Re: JMMA is ALIVE: The Official Japanese MMA discussion thread

[IQ Wrestler]

I think a reversion to the Hybrid Wrestling would be disastrous. As much as I would love it, it would alienate too many fans and they haven't got the umm...right fighters for it to work, if you know what i mean?

However I think an annual Hybrid Wrestling show would be just wonderful.

[wekka]

I hope the the powers that be allow us to see Ishiwatari/Uno as soon as possible.
Like i've said before, whenever Uno is in a Shooto ring, you'll get magic. Last night was no different.

Yamagami retained against Sarumaru. I'm just as surprised as Ikoma with Yamagami's gameplan. Can't say I blame him since Sarumaru's striking is much more effective. After he retained his title, he shared his desire to jump up a weightclass and join the UFC. I hope he holds off on this for now because I believe there's still many good fights remaining for him in Shooto.

Otherwise, Osawa dispatched of Shooto mainstay Masatoshi Abe fairly quickly, which isn't all too surprising. Abe's younger brother on the other hand found himself victorious and Rambo Suzuki managed a decision against Masumi Tozawa in what was described as a tough affair.

Here's also a quick rundown of the past DEEP Osaka Impact event:

Seichi Ikemoto battered Yuki Ito into a corner stoppage within the second round.

DEEP mainstay Young Choi found himself on the victorious side of a decision against Yusuke Sakashita in a pivotal middleweight bout.

Longtime JMMA veteran Jutaro Nakao submitted Doo Jae Jung, who was a late replacement for Won Sik Park.

Yuka Tsujii, one of the top women of JMMA, also submitted her opponent Hyo Kyung Song.

Jae Eun Yoon in his debut defeated SEIGO by decision in Megaton action.

Longtime DEEP veteran Isao Terada drew with Taro Kusano.

Flyweight prospect Yuya Shibata submitted Hirotaka Himeno.

Makoto Kamaya kept his win streak going at ten fights as he defeated Kil Woo Lee in a disappointing decision.

In unfortunate news, the previously mentioned Parky, Won Sik Park has re-aggravated an injury and there's a rumor going around about how it might be severe enough to push him in an early retirement which would be entirely disappointing for a once bright young star plagued by many injuries. Best of luck to Parky in his recovery.

[wekka]

Recent results:

HEAT 24:
Shigemoto/Alonso was scrapped in favor of a welterweight showcase in which Fumitoshi Ishikawa remained undefeated.
Jun Nakamura heel hooked his way to victory against Katsuya Murofushi.
Jae Suk Lim was knocked out in his return by Makoto Maeda.

Pancrase Progress Tour 11:
Takehiro Ishii won a decision against Child Matsunaga in the main event.
Junichi Ota fell victim to punches against Koichiro Takekawa.
Toshihito Taguchi also won with punches against Motoshi Miyaji.
Other notable victors included Yuhei Fukuda and Masayoshi "Randleman" Ichikawa.

Notable Upcoming Cards:

Grabaka Live! 2 (10/27):

Sanae Kikuta x Yuji Sakuragi (Vale Tudo Rules)
Rambaa Somdet x Takuya Eizumi (Pure BRUTALITY imminent)
KEI Yamamiya x Kenichi Yamamoto
Yoshihisa Yamamoto x Jong Wang Kim
Daijiro Matsui x Eiji Ishikawa
Yuki Sasaki x Hiromitsu Kanehara
Sotaro Kojima x Kazuki Itaya
Ryota Masuda x Hikaru Hasumi

[StealingFire]

@moronoRepublic Great to see Yamamiya right back in there. What a warrior.

Shooto may not be going anywhere but they do have a nice prospect fight waiting in the wings. Horiguchi vs Ogikubo is a fight that would definitely get some international notice, and one I would pay to see.

[wekka]

@moronoRepublic Great to see Yamamiya right back in there. What a warrior.

Shooto may not be going anywhere but they do have a nice prospect fight waiting in the wings. Horiguchi vs Ogikubo is a fight that would definitely get some international notice, and one I would pay to see.

I'm glad to see KEI back too. Up until his tough loss to Sato, he was having some sort of re-emergence at 170 and was really entertaining to see as a long-time fan.

While Shooto doesn't have their grip on the lower weight classes like they once did, they still have tons of talented fighters. I wouldn't be surprised to see the winner of the Ogikubo/Horiguchi fight get an invite to an American promotion as both are on the cusp.

[wekka]

Just a reminder that the INCREDIBLE DEEP 60th IMPACT CARD IS THIS WEEKEND!!!

[KSW]

Just a reminder that the INCREDIBLE DEEP 60th IMPACT CARD IS THIS WEEKEND!!!

October 19, Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan

[RTSUAV]

Hi Everyone. I was searching to see if I could find a live stream of the DEEP 60 Impact event and found this thread. I love watching DEEP/DREAM MMA events. Any ideas where to find a stream of DEEP 60 would be much appreciated.

[wekka]

Hi Everyone. I was searching to see if I could find a live stream of the DEEP 60 Impact event and found this thread. I love watching DEEP/DREAM MMA events. Any ideas where to find a stream of DEEP 60 would be much appreciated.

No streams, unfortunately. It's hard enough finding fight videos after the fact in a timely manner. I've heard that Pancrase might start showing some fights with their new YouTube channel, but that's just a rumor. Hopefully it's true so we can see DEEP follow in their footsteps and allow their American fans to witness such solid cards.

[ZuffaKiller]

Hi Everyone. I was searching to see if I could find a live stream of the DEEP 60 Impact event and found this thread. I love watching DEEP/DREAM MMA events. Any ideas where to find a stream of DEEP 60 would be much appreciated.

we don't do stream on this site if that is your sole reason for coming to this site then your in the wrong place. Now if you want to talk Global mma in intelligent way then you may be in the right place.

[RTSUAV]

wekka, thanks for the info. It would be great if organizations (other than UFC/Strikforce)offered more options for viewing/getting information for their international fans.

Zuffakiller...I have nothing intelligent or nice to say, so I won't say it. Thanks for the non-welcome.

[wekka]

Adding a pair of upcoming Pancrase cards to the mix with this post and as you'll see, Pancrase is finally adding name-power to their incredible in-ring work over the past few years.

Pancrase Progress Tour 12: All Eyes on Yuki Kondo (11/10)

Yuki Kondo x Kosei Kubota
Mitsuhisa Sunabe x Masakazu Utsugi
Yoshiaki Takahashi x Edward Faalaloto
Atsushi Yamamoto x Yasutaka Koga
Masakazu Takafuji x Tadahiro Harada
Masaya Takita x Taichi Nakajima
Gota Yamashita x Shigeaki Kusayanagi
Hiroyuki Abe x Takamasa Kiuchi
Keigo Hirayama x Toshikatsu Harada

Pancrase Progress Tour 13 (12/01)

Kiyotaka Shimizu x Yuki Yasunaga
Koji Oishi x Jon Shores
Tatsuya So x Yuta Numakura
Yuuki Baba x TBA

[wekka]

wekka, thanks for the info. It would be great if organizations (other than UFC/Strikforce)offered more options for viewing/getting information for their international fans.

Zuffakiller...I have nothing intelligent or nice to say, so I won't say it. Thanks for the non-welcome.

No problem. Their views are outdated, I suppose? I don't know if that's the right phrase to use but stubborn seems to harsh. Anyways, there's still a strong belief that they're unaware of so many international fans of their domestic product. I've had so many JMMA stars act in disbelief when I wish them luck on an upcoming fight, totally taken back by the fact that an American cares deeply about what they achieve in the sport.

Kind of disheartening. I'm really hoping they'll make strides in their worldwide product in 2013. From what i'm seeing IQ post on Facebook, it seems like Pancrase is really making a push for that.

[KSW]

Hi Everyone. I was searching to see if I could find a live stream of the DEEP 60 Impact event and found this thread. I love watching DEEP/DREAM MMA events. Any ideas where to find a stream of DEEP 60 would be much appreciated.

welcome to global-mma! Nice to have you here. I wish i had the stream.

[Adax]

Sick card in the DEEP 60th Impact, can't wait to read the results and play-by-plays!

Rooting for Diceman, Kikuno, and DJ.taiki.

I bet Ryuta Sakurai vs. Kaz Nak will be a crazy bout, both guys haven't fought in almost or over a year which is a damn shame.

Here's hoping Nakanishi and Doo Ho Choi successfully eat their food and boy could Otsuka could sure use a win.

[KSW]

Adding a pair of upcoming Pancrase cards to the mix with this post and as you'll see, Pancrase is finally adding name-power to their incredible in-ring work over the past few years.

Pancrase Progress Tour 12: All Eyes on Yuki Kondo (11/10)

Yuki Kondo x Kosei Kubota
Mitsuhisa Sunabe x Masakazu Utsugi
Yoshiaki Takahashi x Edward Faalaloto
Atsushi Yamamoto x Yasutaka Koga
Masakazu Takafuji x Tadahiro Harada
Masaya Takita x Taichi Nakajima
Gota Yamashita x Shigeaki Kusayanagi
Hiroyuki Abe x Takamasa Kiuchi
Keigo Hirayama x Toshikatsu Harada

Pancrase Progress Tour 13 (12/01)

Kiyotaka Shimizu x Yuki Yasunaga
Koji Oishi x Jon Shores
Tatsuya So x Yuta Numakura
Yuuki Baba x TBA

Pancrase is putting on a lot of events. Like you said it´s nice to see some bigger names on the cards and hopefully the promotion will grow.

What do you think about their partnership with the American Kickboxing Academy?

[wekka]

I think it's a great thing for both parties involved.

For Pancrase, it allows new, foreign blood to enter the promotion, it gives their domestic products a better feel for the American style if they ever eventually decide to venture off into North American MMA. It's a good sign of progression.

For AKA, it allows their lesser known fighters to gain experience fighting outside of their comfort zone and could be a great way to groom their own product by not fighting the prototypical American opponent, allowing them to add new facets to their skillsets, and it could be a great way of building hype for one of their prospects if he manages to fight his way to contendership. Possibly winning a belt in Pancrase looks much better than building up a resume through local circuits. The level of competition will definitely be higher.

So all in all, I hope this relationship lasts.

[goodnightirene]

[KSW]

I hope the JMMA promotions will be able to keep their top fighters, I don´t want them to be "feeder leagues". Pancrase and DEEP need to work together as much as possible to take JMMA to the top again.

[PRIDE NEVER DIE]

I hope the JMMA promotions will be able to keep their top fighters, I don´t want them to be "feeder leagues". Pancrase and DEEP need to work together as much as possible to take JMMA to the top again.

Man I remember when I was a kid, Pancrase was the only big show in town(at that level, deep been around forever). Would be nice to see Pancrase back at the top again.

[wekka]

Well, I think that's exactly what Pancrase is aiming for, to regain their foothold as the flagship JMMA organization. You can easily see this by all the moves they've made in the past year alone. I believe they have some unofficial working agreement with Shooto as well as they let both Shimizu and Ishiwatari take a few fights over there. I don't exactly know if that is the case though as Shimizu has just come off of two losses before making his return to Pancrase. We'll know after the plans for Ishiwatari have been laid out.

As much as I would like for DEEP to scale up, I honestly believe they're content with staying the way they are. Otherwise, they would've made a stronger push for Kitaoka and you would have seen him against Nakamura last week. Even if it isn't what I envisioned them to have become in the future, I still really respect their product for what it is and it'll remain a very high level organization, even if Pancrase and RINGS both manage to surpass them.

DEEP and Pancrase (Shooto as well) aren't exactly working as feeder leagues fortunately and it seems that they have an excellent working agreement with ONE. While they did lose Iron Nakamura and Ueda for a minute amount of time, they're still available to those they lend to ONE because of their championship clauses (at least I would imagine). That gives their guys like Nakanishi, Boku, Shirai, and Kawamura more high level opposition than they can normally get in their respective organizations while maintaining job security in case of a loss.

Now back to Pancrase. I believe they have a good grip on their fighters. The only person I could see possibly leaving is Jon Shores, because of his American background and highly entertaining fight style. That has to have both the UFC and Bellator frothing at the mouth. They still have Kume who has become a freelancer of sort and ISAO, who seems very comfortable with his position as King of Pancrase, although I wouldn't be surprised to see him in ONE next year.

All in all, this is the healthiest we've probably seem JMMA in years (probably since 2008-2010) and with how everything is going, I have no doubt in my mind that they're slowly rising up again.

[IQ Wrestler]

Pancrase CEO Sakai met with Barnett at last weeks IGF...wonder if they discussed him defending his KOP

[wekka]

Pancrase CEO Sakai met with Barnett at last weeks IGF...wonder if they discussed him defending his KOP

My god, how incredible that would be. I don't see the competition they could get a hold of though. Kiss Nakao? Peter Graham? Choi Mu Bae? Soa Palelei? Such a shame they can't get Semmy for linearity purposes.

[IQ Wrestler]

Well it is the Openweight belt so in theory anyone could fight him but realistically, there isn't anyone who would stand a chance...i dunno, maybe they want the belt back, it is the original one after all and it's not like Josh can represent them in ZUFFA.

[bolsheet]

Pancrase belts need to stay on Japan, I remember Marlon Sandro saying that he couln't bring the belt to Brazil due Pancrase demand.

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