''UFC Japan: Ultimate Japan '' (also known as ''UFC Ultimate Japan'' or ''UFC 15.5'') was a

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

event held by the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

on December 21, 1997, in

Yokohama is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. The event was seen on pay per view in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, on cable TV in

, and was later released on

home video Home video is recorded media sold or Video rental shop, rented for home viewing. The term originates from the VHS and Betamax era, when the predominant medium was videotapes, but has carried over to optical disc formats such as DVD and Blu-ray. ...

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 featured the first UFC appearance of MMA legends

Kazushi Sakuraba is a Japanese professional wrestler, submission wrestling, submission wrestler and former mixed martial artist, currently signed to Pro Wrestling NOAH, Pro Wrestling Noah, where he was formerly one-half of the former GHC Tag Team Championship, G ...

and

Frank Shamrock Frank Shamrock (born Frank Alisio Juarez III; December 8, 1972) is an American former professional mixed martial artist. Shamrock was the first to hold the UFC Middleweight Championship (later renamed the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship) ...

. The event was the first appearance of longtime UFC announcer

Mike Goldberg Mike Goldberg (born November 24, 1964) is an American Sports commentator, play-by-play commentator currently working with BYB Extreme Fighting Series and ProBox TV, both alongside color commentator Paulie Malignaggi. He is mainly known for his ...

, who replaced

Bruce Beck Bruce David Beck (born September 18, 1956) is the lead sports anchor at WNBC. He is in his 25th year with News 4 New York. He is also the host of Sports Final, WNBC's Sunday night sports show. Beck is the host and sideline reporter for New Yor ...

as the

play by play In Broadcasting of sports events, sports broadcasting, a sports commentator (also known as a sports announcer or sportscaster) provides a real time (media), real-time live commentary of a game or event, traditionally delivered in the present t ...

announcer. Another notable first was the use of unique entry music for each fighter, though this was not repeated in

UFC 16 ''UFC 16: Battle in the Bayou'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on March 13, 1998, in Kenner, Louisiana. The event was seen live on pay per view in the United States, and later released on home video. Hi ...

. Also, this UFC event was the first to be located in a country other than the United States or its territories.

Sakuraba's Tale

In an attempt to gain attention for the Japanese Kingdom Pro Wrestling,

Hiromitsu Kanehara is a former Japanese mixed martial artist and professional wrestler of Korean descent. A professional MMA competitor from 1998 until 2012, he found success in Fighting Network RINGS, gaining notable victories over Valentijn Overeem, Alexandr ...

and

Yoji Anjo (born March 28, 1967) is a retired Japanese professional wrestler, mixed martial artist and kickboxer. Anjo is considered to be one of the pioneers of the shoot style movement during the 1980s and early 90s. Professional wrestling career Uni ...

signed on to compete in the

's Ultimate Japan tournament. As fate would have it, Kanehara was injured in his training for the tournament, and

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 John McCarthy may refer to: Government * John George MacCarthy (1829–1892), Member of Parliament for Mallow constituency, 1874–1880 * John McCarthy (Irish politician) (1862–1893), Member of Parliament for the Mid Tipperary constituency, ...

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 David Lee "Tank" Abbott (born April 26, 1965) is an American retired mixed martial arts fighter, professional wrestler, and author. He currently hosts his own podcast series titled "The Proving Ground with Tank Abbott." Abbott is perhaps best kno ...

, who had earlier defeated

, 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".

Results

UFC Japan Heavyweight Tournament bracket

¹ Due to the NC, and Tank Abbott bowing out of the tournament, UFC officials ruled that a rematch between Sakuraba and Silveira would serve as the Heavyweight Tournament Finals.

Encyclopedia awards

The following fighters were honored in the October 2011 book titled '' UFC Encyclopedia''. *Fight of the Night: Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Marcus Silveira *Submission of the Night: Frank Shamrock

References

External links

UFC Japan results at Sherdog.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ufc 015.5 Ultimate Fighting Championship flagship events 1997 in mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts in Japan Sport in Yokohama 1997 in Japanese sport