On Sunday, Oct. 8, Pancrase returned to Differ Ariake in Tokyo, Japan, for Pancrase 290.
In the night’s main event, former DREAM featherweight champion Hiroyuki Takaya met former Sengoku featherweight titleholder Hatsu Hioki in a long-awaited rematch. Takaya bested Hioki in the first meeting during the Shooto rookie tournament in 2003. Both fighters were once considered top-10 featherweights in their careers. Now, both men are desperately looking to find their way back into the win column.
In the evening’s co-main event, Yuki Nakahara put his five-fight winning streak on the line against Hiroshige Tanaka, who knocked out Hioki in 14 seconds at Pancrase 287.
On the main card, 22-year-old flyweight prospect Yuya “Little Piranha” Wakamatsu looked for his ninth straight win against Japan’s Shohei “Convoy” Masumizu. Wakamatsu had finished seven of his past eight wins during his win streak, including five first-round knockouts. Japanese MMA legend and UFC veteran Akihiro Gono returned to Pancrase for the first time in nearly 13 years. The 42-year-old Gono meets Pancrase lightweight tournament runner-up Akira Okada.
The event aired live at 2 a.m. ET on UFC Fight Pass.
Yoshiki Nakahara def. Hiroshige “Hanzo” Tanaka by unanimous decision
Yuya Wakamatsu def. Shohei Masumizu by TKO (punches). Round 2, 2:53
Akira Okada def. Akihiro Gono by unanimous decision
Viviane Araujo Gomes def. Ayaka Miura by TKO (referee stoppage). Round 1
Toru Ogawa def. Atsushi Yamamoto by knockout (knee). Round 2
Hiroyuki Tetsuka def. Sergei Kulik by TKO (punches). Round 2, 2:04
Daichi Kitakata def. Daniel Lima by unanimous decision
Shunichi Shimizu def. Daiki Gojima by split decision
Yusaku Inoue def. Keigo Hirayama by knockout (knee). Round 1, 2:03
Juntaro Ushiku def. Satoshi Inaba by unanimous decision
Yutaka Kobayashi def. Shigeaki Kusayanagi by unanimous decision