Japanese Defunct MMA Event List

The Japanese MMA scene has been through a lot of turmoil in the past. There are some organizations that have been and gone and are now defunct.

They are listed here to remind people of the history of Japanese MMA.

Major promotions:

PRIDE
This was the biggest Japanese MMA promotion and arguably ruled the MMA world from 1997 until 2007.

PRIDE official (archived)

Hero's
Hero’s was created by FEG, K-1’s parent organization, to try and compete with PRIDE. DREAM is the spiritual successor to this promotion.

Hero's official (archived)

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Local-level promotions

Smack Girl
Smackgirl was the only stable women’s MMA organization and ran from 2001 to 2008. It was known for its 30 second ground limit.

Smack Girl Official (archived)

Seikendo
Seikendo was created by Satoru Sayama (Tiger Mask and founder of Shooto.) It was focused on realistic “street fight” style fighting.

Seikendo Official (archived)

MARS
MARS was an MMA organization created by Korean residents of Japan. It was thought to be able to give Korean fighters a chance to succeed. However, the organization fell apart due to inexperience and poor management.

MARS Official (archived)

AX
A women’s MMA promotion. Not that well known, but it was where Yuka Tsuji broke out of a crowd of talented fighters. She beat Ikuma Hoshino who was the most accomplished female Japanese MMA fighter at that time.

AX Official (archived)

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Regional-level promotions

Real Rhythm
MMA organization in Osaka that was connected with DEEP.

Real Rhythm Official (archived)

J-Do
This organization had a mixture of MMA and Judo rules. It resembled Judo with strikes. Throws were awarded points, two ippons would be the equivalent of a KO.

J-Do official (archived)

TITAN fight
TITAN fight official
TITAN fight official youtube channel
TITAN fight's org head Kenichi Yamamoto blog

King of the Cage Japan
King of the Cage Japan official (archived)

M-1 Global Japan
M-1 Global Japan official (archived)

Voltage
Voltage official (archived)
Voltage official youtube channel
Voltage official blog

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Japanese gangsta fight and other small organization

Hearts Crush
Hearts Crush Official (archived)

Ken-Oh
Ken-Oh official (archived)
Virginity's youtube channel(Which make Ken-Oh video material)

TSUWAMONO
TSUWAMONO official (archieved)
TSUWAMONO's youtube channel

Ga-Chi (former Ya-Oh)
Ga-Chi Official (archieved)

Kamikaze Pounders
Kamikaze Pounders Official



SKILL MMA's Current Japanese MMA Event List

Big thanks to Matt Benyon (from The Grappling Dummy) for English editing.

Fight

Slowly but surely, MMA has become a fightsport -- emphasis on "sport". However, people might be forgetting another aspect of the game: it's a fight. It's one of MMA's roots, and the reason themes like "vale tudo", "samurai" and "gladiators" are popular.

In 1999, Shooto founder and pro-wrestling legend Satoru Sayama started his own martial art, Seikendo. In Seikendo, it defined throws as finishes for a fight. Why? Because a throw is effective in a real fight if you're standing up. Seikendo didn't succeed as a sport, largely because it focused on budo and real fighting purpose, and lacked business sense.

It's one of the things that makes "freakshow" fights appealing. In the early days, there was no mind paid to an opponent's weight, just like in a real fight, there are no weight classes. It's impossible to explain or excuse all "freakshow" fights in this way, but that thought definitely effects the minds of fans.

I heard Jordan Breen's radio show, and he was talking about Mauricio "Shogun" Rua. He said that he couldn't explain why he had such a large and dedicated fanbase compared to some other more known fighters. I say that charm comes from the versatility and imaginative fight style he brings. He, like Sakuraba, gained global support because of that point. Their viral video popularity proves it.

One of MMA's charms is that wild things you could never imagine happen in fights. But this mystique has been lessened recently. People know MMA better, fighters are more well-rounded, better prepared and have well-developed backgrounds.

This isn't necessarily negative; I'm not against MMA becoming more of a sport. I'll always support that. But I am worried MMA is becoming less imaginative. Of course fighters need to improve, so they take the more well-known blueprint to success. But, that's what made me excited when Lyoto became champ. I wanted to see MMA be imaginative. I still want MMA to have wild, stylistic twists. Lyoto's success was dependent upon his efforts to make karate fit MMA. MMA's imagination allows these turns to happen.

In the UFC, Shogun is definitely showing his versatile skills. But, his fighting charm was greatest in the Pride era. With soccer kicks and stomps, he could really show his imagination as a fighter. Because of fighters like him, you don't heard many fans complain about soccer kicks and stomps; the concerns are always about the sport's reputation from those outside the MMA world.

Moreover, when you think about going for a takedown, and you put your head down as an opponent's legs, you risk getting kicked in the head. In a real fight, it would be foolish to go for a weak takedown like that.

We need knees to the head on the ground first, but after people realize they're safe, I would like to introduce soccer kicks and stomps. I think it should work, since there is proof called "Pride" that it's not as dangerous as it seems.

Giving people freedom creates fighting imagination. That's fightsport: it makes profit like a true sports competition, but also satisfies our ideas about what a "fight" really is.

Big thanks to Jordan Breen (from Sherdog) for English and editing.