Salimkhan Sadulloev is injured and will no longer be competing at Pancrase 312 on Sunday. In his place steps Genpei Hayashi who will face Tatsuya Saika at Studio Coast Shinkiba on March 8th.
That fight will have the interim lightweight title on the line and was announced via the Pancrase Twitter account this morning:
3月8日スタジオコースト大会で、ライト級 暫定タイトル戦決定！
林 源平@雑賀 ヤン坊 達也！https://t.co/MPxtktzLdq
#パンクラス #pancrase313 #PANCRASE pic.twitter.com/b9mxXDebEI— PANCRASE｜パンクラス (@_PANCRASE_) February 12, 2020
Hayashi (10-8-1) appears to have accepted this matchup at very late notice. However he is the #2 ranked lightweight on the Pancrase roster having won two fights out of two in 2020.
Saika (6-1) is coming off back to back first round stoppage wins. He is currently ranked #3 in the lightweight division by Pancrase but will have had much more time to prepare.
Sadulloev (8-4) became the interim champion when he stopped Yusuke Kasuya in the second round at Pancrase 308. The nature of his injury has not been disclosed.
For Saika, who had been preparing to challenge Sadulloev for the strap at Pancrase 312 on February 16th, the date and identity of opponent has changed but the task remains the same.
Pancrase 313, Tokyo, March 8th
Genpei Hayashi vs. Tatsuya Saika (For Interim Lightweight title)
Issei Tamura vs. Suguru Nii (Featherweight)
Shinmare Komori vs. Yuki Takahashi (Featherweight)
Rilley Dutro vs. Taiki Akiba (Flyweight)
Yoko Higashi vs. Tayná Lamounier (Bantamweight)
Wataru Mimura vs. Sho Sekihara (Bantamweight)
Ryo Iseki vs. Nobuhisa Kudo (Bantamweight)
