As you may or may not know, my martial arts training is limited to some karate lessons in the mid-90s and getting my ass-kicked badly in high school wrestling.

However, I have watched  thousands of hours of fights and even recently started reading some books on fighting technique.

Therefore, I believe I'm eminently qualified to start a new column on MMA techniques: The Judo Chop.

Today's technique is a really sweet transition that Japanese ace Mitsuhiro Ishida pulled off at his Strikeforce debut against Justin Wilcox. Ishida's known for his wrestling, not his submission acumen (only 2 submissions in 17 wins) so this was a bit of a surprise.

Here's my attempt to describe what's going on. The gif starts out with an interesting positional battle, Wilcox is going for a single leg and Ishida has a kimura grip. (In traditional Judo that's called an Ude Garami grip).

From there Ishida rolls into a technique that is similar to Sumi-Gaeshi -- in Judo its normally done by grabbing the opponent's gi. The kimura grip is a nice way to make the throw work in MMA.

We've seen that move in MMA before -- Karo Parisyan used it on Dave Strasser at UFC 44. Karo describes the move in his book "Judo for Mixed Martial Arts" as a "sumi-gaeshi with kimura grip" (p. 151).

The difference is, where Karo went ahead and finished Strasser with a kimura, Wilcox spins in mid-air to escape the Kimura. Therefore Ishida rolls into a lightening fast straight arm-bar. I'd love to know if he's trained that sequence before or if he just improvised it in the fight.

I assume Ishida has always had a pretty solid Judo background and just hasn't had the chance to use it much in Japan. I think the ring prevents a lot of throws just like it stops a lot of double-leg takedowns (not that I don't love the ring, but just like the cage its an artificial environment that distorts the fight). I also think the commonality of judo training in Japan makes it harder to catch opponents with sweet throws.

And that's the Judo Chop of the Week!

Bonus: The reason that we call the Ude Garami a Kimura is because Judo legend Masahiko Kimura used the hold to break Helio Gracie's shoulder in their famous 1951 match. You can see Kimura using the Ude Garami grip to land a Sumi-Gaeshi at 0:20 of the video I've put in the extended entry.

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Speaking to Sherdog's Loretta Hunt after last night's Strikeforce event at the Playboy Mansion, Joe Riggs had some harsh words for referee Josh Rosenthal, who many seem to feel waved off Riggs' main event bout with Kazuo Misaki prematurely. According to Riggs, Rosenthal admitted his mistake to agent Ken Pavia while watching the post-fight replay.

I've had over 50 fights, I've never complained about a stoppage in my career. Never. And, uh... this one's bad, man. F*** it. I was on the ground, f***** defending and everything... I was thinking in my head, "C'mon, hurry up and stop punching so I can come pull you down." It's ironic, 'cause back in 2004 when I fought Alex Stiebling, I beat Alex to death. Almost killed him, he was in the hospital. Alex said after the fight, "Next time, stop the fight, that's dangerous." My cornerman was soaked in blood. And Josh Rosenthal didn't stop the fight then. And then, now the m*****f***** stops this fight for nothing, you know? The guy f***** hit me twice and... I mean, he goes from one extreme to the next. Pick the way you're gonna ref the f***** fights. Either you're gonna let me kill someone, or you're gonna be a little b**** and stop it if they land a big punch.

I sympathize with Joe, who's had some tough battles outside of the cage in recent years and looked to be in good shape for last night, but "I was waiting for him to stop punching" is rarely a sound gameplan.

With three knockouts, three submissions and a dominating decision victory during the broadcast portion of the card, Saturday's "Strikeforce at the Mansion II" did not disappoint. Moments after being floored by a punch from Joe Riggs, Kazuo Misaki struck back with a big right hand that sent Riggs to the canvas. Riggs covered up, but the ensuing flurry of punches from Misaki was enough to prompt ref Josh Rosenthal to bring a halt to the main event of the evening. MMAJunkie has full results:

Jesse Gillespie def. Dave Martin via split decision (27-30, 29-28, 29-28)
Brandon Magana def. Brandon Thatch via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Eric Lawson def. Kenneth Seegrist via submission (rear naked choke) -- Round 1, 3:07
Luke Stewart def. Jesse Juarez via submission (arm bar) -- Round 1, 4:55
Trevor Prangley def. Anthony Ruiz via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-26)
Mitsuhiro Ishida def. Justin Wilcox via submission (arm-bar) -- Round 1, 1:21
Terry Martin def. Cory Devela via TKO (strikes) -- Round 3, 2:08
Josh Thomson def. Ashe Bowman via TKO (punches) -- Round 1, 1:14
Kazuo Misaki def. Joe Riggs via TKO (punches) -- Round 2, 2:29

Both Ishida and Thomson, who are expected to meet in a title match at some point in the near future, looked predictably phenomenal against their overmatched opponents. Terry Martin rebounded from his July 19th KO loss with a stunning knockout of his own, flooring Devela in the third frame after arguably dropping the first two rounds. And coming off a ten month hiatus, the 36-year-old Trevor Prangley showcased his wrestling prowess in controlling the rematch with Ruiz from start to end.

MMA Frenzy brings us results from last night's pared down Cage Rage offering, where Brad Pickett ran his current win streak to five straight with a third round TKO against the durable Anastas Jazbutis, and featherweight champ Robbie Olivier looked impressive in a hard fought three-round defense against challenger Leigh Remedios.

James McSweeney def. Roman Webber via TKO - Round 1, 0:10
Brad Pickett def. Anastas Jazbutis via TKO - Round 3, 2:01
Robbie Olivier def. Leigh Remedios via unanimous decision
John Philips def. Jake Bostwick via submission (exhaustion) - Round 1, 2:47
Ross Mason def. Scott Jansen via unanimous decision
John Hathaway def. Jack Mason via TKO - Round 1, 2:41
Alberto Minau def. Steve Elliot via submission (rear naked choke) - Round 1, 2:55
Michael Pastou def. Nigel Whitear via DQ (illegal elbow) - Round 1, 1:18
Steven Hopwood def. Neil Turner via submission (rear naked choke) - Round 2, 1:45
Jermaine Facey def. Scott Rogan via submission (armbar) - Round 1, 4:54
Wesley Johnson def. Matt Smith via submission (triangle choke) - Round 1, 0:44
Ashley Pollard def. Ben Smith via submission (kimura) at - Round 1, 4:34

CR28 was a decidedly solid showing for the ProElite-owned promotion, but it comes along with the news that popular British heavyweight champ Mustafa Al-Turk inked a multi-fight deal with the UFC and has vacated his title. The venue for this show also looked miniscule on camera; indeed, the Troxy in London maxes out at 2,600 people (and can be scaled down to as few as 150). Cage Rage 27 in July was hosted at Wembley Arena, which has a capacity of 12,500.

BloodyElbow.com will have live play-by-play of tonight's Strikeforce event at the Playboy Mansion, featuring a main event of Kazuo Misaki vs. Joe Riggs, as well as the long awaited American debut of Japanese star Mitsuhiro Ishida against Justin Wilcox and a non-title match between Strikeforce Lightweight Champion Josh Thomson and Ashe Bowman.

The card will start streaming on Sherdog.com at 10:30 PM EST / 7:30 PM PDT - be sure to make your way back to BloodyElbow.com for live discussion, updates and post-fight analysis.

A note of interest to those who like their events blogged live: we'll also have coverage of the very stacked DREAM.6 event this coming Tuesday, September 23rd, beginning at 3 AM EST.

The stream just started up in the middle of the 3rd round of the Brandon Magana vs. Brandon Thatch fight. Magana is dominating with ground control and strikes, and if the commentary from Ken Shamrock and unspecified play-by-play guy is to be believed, he's on his way to a unanimous decision.

Nope... Brandon Magana def. Brandon Thatch via Split Decision

Lon McHeron is our man in the booth with Shamrock, by the way. An uncomfortable intro with lots of references to "hot babes" (or something) and Ken calling Riggs' opponent "Kizaki" a bunch of times. But hey, we get seven fights. First up...

Kenneth Seegrist vs. Eric Lawson

Seegrist is undefeated at 5-0 with a win over Jason MacDonald. (Not that Jason MacDonald, but an 0-1 Jason MacDonald.) Sounds like Lawson has a following in the crowd, and they're just about the only ones making noise. Jimmy Lennon, Jr., just announced that the event is being broadcast live on "Sure Dog dot com."

Round 1: Lawson immediately shoots and raises Seegrist to the rafters before slamming him down at the base of the cage, but gets himself caught in a guillotine in the process. He wrestles himself out and moves to side control before Seegrist works his way up to the feet. They clinch and Seegrist gains another guillotine, but Lawson escapes again. Lawson connects with a few stiff shots from guard, now moves to mount and Seegrist gives up his back. Lawson has both hooks in and Seegrist's legs are stricking straight into the air as Lawson sinks in a rear naked choke. Referee Herb Dean jumps in to wave it off as Seegrist has no choice but to tap.

Eric Lawson def. Kenneth Seegrist via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 3:07 of Round 1

Shamrock is interviewing some guy who looks like Horatio Sanz' stoner uncle in "the ring, err, uhh, cage." Apparently he's the head of "In Ya Face Records," whose artist, Holly Rae, has "a video with some Strikeforce guys in it, so, uh, that should be good." We're treated to the video, and it's not.

Jesse Juarez vs. Luke Stewart

Stewart has to feel a bit shafted tonight. He was supposed to fight Shonie Carter back in June, before Carter shattered a knuckle in training. Then tonight's headliner Joe Riggs stepped in, but the CSAC said he couldn't fight because he'd taken pain medication too close to the fight. Then it was Drew Fickett, and we all know what happened with Drew Fickett. Stewart never ended up getting an opponent and this is his first match since the undercard of the Frank Shamrock vs. Cung Le show.

Congratulations, Luke Stewart, you are the 1,000th fighter to walk out to "Ambitionz Az A Ridah."

Round 1: Stewart comes out throwing body kicks, then half-blocks a right high kick from Juarez, who rushes in with follow-up shots and presses Stewart to the fence. Stewart ties up his opponent's right leg as Juarez throws fierce shots downward. The fighters stand, Juarez now controlling Stewart's back with a bodylock, with a liberal application of foot stomps. Stewart escapes after about a minute of searching for a hammer lock and switches levels, taking Juarez down and gaining the mount with :40 remaining in the round. :20 left and Stewart is looking for an armbar on Juarez' left arm. He spins to Juarez's right and it's all over! Juarez taps with just seconds to go.

Luke Stewart def. Jesse Juarez via Submission (Armbar) at 4:55 of Round 1

Anthony Ruiz vs. Trevor Prangley

"A-Train" seems very eager to avenge his loss to Trevor of two years ago; you can tell the non-tap has irked him since. Tom Atencio is sitting in the front row and tapd Prangley (or "Pangley," if you're Jimmy Lennon) on the shoulder and makes him turn around to slap fives before Trevor enters the cage. Sigh.

Round 1: The fighters clinch against the cage and exchange knees. Prangley is throwing the better of the two, connecting with Ruiz' midsection until "A-Train" catches a low one. He's alright and they're back at it in 20 seconds. Prangley meets a Ruiz shot with a hard right knee, but Ruiz survives and comes throwing bombs, connecting with a pair of wild, winging rights, then ties Prangley up against the fence. The South African wrestles Ruiz down and gains full mount. Ruiz attempts to buck out but instead gives up his back. Prangley's back is to the fence with his legs wrapped fully around Ruiz's midsection. Ruiz throwing blind shots backwards, a few of which connect and seem to give Prangley cause for concern as he takes a break from working for the choke. Ruiz rolls and escapes and the pair trade leather to the end of the first round. BloodyElbow.com scores the round 10-9 for Trevor Prangley.

Round 2: Beautiful double leg takedown to start the round and Prangley is immediately in side control. Ruiz turtles but isn't out of the woods yet as Trevor maintains side/back control and is sneaking big left hands around the corner. Ruiz is flat on his belly for a moment with his head flush to the canvas and Prangley drops some hammerfists right on Ruiz' face. Ruiz is fighting a purely defensive fight at this point as Prangley hammers away at his face and body, even trying for an armbar in the last seconds of the round. Ruiz has a messy cut over his left eye as he walks to his corner. BloodyElbow.com scores the round 10-9 for Trevor Prangley.

Round 3: Prangley ducks a left hand from Ruiz, changes levels and dumps "A-Train" on his head. Knees to the body from side control force Ruiz to get up to his knees, but now Prangley has his back and is shooting more of those sharp, short punches to Ruiz' face, which is increasingly knotted and swollen. Ruiz gets up but Prangley puts him right back down with yet another double. And again. The round is over now, but it was over as soon as Prangley hit that first takedown. A dominant win for the South African wresling champ, should be unanimous. BloodyElbow.com scores the round 10-8 for Trevor Prangley.

BloodyElbow.com scores the bout 30-26 for Trevor Prangley.

Trevor Prangley def. Anthony Ruiz via Unanimous Decision (30-26, 30-27, 29-28)

Mitsuhiro Ishida vs. Justin Wilcox

Round 1: Ishida working the outside and counter-punching Wilcox, who gets frustrated and shoots after about a minute. Wilcox grabs Ishida's left leg, but Ishida sits, controls his opponent's left arm and flips Wilcox head over heels into a severe looking armbar. The end.

Mitsuhiro Ishida def. Justin Wilcox via Submission (Armbar) at 1:21 of Round 1

Terry Martin vs. Corey Devela

Round 1: Martin hits a powerful takedown but Devela uses the cage to escape back to the feet easily. Despite a noticeable height and reach advantage for Devela, Martin is having no problem overpowering his opponent as he repeats the take down which sends Devela's legs flying in the air. Devela looking for a kimura to no avail, and works his way back up. Now Devela shoots, but it's stuffed by Martin and the two clinch on the cage. Devela is throwing lots of combos and definitely getting the better of the standup, utilizing his lanky frame with knees and looping punches. Tough round to call, but Devela deserves it for the striking and sub attempt, whereas Martin's multiple takedowns led to nothing. BloodyElbow.com scores the round 10-9 for Corey Devela.

Round 2: Martin with another takedown to open the second frame, straight into Devela's closed guard. Corey rolling left and angling for the kimura on Martin's right arm, but gives it up and stands, turning Martin's back to the fence. They break and Devela just misses with a right high kick. Martin throwing wild shots; he's looking for one big punch but he can't wade in close enough to Devela to make it count. Spinning back kick partially connects from Devela, who shoots into a guillotine but escapes quickly. Another spinning back kick lands low but time runs out at Martin is recovering. BloodyElbow.com scores the round 10-9 for Corey Devela.

Round 3: Devela lunges with a flying knee and follows it up with a solid four- or five-punch combo. Martin stuffs a shot - not sure why Devela is shooting, he's picking the more powerful Martin apart on the feet. Devela throws a lazy low kick and Martin steps in with a dynamite left hook that puts Devela down! Herb Dean doesn't step in immediately and Martin drops an extra right hand on the semi-conscious Devela before the ref calls it. Martin found that big punch.

Terry Martin def. Corey Devela via TKO (Punches) at 2:30 of Round 3

Kudos to Sherdog.com for the stream tonight. Strikeforce's production aside, it's gone off without a hitch - crystal clear video, no buffering, etc. Now... when's the next Fury FC??

Gil Melendez is joining Lon and Ken for commentary on this fight. He says he "hasn't stopped watching the footage" since Thomson beat him.

Ashe Bowman vs. Josh Thomson

Round 1: Thomson throwing hard left kicks high and low; one catches Bowman in the head and the Lion's Den fighter high fives "The Punk" to say good job. Thomson comes forward with a powerful right hand that sends Bowman backward, and the champ pounces with four more punches that put him on his back, followed by several hammerfists. Herb Dean waves it off, but Thomson doesn't see the call at first and lands an extra shot after the fact.

Josh Thomson def. Ashe Bowman via TKO (Punches) at 1:50 of Round 1

In the post fight interview, Ken refers to Herb Dean as "Cecil." Oof.

Kazuo Misaki vs. Joe Riggs

Round 1: The fighters feel one another out for the opening two minutes, Misaki showing some angles and circling around Riggs who is standing firm in the center of the cage. Misaki obviously wants to wait and counter Riggs, but Riggs won't bite on Misaki's myriad feints and false kicks. Finally Misaki lands a solid inner leg kick, the first real offense of the fight after 3+ minutes. A couple more leg kicks and some solid body shots from Kazuo. Riggs lands a left flush to the chin of Misaki but the "Diesel" wasn't 100% behind it. A left roundhouse from Joe finishes off the anemic opening frame. BloodyElbow.com scores the round 10-9 for Kazuo Misaki.

Round 2: Another minute of feeling out to begin the second round, before Riggs drops Misaki with a lightning fast left. Misaki pops right back up and comes at Riggs with a clean right straight that puts the UFC vet on his backside. The Grabaka Dojo product pounces and unleashes a flurry on the downed Riggs, who is on his back and covering up completely. After a number of unanswered shots (most of which Riggs absorbs with his arms), Josh Rosenthal signals the end of the bout, which Riggs immediately protests. Looked like a decent stoppage from here - if Riggs wasn't finished, what was he waiting for? Misaki wasn't gonna stop punching.

Kazuo Misaki def. Joe Riggs via TKO (Punches) at 2:29 of Round 2

Let's face it, there's not too much intrigue around tonight's Strikeforce at the Playboy Mansion card. First off, lightweight champ Josh Thomson is fighting a non-title fight against relative unknown Ashe Bowman. Secondly, both Babalu Sobral and Bobby Southworth dropped out of their match due to injuries.Thirdly, UFC also rans like Joe Riggs, Trevor Prangley and Terry Martin aren't exactly setting the world on fire these days.

But in true Strikeforce creeper fashion, there is something VERY interesting happening on tonight's card. Two A-List Japanese fighters are making their their return to the U.S. Sengoku middleweight star Kazuo Misaki and DREAM lightweight contender Mitsuhiro Ishida.

Dave Meltzer gives a great bio of Misaki:

...Misaki, who brings a 20-8-2 record into his second fight on U.S. soil after a loss last year to Frank Trigg on PRIDE’s second event in Las Vegas. ...

Misaki’s original claim to fame was beating Phil Baroni and Dan Henderson via decision in 2006 to go into the final four of the PRIDE Grand Prix tournament. But his run appeared over when he submitted to an armbar by current World Extreme Cagefighting middleweight champ Paulo Filho in the semifinals of a four-man, one-night final. But when Filho couldn’t continue with a knee injury, Misaki found himself in the final, where he won a split decision over Denis Kang.

Misaki is a well-rounded fighter who prefers to stand up, and makes good use of kicks mixed in with punches. It was mixing up his stand-up attack, along with his quickness standing, that saw him outstrike both Baroni and Henderson.

But his biggest fight was this past New Year’s Eve, when he apparently knocked off the most hated fighter in Japan, Yoshihiro Akiyama of South Korea.

Strikeforce is typically for them, unusually for an MMA promoter, thinking long term. Giving Misaki exposure against a tough, but non-contender in Joe Riggs and hopefully building him for a title fight with Cung Le in 2009.  Riggs is tough but also has the kind of rotten luck that should allow the uneven Misaki to beat him. Misaki's cryptonite is good wresters like Frank Trigg who know better than to stand with him and instead ground him and pound him. I doubt Riggs will do that.

The other Japanese thoroughbred import is lightweight Mitsuhiro Ishida. He's interesting to me because he's one of the only top Japanese fighters rely solely on excellent wrestling. He's not a lay and pray guy, more of a busy bee than that but he still wins almost all of his fights by decision. His biggest win was beating former Strikeforce champ Gilbert Melendez late last year.

I'll be very interested to see how Ishida fares against a good American wrestler in Justin Wilcox -- a college wrestling teammate of Josh Koscheck and fellow AKA product. If Ishida can dominate position over Wilcox -- something that won't surprise me as the AKA guys (Fitch, Koscheck) tend to underemphasize the sprawl in their MMA efforts -- then that sets up a very interesting Thomson vs Ishida title fight.

Strikeforce is quietly attempting something the UFC hasn't even pulled off -- importing top notch Japanese talent to the states. Here's hoping it works out.

I'm putting a bunch of Misaki and Ishida fights in the full entry.

Continue reading this post »

Sherdog has weigh-in results for tomorrow's Cage Rage 28 show in London, England, with Leigh Remedios challenging featherweight champ Robbie Olivier.

Roman Webber 101 kg/222.6 lbs vs. James McSweeney 102 kg/224.8 lbs
Antanas Jazbutis 64.5 kg/142 lbs vs. Brad Pickett 65.8 kg/145 lbs
Leigh Remedios 65.8 kg/145 lbs vs. Robbie Olivier 65.8 kg/145 lbs
Ross Mason 77 kg/169.7 lbs vs. Scott Jansen 77 kg/169.7 lbs
Alberto Mina 76.8 kg/169.2 lbs vs. Steve Elliott 76.5 kg/168.6 lbs
Jack Mason 81 kg/178.5 lbs vs. John Hathaway 81.8 kg/180.2 lbs
Michael Pastou 76.5 kg/168.6 lbs vs. Nigel Whitear 77 kg/169.7 lbs
Neil Turner 112 kg/246.4 lbs vs. Steve Hopwood 102 kg/224.8 lbs
Jamaine Facey 80 kg/176 lbs vs. Scott Rogan 79 kg/174.1 lbs
Wesley Johnson 70 kg/154.2 lbs vs. Matt Smith 69 kg/151.8 lbs
Ashley Pollard 122 kg/268.6 lbs vs. Ben Smith 106 kg/233.6 lbs

It's worth noting that the final card is devoid of any higher profile champions or big names, even by Cage Rage standards. Several of the original headliners originally announced are missing, including James Thompson, Ch'e Mills and Ultimate Fighter alum Ross Pointon, and four fighters from August 16th's cancelled Cage Rage Contenders event -- Steve Hopwood, Ben Smith, Jamaine Facey and Steve Elliot -- are now on the card. It doesn't take much imagination to connect the dots with parent company ProElite's ongoing financial woes.

Meanwhile at Hef's house...

Kazuo Misaki (185) vs. Joe Riggs (181.5)
Ashe Bowman (154.5) vs. Josh Thomson (155.5)
Mitsuhiro Ishida (156) vs. Justin Wilcox (155)
Cory Devela (185.5) vs. Terry Martin (185.5)
Trevor Prangley (203) vs. Anthony Ruiz (204)
Jesse Juarez (171) vs. Luke Stewart (169.5)
Eric Lawson (184.5) vs. Kenneth Seegrist (183)
Brandon Magana (172) vs. Brandon Thatch (170.5)
Jesse Gillespie (194) vs. Dave Martin (190.5)

The Thomson/Bowman bout is a non-title affair; also, the "Grabaka Hitman" Misaki will be making just his second appearance on American soil, while former Shooto titlist Ishida is fighting in the US for the first time.

Devela will try to run his winning streak to nine straight against Martin, who was last seen being knocked out in brutal fashion by Vitor Belfort at Affliction's first show. Prangley is a late replacement for Renato "Babalu" Sobral against Ruiz, himself a replacement for light heavyweight champ Bobby Southworth.

The full event will be available to view live and free of charge tomorrow night on Sherdog.com, who will also have a stream of the event available for a full month beginning on Monday.

The Japanese press is reporting that the UFC is looking to put on a mega-event in Japan as early as next spring. Dave Meltzer reported on this a while back.

Word is they're calling out the top Japanese stars and hoping to set up a battle of the Zuffa champs vs the Japanese stars. Dana is apparently hoping to land Kazushi Sakuraba, Kid Yamamoto, Hidehiko Yoshida and Takanori Gomi to face Zuffa's top stars. Presumably they want Urijah Faber vs Yamamoto and B.J. Penn to rematch Takanori Gomi. Not sure who which wolf they want to throw Sakuraba to. And Brock Lesnar vs Hidehiko Yoshida is just too dreadful to contemplate.

Clearly from a business angle they're after the right Japanese fighters, although you could make a case for Yoshihiro Akiyama instead of Sakuraba, both as a draw and as a top fighter. Regardless, it would require getting both DREAM and World Victory Road on board, as well as securing a Japanese TV deal.

There's also an element of machismo and us vs them in the proposed matchups. Penn has already beaten Gomi soundly and Sakuraba and Yoshida are well over the hill. The only up in the air match is Faber vs Yamamoto.

Of course, Zach Arnold is recommending that the UFC wait and see what newly released from prison Japanese mastermind Kazuyoshi Ishii does next:

There has been talk, since his release from jail, that convicted felon Kazuyoshi Ishii is trying to either consolidate or buy out the two smaller players in MMA (Sengoku and Pancrase). Ed Fishman was once approached about investing money into Pancrase, but the company reportedly had 7-figures in debt. The rumors at this time claim that World Victory Road, the parent company of Sengoku, has bought a stake or a controlling interest in Pancrase. If so, Pancrase will basically become a feeding system for Sengoku. However, Sengoku looks to be a money-losing proposition itself and it may get swallowed whole by K-1 if Ishii perceives that there is some value to consolidation in the business. All of this could be taking place while DREAM is on its last legs. I’ve long predicted that once Ishii got out of jail that DREAM would be finished and that K-1’s Godfather would create a new MMA project in 2009.

Meanwhile, Strikeforce is quietly plugging away, actually signing top Japanese fighters and bringing them to the U.S. From a Strikeforce press release:

Top-ranked lightweight (155 lb. limit) mixed martial arts (MMA) gun, Mitsuhiro "The Endless Fighter" Ishida (16-4-1), will make his way from the battlegrounds of Japan for the first time in his seven-year professional career to face former NCAA Division I wrestling stud and rising Team AKA star, Justin "The Silverback" Wilcox (5-2), in the cage at Strikeforce's mega-event at the world-famous Playboy Mansion in Beverly Hills, CA on Saturday, September 20^th.

Also 29 years of age and a wrestling phenom known for his exceptional endurance, Ishida infiltrated the top echelon of 155 lb. competitors by conquering numerous other top contenders in Japan's leading MMA organizations, including the now defunct Pride Fighting Championship as well as Shooto and Dream.

Ishida sent a shockwave through the world of MMA on New Year's Eve last year when he outfoxed then Strikeforce World Lightweight Champion, "El Nino" Gilbert Melendez, for two, five-minute rounds and handed Melendez the first defeat of his career by way of unanimous judges' decision at Saitama, Japan's Saitama Super Arena.

Ishida will be the second top-ranked Japanese fighter on the Strikeforce card, joining middleweight star Kazuo Misaki who'll be facing Joe Riggs. Ishida had a set back with his upset loss to Caol Uno in the DREAM tournament but he's still a top fighter. Will be interesting to see how his wrestling style matches up against a top American wrestler. I wouldn't be surprised to see Ishida dominating the takedowns -- there's a difference between applying wrestling technique in MMA and in the NCAA.

Regardless, I'm very impressed with Strikeforce's ability to sign a higher tier of Japanese fighters than the UFC has been able to. I'm not saying that Yushin Okami and Yoshida aren't top fighters, I'm just saying they were far from stars in Japan.

UPDATE [from Luke Thomas]: Reader Omasuki shares his perspective on the possibility of the UFC returning to Japan:

For many Japanese MMA fans. it is the UFC who killed PRIDE. UFC is a big bad guy who eats everything. In addition, there were no UFC on Japanese TV for the past 2 years so casual fans simply do not know what it is. UFC brand does not work as it is here. Many DREAM fans have never seen GSP, who I believe could be a huge star here too if promoted properly. 

For UFC to enter Japanese MMA market, spending millions of marketing and advertising is not a solution. Man on the street knows what PRIDE and K-1 is in this country. Akebono vs Bob Sapp was watched by 50 million people. Just leverage and stretch the already existing popularity. Just say PRIDE style fights are back. 

As long as I personally have been observing, UFC is not very good at executing this type of quiet, patient and very local market entry strategy. But maybe they are starting doing the right way. I assume someone deliberate may be helping UFC. I would not be surprised if the person who is helping UFC is Kazuyoshi Ishii, a K-1 founder and a huge fixer in the industry.

National network TV deal may be a big missing element, but if everything goes well, the event headlined by Gomi v BJ and Kid v Faber can draw, I believe,  50,000 people to Saitama Super Arena. 

The Grabaka Hitman is coming to America's shores again. Rejoice. From a press release in my inbox:

SAN JOSE, Calif. —Former Pride Fighting Championship Grand Prix winner, Kazuo "Grabaka Hitman" Misaki (22-8-1) will take on fellow middleweight wonder Joe "Diesel" Riggs (28-10) at Strikeforce mixed martial arts’(MMA) highly-anticipated return to the world-famous Playboy Mansion in Beverly Hills, Calif. on Saturday, September 20th.

"I am looking forward to making my debut for Strikeforce at The Playboy Mansion, an incredible venue that is well-known throughout the world," said Misaki, the winner of Pride’s 2006 welterweight Grand Prix elimination playoff. In his last effort, a meeting with rising star Logan Clark in Saitama, Japan on June 8th, the 32-year-old Team Grabaka star secured his second straight win by earning a nod from all three judges scoring the matchup.

"Joe Riggs is a tremendous competitor. His style is aggressive like mine so I have no doubt that our fight will be an exciting and memorable one."

To arrive at the winner’s circle of the highly coveted tournament produced by the now-defunct Pride organization, Misaki defeated both "The NY Badass" Phil Baroni and then-reigning Pride welterweight champion, Dan Henderson.

Misaki was eliminated in the tournament’s semifinal round of action by Paulo Filho, but a knee injury Filho sustained during the contest precluded the Brazilian from advancing to the championship round. Misaki replaced Filho and capitalized on the opportunity, taking a split judges’ decision from Denis Kang.

The 25 year-old Riggs of Phoenix, Ariz. is coming off a second round submission of Matt Dempsey on July 26th. The victory marked a successful comeback for Riggs after a back injury he sustained from being thrown by Cory Devela at Strikeforce’s debut in Tacoma, Wash. on February 23rd, left Riggs ailing on the canvas and forced him to verbally submit only a little over a minute after the matchup began.

"The back’s great. It’s 100 percent," Riggs said. "I’m really excited to be healthy again and looking forward to getting back on top."

To help him prepare for what is arguably his toughest challenge in nearly two years, Riggs is bringing in to his camp a host of heavy hitters, including MMA legend Ken Shamrock, as well as former UFC Middleweight Champion, Rich Franklin; Jeremy Horn; and Edwin Dewees.

Riggs insists that this will be his final fight at 185 lbs. "I’m dropping to 170 lbs," he proclaimed, "and gonna jump into the top 10 in that division."

In a featured matchup with Eugene "The Wolf" Jackson at Strikeforce’s inaugural Playboy Mansion-hosted event on September 29, 2007, Riggs overpowered the ageless brawler and finished Jackson at the 3:56 mark of the opening round with a ground and pound offensive.

During his seven-year professional career, Riggs has defeated a number of rival standouts, including Nick Diaz; Joe Doerksen; Chris Lytle; and "The Ultimate Fighter 3" winner, Kendall "Da Spyder" Grove.

The showdown between Misaki and Riggs is the first confirmed "Strikeforce At The Mansion II" matchup. The lineup will be comprised of 10 bouts.

Stay tuned to BloodyElbow.com for more updates on this card. For now, though, I'm just excited at the prospect of seeing Misaki put on a show for the American fans. And if Strikeforce were some how able to make Misaki vs. Akiyama 2, I just might die.