Pancrase Featherweight Champ Isao Kobayashi Signs with Bellator MMA

Pancrase featherweight champion Isao Kobayashi has signed with Bellator MMA, the promotion announced on Monday.

A date for Kobayashi’s debut is currently unknown. It will be the 34-year-old Osaka, Japan, native’s second stint with the California-based promotion. He went 0-2 with Bellator from 2015 to 2016, falling to Goiti Yamauchi and Justin Lawrence in back-to-back outings. All Bellator events featuring Kobayashi will be streamed live in Japan via U-Next.

“Even prior to our successful New Year’s Eve event in Japan, we’ve been signing the top available talent in the region and that has led us to this reunion with Isao Kobayashi,” Bellator president Scott Coker said in a release.

“Since his last stint with Bellator, Kobayashi has been tearing through competition culminating in a Pancrase championship win now and we’re looking forward to seeing him back in the Bellator cage.”

Kobayashi will return to Bellator riding the momentum of a six-bout winning streak. In his last outing, he defended the featherweight belt with a five-round verdict against Taichi Nakajima at Pancrase 321. He has compiled a 27-5-2 mark over the course of a career that began in 2008.

“This will be my second contract with Bellator, and I didn’t get the results I wanted last time, so I’ll be there to show I am a new fighter and string the wins together,” Kobayashi said. “I’m out to give everything and make a championship run in Bellator.

“I’ve fought in Pancrase for the majority of my career. I’m grateful to Pancrase for my two championship runs and also for allowing me to spread my wings.