UFC Japan

Infobox MMA event
name = UFC Japan: Ultimate Japan 1


promotion = Ultimate Fighting Championship
date= December 21st, 1997
venue = Yokohama Arena
city = Yokohama, Japan
attendance = 5,000
gate =
buyrate =
purse =
previousevent =
followingevent =

"UFC Japan: Ultimate Japan " (also known as UFC 15.5) was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on December 21, 1997, in Yokohama, Japan. The event was seen on pay per view in the United States, on cable TV in Japan, and was later released on home video.

History

The event featured a four man heavyweight tournament, the first ever UFC Middleweight Championship bout, a Heavyweight Championship bout, a Superfight and an alternate bout. Ultimate Japan 1 was the first UFC event to take place outside of the USA, and featured the first UFC appearance of MMA legends Kazushi Sakuraba and Frank Shamrock.

The event was the first appearance of longtime UFC announcer Mike Goldberg, who replaced Bruce Beck as the play by play announcer. Another notable first was the use of unique entry music for each fighter, though this was not repeated in UFC 16.

akuraba's Tale

In an attempt to gain attention for the Japanese Kingdom Pro Wrestling, Hiromitsu Kanehara and Yoji Anjoh signed on to compete in the Ultimate Fighting Championship's Ultimate Japan tournament. As fate would have it, Kanehara was injured in his training for the tournament, and Sakuraba wound up as his late hour substitute. The tournament was intended for heavyweights, and Sakuraba, at 183 pounds, was nearly twenty pounds beneath the UFC's 200 pound designation for the weight class. Reporting himself as 203 pounds in order to gain entry, Sakuraba was paired off against the 243 pound Brazilian Jiu Jitsu blackbelt and former Extreme Fighting champion, Marcus Silveira.

Following a barrage of blows by Silveira, Sakuraba dropped for a low-single, only for the fight to be prematurely ended on a KO. Referee John McCarthy had mistakenly thought Sakuraba to have been knocked out. A loud protest followed from the crowd and an angry Sakuraba attempted unsuccessfully to take the microphone and address the Japanese audience. However, after reviewing tape, McCarthy changed his decision to a no-contest. Tank Abbott, who had earlier defeated Yoji Anjoh, dropped from the tournament due to an injured hand, leaving Sakuraba and Silveira to face off once more that night in what would be the championship bout of the tournament. This time, Sakuraba claimed the victory, submitting Silveira with an armbar. Afterwards, Sakuraba famously stated, "In fact, professional wrestling is strong". __NOTOC__

Alternate Bout

*flagicon|USATra Telligman vs. flagicon|USABrad Kohler:Telligman wins by submission (armbar) at 10:10 of the first round.

Heavyweight Tournament

Heavyweight Semifinals

*flagicon|JapanKazushi Sakuraba vs. flagicon|BrazilMarcus Silveira:Ruled a No Contest (referee stopped the bout early at 1:51)

*flagicon|USADavid "Tank" Abbott vs. flagicon|JapanYoji Anjo:Abbott wins a unanimous decision at 15:00. Abbott is unable to continue in the tournament due to a broken hand.

Heavyweight Finals

*flagicon|JapanKazushi Sakuraba vs. flagicon|BrazilMarcus Silveira:Sakuraba wins the Ultimate Japan Tournament by submission (armbar) at 3:45 of round 1. Due to the NC, and Tank Abbott bowing out of the tournament, UFC officials ruled that a rematch between Sakuraba and Silviera would serve as the Heavyweight Tournament Finals.

4TeamBracket | RD1=Semifinals| RD2=Finals
RD1-seed1=| RD1-seed2=| RD1-seed3=| RD1-seed4=
RD1-team1=Kazushi Sakuraba
RD1-team2=Marcus Silveira
RD1-score1=
RD1-score2=
RD1-team3=Tank Abbott
RD1-team4=Yoji Anjo
RD1-score3=
RD1-score4=
RD2-team1=Kazushi Sakuraba
RD2-team2=Marcus Silveira
RD2-score1=
RD2-score2=

Heavyweight Championship Bout

*flagicon|USARandy Couture vs. flagicon|USAMaurice Smith:Couture wins by majority decision at 21:00.

Middleweight Championship Bout

*flagicon|USAFrank Shamrock vs. flagicon|USAKevin Jackson:Shamrock wins by submission (armbar) at 0:16

uperfight

*Superfight: flagicon|BrazilVitor Belfort vs. flagicon|USAJoe Charles:Belfort wins by submission (armbar) at 4:04 of round 1.

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External links

* [http://www.sherdog.com/fightfinder/fightfinder.asp?EventID=24 UFC Japan results at Sherdog.com]
* [http://www.411mania.com/MMA/video_reviews/58048/History-of-the-UFC---Ultimate-Japan.htm UFC Japan fights reviews]