One of the bigger announcements from yesterday's stellar Shooto 8th Round event was the return of the legendary Vale Tudo Japan.

VTJ was the event that was at the center of the movie "Choke" in which Rickson Gracie dominated.  It was an extremely successful event until the advent of PrideFC and other promotions saw it pull the talent away.  In 2009, the event returned highlighting a main event with Takanori Gomi and Tony Hervey.  Gomi won a five round fight and since went on to the UFC.  It was a strong showing by VTJ, no question.

On December 24th of 2012, Vale Tudo Japan is back, as announced at yesterday's Shooto show.  The event will be held in a cage, where as prior events were held inside of a ring.  It is also backed by Sustain, the puro promotion that is pushing hard into MMA these days.

No fights have been announced.

Photo by Daniel Herbertson

Shinya Aoki, the legendary Evolve MMA talent is a passionate fighter.  When preparing for a fight, minutes before, you see his true passion come out when he explodes with emotion and puts himself in a zone that us as fans can only imagine.  When he walks to the gate, he is in another dimension.  He is at a level that only elite athletes can elevate themselves to and more mentally ready than any of us would ever dream to be as we prepared to take on any activity.  When he goes into this mode, he also does something else special.  He brings the audience into the fight with him.

If you've never watched Aoki fight live, it is something you must experience.  As soon as he walks out of the gate, he is bouncing on his toes, looking up and down, reeling in the atmosphere that surrounds him.  The crowd happily obliges, some how, some way, and the two forces interact with one another to form a perfect storm.  As he walks down to the stage to show his world class talent, he gracefully thanks his closest coaches and a few of those closest to him.  While all this is going on, the crowd is taking it in fully and watching as a warrior prepares to do battle.

We watched this happen at Strikeforce when Aoki fought Lyle Beerbohm.  Most of the fans in the crowd were likely casual in nature, supporting Californian Gil Melendez.  The ability Aoki had to gain a massive amount of fans was impressive.  In that quick moment, as Baka Survivor played over the speakers, people were beginning to cheer for the Japanese fighter, something that was not happening before he walked out.  It was a sight to see.

When Aoki walks out in Manila for his first bout with the OneFC promotion, the crowd is in for a treat.  Aoki will be an odds on favorite in his first OneFC fight against whoever he fights.  And when the Tobikan Judan wins this fight (if), the crowd will go ballistic, as they have always done when Aoki wins.  It is a special talent that few fighters have, the ability to bring a crowd to their feet regardless of the situation.  Even in Aoki's Shooto days, his ability to gain a favorable response from a crowd was very successful.

The Philippines is in for a treat.  The most talented mixed martial artist to set foot in their country will do so in a little over a month at OneFC 5.  This is a fighter that OneFC has never seen and will likely never see again as Shinya Aoki's ability to bring a crowd to their feet is a very high percentage event.  They will be taken for a ride, watching one of the most passionate and graceful fighters the sport has ever seen put on a show and encapsulate the arena with the raw aura of the bushido spirit.

The young JMMA phenom we mortal men call Kyoji Horiguchi has once again shown the world why he is one of the most touted prospects that JMMA has seen in years. Kyoji overcame one of the toughest tests of his career and picked up his biggest victory to date as he battered former King of Pancrase, Manabu Inoue, in two out of the three rounds to earn a unanimous judges decision and his 8th win.

Always a hefty challenge and never one to quit, Inoue did rally in round three and manage to dominate Kyoji in a big way with his Catch Wrestling, he didn't finish fight though and while some who saw the fight are saying it was a 10-8 round, making the fight a draw, the judges didn't see it so and Manabu catches a tough break.

In other big news from the show, one of Shooto's greatest legends, Caol Uno, will return to Shooto on September 30th. No opponent named yet but we can pray for Caol Uno vs. Rumina Sato part 3.

It was also announced that the iconic Vale Tudo Japan will return on new years eve and it will be held in a cage.

WINNER LOSER

Nobumitsu Osawa vs. Akira Okada - KO (Punches) in R2

Yoichiro Sato vs. Yusaku Inoue - Unanimous Decision

Ryuichi Miki vs. Fumihiro Kitahara - KO (Punches) in R1

Yuki Shojo vs. "2.0" Hiroyuki Abe - Unanimous Decision

Yusuke Yachi vs. Akitoshi Tamura - Unanimous Decision

Kotetsu Boku vs. Shin Kochiwa - KO (Punch) in R1

Kyoji Horiguchi vs. Manabu Inoue - Unanimous Decision