It’s no secret, my Shooto fandom is about as geeky as it gets. Back when having a Shooto tape on your nightstand was a sign of fanaticism my two favorite shootors were Rumina Sato and Caol Uno.
Sato is unquestionably the most decorated fighter in Shooto’s history never to be crowned a Shooto champion. The 38-year-old once vowed never to fight in an event not sanctioned by Shooto until he captured that championship.
In 1999 Sato was poised to be the king but a 24-year-old Caol Uno with a handful of fights under his belt came to spoil that party. Uno would take that torch and run with it, becoming one of the most successful fighters to represent Japan between the UFC, K-1 Heroes and DREAM.
Yesterday Uno made his return to the Shooto banner for the first time since he drew with Tatsuya Kawajiri in 2004. Although he failed to get his hand raised, losing to Pancrase champ Shintaro Ishiwatari from all accounts sounded like a special moment for those in Korakuen Hall.
To mark the occasion, let’s take a step back in time and check out the first meeting between Uno and Sato. At the time when I first saw this, it was the best fight I had ever witnessed, and gazing back on it again with 2012 eyes, it still holds up.
