The eight-man Japan Cup bantamweight tournament, first targeted for April 18th, has been delayed once again. The event will now take place on May 29th at the Saitama Community Arena in Saitama, Japan. MMARising.com learned of the change from a source close to the promotion late Tuesday.
While most of the field remains unknown, MMARising.com has confirmed that WEC veteran Kenji Osawa and former DEEP Featherweight Champion Takafumi Otsuka will both take part. Though he was contacted to compete in the tournament, Hiroshi “Iron” Nakamura has declined to be involved.
Just one day after her main event victory in Pancrase, Mei “V.V” Yamaguchi has been announced for the promotion’s next event, Impressive Tour 4, on May 3rd. The reigning Valkyrie Featherweight Champion will face eight-year mixed martial arts veteran Akiko “Betiko” Naito in a featured matchup.
Valkyrie Featherweight Champion Mei “V.V” Yamaguchi earned a close and very competitive Majority Decision victory over promotional veteran “Windy” Tomomi Sunaba tonight at Pancrase Impressive Tour 3 in Tokyo, Japan. Scores were 20-20, 20-19 and 20-18 in the Fight of the Night bout.
Former Strikeforce Women’s Welterweight Champion Sarah Kaufman got back on the winning track with her tenth stoppage victory on Saturday night. Competing in front of her hometown fans, Kaufman stopped Japanese MMA legend Megumi Yabushita in the main event of AFC 5: “Judgment Day.”
Armageddon Fighting Championship returned to the Bear Mountain Arena in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada tonight for AFC 5: “Judgment Day.” The main event featured a 135-pound women’s bout between former Strikeforce champion Sarah Kaufman and Japanese MMA pioneer Megumi Yabushita.
Strikeforce came to the Stockton Arena in Stockton, California tonight for Strikeforce Challengers 15. The event was headlined by a lightweight bout between promotional prospect Justin “The Silverback” Wilcox and veteran Rodrigo Damm, as both fighters looked to step closer to title contention.
At UFC 128 on March 19th, 23-year-old Jon “Bones” Jones became the youngest undisputed champion in Ultimate Fighting Championship history when he defeated Mauricio “Shogun” Rua for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. Jones takes over the top spot in the 205-pound division.
An undisclosed injury suffered in training has forced welterweight contender Jon Fitch out of his upcoming rematch with “The Prodigy” B.J. Penn at UFC 132. MMAWeekly.com was first to report on Fitch’s injury, though the nature and severity remain unknown. Penn is expected to remain on the card.