TOKYO — Japan’s two most popular fighters, 2003 and 2008 K-1 WORLD MAX GP champion Masato and Japanese MMA legend Norifumi “KID” Yamamoto, joined forces on Saturday at the Roppongi Hills Arena to promote the “Stands Up Japan” charity fight event in aid of victims of the March 11 Japan earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster.
Masato stepped away from the ring in his prime in 2009, but he returned on Saturday to face two formidable opponents in one day in Shoot Boxing super welterweight champion and 2006 S-cup champion Kenichi Ogata and All Japan karate champion Kazuya Yasuhiro. With “KID” unable to fight due to injury, Shooto legend and former pacific rim champion Rumina Sato stepped up to take on on Jin Hirano, an Iwate-based figher who lost his home and gym in the tsunami.
Many other icons of the Japanese fight sport industry participated to support disaster victims, and MMA Fighting.com was ringside to capture the action.
TOKYO — Japan’s two most popular fighters, 2003 and 2008 K-1 WORLD MAX GP champion Masato and Japanese MMA legend Norifumi “KID” Yamamoto, joined forces on Saturday at the Roppongi Hills Arena to promote the “Stands Up Japan” charity fight event in aid of victims of the March 11 Japan earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster.
Masato stepped away from the ring in his prime in 2009, but he returned on Saturday to face two formidable opponents in one day in Shoot Boxing super welterweight champion and 2006 S-cup champion Kenichi Ogata and All Japan karate champion Kazuya Yasuhiro. With “KID” unable to fight due to injury, Shooto legend and former pacific rim champion Rumina Sato stepped up to take on on Jin Hirano, an Iwate-based figher who lost his home and gym in the tsunami.
Many other icons of the Japanese fight sport industry participated to support disaster victims, and MMA Fighting.com was ringside to capture the action.
Filed under: Results, JapanA lightweight tournament got underway and two crowns were up for grabs at Pancrase Impressive Tour 4 at the Differ Ariake in Tokyo Wednesday night.
With Maximo Blanco vacating his King of Pancrase title, Koji Oishi made it …
A lightweight tournament got underway and two crowns were up for grabs at Pancrase Impressive Tour 4 at the Differ Ariake in Tokyo Wednesday night.
With Maximo Blanco vacating his King of Pancrase title, Koji Oishi made it three for three against Daisuke Hanazawa, claiming the lightweight crown in the process.
In a rematch of their 2009 classic, Manabu Inoue again showed the heart of a champion as he hounded the hard-hitting Seiya Kawahara for three rounds to retain his bantamweight title.
Filed under: JapanIn the wake of the March 11 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, former Shooto heavyweight champion and Pride and UFC veteran Enson Inoue has been on a one-man charity mission, traveling to northeast Japan to directly help those in need.
In the wake of the March 11 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, former Shooto heavyweight champion and Pride and UFC veteran Enson Inoue has been on a one-man charity mission, traveling to northeast Japan to directly help those in need.
For his next visit to the Tohoku region, MMA Fighting joined Inoue to document the journey and bring new light to the ongoing crisis in Japan.
On our last day we return to our respective homes, our trip into the heart of Fukushima is called off and Inoue reflects on why he is dedicating this part of his life to the people of Tohoku.
Filed under: JapanIn the wake of the March 11 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, former Shooto heavyweight champion and Pride and UFC veteran Enson Inoue has been on a one-man charity mission, traveling to northeast Japan to directly help those in need.
In the wake of the March 11 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, former Shooto heavyweight champion and Pride and UFC veteran Enson Inoue has been on a one-man charity mission, traveling to northeast Japan to directly help those in need.
For his next visit to the Tohoku region, MMA Fighting joined Inoue to document the journey and bring new light to the ongoing crisis in Japan.
On day eight we travel to small town of Minamisanriku. It was incomprehensible after what we had seen so far, but this once-scenic coastal town accounted for one-third of the deaths and was hit worse than anywhere else.
Filed under: JapanIn the wake of the March 11 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, former Shooto heavyweight champion and Pride and UFC veteran Enson Inoue has been on a one-man charity mission, traveling to northeast Japan to directly help those in need.
In the wake of the March 11 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, former Shooto heavyweight champion and Pride and UFC veteran Enson Inoue has been on a one-man charity mission, traveling to northeast Japan to directly help those in need.
For his next visit to the Tohoku region, MMA Fighting joined Inoue to document the journey and bring new light to the ongoing crisis in Japan.
On days six and seven, we meet an MMA fighter who lost everything and returned to Miyako where evacuees start to open up and reveal their harrowing stories.
Filed under: JapanIn the wake of the March 11 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, former Shooto heavyweight champion and Pride and UFC veteran Enson Inoue has been on a one-man charity mission, traveling to northeast Japan to directly help those in need.
In the wake of the March 11 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, former Shooto heavyweight champion and Pride and UFC veteran Enson Inoue has been on a one-man charity mission, traveling to northeast Japan to directly help those in need.
For his next visit to the Tohoku region, MMA Fighting joined Inoue to document the journey and bring new light to the ongoing crisis in Japan.
On day five, it’s Enson Inoue’s birthday and we return to the Miyako evacuation center to bring clothes, shoes, toys and smiles.
A lightweight tournament got underway and two crowns were up for grabs at Pancrase Impressive Tour 4 at the Differ Ariake in Tokyo Wednesday night. 
In the wake of the March 11 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, former Shooto heavyweight champion and Pride and UFC veteran 
In the wake of the March 11 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, former Shooto heavyweight champion and Pride and UFC veteran Enson Inoue has been on a one-man charity mission, traveling to northeast Japan to directly help those in need.
In the wake of the March 11 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, former Shooto heavyweight champion and Pride and UFC veteran 
In the wake of the March 11 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, former Shooto heavyweight champion and Pride and UFC veteran