Shooto Japan Announces July 12th Event, Unveils Five Fights

Similar to many regional Japanese MMA promotions, Shooto has been fast to sink their teeth into new events this year. Returning again on July 12th, Shooto will have a show at the Mielparque Hall Osaka in Osaka, Japan.

The event is set to be held with a live audience, which is a change from their May event which did not allow fans. Per GONG, the venue will have fans separated by one seat in-between.

With the announcement of the card came five fight announcements.

Lightweight Belt On The Line

Headlining the show, Yuki Kawana will put his Shooto Lightweight Championship on the line against Shutaro Debana, also known as “Captain Africa.”

Kawana, who last fought in early 2019, has an impressive 9-1-1 record in Shooto. He joined the lightweight division of PFL in 2018, going 0-3 in the season before returning to regional competition in Japan.

Debana has fought his entire professional career in Shooto, boasting a 5-2 record thus far. This being his first fight in 2020, Debana went 2-0 in 2019.

Flyweights Fight For Interim Belt

Also on the card, veteran MMA fighter Yoshiro Maeda will fight Ryuya Fukuda in an interim flyweight championship tilt. Maeda has been active in MMA since 2002, currently on a two-fight run in the regional Japan scene. Fukuda is less experienced with a record of 11-5-1, but has won his last two outings in the promotion.

Shooto’s current flyweight champion is Hiromasa Ogikubo. Sharing his time between larger promotion RIZIN and Shooto, Ogikubo last defended his belt in May of 2019.

Other Matchups Announced

Three non-championship fights were also announced for the card. Ryosuke Honda (5-1-1), who has won his last two will fight Yohei Komaki (6-4) in a three-round matchup.

A battle between Go Minamide (10-5-1) and Kenta Hattori (3-3-1) is also expected.

In a two-round bout, Yota RICE Hayashi will fight Takuho Ishida. Training out of “MMA Dojo reliable” in Hyogo, Kobe, Japan, the fight will be the first professional outing by Ishida.

Full Card So Far:

Bout 5: Yuki Kawana (15-4-5) vs. Shutaro Debana (5-2) (Shooto Lightweight Championship)

Bout 4: Yoshiro Maeda (38-17-5) vs. Ryuya Fukuda (11-5-1) (Interim Shooto Flyweight Championship)

Bout 3: Ryosuke Honda (5-1-1) vs. Yohei Komaki (6-4) (Flyweight)

Bout 2: Go Minamide (10-5-1) vs. Kenta Hattori (3-3-1) (Featherweight)

Bout 1: Yota RICE Hayashi (2-2-1) vs. Takuho Ishida (0-0) (Welterweight)