PANCRASE announced today that the PANCRASE Strawweight championship will be up for grabs when Syuri faces Kinberly Novaes at PANCRASE 287 May 28 at Differ Ariake. This will be the main event and it will air on UFC Fight Pass. This fight is scheduled for five five minute rounds. The thinking is that if Syuri wins this fight, the UFC comes calling and that means plenty of cash in PANCRASE owner Sakai's pocket. It's no secret that the UFC is Syuri's goal. So as they did with Syuri's last fight against Minna Grusander, PANCRASE is trying to sell this as a competitive fight. Of course the problem was that Minna turned out to be not as good as her amateur MMA credentials. So I can't help thinking that PANCRASE is trying to pull the wool over our eyes again. One thing is for sure. Kinberly is more experienced than any of Syuri's opponents to date. She trains at CM System in Curitiba, Brazil. It is owned by UFC fighter Cristiano Marcelo. Kinberly is 25 years old and her record is 9-2. PANCRASE is making a big deal that Kinberly has a win over current UFC title contender Jessica Andrade. Of course they don't say that fight was in 2012 on the Brazilian regional circuit. Kinberly's recent activities are a little sketchier. She's had a win over Bianca Sattlemayer (7-6) on the Aug. 6, 2016 Aspera FC show in Sao Paulo since returning from a 2015 pregnancy. She also lost a Nov. 2016 Shoot Boxing match to RENA. None of her recent fights are on video. So I don't know if she's any good. This will be her first ever MMA fight outside Brazil. She was supposed to fight for RFA in 2015 but it was cancelled due to her pregnancy. So obviously I'm suspicious of PANCRASE trying to sell this fighter as competitive because they already tried that with Syuri's last fight and it didn't work. Maybe I will be pleasantly surprised but I doubt it.
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