Hioki Relinquishes Shooto World Title! Tsuchiya As Well

It was announced today that Hatsu Hioki has relinquished the Shooto World Lightweight title. It looks like he is ready to challenge on a new stage. Taiki Tsuchiya has relinquished the Shooto Pacific Rim Lightweight title. I don’t know why but he lost a non-title fight to Lion Takeshi last month so that could be the reason. Update: Hioki has apparently denied a title shot against DREAM Champ Hiroyuki Takaya and there's now word he'll be attending 131, a sign of things to come?

Before The Tournament! Yamato And Kubo Win

2011 K-1 Minus 63 Japan Tournament participants Tetsuya Yamato and Yuta Kubo have both fought recently in smaller Kick promotions in Japan.

2010 K-1 Minus 63 Japan Tournament champion Yamato’s return fight last Saturday at NJKF was a successful one. He snatched 3 knockdowns from his opponent, “The IQ Kickboxer”, in the second round to earn a TKO victory and get back on the winning track after a loss to Koya Urabe and a draw with “Wicky” Akiyo Nishiura.

2010 K-1 Minus 63 Japan Tournament runner-up Kubo was in the main event of Survivor ~Round.7~ yesterday and got a KO victory at 53 seconds of the third round with a right hook.

Interesting fact is that Yamato faced Kubo’s May 27th opponent, a Thai fighter (I can’t translate his name but he’s a former Lumpini Bantamweight champion and from Saenchai Muay Thai), in 2009 in NJKF and lost a 5 round decision.

Andre Galvao vs. Jorge Lopez completes TPF10 lineup

An intriguing welterweight contest between seven-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion Andre Galvao (5-2) and top Wand Fight Team prospect Jorge Lopez (10-1) completes the nine-bout lineup for Tachi Palace Fights 10.

Tachi Palace Fights officials recently announced the addition to the card, which also features title fights in the flyweight, featherweight and middleweight divisions.

Tachi Palace Fights 10 takes place Aug. 5 at the Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino in Lemoore, Calif.

Galvao looks to return to the win column following a TKO loss to top Strikeforce prospect Tyron Woodley. The bout snapped a two-fight win streak under the Strikeforce banner for Galvao, who also earned a 1-1 mark in two contests with the Japanese-based DREAM promotion.

Galvao is 2-2 in his past four overall contests after opening his career a perfect 3-0.

Meanwhile, Lopez looks to catapult himself into a major promotion with a second win in as many appearances under the Tachi Palace Fights banner.

"Lil' Monster" carries a nine-fight win streak into the bout. The run dates back to 2008 and includes the likes of Chihi Njokuani, Waachiim Spiritwolf and Dave Terrel.

The latest Tachi Palace Fights card includes:

• Champ Darrell Montague vs. Ian McCall - for flyweight championship
• Joe Soto vs. Eddie Yagin - for vacant featherweight championship
• Jussier da Silva vs. Mamoru Yamaguchi
• Champ David Loiseau vs. Giva Santana - for middleweight championship
• Andre Galvao vs. Jorge Lopez
• Ulysses Gomez vs. Drew Bittner
• Phil Collins vs. Kenny Ento
• Art Arciniega vs. Andy Miranda
• Brad McDonald vs. Chris Tangonan

Hiroki Nakajima Advances, Yuya Yamamoto Upset in Krush 70 KG. Quarterfinals. "Naokick Also Victorious

Krush began the quest to crown another divisional champion over the weekend, as the promotion's 70 kg. tournament began on Sunday in Japan.

Tournament favorite Hiroki Nakajima knocked out YOSHI to secure the lone stoppage victory of the opening round. Nakajima has struggled a bit since making it to the final round of the K-1 World MAX 2010 Japan tournament, though his three consecutive losses leading into Sunday's event came to Yuichiro Nagashima, Albert Kraus, and Buakaw Por. Pramuk.

Shintaro Matsukura was also able to advance to the semifinal round with a decision victory over K-1 MAX veteran Yuya Yamamoto. Yamamoto, a semifinalist at the K-1 World MAX 2009 tournament, won back-to-back bouts against Masakazu Watanabe and Akihiro Gono earlier in the year under the Krush banner. While Matsukura's win is definitely an upset, the K-1 Koshien 2009 champion must look ahead to the opportunity to establish himself among the small grouping of Japan's elite 70 kg. kickboxers. A potential tournament bout against Nakajima would certainly provide that opportunity for Matsukura.

The other tournament quarterfinals saw Yutaro Yamauchi avenge a knockout loss in defeating

Yuji Nashiro by decision, while NJKF standout Kenta came out ahead of Masakazu Watanabe.

Krush's 70 kg. tournament is set to conclude on a July 16th card which will also feature the promotion's newly-crowned 60 kg. champion, Hirotaka Urabe.

Keep an eye out for more news related to Krush and the 70 kg. tournament, as well as any fight videos that may pop up in the near future.

The popular “Naokick” Naoki Ishikawa also made a successful return against J-Network's Lightweight 3rd rank Makoto Morishige, dropping him 3 times in the second round to secure the TKO victory. Once again apologies that I don't know how to screen capture but stay tuned for video's once they're uploaded in what was another exciting & action packed Krush.

DREAM 17 : Japan BWGP Final + More, Announced @ FFJ

Dream 17 will take place July 16, 2011, at the Ariake Coliseum

Gono Wins Qualification GP! Advancement To Thailand

Akihiro Gono participated in a 4-man qualification tournament on the 29th in Japan. The winner of the tournament will get a spot as the Japanese representative in a tournament in THAI FIGHT in Thailand later this year.

Gono made 70kg this time (he missed weight and looked very bad physically at the weigh-ins for his Kick return fight against Yuya Yamamoto in Krush) and fought a total of six rounds, winning the semifinal and final by unanimous decision.

There are some photos from his final fight here. His semifinal opponent is from Team Dragon (Urabe bros, Ozaki, Kyotaro, etc.) and his final opponent from Silver Wolf.

Yusaku Nakamura replaces Darren Uenoyama @ DREAM

Yusaku Nakamura has replaced Darren Uenoyama at Sunday's "DREAM : Fight for Japan" event.

Officials announced overnight that an injury forced Uenoyama (6-3 MMA, 0-1 DREAM) off the card.

Nakamura (3-0 MMA, 0-0 DREAM) now replaces Uenoyama's original opponent, Atsushi Yamamoto (14-6-1 MMA, 1-1 DREAM), in the opening round of the eight-man Japan bantamweight grand prix.

The first and second rounds of the tournament take place at the event, which is slated for Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. It's not expected to air live in North America.

The final round (and third-place fight) of the tourney are scheduled for July. The top-three finishers in the tournament secure slots in a planned DREAM world bantamweight grand prix later this year.

Nakamura, who's previously competed for the Japanese-based DEEP organization, owns three knockout wins during his 17-month career. He now meets seven-year Pancrase and Shooto vet Yamamoto, who's won three of his past four, including a decision victory over Hideo Tokoro at DREAM.6.

The full DREAM card includes:

Uyenoyama/Yamamoto winner vs. Maeda/Tokoro winner (Japan bantamweight-tourney semifinal)
Fujiwara/Imanari winner vs. Osawa/Otsuka winner (Japan bantamweight-tourney semifinal)
Shinya Aoki vs. Rich Clementi
Katsunori Kikuno vs. Daisuke Nakamura
Akiyo "Wicky" Nishiura vs. Caol Uno
Takeshi Inoue vs. Koichiro Matsumoto
Joachim Hansen vs. Mitsuhiro Ishida
Kenji Osawa vs. Takafumi Otsuka (Japan bantamweight-tourney first round)
Keisuke Fujiwara vs. Masakazu Imanari (Japan bantamweight-tourney first round)
Yoshiro Maeda vs. Hideo Tokoro (Japan bantamweight-tourney first round)
Yusaku Nakamura vs. Atsushi Yamamoto (Japan bantamweight-tourney first round)

Rosholt brothers replace Markham and McFedries at HDNet's Titan Fighting 18

Titan Fighting Championships officials have called upon the Rosholt brothers to replace Drew McFedries and Rory Markham at Friday's Titan Fighting 18 event.

An infection hospitalized McFedries on Monday, and budding thespian Markham was forced to leave the country for a film role.

After some lineup shuffling, UFC vet Jake Rosholt (11-3) now meets John Ott (8-8) in a 200-pound catchweight fight, and Jared Rosholt (2-0) meets fellow heavyweight Kirk Grinlinton (2-2).

Titan Fighting 18 takes place at Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kan., and Friday's main card airs live on HDNet.

"We were extremely disappointed when the management for Drew and Rory informed us of the news," Titan CEO Joe Kelly stated. "However, this is the fight business, and having promoted fights since the age of 24, I've dealt with a lot of hurdles in promoting shows. While losing Drew and Rory from the show hurts, we took the news in stride. I am very excited that the fans in attendance at Memorial Hall and those watching live on HDNet are going to see two future stars in this sport step up on short notice and test themselves."

Jake (a three-time Division I national wrestling champion and four-time All-American) and Jared (a 2010 Division national runner-up and three-time All-American) both competed for Oklahoma State University's powerhouse wrestling team. Both brothers picked up wins at this past weekend's Caged Cowboys event in Oklahoma.

Jake now has won four straight and five of his past six since a surprising release from the UFC 2009. He hopes a win over Ott, who suffered a decision loss to Strikeforce/WWE vet Bobby Lashley at Titan Fighting 17, could get him back in the UFC.

Jared, who recently moved to 2-0 with a submission win over John Malbrough, now meets Grinlinton, who fights for the first time in 15 months.

The latest Titan Fighting 18 event now includes:

• Brian Davidson (6-3) vs. Jens Pulver (24-14-1)
• John Ott (8-8) vs. Jake Rosholt (11-3)
• Rudy Bears (12-7) vs. Darryl Cobb (6-2)
• Kirk Grinlinton (2-2) vs. Jared Rosholt (2-0)
• Joe Wilk (11-5) vs. Jesse Zeugin (5-1)
• Nick Budig (5-1) vs. Bobby Cooper (5-3)
• Deryck Ripley (11-19) vs. Sean Wilson (27-15

Zelg Galesic Signs on for Bellator FC MWGP

Former Cage Rage middleweight champion and Dream veteran Zelg Galešić has just inked a deal with Bellator. He’ll make his debut as part of the promotion’s next middleweight tournament, which is set to begin in September.

Coming into the promotion off the back of a first-round knockout of Lee Chadwick, Galešić has amassed a 10-5 record and is looking to find a permanent home following the gradual demise of the Japanese scene.

At the time of publication there have been no specifics regarding who he is likely to face in the quarterfinal bracket. The winner of the tournament earns a shot at the Bellator middleweight championship currently held by Hector Lombard.


Here's the first fight/finish since losing to legend Kazushi Sakuraba against Lee Chadwick back in March.

CSAC changes mind, UFC's Chael Sonnen free to apply for license after June 29

The California State Athletic Commission today reversed a decision to treat Chael Sonnen's indefinite suspension as a license revocation, which clears the way for the onetime middleweight contender to apply for a fight license in the state after his suspension runs its course on June 29 of this year.

On Thursday, CSAC Executive Director George Dodd told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that California Code of Regulations Title 4 Rule 399 was used as justification by CSAC legal advisers for classifying the suspension as a revocation.

Today, however, the CSAC announced there were errors made in the interpretation of that rule.

"Upon reviewing the May 18, 2011 decision of the commission, an error in the applicability of Rule 399 was made," stated a release issued today by the commission. "The rule states that, 'Any applicant who has been denied an application for a license may not file a similar application until one year from the date of the last previous denial by the commission. Any application filed within the one year period may be denied without the necessity of a hearing. Anyone who has had his license revoked may not petition for reinstatement or apply for a new license until one year after the date of such revocation. Any petition for reinstatement filed within the one year period may be denied without the necessity of a hearing.'

"Since the commission did not revoke or deny Mr. Sonnen's license, the rule does not apply."

The release noted that Sonnen will need to appear before the commission once again should he decide to apply for a license in California.

"If the commission denies his application, Mr. Sonnen will have to wait one year from the date of the denial," the release stated.

On Tuesday, the CSAC voted 4-1 to uphold an indefinite suspension of Sonnen issued in late April. The commission cited inconsistencies in his testimony during a December appeal of a one-year suspension he was issued for elevated levels of testosterone following UFC 117. (The suspension was reduced to six months.) Sonnen's recent conviction on one federal charge of money laundering was also cited as a reason for the indefinite suspension.

On Thursday Dodd said that Sonnen was not eligible to apply for a license in California until May 18, 2012, or one year from the date that CSAC upheld the indefinite suspension, as per the commission's rules on license revocations.

Until June 29, Sonnen's name will remain on a registry that tracks fighters' medical and administrative suspensions. It is unknown at the time of this writing whether a note will be placed on the registry after the suspension expires that asks commissions in other states to call the CSAC in the event that the fighter applies for a license there.

At Wednesday's hearing, Sonnen's legal representatives begged the CSAC to end the fighter's current suspension on June 5, the final date in which he'd be eligible to gain a second's license in Nevada to coach on "The Ultimate Fighter 14." Sonnen told the commission that he had been offered a coaching spot opposite Michael Bisping on the reality show with a No. 1 contender's bout waiting afterward. The request was declined.

Nevada State Athletic Commission Keith Kizer said on Thursday that a second's license is out of the question before Sonnen's current suspension ends, though the restrictions will be lifted after June 29.

"My understanding is that he's free to apply for either license after June 29," Kizer said today. "However, he will have to appear before the commission on those applications. Before that date, we have to honor the California suspensions." MMA Junkie

Kin Taiei & Minowa Return! A Sol Kwon And Hibiki Tamura Clash

New fights have been announced for the June 5th HEAT18 event in Osaka, Japan.

3rd generation HEAT Welterweight champion and top Korean Lightweight A Sol Kwon relinquished his title to focus on Lightweight and aim at becoming the HEAT Lightweight champion. He will take on Shooto ROTY runner-up and 2011 Pancrase LWGP participant Hibiki Tamura. Tamura lost a close fight to ISAO in the quarterfinals of the Pancrase GP. This looks like a well-matched fight on paper.

The legendary Kin Taiei will return to take on Shin Nihon Kickboxing Federation’s 1st ranked Kuniyoshi in a HEAT Kick Rules Heavyweight fight.

Previously notable announced fights for the card are Minowaman making his MMA return against Carlos Toyota and Kazuma Sone vs. Mamoru Uoi.

KJ Noons vs Jorge Masvidal Set for 'SF: Overeem vs Werdum'

KJ Noons will meet Jorge Masvidal in a battle of lightweight contenders at Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum on June 18. Noons confirmed the news, which was first reported by MMA Junkie, to MMA Fighting on Wednesday.

Noons (9-2), the former EliteXC lightweight champion, is coming off a welterweight title loss to Nick Diaz in October. Prior to the loss, Noons had won his last six fights in a row.

Masvidal (21-6) won his Strikeforce debut in March, defeating Billy Evangelista via unanimous decision. The American Top Team veteran has also fought for BodogFight, Shark Fights and Bellator.

The June 18 card, which is headlined by Alistair Overeem vs. Fabricio Werdum, will be televised on Showtime. The TV card is already set, and Noons was unclear where or if his fight would televised.

Source: Da Silva-Yamaguchi, Gomez-Bittner Signed for TPF 10

A blockbuster flyweight scrap between Jussier da Silva and Mamoru Yamaguchi is set to go down on Aug. 5 at Tachi Palace Fights 10.

Sherdog.com on Wednesday confirmed the matchup with a source close to the bout, who also stated that Tachi Palace has signed Yamaguchi to a multi-fight contract that is exclusive in the United States.

The bout joins another pivotal 125-pound affair on the card, as TPF flyweight champion Darrell Montague defends his strap against surging WEC veteran Ian McCall at the Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino in Lemoore, Calif. Additionally, former titleholder “Useless” Ulysses Gomez will square off with undefeated Drew Bittner.

Formerly the world’s top-ranked flyweight, Da Silva was dealt a setback in his sophomore Tachi Palace effort, as the Brazilian was outpointed by McCall at TPF 8 in February. Unbeaten prior to that fight, Da Silva won Shooto South American 123-pound title before beating then-Shooto world champion Shinichi Kojima in a non-title bout in 2009. “Formiga” made his Tachi Palace debut in December, outpointing Danny Martinez in a unanimous verdict.

Known for his superb striking skills and trademark Afro, Yamaguchi is the reigning King of the Cage 125-pound champ and a former dual-division Shooto titleholder. The Shooting Gym Yokohama representative has won his last six bouts, finishing five of his foes in that span by either knockout or submission. The 33-year-old made his Tachi Palace debut in his most recent outing, knocking out Kevin Dunsmoor in the second round of their May 5 clash.

Legend Fighting Championship 5 Returns in July!

The Asia-Pacific’s premier MMA organization returns with Legend Fighting Championship 5 in July, with event details to be formally announced on May 31. The card will feature two title fights, including the conclusion of the Bantamweight Tournament, and the first round of a four-man Featherweight Tournament.

Legend 5 will also take place in a new venue, and be broadcast in several new countries. We will post full details here following our press announcement, so stay tuned for more news and updates. Don’t forget to “Like” us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and sign up for our e-newsletter through our website.

Masakazu Imanari (The Grappling Dummy Featurette)

DREAM rep: Nelson out at DREAM, Clementi faces Aoki

Just hours after MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) learned that Shane Nelson had agreed to face Shinya Aoki (27-5 MMA, 11-2 DREAM) at DREAM.17, DREAM rep Mike Kogan announced via Twitter that Rich Clementi (40-19-1 MMA, 0-0 DREAM) will instead take on "Tobikan Judan."

Kogan said that verbal agreements are in place and contracts for the contest are expected to be finalized shortly.

Fight For Japan takes place May 29 at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, and serves as a fundraiser following earthquakes and a tsunami that recently ravaged the country. HDNet is expected to air the show in North America.

Kogan could not immediately explain why Clementi was chosen for the matchup over Nelson, though a source close to the event indicated Aoki may have vetoed the opponent.

Clementi is the fifth opponent chosen to face Aoki at the event. Willamy Freire, Jamie Varner and Antonio McKee have also been involved in various stages of negotiations for the bout.

Clementi fights in Japan for the first time since 2004, when he went 3-1-1 during a five-fight stint for ZST. "No Love" has garnered mixed results as of late, alternating wins and losses during a 7-5 run since his 2009 release from the UFC.

Lightweight Dynamo Maximo Blanco Signs With Strikeforce

Venezuelan dynamo Maximo Blanco is no longer a free agent.

A source close to Blanco has confirmed with Sherdog.com that the SRC veteran and former lightweight King of Pancrase has signed a four-fight deal with Strikeforce.

According to the source, the signing is the first concrete step toward not only competing stateside for the Pan-American freestyle wrestling bronze medalist, but also a permanent relocation to the United States. Currently, the 27-year-old's handlers are seeking an agreement for "Maxi" to train stateside before his debut in the cage.

Originally one of Sengoku Raiden Championships few sponsored "training fighters," Blanco's term with the Japanese MMA promotion officially came to a close when promotional support and housing was withdrawn earlier this year, following the dissolution of SRC's relationship with its top sponsor, Japanese chain retailer Don Quijote.

The native of Falcon, Venezuela, moved to Japan as a teenager to wrestle at Sendai Ikuei High School before attending Nihon University on a wrestling scholarship. In his MMA career, Blanco has trained under the tutelage of Olympic judo gold medalist Hidehiko Yoshida at the Yoshida Dojo and J-Rock Workout Studio in Tokyo.

In search of new career opportunities, recently signed with American management group SuckerPunch Entertainment in the hopes of relocating to the West. Blanco will enter the cage with a cumulative 8-2-1 record, with his last action coming by way of a decision victory over South Korea's Won Sik Park in SRC's "Soul of Fight" last December.

Shane Nelson replaces Antonio McKee, faces Shinya Aoki at DREAM

Antonio McKee's loss will apparently be Shane Nelson's gain.

MMAjunkie.com today learned from sources close to the event that Nelson (13-5 MMA, 0-0 DREAM) has agreed to replace McKee (25-4-2 MMA, 0-0 DREAM) and face Shinya Aoki (27-5 MMA, 11-2 DREAM) at "DREAM : Fight for Japan."

DREAM takes place May 29 at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, and serves as a fundraiser following earthquakes and a tsunami that recently ravaged the country. HDNet is expected to air the show in North America.

Bout agreements for the contest are expected to be finalized shortly.

A former competitor on "The Ultimate Fighter 8," Nelson in December was released by the world's largest mixed martial arts promotion following a four-fight stint. Nelson rebounded from a two-fight losing streak in his first fight outside of the octagon with a submission win over Jai Bradney in Australia.

The exact reasons for McKee's withdrawal from the card remains unclear. McKee today said visa issues were to blame, though DREAM rep Mike Kogan said he wasn't buying the excuse.

"There's a travel agent in L.A. since this morning ready to get all the paperwork processed and have his visa processed by Thursday," Kogan said. "He would have had plenty of time. So if it's a visa issue, he can get it done. If it's not, then his people need to come up with a better excuse."

Yamato Damashii Diaries w/ Enson Inoue & Dan Herbertson

In the wake of the March 11 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, former Shooto heavyweight champion and Pride veteran Enson Inoue has been on a one-man charity mission, traveling to northeast Japan to directly help those in need.

You can read all the "Yamato Damashii" diaries where Daniel Herbertson (MMA photographer & writer) follows around the MMA vet
Enson Inoue here. The video wrap-up is now out

Antonio McKee out of DREAM bout with Shinya Aoki? reason unclear (Updated)

Antonio McKee (25-4-2 MMA, 0-0 DREAM) today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that his announced "DREAM Fight for Japan" bout with Shinya Aoki (27-5 MMA, 11-2 DREAM) has fallen through because he was unable to obtain a visa.

HDNet first announced his withdrawal via Twitter, though the reason initially wasn't revealed.

However, a DREAM representative told MMAjunkie.com he isn't buying the fighter's excuse.

"There's a travel agent in L.A. since this morning ready to get all the paperwork processed and have his visa processed by Thursday," said DREAM rep Mike Kogan. "He would have had plenty of time. So if it's a visa issue, he can get it done. If it's not, then his people need to come up with a better excuse."

Fight For Japan takes place May 29 at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, and serves as a fundraiser following earthquakes and a tsunami that recently ravaged the country. HDNet is expected to air the show in North America.

It's not clear if Aoki will remain on the card; as of Monday, officials hadn't announced the loss of McKee.

McKee, a former MFC champion and 41-year-old IFL vet, recently made his lone UFC appearance after posting a 15-fight unbeaten streak (14-0-1). However, he then suffered a split-decision defeat to Jacob Volkmann at UFC 125 in January and then received his promotional release. It was the California-based wrestler's first defeat in eight years.

Jeff Monson fills SDR's Spot Against Daniel Cormier

It looks like Dan Cormier will have a chance to shine on June 18 after all when Strikeforce stops in the Lone Star State.

Originally booked to face fellow undefeated heavyweight prospect Shane Del Rosario in Dallas at “Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum”, the former Olympic wrestler was recently left without an opponent when Del Rosario was forced to withdraw from the event due to injuries sustained in a car accident. However, rather than shelf Cormier for the immediate future too, Strikeforce has filled the opening Del Rosario’s condition created with former UFC title-contender Jeff Monson who will easily represent the American Kickboxing Academy product’s toughest test to date based on experience and in-ring accomplishment.

News of the match-up surfaced Sunday afternoon when Cormier took to Twitter to express how thrilled he was to take on someone with Monson’s reputation as a competitor.

“I’m so excited and honored to be stepping in the cage with a guy that helped to build the sport. Let’s give em show brother,” Cormier wrote on the social networking site.

Monson will enter the summer scrap with success in his last eight bouts including victories over Travis Fulton and Tony Lopez, as well as a decision over 20-3-1 Croatian Maro Perak a little over two weeks ago in his most recent outing. “The Snowman” holds an overall record of 42-11 with twenty-six submissions to his credit and wins over a number of respected adversaries including Ricco Rodriguez, Sergei Kharitonov, Kazuyuki Fujita, and Roy Nelson.

Headlined by the Strikeforce World Grand Prix pairing of Alistair Overeem and Fabricio Werdum, Monson and Cormier are the latest additions to a slew of talented fighters set to square off at the June event already featuring bouts like J.Z. Cavalcante vs. Justin Wilcox, Josh Barnett vs. Brett Rogers, and Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal vs. Ovince St. Preux.

Gesias Cavalcante vs. Justin Wilcox likely for "Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum"

A lightweight bout between Gesias "JZ" Cavalcante (15-4-1 MMA, 0-1 SF) and Justin Wilcox (11-3 MMA, 5-1 SF) is expected to be part of next month's "Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum" event.

A source close to the event told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) the bout is expected for the card MMAWeekly.com first reported it.

"Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum" takes place June 18 at American Airlines Center in Dallas, and the main card airs on Showtime.

It's not clear if Cavalcante vs. Wilcox is targeted for the broadcast.

Cavalcante, who once was one of the world's top-ranked lightweights, is just 1-3 over his past four fights (after a 12-0-1 run from 2004 to 2007). Plagued by injuries in recent years, the native Brazilian and current Florida-based competitor made his Strikeforce debut back in October and suffered a unanimous-decision loss to former champ Josh Thomson.

Wilcox, one of Strikeforce's most promising 155-pounders, enters the matchup on a six-fight win streak, which includes a five-fight win streak in Strikeforce. Since a submission loss to Mitsuhiro Ishida in his 2008 promotional debut, the American Kickboxing Academy fighter has posted Strikeforce wins over David Douglas, Daisuke Nakamura, Shamar Bailey, Vitor Ribeiro and Rodrigo Damm. The latter two headlined Strikeforce Challengers events.

Vladimir Matyushenko vs Alexander Gustafsson On For 133

Two fighters that have been recent victims of rising UFC light heavyweight stars are set to square off at UFC 133 in Philadelphia.

The UFC on Saturday posted on its website that Vladimir Matyushenko would square off with Alexander Gustafsson at the Aug. 6 event when the promotion returns to the City of Brotherly Love.

Matyushenko (26-5) is riding high on a 20-second knockout victory over Jason Brilz at UFC 129 in Toronto. The win over Brilz was his second-straight since suffering a TKO defeat to current UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones in August.

Gustafsson (11-1) is also riding a two-fight streak submitting James Te-Huna at UFC 127 and Cyrille Diabate at UFC 120. Gustaffson, like Matyushenko, fell victim to another young talent in the 205-pound division in Phil Davis prior to his latest back-to-back successes.

UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo is expected to headline UFC 133 in defense of his title against Chad Mendes.

Breaking: Hesdy Gerges is Back on for May 21st

Big news revolving around the world of It's Showtime again, as LiverKick.com confirmed with Simon Rutz this evening that Hesdy Gerges has once again been added to the May 21st Amsterdam card. Rutz then posted publicly on his Facebook that Gerges is innocent (at least that is what It's Showtime and everyone else believes) and that Gerges will be prepared for his fight on May 21.

This is the second time in a row that Hesdy Gerges has run into problems right before a fight, the last time in early March before he fought Daniel Ghita. So Hesdy Gerges vs. Chris Knowles is officially back on now, and hopefully Gerges will be as prepared as he was for Daniel Ghita just a few months ago.

It's Showtime 49 now includes...

Kevin Hessling vs Mike Spran
Ramin Rezai vs Omar Hanaffy
Geronimo De Groot vs Luis Tavares
Rocky Van De Bunt vs TBA
Ali El Hri vs Timo Van Zanten
Arthur Jashkul vs Othman Allach

Evgeniy vs Kurovskoy vs Giga Chikadze
Robert Van Nimwegen vs Frank Paredes Vilches
Laurent Attrifi vs Jason "Tyson" Wilnis
Hafid El Boustati vs Mohamed Medhar
Amir "The Syphnix" Zeyada vs Sahak "Hak"Parparyan
Robin Van Roosmalen vs Mohamed Khamal
Chris Knowles vs Hesdey Gerges

Barry slams Lesnar doubters after UFC 131 withdrawal

Pat Barry has launched an aggressive defence of Brock Lesnar, after a section of MMA fans questioned the sincerity of his reasons for pulling out of a fight with Junior dos Santos.
Lesnar was forced to withdraw from the UFC 131 card on Thursday, after he confirmed he had suffered a recurrence of the diverticulitis infection that threatened his life a year ago. As a result Shane Carwin steps in.
However, detractors have pointed to the fact that Lesnar - who has displayed a weak chin in his UFC career - would have been fighting arguably the most dangerous striker in the heavyweight division. Comments on forums began to suggest his illness was being used as a Get Out Of Jail Free card.
Barry, a fellow heavyweight, has taken issue with such remarks, challenging any doubters to thrash out their opinions in front of him.
"Totally out of character for me, - but my friend had a relapse of something that almost killed him and left his wife a widow and kids fatherless," Barry wrote on Twitter.
"Anybody got something shitty to say about him ducking a fight or being scared, come find me and I'll hear you out eye to eye."  ESPN

The 54th Impact Takes Shape! Former Champions Return

A big part of the June 24th DEEP 54 Impact card was announced a little while ago.

2010 DEEP Light Heavyweight GP champion Yoshiyuki Nakanishi will return back up to Light Heavyweight after a failed attempt at Middleweight to battle Bernard Ackah for the DEEP Light Heavyweight title.

Hiroshi “Iron” Nakamura will be one half in a DEEP Bantamweight title fight. The other half will be decided depending on the results of the DREAM Bantamweight Japan Tournament at the end of this month.

Former DEEP Lightweight champion and SENGOKU veteran Kazunori Yokota returns to DEEP fighting as a Featherweight for the first time when he takes on the hard-hitting Shoji (Maruyama).

Seigo and Georgian Levan Razmadze will face off in the final of the 4-man DEEP Megaton Tournament to decide the next DEEP Megaton title challenger.

Former DEEP Welterweight champion Ryo Chonan returns to take long-time veteran Shigetoshi Iwase.

The legendary Hiromitsu Kanehara will face Hideto Tatsumi, LUIZ and Yasuhiro Kawasaki will clash, and Hirohide Fujinuma will fight Kentaro Onishi.

Other participants for the event are TAISHO, Barbaro44, and Yoshiki Harada.

Masato, Norifumi 'KID' Yamamoto & More Join Forces at 'Stands Up Japan'

Japan's two most popular fighters, 2003 and 2008 K-1 WORLD MAX GP champion Masato and Japanese MMA legend Norifumi "KID" Yamamoto, joined forces on Saturday at the Roppongi Hills Arena to promote the "Stands Up Japan" charity fight event in aid of victims of the March 11 Japan earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster.

Masato stepped away from the ring in his prime in 2009, but he returned on Saturday to face two formidable opponents in one day in Shoot Boxing super welterweight champion and 2006 S-cup champion Kenichi Ogata and All Japan karate champion Kazuya Yasuhiro. With "KID" unable to fight due to injury, Shooto legend and former pacific rim champion Rumina Sato stepped up to take on on Jin Hirano, an Iwate-based figher who lost his home and gym in the tsunami.

Many other icons of the Japanese fight sport industry participated to support disaster victims, and MMA Fighting.com was ringside to capture the action. -Source

Roy Nelson wants a title shot

Fighting Frank Mir is somewhat of a concession for Roy Nelson.

But it's probably the best concession he would have gotten considering that Brock Lesnar was numero uno on his list, and he can earn a living without worrying about a court injunction.

Oh, and the winner of fight will get a title shot, or so Nelson believes. If Mir is the best route to the belt, it's not too bad of an alternative.

"I'll fight anybody, and I want to fight everybody, but whatever is going to get me to the top fastest," Nelson told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).

The two meet at UFC 130, which takes place May 28 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The bout was previously scheduled for the event's main card but on Monday was promoted to co-main-event status when a headlining bout between lightweight champ Frankie Edgar and challenger Gray Maynard was scratched due to injury.

Until this past August, Nelson's career speed was stuck on fast. With a clean sweep on "The Ultimate Fighter 10" and a first-round knockout of Stefan Struve, Nelson fought his way into a No. 1 contender's bout with Junior Dos Santos at UFC 117. Disaster struck when he injured his knee in the first round of the fight, though he hung in there for three rounds of striking before Dos Santos was declared the winner by decision.

Then his career seemed to skid to a complete stop. UFC president Dana White said Nelson was knee-deep in a contractual dispute with Roy Jones Jr. and might not fight again until the legal snafu was cleared. (As MMAjunkie.com reported in January, Nelson's problems are not expected to be an issue moving forward.)

That's not the way Nelson sees it, of course. He said a fight with Shane Carwin was locked and loaded for UFC 125 before the onetime contender had to withdraw due to injury.

"When the fans are clamoring to see Roy fight, and then a lot of heavyweights are already taken, I think all you can do is buy more time," Nelson said. "I already knew the answer, and apparently nobody listened.

"That's usually what happens when you're at the back of the bus. Nobody listens."

When you're the Rosa Parks of MMA, as Nelson jokingly said he is, you have to fight a little harder to get your way. Fighting Mir, though, could put him in the front seat.

The two have crossed paths countless times as residents of Las Vegas. Nelson's younger brother went to high school with Mir. They've trained with a lot of the same people, though apparently never together. They even competed in a grappling match in 2003 that saw Nelson come out ahead – years before he was the big-bellied "Big Country."

When he looks at the guy who bested Mir (14-5 MMA, 12-5 UFC) so many years ago, Nelson (15-5 MMA, 2-1 UFC) doesn't see much resemblance.

"You're a little bit older and wiser," he said. "In my case, I'd be a bit stronger, bigger and faster."

Conversely, he said Mir has grown leaps and bounds into one of the best MMA fighters in the heavyweight division. On paper, the former champion is on the rebound after a knockout loss to Carwin in a fight that would have put Lesnar in his sights, and most recently, he dispatched Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic in a widely panned headliner at UFC 119.

But regardless of recent hiccups in Mir's career, Nelson sees a guy who's always in reach of another shot at the belt. That's why he thinks a win will line him up for a contender spot.

"I'm fighting a two-time champion, the longest reigning heavyweight employed by current Zuffa," Nelson said. "He's basically a legend of the heavyweight division. I think whoever wins this fight is going to get the next title shot."

Now that he's healthy and ready to fight again, he plans to step on the gas once again.

"I'm in my prime,"  I became a champion in other organizations. Now, I just want to make a run at this. Pretty much any organization I get into I become champion. So this is my run in the UFC." MMA Junkie

UFC 134 official with Anderson Silva vs. Yushin Okami

It's official. UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva will look to successfully defend his title for the ninth time when he faces the last man to beat him, number one contender Yushin Okami, at UFC 134 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on August 27th.

Barboza to Face Pearson in Rio
Verbal agreements are in for another big bout on the Brazil card. "Undefeated 8-0 Brazilian sensation Edson Barboza takes on Ultimate Fighter 9 winner Ross 'The Real Deal' Pearson," said Dana White. Barboza is coming off a Fight of the Night win in his second UFC outing at UFC 128; Brit Pearson last defeated Spencer Fisher at UFC 127 in Sydney.

UFC 134 in Rio Fight Card Takes Shape updated April 17
After months of anticipation and speculation, the fight card for UFC 134 - the UFC's first return to Brazil since 1998 - has begun to take shape, featuring several of the country's most talented fighters.

Dana White today announced several bouts that have been verbally agreed upon for the momentous event.

Forrest Griffin shocked the world when he spoiled the heavily-favored Pride legend Mauricio “Shogun” Rua's UFC debut in 2007. Now Shogun will have the chance for revenge in his home country as the two will rematch August 27. "These two former world champions always give it their all and this could be one of the most exciting fights of the year," said White.

In a dynamic lightweight matchup, Spencer Fisher is slated to take on Thiago Tavares. In light-heavyweight news, undefeated Stanislav Nedkov will take on devastating Brazilian striker Luiz “Banha” Cane.  ufc.com

Takeshi Inoue vs. Koichiro Matsumoto Added to Dream

A new featherweight bout has been added to the upcoming Dream ‘Fight for Japan’ show in May as Takeshi Inoue will face current DEEP FW champ Koichiro Matsumoto.

The card will take place on May 29 in Japan from Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

Inoue (19-5) enters the bout in May having gone 2-2 in his last four fights, with the victories coming by way of stoppages. Inoue’s two recent losses have both come via decision, including a defeat by current top ten featherweight Hatsu Hioki.

Koichiro Matsumoto (12-2) enters the May show on a five fight win streak with all the fights taking place in the Japanese promotion DEEP.

Matsumoto will look to build on that streak when he takes on Inoue in May. -Source

Lion's fight from last weekend against Shoot's 145 pacific rim champ Taiki Tsuchiya


Matsumoto's last fight against the always exciting & very tough Shoji

Drunk driver puts del Rosario’s fighting future in jeopardy

Up-and-coming heavyweight Shane del Rosario was on track to fight Daniel Cormier on the same Strikeforce card as the Alistair Overeem/Fabricio Werdum bout in June. That was until his car was hit by a drunk driver early Thursday evening. Now, his bout with Cormier is off, and his fighting future is up in the air.

"He's having some serious physical difficulties," Oyama (del Rosario's trainier) told MMAjunkie.com. "He's planning on [fighting again], but the injuries are serious enough to where it's kind of in question whether he can or not. We're hoping that he can. We'll know more in six months."

To a fighter, six months is an eternity, and a long time to go without a fight and the paycheck that comes with it. Del Rosario's last bout, a submission of Lavar Johnson, was in February. Now, he has no idea when his next bout will be. He is pursuing a lawsuit, but no court can give him back the time he's put into this training camp, or the spoils that would come with a win over Cormier.

Del Rosario isn't the only one affected by the crash. Cormier's last bout was in January, and he was looking forward to the step up in competition that del Rosario represented. Now, Strikeforce has to scramble to find a heavyweight that will take on Cormier and his Olympic-level wrestling on short notice, or he will have to wait to fight.

The frustrating part is that this wasn't an injury sustained in training. Those are part of fighting, and fights get moved around all the time because of training-related injuries. Del Rosario was simply sitting at a stoplight and was hit by an a drunk idiot who made the destructive decision of driving a car. She was lucky that she didn't kill del Rosario. In making that stupid, self-centered choice to drive while drunk, she affected the careers of two exciting heavyweight prospects. -Source

Shinya Aoki Will Fight at Dream F4J, Two Interesting Opponents Possible

It was reported last week that Japanese submission ace Shinya Aoki would indeed be competing on Dream 17: Fight For Japan card on May 29th. His original opponent was supposed to be Willamy "Chiquerim" Friere, but Chiquerim had to withdraw due to visa issues. MMAWeekly is reporting that Aoki will stay on the card, and his two possible opponents each offer interesting stylistic challenges:

MMAWeekly.com initially reported that a fight between he and former MFC lightweight champion Antonio McKee was on tap, as long as McKee could finalize his travel details. While that fight is very much still in play, our sources indicate that Dream is also negotiating with former WEC lightweight champion Jamie Varner.

It seems that both potential opponents have been issued bout agreements, due to the fact that McKee might have the same sort of visa issues that Friere had. If the former MFC lightweight champion is good to go, he'll get the fight. If not, it will fall to Varner. Varner is scheduled to compete against Tyler Combs in his first post-Zuffa matchup in Chicago at XFO 39 one week from today. It is unclear if he will still participate in that fight after being offered this one. In typical Dream fashion, this should all be cleared up in the 10-or-so days leading up to the May 29th event in Saitama.

Toby Imada Returning to Shoot Boxing in June vs Shishido!

Nightmare of Battle is reporting that Toby Imada, perennial contender in the Bellator lightweight tournament, is going to return to Japan again this year to compete in the Shoot Boxing S-Cup. Imada was a finalist in last year's S-Cup, amazing everyone with a semi final victory over Andy Souwer, only to be defeated in the final by the legend Buakaw Por. Pramuk.

Imada's opponent for the June 5th bout will be Hiroki Shishido. Shishido has held several Shoot Boxing titles and I'm sure is a heavy favorite to win. But then, so was Souwer.

Shoot Boxing's rule set is much like MMA, except that there is no ground game. Punches, kicks, throws, and standing submissions are allowed. Imada's decision victory over Andy Souwer has been attributed largely to very effective throws. The S-Cup is a tournament style event, so by the time he got to the final and faced Buakaw, he had already been through 2 3-round fights that same night.

The Afro Cometh -- Again

There is perhaps no more iconic a symbol of Shooto than Mamoru Yamaguchi and his afro, every bit as puffy as Shooto’s gloves. Only recently departing the comfy confines of a Korakuen Hall to try his hand at stateside competition, the former two-time Shooto champion and current King of the Cage 125-pound titlist is making his journey stateside at an interesting time -- one in which flyweight has become the next division for hardcore fans to entreaty the UFC to patronize. Despite being arguably MMA’s greatest flyweight of all-time, Yamaguchi accedes that he will still have to earn his way into the Octagon and thus looks forward to putting on performances that will afford him some brain space with Western MMA fans. Originally scheduled to meet John Dodson, Yamaguchi will face Kevin Dunsmoor on Friday at Tachi Palace Fights 9 (free Sherdog stream: 8:15 ET/5:15 PT) in Lemoore, Calif. Luck and fate allowing, he will put on a performance worthy of getting himself on the UFC’s radar. The last time I spoke at length with Yamaguchi was just before his rematch with Shinichi Kojima for the Shooto 123-pound world title. He had become Shooto’s first owner of the 123-pound strap after losing the 132-pound title to Masahiro Oishi in 2001, during his days without the afro. After making the cut, he reigned as 123-pound champ for almost three years until losing to “BJ” by way of rear-naked choke in 2006. In the rubber match, Yamaguchi battered Kojima from pillar to post until the last two minutes of the final round when, somewhat carelessly, the Shooto star stuck himself into a guillotine. It was by all appearances one from which he could have escaped if only his afro was not so big. Still, high-profile losses being as revelatory as they are life-altering, the shackles of chasing Shooto gold were suddenly lifted from the former two-time, two-division champion. “The chance to fight [Kojima] as the challenger came, and, again, I lost. These losses changed my way of thinking,” Yamaguchi reflects matter-of-factly. “I wanted to try fighting somewhere else. Since I’d already fought so many of the fighters in my division [in Shooto], the only way I figured I could improve was to challenge myself under different rules.” Yamaguchi’s long struggle to retain and recapture the title put him in Shooto’s trifecta of top 123-pound contenders between 2003 and 2008. It is a party amongst which the title has been exclusively traded for almost the past decade. Between defeating and dropping fights to grappling wunderkind Kojima and slick counter-striker and current champion Yasuhiro Urushitani, Yamaguchi has been in a redundant top-ranked holding pattern within Shooto. “[Kojima] vacated the title, and Urushitani eventually took it. We three have fought each other quite a few times, and I was thinking, ‘Yeah, it’s about enough by now, isn’t it?’” he asks with a smirk. Spending five years on top may not sound like a problem -- contrarily, it sounds like a blessing for any MMA fighter in a sport where such competitive longevity is a rarity. However, long-term dominance of this kind is anathema to the Shooto ideal, which is to raise fighters from the amateur ranks to the professional level. In a sense, fighters can be too effective, becoming potential prospect killers should they continue to stick around. This was reflected in Yamaguchi’s blowouts of up-and-coming Shootors such as Yuki Shojo and Masaaki Sugawara. Simply put, it was time to move on for the afro’d Shooto ace. “I actually wanted to fight [in the States] for a long time, so going through Shoot Boxing, where they had elbows, helped a lot in teaching me how to use them and how to defend against them. King of the Cage was also good exercise, this time in American rules and in fighting in a cage. I always thought my future would be in a cage under American rules, so it was good to be there,” he says. Yamaguchi is an explosive striker. Visually, Yamaguchi’s style is muay Thai-based. However, save for a last-minute replacement at a Rajadamnern Stadium bout for an injured fighter on the Samurai TV program “Kick no Hoshi” in the early 2000s, his Shoot Boxing endeavors were the first times he exercised his elbows -- a rare and severely underused weapon even in the few Japanese promotions that use them. As such, he was initially unsure of how effective they were. “I ate one on the crown of my head in a Shoot Boxing fight and thought, ‘Man, that really hurts.’ So yeah, they’re effective. It was bone on bone and was so hard that I was afraid I’d been cut. My head was really hot, so I reached up thinking, ‘Oh no, I’ve been cut.’ But there wasn’t any blood, and so I thought, ‘Oh, thank goodness’,” he recalls with laugh. Adding elbows to a Japanese fighter’s game has always been rare and problematic at best. However, Yamaguchi’s case is unique in that he not only picked up the weapon relatively quickly through Shoot Boxing but also saw its practical use as a way to add versatility to his clinch game. This became evident in his King of the Cage debut in early 2010, when the show made a stop in Okinawa. In his first cage and unified rules bout, Yamaguchi first crushed Frank Baca with short elbows before choking him out to win the promotion’s 125-pound title. “I didn’t know how it happened, but the opportunity came and I was thrilled to think, ‘If I win, I’ll get a belt, and then I can go to the States and fight as a defending champion,’” recalls Yamaguchi. “I feel very lucky that I got to fight in Okinawa for my first fight under American rules, rather than having to fight abroad. That would’ve been far more difficult.” Yamaguchi came stateside seven months later in Highland, Calif. In what was supposed to be his first KOTC title defense, he bashed an overweight Greg Guzman with his new favorite weapon: elbows. Despite the win, making the transition to stateside fighting has not been the easiest change for him, though it was not the rules or the cage that proved difficult. While most fighters are loath to bring it up, travel proved to be his most difficult adversary. “I finally came to appreciate jet lag, which is something I’d never experienced but always hear foreign fighters claiming they got when they came to Japan. It’s something that I tried not to take much notice of and just tried to relax through it for the sake of the fight, but at night, I’d wake up at odd hours. Keeping your conditioning under those circumstances was difficult,” he says, somewhat embarrassed. “Conditioning, different food, the time difference, and, of course, the language barrier I think are the biggest differences,” he elaborates. “I felt a little nervous if there wasn’t anyone who could speak Japanese around me while I was there.” Japanese fighters, especially those on the regional level, almost never travel to vastly different time zones. Given that Tokyo often provides all Japanese fighters need career-wise, the opportunity to travel beyond the familiarity of one’s geographical and cultural comfort zone is rare. Further, at 33 years of age it is understandable why Yamaguchi has found it difficult to adapt. “I don’t mean for these to be excuses. When you step into the cage, you still have to be at your best and you still have to win,” he says. “In order to be victorious in America, I just need to be stronger mentally. I promised to study how the rules and judges in America execute fights. I think not being prepared for these things is one of the reasons why other Japanese fighters aren’t doing well there.” “Of course, another reason is that the level of American fighters is higher, probably the highest in the world,” he concedes. Yamaguchi (top) calls Shooto his “life’s work.” | Stephen Martinez/Sherdog.com These days, the concentration of MMA’s top talent is largely in the UFC. However, as the UFC’s opening of the flyweight division remains up in the air, it is anyone’s guess when -- if ever -- someone like Yamaguchi will be signed to a Zuffa contract. Still, he is adamant that is where he wants to end up, and, perhaps, where he wants to end his career. “If the UFC opens up the flyweight division, then most definitely, I want to be in it. The UFC is the world’s biggest promotion, and the level of its fighters is the highest. As a pro fighter, there’s no other place than the UFC that I’d want to be or end my career,” says Yamaguchi. “I’m going to be 34 soon, so fighting in the UFC is my main and final goal now. I know I just can’t get in and win just like that, so I think what I’m doing now by fighting in other promotions is preparing for the UFC. Honestly, I don’t even know if they want me there yet, but for the meantime, what I’m doing now is what I believe to be the path to the UFC.” Bringing a Touch of Shooto to the Cage Besides the usual training camp, there is one prefight ritual that Yamaguchi must perform before every fight. While a Mamoru Yamaguchi without knees -- and now elbows -- would be a strange sight, a Mamoru Yamaguchi without an afro would simply be alien. The process is a long one at just less than three hours and brings him to a barber shop called “Jun” in a bustling part of his hometown, Moto-sumiyoshi. The proprietor, “Jun” Ishida, has run his shop in Moto-sumiyoshi for the past 15 years, though his career as a barber stretches back 45 more, to when he was 16 years old. “He’s got a knack for perming an afro very quickly,” says Yamaguchi, as he rolls his bicycle up Ishida’s driveway. In an unexpected but charming gesture, Ishida and his wife are standing outside their mom-and-pop barber shop waiting to greet us. Yamaguchi seems unsurprised, which is perhaps to be expected, as he tends to visit them three to four times a year to keep up his funky fresh hairdo. Inside, Yamaguchi gets immediately settled in and takes a basket of hard candy to occupy himself as the Ishidas get to work. Normally, he reads comics or other literature while waiting, but on this day, he opts to engage the mister and missus in conversation. Once Ishida trims the loose curls from the previous perm, one can briefly see the Yamaguchi of old, as he was when he reigned over Shooto’s 132-pound division without the afro. The illusion does not last long, though, as Ishida quickly busies himself with rolling every centimeter of Yamaguchi’s hair in rows with miniscule hair rollers. It is meticulous and arduous work, demanding no small degree of dexterity. “Japanese people tend to be good at very fine, detailed work like this,” says Ishida with pride, without breaking the pace of hair rolling. “And no, I never get tired or sore from doing this.” Eight years is a long time to sport an afro, but that is about as long as Mamoru has been cultivating one with the Ishidas’ help. He has gotten to be such a regular visitor that the Ishidas do not even charge him for the work-intensive process anymore. It is, as mentioned, a tradition. Strange as it may seem, it is something that may soon come to an end, as Yamaguchi looks toward retirement. Once the fights end, the perms will likely end, as well. “Fighting in the UFC may be the last major thing in my fighting career, but Shooto will always be close to me,” says the man who once called Shooto his “life’s work.” “Going from Shooto to the UFC will be like going from Japanese baseball to the major leagues. I want that big challenge, but my feelings toward where I came from won’t change. After I retire, I may open my own gym, and if I do, I want my students to fight in Shooto. I want to keep teaching and guiding fellow fighters, leading them to Shooto because I love the sport of MMA and Shooto,” he says. Passionate comments like these resonate with the message of “never forget your roots” -- the mantra of another Shooto icon, Rumina Sato, who has made competing in that circuit more a way of life than a career. As Yamaguchi is no different, the current turmoil within the Japan Shooto Association strikes a delicate chord with him. While he has a stake in fighting under the unified rules now, one can tell he is less than certain its introduction into Shooto would change it for the better. “I’m not particularly in a position where I can say a lot about the matter, but I do want to say that I hope they get through their difficulties and are able to make an environment where professional and amateur fighters can safely fight without worrying about politics,” he says. “ I just want American fans to remember me as that Japanese guy with the weird, big afro and awesome striking. ” -- Mamoru Yamaguchi “If Shooto’s rules stayed the way they’ve been until now, that would be fine with me. If they were to change, too, that would also be fine by me. I haven’t really thought too deeply about it, but if they allowed elbows in Shooto, I’d definitely use them without any hesitation. I train with the American rules in mind now, so I have no problems with them,” he says. As the JSA continues its struggles to reform, Yamaguchi continues to make his way through stateside MMA. Though his home circuit may change substantially while he is away, he has made it his mission to bring a touch of Shooto to American cage fighting. “I want to get to the UFC one day, and if American fans are going to remember and root for me, I’ll have to perform well against guys like Kevin [Dunsmoor] and make a big impact.” “I just want American fans to remember me as that Japanese guy with the weird, big afro and awesome striking,” he says with a smile, not unlike Yoko Gushiken himself. Yuko Komiyama contributed to this story. - Source

Ryo Kawamura Drops Down To Middleweight!

Two fights were announced for the June 5th Pancrase event today.

Ryo Kawamura has relinquished his Light Heavyweight King Of Pancrase title and will finally move down to Middleweight to take on Ikkei for the Middleweight King Of Pancrase title (which Rikuhei Fujii has relinquished) at the event. So there will be three title fights on June 5th.

A fun Featherweight rematch has also been added to the card. Takada Dojo’s Kensaku Nakamura will rematch the hard-hitting Yusuke “Bancho” Kawanago.

Nakamura is the only loss besides Takumi on Bancho’s record. Their first fight ended in a split decision victory for Nakamura. Bancho will not only have a shot at getting revenge, but also at getting back on the winning track after a quite unfortunate loss to Takumi earlier this year. -Source

---

Pancrase 2011 Impressive Tour
Date: June 5th, 2011
Place: Differ Ariake in Tokyo, Japan

Super Flyweight King Of Pancrase Title Fight
Kiyotaka Shimizu vs. Mitsuhisa Sunabe

Middleweight King Of Pancrase Title Fight
Ryo Kawamura vs. Ikkei

Welterweight King Of Pancrase Title Fight
Takenori Sato vs. Sojiro Orui

Single Fights
FW: Masanori Kanehara vs. Motoshi Miyaji
FW: Kensaku Nakamura vs. Yusuke “Bancho” Kawanago
FW: JTaro Takita vs. Shigeo “Pit” Uchiyama
WW: Shingo Suzuki vs. Kosei Kubota
SFlyW: Isao Hirose vs. Seiji Otsuka
FW: Randleman Ichikawa vs. Shinya Irei

Participants
Windy Tomomi

Fedor Emelianenko will meet Dan Henderson on July 30

Fedor Emelianenko will meet Dan Henderson on July 30 on a Strikeforce card in the Chicago area, a source with knowledge of the fight confirmed to ESPN.com Tuesday.
An official announcement of the heavyweight attraction is expected shortly. SB Nation reported the finalized fight on Tuesday.
The bout pitting two of mixed martial arts' most revered competitors, which is set to air not on pay-per-view as had been discussed but on Showtime, marks the first time Emelianenko's promoter, M-1 Global, and Zuffa, which purchased Strikeforce in March and has operated the UFC since 2000, would join forces for an event.
Henderson expressed interest in challenging Emelianenko after the 40-year-old American captured Strikeforce's light heavyweight title against Rafiel "Feijao" Cavalcante on March 5. Last month a representative for Emelianenko informed ESPN.com that the 34-year-old Russian told his camp he would agree to fight Henderson.
Questions over the bout's contracted weight limit were laid to rest when Henderson (27-8), who campaigned the majority of his career at 185 and 205 pounds, said a cap in the neighborhood of 220 pounds wasn't necessary against a man who ranked as MMA's top heavyweight from 2003 through 2010.
Coming off consecutive losses for the first time in his career, Emelianenko (31-3) was working to slim down anyhow, according to sources in his camp. In his last appearance in the cage, a technical-knockout setback against Antonio Silva in February, the Russian appeared softer than usual around his midsection. He has since traveled to the Netherlands, where he worked on his fitness and technical striking skills. He is scheduled to do so again prior to meeting Henderson.
Based on the terms of Henderson's contract, the former two-division Pride champion is owed a fight by the end of July or Strikeforce would be in violation their agreement.  ESPN

Pancrase Kings Hit Marks; Kotani Overweight for LWGP

"UPDATE: Kotani Disqualified, Only 3 LWGP Fights Today
Veteran and possible GP favorite Naoyuki Kotani has been disqualified from today’s Pancrase Lightweight GP since he failed to make weight. He weighed-in at 71.5kg yesterday and when he weighed-in again today he was 1.0kg over so he has been disqualified and his opponent, Tomoshi Iwamiya, will not get to fight today. Nothing yet on what will happen with this tournament fight but it’s either a rematch in the near future, Iwamiya advancing automatically, or a new opponent for Iwamiya."

Also, the event will air on Samurai TV today at 11 PM."

All but one fighter successfully made weight on Monday ahead of Pancrase’s fourth “Impressive Tour” event, which goes down Tuesday at Differ Ariake in Tokyo.

UFC veteran Naoyuki Kotani, one of eight competitors in Pancrase’s 2011 lightweight grand prix, was the lone fighter to miss his mark. The 29-year-old submission specialist tipped the scales at 157.6 pounds for his match with Tomoyoshi Iwamiya (153.6) and will be reweighed on fight day, according to Pancrase officials.

The tournament’s other opening-round matchups will see former King of Pancrase Katsuya Inoue (154.3) meet Kota Okazawa (154.5), Hiroki “AB” Aoki (155) take on Kazuki Tokudome (154.3), and Isao Kobayashi (154.5) welcome incoming Shootor Yukinari “Hibiki” Tamura (153.9).

The lightweight grand prix is scheduled to run through December and will eventually decide a top contender for Pancrase’s new lightweight king, who will also be crowned on Tuesday. Veterans Koji Oishi (154.7) and Daisuke Hanazawa (155) will square off for a third time for the title vacated by Maximo Blanco in early April. Oishi won both previous meetings between the two, with a May 2003 decision and an April 2005 knockout.

Bantamweight King of Pancrase Manabu Inoue (Pictured; 134.9) will defend his title for the first time since being ousted from Sengoku’s 2010 Asia bantamweight tournament. The hard-nosed hybrid wrestler faces Seiya Kawahara (134.2) in a rematch of the first-ever Pancrase bantamweight title bout, which Inoue won via second-round rear-naked choke.

Other bouts of note include Valkyrie 115-pound champion “V.V.” Mei Yamaguchi (114.8) taking on Akiko Naito (114.2) and Shooto standout Shintaro Ishiwatari (134.7) making his Pancrase debut against Tashiro Nishiuchi (134.7). - Source

Pancrase “Impressive Tour 4”
Tuesday, May 3
Differ Ariake
Tokyo, Japan

Lightweight King of Pancrase Title Bout
Koji Oishi (154.7) vs. Daisuke Hanazawa (155)

Bantamweight King of Pancrase Title Bout
Manabu Inoue (134.9) vs. Seiya Kawahara (134.2)

Eiji Ishikawa (169.5) vs. Ichiro Kanai (169.3)

Pancrase 2011 Lightweight Grand Prix Quarterfinals
Hiroki Aoki (155) vs. Kazuki Tokudome (154.3)
Katsuya Inoue (154.3) vs. Kota Okazawa (154.5)
Naoyuki Kotani (157.6)* vs. Tomoyoshi Iwamiya (153.6)
Isao Kobayashi (154.5) vs. Yukinari Tamura (153.9)

Kengo Ura (169.7) vs. Kiichi Kunimoto (169.5)
Shintaro Ishiwatari (134.7) vs. Tashiro Nishiuchi (134.7)
Masahiro Toryu (169) vs. Hiroki Nagaoka (169.3)
Tomonari Kanomata (144.8) vs. Masakazu Takafuji (144.8)
Mei Yamaguchi (114.8) vs. Akiko Naito (114.2)

Inoki Planning Big Event In August

Antonio Inoki is planning a big event in August 26th (or possibly in September). IGF GENOME16 will take place on July 10th. Josh Barnett, Bobby Lashley, and Jerome Le Banner have advanced to the semifinals of the IGF world title tournament so a fourth semifinalist should be decided then.
Anyway, the August event might take place at Ryogoku Kokugikan and probably won’t be in the GENOME series. Inoki wants stars from K-1, MMA, and Puroresu on the event. Rumored participants are Jerome Le Banner (possibly semifinal match), Peter Aerts, and Ray Sefo. He wants to call out to Mirko CroCop and dismissed sumo wrestlers for the event as well. NOB

Farkhad Sharipov Replaces UFC-Bound Escovedo at TPF 9

Cole Escovedo was all set to take on Tommy Vargas at Tachi Palace Fights 9 on May 6 -- until the UFC came calling.

Last Friday, word broke that Escovedo will take on Brazilian prospect Renan “Barao” Pegado at UFC 130 on May 28, leaving Vargas without a dance partner. Days later, Tachi Palace officials have found their substitute for the UFC-bound “Apache Kid.”

Sherdog.com learned from Tachi Palace Events Coordinator Jeremy Luchau on Monday that Florida-based Kyrgyzstani Farkhad Sharipov will step in on less than two weeks’ notice to meet Vargas.

“Last minute replacements are always tough,” said Luchau. “Once again, we are lucky to be able to pull off such a talented replacement. We wish Cole nothing but the best in his UFC future.”

Luchau also noted that the winner of the Sharipov-Vargas bout will earn a shot at the vacant TPF 135-pound title, recently relinquished by Michael McDonald -- another UFC bantamweight, who coincidentally won the belt with a July 2010 knockout of Escovedo.

Sharipov, who turned 27 on April 19, is a former Kyrgyzstani national freestyle wrestling champion and onetime member of the Russian national wrestling team. Now fighting out of Gracie Barra Orlando, “Frank Sharp” has made his bones on the Southeast circuit since 2007, compiling a 12-3 record with nine wins by way of decision. Last seen decisioning Eric Luke at Bellator Fighting Championships 24 in August, Sharipov also holds notable wins over “The Ultimate Fighter 12” cast member Alex Caceres and American Top Team prospect Chris Manuel.

Vargas, a former collegiate wrestling standout at Northwestern University, made his Tachi debut in December, earning a unanimous decision over Martin Sandoval at TPF 7. The 28-year-old Highland, Calif., native has racked up an 8-1 record since turning to MMA in November 2008 and currently trains at Millennia MMA alongside the likes of UFC bantamweight Charlie Valencia and TPF flyweight champ Darrell Montague.

Tachi Palace Fights 9 takes place May 6 at the Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino in Lemoore, Calif., and will stream live on Sherdog.com. Headlining the card is a high-profile flyweight bouts between world-ranked 125-pounder's Mamoru Yamaguchi vs John Dodson and Ian McCall vs unbeaten prospect Dustin Ortiz. -Source

May 6th's Tachi Palace Fight 9's line up now includes...

Ian McCall vs Dustin Ortiz
Isaac DeJesus vs Russ Miura
Efrain Escudero vs Fabricio Camoes
Anthony Ruiz vs Gerald Harris
Kevin Dunsmoor vs Mamoru Yamaguchi
Jorge Lopez vs Waachiim Spiritwolf
Farkhad Sharipov vs Tommy Vargas
Alan Jouban vs Chidi Njokuani
Art Arciniega vs Josh Herrick
Cody Gibson vs Walel Watson
Jesse Bowen vs Brad McDonald
Kenny Ento vs James Chaney
Alex Perez vs Jesus Castro