Gerald Harris signs multi-fight deal with DREAM, could debut at September event

Gerald Harris (18-4 MMA, 0-0 DREAM) is bound for Japan.

The ex-UFC middleweight today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that he's signed a multi-fight contract with DREAM.

While Harris' debut for the promotion has yet to be determined, though DREAM representative Mike Kogan said today that there is "a very good chance" the fighter could appear on an as-yet-unannounced event, possibly DREAM.17, targeted for Sept. 25 at Saitama Arena in Saitama, Japan.

Harris is happy to have a promotion to call home.

"It's just dangerous to sign with an organization that's either new or trying to come back, or that's not stable," he said. "They're very stable."

While that statement might not ring true to many hardcore MMA fans – DREAM's financial struggles were well-documented in 2010 and later compounded by a horrific earthquake that hit Japan this past April – Harris is confident that the promotion is not going anywhere.

"Everybody's had situations in the past, but I'm just saying overall – they have a great reputation, they produce great fighters, and they're highly respected."

Harris said that he should know his first booking for DREAM in the next few days.

"It's just a multi-fight deal," he said. "Even my contract says, 'You're going to fight this many times.' It was real simple, and they're going to come back with more details."

DREAM on: Promotion planning resurgence this year

Kogan, meanwhile, said that DREAM's future is looking more solid than ever. The promotion's personnel backbone, Real Entertainment, has mapped out a plan to move forward independently with events as its longtime partner Fighting and Entertainment Group continues to undergo financial restructuring.

FEG made headlines this past year when a number of fighters stepped forward to complain of not being paid.

"They either have to or they have to cut all these guys loose," Kogan said of DREAM's motivation for continuing. "Because you can't sign people and tell them to sit tight while they restructure."

So while the schedule for FEG's primary offering, K-1 kickboxing, has yet to be determined, DREAM has earmarked Sept. 25 for an event. The card is expected to kickoff an international bantamweight tournament featuring three Japanese fighters – the winner of the recent "Japan Grand Prix" and its second and third place finishers – and five international fighters to be determined.

Kogan said former DREAM featherweight champion Bibiano Fernandes is planning a drop to bantamweight for a possible slot in the tournament.

What's unknown at this point, Kogan added, is whether DREAM will have the support of Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS), who aired all of its events until this year. He did, however, say that the promotion is in talks with HDNet to air its 2011 schedule as well as its 2012 schedule.

It's unknown at this point whether the events will be broadcast live. Kogan said the tape-delayed airings of DREAM's two most recent shows on HDNet were due to the fact that the promotion had not yet decided to forge ahead with live events, and by the time it did, live programming was no longer an option on the premium cable channel.

After a five-month hiatus, DREAM resurfaced earlier this past May with an event to benefit victims of the Japanese earthquake. Earlier this month, it held the finals of a qualifying bantamweight grand prix at Tokyo's Ariake Coliseum. Hideo Tokoro defeated Masakazu Imanari to win the eight-man competition, and featherweight champ Hiroyuki Takaya outpointed Kazuyuki Miyata to retain his 145-pound title.

Rashad Evans Training with Cosmo Alexandre and Tyrone Spong

In preparation for his August 7 fight against Tito Ortiz at UFC 133, Rashad Evans has stepped his training up a few notches, working on his striking with Tyrone Spong and Cosmo Alexandre. It's been said for a while that Cosmo will eventually make a foray into MMA and training with the "Blackzillians" at Imperial MMA is a great way to get prepared. Cosmo will be fighting Sakmongkol Sitchuchoke on August 20 under Muay Thai rules. As for Tyrone Spong, he's coming off a June 18 It's Showtime win over Loren Javier Jorge and at the moment he doesn't have anything coming up.

Enfusion Returns in August, Sahak & Roche Featured

Enfusion's brand of reality television, tournament-based kickboxing is set to return shortly, as the group's next tournament will be filming in Macedonia this August. Dubbed the Trial of the Gladiators, the season will feature eighteen 85 kg. kick boxers from around the world.

Although many of the fighters included in the eighteen man field have flown under the radar, Enfusion has assembled a respectable field in a kickboxing division which really has not been hashed out on the international level.

The leading names in the upcoming 85 kg. tournament are Sahak Parparyan, Wendell Roche, and Hakan Aksoy. Sahak Parparyan secured the vacant It's Showtime 85 kg. MAX title in May, with a decision win over the veteran Amir Zeyada. Meanwhile, Wendell Roche dropped a wide decision to Danyo Ilunga in an It's Showtime 95 kg. MAX title bout this past March. As for Hakan Aksoy, the Turkish fighter just saw action against Romanian prospect Bogdan Stoica in a bout which quite the unfortunate ending. While Stoica looked to be in control, the Romanian ultimately injured his leg in the second round and the bout was halted accordingly.

The field of competitors also includes American Muay Thai stylist Eddie Walker, Scotland's Ritchie Hocking, and a number of other up and coming kick boxers from around the world.

The full line up for the upcoming season is as follows: Sahak Parparyan, Wendell Roche, Hakan Aksoy, Eddie Walker, Ritchie Hocking, Bruno Lurette, David Radeff, Andrew Tate, Franci Grajs, Peter Lapuc, Ville Aalto, Jake Bostwick, Michael Kongolo, Adnan Omeragic, Alexandros Chatzichronoglou.

Capital Punishment 4: Colossa Out, Mostafa Abdollahi In vs JWP

Vuyisile Colossa is out of the headlining bout at Capital Punishment 4. Mostafa Abdollahi will replace Colossa against John Wayne Parr on July 30th.

Scheduled for July 30th in Canberra, Australia, Capital Punishment 4 has experienced a bit of a shake up as Vuyisile Colossa will no longer be facing John Wayne Parr in the event's feature bout.

While there has been some discussion of Colossa not making it to the event, the South African's inability to participate has now been confirmed.

It has also been confirmed Mostafa Abdollahi will be the man to step in for Vuyisile Colossa. Abdollahi enters having competed on the recently filmed, not yet debuted season of The Challenger Muaythai. The Iranian standout is rumored to have taken full advantage of the opportunity presented to him in the WMC-backed show and will look for a breakout performance when he meets John Wayne Parr next weekend.

John Wayne Parr last fought on May 27th, as he quickly dispatched Mike Zambidis to complete the trilogy between the two storied fighters.

Capital Punishment 4 is also set to showcase regional standouts Ben Edwards(was set to take on Mighty Mo before he got KO'd with a liver shot last weekend, we'll see if a new opponent has been set or not) and Cedric Kongaika.

Sandro Motivated by Title Dream, Questionable Judging

At Bellator Fighting Championships 47, Marlon Sandro will take on Brazilian-based Argentinian Nazareno Malegarie, a fellow Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt. However, the former Sengoku and Pancrase featherweight champion isn’t necessarily preparing to match his foe on the ground.

A Nova Uniao product under Andre Pederneiras’ command, Marlon Sandro doesn’t fear his opponent’s grappling game, nor does he believe that “Naza” will come to play “pure” jiu-jitsu.

“I’ve already seen some fights from Malegarie and I know he has a good BJJ background,” Sandro told Sherdog.com. “He comes from a good school, he’s a Thiago Tavares pupil, but I’m going to fight MMA, and wherever the fight goes, I’ll be ready.”

“I believe he will exchange a little and try to put me down,” continued the 34-year-old Sandro. “I’ve trained both on my feet and on the ground. I’m really confident that I’ll win.”

After turning in some brutal stoppages over the last two years, Sandro emerged as a knockout artist. However, it was his last fight -- a June split decision over fellow Brazilian Genair da Silva -- that has angered him and motivated him.

“I don’t want to belittle anyone, but I was surprised when they called a split decision,” Sandro revealed. “Me, Andre Pederneiras and Jose Aldo, who were in my corner, couldn’t understand how they decided that. I pressured him all fight, always moving forward. He was always walking backwards, and I hit him much more.”

Florida judges Barry Luxenberg and Rich Green saw the June 25 bout 30-27 and 29-28 for Sandro, respectively. Dissenting judge Ric Bays had it, quite surprisingly, 29-28 for da Silva.

“We weren’t satisfied with him winning a round, but that’s OK,” said Sandro. “We already saw the tape and fixed my mistakes. Now I’m focused on Malegarie.”

The “Junior PQD” bout was Sandro’s first of 2011, as he successfully rebounded from just the second loss of his career, having dropped his Sengoku crown to recent UFC signee Hatsu Hioki in December. Now, Sandro will be back in action for the second time in four weeks, something that he hasn’t done in six years.

“I took a lot of precautions to not get hurt last fight. Thank God, everything went OK,” said Sandro. “I returned healthy to my training, worked hard at Nova Uniao, and it confirmed how important it was to make a safe fight against PQD.”

Malegarie is just a means to an end for Sandro, however, as the Brazilian is eyeing yet another title belt.

“I respect everyone, but my thoughts are always on being the champion,” said Sandro. “Every fight I have, I do it with the intention to be No. 1 in the promotion. To achieve that dream, I’ve gotta beat Malegarie, a very tough guy, but I’m ready for that.”

John Wayne Parr: Blessed With Venom - Trailer

A new documentary on the life and career of John Wayne Parr is in the works and it's titled John Wayne Parr: Blessed With Venom. The first trailer has come out and from what we can see, this documentary is a must-watch. It doesn't have a release date yet but it is set to come out this year. If you want, read the full description:

“John Wayne Parr: Blessed With Venom” is a feature length documentary chronicling the life and career of Australian Muay Thai superstar and 7 times World Champion, John Wayne Parr. The film provides an intimate insight into Parr’s early years in Thailand where he endured rigorous training in primitive conditions, to the heights of awe-inspiring accomplishments all over the planet. We also get to see a very personal side to the Gunslinger as a husband and father of two. The true John Wayne Parr is revealed here. Champion, devoted family man and all round nice guy - a genuine hero with infinite courage to his legion of fans, respected by his opponents and dearly loved by his friends and family.

The documentary will also examine seminal fights in Parr’s career. From his bloody contests with Thai marvel Orono, which is considered the making of the Gunslinger’s legend, to his contemporary battles with Mike Zambidis, Lamsongkram and the three, all out wars with superstar Yodsanklai Fairtex. We bear witness as Parr comes back from 2 losses to ultimately defeating Yodsanklai in Melbourne – a blockbuster encounter between two giants of the sport – two modern day gladiators doing what they do best – trading bone crunching blows in the brutal world of Muay Thai Boxing.

You can also check out the official website, jwpblessedwithvenom.com.

Kikuno to Defend Lightweight Strap Against Hirota at Deep 55

Two of the top lightweights currently operating in Japan appear set to collide Aug. 26 at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo.

Katsunori Kikuno, lightweight champion of Deep, will reportedly defend his belt against former Sengoku titleholder Mizuto Hirota at Deep “55 Impact.”

While only Hirota’s participation at the event has been made official, news of the matchup was tweeted Wednesday by Satoru Kitaoka, the man from whom Hirota took the Sengoku lightweight title in 2009.

The bout marks the card’s third championship affair, as featherweight ace Koichiro Matsumoto will defend against returning Yoshida Dojo product Tatsunao Nagakura, while heavyweight titlist Kazuhisa Tazawa will clash with Georgian judoka Levan Razmadze.

A pupil of early-UFC veteran Tsuyoshi Kosaka, Kikuno won his belt in April 2009, knocking out Matsumoto in the final of Deep’s lightweight title tournament. The 29-year-old Kyokushin karate specialist embarked on a 2-2 run in Dream, alternating wins over Andre “Dida” and Kuniyoshi Hironaka with losses to Eddie Alvarez and Gesias “JZ” Cavalcante.

Currently, Kikuno has won back-to-back starts, defending his Deep title against Nobuhiro Obiya in October before returning to Dream in May to outpoint veteran Daisuke Nakamura.

The championship bout will be Hirota’s first action since having his arm broken by Shinya Aoki in December 2009. Prior to that gruesome submission loss, the 30-year-old had knocked out Kitaoka and Mitsuhiro Ishida in consecutive outings. Now a freelance fighter, Hirota was a longtime staple at Gutsman Shooto Dojo.

DEEP 55 now includes...
Deep Lightweight Championship
Mizuto Hirota vs. Katsunori Kikuno

Deep Featherweight Championship
Koichiro Matsumoto vs. Tatsunao Nagakura

Amanda Lucas vs. TBA
Ryuta Noji vs. TBA
Ryuta Sakurai vs. Katsuyori Shibata
Daiki Hata vs. Tatsumitsu Wada
Motoki Miyazawa vs. Yasushi Kitazaki

Deep Megaton Championship
Kazuhisa Tazawa vs. Levan Razmadze

Filho vs. Ishii at AFC, Gracie and UFC-vets expected to battle at Brazil

Two and a half weeks after UFC Rio, Brazil may be the center of the MMA for one more night. At Manaus, Amazonas, promoters and matchmakers and working in silence to promote Amazon Forest Combat’s first edition, on September 14th, and TATAME learned some of the fighters that could fight at the event.


Pride veteran Royler Gracie, who recently told TATAME that he’ll no longer fight Eddie Bravo at ADCC 2011, is already signed to fight at the event. The promoters tried to match him against Hideo Tokoro, who won Dream’s Bantamweight GP last weekend, but the fight probably won’t happen anymore, as they search for new opponents.


Another Pride vet, former WEC middleweight champion Paulo Filho is set to fight at the event, and his opponent will be Satoshi Ishii, Judo expert with a 4-1 record in MMA.


Black House manager Jorge Guimarães, who’s working as one of the matchmakers of the show, confirmed the match-up to TATAME today. “It’ll be good fights”, he promises. “Tokoro will probably fight again at Dream in September, so he won’t be able to fight here”, Guimarães added.


According to the manager and matchmaker, they’re also negotiating with UFC veterans Nate Marquardt( Who recently also signed a deal with BAMMA), Patrick Coté and Marcus Davis. “We want Marcus Davis against Ronys Torres (another UFC veteran). We’re also in talks with Jordan Smith,” he revealed. “Coté and Marquardt may give us the answers today”.

UFC 135 headliners Jones and Jackson visit Denver media

It was perhaps the simplest question during a gathering that at times was more frat party than media event.

But it produced the most meaningful exchange during a pre-event media tour ahead of UFC 135.

Asked by a fan how the fight would go – without getting into game plan, of course – light-heavyweight champion Jon "Bones" Jones (13-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) was interrupted by Quinton "Rampage" Jackson (32-8 MMA, 7-2 UFC).

"You know who he is – c'mon man," Jackson said today at the Pepsi Center in Denver, which also hosts the pay-per-view UFC 135 event on Sept. 24. "Who been standing with me, dog? Everybody been wrasslin' me, dog. You already know, player."

It was one of many interruptions from the former champ, who bounced between the role of class clown and frustrated MMA veteran as questions about his motivation to fight surfaced.

On the other side of the podium, Jones kept a mostly stoic exterior as he responded to persistent attacks about a perceived cockiness as the second-youngest champion in UFC history.

Although just nine years older than the champ, Jackson begrudgingly accepted his role as a representative of the old school. That didn't mean he liked it.

"Who you calling old, dog?" he snapped at one reporter. "I'm only 33, man. Goodness. You all act like I'm Randy Couture's decrepit old ass."

But by his answer to the question, his thoughts about the shape of the coming title match were clear. He will sprawl and brawl while the champ tries to grind him down on the mat. Jones doesn't want to stand and trade.

If only the champ agreed.

"I think I displayed pretty good kickboxing against Mauricio 'Shogun' (Rua)," Jones said. "'Shogun' is the one who actually knees and elbows and throws high kicks. 'Rampage' is like fighting a boxer in my opinion. So, if he thinks that I'm intimidated to stand with him, I think it's great for me that he's under that impression."

Jackson didn't want to give Jones the impression that he sees a one-dimensional opponent standing opposite him. He just isn't jumping on any bandwagons.

"Well, I just have to say – straight up, I do respect you, dog," Jackson said. "I do think you're the future of MMA, straight up, keeping it real. But as far as 'Shogun,' he was rusty as hell, dog. He was off an injury, hadn't fought for a year, (and) had like two knee surgeries."

It was Jones' turn to interject.

"There will always be excuses," he said as Jackson tried to get the floor back. "I'm sure after I beat you, they'll say, 'You didn't fight the PRIDE 'Rampage.' You fought the movie star 'Rampage.''"

The frat party didn't like that one. Oohs and aahs followed.

"Whatever," Jackson said. "You're right. There's always excuses. There's a hundred of them. I've got like three excuses for every time I lost; I ain't going to lie."

Jackson, though, hasn't lost since May 2010, when Rashad Evans outpointed him at UFC 114. Evans now is slated to fight his friend, former champion Tito Ortiz, in the headliner of UFC 133. He's now on a quest to get back the title he lost to the hands of Forrest Griffin at UFC 86. In the mean time, he's picked up work as a movie actor, which has led to questions about his motivation to continue competing at the highest levels. He's been fighting professionally for 11 years.

Jones, who blasted Rua at UFC 128 to take the title, has yet to taste defeat during his three years inside the cage.

"If I've got to represent the old school, then I guess I've got to represent them," Jackson said. "You all put me in that category. I was younger than him when I started doing my thing. I was fighting (with a) 2-1 (and) 2-2 (record) fighting people like Wanderlei (Silva) and stuff like that. I guess I'm old school.

"But with old school comes a lot of experience. He's the youngest champion, but I think he's the least experienced champion in UFC history. All that stuff doesn't matter to me. I just go fight and get my belt back. I have tunnel vision."

The title of "MMA legend" sounded much better to Jackson.

And as for Jones' lack of experience, he's not first in that category. As he said, former heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar is.

For the latest on UFC 135 and other upcoming events, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site. MMA Junkie

Former Pride Grand Prix Champion Kazuo Misaki Signs w/ SF

At one time, Kazuo Misaki was a mainstay in the top ten of the middleweight division during his time with Pride Fighting Championships.

Now the Japanese fighter is making his move to welterweight and has signed an exclusive deal to compete in the welterweight division of Strikeforce.

Sources close to Misaki confirmed the signing to MMAWeekly.com on Thursday.

Just last week, Strikeforce official Scott Coker had teased signing a major veteran to their welterweight roster and Misaki fits the bill.

Misaki (24-11-2) has faced some of the toughest competition over the last several years, where he spent time in many different organizations but most prominently in Pride and Sengoku.

In 2006, Misaki was crowned the Pride Welterweight Grand Prix champion and picked up wins over Dan Henderson and Denis Kang to get there.

Over the last few years, Misaki has continued to battle away in Japan and has won his last two fights in a row with victories over Akira Shoji and Mike Seal.

While there has been no date given for his debut with Strikeforce, Misaki is expected to fight at 170lbs as opposed to middleweight where he’s spent the biggest part of his career in Japan.

Staredown of the day: JLB vs Barnet in IGF Finals!

K-1/MT/Kickboxing stud Jerome Le Banner will meet the ultra popular Josh Barnett in the IGF Finals on August 27th. Full IGF 16 results are below...

BAMMA 7 LW & MW Titles on the line! Trigg vs Kong Headlining

The latest event from Britain's biggest MMA promotion BAMMA is penciled in for September 10th at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, England. The main event will be a showdown for the BAMMA middleweight title between champion Tom "Kong" Watson and long-time veteran Frank Trigg, and the co-main event will see Strikeforce and Pride veteran Joey Villasenor drop to welterweight for the first time in his career to take on British veteran Che Mills.

Watson is coming off a very impressive performance with a knockout win over Murilo "Ninja" Rua, which led to Rua retiring after the fight. He won the title with a decision win over Matt Horwich back at BAMMA 3 last May and has defended it twice since then. He is 10-1 in his last 11 with his only loss coming to Jesse Taylor. Trigg has won two in a row since being released from the UFC following a loss to Matt Serra at UFC 109. His last fight was at BAMMA 6 in May, where he defeated John Phillips by TKO.

Villasenor is 0-2-1 in his last 3 fights, the last being a split draw with Chris Camozzi at Shark Fights 17 in May. As stated above, this will be his first fight at welterweight. Mills has won four in a row, including a a first round knockout of Mario Cesar at BAMMA 6 in his last fight.

Current card:

Tom Watson (14-4) vs. Frank Trigg (21-8) (for BAMMA MW Title)
Joey Villasenor (27-8-1) vs. Che Mills (13-4)
Rob Sinclair (10-2) vs. Leonardo Santos (9-3) (for BAMMA LW title)
Efrain Escudero (15-3) vs. Tim Radcliffe (11-4)
Matt Ewin (22-9-1) vs. Valentino Petrescu (11-2)

Matsumoto’s Last Fight?! vs Nagakura @ The 55th Impact Plus More!

Two fights were announced for the August 26th DEEP 55 IMPACT event today.

DEEP Featherweight champion Koichiro Matsumoto will take on Yoshida Dojo’s Tatsunao Nagakura in a fight which he says will be his retirement fight whether he wins or not. It looks like he wants to aim at becoming a comedian (I think he has worked with it before).

The other announced fight is Ryuta Sakurai vs. Katsuyori Shibata.

Also on the card, the return of Mizuto Hirota and the JMMA debut of Amanda Lucas, daughter of George Lucas (yes the film maker George Lucas).

Fickett replaces Freire, Mizuno vs. Prangley added to "DREAM: Japan GP Final"

The July 16 "DREAM: Japan GP Final" event has undergone a couple changes.

UFC vet Drew Fickett (41-14 MMA, 0-0 DREAM) has replaced injured lightweight Willamy "Chiquerim" Freire (17-4 MMA, 0-0 DREAM) in a fight with Tatsuya Kawajiri (27-7-2 MMA, 7-1 DREAM). Additionally, Trevor Prangley (23-7-1 MMA, 0-0 DREAM) and Tatsuya Mizuno (8-7 MMA, 1-3 DREAM) have agreed to a light-heavyweight bout.

Officials today announced the additions.

"DREAM: Japan GP Final" takes place at Ariake Coliseum in Tokyo. No North American broadcast plans have been announced for the event (officially dubbed "Fight for Japan: DREAM Japan GP Final – 2011 Bantamweight Japan Tournament Final").

DREAM officials announced that Freire suffered a hand injury with potentially torn ligaments.

His replacement, Fickett, makes his DREAM debut while looking to bounce back from a June MFC loss to Brian Cobb. The TKO defeat snapped Fickett's five-fight win streak, which followed a 1-7 skid he suffered from 2008-2009. He now meets Kawajiri, who fights for the first time since an April title loss to Strikeforce champ Gilbert Melendez. Two fights prior (and in his most recent DREAM bout), the former top-ranked lightweight suffered a title loss to DREAM champ Shinya Aoki at DREAM.15. Both losses came via first-round stoppage.

Prangley, who's recently competed for Strikeforce, makes his DREAM debut on the heels of a 1-2-1 streak. Most recently, he suffered a submission loss to Roger Gracie at "Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Cyborg." The South African, who's also a UFC vet and former BodogFIGHT champion, went 11-1 before the recent skid. He looks to get back on track against Mizuno, whose near-.500 record includes losses to many notables, including Thiago Silva, Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic, Gegard Mousasi and Sergei Kharitonov. His lone DREAM win came over striker Melvin Manhoef a year ago at DREAM.15.

The latest "DREAM: Japan GP Final" card includes:

Champ Gegard Mousasi vs. Hiroshi Izumi (for light-heavyweight title)
Champ Hiroyuki Takaya vs. Kazuyuki Miyata (for featherweight title)
Champ Marius Zaromskis vs. Hayato Sakurai (welterweight non-title fight)
Masakazu Imanari vs. Hideo Tokoro (Japan bantamweight-tourney finale)
Keisuke Fujiwara vs. Kenji Osawa (Japan bantamweight-tourney third-place fight)
Todd Duffee vs. Nick Gaston
Tatsuya Mizuno vs. Trevor Prangley
Drew Fickett vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri
Bruno Carvalho vs. Eiji Mitsuoka

Thai Fight Extreme Japan Shapes Up!

Seven fights have been announced for the August 7th Thai Fight Extreme Japan event at Ariake Coloseum in Tokyo, Japan.

Buakaw Por. Pramuk will fight under full Muay Thai rules for the first time in front of the Japanese and he will do it against WBKF world champion and J-Network Super Welterweight champion Tomoaki Makino.

Makino comes from a Karate background and has built his Kick record to 11-3 since converting. He went 1-2 in his first three but has won ten out of his last eleven fights. He’s also very tall for the weight class at 187cm.

Yodsanklai Fairtex will clash with WMAF World Super Welterweight champion Yasuhito Shirasu. Shirasu has fought for a long time but in 2010 he only fought once and this fight will be his first of 2011.

The awesome Saiyok Pumpanmuang will battle former Japan number 1 ranked Lightweight Kou Suman.

Fabio Pinca will take on the young 20 year old NJKF Welterweight champion Yuya Yamato in a rematch. Yamato defeated Pinca via cut in a Thai Fight event in France last month.

Another awesome Thai Fighter, Sudsakorn Sor Klinmee, will face Japanese TOMOYUKI.

Silver Wolf’s Yuichi Yamazaki will take on Algerian Adele Kohoja.

As one of Japan's representatives MMA & Kickboxing star Akihiro Gono will take on the newly recently crowned It's Showtime 73 kg. champion Yohan Lidon.

Ikki's opponent is yet to be announced.

Yuichiro "Jienotsu" Nagashima is not the only Japanese K-1 fighter to move into the world of professional wrestling while K-1 is on a bit of a break, as K-1 Heavyweight Champion Kyotaro (Kenjiro Maeda) has made his way into professional wrestling as well. Need proof? Here he is sporting a green mohawk hitting a flying missile dropkick.

It's Showtime Fast & Furious 70MAX Tournament Match-Ups Set

Earlier today in, the draw for It's Showtime's Fast and Furious 70MAX Tournament took place in Brussels, Belgium. All 8 competitors were on hand to decide the quarter final match-ups. The following 4 quarter final match-ups were determined:

Artur Kyshenko vs. Gago Drago

Andy Souwer vs. Harut Grigorian

Murat Direkci vs. Chris Ngimbi

Giorgio Petrosyan vs. Chahid Oulad El Hadj

What's interesting about these match-ups is that 3 out of the 4 match-ups are rematches, and intriguing rematches at that. Drago and Kyshenko just fought this March, with Kyshenko picking up the win. It should be another good fight. Chris Ngimbi topped Murat Direkci in December to win the It's Showtime 70MAX World Title, albeit in controversial fashion where he didn't look that great himself. Last but not least, Giorgio Petrosyan and Chahid are coming off that No Contest from May, in which many people wanted to see more of.

The card takes place on September 24 in Brussels, Belgium. It's also set to feature some Belgian talents, such as Sonny Dagraed, Marat Grigorian and Marco Vlieger.

1st Flyweight King Of Pancrase GP Match Ups Announced

The match-ups for the August 7th 4-man 1st generation Flyweight King Of Pancrase tournament were announced on the 29th.

The most logical combination was chosen in Mitsuhisa Sunabe vs. Yoshihiro “Child” Matsunaga and Takuya Eizumi vs. Hiroyuki Abe Version 2.0. Sunabe and Abe are favorites, Matsunaga and Eizumi just fought, and Sunabe and Eizumi have fought in the past.

The semifinals will take place at the August event, not the final.

UFC to host event in Japan "this year"

LAS VEGAS – The UFC could make its long-awaited return to Japan this year.

UFC president Dana White today said that plans are moving forward for for the organization to promote a show in the country, which hasn't hosted a UFC event since UFC 29 way back in 2000.

"The rumor is true," said White, who couldn't given any exact details on a date or host venue. "We're going to come to Japan, and probably soon."

Just how soon?

"This year," he said.

White and other officials have long teased the possibility of an upcoming show in Japan, where four pre-Zuffa LLC events took place in Tokyo (twice), Chiba and Yokohama more than a decade ago. Until the past few years, the UFC largely ignored the region.

However, in 2009, the UFC amped up its efforts in Asia, signed new TV and Internet deals in Japan, and began serious recruiting of Japanese talent.

In recent months, domestic Japanese MMA has been on the decline. While some mid-level promotions have continued developing talent and hosting solid shows, the most notable (at least to North American fans) have struggled. DREAM has hosted just one show in 2011 (with another planned for July 16), but both have been scaled back with virtually no television presence and smaller seating configurations.

World Victory Road's Sengoku event series, meanwhile, has been dormant since December, and financial struggles suggest the promotion may be done. In fact, some of the organization's top talent – such as featherweight champ Hatsu Hioki, middleweight champ Jorge Santiago and heavyweight Dave Herman – recently have signed with the UFC.

Meanwhile, the UFC has picked up many top-level Japanese fighters who were left without major homes, such as Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto and Riki Fukuda. Additionally, perhaps its most recognizable Japanese star, Yushin Okami, challenges UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva in August at UFC 134. MMA Junkie