Pancrase celebrated its 30th anniversary with a stacked card featuring three championship fights on Sunday at the Yokohama Budokan in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan. Pancrase 340 was headlined by a Welterweight King of Pancrase bout between champ Genpei Hayashi and Ryuichiro Sumimura.
Seiichiro Ito faced Naoki Arikawa for the Interim Flyweight King of Pancrase title, Yasuhiro Kawamura met Tokitaka Nakanishi in a Bantamweight King of Pancrase bout, and the Atomweight Queen of Pancrase title tournament began. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for the Pancrase 340 card.
Welterweight King of Pancrase Championship
Ryuichiro Sumimura vs Genpei Hayashi
Round 1:
Referee for this bout is Shinji Shimamura. Sumimura throws Hayashi to the mat and Hayashi quickly stands back up. Sumimura takes his back and he knees Hayashi in the thigh. Hayashi breaks free from the clinch and fends off a takedown attempt, but Sumimura takes his back again. He continues to knee the back of Hayashi’s leg.
Round 2:
The round begins with an exchange of leg kicks and Sumimura takes Hayashi down into half-guard. He punches Hayashi’s ribs and Hayashi gives up his back as he gets to his feet. He tries to roll for a leg lock and the fighters return to their feet. Sumimura lands a front kick shortly before the bell.
Round 3:
Sumimura jabs and gets Hayashi down on his third try after two unsuccessful attempts. Hayashi stands and lands a left hook, but Sumimura takes him down into half-guard. Hayashi scrambles up and time is called when Sumimura is struck in the groin. Action resumes and Sumimura counters a leg kick with a takedown. He punches from the top until Hayashi rolls to his side and stands up. Hayashi attempts a flying knee and misses.
Round 4:
Sumimura lands a body kick and he tries to take Hayashi down. Hayashi stays on his feet and Sumimura takes his back. He sweeps out Hayashi’s leg and trips him to the mat. Hayashi briefly stands and Sumimura puts him on the canvas again. Sumimura moves from side control to mount, where he rains down punches, but Hayashi makes it to the end of the round.
Round 5:
Sumimura uses a waist tackle to get Hayashi down and he immediately passes to mount. Sumimura punches from the top and Hayashi tries unsuccessfully to bridge out from the bottom. Sumimura takes his back momentarily and Hayashi rolls over to give up mount again. Sumimura rains down punches and referee Shimamura stops the fight.
Winner: Ryuichiro Sumimura by TKO (Punches) at 2:09 of round five. He improves to 24-7-1 and becomes the new Welterweight King of Pancrase.
Interim Flyweight King of Pancrase Championship
Seiichiro Ito vs Naoki Arikawa
Round 1:
Referee for this bout is Hidenobu Koike. Arikawa stuffs an early takedown from Ito, who lands an uppercut in close. Ito follows with a calf kick and jumps forward with a right hook. He continues to throw punches and Arikawa answers with a knee. Ito attacks Arikawa’s body and lead leg with kicks and he prevents Arikawa from taking him down. Ito scores a takedown of his own and works his way to mount, where he spins into an armbar in the dying seconds. Arikawa is saved by the bell.
Round 2:
Ito presses the action right away with punches and then takes Arikawa down. He passes Arikawa’s guard and then takes his back. Ito works for a twister and then sinks his arm under Arikawa’s chin. Arikawa cannot escape from the choke and is soon unconscious, ending the fight.
Winner: Seiichiro Ito by Technical Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 3:05 of round two. He improves to 17-4-2 and becomes the new Interim Flyweight King of Pancrase.
Bantamweight King of Pancrase Championship
Tokitaka Nakanishi vs Yasuhiro Kawamura
Round 1:
Referee for this bout is Kosuke Umeda. Nakanishi throws a head kick that is blocked. He scores a double-leg takedown and passes to side control. Kawamura tries to trap his head in a leg scissor choke from the bottom and Nakanishi avoids it. He punches from the top and then defends against a Kawamura leg lock. More punches score for Nakanishi, who moves to half-guard and then locks on a tight arm-triangle choke. Kawamura is rendered unconscious and the fight is stopped.
Winner: Tokitaka Nakanishi by Technical Submission (Arm-Triangle Choke) at 4:45 of round one. He improves to 10-2-0 and becomes the new Bantamweight King of Pancrase.
Lightweight #1 Contender’s Bout
Tatsuya “Yanbo” Saika vs Yusuke Kasuya
Round 1:
Referee for this bout is Ryogaku Wada. Saika fights off one takedown from Kasuya and then reverses a second one into top position. Kasuya escapes to his feet and the fighters exchange knees to the body in a clinch. Kasuya pushes Saika away and Saika lands a jab-cross combo. Kasuya clinches and this time Saika pushes him away. Saika lands one more jab-cross combo before the bell.
Round 2:
Kasuya attempts a single-leg takedown and Saika sprawls. Kasuya continues to pursue a takedown and he gets Saika down to a seated position. Both men punch on the ground and Kasuya pulls Saika away from the cage in order to put his back on the mat. Saika powers out and stands up, and Kasuya lands knees during a standing clinch before the fighters are separated. Saika lands two right hands and attempts a late guillotine choke.
Round 3:
Kasuya lands an early leg kick and Saika responds with a left hook. Kasuya attempts a takedown and Saika reverses it into top position. Kasuya hunts for a kimura from the bottom and Saika defends. He lands numerous punches from the top and Kasuya tries to answer with his own from the bottom, but Saika’s strikes have much more force behind them and he continues to land punches until the end of the fight.
Winner: Tatsuya Saika by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. He improves to 10-4-0 and becomes the number one contender for a shot at the Lightweight King of Pancrase Championship.
Atomweight Queen of Pancrase Tournament Semi-Final
Sayako Fujita vs “V.V” Mei Yamaguchi
Round 1:
Referee for this bout is Tomomi Takarada. Fujita lands an early leg kick, but she loses her balance when Yamaguchi presses forward and Yamaguchi ties her up in a clinch. Fujita reverses it against the cage and Yamaguchi pushes her down. Fujita stands and Yamaguchi scores a double-leg takedown into back control. Fujita throws punches backwards and Yamaguchi punches the side of Fujita’s head.
Round 2:
Fujita lands a right hook and a leg kick. Yamaguchi replies with a right hand of her own and then takes Fujita down into back control once again. Just as in the first round, Fujita throws punches backwards and Yamaguchi punches the side of her head before attempting a rear-naked choke. Fujita defends and Yamaguchi remains on her back until Fujita turns over and sweeps into top position. Yamaguchi then attempts an armbar from the bottom.
Round 3:
Yamaguchi counters a leg kick with a right hook and attempts a takedown. Fujita stuffs it and the fighters trade right hooks. Fujita jabs and prevents Yamaguchi from clinching. Yamaguchi takes Fujita down, but Fujita kicks her midsection from the bottom. She gets to her feet and lands knees in a clinch. Fujita lands a right hook and Yamaguchi answers with a single-leg takedown.
Winner: Sayako Fujita by Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29) after three rounds. She improves to 8-2-0 and advances to the Atomweight Queen of Pancrase Tournament Final.
Atomweight Queen of Pancrase Tournament Semi-Final
Satomi “Sarami” Takano vs Zenny “Lady Gogo” Huang
Round 1:
Referee for this bout is Tomomi Takarada. Both fighters come up short with jabs and Takano takes Huang down. Huang sits against the cage and stands up. Takano throws her back down and passes to half-guard. She presses her elbow down on Huang’s jaw and retains top position until time expires.
Round 2:
Huang lands a leg kick and Takano uses a kosoto gari throw to get her down. From Huang’s half-guard, Takano lands numerous punches to her body. Huang tries to scramble up to her feet and Takano moves to North-South position. She then goes to side control, but Huang gets back to half-guard and Takano elbows from the top. Huang eventually battles back to her feet and Takano knees her leg during a clinch.
Round 3:
Takano takes Huang down to a seated position and punches the side of her head. Huang stands up against the cage and Takano briefly takes her back before the fighters separate. Huang lands a right hook and pushes Takano away after Takano clinches. Takano jabs and the fighters trade hooks. Huang scores a late takedown before the final bell.
Winner: Satomi Takano by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. She improves to 18-14-0 and advances to the Atomweight Queen of Pancrase Tournament Final.
(Undercard results and play-by-play on Page Two.)