Featherweight Wataru Miki (14-7-3) submitted Tomonori Taniguchi (2-6) in a rear naked choke at 4:36 of round three.

Lightweight Yasunori Kanehara (1-4-1) TKO’d “KG Shinto” Hiroki Kuga (1-1) in 55 seconds.

Featherweight Wataru Takahashi (7-8-3) submitted “Randleman” Masayoshi Ichikawa (0-2) by arm bar at 3:43 of round one.

Bantamweight Yoshihiro Matsunaga (1-1) won a unanimous decision over Hirokazu Nishimura (2-2-1).

Bantamweight Masato Kobayashi (1-0) also won a UD over Daisuke Sugishima (0-1).

Cage Force is Japan’s first cage-based MMA promotion and considered a UFC-qualifying promotion for Japanese fighters. Current UFC talents who entered the Octagon after stints in Cage Force include “Thunder” Yushin Okami (23-4), “Outlaw” Dan Hardy (22-6), and “Zenko” Yoshiyuki Yoshida (11-3). That trio alone holds a 12-2 record in the Octagon.

Hironaka fared less well with a 1-3 UFC record, but is riding a two-fight winning streak into the title fight. He TKO’d puroresu’s Katsuhiko Nagata (4-4) at Cage Force 11 in Tokyo 27 June.

Koyama won a UD over Tomonari Kanomata (10-3-3) at Cage Force EX in Tokyo 28 February. If he leaps the hurdle of Hironaka, Koyama could be headed to an Octagon near you soon.

The Cage Force lightweight title was just vacated by Mizuto Hirota (9-3) who has fought his last two battles at Sengoku.

The undercard includes:

Wataru Miki (13-7-3) v Tomonori Taniguchi (2-5)
Yasunori Kanehara (0-4-1) v “KG Shinto” Hiroki Kuga (1-1)
Wataru Takahashi (6-8-3) v “Randleman” Masayoshi Ichikawa (0-1)
Hirokazu Nishimura (2-1-1) v Yoshihiro Matsunaga (0-1)
Masato Kobayashi (0-0) v Daisuke Sugishima (0-0)

Pancrase Results

Pancrase held its fourth iteration of its 2008 Shining tour in Azelea Taisho Hall in Osaka Sunday.

In the main,  event, “13″ Daisuke Hanazawa (9-9-5) scored his first “w” of 2008 with a two-round UD over Takefumi Hanai (2-4-2), Hanai’s third consecutive loss.

Featherweight Soyu Tanabe (4-3-1) knocked out Pancrase regular Kenji Takeshige (4-7-1) at 3:44 of the first round.

Middleweight Masahiro Toryu (5-3-3) denied Shuji Morikawa (0-2-1) his first “W” by submitting him in a guillotine choke at 3:36 of round one.

In other fights, Kenji Shimada (4-2) knocked out Takashi Hasegawa (3-6-3) at 1:58 of round one.

“Strasser” Kiichi Kunimoto (5-2) won a two-round UD over “Yuushi Edaori” Yu Shiori (5-1).

Isao Hirose (2-0) also scored a decision unanimously over “Punch” Nobuhiro Yamauchi (4-3).

DEEP Results

Three-hundred-and-fifty miles away in Tokyo Saturday night, DEEP continued its clubDEEP series at Shinjuku FACE.

In the main event, Toshiaki Kitada (7-3-2) and “Nukinpo!” Ippo Watanuki (7-6-2) fought to a two-round draw in a featherweight match-up.

Welterweight Yasushi Kitazaki (8-4-1) won a two-round split decision over Sotaro Yamada (5-4).

Lightweight Takafumi Otsuka (6-2-1) slammed Isamu Sugiuchi (7-7-2) at 3:51 of round one and pounded out a TKO.

Middleweights Yoshitomo Watanabe (6-7-2) and Ryoji Suzuki (3-2-1) fought to a draw.

“IMN Grappling” Kazuya Hirose (1-0) spun a back fist into American Guy Delameau‘s head, knocking him cold at 1:40 of round one.

Shooto Results

Sunday in Sapporo, on the northern island of Hokkaido, Shooto put on its second GIG NORTH show.

“Mach” Hayato Sakurai‘s (32-8-2) student Tomonori Taniguchi (3-5-2) won a two-round unanimous decision over Sapporo boy Daisuke Ishizawa (3-5).

Another of Sakurai’s students, Kunio Nakajima (1-2-1) scored his first “W” with a majority decision over local “Aniki” Hidekazu Asakura (1-4).

Light heavyweight Akihiko Adachi (4-4-2) TKO’d winless Nobuyasu Fujikawa (0-2-2) one minute into the second round.

Undefeated Sapporo product Fumihiro Kitahara (2-0) tapped “Cat” Hayato Sato (1-5-1) in an armbar at 2:46 of round two.

In his pr debut, Yusuke Sato (1-0) knocked out Tatsuya Yamamoto (1-1) with a flying knee in just 56 seconds.

Mach Dojo’s “KG Shinto” Hiroki Kuga (1-1) won a unanimous decision over Sapporo’s winless Yoshiki Noguchi (0-3).

Finally, hometown featherweight “Mitsuru” Atsushi Kobayashi (1-0) debuted victoriously with a first-round TKO of “Yokosai” Toshihiko Yokoyama (1-3) at 3:48.

On 21 March Shooto rumbled into Kitazawa Town Hall featuring a pair of 2008 Rookie Tournament middleweight bouts.

Nipponese Naoki Hirayama (1-0) began the night and his pro MMA career with a unanimous decision over Shin Kochiwa(0-1); and, Yoishiro Sato (1-0) tied Hirayama with a UD over pitiful Toru Ishinaka (0-4-2).

In the evening’s main event, 65-kilo Yuji Inoue (4-3-1) broke a two-fight losing streak with a UD over Kyotaro Nakao (5-7-2).

In a 2008 Rookie Tournament welterweight scrap, Kazuya Satomoto improved to 4-1 with a triangle armbar submission of Mach Dojo’s “KG Kokoroto” Hiroki Kuga (0-1).

At 56 kilos, Hiroharu Matsufuji (2-4) submitted pathetic Katsuhisa Akasaki (2-14-1) in a Kimura at 3:04 of round deuce.

In the same weight class, Shinichi Hanawa (4-6-1) outlasted Joji Shimada (1-4) to a unanimous decision victory.

Finally, 52-kilo Katsuya Murofushi (3-2) wrapped Kenichi Sawada (3-8-2) in a triangle choke for the first round finish.

Two moons forward in Hiroshima, 56-kilo Takeshi Okada (4-3-2) and debuting Mike Hayakawa (0-0-1) fought to an even clip for a majority draw scored 19-19 twice and 19-20 for Hayakawa.

In a 2008 Rookie Tournament lightweight bout, Makoto Akazawa (5-1) submitted Katayoshi Ono (0-1) in a rear naked choke.

Finally, Kentaro Watanabe (1-0) won his debut unanimously in a decision over Jun Nagasoe (0-1).