his first defense of the 125-pound belt against Hiromasa Ogikubo, plus Koshi Matsumoto and Yuki Kawana vied for the vacant 155-pound mantle. Shooto followed that up with events on July 17 and Nov. 12, both took place at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo as well as VTJ in Osaka” June 19 at Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium, and “VTJ 9th” on Sept. 19 which saw the organization return to its birthplace of Chiba prefecture. In 2019 Shooto entered into a partnership with ONE Championship. Under the terms of the partnership, Shooto champions will have the opportunity to sign a contract with ONE, while their amateur champions will be given an opportunity to train at Evolve MMA for a year. Techniques and strategies The aim in a shooto match is to defeat the opponent by a knockout or a submission, but fights can also end in a referee stoppage or by a judge decision. Legal techniques include general grappling, chokeholds, joint locks, kicks, knee strikes, punches, takedowns and throws. Illegal techniques include biting, elbow strikes, eye-gouging, forearm strikes, hair pulling, headbutting, kicking or kneeing the head of a downed opponent, small joint manipulation, strikes to the groin or throat and since September 1, 2008, strikes to the back of the head. Shooto envolved parallel with Mixed Martial Arts, including most of its techniques and strategies, to the point that both fighting styles are almost indistinguishable. However, fans, fighters and overseers still see Shooto as its own standalone combat sport. Fighter classes Shooto fighters are categorized into four classes. Class-D: Amateur (2x2min, Headgear, Special point system) Class-C: Amateur (2x3min, Headgear, Special point system) Class-C+: Amateur (2x3min) Class-B: Pro (2x5min) Class-A: Pro (3x5min) Fighters start out as Class-D or Class-C fighters and enter amateur competitions that Shooto hosts together with the help of local gyms all over Japan. Class-D Shooto does not allow knee strikes to the face or striking on the ground. Class-C Shooto does not allow striking on the ground, but knee strikes to the head are allowed. There are regional championship and once a year the All-Japan amateur championships. Then a fighter can get a Class-B pro license, these fights are 2x5 minute long and use the same rules as Class-A fights. Shooto holds yearly rookie tournaments in each weight class. When a fighter has gathered enough wins and experience in Class-B he will get awarded with a Class-A license, as a sign