Pancrase 283 was an event that proved to be a great and exciting show to end 2016 with. This time around you had some great finishes and some serious injuries.
During the main event between Kitakata and Sunabe you had one of the most dramatic finishes I have ever seen. You will want to take the time to watch this one on UFC Fight Pass. Sunabe shows some amazing wrestling and Brazilian Jiu-jitsu.
Another stand out fight was a quick one but a great one with Marlon Sandro Vs. Koyomi Matsushima! The fight was going to be a fantastic fight from the beginning. Matsushima is a killer in the cage and has shown the fans of Pancrase some really exciting fights. Some consider Matsushima the new face of JMMA! In his last fight he nearly ripped the should apart of his opponent with a vicious Kimura.
Marlon Sandro, who trains at the same gym in Brazil as UFC great, Jose Aldo, was prepared to deal with him.
Both men are heavy strikers and good at their ground game. Early on in the 1st round Matsushima threw a great turning heel kick but missed. He quickly recovered from that miss and pressed the fight forward.
Marlon Sandro and Koyomi Matsushima eventually end up on the ground and rolled for awhile. Each man scrambled for position while punching the other in the face.
At one point Sandor got the upper hand and started to rain down 9 to 3 elbow on Matsushima. That did him in. Matsushima was out! He later tried to stand up and was still wobbly on his feet. Sandro walks away with and impressive win!
The fighters that come over from Brazil continue to impress us with their skills. One issue that we have seen here in Japan is the Brazilian fighters come to Japan to heavy. There have been several occasions where fighters had to lose 12 KG or about 25Lbs in one 24 hour period. Some do it and some do not. Batista was one that could not do it and the CEO of Pancrase took the mic on the weigh ins and said if he couldn’t cut the weight, then he would NEVER be offered a fight in Pancrase again. Unfortunately he could not make the cut.
Brazilian fighter, ROGERIO BONTORIN was another fighter that had trouble with the cut. We all understand that it is a 32 hr flight from Brazil to Japan. But as a fighter you have a job to do. If you can not make the cut then you should not fight in that division. You should do the honorable thing and move up.
However, in Bontornin’s case he was able to keep his fight because his opponent agreed to it.
Upon arrival at Differ Ariake, Bontornin was unable to walk by himself. There were 2 assistants to help him. The weight cut was extremely difficult for him. He nearly made it all the way down but was still unable to cut the last 2 KG (4.5 Lbs roughly). His opponent TAKESHI KASUGAI said no problem, “Let’s do this.”
In Pancrase rules if a fighter misses weight the opponent gets the choice of letting the fight go or continuing the fight. If the opponent decides to continue, there are conditions.
The first condition is that if the fighter who missed weight wins it is a No Contest bout. However, if the guy who made weight wins the fight it goes on his record as a win.
This fight was a quick one and did not go well for Kasugai. Bontorin caught him in a vicious armbar that hyper extended Kasugai’s elbow and he had to concede with a verbal tap out.
Make sure you check out Pancrase on UFC FightPass for all the action and the rest of the fights. Pancrase is looking really strong for 2017 and will be back on Feb. 3rd. We can’t wait!
