Shooto Welterweight Championship
Willamy “Chiquerim” Freire vs Kenichiro Togashi
Capturing the Shooto Welterweight Championship in quick and emphatic fashion, Freire rebounded after being knocked down in the opening minute and broke Togashi’s nose with an onslaught of punches that forced the ringside doctor to stop the fight.
Freire pressed forward aggressively in round one and used a series of quick jabs to set up a combination of looping hooks. The punches stunned Togashi, but he recovered and dropped Freire very briefly with a flurry of counterpunches. Freire returned to his feet and seemed to be angered, as he rushed forward and blasted Togashi with big punches that broke Togashi’s nose. The doctor at ringside was called to check on Togashi’s condition and advised that the bout be halted.
Winner: Willamy Freire by TKO (Doctor Stoppage – Broken Nose) at 2:05 of round one. He improves to 14-2-0 and becomes the new Shooto Welterweight Champion.
Rumina “Moon Wolf” Sato vs Cory “The Savage” Grant
In what could have been his final mixed martial arts fight, Sato, an MMA legend and pioneer who was the first fighter to hold the Shooto Pacific Rim Lightweight Championship, stopped his late-replacement opponent in the first round after a Superman Punch and a series of strikes on the ground.
Grant, a member of the famed Team Quest, predictably opened the fight with a series of takedowns and throws and aimed to keep the fight on the ground. Sato battled back to his feet and avoided head kicks that narrowly missed their mark. The fighters exchanged punches and Sato dropped Grant with a Superman Punch. He followed with a knee to the head and teed off with big punches on the ground until the referee rescued Grant from further damage.
Winner: Rumina Sato by TKO (Knee & Punches) at 3:20 of round one. He improves to 25-14-2.
Undercard Fights:
Mamoru Yamaguchi defeated Jesse “The Spiderman” Taitano by TKO (Punches) at 4:41 of round one. A former Shooto Bantamweight and Featherweight Champion, Yamaguchi stuffed a takedown from Taitano and dropped him with a one-two, then finished the fight with more punches on the ground. Yamaguchi improves to 21-5-3 with the win.
Tito Jones defeated Tenkei “Fujimiya” Oda by Unanimous Decision after three rounds. Rebounding from his controversial loss to Bao Quach at Strikeforce Challengers 1, Jones outstruck Oda throughout the fight and dictated the pace en route to a clear decision. Jones improves to 7-3-0 with the win.
Jung Min Kang defeated Yoichiro Sato by KO (Punches) at 2:48 of round one. Winning his professional debut in impressive fashion, Kang knocked out the much more experienced Sato with punches midway through round one to pick up a rather surprising upset victory. Kang improves to 1-0-0 with the win.
Kosuke “Jukucho” Eda and Masato Sannai fought to a Majority Draw after two rounds. Eda moves to 7-3-4, while Sannai is now 2-1-1.
With Takanori Gomi victorious in what is said to be his final fight in Japan, and the legendary Rumina Sato a winner in what could be his last fight ever, Vale Tudo Japan 2009 may have been the end of two journies but it is only the beginning for Shooto champions Takeshi Inoue and Willamy Freire.