Tuesday, February 9, 2010

UFC blog for latest news, videos, results, betting odds, fighter interviews and MMA rumors - UFCmania.com

UFC blog for latest news, videos, results, betting odds, fighter interviews and MMA rumors - UFCmania.com

Mitsuoka-Santos, Blanco-Kunioku added to Sengoku 12

Posted: 09 Feb 2010 12:23 AM PST

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Sengoku 12 fight card continues to take shape with the addition of two big fights. Scheduled for March 7, Sengoku 12 will take place at the fabled sumo arena, Ryogoku Kokugikan.

Eiji Mitsuoka (16-7-2) returns to face Brazilian Jiu Jitsu phenom, Leonardo Santos (6-3), while the rising star, Maximo Blanco (4-2-1) takes on 65-fight veteran, Kiuma Kunioku (34-22-9) in a collison of youth and experience.

Mitsuoka stumbled against Kazunori Yokota in a battle between Sengoku's top lightweight contenders last November. Prior to fighting in Sengoku, he rose to prominence with a victory over Joachim Hansen in Shooto. In Sengoku, he has gone 4-2 and earned all four victories via submission in the first round.

Leonardo Santos also looks to rebound after a close split decision loss to Yokota last May. A Nova Uniao product and younger brother of current WEC bantamweight, Wagnney Fabiano, Santos boasts an extraordinary list of accolades in BJJ and submission grappling tournaments, including a medal in ADCC.

Maximo Blanco, a former standout freestyle wrestler, has represented his home country of Venezuela in international wrestling competitions. He has been training at Yoshida dojo and seeks to capitalize on his two-fight winning streak; his second-to-last victory over Katsuya Inoue earned him the Lightweight King of Pancrase title.

Kiuma Kunioku has been competing since 1996, mostly in Pancrase. His current three-fight winning streak has come on the heel of a prolonged downturn during which he recorded six losses and two draws in nine fights. In his last fight, he bested A Sol Kwon by unanimous decision at Sengoku 5 in September 2008.

Stay tuned to MMAmania for more information regarding the upcoming Sengoku 12.

UFC Quick Quote: Joe Rogan has a meltdown during 'Ice-gate'

Posted: 08 Feb 2010 08:34 PM PST

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"Oh we got a problem, somebody spilled ice all over the Octagon. That's a big problem, that's a lot of ice. This is gonna take some time. This is a disaster. Look at it, they knocked the bucket over. This is "The Three Stooges." What are you freaks doing? Now everybody's booing. Now there's even more pressure. Now they're sweeping it out. That's good. Put it on the side and watch [Octagon girl] Arianny (Celeste) fall on her head. There's still ice! There's still too much! GET BACK IN THERE! YOU'RE NOT DONE! THERE'S ICE ALL OVER THE FLOOR! What are these guys doing? There's 100 pieces of ice still on the floor and these guys just scrambled out because of the pressure. What a disaster. There's ice everywhere! Those cornermen, somebody needs to kick their ass."

UFC color commentator Joe Rogan empties his tray during the Ronnys Torres vs. Melvin Guillard fight at UFC 109: "Relentless" last Saturday night (Feb. 6). The ice bag applied to the back and neck of Torres ruptured as his corner was exiting the cage, causing a cubed glacier to make its way across the Octagon floor. Team Torres scrambled to get it cleaned up amidst a verbal berating from Joe Rogan, whose hilarious commentary on "Ice-gate" kept pay-per-view subscribers amused during the icy mishap. Video of the incident can be found here or after the jump.

Chuck Liddell sandwich: "Relentless' UFC 109 after party pics. Check out complete gallery here.

Posted: 08 Feb 2010 08:33 PM PST

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Chuck Liddell sandwich: "Relentless' UFC 109 after party pics. Check out complete gallery here.

UFC 109 medical suspensions and injuries for 'Relentless'

Posted: 08 Feb 2010 06:25 PM PST

Ouch

The Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) today issued its list of medical suspensions for UFC 109: "Relentless," which took place on Saturday, Feb. 6, 2010, from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.

With several of the night's participants sharing a gruesome common denominator, there were a handful of fighters who were flagged follow up visits with their doctors.

Chief among them is Chael Sonnen for his grisly face and head lacerations that made opponent Nate Marquardt look a little like Carrie on prom night. Joining him on the injured reserves is fellow middleweight Demian Maia after the jiu-jitsu phenom tore open his eyelid while putting a beatdown on the venerable Dan Miller.

But that's not all.

Here is the complete list of UFC 109 injuries and their medical instructions:

Mark Coleman: Suspended until March 9 and no contact until Feb. 28 (precautionary reasons)
Nate Marquardt: Suspended until March 9 and no contact until Feb. 28 (precautionary reasons)
Chael Sonnen: Suspended until March 24 and no contact until March 9 (forehead and nasal-bridge lacerations)
Mike Swick: Suspended until Aug. 6 (elbow injury) unless cleared early by an orthopedic doctor; otherwise suspended until March 24 and no contact until March 9 (precautionary reasons)
Demian Maia: Suspended until Aug. 6 (eyelid laceration) unless cleared early by an ophthalmologist or ocular-plastics doctor
Dan Miller: Suspended until March 9 and no contact until Feb. 28 (precautionary reasons)
Frank Trigg: Suspended until March 24 with no contact until March 9 (precautionary reasons)
Mac Danzig: Suspended until Aug. 6 (left knee sprain) unless cleared early by an orthopedic doctor
Justin Buchholz: Suspended until March 9 and no contact until Feb. 28 (precautionary reasons)
Melvin Guillard: Suspended indefinitely unless cleared early by an ophthalmologist by March 26
Rolles Gracie: Suspended until March 9 and no contact until Feb. 28 (precautionary reasons)

Just a quick reminder: Fighters often return to action much quicker once doctors give them the green light. The lengthy suspensions are just a precaution in most cases.

For complete UFC 109 results and blow-by-blow coverage of the main card action click here and here.

Ed Soares: Chael Sonnen should fight Demian Maia to determine number one contender

Posted: 08 Feb 2010 06:04 PM PST

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Props: Sportsnet.ca

Quoteworthy:

"We've spoken with Chael on many occasions and have the utmost respect for him. He's never really come across in this manner, and it's obvious he's just drumming up hype in hopes to get a bout with Anderson. We are fine if this is what the UFC wants, but if you look at this logistically, Sonnen should fight Demian Maia first. Demian beat up easily, by submission, so why not make them fight first, to determine who gets a shot at the title? It's funny, but really, who actually listens to what Chael Sonnen has to say? The only time people listen is when he talks about Anderson. Who is he, really? If you walk down the street and you mention his name, does anyone really know who this guy is? Likely not, but if you mention Anderson Silva, people know the name. Chael's also said a few things about Anderson's choice of clothes and that he wears earrings, didn't he? Sounds to us like he may have a crush on Anderson."

Sound familiar? Ed Soares, manager and translator for UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva, is once again playing matchmaker, this time on the heels of a supposed 185-pound number one contender bout between Chael Sonnen and Nate Marquardt at UFC 109: "Relentless" this past Saturday night (Feb. 6). UFC President Dana White promised the winner of Sonnen vs. Marquardt the first crack at the division title after "The Spider" defends it at UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi. Now Soares is tampering with the formula -- much like he did after Dan Henderson decapitated Michael Bisping at UFC 100 to earn his rematch (and we all know how that ended up). Does Soares have a legitimate gripe? Or should he zip his lip leave the matchmaking to Joe Silva?

UFC 109 backstage pics behind the scenes for 'Relentless'

Posted: 08 Feb 2010 03:38 PM PST

Dan Miller exploding the term "Hitchhiker's Thumb."

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See the entire UFC 109 backstage gallery here.

Chael Sonnen talks UFC 109 and more on tonight's presentation of Pro MMA Radio (Updated)

Posted: 08 Feb 2010 03:17 PM PST

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Top UFC middleweight contender Chael Sonnen has been added to tonight's edition of Pro MMA Radio to talk about his dominant performance over fellow contender Nate Marquardt at UFC 109: "Relentless" this past Saturday night (Feb. 6).

The multi-dimensional fighter will also discuss his bid to become Oregon’s next State Representative. To learn more about Chael’s political future, visit VoteSonnen.com.

To hear everything Chael has to say about UFC 109 and beyond, be sure to tune in tonight at 9 p.m. ET for our exclusive live feed!

Chuck Liddell is going to kill Tito Ortiz in 'tune up' fight

Posted: 08 Feb 2010 01:48 PM PST

UFC 114: Ryan Jensen vs Jesse Forbes on tap for May 29

Posted: 08 Feb 2010 12:47 PM PST

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A middleweight bout between Ryan Jensen (14-6) and Jesse Forbes (11-4) has been signed for UFC 114, which is scheduled to go down at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, on May 29, according to MMAFighting.com.

Both fighters are coming off losses, meaning that this could very well end up being a good 'ole loser leaves town match.

Jensen was last seen in action earlier this year at UFC 108 where he was defeated by Mark Munoz in the first round. Coming into that contest, Jensen had only won three of his previous seven fights and has only tasted victory once in five tries under the UFC banner.

Jesse "Kid Hercules" Forbes, a member of the third season of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF), has had a bit of a better run lately than his counterpart at UFC 114. Despite dropping his last contest at UFC Fight Night 20 against Nick Catone, Forbes has only lost twice in his last nine fights. 

After getting cut from the UFC following his defeat at the hands of Matt Hamill at the TUF 3 Finale, Forbes enjoyed great success in smaller regional shows, but just hasn't been able to put it all together on the sport's biggest stage.

He'll look for his first win in the UFC come Memorial Day weekend.

UFC 114 is expected to be headlined by TUF 10 coaches and now mortal enemies "Suga" Rashad Evans and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson. The card is also expected to feature an interesting battle between Forrest Griffin and Antonio Rogerio Noguiera. It's all set to go down on May 29 from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Stay tuned to MMAmania.com for more news on UFC 114 as it becomes available.

Gomi by first round knockout? You betta recognize ...

Posted: 08 Feb 2010 11:46 AM PST

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... and git with da "Flo."

"I think he will find out very quickly that [knocking me out is] going to be a very difficult thing to do. I didn’t get to where I am by getting beat in the first round and I’m looking forward to seeing if that’s going to come true. Gomi is a tough guy. He was the best in the world for a long time."

Boston bruiser and perennial lightweight contender Kenny Florian (via The Boston Herald) dismisses Takanori's prediction of a first round knockout when "The Fireball Kid" makes his UFC debut opposite "KenFlo" at UFC Fight Night 21 from the Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Wednesday, March 31. The MMA community is already abuzz about the prospect of a rematch between Gomi and current division kingpin BJ Penn, but he won't get there without toppling the constantly improving Florian -- whose only losses in his past 12 fights have been at the hands of Sean Sherk and "The Prodigy." Fireball? Or fizzle out? Your prediction on Gomi's debut is ...

Melvin Guillard gunning for title contention under Greg Jackson

Posted: 08 Feb 2010 09:07 AM PST

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Props: Examiner.com

Quoteworthy:

"I was ecstatic to have my first win under Coach Jackson. Like I told everybody tonight, I started out 0-0, now I'm 1-0 under Team Jackson and right now my goal is to just work hard and try to move myself into title contention. Working with Joe Stevenson full-time, we're like brothers now. My confidence grows because of him. He encourages me and I encourage him. Everybody there is just like a big family and just to work with Coach Greg, the best coach in the world, it's awesome. I got turned down by a couple of gyms actually, because people really don't know the real me, they just know what they see out and about, all the bad stuff, but Coach Greg took a chance on me and I won't let him down."

Embattled former Ultimate Fighter 2 contestant and latest addition to the storied Greg Jackson family, Melvin Guillard, reflects on the changes both in his training and in his personal life that helped propel him to a unanimous decision win over Ronnys Torres at UFC 109: "Relentless" from the Mandalay Bay Events Center on Feb. 6. "The Young Assassin" has always held a tremendous amount of potential but never managed to correct the mistakes that led to repeated submission losses to fighters like Joe Stevenson and Nate Diaz. Now with the head training guru taking him in and showing him the light, should we expect to include Guillard's name in the list of 155-pound title contenders in 2011?

Michael Bisping UFC 110 video blog (Week 5)

Posted: 08 Feb 2010 08:43 AM PST

Dana White: 'Tito's back'

Posted: 08 Feb 2010 07:17 AM PST

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Props: Sherdog.com

Quoteworthy:

"Tito’s calling out (Mark) Coleman when he’s fighting Chuck (Liddell). I don’t even know what to say to that. That’s Tito. Guy just loses in the most important fight of his life. This meant more to Coleman than anything, to fight Randy Couture and beat him. He loses, he’s standing up there doing an interview and Tito’s screaming sh-- at him. Tito’s back."

UFC President Dana White joins a perplexed MMA community in trying to unearth the reasoning behind the verbal remarks "The Huntington Beach Bad Boy" hurled at Mark Coleman following his disappointing loss to fellow Hall-of-Famer Randy Couture in the main event of UFC 109: "Relentless" at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on Feb. 6. Ortiz told "The Hammer" that "Paybacks are a bitch" just as Coleman was about to give his post-fight thoughts to Joe Rogan inside the Octagon apparently to get back at him for incendiary remarks directed towards his family in the not-too-distant past. Was Ortiz out of line? Or was he "just being Tito?"

UFC 109 CompuStrike fight stats illustrate Chael Sonnen's domination of Nate Marquardt (Pic)

Posted: 08 Feb 2010 06:52 AM PST

UFC 109: "Relentless"
Chael Sonnen defeats Nate Marquardt via unanimous decision.
Fight time: Standing (1:48); Ground (13:12)

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Total Strikes = Total Arm Strikes + Total Leg Strikes + Ground Strikes
Total Arm Strikes Landed = Power Strikes Landed + Clinch Strikes Landed
Total Leg Strikes Landed = Kicks Landed + Knees Landed

For a round-by-round breakdown of all the UFC 109 fight stats head over to CompuStrike by clicking here.

UFC Quick Quote: Wherever Cain Velasquez takes the fight, 'Minotauro' Nogueira will be ready

Posted: 08 Feb 2010 06:43 AM PST

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"I’m very excited for the fight. Wherever it goes, I’ll be ready. If he takes me down, we’re going for submissions. My jiu-jitsu will be 100 percent. King Mo is one the best wrestlers in America. We do a lot of single leg and double leg defense. I have a very good camp here. If I [win and rematch Frank] Mir, it will be different. I’ll be in better shape and no injuries. I don’t like how Mir talks. I come from jiu-jitsu. I come from martial arts. I train hard, and I respect my opponent. I will never say anything bad about my opponent. My opponent works hard so that’s my way. I don’t think he shows respect. I think I could fight until 37. I’m in really good shape. I’ll fight until my body tells me I can’t. I feel good. I’m going to do the best show possible."

Mixed martial arts pillar Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (32-5-1) tells Gary Herman that he's ready for anything in his UFC 110 main event against Cain Velasquez for the promotion's debut "down under" at the Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia on Saturday, Feb. 21. Big Nog is hoping that a dominating win over the rising star, coupled with his victory over Randy Couture last August can put him back into the heavyweight title picture after a 2008 stoppage to Frank Mir temporarily derailed his ascension. Are there too many miles on the Brazilians tires? Or is he merely getting his second wind?

Hidehiko Yoshida retirement event scheduled for April 25 at Nippon Budokan

Posted: 08 Feb 2010 06:24 AM PST

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Barcelona Olympic judo gold medalist and Japanese MMA icon, Hidehiko Yoshida, has officially confirmed that he will fight his final bout on April 25th, 2010 - and it looks like he will go out with flair.

On Monday, February 8, J-Rock, a sport/entertainment management company that houses Yoshida and a number of other fighters from his dojo, held a press conference to announce that an event titled, "Hidehiko Yoshida retirement event ~ASTRA~" to commemorate the final bout of Yoshida's career at Nippon Budokan in Tokyo.

While the event will be promoted and hosted under the auspices of J-Rock, Takahiro Kokuho, the president of J-Rock and former director of World Victory Road, stated that he hopes to enlist other promoters for collaboration. Also, there is currently no plan to continue "ASTRA" as a new promotion beyond Yoshida's farewell event, but Kokuho did not rule out the possibility.

As for the synopsis of the event, 3-4 opening and 7-8 main card bouts contested under three, five-minute rounds, as well as a grand retirement ceremony for Yoshida, are in works. Needless to say, the main event will feature Yoshida against an unnamed opponent: Hoping to make Yoshida's farewell bout a "meaningful one," Kokuho is carefully seeking a rightful opponent from Japan and overseas.

Yoshida cited recurring pain in his left shoulder that he injured during his fight against Mark Hunt in June, 2004 as the reason for his retirement. He initially planned to retire after the New Year's Eve fight against the fellow Olympic judo gold medalist, Satoshi Ishii, in the originally scheduled Sengoku Raiden Championship event; the plan was derailed, however, after DREAM and Sengoku joined forces for the FEG-promoted Dynamite!! 2009.

Reflecting on his career, Yoshida named the two encounters with Wanderlei Silva in PRIDE as the most memorable bouts of the career. He also divulged his plan to open a judo dojo upon retirement. While he did not name a specific opponent for his upcoming fight, he said that he is willing to rematch Satoshi Ishii or oblige Kazuhiro Nakamura for a teammate battle.

Besides Yoshida, fellow Yoshida dojo members, Kazuhiro Nakamura, Makoto Takimoto, Michihiro Omigawa, and Tatsunao Nagakura are scheduled to fight on the card. Finally, Nippon Budokan was chosen to host the event, given the fondness Yoshida has developed for the venue since his days as a Judoka.

Stay tuned to MMAmania for more news regarding the April 25 event. For more on ASTRA click here.

Wilson Reis returning to Bellator Fighting Championships for Season 2 tournament

Posted: 08 Feb 2010 06:14 AM PST

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CHICAGO, Ill. (February 8, 2010) – Bellator Fighting Championships announced today that 9-1 featherweight standout Wilson Reis will return for Bellator’s Season 2 featherweight tournament looking to avenge his Season 1 loss to Bellator Champion Joe Soto.

The 25-year-old Reis is a back belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and, in 2008, took home the first-ever EliteXC bantamweight championship belt with his win over "The Silent Assassin," Abel Cullum. Despite entering Bellator Season 1 as the No 1 tournament favorite and the No. 7 ranked featherweight in the world, Reis fell in the semi-final round to the upstart Soto. It was considered by many as the upset of the tournament and was the first and only loss of Reis’ career.

"Wilson’s a very talented fighter at 145 and was just one judge’s decision away from advancing to the featherweight championship fight last season," said Bellator founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney. "The Soto-Reis fight was one of the best fights in a season of great fights and the chance to potentially see a rematch between these two would be awesome. But first. Wilson has to get through a gauntlet of great fighters at 145. Plain and simple with Wilson’s addition, our featherweight tournament is stacked."

Reis is the sixth confirmed competitor in Bellator’s upcoming eight-man Season 2 featherweight tournament, joining Joe Warren, Patricio Pitbull, Georgi Karakhanyan, William Romero and Bao Quach. Combined, the six fighters boast a remarkable career record of 57-12-2.

Bellator will also conduct tournaments at 155, 170 and 185 lbs. during Season 2, which begins April 8th on FOX Sports Net, NBC and Telemundo. The winners in each division will be declared No. 1 contenders to the current roster of champions.

Reis was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil, known worldwide as a breeding ground for young Jiu-Jitsu fighters.

He trained under the famed Jiu-Jitsu coach Roberto Godoi and first made a name for himself while still a teenager, winning the 2004 Jiu-Jitsu World Championships. Later that same year, he came to the United States to continue his Jiu-Jitsu training at the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu United gym in Jenkintown, Penn., working construction during the day to make ends meet.

About two years later, he began to take up an interest in MMA and started expanding his training to include boxing, grappling and Muay Thai, moving to the Daddis Fight Camps in Philadelphia. He took his first professional MMA fight in July 2007.

"After that first fight, I knew MMA was going to be my sport," Reis said. "I knew I could be very successful."

Since then, he has amassed an impressive 9-1 overall record with his lone defeat coming at the hands of the aforementioned Soto.

"More than anything, I want to get my rematch against Joe Soto," Reis said. "I’m a lot more mature now as a fighter and an athlete … a lot more prepared than I was before."

For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Bellator.

Pancrase '2010 Passion Tour' results and quick recap

Posted: 08 Feb 2010 06:14 AM PST

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Japanese MMA mainstay, Pancrase, kicked off its 2010 campaign with "Pancrase 2010 Passion Tour" on Sunday, February 7.

In the main event of the night, UFC/Pride/Pancrase veteran and former Light Heavyweight King of Pancrase, Yuki Kondo successfully defended his Middleweight Interim King of Pancrase title against Kazushi Sakuraba protege, Takenori Sato.

From the opening bell, Kondo seized the reins of striking exchange and refused to yield until the very end. Outmatched in the stand-up battle, Sato resorted to repeated takedown attempts that Kondo stuffed effortlessly. When Sato found himself on his back, Kondo proceeded with steady ground-and-pound from the top, adroitly maneuvering himself away from Sato's submission attempts. In the end, all the judges gave Kondo a nod, rewarding him with an opportunity to face Ichiro Kanai on April 29 for the Middleweight King of Pancrase title bout.

The penultimate bout of the night crowned the second Flyweight King of Pancrase, as Kiyotaka Shimizu bested the defending and inaugural champion, Hisamitsu Sunabe.

Shimizu, who stumbled against Sunabe in their prior meeting in June 2008, got off to a slow start, as he was knocked down early in the round by Sunabe's left hook. Sunabe launched his ground attack toward the end of the round with triangle choke and arm bar attempts off his back. Shimizu picked up his momentum in the second and third rounds, with successful takedown attempts, but neither fighter managed to gain a discernible edge on the feet or on the ground.

At the end of three rounds, Shimizu earned a close decision (29-29, 29-28 x 2) to become the new King of Pancrase.

In a bout billed as a "hidden main event of the night," Seiya Kawahara and Tashiro Nishiuchi, Pancrase's number one and number two-ranked bantamweights, respectively, thrilled the crowd with fast-paced action.

Kawahara, who was on a two-fight winning streak since suffering a TKO loss to Nick Denis in the preliminary round of Sengoku's featherweight grand prix last year, survived the striking exchange and maintained a steady pace on the ground with strikes from the top to earn a unanimous decision victory.

While the sum of their ages do not amount to 91 (if you do not get the reference, what in the world were you doing this weekend?), Yuji Hisamatsu and Keiichiro Yamamiya showed the crowd at Differ Ariake Arena that two late thirty-somethings can still fight their heart out.

Hisamatsu edged Yamamiya with a close decision (30-30, 30-29 x 2) after three rounds of valiant striking exchange.

Elsewhere, in a fight pitting youth against experience, 19 year-old Tetsuya Yamada scored a thrilling TKO victory against 37 year-old Takafumi Ito.

Two minutes into the second round, Yamada found himself on his back: After thwarting Ito's attempt to pass his open guard, Yamada fired off an upkick that landed flush on the chin. With the victory, Yamada snapped a two-fight losing streak against Ronnie Mann and Maximo Blanco in Sengoku.

Full result:

Main-Event: Middleweight Interim King of Pancrase title fight:
11. Yuki Kondo (Champion) Def. Takenori Sato by Decision 3-0

Flyweight King of Pancrase title fight:
10. Kiyotaka Shimizu Def. Mitsuhisa Sunabe (champion) by Decision 2-0

9. Bantam: Seiya Kawahara Def. Tashiro Nishiuchi by Decision 3-0
8. Middle: Yuji Hisamatsu Def. Keiichiro Yamamiya by Decision 2-0
7. Light: Tetsuya Yamada Def. Takafumi Ito by KO Round 2 2:23
6. Feather: Tomonari Kanomata Def. Shigeyuki Uchiyama by decision 2-0
5. Light: Isao Kobayashi Def. Hiroki "AB" Aoki by TKO Round 1 1:00
4. Fly: Isao Hirose Def. Takuma Ishii by rear-naked choke Round 2 1:34
3. Middle: Hoon Kim Def. Ryuji Ohori by armbar Round 1 3:36
2. Welter: Daisuke Watanabe Def. Kosei Kubota by Decision 2-0
1. Welter: Kengo Ura Def. Shingo Suzuki by TKO Round 1 1:43

Team Japan bests Team USA at DEEP X 05

Posted: 07 Feb 2010 11:51 PM PST

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(Photo courtesy of God Bless the Ring)

Japanese fans of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and submission grappling were treated to a night of heady grappling competition on Saturday, February 6 when DEEP held "DEEP X05," the fifth installment of its grappling event.

The event featured a three-fight, "Japan vs. USA" competition that pitted some of the best submission grapplers from both sides of the Pacific. Team USA comprised Paul "El Technico" Schreiner, Baret Yoshida, and Ryan Hall. On the other hand, Team Japan featured UFC veteran, Keita Nakamura, Kohei Yasumi, and Takashi Yamada.

While Team USA seemingly held the edge in terms of the pedigree and overall recognition of its members, Team Japan reeled off an outstanding performance, besting the competition 2-1. More amazingly, all three fights ended with submission.

Takashi Yamada gave Team Japan an early lead with an upset victory over the 2009 ADCC bronze medalist and prolific submission grappler, Ryan Hall, via guillotine choke in the second round.

Team USA bounced back, as 2009 World No-Gi Championship winner, Baret Yoshida, submitted Kohei Yasumi, an ADCC competitor and long-time sparring partner of Shinya Aoki and Satoru Kitaoka, with a lightening-quick triangle choke at 3:38 of round one.

In the finale of the "Japan vs. USA" competition, UFC veteran and ADCC competitor, Keita Nakamura triumphed over former Brownbelt Mundial bronze medalist, Paul "El Technico" Schreiner, via kimura, sealing Team Japan's victory.

Full results after the jump

Japan vs. US (3 Fights):
81.5kg: Keita "K-Taro" Nakamura Def. Paul Schreiner by Kimura Round 2 1:44
68kg: Baret Yoshida Def. Kohei Yasumi by Triangle choke Round 1 3:38
73kg: Takashi Yamada def. Ryan Hall by Guillotine choke Round 2 1:30

56kg: Sayaka Shiota Def. Rikako Yuasa by kneebar Round 1 0:22
Open: Marcos "Marquinhos" Souza vs. KOTESU Cancelled
66kg: Tsubasa Tobinaga Def. Akihiro Hoshino by armbar Round 2 1:21
85kg: Motoki Miyazawa Def. Yuji Arai by choke round 1 2:13
Open: Taijiro Ui Def. Yuichi Ozono by points 8-2
Open: Hideki Sekine Def. Singh "Heart" Jaideep by points 27-1

Opening Fights:
63kg (1x5min.): Yuruka Sasaki vs. Yasushi Kiuchi Draw
75kg (1x5min.): Takashi Matsumoto Def. Nobuto Horiuchi by points 8-2
69kg (1x5min.): Takehiro Isetani Def. Tatsuya Karasana by choke 4:04
70kg (1x5min.): Kleber Koike Def. Hideto Okada by points 2-0

67kg (1x5min.): Takumi Murata Def. Kazuto Hamasaki by points 13-0
77kg (1x5min.): Takahiro Kanda Def. Naoto Miyazaki by points 4-2
65kg (1x5min.): Yuto Hirai Def. Yasufumi Suzaki by points 6-4
62kg (1x5min.): Michinori Tanaka Def. Satoru Ida
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