Grandslam Way of the Cage get international IPPV

Grandslam Way of the Cage iPPV official purchase page

2014 is somewhat new start for Japanese MMA. Gym's head start own event. Common thing for those event are give chance to young talent and fighter who known but had lose recently.For this event Hideo Tokoro try to restart after his controversial decision lose against Will Campuzano.After that decision Katsumura who was Tokoro's corner argue for Shooto commission. Yuki Nakai who did judge for that fight open his criteria .That is risky move for judges and authority but he take that risk.Katsumura feel sincere for his attitude and that make him Nakai do judge for his new event.Which is Grandslam "Way of the cage".Tokoro will face Victor Henry, who train at CSW.

UFC veteran Nam Phan will face Kenichi Ito for back to win column.Nam train Judo lately,so curious about what he can do at throw category.



Shunichi Shimizu who drop flyweight will fight against Yosuke Saruta.This fight show spirit of event.Fighter who fail at major drop to new division and fight against Shooto title challenger.He suffer lopsided lose at UFC, But if Shimizu claim great perform at local and make himself a champ, I will talk about his future foreign possibility.I'm just glad there is people give chance to him who want reclaim position.

At this event, there is new trial for audience.This Ustream iPPV is 800 yen for last 3 fights (Tokoro vs Henry, Nam vs Ito and Shimizu vs Saruta). That's mean other fights are free.So if you want test yourself watching Japanese local MMA live, this is your occasion.Of course it's local MMA and not major, but you can see "local" feel at here.If you want see last 3 fight, which is near major level card, you can pay to them for support their come back story."Way of the cage" start July 13 5:30PM (Japanese time).


Hideo Tokoro

What lies ahead for Japanese MMA in 2014

Shooto's main promoter, Sustain, runs Vale Tudo Japan (VTJ) as an upper-tier MMA promotion now, and the most interesting bout at their recent event, Yuta "Uruka" Sasaki vs. Teruto "Yashabo" Ishihara, became Fight of the Night. Uruka scored a choke-out win over Yashabo. After the fight, Uruka called out Shintaro Ishiwatari. On the other hand, when Kim Soo-Chul knocked out Motonobu Tezuka, his training partner Yashabo said he was going to fight Kim. I am curious to see whether a match will be made between them.


Yuta Sasaki

Hideo Tokoro vs. Will Campuzano became a controversial decision at VTJ 3rd. After an official argument against the decision was denied, Tokoro and his team refused to fight for VTJ in the future if the problem was not resolved. This argument also led to Shooto's official authority, Toshiharu Suzuki, refusing to referee at VTJ 4th because that judging problem hurt the Shooto Commission's image. Therefore, VTJ invited Larry Landless to come to VTJ 4th not only to referee but also to open a seminar to explain the Unified Rules to Japanese officials.


Hideo Tokoro

We learned recently that World Series of Fighting has affiliated with Pancrase. If you follow Japanese MMA news, you can watch the press conference with SRC Entertainment. WSOF Japan will be run by Pancrase president Masakazu Sakai, but SRC Entertainment is also involved. So will the new organization perhaps be known as a revived Sengoku or SRC?

At the press conference, we were informed that SRC Entertainment is no longer related to Don Quijote, which was the main sponsor for Sengoku, but SRC Entertainment will take part in running events for WSOF Japan and will also distribute classic Sengoku and SRC fight videos. At same press conference, Ray Sefo announced that the first WSOF Japan event will be in August or September, and Emi Fujino will participate in that event.

Finally, DEEP promoter Shigeru Saeki has said that he wants to hold a New Year's Eve event because right now only IGF does a NYE event with MMA in Japan and it's not a pure MMA event.

Shooto, Pancrase and DEEP are each trying to hold bigger upper-tier events and adapt more to American ideals, and that is the theme of 2014's Japanese MMA scene.

Big thanks to Robert Sargent  (MMA Rising) for English editing.

VTJ 3rd get international IPPV

Vale Tudo Japan 3rd IPPV official purchase web

For a long time, I have hoped that Japanese MMA promotions would provide an opportunity for international audiences to directly watch JMMA events in real time. I know that the fans are passionate about JMMA even if they can't always show their support for it.

I do think that better competition makes for more fun, but I also like the history that details the evolution of a fight. Megumi Fujii, who has had a long fighting career, is a representative of that theme. She struggled to get recognition for Japanese fighters among the international MMA world, and that situation made her more determined to make her own career even stronger.


Megumi Fujii

Fujii had a winning streak (22 fights) that no other WMMA fighter has ever had. She is also known for her extraordinary submission skills. Fujii continued to develop herself by adopting States-side MMA techniques and styles. She improved her striking skills dramatically and began using her jab to properly pressure her opponents, which is something that is sometimes not even seen among male fighters.

VTJ and Shooto promoter Sustain has finally decided to do an international iPPV for Megumi Fujii’s retirement fight against Jessica Aguilar on October 5. This will hopefully lead to regular iPPVs for future events. Watch and tweet during the event to show support and enjoy yourself.

VTJ Fight Card (Include Aguilar Uno, Campuzano, Tokoro, Sasaki)


SKILL MMA's Jessica Aguilar interview (2011)

SKILL MMA's article about Female MMA History

Big thanks to Robert Sargent  (MMA Rising) for English editing.