Details of the deal between WSOF and Pancrase

Pancrase just announced a new business deal with World Series Of Fighting, the third-largest MMA promotion in the United States, which means that Pancrase CEO Masakazu Sakai will start up WSOF Japan with the new license agreement. WSOF Japan will hold WSOF events in Japan, and they can also run events like "Road to WSOF."


Pancrase Fighters

Also with this deal, Pancrase has changed itself. The promotion will use a WSOF-style cage and Unified Rules for its numbered series events. Kings of Pancrase (champions) automatically have the right to fight for WSOF. Upper-tier ranked fighters can also fight for WSOF with permission from Pancrase.

Japanese fighters must go through Pancrase in order to fight for WSOF, but Pancrase fighters will still have the freedom to choose to fight for another major organization (UFC or Bellator) in the United States if there is an offer.



Explain deal at video (Japanese)

I examine this type of decision because, in Japan, most organization leaders aren't willing to risk trying to expand their promotions' notoriety to fans and other promoters outside of the country.

Sakai is working hard in that regard both inside and outside of Japan. That should earn him praise because most Japanese MMA promoters normally don't even try to do so. They just continue to shrink their organizations.

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

Tribe Tokyo Fight get international IPPV

Tribe Tokyo Fight IPPV official purchase web

Suddenly Ryo Chonan's retirement event decide do international iPPV.I hope if Japanese organization do such a thing, announce it earlier and send press release to major MMA web.Price is 1500yen (approx 15 USD) But that Ustream channel name as DEEP's official channel.So if you want increase chance to watch DEEP at real time,I think its not bad investment.Also It have one of later year's flyweight battle. You know Mamoru Yamaguchi vs Yoshiro Maeda will be fun.



Ryo Chonan

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.

Japanese MMA fighters' title history in the international scene

Japanese local MMA's history well achieved compared to other countries.But what they done at other countries.Unfortunately, Japanese MMA fighter never achieve major MMA title outside of Japan.But they did get belt at local organization.If you're hardcore long time MMA fans.You can feel nostalgia and discover at this list.

Masanori Suda Super Brawl MW champ against Egan Inoue

Takumi Nakayama King Of The Cage LW champ against Charlie Kohler


Takumi Nakayama

Hatsu Hioki TKO FW champ against Mark Hominick


Hatsu Hioki

Masakazu Imanari Cage rage FW champ against Robbie Olivier

Mamoru Yamaguchi King Of The Cage Junior Flyweight champ against Frank Baca

Shinya Irei Fury MMA LW champ against Ryan Dunstan


Shinya Irei

Shungo Oyama Road FC MW champ against Hae Suk Son

Yusuke Kawanago Legend FC FW champ against Xian Ji



Yusuke Kawanago

Kotetsu Boku One FC LW champ against Zorobabel Moreira


Kotetsu Boku

Shinya Aoki One FC LW champ against Kotetsu Boku

Koji Ando Legend FC LW champ against Jadamba Narantungalag

Michinori Tanaka PXC BW champ against Crisanto Pitpitunge

Koji Oishi One FC FW champ against Honorio Banario


Koji Oishi

Kengo Ura MMA World Series WW champ against Brad Terry

Shunichi Shimizu Bushido FC FW champ against Yerzhan Estanov

Hirotaka Yokoi HOOKnSHOOT AFC Absolute Fighting Championships LHW champ against Wilson Gouveia

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

Richer Flyweight Scene for Latter Half-Year of Japanese MMA

Japanese flyweights have received attention for quite a long time because no such division existed in other countries, and the quick movement that is only provided by lighter weight fighters has charmed audiences recently.

We've regarded Shinichi Kojima, Yasuhiro Urushitani and Mamoru Yamaguchi as the "Top 3" flyweights in the local scene. No other Japanese fighters could threaten them, but now foreign flyweight divisions have grown and developed to become more challenging.


Shinichi Kojima

Shinichi Kojima lost to Jussier Formiga. Yasuhiro Urushitani entered the UFC with confidence and said that he would match up well against Demetrious Johnson, but he went winless in the UFC.

Urushitani also became upset when Mikihito Yamagami said that he wanted to compete in the UFC next year after Yamagami choked out Junji Ito, but after watching this year's VTJ 2nd when Yamagami won a decision against Mamoru (Urushitani's long rival), Urushitani became more interested in Yamagami and said that he was a good fighter.


Mikihito Yamagami

As I watched DEEP 63 Impact, I was curious about how Yuki Motoya would fight. Compared to opponent Tatsumitsu Wada, who has already fought major names like Daiki Hata and Takafumi Otsuka in DEEP, people saw Motoya as untested against highter level opponents.


Yuki Motoya

When I watched the fight, however, I was certainly impressed by Motoya's performance and his ability to use a variety of kicks and combinations against a better boxer. He lost a close decision, but when we think about his age (23), we can still expect him to be a solid prospect.

Tatsumitsu Wada is young (24), too, and he will have many challenges from veterans. Yoshiro Maeda, who beat Wada in August 2012, will drop to flyweight. As will leglock-oriented fighter Masakazu Imanari. With those moves, I feel that flyweight will become DEEP's most interesting division.


Masakazu Imanari

On October 20, at Ryo Chonan's retirement event "Tribe Tokyo Fight," Yoshiro Maeda debuts at flyweight against Mamoru Yamaguchi. Hideo Tokoro also makes his flyweight debut against Will Campuzano at VTJ 3rd at October 5.


Hideo Tokoro

Many veterans have chosen to move to flyweight in order to find new success, but younger talent has begun to rise up there as well. This makes for interesting matchups in Japan during the latter half of 2013.

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

Sneak Peek into the Alliance Square with Tsuyoshi Kohsaka

What are you reminded of when you hear the name Tsuyoshi Kohsaka? The win over Fedor by cut stoppage? His fight against Bas Rutten with a prejudicial referee during the SEG era?



I must point out that with "The Alliance," Kohsaka made up the very first MMA team that was comprised of fighters from different backgrounds, like Maurice Smith and Frank Shamrock. They taught each other how to be complete MMA fighters.



I was asked about personal grappling training in Japan, and my customer was interested in catch wrestling grappling when I suggested a Japan-esque training opportunity. So I recommended the "Alliance-Square Gym," which is run by Tsuyoshi Kohsaka.



Kohsaka offers quite a few services in personal training. He teaches details of leg locks, as well as his created and trademarked move, the "TK scissors," which he used to escape from mount position against Kimo.



Kohsaka is also known for his technical commentary during Japanese UFC broadcasts, where he can teach details of both catch wrestling and cage fighting at the same time.



Big Thanks to my anonymous customer, Tsuyoshi Kohsaka for cooperate.Robert Sargent (MMA Rising) for English editing.

Japanese MMA video list by organization

There are many free fight videos available online that have been posted by Japanese MMA organizations in order to increase their presence in the rest of the world. These are legal to watch. Some are classic fights, while others are designed to build up new prospects.

Normally, people's primary interest is in bright prospects who have the potential to win fights on the international scene. At the same time, fighters who compete locally for many years and finally win a Shooto or Pancrase title can also produce excitement and drama for fans who may not have seen them before.

Also, local JMMA organizations' belts have history within them and fighters want to be part of that. It may not be top league on the local scene, but the basic fun of watching MMA is always there, and watching fights from other countries can sometimes compel us to plan trips to travel there.

Hopefully people will watch these videos and buy event DVDs or come to Japan in the future to watch a JMMA event.


Official Event Videos:
Deep - Nagoya Impact: Kobudo Fight 2012/03/25

DEEP Flyweight Tournament Fights Takeshi Kasugai vs. Takumi Murata

DEEP Flyweight Tournament Fights Yuki Motoya vs. Akito Sakimura

DEEP Flyweight Tournament Fights Akira Kibe vs. Takashige Hirukawa

DEEP Flyweight Tournament Fights - Naoyuki Kato vs. Hirotaka Miyakawa


Deep - Nagoya Impact 2012: Kobudo Fight 2012/07/22


DEEP Flyweight Tournament Semi-Finals: Akira Kibe vs. Akito Sakimura

DEEP Flyweight Tournament Semi-Finals: Yuki Motoya vs. Naoyuki Kato

DEEP Flyweight Tournament Final: Yuki Motoya vs. Akira Kibe (starts at 1:05:00)


Deep - Nagoya Impact: Kobudo Fight 2013/05/05

Sotaro Kojima vs. Akira Kibe


Deep - Nagoya Impact 2014 2014/2/9

Naoki Inoue vs. Gaku Sakamoto




Shooto - Border: Season 3 - Roaring Thunder

Akihito Ishihara vs. Kenji Yamamoto


Shooto - Border: Season 4 - First

Akihito Ishihara vs. Jong Hoon Choi


Shooto - Border: Season 4 - Second

Kenji Yamamoto vs. Kosuke Eda

Kentaro Watanabe vs. Nam Jin Jo

Shinji Sasaki vs. Kota Shimoishi


Shooto - Border: Season 4 - Third

Masaaki Sugawara vs. Junya Kodo


Shooto - Border: Season 5 - First　

Yosuke Saruta vs. Kentaro Watanabe


Shooto - Gig North 6

Bae Young Kwon vs. Daisuke Ishizawa


Shooto - Gig North 7

Fumihiro Kitahara vs. Junya Kodo


Shooto - Gig Central 20

Yuta Sasaki vs. Shinji Maeguchi


Shooto - Gig Central 24: Love and Courage

Takasuke Kume vs. Shane Nelson


Pancrase (Miscellaneous Fights)

Mitsuhisa Sunabe vs. Takuya Eizumi

Satoru Kitaoka vs. Paul Daley

Carlos Condit vs. Tatsunori Tanaka



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