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Shocking UFC Fight Night Japan 2017 Saitama Super Arena card
By Zach Arnold | September 4, 2017
This event will be on DAZN in Japan. I’m not sure if it will air on terrestrial television or not…
9/23 Saitama Super Arena (8:30 AM Japanese standard time)
Under card
- Welterweights: Daichi Abe (Pancrase) vs. Lim Hyun-Gyu
- Strawweights: Shuri Kondo (Pancrase champion) vs. Chan Mi Jeon
- Flyweights: Jussier Formiga vs. Ulka Sasaki
- Welterweights: Alex Morono vs. K-Taro Nakamura
- Welterweights: Luke Jumeau vs. Shinsho Anzai
- Flyweights: Jenel Lausa vs. Naoki Inoue
Main card
- Featherweights: Charles Rosa vs. Mizuto Hirota
- Featherweights: Teruto Ishihara vs. Rolando Dy
- Light Heavyweights: Gokhan Saki vs. Henrique Da Silva Alves
- Lightweights: Takanori Gomi vs. Kim Dong Hyun
- Strawweights: Jessica Andrade vs. Claudia Gadelha
- Light Heavyweights: Mauricio Shogun vs. Ovince St. Preux
Since UFC’s fight several years ago in Japan, each successive event has had less and less attention. UFC has had a golden chance to take over a major combat sports market and failed to do so.
Topics: Japan, Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 5 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
in other news….
Is it any worse than the shows that Rizin puts on?
The only thing I’m bummed about is that Syuri Kondo (5-0) vs. Chan Mi Jeon (5-1) is limited to Fight Pass. With those records, I would have typically hoped to have seen them on the FXX pre-lims. With the exception of Gokhan Saki, a well-known kick boxer, the fighters all seem well-seasoned in MMA. With the exception of the co-main event (Gadelha/Andrade), nearly every match-up features a Japanese fighter, mostly well known. Not sure what is so “shocking” about the card.
This is a horrific card on a lot of business levels. I would struggle to even book this kind of card at a building like Yokohama Bunka Gym.
Shuri Kondo is one of the few interesting stories here and should have been on the main card. There is a unique deal here for her where she will be able to go back to wrestling a month later. Either Pancrase or Dentsu negotiated a special deal to get her on the show.
[…] A horribly uninteresting UFC fight card at Saitama Super Arena has one shining light — super charismatic and athletic Pancrase champion Shuri Kondo. She has a unique deal where she will be able to wrestle 30 days after her UFC bout happens. At least that is the plan. […]