Let's wrap-up the history lessons here. I know it was very long but I wanted to explain the meaning of the December Shooto event at Tokyo Bay NK Hall. I also wanted every one of you to get a general idea of the mentality of the Shooto people - the deeper significance of Shooto's welterweight championship in December, which occurred in this particular place. It is still simply mythical for many people in Japan.

I assume many MMA fans in the United States probably consider Shooto to be a logically structured pure form of NHB competition, but for many Japanese it's more than just a sport. Shooto is a storybook in progress, filled with lots of characters and symbols. (I believe that in this aspect it has a certain similarity to religion.) Sure, it doesn't mean that every Shooto fan shares in these myths, and it certainly is a sport which can be enjoyed by anyone unaware of these tales and hieroglyphics.

But everything would be entirely different when it came down to the December, welterweight championship, and Tokyo Bay NK Hall. The championship belt is a sacred cup, shall we say a Holy Grail (reminds me of those wacky lads from Monty Python) from the legends of King Arthur, and NK Hall is the Camelot.

In fact, this sacred welterweight championship belt has been following a strange and absurdist path since the retirement of Yuki Nakai.

Look at the recent downfall of Rumina Sato, a great and charismatic hero of Shooto. Everyone thought he was the most appropriate successor to handle this sacred cup, but he is now definitely lost in the dark ages. A welterweight championship fight was held on May 29th, 1999 - some said it was a match staged only for Rumina's comeback. But Rumina lost his first opportunity of capturing a title by loosing to a relative newcomer named Caol Uno. The rematch against Uno on December 17, 2000 at "sacred" NK Hall was supposed to be a myth fulfilled, with the championship belt going to the appropriate successor of the "lost sacred cup." Many Shooto people wanted this myth to come true, but Uno's one punch just shattered the entire story. (It was like when the killer rabbit guarding the Holy Grail latched on to King Arthur's throat like a pit bull.) However, after taking the wind out of the Shooto purists, Uno rejected the role of King Arthur and abandoned the championship belt on the spot (rabid rabbit-like), and the sacred cup once again lost its proprietor.

The truth of the matter is that Caol Uno is not a fighter coming out of an "official gym" certified by Japan Shooto Associations, an organization formed mainly by Shooto promoters. He belongs to the Tokyo headquarters of Keishu-kai, and this gym prefers sending their fighters to various MMA organizations. In fact, Keishu-kai is not even registered with executives of Japan Shooto Associations, which controls all Shooto competitions. So, Caol Uno is actually an "outsider" from the point of view of the Shooto people. Sure, Uno is a great fighter and that is the reason why he gets offers from the promoters of Shooto, but his gym or his team is not even allowed to be involved in the promotion of Shooto events. This actually means that Uno is always forced to be on the defensive end when it comes to negotiations with Shooto. It must have been quite painful for Uno to be the champion in an environment where he has absolutely no control over anything including fight cards, fees, or the treatment of fighters. These two incidents, Uno "returning the Shooto championship belt" and "leaving for the UFC", were in a way,triggered by Shooto's organizational structure.

With this, the sacred cup was now again set a drift in this vast and turbulent sea called Shooto.
In the year 2001, a new number one ranked welterweight fighter named Dokonjonosuke Mishima (a.k.a. Mishima "The Gutsman") and Takanori Gomi, a man with a perfect record of 7-0 since his debut, suddenly appeared on the scene "Searching for the Sacred Cup".

The process of matchmaking and the ranking system controlled by Shooto commissions, are quite simple. The ranking of Shooto is in the order of "being able to challenge the champ," instead of in the order of "strongest to the weakest." This means that the champion only needs to defend his title against a number one ranked fighter. If the title is vacant, number one and number two in the ranking will fight for the championship.

Consequently, the vacant welterweight championship would be decided between The Gutsman and Gomi. August 26th - the sacred place was now being moved from Tokyo Bay NK Hall to Osaka Gymnasium. In a way, the situation was perfect for Shooto to step up into a new dimension, to get over the myth of the martyred Nakai. The situation was supposed to be perfect for a change.

The ball and chain of a myth however, did not allow Shooto to unshackle itself. Mishima, The Gutsman, broke some ribs during practice and was forced to cancel the championship fight. The ranking committee quickly put Mishima down to the number three spot in the ranking. "A fighter suffering with an unexpected injury does not hold the right to the championship." This was the committee"s reason for his demotion. I prefer not to discuss the justice behind this particular ranking decision. However, it is a fact that this belligerent decision promoted Sato, who defeated number three-ranked Marcio Cromado, to the number two spot. Then Gomi, without fighting anyone, rose to the number one spot and made Gomi vs.Sato a reality.

Once again, the sacred place moved back to Tokyo Bay NK Hall. Some may criticize me of being superstitious, but I must admit that I felt a sense of mysterious fatalism with this combination of the welterweight championship belt and Tokyo Bay NK Hall. Finally in December of 2001, Sato's third run for the title did happen. Everyone who is interested in MMA, including fans in the United States, probably knows the result of this fight. His charisma became a glassy veneer, he was suddenly being criticized for having stamina problems, and he could not capitalize on this miraculous opportunity. Once again, the welterweight championship belt ended up in the hands of a fighter out of a gym not officially certified by Japan Shooto Associations.

Part 4 >>