Kazu Kobayashi held a press meeting in Tokyo to announce the finals of the CONDOR FC Grand Prix to crown the first ever champion of the promotion. Kobayashi was surrounded by eight new Japanese faces as he began the meeting. Kobayashi explained that these were the eight new fighters that CONDOR FC has signed, with full intentions to broaden the promotion in terms of size. Kobayashi introduced each man, they'd step forward, and Kobayashi would explain who they were and their abilities...Here are some of the highlights, summarized...
Kinshiro Murata (25) (5-4-0), who's style is that of Muay Thai fights out of the SONIC SPEED gym that Michiyoshi Takase fights out of. Murata is a never tiring, never ending bullrush of motion and power striking. He has a critical weakness to the ground, but has been working on his sprawl. However, standing he is a an incredible threat to anyone.
Tsubasa Saburo (30) (0-0-0) is a Judo stylist having made the Japanese team for the 2008 Beijing Olympics but failed to place. Saburo is a fearsome grappler up close and was known as the "Lion of Oita" for his fearsome attacks and ferocity. He has not been tested to striking yet, but all accounts from his training say he has come along well.
Ryojiro Iwamura (23) (2-0-0), is an oddity. A Wing Tsun star, Iwamura has transitioned to MMA with some success. Iwamura is a patient fighter, always looking for openings. He uses the Wing Tsun philosophy of staying close to the opponent at all times to good effect by closing the distance and clinching. He does not have any real finishing skills as of yet, but his style makes him a dangerous opponent to face, and hard to figure out.
Yoshikazu Naito (27) (3-1-0), is a blackbelt in Chito-ryu Karate. Naito is a gifted student, as he has developed an overall MMA game even if his Karate background dominates. He is incredibly patient, border lining fanatical but the second an opponent shows an opening, Naito strikes. Naito's "counterstriking" style could give opponents headaches.
Kinjiro Takeda (28) (7-4-0), is a rare type of fighter. Much like Yuki Uematsu, Takeda is a gifted strategist in battle. Incredibly tactical, he makes up for his lack of power and speed by using a fearsome grappling game mixed with an ability to know when to strike to finish an opponent. However, he has a weakness in that he never knows when to quit. His four previous losses were heavy beatings that were eventually stopped.
Shinjiro Sonoda (18) (1-0-0), is a very young gifted fighter. Sonoda is a fighter who loves to play to the ground and taunt his opponents. He loves to entertain, and in fact has given himself the style of "Nanto Seiken", a fictional fighting style from the popular anime Hokuto no Ken. Sonoda is gifted overall, with a talent towards using his fists, but he lacks in no one dimension. Sonoda could be someone to watch in a few months.
Masanaka Katakura (31), (0-2-0) is the elder statesman of the group. Katakura is a long time kickboxer known for his incredible speed and ferocity of his attacks. What sets him apart from fighters like Michiyoshi Takase or the above Kinshiro Murata is that Katakura has virtually no striking power whatsoever. What he uses to make up for it, is incredible speed, a fanatical attack, and a never emptying gas tank. He has poured himself into trying to defend against takedowns as of late, resulting in a strong base.
Tokimitsu Hosokawa (27), (1-0-0) is a former Amateur Greco Roman wrestler, placing eighth in all of Japan in 2005. For the last two years, Hosokawa has trained off and on for MMA while coaching wrestling. Hosokawa is explosive. Incredibly strong, and athletically gifted Hosokawa has taken to MMA well. However, a big question mark is his heart as Hosokawa has given up in the past and could be a question mark in the future.
After Hosokawa had been introduced, Kobayashi thanked them all, and dismissed them. After the eight had filed out, Kobayashi produced a list of the new CONDOR FC Rankings, ranking everyone on their merits that have fought thus far in the promotion.
CONDOR FC RANKINGS:
1. Michiyoshi Takase (2,700)
2. Yuki Uematsu (2,600)
3. Gabriel Morais (2,600)
4. Yoshiro Ito (2,300)
5. Hachirou Fujii (1,700)
6. Akashi "Tiger" Nakamura (1,500)
7. Hideo Gomi (1,500)
8. Natsuo Nozaki (1,500)
9. James Scott (1,500)
10. Masanori Ito (1,300)
11. Hernando Perra (1,300)
12. Lee Jung Hyun (1,000)
13. Jacob Loevaas (800)
14. Riley Jacobs (500)
15. Naoyuki Fuchida (300)
16. Akira Kitaoka (275)
17. Takeshi Yamada (0)
UNRANKED: Kong Sheng-Hui, Tsubasa Saburo, Kinshiro Murata, Ryojiro Iwamura, Yoshikazu Naito, Kinjiro Takeda, Shinjiro Sonoda, Masanaka Katakura, Tokimitsu Hosokawa
Kobayashi, with as much dramatic flush as he could muster, announced that the CONDOR FC GP would culminate on 8/19 at the Tokyo Korakuen Hall. The eight men introduced previously would all be fighting, along with the semi finals and final of the tournament.
At this point, Kobayashi introduced Yuki Uematsu, and explained that by random draw, Yuki Uematsu had been given the ability to choose who he would face in the semi finals. The grizzled veteran wasted no time before saying he wanted to face Michiyoshi Takase! With that Kobayashi introduced the other three men, and each gave statements to the press in attendance while sitting behind a table.
Michiyoshi Takase seemed surprised that Yuki Uematsu had called him out after his domination of former boxing champion Hachiro Fujii, but Takase called the fight "interesting", saying that Uematsu must have a plan to have called him out, and was eager to see what he had in store.
Yuki Uematsu revealed why he had called out Takase, saying that he felt that Takase may have a weakness he can exploit. He also said that he considers Takase the strongest in the field, and wanted to wage war against the best.
Yoshiro Ito seemed to be furious at Uematsu's comments that Takase was the "strongest", saying that he too had won all his fights thus far in CONDOR and had knocked out the heavy favorite Hideo Gomi with little problem. Ito slammed his fist down on the table and demanded that no one overlook him in this tournament.
Gabriel Morais was last to speak, through an interpreter. Morais was smiling, and happy to be there as he called all three other men "warriors" and said that he was proud to have made it this far...but said that his #1 goal was to win the championship and display it to his family and friends in Brazil!
With that, Kazu Kobayashi called an end to the press meeting and announced the lineups for CONDOR's very first big event!
CONDOR Fighting Championships
~ CATCH THE FLYING DREAM
August16th, 2008
Tokyo Korakuen Hall (2,100)
1. CONDOR FC Reserve Fight: Hideo Gomi vs. Hachiro Fujii
2. CONDOR FC GP Semi Finals: Yoshiro Ito vs. Gabriel Morais
3. CONDOR FC GP Semi Finals: Michyoshi Takase vs. Yuki Uematsu
4. Shinjiro Sonoda vs. Kinshiro Murata
5. Yoshikazu Naito vs. Kinjiro Takeda
6. Tokimitsu Hosokawa vs. Ryojiro Iwamura
7. Tsubasa Sakuro vs. Masanaka Katakura
8. CONDOR FC GP Finals: Y. Ito/Morais vs. Takase/Uematsu
Kinshiro Murata (25) (5-4-0), who's style is that of Muay Thai fights out of the SONIC SPEED gym that Michiyoshi Takase fights out of. Murata is a never tiring, never ending bullrush of motion and power striking. He has a critical weakness to the ground, but has been working on his sprawl. However, standing he is a an incredible threat to anyone.
Tsubasa Saburo (30) (0-0-0) is a Judo stylist having made the Japanese team for the 2008 Beijing Olympics but failed to place. Saburo is a fearsome grappler up close and was known as the "Lion of Oita" for his fearsome attacks and ferocity. He has not been tested to striking yet, but all accounts from his training say he has come along well.
Ryojiro Iwamura (23) (2-0-0), is an oddity. A Wing Tsun star, Iwamura has transitioned to MMA with some success. Iwamura is a patient fighter, always looking for openings. He uses the Wing Tsun philosophy of staying close to the opponent at all times to good effect by closing the distance and clinching. He does not have any real finishing skills as of yet, but his style makes him a dangerous opponent to face, and hard to figure out.
Yoshikazu Naito (27) (3-1-0), is a blackbelt in Chito-ryu Karate. Naito is a gifted student, as he has developed an overall MMA game even if his Karate background dominates. He is incredibly patient, border lining fanatical but the second an opponent shows an opening, Naito strikes. Naito's "counterstriking" style could give opponents headaches.
Kinjiro Takeda (28) (7-4-0), is a rare type of fighter. Much like Yuki Uematsu, Takeda is a gifted strategist in battle. Incredibly tactical, he makes up for his lack of power and speed by using a fearsome grappling game mixed with an ability to know when to strike to finish an opponent. However, he has a weakness in that he never knows when to quit. His four previous losses were heavy beatings that were eventually stopped.
Shinjiro Sonoda (18) (1-0-0), is a very young gifted fighter. Sonoda is a fighter who loves to play to the ground and taunt his opponents. He loves to entertain, and in fact has given himself the style of "Nanto Seiken", a fictional fighting style from the popular anime Hokuto no Ken. Sonoda is gifted overall, with a talent towards using his fists, but he lacks in no one dimension. Sonoda could be someone to watch in a few months.
Masanaka Katakura (31), (0-2-0) is the elder statesman of the group. Katakura is a long time kickboxer known for his incredible speed and ferocity of his attacks. What sets him apart from fighters like Michiyoshi Takase or the above Kinshiro Murata is that Katakura has virtually no striking power whatsoever. What he uses to make up for it, is incredible speed, a fanatical attack, and a never emptying gas tank. He has poured himself into trying to defend against takedowns as of late, resulting in a strong base.
Tokimitsu Hosokawa (27), (1-0-0) is a former Amateur Greco Roman wrestler, placing eighth in all of Japan in 2005. For the last two years, Hosokawa has trained off and on for MMA while coaching wrestling. Hosokawa is explosive. Incredibly strong, and athletically gifted Hosokawa has taken to MMA well. However, a big question mark is his heart as Hosokawa has given up in the past and could be a question mark in the future.
After Hosokawa had been introduced, Kobayashi thanked them all, and dismissed them. After the eight had filed out, Kobayashi produced a list of the new CONDOR FC Rankings, ranking everyone on their merits that have fought thus far in the promotion.
CONDOR FC RANKINGS:
1. Michiyoshi Takase (2,700)
2. Yuki Uematsu (2,600)
3. Gabriel Morais (2,600)
4. Yoshiro Ito (2,300)
5. Hachirou Fujii (1,700)
6. Akashi "Tiger" Nakamura (1,500)
7. Hideo Gomi (1,500)
8. Natsuo Nozaki (1,500)
9. James Scott (1,500)
10. Masanori Ito (1,300)
11. Hernando Perra (1,300)
12. Lee Jung Hyun (1,000)
13. Jacob Loevaas (800)
14. Riley Jacobs (500)
15. Naoyuki Fuchida (300)
16. Akira Kitaoka (275)
17. Takeshi Yamada (0)
UNRANKED: Kong Sheng-Hui, Tsubasa Saburo, Kinshiro Murata, Ryojiro Iwamura, Yoshikazu Naito, Kinjiro Takeda, Shinjiro Sonoda, Masanaka Katakura, Tokimitsu Hosokawa
Kobayashi, with as much dramatic flush as he could muster, announced that the CONDOR FC GP would culminate on 8/19 at the Tokyo Korakuen Hall. The eight men introduced previously would all be fighting, along with the semi finals and final of the tournament.
At this point, Kobayashi introduced Yuki Uematsu, and explained that by random draw, Yuki Uematsu had been given the ability to choose who he would face in the semi finals. The grizzled veteran wasted no time before saying he wanted to face Michiyoshi Takase! With that Kobayashi introduced the other three men, and each gave statements to the press in attendance while sitting behind a table.
Michiyoshi Takase seemed surprised that Yuki Uematsu had called him out after his domination of former boxing champion Hachiro Fujii, but Takase called the fight "interesting", saying that Uematsu must have a plan to have called him out, and was eager to see what he had in store.
Yuki Uematsu revealed why he had called out Takase, saying that he felt that Takase may have a weakness he can exploit. He also said that he considers Takase the strongest in the field, and wanted to wage war against the best.
Yoshiro Ito seemed to be furious at Uematsu's comments that Takase was the "strongest", saying that he too had won all his fights thus far in CONDOR and had knocked out the heavy favorite Hideo Gomi with little problem. Ito slammed his fist down on the table and demanded that no one overlook him in this tournament.
Gabriel Morais was last to speak, through an interpreter. Morais was smiling, and happy to be there as he called all three other men "warriors" and said that he was proud to have made it this far...but said that his #1 goal was to win the championship and display it to his family and friends in Brazil!
With that, Kazu Kobayashi called an end to the press meeting and announced the lineups for CONDOR's very first big event!
CONDOR Fighting Championships
~ CATCH THE FLYING DREAM
August16th, 2008
Tokyo Korakuen Hall (2,100)
1. CONDOR FC Reserve Fight: Hideo Gomi vs. Hachiro Fujii
2. CONDOR FC GP Semi Finals: Yoshiro Ito vs. Gabriel Morais
3. CONDOR FC GP Semi Finals: Michyoshi Takase vs. Yuki Uematsu
4. Shinjiro Sonoda vs. Kinshiro Murata
5. Yoshikazu Naito vs. Kinjiro Takeda
6. Tokimitsu Hosokawa vs. Ryojiro Iwamura
7. Tsubasa Sakuro vs. Masanaka Katakura
8. CONDOR FC GP Finals: Y. Ito/Morais vs. Takase/Uematsu
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