A bout between two experienced bantamweights has been added to the Shooto 0531 card. Kiyotaka Shimizu will face Takahiro Kohori at the behind closed doors event next Sunday.
As usual the promotion took to Twitter to announce the matchup:
5.31 プロ修斗公式戦@ABEMAテレビマッチ 追加対戦カード発表
“TRIBEの若頭”清水清隆の参戦決定!2018年度ベストバウト獲得の小堀貴広と激突!
◎バンタム級5分3R
清水清隆(TRIBE TOKYO M.M.A.)
vs
小堀貴広(ゴンズジム)#shooto0531 https://t.co/zNlNmbmpU7 pic.twitter.com/IqCKTUjh4Q— MMA-SHOOTO オフィシャル 修斗 (@xshooto) May 22, 2020
Shimizu (24-15-3) is a former flyweight King of Pancrase. The 36 year old has won five of his last six fights but came up short against Hiromasa Ougikubo in a title shot at Shooto 30th Anniversary Tour last year.
Takahiro Kohori (14-15-2) is a Shooto veteran who has been fighting exclusively for the promotion for over a decade. He has won six out of his last eight fights and will be hoping to secure a title shot with a win over one of the top contenders.
Both men appear to be moving up in weight for this fight. With fighters unable to put together a traditional training camp due to the coronavirus, or Covid 19, crisis we have seen several bouts put together at higher divisions than normal.
As previously announced the interim bantamweight title will be on the line at Shooto 0531. Reigning champion Ryo Okada will be defending his belt against the undefeated Kazuma Kuramoto.
The weigh in will take place on the same day as the event and fighters will be allowed to move up one division to compensate. Lightweights will have to weigh a maximum of 170lbs, featherweights a maximum of 155lbs, bantamweights a maximum of 145lbs and atomweights a maximum of 115lbs.
Shooto 3105 will be broadcast live by Abema TV. Tight regulations will be in place with fighters forced to submit regular temperature checks in the buildup to the event.
Shooto 3105, Tokyo, May 31st
Ryo Okada (c) vs. Kazuma Kuramoto (For Interim Bantamweight Belt)
Kiyotaka Shimizu vs. Takahiro Kohori (Bantamweight)
Keisuke Sasu vs. Akiyo Nishiura (Lightweight)
Megumi Sugimoto vs. Miku Nakamura (Atomweight tournament semi final)
Mina Kurobe vs. Saori Oshima (Atomweight tournament semi final)
Takeaki Kinoshita vs. Yamato Nishikawa (Lightweight)
Hayato Ishii vs. Tsubasa Saito (Featherweight)