Tag: Yuki+Kondo

Sakuraba Student Takenori Sato Claims Welterweight Pancrase Crown

Filed under: Results, JapanKengo Ura’s reign as the 5th Welterweight King of Pancrase was a short one as Kazushi Sakuraba student Takenori Sato dominated and submitted the defending champion less than five minutes into their bout at Pancrase: Impressiv…

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Kengo Ura‘s reign as the 5th Welterweight King of Pancrase was a short one as Kazushi Sakuraba student Takenori Sato dominated and submitted the defending champion less than five minutes into their bout at Pancrase: Impressive Tour 1 at Differ Ariake in Tokyo, Japan on Sunday.

Also on Pancrase’s first effort for the year, Eiji Ishikawa derailed Masahiro Toryu, journeyman Hiroki Nagaoka battered Yuki Kondo who was making his welterweight debut and Seiya Kawahara made a successful return to the ring after almost a year off due to injury.

Sakuraba Student Takenori Sato Claims Welterweight Pancrase Crown

Filed under: Results, JapanKengo Ura’s reign as the 5th Welterweight King of Pancrase was a short one as Kazushi Sakuraba student Takenori Sato dominated and submitted the defending champion less than five minutes into their bout at Pancrase: Impressiv…

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Kengo Ura‘s reign as the 5th Welterweight King of Pancrase was a short one as Kazushi Sakuraba student Takenori Sato dominated and submitted the defending champion less than five minutes into their bout at Pancrase: Impressive Tour 1 at Differ Ariake in Tokyo, Japan on Sunday.

Also on Pancrase’s first effort for the year, Eiji Ishikawa derailed Masahiro Toryu, journeyman Hiroki Nagaoka battered Yuki Kondo who was making his welterweight debut and Seiya Kawahara made a successful return to the ring after almost a year off due to injury.

Nippon Weekly: Japanese Fighters Preparing for April Strikeforce Event

Filed under: DREAM, Strikeforce, Sengoku, News, JapanFinally, we have some fights again across the Pacific and it looks as though there might be more to come too.

In this edition of Nippon Weekly, Japanese fighters are preparing for an April 9 Strikef…

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Finally, we have some fights again across the Pacific and it looks as though there might be more to come too.

In this edition of Nippon Weekly, Japanese fighters are preparing for an April 9 Strikeforce event in Tokyo despite reports that the fights will be taking place in America, further scandal in the world of Sumo drowns out UFC 126 hype, Pancrase gets its “Impressive Tour” under way with one of its strongest cards in recent times, Shinya Aoki, Masakazu Imanari and others showcase their wares in Deep and Bob Sapp is wrestling while Kimbo Slice is not.

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.

DEEP 50th Impact: 10 Years of Freaks, Fat Guys and Fun

Filed under: JapanJapanese MMA has a reputation for freak shows, the unusual and above all else – putting entertainment above the sport in MMA. A large part of that reputation is due to Shigeru Saeki. The former Public Relations Director of PRIDE fight…

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Japanese MMA has a reputation for freak shows, the unusual and above all else – putting entertainment above the sport in MMA. A large part of that reputation is due to Shigeru Saeki. The former Public Relations Director of PRIDE fighting championship, mastermind of PRIDE Bushido and the boss of Deep has a penchant for the fun and the bizarre.

Deep’s 10th Anniversary 50th Impact card is an excellent example of the kind of bizarre MMA that Saeki loves. A superhero will face a 300-plus pound Thai boxer. A volleyball player/pro wrestler/actor will fight a karateka. Shinya Aoki and Sanae Kikuta will fight MMA first-timers and both veterans will bring in significant weight advantages. There are also a multitude of name fighters involved in very reasonable bouts but Deep will always attempt to keep things fun, and for that reason, it has become one of the most successful and active promotions in Japan over the past 10 years.

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.