Satoshi Ishii is out of Strikeforce Challengers 15

Satoshi Ishii

Gold medal at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, the Japanese judoka Satoshi Ishii was scheduled to debut in MMA, in North American territory, next April. The Japanese black belt would face Scott Lighty at Strikeforce Challengers 15, but due to the natural disasters that haunted Japan, Ishii was unable to obtain a visa to leave his country. As a result, the show's organizers called Lorenz Larkin to replace the Olympic champion.

Ishii, who won the gold medal in the over 100 kg category at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, debuted in MMA in December 2009, when he was defeated by compatriot Hidehiko Yoshida. Since then, Satoshi has returned to the ring on four occasions and won in every appearance. In his last confrontation he defeated Frenchman Jerome Le Banner, in a unanimous decision by the judges.

Strikeforce Challengers 15, which will be held on April 1, in Stockton, California, will feature as its main attraction the clash between the Brazilian Rodrigo Damm against the North American Justin Wilcox.

Check out the partial event card below:

Justin Wilcox vs. Rodrigo Damm;

Lorenz Larkin vs. Scott Lighty;

David Douglas vs. Dear Fodor;

Conor Heun vs. James Terry;

Damian Douglas vs. Wayne Phillips.

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