Shooto 2020 5/31 in Korakuen Hall – Results
Is this real life? More live fights from Japan?!
The company behind Shooto, Sustain, was determined to hold live fights on May 31 – empty arena or otherwise. Of course, much like every other live sporting event as of late, it was indeed without a crowd.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Sustain was forced to cancel Shooto’s show scheduled for March 29. This, of course, before working with ONE Championship for a Road to ONE show on April 17. Due to the circumstances worldwide that may affect a fighters ability to train properly and cut weight the right way, this morning’s show saw all fights outside of the championship bout take place a weight class above where you would typically see it. It was also a same-day weigh-in.
For those unaware of how Shooto names their event, this one would technically be called Shooto 0531 to coincide with the month and date the event was held on. It’s complicated, and always changing.
In the night’s main event it was Shooto Pacific Rim title-holder Ryoa Okada facing an undefeated german-suplex loving powerhouse wrestler in the form of Wrestling Emperor’s Cup winner Kazuma Kuramoto for Shooto’s interim bantamweight title.
The co-main event saw a fan-favorite veteran in the form of Akiyo “Wicky” Nishiura return against Keisuke Sasu in the lightweight division. Elsewhere on the card, there was plenty of action.
A grappling match, the return of 43-year-old RIZIN veteran and former DEEP champion Mina Kurobe, and former two-division Pancrase champion Kiyotaka Shimizu who challenged Hiromasa Ogikubo for his Shooto title unsuccessfully last year.
Check out the full results of Shooto 2020 5/31 below.
Interim Bantamweight Championship:
Ryo Okada def. Kazuma Kuramoto via KO (Straight Left) in Round 2
Lightweight bout:
Keisuke Sasu def. Akiyo Nishiura via Unanimous Decision (30-27×3)
AOKI PROJECT: (Grappling Match)
Tomo Shigera vs. Kenta Iwamoto ends in TIME LIMIT DRAW
Bantamweight bout:
Kiyotaka Shimizu def. Takahiro Kohori via KO (Ground Punch) in Round 2
Shooto Women’s Super Atomweight Tournament Semi-Final:
Mina Kurobe def. Saori Oshima via TKO (Strikes) in Round 3
Shooto Women’s Super Atomweight Tournament Semi-Finals:
Megumi Sugimoto def. Mirai Nakamura via Submission (RNC) in Round 2
Featherweight bout:
Hayato Ishii def. Tsubasa Saito via Unanimous Decision (29-28×2, 29-27)
Lightweight bout:
Yamato Nishikawa def. Takeaki Kinoshita via Unanimous Decision (20-18×3)