Pancrase '2010 Passion Tour' results and quick recap

Japanese MMA mainstay, Pancrase, kicked off its 2010 campaign with "Pancrase 2010 Passion Tour" on Sunday, February 7.

In the main event of the night, UFC/Pride/Pancrase veteran and former Light Heavyweight King of Pancrase, Yuki Kondo successfully defended his Middleweight Interim King of Pancrase title against Kazushi Sakuraba protege, Takenori Sato.

From the opening bell, Kondo seized the reins of striking exchange and refused to yield until the very end. Outmatched in the stand-up battle, Sato resorted to repeated takedown attempts that Kondo stuffed effortlessly. When Sato found himself on his back, Kondo proceeded with steady ground-and-pound from the top, adroitly maneuvering himself away from Sato's submission attempts. In the end, all the judges gave Kondo a nod, rewarding him with an opportunity to face Ichiro Kanai on April 29 for the Middleweight King of Pancrase title bout.

The penultimate bout of the night crowned the second Flyweight King of Pancrase, as Kiyotaka Shimizu bested the defending and inaugural champion, Hisamitsu Sunabe.

Shimizu, who stumbled against Sunabe in their prior meeting in June 2008, got off to a slow start, as he was knocked down early in the round by Sunabe's left hook. Sunabe launched his ground attack toward the end of the round with triangle choke and arm bar attempts off his back. Shimizu picked up his momentum in the second and third rounds, with successful takedown attempts, but neither fighter managed to gain a discernible edge on the feet or on the ground.

At the end of three rounds, Shimizu earned a close decision (29-29, 29-28 x 2) to become the new King of Pancrase.

In a bout billed as a "hidden main event of the night," Seiya Kawahara and Tashiro Nishiuchi, Pancrase's number one and number two-ranked bantamweights, respectively, thrilled the crowd with fast-paced action.

Kawahara, who was on a two-fight winning streak since suffering a TKO loss to Nick Denis in the preliminary round of Sengoku's featherweight grand prix last year, survived the striking exchange and maintained a steady pace on the ground with strikes from the top to earn a unanimous decision victory.

While the sum of their ages do not amount to 91 (if you do not get the reference, what in the world were you doing this weekend?), Yuji Hisamatsu and Keiichiro Yamamiya showed the crowd at Differ Ariake Arena that two late thirty-somethings can still fight their heart out.

Hisamatsu edged Yamamiya with a close decision (30-30, 30-29 x 2) after three rounds of valiant striking exchange.

Elsewhere, in a fight pitting youth against experience, 19 year-old Tetsuya Yamada scored a thrilling TKO victory against 37 year-old Takafumi Ito.

Two minutes into the second round, Yamada found himself on his back: After thwarting Ito's attempt to pass his open guard, Yamada fired off an upkick that landed flush on the chin. With the victory, Yamada snapped a two-fight losing streak against Ronnie Mann and Maximo Blanco in Sengoku.

Full result:

Main-Event: Middleweight Interim King of Pancrase title fight:
11. Yuki Kondo (Champion) Def. Takenori Sato by Decision 3-0

Flyweight King of Pancrase title fight:
10. Kiyotaka Shimizu Def. Mitsuhisa Sunabe (champion) by Decision 2-0

9. Bantam: Seiya Kawahara Def. Tashiro Nishiuchi by Decision 3-0
8. Middle: Yuji Hisamatsu Def. Keiichiro Yamamiya by Decision 2-0
7. Light: Tetsuya Yamada Def. Takafumi Ito by KO Round 2 2:23
6. Feather: Tomonari Kanomata Def. Shigeyuki Uchiyama by decision 2-0
5. Light: Isao Kobayashi Def. Hiroki "AB" Aoki by TKO Round 1 1:00
4. Fly: Isao Hirose Def. Takuma Ishii by rear-naked choke Round 2 1:34
3. Middle: Hoon Kim Def. Ryuji Ohori by armbar Round 1 3:36
2. Welter: Daisuke Watanabe Def. Kosei Kubota by Decision 2-0
1. Welter: Kengo Ura Def. Shingo Suzuki by TKO Round 1 1:43