Published on various sites, November 2010
It’s the mossssst wonderful time, of the year!
The rumour mill is swirling as ever, for the end of year cards that Japanese orgs serve up. Ironically enough, after being PASTED in their co-promotion last year, Sengoku look to – incredibly – have the upper hand this time around. Dream have only one fight officially booked for K-1 Dynamite, whereas WVR’s Soul of Fight has a decently stacked card ready and waiting to happen.
And if Sandro vs Hioki goes down? Oh my. Oh…. my.
And three weeks prior to the 30th and of course New Years Eve, DEEP put on their 51st numbered card, featuring a non-title fight between featherweight champ Koichiro Matsumoto and former Pancrase vet Shoji Maruyama.
DEEP 51
Megaton WILL be present on this card, as the hulking Hideki “Shrek” Sekine (2-0) takes on Seigo Mizuguchi, in the staple big man fight that so fascinates and entertains the Japanese audiences.
Takafumi Otsuka, who lost to the title to Matsumoto back in July, fights on the card against Tomohiko Hori (11-9) and he looks to halt a three-fight losing streak and to earn another shot at the top in DEEP.
The rest of the card consists of Japanese fighters with very mixed records, and it should be entertaining fare as ever from DEEP.
Full fight card is as follows:
Koichiro Matsumoto (11-2) vs Shoji Maruyama (7-5)
Takafumi Otsuka (10-7) vs Tomohiko Hori (11-9)
Hideki “Shrek” Sekine (2-0) vs Seigo Mizuguchi (7-7)
Hidehiko Hasegawa (18-13) vs Yoshitomo Watanabe (8-11)
Hiromitsu Kanehara (18-23) vs Hiroki Sato (6-3)
Yasuaki Kishimoto (12-3) vs Kosuke Umeda (9-8)
Isamu Sugiuchi (8-9) vs Tomoya Kato (9-3)
Yuta “Andre” Watanabe (12-4) vs Yusaki “99″ Tsukumo (8-4)
Yusuke Kagiyama (10-3) vs Katsunori Tsuda (4-0)
Yuki Ito (8-6) vs Yasuhiro Kawasaki (5-1)
Hirotaka Miyakawa (5-7) vs Masato Kobayashi (4-3)
adao Kondo (5-2) vs Juri Ohara (2-0)
obuo “Gosatu” Odakura (2-0) vs TBA
Toshikazu “ISE” Iseno (7-6) vs TBA
Tatsumitsu Wada (3-6) vs TBA
As for Dynamite, nothing is as yet concrete apart from the admittedly tasty matchup for the DREAM Featherweight title: Bibiano Fernandez vs Hiroyuki Takaya II. Little more than a year ago, Takaya was edged out in the FW Grand Prix final by a VERY close decision to Bibiano, and has worked hard to earn a second shot. He was not granted an immediate title fight by Dream, who matched him up with Omigawa instead, and he got violently stopped. He clawed his way back up to title contention by icing the Lightweight Grand Prix winner Joachim “Hellboy” Hansen, and then Chase Beebe to earn his rematch with Bibi. This one should be good…. but it would look better with a few more fights booked around it!
One tasty (to some) rumour is that the legendary Sakuraba will finally drop down to welterweight – a weight he could have cut to, yet he fought the majority of his career at LHW or open-weight – to face Dream’s welterweight kingpin Marius Zaromskis. Saku is so done that I reckon a C level light-heavyweight or middleweight could have their way with him now, but the redeeming feature of this fight would be that Zaro is tiny compared to him. Hell, Zaro is a SMALL welterweight! Not to mention he has lost two on the spin, his recent No Contest notwithstanding… so this is perhaps the only forseeable way that Saku could possibly retire on a title win. Lets pray the dream comes true.
Then again… it isn’t booked. Just like the rest of Dream’s card!
World Victory Road, on the other hand, are putting on the epic looking Soul of Fight. My personal #1 ranked FW Marlon Sandro is heavily rumoured to face Shooto champ and star Hatsu Hioki. The fight was suggested by unreliable (and idiotic) sources to be taking place at FEG’s Dynamite, but given that it pits the Sengoku and Pancrase champ (Sandro) against the Shooto king (Hioki) and both men are contracted to WVR, it will clearly be a Sengoku title defence for the lethal Brazilian.
This will be a FOTY contender for sure, if it goes down. I would personally rank the winner the undisputed #1 FW; given the resumes and skills of both, with the only black mark being that BOTH were robbed in disgusting fashion against fellow top 5 FW Michihiro Omigawa, in horrendous “must win” decisions. WVR probably regret it now, as Omigawa decamped to Dream, and now apparently seeks a berth in the UFC.
Regardless, Sandro and Hioki are FW giants. This will be an epic bout if it happens!
Soul of Fight also sees the return of Yasubey Enomoto. His next victi…. excuse me, opponent, will be Keita Nakamura. The latter is a very capable MMArtist on the JMMA scene, and holds an excellent 20-4 win/loss record. But in Enomoto’s current form, I’m expecting an absolute clinic to be put on; at Nakamura’s expense. Enomoto is looking special.
The announced Sengoku card for World Victory Road presents: Soul of Fight is as follows:
* Yasubey Enomoto vs. Keita Nakamura
* Manabu Inoue vs. Shunichi Shimizu
* Taiyo Nakahara vs. Akitoshi Tamura
* Akitoshi Tamura vs Taiyo Nakahara
* Dave “Pee Wee” Herman vs. Yoshihiro Nakao
* Fabiano Aoki vs Ryuta Noji
* Chiharu Icho vs Erika Kamimura
* SANDRO vs HIOKI (hope hope hope)
Should be a good couple of mornings for us British Japanophiles, noons for the Euros and nights for our cross-Atlantic bredren in the States!
Hope FEG get their shiznit together in time. But if not, at least Sengoku are putting on a few barnburners, even if their own Featherweight super-fight doesn’t go down.
Fletch
Showing posts with label japan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label japan. Show all posts
Wednesday, 16 February 2011
PUJI Deal Dying: Will There Be A FEGless Japan?
Published on various sites, November 2010
It is not looking good.
With the Japanese businessmen and executives so camera shy during times of trouble, one sometimes has to turn to twitter, unreliable sites and the rumour mill. And concerning the failing PUJI deal – in which the Chinese investment bank were to find FEG investors to pump money through their ailing Dream (MMA) and K-1 (muay-thai boxing derivative) promotions, there seems to be no happy ending in sight for a promoter that smart money says will not be in existence long into the New Year.
Mike Kogan is playing the semantics game. No, PUJI never intended to simply pump £200million through FEG. Yes, they were just to find investors. No, they haven’t been able to do so, as yet. Yes, Dynamite is still on Tokyo Broadcasting Systems on New Years Eve. No, FEG aren’t looking for buyers.
This is as good as a death knell. The swirling rumour mill insists that certain potential investors backed out of any cash injection after being unable to find common ground with FEG management, and that any and all suggestions of change were “resisted” by the Japanese organisation.
If Dynamite is the end, where will this leave the flagging fightsports scene in the Land of the Rising Sun?
In MMA: the only hope we realistically had was Sengoku. The orgs execs publicly released statements claiming that they “would let Dream destroy itself”, thus becoming the #1 org in JMMA by doing absolutely nothing, simply allowing their rivals to be crushed under their own weight. While that may sound promising, it is far too late.
Sengoku WERE an ambitious, young and promising org once, but since 2008 they have lost a ridiculous amount of talent; both to Dream, and to international orgs that can afford to pay higher purses. At heavyweight, they once boasted Japanese Olympic heroes Hidehiko Yoshida and Satoshi Ishii, top ranked Pride veteran and UFC champion Josh Barnett, and another UFC champ in Kevin Randleman. Beyond that, they had the talented lightweight Satoru Kitaoka as their inaugural champ, they had featherweight standout Hatsu Hioki, rising star Michihiro Omigawa, and future Strikeforce Light-Heavyweight champion “King” Mo Lawal. They lost the services of ALL…. and many more besides. Dream snapped up some of their best talent, and they were condemned to putting on lower key shows and belonging strictly to the B-level.
Can Sengoku enjoy a turnaround, if Dream go? Who knows. My guess is that international talent will follow the superstar alumni of PrideFC, and go to the United States of America. SRC will snap up the remaining Japanese talent, but struggle with the current Japanese economy and the apparently faded public interest in fightsports.
Beyond that, DEEP are looking to step up their game, by venturing out to China. The last time Japanese warriors fought on Chinese soil, Nanking was destroyed, and the Chinese had to move their capital to Peking (Beijing). This time, hopefully it will be the beginning of a push for prominence from DEEP, who have been in the shadows for a long, long time.
As for K-1…. therein lies the REAL tragedy of this tale. Now, as a European, I know full well that thai-boxing (I refuse to use the American term “kick” for Full Contact Karate) will never die out. It is too popular in Holland and northern Europe, too popular in East Asia, and reasonably popular in England, the UK, the Americas, so on and so forth. But K-1, an org that allowed practitioners of all striking martial arts to compete to be the best standup fighter in the world…. it transcended martial arts, dojos, belt ranks, style vs style… it has a religious cult following, and to some it is a sport of its own.
How can that be replaced?
The answer: it cannot.
It's Showtime event: featuring K-1 big guns Schilt, Hari, Manhoef, Saki, Zimmerman, Souwer & Spong
Amsterdam might be the best means of filling the unbearable void left in fightsports, if K-1 goes. Even though the city is reportedly run by criminals, and thai-boxing shows are of course predictably linked to criminal activity and shady characters, it still represents the best hope should the local scene be able to overcome these issues and transcend itself. And why not? Dutch Muay Thai is as popular as football there.
It’s Showtime is an organisation that any fan of standup fighting should know and love. Any org that hosts Semmy Schilt vs Badr Hari to decide its first World Heavyweight Champion is either going to be huge, or be a bright star that burns out fast. Better yet, unlike K-1 it has multiple weight categories, giving a chance to fighters who cannot make 155lbs for K-1 MAX but who are too small to reach the top in K-1 itself. It has a 95kg category, called 95MAX for the Light-Heavyweights. None other than Melvin Manhoef is the World 85MAX champion. There are also divisions for 77kg, 70kg, 65kg and 61kg fighters, which should make for a very, very deep talent pool. This will allow for the very best standup fighters at a variety of weights to compete for this org. It’s Showtime could well be the future – and I hope they are.
This is not an optimistic piece. Believe me; if I had my way, I wouldn’t be writing it. For all their faults, FEG put on entertaining events with Dream, and Hero’s prior to that. And as for K-1, there is nothing like Dynamite. The World Grand Prix is damn hard to beat. The promotion hosts amazing fighters and fights. It will be tragic to lose it.
Pray that either PUJI somehow manage to come through, or that FEG can sell to someone interested in keeping K-1 – at the least – going. If not, we’re praying for the resurgence of Sengoku, Deep and Pancrase on one hand, and the emergence of It’s Showtime on the other. I know what I’d prefer.
It is not looking good.
With the Japanese businessmen and executives so camera shy during times of trouble, one sometimes has to turn to twitter, unreliable sites and the rumour mill. And concerning the failing PUJI deal – in which the Chinese investment bank were to find FEG investors to pump money through their ailing Dream (MMA) and K-1 (muay-thai boxing derivative) promotions, there seems to be no happy ending in sight for a promoter that smart money says will not be in existence long into the New Year.
Mike Kogan is playing the semantics game. No, PUJI never intended to simply pump £200million through FEG. Yes, they were just to find investors. No, they haven’t been able to do so, as yet. Yes, Dynamite is still on Tokyo Broadcasting Systems on New Years Eve. No, FEG aren’t looking for buyers.
This is as good as a death knell. The swirling rumour mill insists that certain potential investors backed out of any cash injection after being unable to find common ground with FEG management, and that any and all suggestions of change were “resisted” by the Japanese organisation.
If Dynamite is the end, where will this leave the flagging fightsports scene in the Land of the Rising Sun?
In MMA: the only hope we realistically had was Sengoku. The orgs execs publicly released statements claiming that they “would let Dream destroy itself”, thus becoming the #1 org in JMMA by doing absolutely nothing, simply allowing their rivals to be crushed under their own weight. While that may sound promising, it is far too late.
Sengoku WERE an ambitious, young and promising org once, but since 2008 they have lost a ridiculous amount of talent; both to Dream, and to international orgs that can afford to pay higher purses. At heavyweight, they once boasted Japanese Olympic heroes Hidehiko Yoshida and Satoshi Ishii, top ranked Pride veteran and UFC champion Josh Barnett, and another UFC champ in Kevin Randleman. Beyond that, they had the talented lightweight Satoru Kitaoka as their inaugural champ, they had featherweight standout Hatsu Hioki, rising star Michihiro Omigawa, and future Strikeforce Light-Heavyweight champion “King” Mo Lawal. They lost the services of ALL…. and many more besides. Dream snapped up some of their best talent, and they were condemned to putting on lower key shows and belonging strictly to the B-level.
Can Sengoku enjoy a turnaround, if Dream go? Who knows. My guess is that international talent will follow the superstar alumni of PrideFC, and go to the United States of America. SRC will snap up the remaining Japanese talent, but struggle with the current Japanese economy and the apparently faded public interest in fightsports.
Beyond that, DEEP are looking to step up their game, by venturing out to China. The last time Japanese warriors fought on Chinese soil, Nanking was destroyed, and the Chinese had to move their capital to Peking (Beijing). This time, hopefully it will be the beginning of a push for prominence from DEEP, who have been in the shadows for a long, long time.
As for K-1…. therein lies the REAL tragedy of this tale. Now, as a European, I know full well that thai-boxing (I refuse to use the American term “kick” for Full Contact Karate) will never die out. It is too popular in Holland and northern Europe, too popular in East Asia, and reasonably popular in England, the UK, the Americas, so on and so forth. But K-1, an org that allowed practitioners of all striking martial arts to compete to be the best standup fighter in the world…. it transcended martial arts, dojos, belt ranks, style vs style… it has a religious cult following, and to some it is a sport of its own.
How can that be replaced?
The answer: it cannot.
It's Showtime event: featuring K-1 big guns Schilt, Hari, Manhoef, Saki, Zimmerman, Souwer & Spong
Amsterdam might be the best means of filling the unbearable void left in fightsports, if K-1 goes. Even though the city is reportedly run by criminals, and thai-boxing shows are of course predictably linked to criminal activity and shady characters, it still represents the best hope should the local scene be able to overcome these issues and transcend itself. And why not? Dutch Muay Thai is as popular as football there.
It’s Showtime is an organisation that any fan of standup fighting should know and love. Any org that hosts Semmy Schilt vs Badr Hari to decide its first World Heavyweight Champion is either going to be huge, or be a bright star that burns out fast. Better yet, unlike K-1 it has multiple weight categories, giving a chance to fighters who cannot make 155lbs for K-1 MAX but who are too small to reach the top in K-1 itself. It has a 95kg category, called 95MAX for the Light-Heavyweights. None other than Melvin Manhoef is the World 85MAX champion. There are also divisions for 77kg, 70kg, 65kg and 61kg fighters, which should make for a very, very deep talent pool. This will allow for the very best standup fighters at a variety of weights to compete for this org. It’s Showtime could well be the future – and I hope they are.
This is not an optimistic piece. Believe me; if I had my way, I wouldn’t be writing it. For all their faults, FEG put on entertaining events with Dream, and Hero’s prior to that. And as for K-1, there is nothing like Dynamite. The World Grand Prix is damn hard to beat. The promotion hosts amazing fighters and fights. It will be tragic to lose it.
Pray that either PUJI somehow manage to come through, or that FEG can sell to someone interested in keeping K-1 – at the least – going. If not, we’re praying for the resurgence of Sengoku, Deep and Pancrase on one hand, and the emergence of It’s Showtime on the other. I know what I’d prefer.
Wannabe Defector Ishii Rolls Through Another Bizarre Matchup: Shibata Suffers Tenth Loss
Published on various websites, 14 November 2010
Satoshi Ishii was supposed to be the saviour of J-MMA.
Not just of Sengoku, or of Dream. The Olympic Champion Judoka was destined to dazzle adoring Asian audiences and drag the struggling scene out of the doldrums it has found itself in since the demise of Pride. It was nailed on; he was The Chosen One. He challenged Fedor, he was scheduled to fight the green but powerful Lesnar, and when this fell flat he instead ended up headlining the prestigious New Years Eve Dynamite 2009 card with another Japanese Olympic Judo hero, Hidehiko Yoshida….. and he lost.
From there on in, his career has been a circus show; mismanagement and bizarre fights, crazy rumours, and it only continued at the K-1 MAX Grand Prix 2010 card, on which he fought the nights only MMA fight, against late replacement…. puro resu star Katsuyori Shibata.
In all fairness, Ishii’s original opponent Antz Nansen cancelled late, citing poor health. But even so; Ishii’s career began with a very high profile loss against a now-retired, then-post prime Yoshida, and has been hectic since. He was even rumoured to be fighting Jerome LeBanner – under K-1 RULES! Madness. All credit to Shibata for stepping in like the warrior he is, but the tenth defeat of his MMA career was inevitable, and it came courtesy of a kimura three minutes into the first round.
Now, the spectacle continues. Ishii has spurned the chance to fight at FEG’s illustrious Dynamite NYE card, and has called out Tito Ortiz to do battle. Tito is contracted to the UFC; the very org that Ishii declined to sign with nearly two years ago prior to his debut, instead allying himself to Japanese promoters World Victory Road, from whom he defected in turn to FEG.
Whether or not this further defection – this time from JMMA altogether – will go down as Ishii intends, remains to be seen, but one thing is for sure; Ishii’s management have NOT done a bang up job in terms of nurturing the image of their supposed “saviour of JMMA”… an image that is being increasingly tarnished with every crazy rumour, every freak show fight he has against vastly undersized opponents, or every noise that emerges that suggests he now wishes to defect from the very fight scene that he is supposed to help revive.
Fletch
Satoshi Ishii was supposed to be the saviour of J-MMA.
Not just of Sengoku, or of Dream. The Olympic Champion Judoka was destined to dazzle adoring Asian audiences and drag the struggling scene out of the doldrums it has found itself in since the demise of Pride. It was nailed on; he was The Chosen One. He challenged Fedor, he was scheduled to fight the green but powerful Lesnar, and when this fell flat he instead ended up headlining the prestigious New Years Eve Dynamite 2009 card with another Japanese Olympic Judo hero, Hidehiko Yoshida….. and he lost.
From there on in, his career has been a circus show; mismanagement and bizarre fights, crazy rumours, and it only continued at the K-1 MAX Grand Prix 2010 card, on which he fought the nights only MMA fight, against late replacement…. puro resu star Katsuyori Shibata.
In all fairness, Ishii’s original opponent Antz Nansen cancelled late, citing poor health. But even so; Ishii’s career began with a very high profile loss against a now-retired, then-post prime Yoshida, and has been hectic since. He was even rumoured to be fighting Jerome LeBanner – under K-1 RULES! Madness. All credit to Shibata for stepping in like the warrior he is, but the tenth defeat of his MMA career was inevitable, and it came courtesy of a kimura three minutes into the first round.
Now, the spectacle continues. Ishii has spurned the chance to fight at FEG’s illustrious Dynamite NYE card, and has called out Tito Ortiz to do battle. Tito is contracted to the UFC; the very org that Ishii declined to sign with nearly two years ago prior to his debut, instead allying himself to Japanese promoters World Victory Road, from whom he defected in turn to FEG.
Whether or not this further defection – this time from JMMA altogether – will go down as Ishii intends, remains to be seen, but one thing is for sure; Ishii’s management have NOT done a bang up job in terms of nurturing the image of their supposed “saviour of JMMA”… an image that is being increasingly tarnished with every crazy rumour, every freak show fight he has against vastly undersized opponents, or every noise that emerges that suggests he now wishes to defect from the very fight scene that he is supposed to help revive.
Fletch
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