Tag: Shooto

Fight of the Day: Rumina Sato vs. Nico Veressen at “Shoot the Shooto”

(Check out the rest of the fight videos at IronForgesIron.com) 

An absolute must see bantamweight battle from last weekend’s “Shoot the Shooto 2011” card, which transpired in Tokyo, Japan and featured none other than Shooto legend Rumina Sato facing off with Belgian born fighter Nico Veressen. Sato, who you may remember as our Technique of the Year holder for 1999, has built his name off legendary battles with top competition like Takanori Gomi, Caol Uno (at the time), Joachim Hansen (again), and Hatsu Hioki. Veressan was 1-0 heading into the bout, with his lone win coming against a fellow 1-0 fighter. Think you know how this one went down? Well, you’d be wrong.

From the start, Sato showcases the mix of mindfuckery and vicious leg attacks that he has become known for, first trying to goad the younger man into a ground match with the infamous Fireside Pose Manuever popularized by Fabricio Werdum before launching into a series of submissions that is nothing short of dazzling. I counted three or four toe holds, an inverted triangle ala Braulio Estima, and maybe a calf slicer attempt thrown in just for fun.


(Check out the rest of the fight videos at IronForgesIron.com) 

An absolute must see bantamweight battle from last weekend’s “Shoot the Shooto 2011″ card, which transpired in Tokyo, Japan and featured none other than Shooto legend Rumina Sato facing off with Belgian born fighter Nico Veressen. Sato, who you may remember as our Technique of the Year holder for 1999, has built his name off legendary battles with top competition like Takanori Gomi, Caol Uno (at the time), Joachim Hansen (again), and Hatsu Hioki. Veressan was 1-0 heading into the bout, with his lone win coming against a fellow 1-0 fighter. Think you know how this one went down? Well, you’d be wrong.

From the start, Sato showcases the mix of mindfuckery and vicious leg attacks that he has become known for, first trying to goad the younger man into a ground match with the infamous Fireside Pose Manuever popularized by Fabricio Werdum before launching into a series of submissions that is nothing short of dazzling. I counted three or four toe holds, an inverted triangle ala Braulio Estima, and maybe a calf slicer attempt thrown in just for fun.

But Veressen is no slouch, offering some solid submission defense, some nasty ground-and-pound, and a Brazilian kick for good measure. At one point, he literally has Sato on the ropes, performing a spot on impersonation of Jackson/Silva 2 in order to evade Veressen’s punches.

Once the fight gets back to the feet, however, Veressen is clearly the fresher of the two. A straight right later and this baby is all over. With the loss, Sato drops to just 2-6 in his last 8 fights, with 4 of those losses coming by way of (T)KO.

As a bonus, I’ve posted the rarely seen match between Sato and Isamu Osugi from an early Shooto event all the way back in 1995, featuring a finish that would make Toby Imada flush with jealousy. Enjoy.

-Danga 

Hatsu Hioki Joins the UFC Featherweight Division

Hatsu Hioki has officially joined the UFC, announced this morning via Twitter.  The Child of Shooto relinquished his lightweight title in late May, and we all kind of assumed that he was headed stateside.  Well, call us Nachodamus.

By now ya’ll know that Hioki  has some prime wins under his belt (something you can’t always say about fighters competing on the other side of the Pacific), including Mark Hominick (twice) and an upset over Marlon Sandro for the Sengoku featherweight strap.  Hioki hit a rough stretch in 2007, dropping consecutive decisions under the Shooto banner, but he hasn’t really lost since if you don’t count the decision loss to Michihiro Omigawa that the judges hung on him–and we don’t.

No word yet on who Hioki will face off with for his debut, but may we suggest Kenny Florian?

[RX]

Hatsu Hioki has officially joined the UFC, announced this morning via Twitter.  The Child of Shooto relinquished his lightweight title in late May, and we all kind of assumed that he was headed stateside.  Well, call us Nachodamus.

By now ya’ll know that Hioki  has some prime wins under his belt (something you can’t always say about fighters competing on the other side of the Pacific), including Mark Hominick (twice) and an upset over Marlon Sandro for the Sengoku featherweight strap.  Hioki hit a rough stretch in 2007, dropping consecutive decisions under the Shooto banner, but he hasn’t really lost since if you don’t count the decision loss to Michihiro Omigawa that the judges hung on him–and we don’t.

No word yet on who Hioki will face off with for his debut, but may we suggest Kenny Florian?

[RX]

Hioki Relinquishes Shooto Belt; Likely UFC-Bound

(Video courtesy of YouTube/EskriMMA)

Shooto featherweight champion Hatsu Hioki announced today that he has relinquished his belt and that he is moving on from the Japanese promotion in search of other challenges.

“At this time, I’ve returned the Shooto world lightweight title,” Hioki told Sherdog.com via email. “There is a pride in wearing the Shooto world title, but I think that, in the near future, I would like to challenge a new stage of pride.”

According to Sherdog, the popular 24-4-2 fighter, who holds a pair of wins over UFC featherweight contender Mark Hominick as well as one a piece over Takeshi “Lion” Inoue and Marlon Sandro, is being flown in to Vancouver, BC to attend UFC 131. I think we can all connect the dots on where he’s fighting next.


(Video courtesy of YouTube/EskriMMA)

Shooto featherweight champion Hatsu Hioki announced today that he has relinquished his belt and that he is moving on from the Japanese promotion in search of other challenges.

“At this time, I’ve returned the Shooto world lightweight title,” Hioki told Sherdog.com via email. “There is a pride in wearing the Shooto world title, but I think that, in the near future, I would like to challenge a new stage of pride.”

According to Sherdog, the popular 24-4-2 fighter, who holds a pair of wins over UFC featherweight contender Mark Hominick as well as one a piece over Takeshi “Lion” Inoue and Marlon Sandro, is being flown in to Vancouver, BC to attend UFC 131. I think we can all connect the dots on where he’s fighting next.

Unless he’s just a huge fan of Nick Ring or fellow countryman Michihiro Omigawa and we’re just reading into this all wrong, Hioki will be a welcome addition to the UFC’s somewhat vapid 145-pound class. When you scratch beneath the surface of plausible threats to champ Jose Aldo’s strap like Hominick, Chad Mendes, Josh Grispi and Dustin Poirier, there are really no other viable contenders waiting in the wings. “Shooto no Ko” will provide the division with a much needed spark.

Shooto Crowns 2010 Rookie Champions

Filed under: Results, JapanIf Shooto’s 2010 Rookie Tournament Finals are any indication, Japan has a bright future in MMA as the newcomers put on one of the events of the year at Shinjuku Face in Tokyo on Saturday. The sports oldest promotion crowned c…

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If Shooto‘s 2010 Rookie Tournament Finals are any indication, Japan has a bright future in MMA as the newcomers put on one of the events of the year at Shinjuku Face in Tokyo on Saturday. The sports oldest promotion crowned champions in six divisions including rookie MVP and Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto teammate Kyoji Horiguchi.

Masaaki Sugawara KOs Ayumu "Gozo" Shioda at Shooting Disco 13

Filed under: JapanShooting Disco 13 offered a glimpse of the future as a host of 2010 Amateur Shooto champions made their professional debuts. In the evening’s main event, former top 10 flyweight Masaaki Sugawara broke a two fight losing streak, knocki…

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Shooting Disco 13 offered a glimpse of the future as a host of 2010 Amateur Shooto champions made their professional debuts. In the evening’s main event, former top 10 flyweight Masaaki Sugawara broke a two fight losing streak, knocking out Masanori Kanehara trainer Ayumu “Gozo” Shioda early in round three with a knee that looked as though it broke the grappler’s nose.