Sakuraba vs Mayhem Miller DREAM.16 PV Out!

Sakuraba and Mayhem Miller are set to fight in DREAM.16 on September 25th. Check after the jump for the official PV just released today.

We don’t know quite what to think about this match up, other than, “Holy crap, we hope Saku doesn’t die.”

It’s always a tough call when two of your favorite fighters meet. Who do you pull for? In this case, both men have tons of heart, tons of personality, but one is a taped up 41 year-old legend who, even with underdog status, continues to amaze.

We’re just going to hope this fight lives up to the spirit and craziness that define both fighters (and keep our fingers crossed for Saku). Read more »

Sugiyama Out of Jewels 9th Ring Due to Injury

Bad news: Shizuka Sugiyama, our favorite up and coming mixed martial artist, is out of the next Jewels event due to an injury. According to Nikkan Sports, it seems she suffered a broken collar bone as well as a dislocated shoulder during training. Sugiyama was to face Mongolian wrestler and MMA newcomer Esui in a shootboxing match at Jewels 9th Ring being held July 31st.

Unfortunately, this is another sad note considering Sugi’s career seems to have taken quite a downturn recently. After she went 5-0 at the beginning of her career, Sugi is now only 1-2 in her last three fights. It seems that her first loss at the hands of Alexandra Sanchez took quite a bit out of her. She also notably skipped Jewels 8th Ring, which was held back in May, after her second loss to Miki Morifuji.

We were looking forward to seeing her take to the ring again, although with mixed concern as she was pitted against a noticeably bigger opponent in Esui. Regardless, we wish Sugi a quick and lasting recovery, and we await the day she dons her oversized marshmallow-like Jewels gloves once more.

Hooray for Women’s MMA

In anticipation for the upcoming duo of women’s tourneys taking place at Bellator 24 (August 12th) and Strikeforce Challengers 10 (August 13th), we were scouting about for some highlights. The following video shows a collection of some of the best KO’s and subs. Enjoy!

DREAM.14 Is Almost Here

The powerful and epic Japanese promotion that is DREAM will have its fourteenth event this Saturday, May 29th. The official card is set, and weigh-ins, which were just streamed live on DREAM’s official site, are complete. Nick Diaz was somewhat fashionably late to the weigh-ins, but he respectfully apologized.

For just the second time, the promotion will have take place in the white cage rather than its usual ring. The reason for this seemed to be a request from the popular fighter, Hayato “Mach” Sakurai, to face one of Strikeforce’s best fighters, Nick Diaz, in a cage to defend Japanese pride after the defeat of Shinya Aoki at the hands of Diaz teammate, Gilbert Melendez.

To us at Pancake Landing, this is the most exciting event so far this year. Maybe we are too susceptible to slick promotional trailers with “Imperial March” remixes… but hey, DREAM knows how to make some bad-ass PVs. Of course, some of our favorite fighters are competing in DREAM.14: Sakuraba, Tokoro, and Maeda. Not only that, but included as well is a fight that almost guarantees excitement and also has title implications for DREAM’s featherweight division: Hiroyuki Takaya vs. Joachim Hansen.

Always in our spotlight, Kazushi Sakuraba is fighting another Gracie, one that is younger, bigger, and maybe even more accomplished in BJJ competition. My personal prediction is that Sakuraba has no chance and will be submitted for the first time in his career.  But speaking against what my head says… Sakuraba is going to knock this young punk out or break his arm with a slick kimura. Regardless of the outcome, Sakuraba is still a legend and will always be one of my favorite fighters.  I also have a feeling his retirement is coming soon and this event might have a hint or announcement concerning it. It’s just a feeling, but what better time to bow out for the Gracie Hunter?

For the entire fight card and some insightful pre-analysis, Bloody Elbow has a thorough rundown. Also be sure to check out all three event PVs after the jump. Read more »

Fedor vs. Werdum is Official for June 26th

After weeks, even months, of speculation and talk between M1 Global and Strikeforce, we have heard the good news from Sherdog and Bloody Elbow that Fedor vs. Werdum is on for June 26th. The event will be cosponsored by said promotions and aired live on Showtime.

Let the hype, analysis, predictions… and the wait continue.

Did You See His Cartwheel Kick?

This reads like something from a lame modern cop show drama that everyone likes but me. But the scary or (if you are insensitive and immature) funny thing about it is that it’s real!

On Dec. 9, 2009, Howard showed up at the Toronto Star with a briefcase. He looked like a businessman, but his clothes were worn, and his knuckles were bruised and caked with dried blood. In a hoarse voice, he said there was a plot to ruin his life. He claimed he had been injected with a liquid that hardened his veins and immobilized him. He held out his shaking hands for inspection, his eyes wide in desperation. As he was escorted out of the building, he left nodding to no one but himself. “On to Plan B,” he told an editor before leaving.

What was Plan B?

Almost two weeks later, residents of a Niagara Falls street were awakened by screams. Howard was attacking his sister and nephew with the claw end of a hammer. His 21-year-old nephew fought back before Howard screeched out of the driveway.

It seems that Howard started to “lose his grip” mid 2009 largely due to his long term addiction to pain killers, which, according to the rest of the Toronto Star’s report, was an important factor in his downward spiral.

The importance of this, or at least the interest in this man, is the fact he was part of the UFC’s early history. He earned his shot at Royce Gracie with two wins at UFC 3, but instead Howard ended up facing a replacement and losing.

In early 2009, Sherdog did a piece on Howard. In it he is a little crazy, but a nice, kind, and according to the article, “colorful, memorable and honest.”

“We’ve got a saying back home that if you’re coming on,” he fumed, whipping off the shades, “come on!”

I just hope that he can turn his life around, but after reading at least the Toronto article about him, it seems his family has pretty much given up on him. What is worse is that he also seems to have given up on himself.

Sad.

[via Fightlinker]

Aoki Drops to No. 8 – Will Team GracieFighter Help Him Back to the Top?

According to Thursday’s USA Today/SB Nation MMA Consensus Rankings, Shinya Aoki has, not surprisingly, fallen down from the No. 2 spot and currently resides at No. 8 in the Lightweight division.

While numbers are numbers, Aoki’s loss to Gilbert Melendez hurt not only his ranking, but it proved to damage the status of Japanese MMA as well. It was a fight characterized as a battle between East and West, with colonization as the penalty for failure. Nevertheless, Aoki was dominated for five rounds, and this cemented the narrative that Japanese MMA as a whole needs to adapt to survive.

Adapt he will. Over the past week, Aoki seems to have gotten the message. According to Cesar Gracie, whose academy is home to Gilbert Melendez, Jake Shields, and Nick and Nate Diaz, Shinya was so impressed with their showing at Strikeforce Nashville that he contacted them about training with their team. Read more »

Another Disappointment, Another Haiku

the river stops now

Shinya’s homeland colonized

small crowd in silence

Like a bad dream in a bad movie, the flashbacks and distorted voices begin.

If I lose this fight, MMA in Japan is over. Japan will become a colony of the USA.

- Shinya Aoki

. . .

If DREAM lightweight champion Shinya Aoki is indeed the class of Japanese mixed martial arts, then there’s no longer any doubt where the world’s best fighters reside.

- MMAjunkie.com

. . .

melendez winning. come on aoki you fuck!!

Aoki you break my heart

- Michael Schiavello

. . .

It was an embarrassing defeat that didn’t do the lagging Japanese scene any favors. Had plenty of opportunities to get his game off, but was stifled by a superior fighter in every facet of the game.

- Sherdog

So, is this is what it’s like to know that there is not one Japanese fighter in the whole world who could be argued to be ranked number one in any weight class? To know that the best last hope for man… I mean, salary man-kind, gets owned for 5 rounds and leaves the cage crying wearing a horrible TapouT shirt and shorts?! Read more »

Strikeforce Nashville: All Eyes on Aoki

To me, the most interesting of the  three championship fights on the card for Strikeforce Nashville, which airs April 17th  live on CBS, is the lightweight championship match between Shinya Aoki and Gilbert Melendez.

Here is a short list of the major reasons why I’m very interested in how this fight plays out and why I’m cheering for Aoki:

• The top ranked BJ Penn lost recently and this puts Aoki on the path to be ranked number one at lightweight worldwide.
• Aoki is the only Japanese champion in the major leagues of MMA, and a loss could be a permanent dent in world opinion regarding  Japan’s place as a source for talent. Also, the last time Dream fighters fought Strikeforce fighters, the results were not in Dream’s favor.
• Aoki isn’t wearing his cool pants!
• Aoki has never been better then he is right now, and that cannot be said for many talented fighters from Japan when they make their way stateside. He broke Hirota’s arm his last fight!
• I almost always cheer for the grappler. There is nothing I like better than slick submissions.

For these reasons, and probably many more, I’m excited and nervous about this fight. What makes it worse is the fact I think Aoki is going to lose this fight. He is going against a powerful striker and wrestler who trains with some amazing BJJ specialists, the Diaz brothers (long and flexible like Aoki) and Jake Shields at Cesar Gracie’s school. Aoki is also going to be in a cage for the very first time, and that is always a wild card. Even Fedor got stuck against it in his first cage fight. The rounds are different as well compared to Dream. The fight could be 25 minutes long, but there won’t be the long 10 minute first round that they have in Japan that gives people like Aoki time to work submissions.

Final prediction: I foresee Shinya Aoki getting knocked out, his face looking off into the distance as he is punched again and again from a relentless ground and pound. The referee will stop it, and Melendez will still be the champion.

I will be pissed off if this happens. So although my head tells me I shouldn’t just get my hopes up and subsequently crushed by cheering and hoping for Aoki, I will go with my heart and believe in the power of submission grappling and the Japanese fighting spirit.

Sugiyama Defeated Again: Back to the Drawing Board

This pancake spent too much time on the pan, but here are the results of Shizuka Sugiyama’s most recent fight at the March 19th Jewels 7th Ring event. Sadly, due to our unfortunate inability to watch the fight on TV or find video of it, we turn to MMARising.com with this analysis:

Miki Morifuji vs Shizuka Sugiyama

In other featured action, Miki Morifuji defeated Shizuka Sugiyama by Unanimous Decision after two 5:00 rounds. Morifuji improves to 9-6-0 with the win.

Sugiyama had little interest in standing with Morifuji and pulled guard early in the opening round. She attempted submissions from her back, but Morifuji remained calm and scored with punches to the body. Morifuji nearly passed to mount, but Sugiyama scrambled and regained guard. The close first round came to an end with neither fighter holding a significant advantage.

Once again, Sugiyama tried to take the fight to the mat in round two, but Morifuji reversed her takedowns. The fight returned to the feet and Morifuji picked Sugiyama apart with crisp punches. Sugiyama secured a clinch and landed knees to the body, but it was not enough to steal back the fight. Sugiyama, touted as the future of Jewels, has dropped two of her last three fights, but is still young and has time to continue her improvement.

Sugiyama seems to have been beaten again as a result of getting picked apart standing up. What would be interesting to see is if her stand up, and especially her head movement, improved since her loss against  Alexandra Sanchez.

Sugiyama continues to try and take the fight to the ground due to her seeming disadvantage standing, which perplexes me considering she’s supposed to be a karate fighter. Then again, it’s Zendokai Karate which is a type of Karate/Judo/Shooto hybrid.

Sugi needs to improve her stand up and not rely on her guard game to try and get a submission off her back, especially when she’s going against stronger opponents. If you can’t finish people off your back without ground and pound to the face, what do you do when punches or elbows are allowed with gloves smaller then the large puffy Jewels ones?

Also, she  might think about spending time being more of a boxer than kickboxer when it comes to her stand up. I don’t think we’ve seen her slip punches, just block them. It is defiantly easier said than done, but it’s an amazing skill to have.  I also think spending more time working on a good high guard and getting some more traditional wrestling to help get those difficult take downs would also go a long way.

That’s my rational opinion. My irrational one states that Sugiyama lost again because she had corn rows, and we all know its all about the hair. Miki’s hair was out of control in the later part of the fight, and as you can see it changed everything.

See more pics from the fight courtesy Sherdog after the jump. Read more »