Scandinavian Shooto chairman and European MMA power player Marko Leisten recently spent a week in Japan. It now appears that part of the trip was spent ironing out a deal for a triumvirate of young Swedish talent to compete at Shooto’s Yokohama supercard on October 14th.
Leisten has revealed that Swedish up-and-comers Navid Yousefi, David Lejenas and Per Eklund will travel to Yokohama to face Shooto superstars “Lion” Takeshi Inoue, Ryota Matsune and Tatsuya Kawajiri for Shooto’s October 14th offering at Pacifico Yokohama. Which fighters will face one another was not specified, however it is obvious that Eklund will meet Kawajiri, as both fight between 70 and 73 kilograms. The bout may take place a 73 kilogram weight contract, as Kawajiri has stated he would like to stay at that weight when possible to stay in fighting shape for PRIDE Bushido bouts at 73 kilograms.
It was not stated in which combination Yousefi and Lejenas would face Inoue and Matsune; both Swedes have competed at 65 kilograms in Europe. It is therefore also possible that whichever competitor that Matsune faces, the bout may be at a contract weight between 60 and 65 kilograms.
Sustain has not yet made an official announcement regarding the fights, though with the event only two weeks away, the specifics of the three bouts should be released in a matter of days.
All sixteen competitors for tomorrow’s Shooto feature at Kitazawa Town Hall have weighed in.
The sixteen Class B Shooto fighters successfully made weight inside Sustain’s offices in Tokyo with little trouble. Only 52 kilogram competitor Hiroyuki Ikeda missed weight on his first attempt, coming in at 200 grams over the 52 kilogram weight limit for Shooto’s flyweight class. Ikeda successfully made weight after losing 300 grams, stepping onto the scales at 51.9 kiograms for his second weigh in.
Main eventers Akihiro Murayama and Akihiko Adachi both comfortably made weight. Coming in at 82.4 kilograms, surprisingly it was the former 91 kilogram competitor, and self-proclaimed “Middle Aged Shootor” Adachi who came in as the lighter man. Murayama weighed in at 82.6 kilograms, remarking that in tune with the event’s theme of “Burn, Good Men”, he would rise to the occasion and be the “the good man” tomorrow.
Official Weigh-In Results:
Nobuhiro Hakayawa (Shooting Gym Osaka) - 60.0 KG Hiromasa Ougikubo (Paraestra Matsudo) - 59.6 KG
Hiroyuki Ikeda (Paraestra Tokyo) - 52.2 KG > 51.9 KG Shinya Murofushi (SUBMIT Shizuoka) - 51.8 KG
Yuki Inoue (Kiguchi Workout Studio) - 69.9 KG Koichi Taguchi (PUREBRED Omiya) - 69.8 KG
Keisuke Yamada (roots) - 64.9 KG Shintaro Ishiwatari (GUTSMAN Shooto Dojo) - 65.0 KG
Masakazu Ueda (Paraestra Tokyo) - 60.0 KG Naoki Yahagi (PUREBRED Omiya) - 59.9 KG
Ryuichi Miki (GUTSMAN Shooto Dojo) - 56.0 KG Ayumu Shioda (Paraestra Hachioji) - 55.8 KG
Takehiro Ishii (Crosspoint Gym) - 54.5 KG Masaaki Sugawara (Wajyutsu Keisyukai Duro) - 54.4 KG
Akihiko Adachi (Paraestra Matsudo) - 82.4 KG Akihiro Murayama (GUTSMAN Shooto Dojo) - 82.6 KG
Crymson Presents Professional Shooto, 16th Kitazawa Stage Feature: Burn, Good Men October 1st, 2006 Kitazawa Town Hall, Tokyo, Japan Doors Open: 15:00 Fights Start: 16:00
Tentaive Fight Card (Card Subject To Change):
Class B, 60 KG, 2R 5M Nobuhiro Hakayawa (Shooting Gym Osaka) vs. Hiromasa Ougikubo (Paraestra Matsudo)
Pancrase’s Osaka competitors took to the scales today inside the P’s LAB Osaka gym, also known as Pancrase Inagakigumi, and weighed in for tomorrow’s BLOW TOUR offering and Umeda Stella Hall.
KIBA fighter Shoji, and Paraestra Ehime jiu-jitsu femme Rin Nakai both did not attend the weigh-ins, and are scheduled to weigh in tomorrow at Umeda Stella Hall. The other ten competitors who weighed in for the card were able to make weight. Only REAL’s Yuichi Miyagi missed weight on his first attempt, coming in 700 grams heavier than the 64 kilogram weight limit. Miyagi made weight on his second attempt at 63.8 kilograms.
Pancrase superstar Yuki Kondo, headlining his second Pancrase event in just over a month, weighed in at 88 kilograms even for his bout with France’s Jean Francois Lenogue, who came in at 85.5 kilograms. Kondo, when asked for comment by the media, said only “I want to have a fight everyone can enjoy.”
Official Weigh-In Results:
Yuuji Miyazaki (Cobra Kai MMA Dojo) - 68.8 KG Shoji (KIBA) - Will Weigh In Tomorrow
Asuka Ito (Pancrase Inagakigumi) - 54.5 KG Rin Nakai (Paraestra Ehime) - Will Weigh In Tomorrow
Naoji Fujimoto (Pancrase Inagakigumi) - 62.8 KG Yuichi Miyagi (REAL) - 64.7 KG > 63.8 KG
Kohichi Tanaka (Musou Senjyutsu) - 64.8 KG Kenji Takeshige (Pancrase Inagakigumi) - 68.9 KG
Daichi Fujiwara (Pancrase Inagakigumi) - 63.6 KG Hirayasu Takayuki (Hokutoki Yamaguchi) - 63.4 KG
Yuki Kondo (PANCRASEism) - 88.0 KG Jean Francois Lenogue (Freelance) - 85.5 KG
SEGA SAMMY Presents PANCRASE: 2006 BLOW TOUR October 1st, 2006 Umeda Stella Hall Osaka, Japan Doors Open: 15:00 Fights Start: 16:30
Tentative Fight Card (Card Subject To Change):
69 KG, 2R 4M Yuuji Miyazaki (Cobra Kai MMA Dojo) vs. Shoji (KIBA)
Pancrase Athena Bout 56 KG, 3R 3M Asuka Ito (Pancrase Inagakigumi) vs. Rin Nakai (Paraestra Ehime)
This is one of our absolute favorite periods of the year: the NBA preseason.
You’ve media day pics begging to be manipulated (the Spurs, 76ers and PHX have already gone at it), predictions, previews, games, and of course, mass delusion from fans.
We’re caught up in heavy Who Shot Mamba? biz for almost the whole month, so we’re not as on top of things as we’d like to be. That said, we’re gonna try to be as blog-productive as possible, even at the expense of sleep.
Let’s get a quick rundown of the last couple days to at least get things back to current.
Phil Jackson is going to have a little hip surgery, but should be back by Halloween, which doubles as the first day of the season.
Donning Craig Sager’s Suit - another new blog. It has potential - we’ll see if they can keep it up after starting with a vid of Craig doing shots. (via Deadspin)
Led by CelticsBlog, this new blog will carry a steady stream of team previews by a wide array of NBA bloggers, including us. We’ll be covering the - wait for it - Cavaliers.
In addition to their October 28th offering at Ryogoku Kokugikan, MARS’ executive have also announced the bulk of their October 4th card at Shinjuku FACE, which will prominently feature their realtionship with the US-based Mixed Fighting Championships and the bodogFIGHT project.
MARS have revealed that their October 4th card, MARS: bodogFIGHT01, will feature three bodogFIGHT Offer bouts. The winners of the three bouts will go on to compete at Mixed Fighting Championships’ February 2007 pay-per-view event. The three bodogFIGHT Offer bouts are South Korean rising star Un Sik “Tornado” Song against Finnish Shooto veteran Matteus Lahdesmaki, MFC veteran Kareem Ellington versus PRIDE Challenge stand-out Edmund Calvancanti, and South Korean MARS and DEEP veteran Lee San So battling Finnish muay thai champion Jarno Nurminen.
Perhaps the most interest announcement for the event, is that the card will also feature a secret feature match, which will be shown to a select group of ticket holders behind closed doors before the event begins. The bout between two undisclosed competitors will be aired as part of the second season of bodogFIGHT, the MMA reality television show airing in the United States on the Men’s Outdoor and Recreation channel.
MARS have announced that fifteen lucky ticket holders will be randomly selected to sit ringside for the secret bout, but only after signing non-disclosure agreements to ensure secrecy for the American telecast early in 2007.
MARS Executive Office Presents MARS: bodogFIGHT01 October 4th, 2006 Shinjuku FACE Tokyo, Japan Doors Open: 18:30 Fights Start: 19:00
Tentative Fight Card (Card Subject To Change):
Open, 2R 5M Makoto Kato (Freelance) vs. Fan Hyeon Son (Toshinjuku Korea)
65 KG, 2R 5M Seiji Otsuka (Grapple Circle OZ) vs. Tomohiko Hori (Freelance)
Open, 2R 5M Jyunpei Hamada (Makoto Gym) vs. Ryosuke Kojima (Zendokai HeadquarterS)
65 KG, 3R 5M Un Sik Song (Toshinjuku Korea) vs. Matteus Lahdesmaki (Finland Shooto Lahti)
Open, 3R 5M Kareem Ellington (Strike Zone) vs. Edmund Calvancanti (HARD COMBAT)
Open, 3R 5M Lee San Soo (Kon AJC) vs. Jarno Nurminen (Tampereen Ju-jutsukoulu)
Also Scheduled To Compete: Tashiro Nishiuchi (U-FILE CAMP) Yoshimitsu Warita (CORE) Takashi Otsuka (Abe Ani Combat Club) Kenta Okuyama (Zendokai Headquarters) Atsuhiro Tsuboi (Grappling Shootboxers Nagoya) Hitoyo Kimura (Makoto Gym) Do Hyeong Kim (fight hunters) Kim Young Su (Donchonbekusan)
Of all the St. Louis Cardinals losses of the last two weeks — and heavens knows there have been a ton of them — none probably hurt more than last night’s debacle. Not only did they fall behind 8-0 in the third inning, but, in the Happy World atmosphere that is St. Louis baseball, even the fans have now turned. Busch Stadium was half-empty by the fifth inning, and those who stayed around were doing that sarcastic applause thing of which vintage we wouldn’t imagined our hometown brethren capable. We are very sad to have been right about this; why does the only prediction we’ve ever made that comes true have to be such a painful one?
Whole world’s comin’ to an end, Mal, and this weekend seems less like a last chance to stave off a disaster and more like a coronation: Anyone who has watched the Cardinals all season has known they were capable of this, and if someone was going to suffer such a horrific collapse, it probably should be the 2006 Cardinals. And we know everyone’s probably rooting for this to happen. And we kind of understand that too.
So yeah. Cardinals baseball. It’s three nights in September, Tony. (Or two nights in September and one in October.) Thanks for this, man. What a run.
So a new blog devoted simply to tracking TNT sideline reporter Craig Sager and various NBA bon mots has launched at Donning Craig Sager’s Suit. And boy, do they have a doozy to start: This blink-if-you-miss-it four-second clip of Craig doing a shot of what he renames a “Sager Bomb.”
The Sager Bomb. Will it obliterate memory? Or just make everything shine bright, bright red?
It’s hard to believe, but the NBA season is just around the corner. Let us celebrate with five tiny tidbits on each team. Today we continue with the Central Division, so do us a favor and send us your tips at tips@deadspin.com.
• 1. El Doh! Andrés Nocioni, who won a gold medal with the Argentine national team at the 2004 Olympics, shares both Argentine and Italian citizenship. His nickname is Chapu, after the Mexican children’s TV series El Chapulín Colorado, which in Argentina is as popular as The Simpsons.
• 2. Not Chicken Feed. January 1991: The world famous San Diego Chicken grabs a Chicago Bulls cheerleader, dances with her and rolls her on the floor. She later sues and is awarded $317,000 in damages. — (Thanks to Garson Fischer).
• 3. Can’t We All Just Get Along? Thabo Sefolosha, who was born in Vevey, Switzerland, has lived in five countries and speaks three languages (Italian, French and English).
• 4. Clank. Ben Wallace isn’t just a poor free throw shooter; he is one of the worst free throw shooters in NBA history. As of October 2005, his NBA career average was 42.0 percent, the worst of any NBA player ever with 1,000 or more attempts. He has one of the best afros in the history of the game, however, which is only seen at home games. For road games he goes with cornrows, due to the fact that he used to get teased about his hair when he played on the road.
• 5. Bend It Like Deng. “Asylum Seeker” Luol Deng, a British citizen who was born in Wow, Sudan, recently signed a five-year, 41.6 million pound deal that made him one of the highest paid British sports stars ever; even ahead of David Beckham. — (Thanks to P. Whiteford).
Well, all right then. 
It’s hard to believe, but the NBA season is just around the corner. Let us celebrate with five tiny tidbits on each team. Today we continue with the Central Division, so do us a favor and send us your tips at tips@deadspin.com.
