MMA News From Around The World

Enson Inoue Arrested

2008-10-22T00:37:32Z

Enson Inoue was arrested in Ikebukuro, Tokyo, Japan on October 21 after being caught in the act of smoking marijuana. Enson is a longtime veteran of MMA, having armbarred Randy Couture for a submission victory and making appearances in PRIDE and Shooto among other organizations.

According to the Ikebukuro police, Enson was found possessing 16.9 grams of marijuana (including inside a tobacco cigarette, in his clothers, and in the car door pockets) in a car in a coin-pay parking lot in Ikebukuro at around 3:30pm on the 18th. Enson told police he received it from a friend a few months earlier.

It is being said that Enson admitted he smoked the marijuana himself, possibly in order to receive a lighter sentence. This is not the first time Enson has been in trouble in Japan, having been arrested on assault or harassment charges some years back.

This is also not the first recent marijuana bust, with three russian sumo wrestlers and a famous actor having all been arrested within approximately one month of each other. Is there a sting going on for famous drug users?

K-1 DYNAMITE!!! 2008

2008-10-16T01:55:51Z

It will be officially announced on the 18th at Akasaka Sacas (home of the TBS TV station) that there will be a K-1 DYNAMITE!!! 2008 New Year's Eve event.

The announcement will be made with FEG event producer Sasahara and a representative from TBS.

A few participating fighters will appear and the event outline will be given.

Ishii Q&A

2008-10-09T00:18:34Z

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 alone with the right matchups could bolster the Japanese MMA scene.

Recently, there was a Q&A session. Here is some of what he had to say:

Question: Did you tell the Judo boss (Yoshimura) about your plan to go pro in MMA?
Answer: I told him I wanted to try it, that I had an interest.

Question: What has your preparation for MMA been?
Answer: I haven't done any at all [he uses a form that might be actually translated as "I haven't done jack"]. I've been doing BJJ since before the Beijing Olympics, so that doesn't matter at all.

Question: How about your conduct? [Ishii has been seen as making gross/brazen statements, jokes, etc.]
Answer: I am going to pay attention from now on, and fix the parts that need fixing.

Question: Have you submitted papers to resign from Judo?
Answer: No, not at all.

Question: When will the switchover to MMA happen?
Answer: I might even go when I'm 30 [He is now 22], I just really don't know. I haven't thought about it. I would like to think about it from now on.

Ishii to MMA!

2008-10-07T00:47:03Z

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.

Smackgirl Replaced with Valkyrie

2008-10-01T08:15:43Z

The news came a week late (see the previous post below), but SMACKGIRL is finished, and in its place comes a new company - Valkyrie.

Their first event is to be held November 6.

More on this soon, so keep watching.

The End of a DREAM ? (Part 2)

2008-09-24T23:19:25Z

FEG Event Producer Sasahara has made the first comment to come from FEG itself concerning the tv ratings for DREAM.6.

As reported in Part 1, the average viewership was 9.0% with a peak of 13.4% during the Akiyama-Minowa match.

Sasahara stated, "These are not numbers we can be optimistic about. The end of the year is when MMA attracts the most attention and we should be able to pull good numbers on that day. I want to think of an event that will bring us good numbers for NYE."

In other news, Japanese media is reporting the live attendance as 20,929. Compared with DREAM.5, with an attendance of 11,986, it showed reasonable growth.

However, a number of reasons could be behind this - the fact that 6 was held near Tokyo while 5 was held in Osaka, the holiday Tuesday on which DREAM.6 was held, it being the finals of the tournament, a stronger collection of matches made for Japanese fans, the end of summer, etc.

Sasahara's comments, and the fact that a number of matches are being talked about (Sakuraba vs. Tamura, Akiyama vs. Yoshida, Fedor vs. Ishii or Kharitonov, etc.), do hint that DREAM should at least survive through NYE, and there is speculation that the contract with TBS ends at year-end, so the numbers from one more televised event may convince TBS to continue with DREAM.

The End of a DREAM ?

2008-09-24T07:27:46Z

FEG's Tanikawa let it be known that DREAM.6 really needed 15% tv viewership in order for DREAM to continue in its present form.

Unofficial numbers in the form of the HDNet announcers put the attendance at 25,000 which would double that of DREAM.5 if confirmed.

However, the average TV percent was 9% with a peak at 13.4%, both significantly lower than the goal.

For the past DREAM events, the percent floated around 12%.

The 13.4% peak was during the Akiyama match.

He expressed interest in fighting Hidehiko Yoshida next, and on the possibility of DREAM ending, he said "I will fight him anywhere."

Roger Gracie out of Sengoku... for good?

2008-09-23T01:00:40Z

Roger Gracie was to appear at the September 28 Sengoku event against Travis Wiuff. Claiming injury, which has not been backed up by the appropriate documents, Gracie pulled out from the event, and the management of Sengoku is thinking of punishing him. Details from the WVR press release follow.

"Gracie's management sent an email on September 17 concerning muscle damage and Gracie requiring 4 weeks to recover. They were asked to submit a formal document with diagnosis results (CT scan, etc.) for the official WVR doctors to review. Until today, no such document has arrived.

"Further, no contact could be made to Gracie's doctor for a conference call scheduled for September 19. There was a 3-hour time limit within which to respond, but no response came.

"On receiving an email from Gracie's doctor, it became clear that no real close examinations had been conducted.

"As of 7pm on September 22, no official diagnosis has been received, so it was decided to announce cancellation of his bout.

"We are working hard to find an opponent for Travis Wiuff.

"We are thinking of severely punishing Gracie."

Fedor vs. Ishii - On and then Cancelled

2008-09-23T00:38:25Z

Satoshi Ishii, gold medalist in 100kg judo at the Beijing Olympics this year, started hype last month talking about MMA, Fedor, Rickson Gracie, etc.

Keiichi Sasahara DREAM Event Producer revealed that they had been working on an Ishii-Fedor match.

At a press conference on the 21st, Sasahara announced the match, yet in a rush it was cancelled.

The vague fax cancellation stated (I have removed the 50 apologies included): "On the Ishii-Fedor match announced yesterday, due to various circumstances, it has been cancelled... It came to be judged that it would be difficult to put this together, and it was decided to cancel..."

Buddhism in MMA

2008-09-23T00:16:00Z

While on vacation in Japan, I went to visit one of the large statues of Buddha. Photos I took are below:

Click a picture for a nicer, larger image.

For those that might be interested, the statue is around 50 feet tall, 100 tons, 6-foot ears, and was made in the 1200s. You can also go inside it to see the work that went into making it.

While I was there, I was thinking about a fighter's heart, about DREAM, about MMA in general, and while looking at the giant Buddha, I suddenly thought of the Tibetan Buddhist idea of Bardo. My introduction to it was through Trungpa, which is presented below with quotes. I was also thinking of Evan Tanner, so this post is dedicated to him.

"Bardo" can be translated as something like "the space between two islands." Life can be thought of as the space between the islands of pre-birth and death. Death itself is another such space between islands. But also in life itself, death is another such space (i.e. a suicidal time in life, etc.). Basically in life the bardoes represent states of mind, your place along the path of the journey through life, etc. There are six bardos in life which could sort of be pictured as a spiral but instead of circular, it is hexagonal in shape. That is, once you have gone through one bardo, you will go through it again also, and again, but at different points along the journey, where it will appear to you in a slightly different form, etc

In any case, I see modern MMA and basically everything else that "happens" as going through these same stages.

I was thinking how MMA now has generally been about trying to find new techniques or "tools" to surprise and take out the opponent. We have seen new chokes, new guards, and things we never thought would work in MMA - like karate styles and flying kicks and such. At this point, MMA seems to be in the "human" bardo or "human" stage which is described below. He uses "tools" but you could think of "techniques" or "measures" or something similar. This aspect of the human stage could be called "techniques and anti-techniques."

"There is something extra connected with the human realm, a very strange kind of suspicion which comes with passion, and which makes human beings more cunning, shifty and slippery. They can invent all sorts of tools and accentuate them in all sorts of sophisticated ways so as to catch another slippery person, and the other slippery person develops his or her own equipment of anti-tools... Finally, we are unable to accomplish such a big undertaking. We are subject to birth and death. The experience can be born, but it can also die; our discoveries may be impermanent and temporary."

"The human realm is the lowest of the 'Three Higher Realms'. The previous three are known as the Three Lower Realms because you are just going down or stuck somewhere that is either unpleasant or limited. In this realm, unlike the previous three, there is a lot of choice, a lot of flexibility, a lot of creativity. There is promise. You are still earthbound and there are limitations, of course, but you can choose your behavior. You don't just have food, it can be 'cuisine'. You don't just survive, you could have enlightened society. You don't just walk around naked, you can wear fine clothes, and even when you go to the bathroom, there is a special room for it. Indeed, in modern Japan, in some well-to-do establishments, music automatically plays when you sit down on the toilet!"

"How interesting the human realm is! It is constantly changing. The other realms, even the higher ones, are stuck with their body or state of mind for a whole life. A pig, although one of the most intelligent animals around, is always a pig, with only a narrow range of feelings and situations that engender feeling; but a human has lives within lives. Each day we go through so many realms; in our lives, we can change roles and identities in terms of jobs, countries, relationships, styles. Indeed, the human realm is the only one where we can experience all six and keep going around and around."

"The human is sophisticated, intelligent, energetic, witty, and constantly preoccupied with what to do next. Life is filled with choices. The dominant emotion, or atmosphere, is passion: passion for other people, ideas, books, money, travel, food, sex, knowledge, power, insight, science, a better lawn than my neighbour's, a better pillow, a bigger bomb, a better pancake recipe. It is endless."

"Because of all this, the human realm is in many ways regarded as both the most intelligent as well as the most painful. In the human realm we can be aware that we are born, we live for a while and we die. This is because we are aware and can observe that we are always going through changes. In other words, we can compare this and that, and this 'now' from that 'then'. We have discriminating and evaluative memory and intellect so we can understand that life does not go on forever, that things are not as solid as we might first have thought. We are not actually stuck, even though we might be overly driven by our endless curiosity, passion, sense of exploration, intrigue, intelligence, whatever."

"This might not seem like much, and to tell the truth most of us ignore it all the time as if we will live forever or our scientists will find a way for that to happen; but it is important: it means that we have the intelligence and the opportunity to liberate ourselves from being trapped from birth in a particular body or mind-set."

"One of the main characteristics of the human realm is a sense of humor because we can see the many-sided aspects of pain and pleasure. We also see how they go together and therefore get glimpses that the whole thing is a mirage and so our point of view is always changing. That is why Buddhas can teach here, because this is the realm where we can actually wake up out of the dream. Because we see birth, old age, sickness and death we can learn to flavor the tasty food of our changing, multifarious experiences with the spices of wisdom and discipline in order to take full advantage of the precious opportunity that this life affords."

"I am the man, I suffered, I was there."

UFC in Asia (Continued from numerous posts below)

2008-09-22T23:45:11Z

Hey all - I'm back from vacationing around Japan and ready to get back to some news.

Are you ready for DREAM? Did anyone make the trip to Japan to watch it?

As it seems I was the one that broke the news in western media about the UFC going to Japan (and Phillipines as I noted in the first news post on it), I feel I should write about the latest Phillipines move even though it has already appeared all over the news and on forums.

Of course the latest news is that the UFC accompanied Chuck Liddell on a trip to the Phillipines where he did a public workout and met fans at the Mall of Asia in Pasay City.

http://www.ufc.com/index.cfm?fa=news.detail&gid=14687

Call this "step one: complete."

One thing of note in the Japanese media story on this -

Takanori Gomi expressed (in basically an announcement) his interest to fight in the UFC, and he said he would like to as a representative of Sengoku.

This just screams of the old UFC-PRIDE history where fighters from Japan wished to fight in the UFC as representatives of PRIDE. In fact, that sense was strongest when the UFC had announced its purchase of PRIDE and fans and fighters alike believed that PRIDE was going to continue.

In a way, Gomi's statement hints at the possibility of a merger or at least of future affiliation between the UFC and at least one of the two major Japanese MMA organizations. Dana White stated that they would be negotiating with the organizations rather than the fighters, and he gave a Japanese crowd-pleaser in saying that he wants all the organizations' fighters to fight (a sort of UFC vs. Japanese MMA organizations).

While other US MMA organizations had been making connections and affiliations in Japan, many thought the UFC was asleep at the wheel, but it seems the UFC might be making the most powerful deals of all. The UFC has lost money in its events overseas, but Asia represents a powerhouse in terms of entertainment cash and fight fans.

Shinya Aoki - Leglocks

2008-09-11T01:33:50Z

From Shinya Aoki:

Even looking at the whole world, I think Japan is the leading nation when it comes to leg locking techniques.

So, why is that? It is because Japanese MMA came from pro-wrestling. The heel hold spread throughout Japan after being taught by Ivan Gomes (sp?) to New Japan Pro Wrestling. In the time before BJJ spread through Japan, the ground techniques were based just on trying to get a submission [without regard for positioning].

But there isn't much chance to see that kind of leg locking in matches. The number of people skilled in leglocking [he calls them "foot lockers"] is rapidly decreasing.

So, why is that?

One of my personal reasons is that I want to remove the utmost risk involved in leglocking in MMA where you end up on the bottom and the chance of being GNP'd goes up. For that reason, many fighters have come to avoid going for them.

But leg locking techniques that are done with a really solid base [skillfully, tight, etc] can avoid the GNP. Actually, the reason I was almost kicked to death in the Calvan [JZ] fight is because I screwed up in the way that I was supposed to position my legs. There are techniques at such a high level that even pro's don't really get them. I would like to read a specialized magazine on them.

And one more reason is the rapid spread of BJJ. Leg techniques are against the rules in BJJ. And without the leg techniques, it is sold as a safe art that anyone can do. So because of that, the number of fighters training leglocks is dropping. Really, I think it is just a prejudice against leg locking techniques - there aren't really that many bad injuries from them.

I've been constantly training with Imana-sensei [perhaps his nickname for Imanari] but I haven't once gotten my legs injured. If you have the proper teacher, you can train [leglocks] without injury or anything.

The center of MMA is deep, isn't it. We are still but fledglings. If everything can be learned, you can become extremely powerful. Study and train until the end, ascend until the end.

Return of Smackgirl

2008-09-11T01:03:49Z

Previously I reported on the seeming imminent death of Smackgirl, however it seems to have been going through a lengthy corporate restructuring.

The September 24 event is being postponed, the second event to suffer postponement. However, they are planned to return under the management of a new company.

There will be a press conference in the middle of next week to announce the new company.

More UFC Japan News (Part 3)

2008-09-07T00:14:27Z

It is now being reported that UFC may make its way into Japan next spring, one season earlier than previous reports.

Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta made some other announcements as well.

Confirming some news I uncovered nearly one year ago, Dana White mentioned a number of Japanese fighters he is interested in having as part of the next UFC Japan:

Kazushi Sakuraba

Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto

Hidehiko Yoshida

Takanori Gomi

They would like these four to face UFC fighters in their respective divisions.

"The fans would like to know whether it's the UFC fighters or other fighters that are the strongest." [translation of Dana White's words, same below]

They are concentrating on putting on possibly the first of many events between March and May of next year in or near the capital of Tokyo.

Dana White mentioned the following possible matchups:

"Kid" Yamamoto vs. Urijah Faber

Gomi vs. B.J. Penn

"I'm thinking I really want to put on a card with 'Kid'. Isn't Gomi wasting time? The UFC is the #1 organization collecting fighters of his level."

The UFC's "theme" for next year is to concentrate on the US while expanding the market globally. Japan is just one stop along that path. They plan to negotiate with DREAM and Sengoku, which could very well result in an entire reorganization of the MMA world.

UFC Japan! Part two

2008-09-05T23:52:08Z

It was announced today that Chuck Lidell has shown deep interest in fighting for the UFC in Japan.

"I definitely think they should put on shows in Japan. Compared to the last time I fought in UFC Japan, I think that the UFC has really grown into something amazing."
[Translated from Japanese translation of Lidell's words]

Speculation is that the fight that was "supposed" to happen years ago in PRIDE - Lidell vs Silva - may see the rematch put on hold in anticipation of holding it in Japan.

Once Dana White finalizes the Japan plan, it was mentioned that Lidell may headline the UFC's return to Japan with a title match.

UFC has seen the opportunity recently to make moves into Japan, to continue with UFC Japan, holding the fourth UFC Japan show sometime next summer.

Previously:

UFC will be taking its show to Japan from the summer of next year.

It was announced they will be holding a show in the phillipines next spring, and from there, UFC Japan will make its return. The last UFC event in Japan was in December of 2000.

Dana White said that if the summer Japan show is a success, they plan to hold a regular series of events in Japan.

Royce Gracie in Japan...

2008-09-05T04:27:16Z

Royce Gracie is in Japan, and is said to be in attendance at DREAM. Could this be an announcement of his next fight, perhaps for NYE?

He is visiting NGO's, making speeches, and to hold a public training session.

More pics at:

http://blog.qlep.com/blog.php/royce

UFC Japan!

2008-09-05T03:40:49Z

UFC will be taking its show to Japan from the summer of next year.

It was announced they will be holding a show in the phillipines next spring, and from there, UFC Japan will make its return. The last UFC event in Japan was in December of 2000.

Dana White said that if the summer Japan show is a success, they plan to hold a regular series of events in Japan.

New Matchups for DREAM

2008-09-03T08:48:26Z

The picture says it all.

Crocop vs. Overeem
Mighty Mo vs. Kharitonov

Full card so far at:

http://dreamofficial.com/

Another Bad Sign for Japanese MMA?

2008-09-03T05:49:18Z

With the lull that Japanese MMA has been in, it may come as no surprise to some, but focus in the Japanese media has shifted to American MMA stories.

First, of course, was the UFC's return in October of last year to WOWOW, a popular satellite TV system in Japan.

As well, recently, American events have shown up on the most popular rental streaming sites such as:

http://www.dmm.com/digital/fight/affliction/index_html/=/ch_navi=/

And now, the latest and greatest news on all Japanese MMA news sites is the latest UFC announcement!

http://news.livedoor.com/article/detail/3793805/

And the latest issue of Kamipro focused almost entirely on the US, with a 10-page introduction to all of the up-and-coming US fighters.

More Sumo Marijuana Scandal

2008-09-03T00:27:51Z

The Japan Sumo Association had it's Sumo players drug tested after the Russian Wakanoho was arrested for possession of marijuana. Two other Russians, brothers Roho and Hakurozan, were also found to have the drug in their system based on urinanalysis, and one other Russian was said to be in possession.

All of them are high-level in the Sumo world.

Wakanoho was seen today looking very overweight compared to his competitive form, and he refused to make any comments to reporters.

Shinya Aoki Loves Muay Thai

2008-09-01T05:01:24Z

My striking teacher is a Karateka, the Muay Thai trainer Iimura-sensei. From Iimura, I experienced Thai food and fell in love with Muay Thai. Muay Thai and kickboxing are amazing [he uses the slang term "roman no katamari" which recalls when Rome was the greatest city on Earth and people flocked to it to make their dreams come true]. Muay thai is taught in a fun way at Daidoujuku Kichijouji Dojo.

All told, I started to watch kickboxing and I really like Naoki Ishikawa [a Japanese kickboxer in All-Japan Kickboxing]. The pushkick, body kicks, knees, elbows - the matches he participates in are made focusing on the stuff that I want to get into, so it is been really helpful. Where the world is focused on punching, it is great to see a style focused on kicks.

I am happy to have had exchanges with Ishikawa, who I admire very much, and he even gave me advice on the pushkick and body kicks. I still remember back in the beginning when I was standing way too much on the balls of my feet. I'm going to use the techniques he showed me in my next match to bewilder my opponent. I can't wait.

His fight trunks have a tartan check pattern that is so cool. A long time ago I wanted to make tartan check tights to wear and I made a design. To be beaten to it by Ishikawa is a good memory for me.

He is going to fight in All-Japan Kickboxing on September 19 at Kourakuen Hall in Tokyo against a Thai fighter. The thai fighter seems considerably powerful, being the champion of [some] stadium in Thailand. To be a champ there is like being a champ in the UFC - he is not going to come to put on a half-assed fight. It is without doubt a match that makes you think "can he do it?" [yarennoka reference again]. But Ishikawa is full of vigor and power and will probably charge from the corner.

I got a book of an anthology of poetry by Koumoto Hiroto from Ishikawa, and his influence also has me listening to The Blue Hearts [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Blue_Hearts ]and The High-Lows [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_High-Lows ]. I got the kicking techniques down. I'm listening to The Blue Hearts while I write this column.

Our competition and organizations are different, but I think it is a friendship where we can get power from each other. The base of it is that we both have a love for organizations more than others and the pride of being pro's that we put in to what we do.

We talked and are both looking toward the future excitedly, it will be completely positive. It's really true, you get power from someone that looks looks forward and tries hard .

I am going on September 19 to Kourakuen Hall to get power and dreams.

So I thought to study Muay Thai by watching Iimura-sensei's Muay Thai fight DVD's. This type of muay thai [it is written shinrapa] is like the muay thai bible. If you read it you can understand all of the lingo and be like me. Reading about the muay thai knee today, I don't think I can stop.

It can be bought at http://www2.enekoshop.jp/shop/koubudo/Top

Japan Loves Martial Arts

2008-09-01T01:02:44Z

Masato Uchishiba takes the gold

In a recent survey, it was revealed that 76.2% of Japanese viewers of the Olympics were tuned in to Judo.

Wrestling was also watched by an impressive 51.7% of Japanese viewers.

It was hard not to tune in. Olympic Judo aired in Japan from 1pm to about 9pm each day over 7 days. The finals of each weight class aired live just as many people would be returning home from work. And if you missed it live, there were plenty of morning and night news shows for replays.

Other statistics here:

http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/WhatJapanThinks/~3/378062299/

Shinya Aoki Talks (Part 2)

2008-08-29T08:29:07Z

Below is a translation of Shinya Aoki's column:

I went to see Sengoku.

It seemed my associate, Hasegawa who is president of Koubudo [A Japanese MMA training gear company - http://www.koubudo.co.jp/ ], was going to go see the UFC live. "Prez, you going to see the UFC?" He replied, "Are you?" "Of course I'm not going." He asked, "Why not?" "Because if I saw it, I'd end up wanting to get in the octagon!" (laughs)

But, there are a lot of things I want to do in Japan, and I decided I want to go as high as I can go along with the Japanese fans and staff. I don't want there to be misunderstanding because of recent U.S. reports. It's not that America is doing everything right, so that's why there are [also] staff saying "can we do it" [the catchphrase "yarennoka"] in Japan. We are absolutely going to reach the top in Japan again.

Putting that thought aside, I went to root for Kitaoka at Sengoku. Man, Kitaoka is great. Only Kitaoka could create an outlook of the world like his.

When I went to look at his last fight [in Sengoku] against Ian Schaffa on Nikoniko Douga [the Japanese version of Youtube which an unfortunate decision to allow user comments to appear scrolling over the videos - http://www.nicovideo.jp/ ], the text "KIMOI" [gross/ugly/unpleasant/disgusting] was covering the video so I couldn't see it. I laughed for a long time. But I guess Kitaoka and I have the same bad thing going. I'm often called KIMOI too. It is the highest compliment. Anyway, congratulations on your quick victory! Banzai!

When I got too close to the [solid gold] belt at Sengoku, a security guard warned me, "please don't touch it." Don't worry! I won't touch it, because I can't touch it. (Shinya puts his hands together in prayer that he can have it).

Ah yea, I heard that the American, Jake Shields, is saying "Aoki ran." What the hell are you? A feudal lord? If you were some kinda genius like Michael Jackson, maybe I'd pay you some mind. But you? You can't say that.

So returning to that talk...

I ain't runnin'. I mean, there hasn't even been an offer to fight you. If an offer comes, I'll be happy to fight. Because, I like you, because you're strong! The person giving you the best reputation in Japan is me!!!!! Really, Linda is going to have a problem. I mean, Sensei Jake's tight groundwork will be outclassed and wow'd by my funky groundwork.

Sengoku September 28 Provisional Card

2008-08-29T06:05:58Z

Middleweight Grand Prix 2008:

Yuki Kondo
vs.
Yuki Sasaki

Evangelista Cyborg
vs.
Siyar Bahadurzada

Lightweight

Ryan Schultz
vs.
Jorge Masvidal

One-match planned fighter list:

Alexandre "Xande" Ribeiro
Roger Gracie

Middleweight Grand Prix 2008 planned fighter list:
Kazuhiro Nakamura
Jorge Santiago

Rickson Gracie Cup 2008 Winner to Pancrase

2008-08-29T01:48:32Z

Rickson Gracie Cup 2008 medio (80kg) champion Leandro Kusano will face Daisuke Hanazawa at the September 7 Pancrase Event.

He is a 26-year-old purple belt, 2-0 in MMA.