JAPANESE GRAND PRIX NOTES TWO FIGHTERS ELIGIBILITY IN QUESTION

Last week it was announced that the annual, highly anticipated Japanese Grand Prix Freestyle Fighting Tournament was set to begin on March 22, but today information was released by the tournament committee that the eligibility status of two of the fighters set to compete is in question.

“Information has surfaced regarding whether or not two of our esteemed combatants will be able to enter our country, as they have faced issues in the past regarding fighting competitions,” said .Sadahura Takinawa, Committee President.  “While we cannot release the names until we are able to full utilize our resources and draw a conclusion to these claims, we are hopeful that this will not further the delay of the commencement of the tournament.”

Takinawa continued that in the event that the fighters are not granted eligibility and are not able to compete, then two replacement fighters will be called up to take their slots.

The annual Japanese Grand Prix freestyle fighting tournament contains the top fighters in their discipline across the world.  Competing this year are Japan’s acclaimed sumo champion Harumafuji, America’s Bare Knuckle Boxing Champion Gunn and Argentina’s Muay Thai Bosch, amongst several other top combatants. 

“This is not an average MMA or boxing match; this is one of the most revered freestyle fighting tournaments in the world, and we will go above and beyond to ensure the success of it,” said Takinawa.  “We owe it to the fighters who have qualified, and of course to the fans around the world.”

This unique tournament is one of a kind, as it encompasses all of the diversified martial arts and boxing disciplines across the world, and brings the most elite fighters in each discipline together to compete in a winner take all, single elimination tournament with the grand prize being the purse of $1 million and eligibility to fight in any tournament worldwide.

TWO FIGHTERS FOUND GUILTY IN JAPANESE GRAND PRIX FREESTYLE FIGHTING INVESTIGATION

In a follow-up to a very thorough investigation conducted by the prestigious committee behind the Japanese Grand Prix Freestyle Fighting Tournament, two fighters have been found guilty of participating in arranged fights and have been banned from competing in this year’s tournament and any subsequent tournaments hosted by the Japanese Grand Prix. 

Brazil’s Cristiano Rua and Hungary’s Attila Wellisch have been found to have competed in an array of arranged fights leading up to the tournament, and committee President Sadahura Tanikawa is pushing to have both fighters stripped of their rights to compete in any sanctioned tournaments around the world.

“These fighters have brought great shame and dishonor to our tournament we hold in the highest regard,” said Tanikawa.  “We individually handpicked each competitor based on their skill, professionalism and level of class they display inside and out of the fighting circuit, and to discover this devastating information is detrimental to our whole organization."

Tanikawa continued that he is going to pursue criminal charges against the fighters to send a message to any fighters around the world participating in arranged fights. 

With the announcement of this news, the Japanese Grand Prix committee has officially ended their investigation into the allegations, and although there has been no determined commencement date, the committee is optimistic that the tournament will be underway soon.

“The tournament will remain on hold until we are able to select fighters for the two slots of the fighters who were banned,” said Tanikawa. “There is more money involved in this purse than any other tournament in fight sports history, and going forward, we will not tolerate any immoral or ethical actions, and we hope this ban sends a message to any fighters who participate in any wrongful doings.”

The annual Japanese Grand Prix freestyle fighting tournament contains the top fighters in their discipline across the world. Competing this year are Japan’s acclaimed sumo champion Harumafuji, America’s Bare Knuckle Boxing Champion Gunn, France’s Savate Militec and Argentina’s Muay Thai Bosch, as well as several other decorated fighters.

With the tournament set to begin in just a few weeks, fight fans worldwide can get excited to know that the ultimate freestyle fighting champion will soon be crowned, and will have the opportunity to enter any fighting competition around the world.

The exact date of the commencement of the tournament will be released within a few weeks.