Credit: Jordan Breen of Sherdog (jbreen@sherdog.com)
Leading Shooto promoter Sustain has announced early designs for its March 28 Back to Our Roots 8 card at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo.
In the main event, 143-pound Shooto world champion Akitoshi Tamura will make his first title defense against Hideki Kadowaki.
Tamura, 27, has not competed since last May, when he dominated then-champion “Lion Takeshi” Takeshi Inoue en route to a unanimous decision to take the title.
Kadowaki, who will celebrate his 32nd birthday two days before the bout, is an unlikely title challenger. A longtime gatekeeper, he shocked and impressed last September when he submitted Shooto icon Rumina Sato in the first round.
Tamura and Kadowaki met previously in March 2005, with Kadowaki taking a unanimous decision.
With titleholder Akitoshi Hokazono having announced his retirement from competition, a second title clash on the card between Koetsu Okazaki and Masakatsu Ueda will declare the fifth 132-pound world champion of professional Shooto.
The fighters, both of which were undefeated 132-pound rookie champions, earned their title shots in similar fashion.
Okazaki, 28, took a majority decision over Atsushi Yamamoto in May to break into the upper echelon of the Shooto world rankings. Meanwhile, the 30-year-old Ueda punched his ticket into the title fight on Jan. 26 after he also beat Yamamoto.
Also announced for the card, one of Kenji Kawaguchi’s three former 143-pound Shooto rookie champions, Tenkei Fujimiya, will take on Noboru Asahi-trained Hiroshi Nakamura. Kawaguchi’s hope for a fourth rookie champion in the division, All Japan amateur champion Hiroshige Tanaka, will fight Kenichiro Marui in a 143-pound rookie tournament bout.
Former Shooto world champion “Lion Takeshi” Takeshi Inoue as well as former Shooto competitor and grappling star Baret Yoshida have also been confirmed for the event.
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