Olympic gold medalist Judoka and veteran MMA fighter Satoshi Ishii dropped a close decision to Danilo Marques at PFL 8 on August 18th, 2023. Although Judo was the first combat sport that Ishii reached the highest level of all the way back in 2008, he quickly made the transition to MMA and enjoyed plenty of success there too. Over the years Ishii has fought for some of the biggest MMA promotions on the planet like Bellator and RIZIN FF. Ishii made his PFL debut in the 2019 season, although he went 1-2 over the course of the year and didn’t return for the following season.
Ishii signed a contract with PFL at the beginning of the year and was scheduled to make his return almost four years after he last fought for the promotion. He fought Danilo Marques at PFL 8 and although he put up a valiant effort, he wasn’t able to stop Marques from getting the nod from the judges. Marques came out strong right from the start at PFL 8, dropping Satoshi Ishii in the first round and winning that one pretty cleanly. He was able to keep Ishii at a distance and his striking won him the second round too, but the third round was where Ishii came back into it. Although Ishii managed to win the final round, it wasn’t enough and he dropped a unanimous decision with all three judges scoring the fight 29-28 in Marques’ favor.
PFL 8 Full Results
Renan Ferreira defeats Maurice Greene via KO – Punches (Round 1, 4:46)
Larissa Pacheco defeats Olena Kolesnyk via TKO – Punches (Round 1, 0:14)
Denis Goltsov defeats Jordan Heiderman via Submission – Arm-triangle Choke (Round 1, 4:16)
Marina Mokhnatkina defeats Amber Leibrock via Submission – Armbar (Round 1, 1:45)
Nathan Kelly defeats Damion Nelson via Decision – Unanimous (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Preliminary Card
Danilo Marques defeats Satoshi Ishii via Decision – Unanimous (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Maira Mazar defeats Kaytlin Neil via Decision – Split (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
The full PFL 8 event replay, including Satoshi Ishii v Danilo Marques, is available to watch on ESPN+.
