What is the deal with Shooto in the old days?

[Chomsky Honk]

Apparently there were events in the 80s? Older than Pancrase? Is there any footage of these old fights? Were they even real or just pro wrestling?

 

[MiroHa]

Apparently there were events in the 80s? Older than Pancrase? Is there any footage of these old fights? Were they even real or just pro wrestling?

This is supposedly a Shooto event that took place on July 9, 1990.



Shooto demo in Los Angeles in 1992.



They were real fights and they had both weight classes and amateur/professional ranking system in place already in the 1980's. I'd say Shooto was around 15 years ahead of the UFC as far as having a regulated organisation goes.

 

[Chomsky Honk]

This is supposedly a Shooto event that took place on July 9, 1990.



Shooto demo in Los Angeles in 1992.



They were real fights and they had both weight classes and amateur/professional ranking system in place already in the 1980's. I'd say Shooto was around 15 years ahead of the UFC as far as having a regulated organisation goes.

whoa that's crazy I always thought Pancrase was the first MMA org

Thanks for the info!

 

[JohnMandick]

I wish I still had my old VHS tapes of 90's shooto events. Back in the olden days, that was the only way to watch them (tape trading with people in japan).

 

[MiroHa]

whoa that's crazy I always thought Pancrase was the first MMA org

Thanks for the info!

No problem! As far as I know Pancrase was the first organization to have mainstream success in Japan (this is based on what Rutten has talked on Rogan's podcast) so Shooto events were pretty underground back then and held in small gymnasiums.

 

[Asurah]

Shooto was the sport of MMA before that term was ever used. It's roots are in shoot style wrestling (founded by the original Tiger Mask), it started out as amateur events in the mid-80's with the pro scene starting up in 1989. They were way ahead of the game for a long time (commissions, amateur league, different levels of licenses for fighters, the first champions of the sport, their own promotional rankings, and tons more), even today their amateur league is far more fleshed out and ahead of pretty much any other amateur system.

 

[MiroHa]

Shooto was the sport of MMA before that term was ever used. It's roots are in shoot style wrestling (founded by the original Tiger Mask), it started out as amateur events in the mid-80's with the pro scene starting up in 1989. They were way ahead of the game for a long time (commissions, amateur league, different levels of licenses for fighters, the first champions of the sport, their own promotional rankings, and tons more), even today their amateur league is far more fleshed out and ahead of pretty much any other amateur system.

It was nice to see that Fight Matrix has tracked their lineal MMA titles from flyweight to middleweight from Shooto champions that predate the UFC and Pancrase. It's not like Shooto and Satoru Sayama are going to get the proper recognition from Dana and co.