Duane van Helvoirt will not be competing at Shooto 0329. The Dutchman is unable to travel to Tokyo for the event which will now be taking place behind closed doors.
Shooto informed fans yesterday that they would be unable to attend the event due to concerns over the coronavirus, or Covid-19:
大会観戦を楽しみにして下さっていたファンの皆様には深くお詫び申し上げます。一刻も早く新型コロナウイルスの猛威が収束し、ファンの皆様に安心してご観戦頂ける日が一日でも早く来る事を願っております。
また、今大会はAbemaTVで無料観戦可能となっております。#shooto0329 pic.twitter.com/tG3DsnMsCv— MMA-SHOOTO オフィシャル 修斗 (@xshooto) March 26, 2020
However the fight card at Korakuen Hall is still going ahead even if there won’t be an audience. Taison Naito steps up to replace van Helvoirt and will now be challenging Yutaka Saito for the featherweight title in the main event.
Naito had originally been scheduled to face Shohei Nose. Replacing him in that featherweight bout will be Takahide Kobayashi who has stepped up at around a weeks notice to take the fight.
The event will also feature a a bantamweight bout between Tatsuya Ando and Motonobu Tezuka. Meanwhile the semi finals of the atomweight tournament are also scheduled for Sunday.
Shooto 0329, Tokyo, March 29th
Yutaka Saito (c) vs. Taison Naito (For featherweight title)
Takahide Kobayashi vs Shohei Nose (Featherweight)
Tatsuya Ando vs. Motonobu Tezuka (Bantamweight)
Tatsuro Taira vs. Kiyotaka Shimizu (Flyweight)
Takamasa Kiuchi vs. Ryohei Kurosawa (Flyweight)
Saori Oshima vs. Mina Kurobe (Atomweight Tournament Semi Final)
Miku Nakamara vs. Megumi Sugimoto (Atomweight Tournament Semi Final)
