B.J. Kojima Relinquishes Shooto Belt
by Chris Nelson on Mar 1, 2010 11:26 AM EST
in MMA News
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Shooto Bantamweight (123 lbs.) Champion Shinichi "B.J." Kojima today announced his decision to vacate the title, citing a slowly-healing ACL in his right knee. Kojima - who has held the belt since October 2006 - suffered the injury in a non-title bout loss to Nova Uniao's rising star Jussier "Formiga" da Silva last July. Da Silva was expected to rematch Kojima with the title on the line shortly thereafter, but negotiations between the fighter's management and Shooto brass met an impasse.
While no definite time frame was given, Kojima told reporters that he hopes to return to action later this year.
A new champion could be crowned as soon as March 22nd, officials say, when leading Shooto promoter Sustain holds its second "The Way of Shooto: Like a Tiger, Like a Dragon" event at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo.
No potential contenders were named, but one strong candidate would be the man "B.J." took the belt from, Mamoru Yamaguchi, who's reeled off three impressive wins since returning to MMA last October and currently sits at #3 in Shooto's 123-pound rankings.
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I don't know what is sadder...
the fact that no one cares to comment on this article…
or the size of that championship belt.
No doubt
It seems these days that the majority of posters on BE are becoming those casual fans that just care about the UFC and reject, ignore or deride those orgs that are not. Shooto has so much history and produces(d) a lot of phenomenal talent that it is a utter shame that more are not knowledgeable about it.
It is very unfortunate that BJ has to relinquish his title. I was totally shocked when he lost to Formiga and wanted to see that rematch.
One fair point to make regarding Shooto, however, is that it isn’t as important of a promotion anymore, as the weight classes it more or less established have become more and more spread throughout the MMA landscape.
That being said, I still enjoy the Shooto product—in fact, somewhat counter-intuitively, the rule changes have improved the promotion even as the talent pool has shrunk. Beyond that, I think MMA as a whole would do well to emulate the rather “sporting” mindset of Shooto, though I’m not exactly holding my breath on that.
its sad
but on whose part? is it our fault as fans, the fault of BE for not promoting Shooto more, or the fault of Shooto itself for not trying to be a bigger name in the game? I see Shooto as being the perfect breeding ground for future MMA stars but not really a place for stars to shine. Sort of how i see Cage Rage or KotC (where Mamoru is currently a champ as well). The sad truth is there is almost no where (atleast that i have found) to find 123 (125lb) fighters anywhere besides Shooto. The fact of the matter is Mamoru Yamagachi is one of the best fighters in the world. And half the "hardcore’ fans I know have never heard of him.
its sad but on whose part? is it our fault as fans, the fault of BE for not promoting Shooto more, or the fault of Shooto itself for not trying to be a bigger name in the game?
I just think it’s weird that a lot of folks who identify themselves as “hardcore” MMA fans spend 10x more time gossiping over a nude Chuck Liddell workout video than they do educating themselves on smaller promotions, up and coming fighters, etc.
I see Shooto as being the perfect breeding ground for future MMA stars but not really a place for stars to shine. Sort of how i see Cage Rage or KotC (where Mamoru is currently a champ as well).Agreed! But also, Shooto, Cage Rage and KotC are/were regional promotions first and foremost.
The sad truth is there is almost no where (atleast that i have found) to find 123 (125lb) fighters anywhere besides Shooto.Pancrase and a few other J-MMA promotions have 125-pound divisions, and ever since WEC announced that they’d be bringing flyweights into the mix, lots of American promotions have been putting on flyweight bouts. Whether or not the WEC actually comes through with a flyweight division in 2010, I think we’ll be seeing a lot more of the little guys.
Of course japanese orgs like Cage Force,Pancrase or DEEP aren’t really trying to reach non japanese fans.
Jordan Breen criticized this some weeks ago on SDS radio.
Shooto for example tries it.
They had a TV deal with Eurosport until they abandoned MMA (PRIDE,HEROs,Shooto) and they put on Events in Japan,Europe and Brazil.
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