At the Gold Gym South Tokyo Annex, in Tokyo, Japan, ever-progressive promotion ZST held their fourth SWAT! card, which featured the first matches in the 2006 ZST Genesis Leagues. The leagues take place at 60, 65, 60 and 75 kilograms, and showcase the talents of many young rookies who will compete against each other in a round robin style division over the course of the year. Competitors gain two points for a decisive victory by knockout or submission, while a time limit draw yields no points for either competitor. Also, an additional point will be awarded to the competitor who most impresses the fans at a SWAT event, through a voting poll on the ZST website.
The inaugural 2006 Genesis League competition saw five fighters gain points in their division by finishing their opponents. In the opening bout of the evening, Masanori Kanehara impressed the crowd by coming out of the gate with furious strikes against his opponent, Toshiyuki Saito. Kanehara came out quickly with punches and knees, stunning Saito, who in desperation, took the fight to the ground. Kanehara quickly swept and reversed Saito, standing back up. When Saito stood back up, Kanehara again rushed in with overwhelming strikes which left the referee no choice but to intervene, stopping the bout in only forty eight seconds.
Also, the prohibitive favorite to win the 60 kilogram Genesis League class this year, Ranki Kawana, also impressed in his bout against Yuichiro Yajima. Yajima and Kawana had met twice before, at ZST’s Grand Prix 2 Finals in January of 2005, and then again last September at BATTLE HAZARD 02. Both events saw Kawana secure submission victories after Yajima, and this time was no different. Kawana took Yajima down early and controlled and dominated position on the ground. After finally sweeping Kawana and getting back to his feet, Yajima took Kawana down, but Kawana quickly postured beneath him, and submitted Yajima for the third time in as many meetings with an armbar from his back, with only one second left in the round.
However, the ZST Secretariat’s MVP for the event was awarded to neither Kinbara, nor Kawana. Rather, it was Hiroyuki Ota who took home the honor of the evening. Ota, who proudly shaved his team’s name “POD” out of his hair, controlled his opponent Taro Toimura on the ground, before taking the mount position late in round one. After mounting Toimura, Ota executed a mounted foot choke, the same move that grappling ace Shinya Aoki used last month to submit Hiroshi Tsuruya in a grappling Match in Shooto. The spectacular finish greatly impressed the crowd and the ZST executives, who crowned the victorious Ota the night’s most valuable player.
ZST executive Joe Uehara said he had high hopes for the Genesis players this year, and stated that the next SWAT! event would take place on June 4th, again at the Gold Gym South Tokyo Annex. The other SWAT! events from the year are scheduled bimonthly in August, October and December.
Official Results:
ZST Executive Office Presents ZST: SWAT! 04
April 23, 2006
Gold Gym South Tokyo Annex
Tokyo, Japan
70 KG, 2R 5M
Masanori Kanehara (Musashimurayama MMA Dojo) defeated Toshiyuki Saito (RIKI GYM) by TKO via strikes at 0:48 of Round 1.
60 KG, 2R 5M
Shinbori Okita (U-FILE CAMP Akabane) and Ichiro Sugita (Shinon Juku) fought to a draw.
70 KG, 2R 5M
Hisashi Hiyama (Rodeo Style) and Yukio Soma (Freelance) fought to a draw.
60 KG, 2R 5M
Ranki Kawana (Rodeo Style) defeated Yuichiro Yajima (Zendokai Headquarters) by submission via armbar at 4:59 of Round 1.
65 KG, 2R 5M
Shin Katayama (T-Pleasure) and Toshikazu Shimizu (Urono Dojo) fought to a draw.
75 KG, 2R 5M
Keigo Hirayama (PZT) defetead Masashi Takeda (U-FILE CAMP Machida) by TKO via punch at 0:06 of Round 1.
60 KG, 2R 5M
Hiroshi Nakamura (Rodeo Style) defeated Keisuke Tamaru (Uruno Dojo) by submission via kimura at 3:23 of Round 2.
65 KG, 2R 5M
Masayuki Iida (U-FILE CAMP Machida) and Ro Omura (PZT) fought to a draw.
70 KG, 2R 5M
Hiroyuki Ota (Team POD) defeated Taro Toimura (RIKI GYM) by submission via foot choke from the mount at 4:25 of Round 1.
75 KG, 2R 5M
Yuki Ito (A-Square) and Yoshimichi Takino (Rodeo Style) fought to a draw.
65 KG, 2R 5M
Tetsuya Nishi (B-CLUB) and Yasutomo Tanaka (SK Absolute) fought to a draw.
Yesterday, the Boston Celtics were the last team in the NBA to not give into the temptation of trotting out some scantily-clad booty as part of their gameday entertainment. Today, they are just the latest NBA franchise to employ a “dance team.”
The Indiana Pacers just marched into New Jersey and 
