The big news shaking up MMA fans in Japan is that Satoshi Ishii, gold medalist in 100kg judo at the Beijing Olympics this year, is heading to MMA. He has shown a genuine interest in MMA since winning the gold medal, talking of his plan to move into MMA for his future. However, subsequently, rumors about him moving to Japanese pro wrestling started to appear.

However, on October 6, he announecd that he is going into MMA.

He will make his debut at the FEG (DREAM) NYE event, December 31.

He is of course a national sports hero, and his debut at the biggest MMA event of the year should help boost Japanese MMA overall.