Meet the 2009 Pancrase Neo-Blood Finalists

Semifinals for the 2009 Pancrase Neo-Blood rookie tournaments were held on the undercard of last weekend's "Pancrase Changing Tour" event (results here), and the finals for all four weight classes are now set for August 8th at Differ Ariake. (Also announced as participants: Yuki Kondo, Izuru Takeuchi and Lightweight King of Pancrase Katsuya Inoue.)

Below, a little info on each finalist collected from the Pancrase site:

2009 Pancrase Neo-Blood Tournament Finals
All bouts consist of two 5-minute rounds.

Flyweight - 58kg / 127.9 lbs.

Yuichiro Yajima
Record: 7-6-1
Height: 165 cm. (5'5")
Team: Zen-Do Kai / Team ZST
Born: January 25, 1979 (30)
- competed in ZST Genesis League

vs.

Kiyotaka Shimizu
Record: 2-1-1
Height: 158 cm. (5'2")
Team: SK Absolute
Born: March 14, 1984 (25)

Bantamweight - 61.2kg / 135 lbs.

Ryota Sasaki
Record: 3-2-1
Height: 169 cm. (5'6")
Team: Bad Ass 13
Born: December 15, 1986 (22)
Background: Judo
Best Skill: Armbar

vs.

Nobuhiro Yoshitake
Record: 2-4-1
Height: 167 cm. (5'6")
Team: Pancrase Inagaki-gumi
Born: January 16, 1984 (25)

Featherweight - 65.8kg / 145 lbs.

Shigeyuki Uchiyama
Record: 6-0
Height: 167 cm. (5'6")
Team: Grabaka
Born: February 2, 1973 (36)
Background: Wrestling (10 years)
Best Skill: Throws/Takedowns

vs.

Yo Saito
Record: 1-0
Height: 169 cm. (5'6")
Team: Paraestra Sendai
Born: January 26, 1985 (24)
Best Skill: Triangle Choke

Lightweight - 70.3kg / 155 lbs.

Hirotaka Tomiyama
Record: 1-5
Height: 172 cm. (5'8")
Team: P's Lab Yokohama
Born: February 27, 1978 (31)
veteran of Shooto, ZST, GCM

vs.

Isao Kobayashi
Record: 3-0
Height: 173 cm. (5'8")
Team: Sakaguchi Dojo
Born: October 28, 1988 (20)
Background: Judo (10 years)

* * * * *

Videos

Yuichiro Yajima
- vs. Hiroaki Okuwa @ ZST 16 (ShootBoxing)
- vs.Ryosuke Tanuma @ ZST SWAT! In The Face 1

Nobuhiro Yoshitake
- vs. Hiroto Hattori @ DEEP 36th Impact
- vs. Isao Terada @ DEEP Protect Impact 2007