Japanese MMA promotion Pancrase returns to action on Fri. July 24, after a five-month absence due to Covid-19. PANCRASE 316 will take place in Studio Coast, Tokyo, followed a month later by PANCRASE 317 on Sun. August 23.
The full line-up for PANCRASE 316 was announced this past Friday. The event will consist of an eight-bout main card preceded by three preliminary bouts with twelve bouts from the 2020 Neo Blood Tournaments opening up the show.
Headlining the event will be a non-title featherweight clash between the promotions featherweight champion Isao Kobayashi and Akira Okada?—who will be dropping down from lightweight for this bout.
Kobayashi comes into this fight riding a four-fight winning streak, and it will be interesting to see how he fares up against Okada, who is strong, a powerful fighter but is coming off three straight defeats. The 33-year-old Okada will be hoping the switch from lightweight to featherweight will help him return to the winner’s circle.
The evening’s co-main event is a women’s flyweight clash featuring two veterans of the Japanese scene in Emiko Raika and Takayo Hashi, who are ranked two and three in the Pancrase women’s flyweight division respectively. A victory could be enough for the winner to book themselves a shot at the title.
Main Card:
- Featherweight: Isao Kobayashi vs. Akira Okada
- Women’s Flyweight: Miko Raika vs. Takayo Hashi
- Welterweight: Yuta Nakamura vs. Masayuki Kikuiri
- Flyweight: Kohei Sugiyama vs. Naoki Arikawa
- Bantamweight: Masahide Hiraoka vs.Yuki Kosaka
- Bantamweight: Jun Do vs. Sho Sekihara
- Featherweight: Mayo Komori vs. Tokitaka Nakanishi
- Lightweight: Shinichi Taira vs. Kazuki Kasai
Prelims:
- Flyweight: Yuki Yasunaga vs. Satoshi “Tiger” Date
- Featherweight: Hiroyasu Sakurai vs. Toshiomi Kazama
- Bantamweight: Rikiya Matsuzawa vs. Taiki “Seio Date” Suzuki