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SHOOTO – 04/21/2013: ADCC Asia winner “Uruka” Sasaki replaces injured “Jungle” Ito to take on Onojima

Home » ADCC News » SHOOTO – 04/21/2013: ADCC Asia winner “Uruka” Sasaki replaces injured “Jungle” Ito to take on Onojima
Yuta "Uruka" Sasaki (right) with his trainer Kenichi Serizawa after winning Shooto Pacific Rim title in January of this year

Yuta "Uruka" Sasaki (right) with his trainer Kenichi Serizawa after winning Shooto Pacific Rim title in January of this yearWhen Yuta "Uruka" Sasaki heard about "Jungle" Ito's left knee injury, he came forward, expressed his wish to fight, and now, this year's ADCC Asia trial winner is going to take on Kota Onojima.

Onojima may be a winner of last year's Infinity tournament but that was for Shoot's class B fighters. Therefore, although Onojima's pro MMA record is not too bad at 6-1-1, Sasaki, who is a current Shooto pacific rim champion, that has pro MMA record of 11-1-2, on paper, is far better than a 29-year old from team Combat Workout Diamonds.

"Uruka" used to fight at 145 lbs but came down to Shooto's featherweight which is at 132 lbs, just for one reason, and that is, to fight Kyoji Horiguchi.

Sasaki has publicly said this more than few times.

Horiguchi just became Shooto's world champion at this weight class earlier this month so, for a current Shooto's pacific rim champ, Sasaki probably didn't have to do this fight to secure a title shot against Horiguchi. But, he decided to step up and do this fight. Maybe, he is confident. Also, he probably felt better to be active since he last fought in January and apparently he didn't have any fights confirmed at the moment.

For a grappler like Sasaki, the fight against a striker who has won in both Shoot Boxing and Kickboxing bouts can be dangerous but, obviously, a 23-year old is feeling OK about this fight.

SHOOTO GIG TOKYO 14
Sunday, April 21st, 2013
At Shinjuku FACE, Tokyo, Japan
Doors Open – 17:30
Fight Starts – 18:00

Confirmed Cards (Subject to Change):

Lightweight Bout 5 min / 3R
Akitoshi Tamura (Japan / Tusdanuma Dojo) vs Yoshifumi Nakamura (Japan / Mach Dojo)

Featherweight Bout 5 min / 3R
Kota Onojima (Japan / Combat Workout Diamonds) vs Yuta "Uruka" Sasaki (Japan / Wajiutsu Keishukai Suruga Dojo)

Bantamweight Bout 5 min / 2R
Yasutaka Ishigami (Japan / Wajiutsu Keishu-kai Tokyo) vs Hayato Sato (Japan / Paraestra Matsudo)

Welterweight Bout 5 min / 2R
Yuya Onodera (Japan / Saito Kaikan) vs Yoshinori Takahashi (Japan / Mach Dojo)

Flyweight Bout 5 min / 2R
Tomoaki Ohta (Japan / Paraestra Koiwa) vs Takahito "Pinky" Tomozawa (Japan / AACC)

Bantamweight Bout 5 min / 3R
Nobu Watanabe (Japan / roots) vs"Rambo" Kosuke (Japan / Paraestra Chiba)

Flyweight Bout 5 min / 2R
Yusei Shimokawa (Japan / Dragon Tail) vs Jun Nabeshima (Japan / Wajitsu Keishukai Tokyo Headquarters)

Featherweight Bout 5 min / 2R
Keita Ishibashi (Japan / Dur Gym) vs Takafumi Maeda (Japan / Shooting Gym Osaka)

Ticket Prices:
VIP – 10,000 yen
RS – 8,000 yen
SS – 6,000 yen
A – 5,000 yen
B – 4,000 yen

Report by Shu Hirata
Photo courtesy of Bout Review (www.boutreview.com)

 

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