It's Showtime Japan Countdown 1: Petrosyan Dominates, Lim and Itabashi Win

It's Showtime traveled to Japan on Monday, co-promoting the first of their events in anticipation of the full launch of It's Showtime Japan some time in the next year. Working alongside REBELS, one of the top Japanese Muay Thai promotions at the moment, It's Showtime put on a few notable fights in an event which seems to have received little in the way of advertisement.

The event ultimately went down late Monday afternoon in Japan - in the wee hours of the morning for our American readers - and was headlined by a bout between Giorgio Petrosyan and Hinata Watanabe. There were also a couple featured bouts with title implications in It's Showtime, as Chi Bin Lim and Mosab Amrani met in a number one contender's bout at 65 kg. and Kan Itabashi and Genki Yamamoto met at 61 kg.

The main event of the evening saw two-time K-1 MAX champion Giorgio Petrosyan dominate Hinata en route to a decision victory. Hinata was reportedly deducted points along the way, while Petrosyan continues to look nearly unbeatable against the opposition at 70 kg.

Chi Bin Lim and Kan Itabashi found victory in the other featured bouts of the evening, both fighters walking away with extension round decisions.

For Chi Bin Lim, the win at 65 kg. is a big one. The South Korean was utterly dominant against Daiki Watabe earlier this year and is now primed for a shot at the It's Showtime 65 kg. MAX title. Whenever Lim and champion Orono Wor. Petchpun meet, it will mark Orono's second title defense, as well as the biggest challenge that Chi Bin Lim has faced in quite some time.

Mosab Amrani, the man on the other side of the decision, finds himself in a bit of a rough spot at this point. The young fighter has now dropped three in a row under the It's Showtime banner. In truth, his loss at It's Showtime Lyon to Houcine Bennoui makes the fact that Amrani was even involved in a number one contender's bout rather interesting (sure, the bout against Bennoui was under Muay Thai rules). Regardless, Amrani's all-action style and solid skill set means we'll be seeing plenty more of him.

Kan Itabashi, the former RISE champion at 63 kg., quietly sneaks in for an eventual title shot against current It's Showtime 61 kg. MAX titleholder, Spain's Javier Hernandez. While the international flair of such a match up is great to see, the fact remains that we'll be seeing a bout between two vastly under-acknowledged fighters.

The event also saw a few more regionally relevant bouts under both the It's Showtime and REBELS banners. Look for further updates to come in from both promotions in the near future.

It's Showtime next scheduled offering, which is sure to receive a whole lot more press from the European promotion, is their 70 kg. tournament on September 24th.