Tag: UFC in Japan

Watch All of UFC 29: Defense of the Belts Right Here and Get Your Japan-o-stalgia On

Part 1

Part 2

(Props to Allfreefightvideos for the…uh…free fight videos.) 

The sixteenth of December in the year 2000 marked the last time the UFC made an appearance in the Land of the Rising Sun, and to celebrate, we’ve managed to pull some strings and dig up the entire pay-per-view event for your viewing pleasure. Because here at CP, we like to consider ourselves the cool step dads of the MMA blogosphere. Though we may not be around as much as we should, when we show up, you best believe we bring the nudie mags, cigarettes, and that funny smelling water that makes you all giggly and tired. Sure, your mom says it’s evil and thinks it killed your old dad, and sure, when you come to there’s change missing off the dresser, but at the end of the day, you’re just happy we brought you a gift, right?

Part 1

Part 2

(Props to Allfreefightvideos for the…uh…free fight videos.) 

The sixteenth of December in the year 2000 marked the last time the UFC made an appearance in the Land of the Rising Sun, and to celebrate, we’ve managed to pull some strings and dig up the entire pay-per-view event for your viewing pleasure. Because here at CP, we like to consider ourselves the cool step dads of the MMA blogosphere. Though we may not be around as much as we should, when we show up, you best believe we bring the nudie mags, cigarettes, and that funny smelling water that makes you all giggly and tired. Sure, your mom says it’s evil and thinks it killed your old dad, and sure, when you come to there’s change missing off the dresser, but at the end of the day, you’re just happy we brought you a gift, right?

Featuring Chuck Liddell vs. Jeff Monson, Dennis Hallman’s SECOND lightning quick submission win over Matt Hughes, a light heavyweight championship tilt between Pat Miletich and Kenichi Yamamoto, and a headlining middleweight championship bout between Tito Ortiz and Yuki Kondo, UFC 29 was nearly as stacked as UFC 144 looks to be, and delivered several exciting finishes from the Differ Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan.

UFC 29 also featured the UFC debut of Olympic silver medalist Matt Lindland, and according to its Wikipedia page, was the first event to play music in-between rounds. Why they decided to use anything but Onmyo-Za is beyond me. Anyway, check it out before it gets taken down.

One thing to watch for: At one point in the broadcast, Mike Goldberg refers to the Japanese ring girls as “title holders in their own right.” Not exactly sure what he meant by that, but the man sticks to his guns.

-J. Jones

UFC Targeting February 26 for Japan Return


(We know one thing: some female Japanese reporters are getting dry-humped by Rampage come February 26.)

When Zuffa effectively killed PRIDE soon after purchasing the Japanese promotion back in 2007 for a reported $64-million US, when UFC president Dana White stated it was just impossible to deal with the Yakuza, it seemed unlikely that we would ever see the Octagon in the Land of the Rising Sun again.

Well, it looks like dealing with the Yakuza in 2011 is a lot easier than it was four years ago.

According to MMAWeekly, the UFC is close to finalizing a date and location for its first Japanese show since 2000, and the first under the Zuffa banner since Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta purchased the company from SEG in January 2001. The date for the planned show would be February 26 and the planned venue is the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama — the arena that housed 24 of PRIDE’s 68 events.


(We know one thing: some female Japanese reporters are getting dry-humped by Rampage come February 26.)

When Zuffa effectively killed PRIDE soon after purchasing the Japanese promotion back in 2007 for a reported $64-million US, when UFC president Dana White stated it was just impossible to deal with the Yakuza, it seemed unlikely that we would ever see the Octagon in the Land of the Rising Sun again.

Well, it looks like dealing with the Yakuza in 2011 is a lot easier than it was four years ago.

According to MMAWeekly, the UFC is close to finalizing a date and location for its first Japanese show since 2000, and the first under the Zuffa banner since Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta purchased the company from SEG in January 2001. The date for the planned show would be February 26 and the planned venue is the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama — the arena that housed 24 of PRIDE’s 68 events.

The venue has been booked by agencies working with Zuffa in Japan, which doesn’t necessarily mean the locale is final (the UFC has booked both Rogers Centre in Toronto and Bell Centre in Montreal for this December), it’s the company’s number one choice.

During last week’s pre-fight press conference for UFC 132, White hinted that the move into Japan would be happening soon.

“The rumor is true, we’re going to come to Japan and probably very soon,” White told reporters.

The report goes on to state that the UFC’s executive vice president Mark Fischer, who was hired in 2010 to champion Zuffa’s Asian resurgence, is currently working to finalize a date and venue for the planned event in Japan and he has spoken with a number of Japanese promoters to solicit their advice on putting on shows there. It’s unclear, although unlikely given the UFC’s stance on co-promotion, whether or not Zuffa plans to work with another promoter on the show.

Although no names have been mentioned for the card since it’s more than seven months away, it’s likely that we’ll see a number of former PRIDE stars like Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and the Nogueira brothers on the card alongside Japanese standouts like Yushin Okami and Yoshihiro Akiyama. We may even see the UFC pick up Shinya Aoki by then to round out its lightweight roster.

Quick Hit: Dana White Says Japan Show May Happen “This Year”

Well, the marketing people are ready. ImageSource: UFCStore.com

In the week leading up to pay per views, there’s a good chance that Dana drops an interesting tidbit either at a press conference or during a conversation with one of the few members of the MMA media that he can stomach being around. (For those of you who are just joining us, CagePotato is not in that exclusive club.)

The PPV this week is UFC 132 (which you should really be stoked for, by the way), and the interesting tidbit is BigDaddyWhite saying that a show in Japan could be right around the corner.

“The rumor is true. We’re going to come to Japan, and probably soon.” White did not include any detail of where the event could take place, and when pressed for details on when, he simply said, “This year.”

Japan has long been a target for Dana and the UFC, and he’s spoken before about the difficulty of breaking into the Japanese scene. With the major promotions in Japan floundering, American promotions have poached quite a bit of top talent, which could help give them an in when putting a show together. [Insert Yakuza joke here]

(via MMAJunkie)

[RX]

Well, the marketing people are ready. ImageSource: UFCStore.com

In the week leading up to pay per views, there’s a good chance that Dana drops an interesting tidbit either at a press conference or during a conversation with one of the few members of the MMA media that he can stomach being around.  (For those of you who are just joining us, CagePotato is not in that exclusive club.)

The PPV this week is UFC 132 (which you should really be stoked for, by the way), and the interesting tidbit is BigDaddyWhite saying that a show in Japan could be right around the corner.

“The rumor is true. We’re going to come to Japan, and probably soon.” White did not include any detail of where the event could take place, and when pressed for details on when, he simply said, “This year.”

Japan has long been a target for Dana and the UFC, and he’s spoken before about the difficulty of breaking into the Japanese scene. With the major promotions in Japan floundering, American promotions have poached quite a bit of top talent, which could help give them an in when putting a show together.  [Insert Yakuza joke here]

(via MMAJunkie)

[RX]