UFC Japan: Ultimate Japan
| UFC Japan: Ultimate Japan 1 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 The poster for UFC Japan: Ultimate Japan 1 | ||||
| Information | ||||
| Promotion | Ultimate Fighting Championship | |||
| Date | December 21st, 1997 | |||
| Venue | Yokohama Arena | |||
| City | Yokohama, Japan | |||
| Attendance | 5,000 | |||
| Event chronology | ||||
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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. 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 also 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.
Sakuraba'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 tourney. This time, Sakuraba claimed the victory, submitting Silveira with an armbar. Afterwards, Sakuraba famously stated, "In fact, professional wrestling is strong".
Results
Alternate Bout: Tra Telligman vs. Brad Kohler
Telligman wins by submission (armbar) at 10:10 of the first round.
Heavyweight Tournament
Heavyweight Semifinal Bout: Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Marcus Silveira
Ruled a No Contest (referee stopped the bout early at 1:51)
Heavyweight Semifinal Bout: Tank Abbott vs. Yoji Anjo
Abbott wins a unanimous decision at 15:00. Abbott is unable to continue in the tournament due to a broken hand.
Heavyweight Final Bout: Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Marcus 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.
| Semifinals | Final | ||||||||
| Kazushi Sakuraba | |||||||||
| Marcus Silveira | |||||||||
| Kazushi Sakuraba | |||||||||
| Marcus Silveira | |||||||||
| Tank Abbott | |||||||||
| Yoji Anjo | |||||||||
Title Bouts
UFC Heavyweight Championship Bout: Randy Couture vs. Maurice Smith
Couture becomes the UFC Heavyweight Champion by split decision at 21:00.
UFC Middleweight Championship Bout: Frank Shamrock vs. Kevin Jackson
Shamrock becomes the first UFC Middleweight Champion by submission (armbar) at 0:16
Superfight: Vitor Belfort vs. Joe Charles
Belfort wins by submission (armbar) at 4:04 of round 1.
