"Ever since I was in the Pancrase-ism, I always wanted to fight Yuki Kondo. I never expected him to step inside the ring tonight. It's been over three years since I faced him that close up. At that point, many thoughts crossed my mind. I have known Kondo ever since I was just a trainee, and I personally think before people started to call him, 'Fudoushin (Immovable Mind)', when he was still wondering, he was much wilder. I want to see that Yuki Kondo. Sure the belt would add more value to the fight but more than anything, I want to fight a human named Yuki Kondo. I want to throw everything, all my life as a fighter, everything to Kondo."
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SHOJI dominated a veteran from Pancrase-ism Takafumi Ito with knee strikes, positioning on the ground and a series of soccer kicks to the head. |
Finally KEI Yamamiya got his wish of challenging Yuki Kondo, maybe for one last time. After controlling the "Super New Starlet" of Pancrase-ism Ryo Kawamura for the entire three rounds with fast feet and a precise left hook, Yamamiya told the fans from the ring, "From the very start I went to GRABAKA to do well in Pancrase. I consider Pancrase my home." Then he called out Yuki Kondo who was working as the commentator of the Sky A TV. Yamamiya and Kondo both made a pro debut the same year. (1996) In the early years of Pancrase where fighters were still fighting with shin guards and open palm striking, they fought twice and both times Kondo was the winner. Finally, after four years in GRABAKA, Yamamiya has one last chance to surpass Kondo. Kondo stepped into the ring and actually told everyone "I will accept the challenge" and shook Yamamiya's hand so it's fair to assume that the King of Pancrase title fight between Kondo and Yamamiya would take place early next year.
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Josh Barnett showed a variety of submission moves and at the end finished the bout with a rear naked choke. |
A lightweight bout between a veteran Takafumi Ito and an up and coming star SHOJI was the fight that confirmed that times have changed. This veteran from Pancrase-ism was basically controlled by SHOJI for the entire three rounds. The only chance Ito had was early in the first. Ito took it to the ground and when SHOJI up kicked, Ito passed the guard to the side mount but couldn't really do anything from there so the referee stood them back up and that was it for Ito.
From there Ito insisted on shooting in but SHOJI countered with knee strikes, sprawling, taking the back and landing a series of punches and soccer kicks to the body and head. SHOJI slowed down a bit in the third but still Ito was just all defense and just couldn't find a clue to get into the offense. After the fight SHOJI expressed his wish of fighting number one ranked Yuji Hoshino for the lightweight title but Pancrase announced that they are hosting a four-man tournament to decide the champ and already confirmed Artur Oumakhanov. That means only three spots left in the tournament and since Hoshino is ranked first in this weight class, he should be in the tournament. Then where is that going to leave SHOJI? One must also wonder what would happen to Jose Aldo who dominated SHOJI in July of this year? Is he going to be the fourth person in the tournament? More announcements in regards to this tournament should come early next year.
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Miki Shida had more takedowns, and also landed more than a few left hooks. In the second round Massouh landed a good kick to the body, solid up kick to the chin but overall, Shida controlled the majority of the fight. |
The Catch Wrestling bout was all about Josh Barnett. Sure Hikaru Sato did show up with that famous chambermaid costume but it really was about Josh. From the moment of the walk-in Josh just took over Korakuen Hall. In the bout, he showed a variety of techniques, from suplex to submissions, including a few from Pro-wrestling such as STF, and at the end he finished Sato with a rear naked choke. It was just the Josh Barnett show, an unparalleled presence, from beginning to end.
Veteran Miki Shida showed that he still has the possibility of climbing up the ranking. In the first round, instead of trading with Jameel "The Sergeant" Massouh from Freestyle Academy / Cobra-kai, Shida shot in and took it to the ground. Then controlled Massouh for over two minutes and even snapped on a tight guillotine. But Jameel pulled out from this and the fight was back in the standing realm. From there both fighters exchanged good strikes but basically the entire striking battle was in Shida's range. Jameel didn't use his reach advantage and stepped in close to trade with Shida and on this day, the counter left hook of Shida just landed more. In the second round, Jameel had one chance. From the bottom, he landed a solid up kick to Shida's chin but the referee stopped to check Shida's cut on the forehead and during this doctor's check, Shida came back to life. Shida finished the year 2007 with a solid win. On the other hand this was the second straight loss in Pancrase for the American, so it's back to the drawing board for Jameel.
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