Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Syuri vs Minna Grusander

Here's the match video for Syuri vs Minna Grusander from yesterday's PANCRASE show at Differ Ariake in Tokyo. This show aired on UFC Fight Pass. Of course Syuri is the pro wrestler and kickboxer looking to get to the UFC. She's 3-0 but this fight should give us a better idea of where she is at. Minna is from Finland. She's 2-0 as a pro but she has an extensive amateur MMA record. she was the 2015 IMAAF Strawweight Champion. This fight was the main event of the show. I was hoping that Minna would really push Syuri. But she didn't. It all started with Syuri's jab followed by overhand rights. Minna just never had an answer for that. She tried several times to take Syuri down and Syuri defended. I guess Minna just wasn't as good as we thought. Syuri looked great. She had a game plan. She stuck to it when it was obvious Minna had no answer. There was no reason for Syuri to change anything. If she continues like this, she will get that UFC call. RIZIN owner Sakikabara announced yesterday that Kanako Murata will make her PANCRASE debut shortly. Match her against Syuri. I know there are some fans who really like Murata. I was very disappointed in her performance against Rin Nakai on the RIZIN show. Murata seemed very timid during that fight. Her stock dropped drastically for me. Of course Murata wants a rematch with Rin. Rin is out right now with an elbow injury. But I don't think Murata has earned a rematch anyway. Syuri could be a good test for her. In other PANCRASE news, you may have heard that Differ Ariake will close June 2018. It will be demolished. The building is old and run down. The owners have decided renovation would be too expensive. So yesterday PANCRASE owner Sakai announced that they would be moving to Studio Coast in Feb. 2018. Studio Coast was built in 2002. It's in the Shinjuku area so it's convenient. PANCRASE will be the first combat sport to run there. At 2400 capacity, it's about twice the size of Differ Ariake. So it's larger and more modern. It even has a pool and a poolside cafe along with VIP boxes. It seems like a good choice. It will be interesting to see if PANCRASE can fill it. Enjoy the video!