JMMA is ALIVE: The Official Japanese MMA discussion thread

[wekka]

As you all may know, JMMA is kind of my thing here. Grew up on it, grew addicted to it, the rest is history.
What this thread's purpose serves to be is to enlighten everyone on the magic that still remains, even in the current state, in JMMA. The history, excitement, and sport will never die. This for the ill-informed on the scene and to pretty much put some well-deserved spotlights on the great cards they still produce.

For my first entry, i'm proud to announce that true MMA is about to start off again with the upcoming RINGS card this month on the 21st.
The card will feature the return of Kazuyuki Miyata, Keisuke Fujiwara, Vitali Krat, Shungo Oyama, Sotaro Yamada, Tatsuya Watanabe, and Kleiber Koike Erbst.
This will, without a doubt, be the best card of the RINGS reincarnation to date.

The main attraction of the night is a Japan x Kazakhstan best two out of three series featuring Miyata, Fujiwara, and Oyama against undefeated Kazakhs Erzan Estanov, Aslan Toktarbaev, and Asif Tagiev, respectively.
Also highlighted is up and coming RINGS star, Vitali Krat, as he puts his undefeated record on the line against a fellow member of that same very club, Outsider vet, RYO.
Sengoku veteran Sotaro Yamada also deserves a mention since he has performed well since following Akira Maeda to the reformed promotion.

As events come and go, come here for updates, information, and general discussion.

Arigato.

[KSW]

Awesome thread! I´m excited to see Shungo Oyama back in the ring, he fought many great fighters in his career and win or lose it ends in the first round.

What do you think about the future of RINGS?

[wekka]

RINGS should be in good shape. They're building up slowly, which is the right move. They have plenty of talent to choose from between ZST and the Outsider. When they can attract people like Miyata, Oyama, Kotani, and KOHI, they're already showing good potential.

The main thing which leads me to believe that RINGS will be successful is Akira Maeda. He's been there before and I have no doubt he'll be able to do it again. He took a shoot-wrestling organization, legitimized it, snatched up loads of young talent from throughout the world, and lead the promotion to absolute glory and prestige.
Add that to the fact that he's continuing the tradition of scouting talent throughout Russia, Netherlands, Australia, and the Eastern Bloc and he's made it a priority to rebuild the Heavyweight division, as he believe that's what's needed in today's JMMA scene to thrive.

We still have people at his disposal that have yet to be used like Nobutatsu Suzuki, Keinosuke Yasunaga, Morkevicius, and most importantly, the true retirement match of Volk Han (who's rumored to face Dan Severn at the end of the year). He's also already making some new stars, like Vitali Krat, who has looked spectacular in such a short amount of time.

RINGS was the past of JMMA. Now, they'll be the future.

[KSW]

What japanese promotions have live streams? It would be cool to watch the events here at G-MMA.

[wekka]

Unfortunately, none of them. Consistently, at least.
Pancrase will every now and then, as does DEEP with their club events.
Otherwise, not very often.

[wekka]

HEADLINES:

Kazakhstan defeats Japan in their ring series. Miyata prevents the sweep. Does Tagiev and Toktarbaev have potential in Japan with these victories?

Krat continues his vicious run. Without a doubt, the brightest star of the new RINGS. Will Akira Maeda see the same after another knockout?

[wekka]

Shooto 10th Round is later this month and it is full of either incredible matches or solid fighters. Here's the highlighted matches of the evening:

*Mikihito Yamagami x Junji Sarumaru for the Shooto Flyweight Championship
*Caol Uno makes his Shooto return against rising bantamweight star, Shintaro Ishiwatari
*Young gun Shigeki Osawa looks to rebound from a string of unfortunate defeats against longtime Shooto veteran, Masatoshi Abe
*Former Shooto Rookie Champ Rambo Kosuke looks to build further momentum since his loss to top Shooto flyweight Haruo Ochi, as he faces Masumi Tozawa.

[KSW]

What upcoming JMMA events should we put in the events calendar?

[wekka]

DEEP Osaka Impact 2012- 9/29 (Main event Ikemoto/Ito. Also featuring Sakashita/Young Choi, Jutaro Nakao, Yuka Tsuji, Isao Terada, SEIGO, Toshihiro Shimizu, Makoto Kamaya, and Yuya Shibata)

Shooto 10th Round- 9/30 (now including a WW bout between Yukinari Tamura and Kenta Takagi)

Pancrase Progress Tour 11- 10/06 (featuring Junichi Ota, Toshihiro Taguchi, Takehiro Ishii, and Child Matsunaga)

HEAT 24- 10/07 (Featuring the rematch of Shigemoto/Alonso, Jae Suk Lim's Japanese debut, and Shooto young gun, Jun Nakamura)

DEEP 60th Impact- 10/19 (Daisuke Nakamura/Takafumi Ito, Nakanishi/Niimura, Ryuta Sakurai/Kazuhiro Nakamura, Kikuno/Kishimoto, SHOJI/Doo Ho Choi, DJ.taiki/Kitada, Takafumi Otsuka, Hidehiko Hasegawa)

[KSW]

I added the events. Damn next DEEP card has 18 fights.

[ZuffaKiller]

What Does the Future Hold for MMA in Japan?

With reports by AsainMMA.com saying that Japanese MMA promotion Dream’s parent company, Real Entertainment, has closed up shop, major MMA in Japan is at a crossroads right now.

Speaking to MMAWeekly.com, AXS TV’s Hans Thompson said of Real Entertainment’s closing, “I don’t have exact numbers on how many staff, but they essentially haven’t had a staff for much of this year aside from a handful of individuals.”

Thompson believes that Real Entertainment had kept Dream on life support as to not lose booking rights for one of Japan’s premier areas on one of its biggest entertainment days.

“The only credible rumors I’ve heard say they were looking to put something together because they have a real interest in not losing Saitama (Super Arena) for New Year’s Eve,” said Thompson. “As long as they continue to have a show there, they’ll have a priority for booking it.”

AsianMMA.com also reported that members of the Pride FC staff might be eligible to return to MMA next year after no-compete clauses that were part of the Zuffa buyout deal expire. Thompson spoke of one name in particular that was seen as a driving force in Pride.

“I don’t know the particulars, but I have heard that (former Pride president) Nobuyuki Sakakibara is barred from doing anything through 2013 under the terms of the deal,” said Thompson. “After I heard that, I did a little digging – nothing official – and from what I read from commenters and bloggers is that he’s busy with a Japanese soccer team.”

Thompson points out that whoever attempts to make a run at creating a major MMA promotion in Japan, they will face many of the same issues that plagued other companies and eventually lead to their demise.

“(Obstacles such as) the waning popularity of MMA in Japan, the general economic problems in Japan and mafia ties still remain,” said Thompson. “There are a lot of good reasons why large scale MMA can’t succeed in Japan right now, and until somebody proves otherwise, there’s not really any reasons why it can succeed in that climate.”

Thompson also told MMAWeekly.com that bringing coverage of existing Japanese promotions to AXS TV is something the company is working very hard on, but has its own problems.

“I’m doing what I can, but anything to do with Japan is kind of cost-prohibitive, and there’s the time difference and all of that,” said Thompson. “We do some Japanese highlights on ‘Inside MMA’ like Deep, Ruff from China and One FC, so we represent Asian MMA as much as we’re able to.

“I have reached out pretty much to everybody from Pancrase to Shooto to Jewels and it’s proved difficult to get highlights from them. In terms to broadcasting them on the network, it’s highly unlikely. “

As for the UFC, if Mark Fischer is correct, the promotion could be returning to Japan, but in a smaller capacity more akin to existing companies.

Thompson said of this possibility, “I think the UFC will continue to have a presence in Japan, but there’s something that’s keeping them from going all-in; and it’s possibly the factors that I’ve mentioned.”

http://www.mmaweekly.com/what-does-the-future-hold-for-mma-in-japan

[wekka]

I wonder why Shooto and Pancrase are proving so difficult?

You'd think they would take all the exposure they can get.

[wekka]

I added the events. Damn next DEEP card has 18 fights.

That's what is so wonderful about what they do with their lower tier cards and what Pancrase does in general.
They always give their fighters matches and they aren't afraid of building up the lower grade fighters.
It's an excellent way of finding a diamond in the rough by always implementing local talents.

[wekka]

What upcoming JMMA events should we put in the events calendar?

I'd also add the GRABAKA Live 2 event to the calender, since it's less than a month away.

Didn't realize it was in October, been thinking it was in November.

[RussianTopTeamModerator]

anybody know what happened to Ogawa?

[wekka]

Apparently, Ogawa has settled down and started teaching judo to kids in his hometown.

[IQ Wrestler]

Now THIS is my kinda thread!

[KSW]

Now THIS is my kinda thread!

The JMMA expert is back

[IQ Wrestler]

Yessir, glad to be back

[KSW]

Yessir, glad to be back

What do you think about the future of the japanese promotions? Which one will be most successful?

[Wolfman]

Yessir, glad to be back

We all missed you, man. GMMA's Kinnikuman.

[IQ Wrestler]

What do you think about the future of the japanese promotions? Which one will be most successful?

Well the ones that are left aren't going anywhere but aside from Pancrase, they aren't making any effort to grow and expand. Pancrase's new owners seem pretty determined to gain more global exposure and put on bigger fights, there next show is standing room only. RINGS is also a bit of a wild card. their first few shows have been small but Maeda is a smart man and i'm sure he has bigger plans. Shooto is Shooto and DEEP have the best roster and are the #1 right now but I don't think they have bigger plans or the bankroll to fill DREAM's spot or compete for contracts with ONE or ZUFFA so their roster will only get smaller.

I predict Kitaoka is going to ONE.

[Dagwood]

What do you think about the future of the japanese promotions? Which one will be most successful?

Well the ones that are left aren't going anywhere but aside from Pancrase, they aren't making any effort to grow and expand. Pancrase's new owners seem pretty determined to gain more global exposure and put on bigger fights, there next show is standing room only. RINGS is also a bit of a wild card. their first few shows have been small but Maeda is a smart man and i'm sure he has bigger plans. Shooto is Shooto and DEEP have the best roster and are the #1 right now but I don't think they have bigger plans or the bankroll to fill DREAM's spot or compete for contracts with ONE or ZUFFA so their roster will only get smaller.

I predict Kitaoka is going to ONE.

What's your on the effects of ONE FC on JMMA in the short-term and down the road? Will they be able to stay quite insulated from ONE?

[IQ Wrestler]

For now they are all working quite well with each other. Guys like Aoki & Kawa need far bigger paydays than anyone in japan can afford. So short-term it's no issue, whether or not ONE look to lock down more guys when they get bigger, I dunno.

I'm more worried about ZUFFA raping the orgs as they try to break into Japan

[wekka]

What do you think about the future of the japanese promotions? Which one will be most successful?

Well the ones that are left aren't going anywhere but aside from Pancrase, they aren't making any effort to grow and expand. Pancrase's new owners seem pretty determined to gain more global exposure and put on bigger fights, there next show is standing room only. RINGS is also a bit of a wild card. their first few shows have been small but Maeda is a smart man and i'm sure he has bigger plans. Shooto is Shooto and DEEP have the best roster and are the #1 right now but I don't think they have bigger plans or the bankroll to fill DREAM's spot or compete for contracts with ONE or ZUFFA so their roster will only get smaller.

I predict Kitaoka is going to ONE.

Can't argue with any of this.

While DEEP and Shooto both have incredible depth for organizations labeled as middle-tier and could easily make a jump to major national prominence, it's just way too risky. DEEP especially has the foundation to become a major player but the risk factor is entirely too high and Shooto has never really been a huge spectacle of an organization outside of the VTJ events and their stranglehold on the lower weight divisions for nearly a decade and a half.

RINGS will definitely be a major player in the JMMA scene in the years to come. Maeda is just too much of a goddamn genius for this to be a failure. He turned the Outsider into a major success, that says enough. He just has this mind for the business, he just happens to know what the fans want.

I'm really interested in what the new ownership has in store for Pancrase. The potential has always been there. In a perfect world, i'd love for them to somehow revert to their Hybrid Wrestler roots and not just be yet another MMA org.

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