Author: Daniel Herbertson

Nippon Weekly: Former Pride Boss Nobuyuki Sakakibara Back in MMA?

Filed under: DREAM, K1, Sengoku, JapanWhen former Pride FC president Nobuyuki Sakakibara stepped down from his post in response to exposed Japanese mafia ties, it signaled the end of an era in MMA. Now, with Japanese MMA at it’s lowest, Sakakibara may …

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When former Pride FC president Nobuyuki Sakakibara stepped down from his post in response to exposed Japanese mafia ties, it signaled the end of an era in MMA. Now, with Japanese MMA at it’s lowest, Sakakibara may be working on starting a new era.

In this edition of Nippon Weekly: Sakakibara may be planning a comeback with some of the biggest players in Japanese MMA, FEG finally gives us a timeframe for its return, fighters flock from Sengoku, Gomi and Gono return to their roots and fat guys fight in Deep.

Dave ‘Pee-Wee’ Herman Released by Sengoku, Signs With UFC

Filed under: UFC, Sengoku, News, JapanLeading Japanese promotion Sengoku Raiden Championship has lost its second top fighter in two weeks.

SRC middleweight champion Jorge Santiago was the first to go and Tuesday, MMA Fighting has confirmed that heavy…

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Leading Japanese promotion Sengoku Raiden Championship has lost its second top fighter in two weeks.

SRC middleweight champion Jorge Santiago was the first to go and Tuesday, MMA Fighting has confirmed that heavyweight prospect Dave “Pee-Wee” Herman (20-2) has left the promotion and has already signed with the UFC.

Herman signed with top Japanese manager Shu Hirata following his one-sided victory over Yoshihiro “KISS” Nakao at Sengoku: Soul of Fight on Dec. 30. After the financially unsuccessful end-of-year event, the uncertainty of the sport in Japan grew and so Hirata sought the release of Herman. The American has now signed with the UFC.

Sakuraba Student Takenori Sato Claims Welterweight Pancrase Crown

Filed under: Results, JapanKengo Ura’s reign as the 5th Welterweight King of Pancrase was a short one as Kazushi Sakuraba student Takenori Sato dominated and submitted the defending champion less than five minutes into their bout at Pancrase: Impressiv…

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Kengo Ura‘s reign as the 5th Welterweight King of Pancrase was a short one as Kazushi Sakuraba student Takenori Sato dominated and submitted the defending champion less than five minutes into their bout at Pancrase: Impressive Tour 1 at Differ Ariake in Tokyo, Japan on Sunday.

Also on Pancrase’s first effort for the year, Eiji Ishikawa derailed Masahiro Toryu, journeyman Hiroki Nagaoka battered Yuki Kondo who was making his welterweight debut and Seiya Kawahara made a successful return to the ring after almost a year off due to injury.

Sakuraba Student Takenori Sato Claims Welterweight Pancrase Crown

Filed under: Results, JapanKengo Ura’s reign as the 5th Welterweight King of Pancrase was a short one as Kazushi Sakuraba student Takenori Sato dominated and submitted the defending champion less than five minutes into their bout at Pancrase: Impressiv…

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Kengo Ura‘s reign as the 5th Welterweight King of Pancrase was a short one as Kazushi Sakuraba student Takenori Sato dominated and submitted the defending champion less than five minutes into their bout at Pancrase: Impressive Tour 1 at Differ Ariake in Tokyo, Japan on Sunday.

Also on Pancrase’s first effort for the year, Eiji Ishikawa derailed Masahiro Toryu, journeyman Hiroki Nagaoka battered Yuki Kondo who was making his welterweight debut and Seiya Kawahara made a successful return to the ring after almost a year off due to injury.

Nippon Weekly: Japanese Fighters Preparing for April Strikeforce Event

Filed under: DREAM, Strikeforce, Sengoku, News, JapanFinally, we have some fights again across the Pacific and it looks as though there might be more to come too.

In this edition of Nippon Weekly, Japanese fighters are preparing for an April 9 Strikef…

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Finally, we have some fights again across the Pacific and it looks as though there might be more to come too.

In this edition of Nippon Weekly, Japanese fighters are preparing for an April 9 Strikeforce event in Tokyo despite reports that the fights will be taking place in America, further scandal in the world of Sumo drowns out UFC 126 hype, Pancrase gets its “Impressive Tour” under way with one of its strongest cards in recent times, Shinya Aoki, Masakazu Imanari and others showcase their wares in Deep and Bob Sapp is wrestling while Kimbo Slice is not.

Michihiro Omigawa Fights for Japanese MMA

Filed under: DREAM, UFC, Sengoku, JapanWhen Michihiro Omigawa enters the cage on Saturday at UFC 126 to fight Chad Mendes, the weight of Japanese MMA will be on his shoulders. The judoka will be the only example of a born and bred Japanese fighter that…

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When Michihiro Omigawa enters the cage on Saturday at UFC 126 to fight Chad Mendes, the weight of Japanese MMA will be on his shoulders. The judoka will be the only example of a born and bred Japanese fighter that has fought in the UFC in his prime, and the fight could not come at a more important time.

The days of Pride FC are long gone. We are waiting patiently to see if DREAM is also dead. We are hearing that Sengoku Raiden Championship may be losing their financial backing.

Omigawa is not just fighting for himself. He will be fighting to maintain the relevance of Japanese MMA.