Vale Tudo Japan 2009 results and quick recap

by Akimitsu Kuwabara on Oct 30, 2009 2:30 PM EDT

Shooto promoter Sustain resurrected the classic "Vale Tudo Japan" series on Oct. 30 at JCB Hall in Tokyo where some of the venerable Shooto stars and alumni on the card earned emphatic victories at the memorable event.

In one of the two five-rounders under the specially designated VTJ rule, current Shooto 143-pound champion "Lion" Takeshi Inoue solidified his champion status in the Shooto history book by defeating the former champion, Alexandre "Pequeno" Franca Nogueira via TKO in Round 4.

"Pequeno," the former Shooto champion, continues his devolution from the undisputed featherweight king of the world into a relic in the fast-evolving world of MMA: He has lost four of his last five fights, dating back to 2005.

Shooto pioneer and longtime fan favorite, Rumina Sato, restored himself to the winning column by making a quick work of Cory Grant via KO in the first round. Grant, fellow Team Quest member of Sato's original opponent, Joe Warren, came in as a last-minute replacement after Warren was unable to come to terms with Sustain over the provisions of the match.

Shooto bantamweight star, Mamoru Yamaguchi broke his year-long hiatus to pound out Guamanian prospect, Jesse Taitano in the first round.

In the main event of the night, former PRIDE lightweight champion, Takanori Gomi, edged past KOTC lightweight champ, Tony Hervey, after five rounds via unanimous decision. The victory is the second in a row for the former lightweight kingpin after a deflating two-fight losing streak that led to his fall from grace.

Yet, Gomi's performance was hardly what his fans expected from the "Fireball Kid" who once tore through his competition in PRIDE.

Gomi picked apart Hervey with superior stand-up and groundwork for three rounds; however, his running low on gas at the end of the third round.

He mustered every last ounce of grit to survive the fourth and fifth rounds, but with his gas severely depleted, he raised the specter of his loss to Nick Diaz at PRIDE 33: At the end of the fourth round, he struggled to walk back to his corner.

Once again, a thick cloud hovers over Gomi's future, as he seemingly has lost the luster of his reign in PRIDE.

When Gomi took the mic immediately after the fight, he was out of breath and struggled to deliver his words to the crowd. He apologized to the crowd for his performance and admitted to the lack of preparation.

Curiously enough, the announcement he had in store for the fans in JCB Hall that he alluded to during the pre-fight press conference was his desire to challenge K-1 icon, Masato on New Year's Eve. Not surprisingly, Gomi retracted his words: Masato is now set to face the newly crowned K-1 MAX winner, Georgio Petrosyan.

Full results:

Takanori Gomi def. Tony Hervey via unanimous decision (47-45, 46-45, 46-44) R5 5:00
"Lion" Takeshi Inoue def. Alexandre Franca Nogueira via TKO (punches) R4 2:58
Rumina Sato def. Cory Grant via KO (punches) R1 3:20
Tito Jones def. Tenkei "Fujimiya" Oda via unanimous decision (30-28, 30-27, 30-29) R3 5:00
Willamy "Chiquerim" Freire def. Kenichiro Togashi via TKO (doctor stoppage) R1 2:05
Mamoru Yamaguchi def. Jesse Taitano via TKO (punches) R1 4:41
Jung Ming Kang def. Yoichiro Sato via KO (punches) R1 2:48
Kosuke "Jukucho" Eda vs. Masato Sannai was ruled a majority draw (19-19, 18-19, 19-19) R2 5:00

For our complete Vale Tudo Japan 2009 archive click here.

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Ricardo Ney Dourado Bloch ( casca ) B Belt bjj leaves now in Los Angeles

by Carlos on Oct 30, 2009 3:57 PM EDT reply actions

haha, and gomi thinks he can KO bj penn! that is comedy.

by omoplato on Oct 30, 2009 5:20 PM EDT reply actions

well their gas tanks are about the same size so it could be interesting

by EazyEismydad on Oct 30, 2009 7:49 PM EDT up reply actions

In a straight-up K-1 MAX (154lb) fight between Gomi and Penn, I’dd probably take Gomi, but since they fight MMA, Penn would probably be my pick in a rematch. Gomi’s gas tank has always been a bit of an issue, luckily for him he had the striking and the rules to dismantle his opponents in Pride before gas tank became an issue. His loss to Golyaev was very close, he outworked the Russian and deserved the win, its one of those losses that should have an asteriks (*) next to it.

In any case, good to see Sato back in the win column, kinda feel bad for Franca Nogueira he hasnt been that good lately, but Lion is no push over.

by Belisarius on Oct 30, 2009 9:20 PM EDT reply actions

BJ doesn’t check leg kicks but Penn still has way better crisper and cleaner hands IMO. Both have chins though. The question becomes who gasses first. In K-1, i don’t think BJ could handle the body work if gomi could put it on him but Gomi is a headhunter so strategy isn’t really up there. Could be cool though defnitely.

The Golyaev fight was simply what it was – a robbery. As far as Franca, we’ve seen it happen in divisions before where one who seemingly king was never that great. Well because 145 and 135 only got big recently, the talent level there was lacking so he thrived. But in a world of Aldo, Urijah, MTB and the likes, kuwabara was right in calling him a relic of shooto. This fight does nothing for Lion though. He will probly remain at 10 or so in the rankings.

As far as Sato, we’ll see if a drop in weight class will rejunivate his career. And i say f it come stateside. I think his obsession with winning a shooto title probly ruined his career. I bet if he just moved on from that and went after something else, he could still have a OK career.

by NameNotRequired on Oct 30, 2009 9:37 PM EDT up reply actions