The earthquake is the largest earthquake to hit Japan in recorded history.. More than 200 have already been found dead, with another 400-plus reported as missing across six prefectures.
—
According to Herbertson and Kuri Kinton, upcoming Shooto, Pancrase, and JEWELS events have all been canceled. Herbertson believes most/all MMA events this month will be canceled.
—
Women’s promotion Jewels was scheduled to run Friday afternoon at Shinjuku Face in Tokyo, while leading Shooto promoter Sustain was to stage Shootor’s Legacy 2 at Tokyo’s Korakuen Hall on Saturday afternoon. Pancrase was set to continue its 2011 Impressive Tour at Azalea Taisho Hall in Osaka on Sunday. All three events have temporarily had the breaks put on them.
As of yet, there has been no word on rescheduling the Jewels 12th Ring card, which was to be headlined by Jessica Aguilar battling 115-pound unbeaten Jewels champion Ayaka Hamasaki.
Sustain cited the structural damage to Korakuen Hall — dubbed Japan’s Mecca of prizefighting — as the main catalyst in the postponement.
Sunday was to be a busy day for Japanese MMA, with Pancrase’s Osaka card, Deep running a card in Tokyo’s Shibuya district, and Nagoya-based promotion Heat running at Zepp Nagoya. Pancrase has postponed its Sunday effort indefinitely, while Deep and Heat are expected to offer official statements by Saturday morning.
