Tag: Kiyotaka+Shimizu

Shooto Restarts MMA in Tokyo Following Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami

Filed under: IFL, JapanTOKYO – It had only half the fights of the originally planned event, was in a smaller venue, was sparsely attended and carried a somber mood, but MMA finally restarted in Tokyo on Friday night with Shooto: Shootor’s Legacy 02 at …

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TOKYO – It had only half the fights of the originally planned event, was in a smaller venue, was sparsely attended and carried a somber mood, but MMA finally restarted in Tokyo on Friday night with Shooto: Shootor’s Legacy 02 at Shinjuku FACE.

Shooto’s second major event for the year was originally scheduled for March 12, the day after the magnitude 9.0 Tohoku earthquake and subsequent tsunami battered North East Japan, taking the lives of over 10,000 people with many more still missing and leaving hundreds of thousands homeless.

With fears of a nuclear meltdown still looming, MMA returning to Tokyo was a welcome distraction and a testament to Japan’s ability to rally and continue on with life despite significant hardship.

Rikuhei Fujii Claims King of Pancrase Crown

Filed under: News, JapanTOKYO — Pancrase’s penultimate event of the year at Differ Ariake on Sunday featured three title fights in which all participants had met in the ring before.

Light heavyweight King of Pancrase Ryo Kawamura made a small step to…

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TOKYO — Pancrase‘s penultimate event of the year at Differ Ariake on Sunday featured three title fights in which all participants had met in the ring before.

Light heavyweight King of Pancrase Ryo Kawamura made a small step towards redeeming himself from his embarrassing knockout loss to Yuji Sakuragi in September as he managed to fight to a tense majority draw in the rematch for the belt.

Yuki Kondo was looking for redemption as he dropped a unanimous decision to Wajutsu Keishukai RJW’s Rikuhei Fujii in Cage Force back in September, but it was spoiled as Fujii again outworked the 85-fight veteran on the feet and on the canvas to claim Kondo’s crown.

In the fight of the night, current flyweight King of Pancrase Kiyotaka Shimizu and former champ Mitsuhisa Sunabe fought to an entertaining split draw in their rubber match. Sunabe pushed the action early and scored well with strikes while Shimizu came home strong to even the score and retain his crown.

Yuki Kondo and Kiyotaka Shimizu Retain King of Pancrase Titles

Filed under: News, JapanYuki Kondo and Kiyotaka Shimizu both retained their King of Pancrase titles and Differ Ariake in Tokyo, Japan on Sunday. For the former, it wasn’t in the fashion that one would hope.

Kondo fought to a draw with the third-ranked…

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Yuki Kondo and Kiyotaka Shimizu both retained their King of Pancrase titles and Differ Ariake in Tokyo, Japan on Sunday. For the former, it wasn’t in the fashion that one would hope.

Kondo fought to a draw with the third-ranked Yuji Hisamatsu, circling backward for three rounds and occasionally throwing a cautious strike in a snoozer. Hisamatsu pressed forward but his striking was too unpolished to phase Kondo who responded with counter body kicks and straight punches but neither fighters was at all effective. All three judges ruled it a draw, and the sponsors who were quite literally asleep at ringside, ruled it a bore.

Kiyotaka Shimizu was much more impressive in his retention, staying in the pocket and striking with Isao Hirose. It was battle of fine slips and counters and Shimizu was constantly better by the slightest of margins and was good enough to open a gaping wound over Hirose’s eye to get the doctor stoppage in the second.