Pancrase has pulled off something of a coup in Japanese MMA, signing up top ranked Shooto flyweight Rilley Dutro. The Hawaiian has won seven out of his last eight fights and has signed a long term contract with the promotion.
Dutro (13-4) is coming off a very late stoppage loss on Dana White’s Contender Series but that doesn’t seem to have dampened his allure in Japan. He already holds stoppage wins over flyweights Takumi Tamaru, Yusaku Nakamura and Kentaro Watanabe.
The current flyweight King of Pancrase is Senzo Ikeda who won the title in April and has yet to defend it. The top ranked flyweights are all listed on the Pancrase website and these are the fighters Dutro is going to have to overtake in order to become a champion.
Senzo Ikeda (Flyweight King of Pancrase)
1. Yuya Wakamatsu
2. Masatatsu Ueda
3. Shohei Masumizu
4. Toru Ogawa
5. Mamoru Yamaguchi
6. Taiki Akiba
7. Yusuke Ogikubo
8. Tatsuyuki Nakamura
Last weekend Hiroyuki Tetsuka beat Akihiro Murayam by unanimous decision in the main event of Pancrase 302. He is likely to be handed a title shot against welterweight King of Pancrase Glaico Franca in the new year.
Next up for the long running Japanese promotion is Pancrase 303 on February 17th. It will be headlined by a bantamweight title bout between interim champion Rafael Silva and challenger Kenta Takizawa.
