MMARising.com reports live from Shinjuku FACE in Tokyo, Japan tonight for the finals of the 2010 Shooto Rookie Tournaments. The event was headlined by a non-tournament matchup between Hideki Kadowaki and Yusuke Yachi, and Junji “Sarumaru” Ito faced Atsushi Takeuchi in the co-feature.
In the tournament portion of the card, winners were crowned in six different Shooto weight classes, ranging from 52kg to 76kg (114 to 167 pounds). Top unbeaten prospects and rising stars collided to determine the future Shooto contenders. Live play-by-play for all of the fights is available below.
Unbeaten Megumi Fujii protégé Ayaka Hamasaki moved her record to 4-0 on Friday night with a pair of convincing decision victories to claim the Jewels Lightweight Queen Championship at 115 pounds. Hamasaki bested fellow prospect Sakura Nomura and talented striker Seo Hee Ham to win the title.
MMARising.com reports live from the famed Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan tonight for Jewels: “Eleventh Ring.” The promotion’s stacked year-end card featured the final two rounds of the Jewels Lightweight Queen Tournament, as well as the finals of all three 2010 Rough Stone Grand Prixs.
World Extreme Cagefighting held its final event tonight at the Jobing.com Arena in Glendale, Arizona. WEC 53: “Henderson vs Pettis” was headlined by a thrilling WEC Lightweight Championship bout between champion Ben “Smooth” Henderson and top contender Anthony “Showtime” Pettis.
Four months ago, Saori “Shooting Star” Ishioka was defeated in the opening round of the Jewels Lightweight Queen Tournament and her career looked to hang in the balance. From thoughts of retirement to a new focus, Ishioka now finds herself in a tournament reserve bout at Jewels: “Eleventh Ring.”
As one of the postergirls of the Jewels promotion, Mika “Future Princess” Nagano is known equally for her looks and for her in-ring skill. However, a loss earlier this year ignited a new passion for training that Nagano hopes will propel her to her first major MMA title at Jewels: “Eleventh Ring.”
At age five, Shizuka Sugiyama moved from her home in New York City to a new world in Japan. At 18, she earned a black belt in karate in just three months. Now 23, she is one of the best-known fighters in Jewels and faces Mongolia’s Esui in a featured bout at Jewels: “Eleventh Ring” on Friday.
As one of the top stars in Jewels, Hiroko Yamanaka planned to welcome Olympic medallist Randi Miller to Jewels on Friday by handing her the first defeat of her MMA career. However, after a last-minute opponent change, Yamanaka was unsure whether she would be able to compete at all.