such good teammates.

-What can we expect from you in the future? If you could choose, who
would be your next opponent?

I am going to continue training, and as always never give up!

This is the point of no return for me, I have finally won the battle inside, and I am ready to give my next opponent hell. My next opponent is anyone, hopefully at 52kg. I am ready!

Discuss in the FORUM