"For the entire last year I took so many actions but that was all for the fight, I thought it was necessary." Satoru Kitaoka is talking about how he insisted on the PRIDE GP. The win he scored over Fabricio Monteiro in April 2007 gave him the right to compete in the PRIDE GP so Kitaoka just insisted on PRIDE. He wasn't going anywhere. He just concentrated on PRIDE. However, PRIDE disappeared and Kitaoka was suddenly out of any destinations. But he still insisted on PRIDE. He stepped up in the ring during the Kakutou Ohkoku LIVE 2007 show and called out a former PRIDE PR and DEEP head Shigeru Saeki, "I still have a right to compete! I want to fight before the year is over!" Obviously he was campaigning for his spot in the Yarennoka! show but at the end Kitaoka got nothing. Ever since his win over Monteiro, he fought only once, in Pancrase September show. That was it for Kitaoka's year 2007.
At the signing ceremony of the King Of Pancrase (KOP) welterweight title fight, Kitaoka looked determined, "This fight is going to be a 'compilation' of my fighting career" but also he sounded quite pessimistic. He wanted to fight in PRIDE, a bigger show. But he belongs to Pancrase-ism so now Kitaoka is back in the KOP title fight, against a fighter he already fought twice. The only positive thing about it is Kitaoka never scored a win against Katsuya Inoue so now he has chance to put an end to this grudge, "Its rare to fight the same fighter three times. For the last two fights, I fought him a total of 20 minutes, and I am happy I can continue it. I feel some kind of a bond." Kitaoka was very diplomatic at this signing ceremony. Here is a man who is passionate enough to step up to the ring and reveal how he feels to the fan. This means, if he wins this KOP title, Kitaoka might scream his next dream and if no more PRIDE, then his choice for a bigger show is only two promotions, UFC or HERO'S. For Kitaoka, this title fight, maybe just a stepping-stone for his next move.
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(from left to right) Satoru Kitaoka, Pancrase Director / Match maker Yasushi Sakamoto, and Katsuya Inoue. |
Another title fight in this January 30th show is the lightweight fight between Artur Oumakhanov and Shoji. Artur is undefeated in Pancrase but Shoji just lost to Jose Aldo last year, which is the only non-Japanese opponent in his career. He is a very exciting striker but a title fight maybe premature for Shoji but apparently this was the only choice for Pancrase at this point. Naturally Aldo should be fighting for this title however according to Aldo's management, the offer he received from Pancrase was not adequate in today's market therefore Aldo is now looking to fight in the States. Since Shoji scored a solid win over a veteran Takafumi Ito, he was the only recognizable name in this weight category. In today's MMA market, even a 15-year old promotion like Pancrase is having difficulty keeping fighters under their budget.
The other additional cards are a welterweight bout between Sotaro Yamado and Strasser Kiichi, and a women's 52 kg (114 lbs) & under bout between WINDY Tomomi and Emi Tomimiatsu.
Strasser Kiichi is the new ring name for Kiichi Kunimoto. After training at Dave Strasser's Freestyle Academy last summer, Kunimoto decided to drop his last name and change it to Strasser. Now he is also dropping his weight down to the 170 lbs category. After two months in the United States Kiichi realized that 185 is not a suitable weight class for him and now he is concentrating on fighting at welterweight. Kiichi currently has a 4-1 record but that was against all heavier fighters so it is going to be interesting to see how he will do in this lighter weight class.
For WINDY Tomomi, and for the women’s MMA fans, this is a big comeback fight. WINDY broke her left ankle in the fight against Rosi Sexton in February 2007. After four months in the hospital, WINDY began her road to comeback last summer. After three months of rehab, she started to hit the mitts in the fall, and is now back in full gear. Her opponent Tomimatsu is a grappler but as long as WINDY can keep this on her feet, she should be able to control this fight.
"Hanazawa is Going Down to Lightweight Division to Face Sakuraba's Disciple" - January 5th, 2008
On January 3rd World Pancrase Create, Inc. announced three cards for the upcoming January 30th show at the Korakuen Hall in Tokyo. Daisuke "13" Hanazawa from MMA Dojo Cobra-kai in Osaka is going down to 155 lbs for the first time in his career to take on Wataru Takahashi, the disciple of Kazushi Sakuraba. Hanazawa is a veteran who has been fighting at 170 lbs. for his entire career but after working out for a few months at the Dave Strasesr's Freestyle Acadmey, he has decided to go down to lightweight. Hanazawa stands at 5 feet 7 inches and his strength is the take down and submissions but many of his moves relied on his power. It worked against fellow Japanese fighters but in the welterweight division, especially at the world class level, he felt that his power would no longer be an advantage.
Pancrase Shinning Tour 2008
Wednesday. January 30, 2008
At Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
Doors Open - 18:00
Fight Starts - 18:10
Confirmed Cards (Subject to Change):
8th Match - KOP Welterweight Title Bout 5 min / 3R
Satoru Kitaoka (Japan / Pancrase-ism) vs. Katsuya Inoue (Japan / Wajiu-tsu Keishu-kai RJW)
7th Match - KOP Lightweight Title Bout 5 min / 3R
Artur Oumakhanov (Russia / SK Absolute Russia) vs. SHOJI (Japan / K.I.B.A.)
6th Match - Middleweight Bout 5 min / 3R
Alavutding Gadzhiev (Russia / SK Absolute Russia) vs. Yuji Hisamatsu (Japan / Wajiu-tsu Keishu-kai TIGER PLACE)
5th Match - Lightweight Bout 5 min / 2R
Yuichi Ikari (Japan / Pancrase P's LAB Tokyo) vs. Nobuaki Shoji (Japan / KRAZY BEE)
4th Match - Lightweight Bout 5 min / 2R
Daisuke "13" Hanazawa (Japan / Cobra-kai) vs. Wataru Takahashi (Japan / Team Sakurabatake)
3rd Match - Woman's 52 kg & Under Bout 5 min / 2R
WINDY Tomomi (Japan / Pancrase-ism) vs. Emi Tomimatsu (Japan / Paraestra Matsudo)
2nd Match - Welterweight Bout 5 min / 2R
Sotaro Yamada (Japan / Paraestra Matsudo) vs. Strasser Kiichi (Japan / MMA Dojo Cobra-kai - Freestyle Academy)
1st Match - Bantamweight Bout 5 min / 2R
Yuki Yamazawa (Japan / STAND) vs. Seiya Kawahara (Japan / Pancrase P's LAB Yokohama)
Ticket Prices:
SS - 12,000 yen
A - 8,000 yen
B - 6,500 yen
C - 5,000 yen
D - 4,000 yen
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