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Josh Barnett Pro Wrestling Match, Two Kickboxing Bouts Added to ‘Genki Desu Ka!’

Filed under: News, JapanBefore Josh Barnett takes on Daniel Cormier tentatively in March for the Strikeforce GP title, the former UFC champ will take part in a pro wrestling match on the New Year’s Eve “Genki Desu Ka!!” card in Japan.

On Tuesday, prom…

Filed under: News, Japan

Before Josh Barnett takes on Daniel Cormier tentatively in March for the Strikeforce GP title, the former UFC champ will take part in a pro wrestling match on the New Year’s Eve “Genki Desu Ka!!” card in Japan.

On Tuesday, promoters announced that Barnett will face Hideki Suzuki in the IGF pro wrestling portion of the card. Also added Tuesday is a pair of kickboxing bouts. Yuta Kubo will take on Nils Widlund, while Masaaki Noiri meets Kengo Sonoda.

The current “Genki Desu Ka!!” lineup is below.

Main Event (MMA)
Fedor Emelianenko vs. Satoshi Ishii

Dream Lightweight Title Bout
Shinya Aoki vs. Satoru Kitaoka

Dream Featherweight Title Bout
Hiroyuki Takaya vs. Takeshi “Lion” Inoue

Dream Bantamweight World GP
Semifinals: Bibiano Fernandes vs. Rodolfo Marques
Semifinals: Masakazu Imanari vs. Antonio Banuelos
Finals: Winner of Fernandes-Marques vs. Winner of Imanari-Banuelos
Reserve: Hideo Tokoro vs. Yusup Saadulaev

Other MMA Bouts
Hayato “Mach” Sakurai vs. Ryo Chonan
Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Kazuyuki Miyata

Mixed Rules Bout (Two rounds: R1 kickboxing, R2 MMA)
Yuichiro Nagashima vs. Katsunori Kikuno

IGF Pro Wrestling Matches
Kazushi Sakuraba and Katsuyori Shibata vs. Shinichi Suzukawa and Atsushi Sawada
Kazuyuki Fujita vs. Peter Aerts
Josh Barnett vs. Hideki Suzuki

Kickboxing Bouts
Yuta Kubo vs. Nils Widlund
Masaaki Noiri vs. Kengo Sonoda

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Kazushi Sakuaba Returns to Pro Wrestling on New Year’s Eve

Filed under: News, JapanKazushi Sakuraba is set to participate on the New Year’s Eve “Genki Desu Ka!!” card in Saitama, Japan — as a pro wrestler.

Sakuraba, who made a name for himself in the mid-to-late 90s as a pro wrestler shortly before becoming …

Filed under: News, Japan

Kazushi Sakuraba is set to participate on the New Year’s Eve “Genki Desu Ka!!” card in Saitama, Japan — as a pro wrestler.

Sakuraba, who made a name for himself in the mid-to-late 90s as a pro wrestler shortly before becoming a Japanese MMA superstar under the PRIDE banner, will partner with Laughter7 teammate Katsuyori Shibata against Shinichi Suzukawa and Atsushi Sawada in a tag team pro wrestling match.

A familiar face on New Year’s Eve, Sakuraba has competed in MMA bouts on six of the last eight New Year’s Eves. Sakuraba, 42, has lost his last four bouts and hasn’t recorded a victory since his win over Zelg Galesic at Dream.12 in October 2009. Better known for his accomplishments as a pro wrestler, Shibata holds an unspectacular 4-11-1 MMA record.

Back on the MMA front, the promoters recently announced a women’s MMA bout with Megumi Fujii taking on Karla Benitez. Fujii (24-1) has won her last two fights to bounce back from a split decision loss to Zoila Gurgel in the finals of the Bellator 115-pound women’s tournament in October 2010. Benitez (6-1) fights out of Spain and is coming off the first loss of her career.

The current “Genki Desu Ka!!” lineup is below.

Dream Lightweight Title Bout
Shinya Aoki vs. Satoru Kitaoka

Dream Featherweight Title Bout
Hiroyuki Takaya vs. Takeshi “Lion” Inoue

Dream Bantamweight World GP
Semifinals: Bibiano Fernandes vs. Rodolfo Marques
Semifinals: Masakazu Imanari vs. Antonio Banuelos
Finals: Winner of Fernandes-Marques vs. Winner of Imanari-Banuelos
Reserve: Hideo Tokoro vs. Yusup Saadulaev

Other MMA Bouts
Fedor Emelianenko vs. Satoshi Ishii
Hayato “Mach” Sakurai vs. Ryo Chonan
Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Kazuyuki Miyata
Mixed Rules Bout
Yuichiro Nagashima vs. Katsunori Kikuno

Pro Wrestling Matches
Kazushi Sakuraba and Katsuyori Shibata vs. Shinichi Suzukawa and Atsushi Sawada
Kazuyuki Fujita vs. Peter Aerts

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Yuichiro ‘Jienotsu’ Nagashima Set for Mixed Rules Bout at ‘Genki Desu Ka!!’

Filed under: News, JapanYuichiro “Jienotsu” Nagashima, who knocked out Shinya Aoki last New Year’s Eve in a kickboxing/MMA fight, will fight again under the mixed rules format on Dec. 31 at “Genki Desu Ka!!” taking place at the Saitama Super Arena in S…

Filed under: News, Japan

Yuichiro “Jienotsu” Nagashima, who knocked out Shinya Aoki last New Year’s Eve in a kickboxing/MMA fight, will fight again under the mixed rules format on Dec. 31 at “Genki Desu Ka!!” taking place at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

Nagashima, a K-1 MAX fighter known for engaging in school girl cosplay, has been booked to face former DEEP lightweight champion and DREAM veteran Katsunori Kikuno. In this special attraction, one round will be under K-1 kickboxing rules and the other under DREAM mixed martial arts rules.

Nagashima, who fought MMA in 2005-2006 before making the jump full-time to K-1 in 2007, recently made clear his interest in returning to MMA. Following a UFC 137 pre-fight press conference in October, Nagashima introduced himself to UFC president Dana White and asked for an opportunity inside the UFC cage.

At Dynamite!! 2010, Nagashima caught the attention of Japanese MMA fans by scoring a second-round KO over Aoki. And he did so in the MMA round of the fight with a knee four seconds in. Unlike last year, Nagashima will be fighting an MMA fighter who prefers to keep the fight on the feet. Kikuno carries one of the more unusual fighting stances in MMA with his emphasis in Kyokushin Karate. Kikuno also has a judo background but his strength in MMA has been in the standup department. Nine out of his 16 wins have come by way of (T)KO.

The current “Genki Desu Ka!!” lineup is below.

Dream Lightweight Title Bout
Shinya Aoki vs. Satoru Kitaoka

Dream Featherweight Title Bout
Hiroyuki Takaya vs. Takeshi “Lion” Inoue

Dream Bantamweight World GP
Semifinals: Bibiano Fernandes vs. Rodolfo Marques
Semifinals: Masakazu Imanari vs. Antonio Banuelos
Finals: Winner of Fernandes-Marques vs. Winner of Imanari-Banuelos
Reserve: Hideo Tokoro vs. Yusup Saadulaev

Other MMA Bouts
Hayato “Mach” Sakurai vs. Ryo Chonan
Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Kazuyuki Miyata

Mixed Rules Bout
Yuichiro Nagashima vs. Katsunori Kikuno

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Aoki vs. Kitaoka, Tokoro vs. Saadulaev Added to ‘Genki Desu Ka!!’

Filed under: News, JapanA lightweight title bout between Shinya Aoki and Satoru Kitaoka and a bantamweight reserve bout between Hideo Tokoro and Yusup Saadulaev are recent additions to the New Year’s Eve “Genki Desu Ka!!” event at the Saitama Super Are…

Filed under: News, Japan

A lightweight title bout between Shinya Aoki and Satoru Kitaoka and a bantamweight reserve bout between Hideo Tokoro and Yusup Saadulaev are recent additions to the New Year’s Eve “Genki Desu Ka!!” event at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

DREAM last weekend made official that Aoki will be defending his DREAM belt against former teammate Kitaoka in a five-round affair. On Tuesday, Tokoro and Saadulaev, who were both ousted in quarterfinal bouts in September, were given a second chance at returning to the tournament. The reserve winner could potentially enter the finals in the event an injury replacement is needed.

Aoki (29-5), who will be fighting for the fourth time in 2011, is looking to extend his win streak to seven as well as a successful second title defense. Aoki last fought in September, submitting “Razor” Rob McCullough with a neck crank at DREAM.17. Kitaoka (29-10-9) is a former Sengoku lightweight champion who made his DREAM debut in September, beating Willamy Freire by split decision.

Tokoro (30-24-1) had a four-fight win streak snapped by Antonio Banuelos at DREAM.17. Meanwhile, Saadulaev suffered his first career loss in a unanimous decision loss to Rodolfo Marques.

The current “Genki Desu Ka!!” lineup is below.

Dream Lightweight Title Bout
Shinya Aoki vs. Satoru Kitaoka

Dream Featherweight Title Bout
Hiroyuki Takaya vs. Takeshi “Lion” Inoue

Other Bouts
Hayato “Mach” Sakurai vs. Ryo Chonan
Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Kazuyuki Miyata

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Takanori Gomi vs. George Sotiropoulos Finalized for UFC 144 in Japan

In a matchup of lightweights in dire need of a victory, Takanori Gomi and George Sotiropoulos will meet at UFC 144, which goes down in Saitama, Japan on February 26, 2012. The homecoming bout for Gomi will be one that he enters having gone 3-5 in his l…

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Takanori Gomi vs. George Sotiropoulos Finalized for UFC 144 in Japan

Yushin Okami: UFC Will Bring the Heat in Japan

Filed under: UFC, News, JapanSeveral UFC fighters met the media in Japan over the weekend to promote the Feb. 26 UFC 144 show at the Saitama Super Arena, and one of the big questions facing the promotion is whether it can engage Japanese fans who have …

Filed under: UFC, News, Japan

Several UFC fighters met the media in Japan over the weekend to promote the Feb. 26 UFC 144 show at the Saitama Super Arena, and one of the big questions facing the promotion is whether it can engage Japanese fans who have largely turned away from combat sports in recent years.

One of the Japanese fighters on the show, Yushin Okami, thinks there is no question that the UFC will deliver just the kind of product that Japanese fans want.

“It’s been a while since I’ve fought in Japan, so I’m excited. I would love to bring the heat and atmosphere of the real UFC over to Japan,” Okami said at the UFC’s press conference.

Okami has been the most successful Japanese fighter in the UFC, going 10-3 inside the Octagon and losing only to Anderson Silva, Chael Sonnen and Rich Franklin. But his long-term success in the UFC may actually make him less known to fans in his home country because he hasn’t fought back home in almost six years. While other successful Japanese MMA fighters have been fighting in front of Japanese fans, Okami has been fighting in the United States, with occasional stops in Ireland, Germany and Brazil. And Okami was never a big star in Japan, fighting only a couple of low-profile bouts in Pride.

So Okami’s name won’t move the needle in Japan, but his fight with Tim Boesch is a good middleweight matchup, and the card — headlined by Frankie Edgar vs. Ben Henderson — is very impressive from top to bottom. What the UFC is bringing to Japan is just a very good fight card, the best that Japanese fans have seen in a long time.

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