"The Way of Shooto ~ Like a Tiger, Like a Dragon~" results and quick recap

Shooto held its first event of 2010 on Saturday, January 23 at Korakuen Hall.

"The Way of Shooto ~ Like a Tiger, Like a Dragon ~" featured the promotion's Lightweight (143 pounds) champion, "Lion" Takeshi Inoue, who faced the New Mexico-based, Fit NHB fighter, Gerald Lovato in a non-title bout. Also, former Shooto Lightweight champion, Hideki Kadowaki and Rumina Sato pupil, Taiki Tsuchiya vied for the vacant Shooto Pacific Rim Lightweight title in the main event.

Inoue, who struggled mightily with weight cut for the bout, seemed unable to settle into his groove until the third round. Having to step on the scale for a final weigh-in on the day of the fight, Inoue was content to exchange jabs and low kicks for a round and half. While he managed to force Lovato into ground game in the second and third round, Inoue struggled to mount offense from the top position. Lovato survived well into the third round on the ground until "Lion" finally secured an arm bar, forcing him to tap at 4:11 of the final frame.

Taiki Tsuchiya bested the veteran grappler, Hideki Kadowaki in a three-round battle. Tsuchiya survived Kadowaki's offense on the ground and took control of the striking exchange, landing several damaging blows. While Kadowaki had his moments in striking and grappling, his valiant effort proved insufficient. In the end, all three judges gave Tsuchiya the nod. With the victory, he 25 year-old Rumina Sato pupil became the new Shooto Pacific Rim Lightweight champion: He clinched the title once held by his master and also avenged the loss Sato suffered against Kadowaki in 2007.

Elsewhere, 2009 Shooto 167-pound Rookie Tournament Champion, Yoichiro Sato continued his surge with a first-round submission victory over Takuya Sato.

Full results after the jump

1     Kosuke Suzuki     Yuya Kaneuchi     Draw     2     5:00
2     Yuki Okano     Tetsuo Seto     Decision (Unanimous)     2     5:00
3     Masumi Tozawa     Keiji Koizumi     Decision (Unanimous)     2     5:00
4     Wataru Miki     Jin Suk Jung     KO (Knee)     1     3:15
5     Yoichiro Sato     Takuya Sato     Submission (Rear-Naked Choke)     1     2:25
6     Yoshihiro Koyama     Yutaka Ueda     Decision (Unanimous)     3     5:00
7     Hiroyuki Abe     Atsushi Takeuchi     Decision (Unanimous)     3     5:00
8     Takeshi Inoue     Gerald Lovato     Submission (Armbar)     3     4:11
9     Taiki Tsuchiya     Hideki Kadowaki     Decision (Unanimous)     3     5:00