1) Jutaro Nakao vs. Steve Nelson: Nakao is the #2 ranked Shooto middleweight. Hey, that's pretty good for a guy destined for gatekeeper status! Nelson was with USWF, that beloved and short lived pro wrestling style shoot organization that ran out of West Texas in the late 1990s. 80KG limit.
FIGHT: Nakao Submission Rnd 2. Nelson says in advance that he can't stand with Nakao and proves that right by pushing for the clinch and takedown constantly in this fight. In round 2, Nakao locks in a triangle and eventually forces a tapout. Heavily clipped. (0)
2) Marcelo Aguiar vs.Hayato "Mach" Sakurai: Luta Livre dude vs. future legend.
FIGHT: Draw. I guess these are old school rules where no one wins if it goes the distance. Sakurai basically controls what is shown, which could be a lie. But he almost gets an armbar and a heel hook for sure. (.5)
3) Jan Lomulder vs. Kenji Kawaguchi: Lomulder is a kickboxer and listed as being "freelance". Kawaguchi is a former Shooto champ recently deposed by Paulson.
FIGHT: Kawaguchi Submission Rnd 3. People are going WILD for this fight, which of course is clipped to hell. We see Lomulder escape a submission attempt in the first after joining the fight with Kawaguchi in mount, and then there is a pretty noneventful second, and then Kawaguchi gets a RNC in the third. (.5)
4) Joao Roque vs. Uchuu Tatsumi: Remember when Roque was a big deal? Little dude fight.
FIGHT: Draw. Again, why was this ever a thing? To allow for modern newspaper decisions? Roque takes down his opponent repeatedly and clearly controls the contest. Clipped. (.5)
5) Carlos Newton vs. Eric Paulson: I should be so excited for this, and yet I expect it to be cut to shreds. Shooto light heavyweight title up for grabs.
FIGHT: Newton Submission Rnd 1. 41 seconds as Newton gets the fight down, passes to mount, and then goes for an armbar. And gets it. Paulson is in shock and I sorta am too. (5)
6) Ed De Krajif vs. Tom Erikson: De Krajif is a longterm journeyman in the sport who started as a kickboxer. Erikson meanwhile was like the most dangerous dude ever at this point.
FIGHT: Erikson TKO Rnd 1. De Krajif dropped immediately with a right hand as Erikson shoots in and he has to stop and let the ref give a count. He takes down De Krajif again and beats the shit out of him in mount after a huge slam. Holy shit. And now it is totally clear why no one wanted to fuck with this dude. (2)
7) Rumina Sato vs. John Lewis: Lewis has a win over Sato from some time prior but Sato has basically gone on the roll to end all rolls at this point and is the P4P top fighter in the sport at this stage.
FIGHT: Sato Submission Rnd 2. Sato looks fantastic here, beating Lewis standing and on the mat. In this fight (shown in complete and unedited) Sato actually uses the rubber guard. That is UNHEARD OF circa 1997. You could hear the confusion from the announcers as he's doing it. If he were better versed, honestly, he had a gogoplata waiting for him. He eventually finishes with a straight armbar from the bottom. (4)
8) Frank Shamrock vs. Enson Inoue: The main event. Modern day legends of the sport. Pioneers. Is this fight big? Fool, are you serious?
FIGHT: Shamrock DSQ. Really, this is a TKO win. (5)
Shamrock: Frank survives a bullrush early in the fight from Inoue and immediately gets a takedown. He spends pretty much the entire first round on top in the open guard of Inoue, emerging late in the 8 minute period to throw some low kicks. In round two, we have a reversal of fortune - Inoue gets to the top position and even moves to the mount briefly, but can't really get a submission or threaten Shamrock with strikes. Shamrock eventually bridges and escapes, and we then get an all out slugfest of punches and kicks. Inoue eats a couple or punches, Shamrock grabs the thai plumb and drives a knee into Enson's face and he goes down in a heap. Frank looked to follow up with punches but Inoue's corner is in the ring and a near riot breaks out as someone shoves Frank, effectively spiking him on his head and then holding him. Maurice Smith is in there telling the dude that pushed Shamrock to let go of him. Man, I don't miss this aspect of Japanese MMA at all. In the US dudes everywhere would have rumbled over some shit like that instead of some ridiculous yakuza threats stopping guys getting what they deserve.
Enson: Can wrestle a little, got the mount, but wasn't at all active there. Was he looking to draw?
FIGHT OF THE NIGHT: Inoue/Shamrock
KO OF THE NIGHT: Erikson/De Krajif
SUBMISSION OF THE NIGHT: Newton/Paulson
OVERALL FOR THE EVENT: 5 out of 10. Lots of history, lots of clipping ruining our perspective of history. Two hugely important all time fights on this show that also happened to be not infinitely long or really great. But they meant a lot, trust me. Would be off the charts if it hadn't been for the clipped fights.
D&R Rating: 46% (18.5/40)
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