Fletch Blog: Michihiro Omigawa: The Fall and Rise

Published on MMA-Japan.com, February 16th 2011

No Cat No Life.

Not something many forum posters would expect to hear from me, but Ce la vie. It’s the famous tag line attributed to one of Japan’s and the world’s premier featherweights, Michihiro Omigawa.

On paper, Omigawa enjoyed perhaps the biggest reversal in fortunes ever seen in Mixed Martial Arts – barring Ken Shamrock whose port to starboard was in the opposite direction. Known for being an inconsistent lightweight in the UFC, Omigawa initially competed in America, earning a 4 wins, 7 losses ledger. Hardly the statistics of a champion. Omigawa duly slunk home in obscurity, and signed for World Victory Road’s rising org Sengoku as a featherweight. And under the glare of the Rising Sun, his stock rose with meteoric force, as an 8 wins 1 loss resume launched him into the consensus top 3 world rankings, at least of those media outlets uninterested in pandering to Zuffa LLC.

I did say ‘on paper’. My intense bias must shine forth momentarily, so indulge me. Omigawa’s famous 8-1 streak at featherweight is tarnished with the nature of the two biggest wins in it; the Sengoku Featherweight Grand Prix semi-final against Marlon Sandro, and the subsequent bout with Shooto king Hatsu Hioki. These two men make up two of my personal top three 145lbs fighters, along with Sandro’s teammate and sparring partner Jose Aldo Jr. While the semi-final was admittedly close (though I feel 60-40 is an accurate ratio in favour of Sandro) the Hioki fight was a consensus robbery. Perhaps the best grappler in the sport, Hioki also boasts a very competent stand-up game, with good kicks and dextrous boxing. He used all to comfortably outpoint Omigawa, only to be screwed over in a way J-MMA usually reserves for foreigners. I’m surprised Hioki didn’t get out his passport and wave it in the faces of the judges. “I’m fucking Japanese, kids. Give me my win!”

But regardless, there can be no denying that Omigawa is one of the most improved fighters of all time. After the Sandro fight, he drew Masanori Kanehara in the final, and dropped a split-decision – his only official loss in his featherweight rise up the ranks. He ended the Sandro fight with a submission attempt and some Ground’n’Pound, and either evaded or rode the heavy punches of the Brazilian. His Grand Prix final opponent wilted and was knocked unconscious by the same hands, 38seconds into his title defence against Sandro following the tournament. Omigawa used his boxing savvy to slip and evade the monstrous blows, and returned fire, landing often. After defecting from World Victory Road to Dream, he beat Hiroyuki Takaya in a battle of Featherweight Grand Prix finalists – a win that looks more impressive now given that Takaya rebounded with wins over Hellboy Hansen and then Bibiano Fernandez to claim the Dream title. Omigawa iced him. Close fights with Sandro and Hioki, and an otherwise 6-1 resume at 145lbs including a stoppage win over Takaya cannot be ignored. Omigawa is elite. He consistently displays strong boxing and an iron chin, to go along with his judo base and athleticism.

Omigawa fought in Dream, but despite beating the current Dream champion Hiroyuki Takaya via knockout, he never seemed to find his niche. He spent the run up to Dynamite calling out Lightweight champ Shinya Aoki, and was ostensibly frustrated with his handling by FEG. He was snapped up by the UFC, and while wrestler Chad Mendes managed to mete out a losing return to America for the Judoka, Omigawa showed his durability and doggedness, recovering from a second round knockdown to survive the fight. His judo base enabled him to throw off some of the takedown attempts, but he succumbed to enough of them to lose a handsome points decision. No ties to Yoshida could help him there.

I had said all along it was Japanophilic fantasy to rank Omigawa as the #2 or #3 featherweight in the world, at the expense of Sandro and Hioki. Paper wins over the pair disguise very thinly that the champions of Pancrase, and Sengoku and Shooto respectively, are the crème de la crème of Japan. But he is without question one of the very best, no doubt heading that category just behind the elite three, along with his conqueror Mendes, his former victim Takaya the Dream titlist, Bibiano Fernandez and perhaps Manny Gamburyan and Mike Thomas Brown. No doubt Miyata is rising through the ranks too, and Diego Nunes is hot on the heels of the elite.

One thing is for sure – the featherweight division is STACKED, both in world MMA and especially in Japan… and Omigawa is a very interesting component of the top end of the division. On his day, the FWGP finalist will cause anyone problems, and one hopes for rematches with Hioki and Sandro, not to mention a potential dream fight with Aldo while the pair ply their trade in America.

Look for Omigawa to become a solid addition to the USMMA featherweight scene, once he finds his feet across the Pacific. He lost his return, but reversals of fortune are old hat to the boy by now. He can come good.

Here is my Team Takeover ally’s highlight of Michihiro Omigawa. Copyright of Stuart Jones, a.k.a HelloJapan. Enjoy it, you filthy swine.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Mc7C78q1YI

Fletch

Fletch Blog: Rumina Sato Rocky Story

Published on MMA-Japan.com, January 15th 2011

In Miracle on 34^th Street, with Kris Kringle languishing in a lunatic asylum and New York in uproar, the head of Coe’s department store asked the public a simple question, on behalf of the children. “Do you believe”?

Kringle won. The belief of the people, and manipulations of an adept lawyer saved Christmas 1994, and carols were sung, presents were delivered, there was dancing in the streets. Mathilda got a new baby brother, and her mum got both a country mansion and marriage to the aforementioned lawyer. Such is the power of belief, at least in film.

Japanese Mixed Martial Arts has not been without its miracles too, in reality. Don Frye turned up at PRIDE 19 a physically bigger man than Ken Shamrock – if you doubt that’s a miracle, watch them both at UFC VIII, and get back to me. Shinya Aoki beat about seven guys in a row who Sherdoggers claimed would destroy, mutilate or kill him (the adjectives varied with the opponent). Igor finally lost, and then lost many times more. Hayato Sakurai, ditto and ditto. Fedor got slammed on his head by a black Hercules, and not only survived, but won the bout thirty seconds later. Rodrigo Nogueira fought CroCop and took more damage than the Soviet Union during World War II, yet still won by armbar. Mirko beat him harder than any top ranked fighter has the right to be beaten, and still couldn’t win. Minowaman beat a much, much bigger man, Hongman, and dusted off Sapp, Kimo, Gianto Sillllba and Frye while he was at it. Marlon Sandro lost. Miracles happen.

Well, what if Rumina Sato completed a Rocky story, and became world champion of the organisation he has notably stayed true to throughout his entire career?

The head of Roots gym really did set down his roots with Shooto. It is perhaps he – over even Matsune, Pequeno, Gomi and the rest – who comes to mind when one thinks of Japan’s oldest organisation of mixed rules fighting. He is to Shooto what Shamrock, Funaki and Suzuki are to Pancrase, what Rickson, Takada, Sakuraba, and later Wand, Fedor and Mirko were to Pride. What Aerts is to K-1; what Pudzilla is to KSW. His name is synonymous with the promotion, and will be inextricably linked forevermore until humankind meets its miserable, self-destructive end amongst nuclear flames and mushroom clouds (not counting John Connor and his mob).

Lets take a walk down memory lane, through the Shooto Champagne Supernova of Supersonic Sato’s exploits, successes and painful failures in his ceaseless quest to be The Man.

1999. The end of the Millennium. The year that Prince urged us all to Party Like It Was, until it actually was, and then we actually did. A-hem. Yes. Anyway, it would be this year that forever imprinted the name of Rumina “Moon Wolf” Sato in the history books of MMA and Shooto, when he squared off against Charles Taylor, a debutant American. In only six seconds (or five, depending on the source. Personally, I counted five seconds before the tap) Sato had clinched with Taylor, before suddenly leaping up and securing a flying armbar in mid-air. Dragging his foe down to the canvas with him, Sato secured a rather frantic tap out, and in one fell swoop had scored one of the greatest submissions AND quickest wins that MMA had ever, and will ever see.

It was magnificent.

While sherdog fightfinder newbies may know him as “the blonde Japanese guy who scored the flying armbar” – if they know him at all – true fans of the game, and Japanophiles worldwide would revere Sato not only for his famous armbar, but his exciting style in general. He is a true Shooto product – he even runs a Shooto gym in his native Odawara today, ‘Roots’, from which he has produced several Shooto prodigies, not least the current holder of Sato’s former Pacific Rim Lightweight title, Taiki Tsuchiya.

Sato was the first Japanese fighter to submit a Brazilian BJJ black belt, and the holder of a twelve fight unbeaten streak in the org that put him to the forefront of his divisional rankings between 1994-1998. Sato was, for at least fourteen years of his career, a huge win for anybody competing in Shooto, and even Japan itself. Such men as Caol Uno, Joachim Hansen, Takanori Gomi and “Pequeno” Nogueira took a huge step to carving out their own legend by beating the Moon Wolf, and it was in beating Sato that not only earned Uno the belt, but kept both Uno and Lion Takeshi champions, not to mention that beating him earned Hatsu Hioki his own title shot. Rumina Sato’s name was a stepping-stone to legend.

You may have sensed then, why this is a Rocky story. Moon Wolf is a gifted, exciting grappler, but he is 0-3 in Shooto world title fights. Wikipedia newbies may try to convince you otherwise, but sadly he did not lose the belt to Uno – it was a vacant belt up for grabs – Sato was never world champ. He lost twice to Uno for the welterweight strap, and once to lightweight champion Lion Takeshi… as well as Hioki in a recent (2008) fight for contendership to the lightweight title. But against such competition, it is understandable. And Tsukiookami did in fact win both the Japanese Amateur Shooto tournament in 1994, and eleven years later he would win professional honours and a title in Shooto, when his win over Makoto Ishikawa made him the first ever Shooto Pacific Rim Lightweight champion.

As with any veteran of the sport, physical decline against young lions is a feature of this tale. What could be more of a resounding message that a younger breed of fighter was coming through than the Hioki fight, coming on the heels of an unsuccessful challenge for Lion Takeshi’s world Lightweight title? Sato was and is a feared grappler, and the ease of which the then future Shooto and Sengoku champion grapple-raped him on the ground was frightening. The message was clear – a veteran of 1994 could not compete with and defeat the elite of 2008 and onwards. Ken Shamrock couldn’t beat Rich Franklin in 2005 (though his heel hook came close), and David ‘Tank’ Abbott couldn’t beat Kevin ‘Kimbo’ Ferguson in 2008, proving that even in the realm of unskilled brawlers, a changing of the guard was taking place. Sato looked to have no future at the top of his divisions in Shooto. He went from 23-8 win/loss to 24-14… and The Doors could be faintly heard over the Korakuen. This Is The End… dun dun dun, beautiful friend… the end.

Until Sato – former welterweight contender and Lightweight Pacific Rim champion – decided to compete at a catchweight, between Shooto’s lightweight and featherweight divisions. He drew Corey Grant at Vale Tudo Japan 2009. And he smashed him, three minutes into round 1. It snapped a four-fight losing streak.

And next up, on what was easily the most comparatively stacked MMA card of 2010, The Way of Shooto III: Like a Tiger, Like a Dragon, came a super-fight for Sato with another legend of the org, Ryota Matsune; The Shooto Junkie.

Round 1 was superb. Hell, the entire card was fantastic, it was literally one of the only Shooto cards on which even a hardcore Japanophile would know every fighter on… because even they would be unfamiliar with at least some of the names on most events. But the May 30^th Way of Shooto III card was stacked. Lion/Hioki, Ueda/Tamura, Endo/Freire, plus Boku, Urishitani and Ishiwatari were on the card… along with two legends of Shooto squaring off; Rumina Sato versus Ryota Matsune.

Round 2 began. Matsune held a slate of 15 wins against only 1 loss in Shooto, and was a former champion to boot. Sato was hardly going in on a huge wave of momentum, but to say his opponent was ring rusty would be like saying the eruption of Krakatoa was “quite dangerous for those nearby”. And perhaps it showed, as Matsune made what in a near flawless career was a rare mistake – seconds into the second round, he shot in for a takedown, and met a sharp right knee to the jaw. Clearly stunned, he dropped back, and barely seemed to register the punch that followed as the referee swiftly dived in to save him.

Moon Wolf was back.

But where now? The win over Matsune is a huge win in the eyes of the Shooto commission. But it wasn’t at a set weight class. He didn’t get back a top ten rank – necessary in order to get a title shot. And despite the good standing a win over Matsune gives him, he is still in limbo with regards to an actual title shot at any weight.

At welterweight, Sato’s days are long numbered. At lightweight, the division is still ruled by Hioki, and the only person who believes Sato has a chance of beating Hatsu these days is probably the woman who gave birth to him. What could factor into his favour is the success that all-conquering Hioki is having in Sengoku. Isn’t it customary for Shooto champs to win big fights in more prominent orgs, and then leave? Move on for the big bucks? If Hioki gets offered the big money, this would clear a path. Yet even then, the man to whom Sato lost his last title shot still sits pretty in the top 3 rankings, Lion Takeshi. Would Sato’s protégé and current Pacific Rim lightweight champ Tsuchiya feature as an impediment in Sato’s title plans? So if Sato is too far back behind the pile, what about featherweight? Shuichiro Katsumura is due a defence. But could Sato manage to get one, just one more win before Katsumura finds himself defending against Ueda, Uyenoyama or Dantas? And does Sato have it in him to cut to a lower weight than he spent his career fighting at and still have enough left to beat the likes of Masakatsu Ueda?

Questions, questions. Time will tell. But I for one am not giving up on the idea of this dream coming to fruition. Win one for the vets, Rumina. Don’t go out without one last shot. I still believe in miracles. Do the Shooto commission? Do any of you?

Fletch

Fletch Blog: The Shooto Aftermath

Published on MMA-Japan.com, January 11th 2011

The Shootor's Legacy 1 event was held at the Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, as reported on MMA-Japan by Kris Hartrum, an event that saw the crowning of Yoshihiro Koyama as the new Pacific Rim champion at welterweight. As expected in the co-headlining bout, the Pacific Rim lightweight title-holder Taiki Tsuchiya was victorious too, smashing former King of the Cage champion Tony Hervey early and further consolidating his rank in the absence of the all-conquering world champion of the division. However, do not expect a forthcoming unification bout; Tsuchiya admitted after his fight that he had intended to challenge the mercurial Hatsu Hioki, but that after seeing him topple the monstrous Marlon Sandro at Sengoku’s Soul of Fight to claim another title, the Shooto contender and Asian champion did not feel confident in his chances of winning that particular match-up just yet.

How refreshingly honest. Don’t worry lad; if I were a featherweight, I wouldn’t be challenging a guy who just beat Sandro either… not to mention that he destroyed Tsuchiya’s mentor Rumina Sato prior to that, before comfortably bettering recent JMMA departure Michihiro Omigawa (even though the Sengoku judges felt otherwise), and the relieving Lion Takeshi of his Shooto strap. Tsuchiya is still relatively new to the sport, and has real promise; there will be time aplenty for him to take on The Child of Shooto somewhere down the road.

Right now, the 9-2 Pacific Rim lightweight champ would be crushed. He is riding the crest of a moderate wave, on a six-fight win streak, and the Shooto commission had best let him ride a Tsunami before throwing him to the current best featherweight in a country that rules the featherweight division.

Yoshihiro Koyama took the rematch in style to become the secondary – or Asian – champion of Shooto’s welterweight class, as he blitzed Shinji Sasaki in quick fashion. The first fight was a case of wrestling stifling catch style submission, but this time out the now 15-5 Koyama relied in his striking, dropping Sasaki with a stiff jab and finishing with a flurry of ground and pound. Quite a marked improvement, and a statement of his personal progression. Bizarrely enough though, the Pacific Rim title win actually halts a two-fight losing streak for Koyama, after an ill-advised venture up to Shooto’s middleweight division where he lost to Kotetsu Boku and Adam Lynn.

Former Shooto World Featherweight (132lbs) champion Masakatsu Ueda tore through an overmatched Ralph Acosta. Whether or not the win will earn Ueda an expected rematch with the man who toppled him, Shuichiro Katsumura, it is not known, but he certainly did not harm his case for title aspirations by demolishing the hapless Acosta with grapple-rape in round 1, and a D’Arce choke in the second.

“Krazy Bee” fighter Kotetsu Boku earned a unanimous decision over Yukinari Tamura, to keep his #1 ranking with the Shooto commission and keep him in line for a shot at his old Pacific Rim welterweight title, won on this card by a man he had previously beaten, Koyama. Yusuke Endo, the man with whom Boku lost his previous tilt at the Asian title, was also victorious on the Shootor’s Legacy 1 card, beating Daisuke Sugie by majority decision in an even fight. Endo beat Boku but then lost to Willamy Freire, in the oh-so-hectic Shooto welterweight division.

So what now for the notables from the Shootor’s Legacy 1 card:

WHAT NEXT:

Koyama: the new Shooto Pacific Rim welterweight champion will of course be looking at a shot at the world title. When Willamy Freire returns to action, having not fought since defeating Endo on the stacked May 30^th card, this would make a fine fight for Shooto world honours. If not? Fellow victor and recent Pacific Rim champ and world title challenger Yusuke Endo would be a fine opponent, as would fellow former Asian champion and also a victor on the card, Kotetsu Boku.

Tsuchiya: the Shooto Pacific Rim lightweight champion was under no illusions about his current ability to dethrone the Shooto world lightweight champion Hatsu Hioki. With that in mind, should Hioki hang onto his Shooto crown despite finding success in more prominent JMMA orgs, Taiki should be matched up with other ranked contenders, to build up another potential star. Five more fights, and who knows where he will be? Who knows where Hioki will be? Give Tsuchiya a fight with Lion Takeshi, see if he sinks or swims. Failing that, Moon Wolf; who wouldn’t love him to leapfrog back into the rankings and get closer to a title shot once Hioki inevitably moves on.

Endo: back in the winners’ circle, Endo was unsuccessful in his attempt to win the Shooto welterweight title proper back in May, when he lost to Willamy Freire (who has been inactive since, and was stripped). Both a fight with Koyama for the Pacific Rim belt, a rematch with Freire should he return in time, or a rematch with Kotetsu Boku.

Boku: the Krazy Bee man is back on form. Now on a four-fight win streak since his loss to Endo (whom he previously drew with) he is primed to either rematch Endo, or face another top 10 Shooto ranked opponent. For those thinking Endo would be ahead of Boku in the running to get a shot at either the world title or the Pacific Rim belt won by Koyama, think again; Boku actually holds the #1 ranking at the moment in Shooto’s welterweight top 10.

Ueda: He did himself no harm whatsoever with his dominance of Acosta. Either a shot for his old Shooto World Featherweight championship, or another fight against either a contender or another overmatched opponent should be next for Masakatsu-san. I would hope it would be the former.

Now all that remains is for this event to come online. Come on, internet savvy Japanophiles, lets have it.

Fletch

Shooto: Shootor's Legacy 1 Preview

Published on MMA-Japan.com, January 10th 2011

Fresh from the finals of the Rookie tournament, the Tokyo faithful will receive their first dose of Shooto in the New Year with the Shootor's Legacy 1 event to be held at the fabled Korakuen Hall. With ruthless efficiency, the card is to feature several opening round bouts for the upcoming 2011 Rookie tournament, as a new generation of potential Japanese stars in the making try to earn accolades that have been held by such notable modern MMA samurai as Tatsuya Kawajiri, Mizuto Hirota, Hiroyuki Takaya, Lion Takeshi and more; men who sit at the top table of Japanese Mixed Martial Arts; home grown champions and JMMA royalty.
A wise man once said to me that watching the Shooto Rookie tournaments was like watching the future of JMMA. Whether or not the 2011 tournament shall play host to fighters talented enough to hold up to the golden names of the past is yet to be seen, but the Odyssey begins tomorrow at the Korakuen, and only time will tell.
The opening round bouts at Shootor’s Legacy 1 will be as such:

Flyweight bout:

Hiroshi Osato vs. Takeshi Saito (123lbs)

Lightweight bout:
Kensuke Nakamura vs. Chuji Kato (143lbs)

Lightweight bout:

Takuya Ogura vs. Satoshi Kogure (132lbs)

Featherweight bout:
Shinichi Yoshioka vs. Hiroshi Nakamura (132lbs)

Headlining the card is a Shooto Pacific Rim Welterweight title fight, with former Rookie tournament alumni Shinji Sasaki and Yoshihiro Koyama scrapping it out in a rematch for Asian honours. The pair fought to a two-round decision during the 2006 Rookie tournament, and it was a case of wrestling defeating submission grappling, as Koyama stifled the catch-as-catch-can submission grappler Sasaki to earn a unanimous decision.

The rematch will be a turning point in either man’s career; with both the Pacific Rim AND world titles of Shooto vacant, the winner of this fight looks to benefit greatly given the void in the Shooto welterweight division. A Pacific Rim title would enhance the world title aspirations of either combatant, so expect fireworks in the main event.

Co-headline is a fight featuring the reigning Pacific Rim Lightweight (143lbs) champion. Taiki Tsuchiya holds the Asian divisional strap, and sits pretty in the #1 Shooto divisional rank, under the mercurial champion Hatsu Hioki  (in Shooto, champions are above and exempt from rankings). He faces former King of the Cage Lightweight champion Tony Hervey, who drops down to featherweight to compete against a prominent star in Shooto. Hervey was a promising fighter with a 10-4 win/loss ledger, but an entertaining scrap with top 2 lightweight great Takanori Gomi began a horrendous decline that left the American with four losses and one win in his last five bouts.

The fight will be a non-title affair, given that Hervey is (rather obviously) not ranked by Shooto – not least in his new division – but a win will regardless help tide Tsuchiya over until the recently all-conquering Shooto world champion Hatsu Hioki returns to defend his Shooto belt, having just relieved Pancrase and Sengoku champion Marlon Sandro of his Sengoku belt to add to his own collection. A win for Hervey, on the other hand, would pose interesting problems for the Shooto committee.

Former Pacific Rim welterweight champion and Rookie Tournament 2004 winner Yusuke Endo will look to rebound from his world title challenge loss to Willamy Freire in May, when he takes on Daisuke “Amazon” Sugie. On paper, it should be one for Endo to rebound with a consolidate his #3 rank, and perhaps challenge the winner of the main event for his old Pacific Rim belt. But while Sugie has a mixed record, he holds wins over several solid Shooto fighters, and he is by no means outgunned or completely overmatched.

The non-tournament bouts of the card (with fighter weights) in full are as follows:

Shooto Pacific Rim Welterweight title fight
Shinji Sasaki (154) vs. Yoshihiro Koyama (154)

Non title fight
Taiki Tsuchiya (143) vs. Tony Hervey (143)

Yusuke Endo (154) vs. Daisuke Sugie (154)
Masakatsu Ueda (132) vs. Ralph Acosta (130.5)
Kotetsu Boku (154) vs. Yukinari Tamura (154)
Toshimichi Akagi (123) vs. Shinichi Hanawa (123)
Koji Matsumoto (154) vs. Norio Tokuhisa (154)
Daisuke Hoshino (154) vs. Koji Nishioka (154)

Fletch

The Japanese Invade China Again!

Published on MMA-Japan.com, January 12th 2011

A JMMA event in China! Who would have thought!!!

The last time Japanese warriors crossed the Pacific and visited their western neighbours, they raped, pillaged and slaughtered for eight years, before events elsewhere in WWII dictated that it was time to leave China – as the vanquished. Now, the Deep boys are crossing the Pacific in peace to visit a Chinese province, where they will hold their event “Mayhem in Macau” on an undisclosed date in early 2011, a postponement from their original date of Saturday 8th January.  

This is welcome news. Japanese MMA – barring Pride – has always been notoriously xenophobic when it comes to the markets they aim to serve. Even Pride was not broadcast in Great Britain, Ireland nor many other major European countries and potential lucrative markets. And to this day, many Japanese orgs seem to have little interest in promoting their brand outside of the Land of the Rising Sun.

And now with FEG reportedly in such dire financial straits that it was heavily rumoured that K-1 Dynamite would be their last event featuring MMA bouts, it is absolutely imperative that other orgs step their game up. How ironic, then, that it is DEEP that takes the initiative; the same promotion criticised by some for being little more than a glorified feeder org for Dream.

God has a sense of humour…

Leading the Japanese charge into China will be the glorious DEEP Megaton division. Those men upwards of 100kg fight in this illustrious weight class, for a title only seconded by the magnificent Super Hulk. Of the Megaton taking a brief holiday across the East China Sea, first and foremost will be the champ, Yasuke Kawaguchi, who will defend the Megaton belt against hulking Kazuhisa Tazawa. No other fights have been officially announced as yet, though touted BJJ competitor Marcos Souza will reportedly make his MMA debut at the event. Other participants are rumoured to be Welterweight champ Yuya Shirai, Ryuta Sakurai, and Luiz Andrade.

Art of War are seemingly on hiatus, so there must be a clear market in the world’s most populous country and of course the largest economy. DEEP are stepping their game up; let us hope that more Japanese promotions can do the same.

Fletch

D.E.D IV: Knockouts, Bisping, Ricco and more!

Published in Yorkshire Evening Post, on LowKick.com, January 2011

With more punch than a high-school prom, more kick than a vodka mixer, and more grappling than a bouncer’s night at Birdcage, Yorkshire’s local MMA history was added to with the Dog Eat Dog IV: Leeds vs. Manchester event at Oceana nightclub in Leeds, promoted by Liam O’Neill and attended by none other than former UFC Heavyweight champion Ricco Rodriguez, and England’s own current UFC middleweight Michael “The Count” Bisping.

The crowd were not the unsophisticated idiots typical of regional American events, who boo when the fight hits the floor. As such, it was an enjoyable atmosphere, and all the local fighters on the card received the standard hometown support from an appreciative audience. Most notably was local boy Simeon Otley, who earned the respect of all, due to his dogged determination to absolutely not submit to any form of hold he may be caught in, during a draining 77kg semi-pro fight with grappler Steve Brinkman. Otley earned cheers just for completing round 1, in which he had to survive a nasty kimura, kneebar and then heel hook, all of which were locked in, all of which made him visibly wince and grimace in pain, but none of which made him tap. In the second round, after being caught flush in a fully extended and locked in armbar, the referee thankfully halted affairs before the inevitable bone break, and the fight goes down as a “technical submission loss”. There will be limb snaps in that boy’s future, if he doesn’t shore up his submission defence, or learn to submit, and live to fight another day! True Bushido, he earned a fan in me.

Mike Persil was fighting MMA bouts back when Julius Caesar was planning the Roman invasions of Britain, so he can be forgiven for his loss here. The 53yr old came up against a young prospect from the Wolfslair (MMA camp home to Bisping, Ricco and of course Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, not Hitler’s Eastern European Headquarters) and after being spun by a leg kick, he was topped and rear-naked-choked to defeat. No shame at all, and props on getting in there at such an athletically advanced age.

Greg Grimshaw defeated Sam Creasey by majority decision, in a 65kg catchweight fight ultimately dictated by the clinch work of Grimshaw. The mark of a Muay Thai stylist is use of knees and strikes on the inside from the clinch, as opposed to a takedown, and that was the deciding factor in this one.

Lucas Sharpe scored a kimura (or double-wrist-lock, to the catch enthusiasts out there) victory over Paul Robinson. The latter enjoyed hometown support, training out of True Spirit in Chapeltown, and buoyed on by it, his foe ultimately could not evade the grappling attentions of the local fighter. Robinson scored an early takedown, but a low blow halted proceedings, and the stoppage occurred shortly afterwards. Another takedown was swept and reversed, and after earning positional dominance, Sharpe secured the double-wristlock/kimura for the win.

In only 13 seconds, poor Zack Taylor took a punch after only 13 seconds of the fight, and his opponent hesitated to follow up on it, as he fell heavily. Fair play. This respite allowed Taylor to rise again to his feet, but facing the wrong way – he had absolutely no idea where he was. Quite a bizarre knockout, but hey, better than seeing someone tee-off on a barely conscious foe, or worse, an unconscious one.

Drew Renton won what may have been a mismatch, with a crushing KO over Daniel Malzk. Face-plants are always nice to see from a fight fan’s perspective, but I’d rather not see it after 20 or so seconds. Ah well – it added variety to the card, I guess…

And now… the fight of the night. Dun dun dunnnnnn…. Held under K-1 rules, a big boy with a big heart Alex Bratton took on late arriving fellow Super-Heavyweight Charlie Carter. I had the privilege of an exclusive pre-fight interview with Alex, in which I told him if it was a “proper K-1 super-heavyweight novelty fight”, they’d have put him in against a midget. He laughed – clearly he agreed. Gotta love the Japanese eh? Thus, I offered to step in when his opponent didn’t show. Sadly, he later did. Or rather not in fact, as they put on Fight of the Night, and I didn’t have to get my head kicked in. What am I saying?

To look at them, you’d see two guys well over six feet tall (I’d hazard a guess Alex is 6’3, not sure about Charlie) and both carried a certain amount of blubber. Anyone who has seen Japanese MMA, or K-1 (a Japanese organisation/sport. Japan loves giants) knows that generally, giants have around 2 or 3 minutes cardio, max. I was proved so very wrong. The epic slugfest went the distance, with Alex edging a tight third round with two awesome head kicks on his visibly exhausted opponent, and it was enough to score a split decision win. The place erupted.

“K-1” and “Super-Heavyweight” are words that usually produce prodigious amounts of WIN (a combination of entertainment and epicness), and putting the two together produced a spectacle that we all enjoyed. Even Alex, despite getting stitched up with “The Way to Amarillo” as his entrance theme (to his surprise) and of course, the rather fetching pair of pink shorts he wore.

Great fight. And the win couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy. Bratton really was a lovely lad.

By this point, Ricco Rodriguez had arrived. He sat right in front of me, and I couldn’t let the moment pass without weaselling in. Blatantly sucking up, I praised his status as a former UFC Heavyweight champion, and for having beaten prime Rodrigo Nogueira in Pride, only to be robbed by Japanese judges. Even though the ensuing ten minutes of conversation were not filmed, due to the potential for PR disaster, it was great to speak to him. His time for a beer swilling 22yr old “journalist” fanboy was even more impressive, considering that both he and Bisping were at an MMA event and thus had certain demands on their attentions, both from fans and with the fights themselves. What a great guy.

The semi-pro Welterweight title fight changed hands, with Leeds local boy Adam Kahn. Shame, he’s a good guy, training out of True Spirit (where Liam O’Neill trains) but the grappling of challenger Sam Ferguson was too much. Kahn did well to survive a double-wristlock/kimura cum keylock attempt, but soon fell prey to an armbar transition that led to a rear-naked-choke. No shame at all, he came up against a decent grappler, so Ce la vie.

Co-main event was due to be Golden Glory Pattaya fighter Kuljit Degan, against Lincoln Kyle in a professional MMA rules Super-Heavyweight bout. According to my post-fight – or rather, post-non-event – interview with Kuljit, the veteran San Shou fighter had been called out on Facebook, and there was a certain degree of bad blood leading in. However, the southerner Kyle was “unable to attend the event”, and according to Degan he “even refused a train ride north, paid for by the promoters”.

Cheer up Kuljit. At least you get to train with some of the best K-1 kickboxers and MMA fighters in the world, such as Stefan “Blitz” Leko, Sergei Kharitonov, Semmy Schilt, Gokhan Saki… the only exception being recent K-1 Grand Prix champion Alistair Overeem, according to Degan. How epic is that?

And finally, the main event. The one that drew a UFC champ and a Cage Rage champ to the event in the first place; Wolsflair’s Lee ‘Leeroy’ Barnes versus Danny Welsh at 77kg, or 170lbs as the Americans would call it. Welterweight, at any rate.

It didn’t last long. Despite an early leg kick, Welsh showed absolutely no sign that he could deal with Barnes’ in the grappling realm. After the low kick, he was backed up to the cage, taken down, and thenceforth ground’n’pounded to defeat. It was an impressive display from Barnes, who has a star-studded cast to train with, and should be considered a prospect because of it.

All in all, it was a great night. Props to Liam O’Neill, who took another step towards his goal of being the Sakakibara of Yorkshire. Please, don’t use “Dana White” as a great promoter… please.

Props to Ricco, and to Bisping for arriving; Ricco for being gracious enough to actually appear pleased to be speaking to me on numerous occasions, and Bisping for having to deal with not having a moment’s peace to enjoy his time there!

I look forward to D.E.D V. This one was a success.

It was emotional.

The Japanese Invade China Again!

Published on various sites, December 2010



A JMMA event in China! Who would have thought!!!

The last time Japanese warriors crossed the Pacific and visited their western neighbours, they raped, pillaged and slaughtered for eight years, before events elsewhere in WWII dictated that it was time to leave China – as the vanquished. Now, the Deep boys are crossing the Pacific in peace to visit a Chinese province, where they will hold their event “Mayhem in Macau” on Saturday 8th January.

This is welcome news. Japanese MMA – barring Pride – has always been notoriously xenophobic when it comes to the markets they aim to serve. Even Pride was not broadcast in Great Britain, Ireland nor many other major European countries and potential lucrative markets. And to this day, many Japanese orgs seem to have little interest in promoting their brand outside of the Land of the Rising Sun.

And now with FEG reportedly in such dire financial straits that it is heavily rumoured that K-1 Dynamite will be their last event, it is absolutely imperative that other orgs step their game up. How ironic, then, that it is DEEP that takes the initiative; the same promotion criticised by some for being little more than a glorified feeder org for Dream.

God has a sense of humour…

Leading the Japanese charge into China will be the glorious DEEP Megaton division. Those men upwards of 100kg fight in this illustrious weight class, for a title only seconded by the magnificent Super Hulk. Of the Megaton taking a brief holiday across the East China Sea, first and foremost will be the champ, Yasuke Kawaguchi, who will defend the Megaton belt against hulking Kazuhisa Tazawa. No other fights have been officially announced as yet, though touted BJJ competitor Marcos Souza will make his MMA debut at the event. Other participants are rumoured to be Welterweight champ Yuya Shirai, Ryuta Sakurai, and Luiz Andrade.

Art of War are seemingly on hiatus, so there must be a clear market in the world’s most populous country and of course the largest economy. DEEP are stepping their game up; let us hope that more Japanese promotions can do the same.

Random Fletch pre-Christmas Musings....

Published December 22nd, 2010



Weird week. Lots of rumours, rumblings, movings and shakings within the MMA world.
Mousasi vs Kyotaro booked for K-1 Dynamite. If you’re wondering why this may be strange, consider that a year ago Mousasi was an MMA middleweight, that Kyotaro is the K-1 Heavyweight champion, and that this fight will be contested under K-1 rules.

Mental. FEG strike again, playing on the fearlessness of their talent to book stupid matches. I’m not saying Mousasi has absolutely no chance whatsoever, but the cards are stacked, and a particularly vicious KO could perhaps make a dent in the career of one of MMA’s most promising “rising stars” under the age of 25 – that is, if the veteran can even still be labelled a ‘rising’ star!

In anticipation of what I deem to be the TRUE Sengoku Featherweight Grand Prix final, I watched both champ Sandro against challenger and Shooto champ Hioki, in their fights against the newly departed Omigawa. Halfway through the Hioki fight, I turned off the video, and struggled to avoid putting my screen through with my clenched, shaking fists. One thing the excercise did for me, however, is convince me that the Soul of Fight meeting between the Brazzo champ and the Japanese challenger will be contested between the very best  in Japan. These two are the creme de la creme, for sure.

UFC will host a 2011 event in Brazil. Clearly, with three Brazilian champions, they have the potential to stack a card and give us long-suffering fans a Pride-esque showing. Booking title defences for Aldo, Anderson and Shogun would top UFC 100 in terms of heavy, unwatered quality… but then again, Zuffa will likely book one of those men, and water the rest of the card down in order to promote another numbered event within three weeks. Money talks, and Zuffa are talkative. Stacked cards are Japanese only territory.

Fedor has been involved in a “will he, wont he” scenario concerning the January 29th 2011 Strikeforce card. It was loudly rumoured that Bigfoot Silva would be the man to face him, and that it would be part of the Strikeforce 8-man Heavyweight Grand Prix. As M-1 are currently negotiating, renegotiating and re-renegotiating, it is as yet unclear (there are many conflicting reports) if Fedor will actually face Silva, and if the bout would be part of the tournament if so.

Fingers crossed. Like it or not (personally, I like M-1 as an organisation) the protracted contract negotiations will undoubtedly stick in the memory once Fedor retires. This kind of thing gives the new breed of zuffa zombie MMA fan fuel to the fire that Fedor is such blasphemous things as “overrated”, “overhyped” and “not the greatest”.

Let us hope that – tournament apart – he fights soon, fights hard, and increases his activity. One fight a year these days just doesn’t cut it anymore.

As for the Strikeforce HWGP, what an epic tournament that could possibly be. It will mark the first time since 2006 that the organisation with the most stacked heavyweight division would put on a tournament featuring those fighters.

The expected names to be involved will draw from this talent pool:

*Alistair Overeem
*Fabricio Werdum
*Fedor Emelianenko
*Antonio Silva
*Josh Barnett
*Sergei Kharitonov
*Shane Del Rosario
*Andrei Arlovski
*Brett Rogers

Fantastic stuff.

There are rumblings that Satoru Kitaoka could be heading to the UFC. If you are unfamiliar with this man, let me cut a long story short and say that he was the Sengoku Lightweight champ, and it took a fired up pre-Aoki arm-snap victim Mizuto Hirota to relieve him of that belt. He also stretched Paul Daley with ease back in Pancrase, putting a true catch-as-catch-can clinic on the now top 10, dangerous and feared welterweight.
I hope he stays in Japan. Kid, Omigawa and Kitaoka to UFC, all within the same fortnight? What next, Aoki, Sandro and Hioki? Terrible.

Just on the Brazil UFC card – rumours are that Royce Gracie will be tempted out of retirement to fight on it. How ridiculous – people used his shambolic UFC 60 return to claim that it “proved” that the “new breed” of MMA fighter was more advanced. What exactly did it prove? Back in the day, the only art Royce used was Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, he had no other fighting skills. Matt Hughes was a well rounded fighter, this is true. But had he not trained for 11 years in BJJ himself, could he have beaten Royce? Besides, Royce was in his 40′s by then, it was ludicrous. The fight proved nothing, except that Royce Gracie himself was one-dimensional, and too old at that stage to match up with a current star.

Chael Sonnen is angling for a fight with Wanderlei Silva. This much is obvious, given the twitter messages the outspoken American has been sending. This would certainly be one fight that even the usual patriotic American fans would be cheering for Wand in. Personally, I find Sonnen’s schtick amusing, but this time it reeks of desperation to stay relevant and in the news. After being submitted late in his title bout with Anderson, Chael failed a drugs test, and the hype surrounding his name noticeably cooled. Clearly, he wants to stay in the limelight as long as possible, and twitter beefs may well – sadly – be a decent way of going about it in the technology age.
Stay tuned – World Victory Road presents: Soul of Fight, and K-1 Dynamite previews to come.
Fletch

Fletch Blog: Thomson Bout Could Be Career Revival for Kawajiri the Crusher

Published on various sites, December 21st 2010

Tatsuya Kawajiri is an elite fighter.

There are many fans of MMA out there who have never seen Kawajiri perform, I would wager. There are many in the western world who would compile their top 10 rankings and not give The Crusher a thought. Well, that is their problem; Tatsuya Kawajiri is a top lightweight, and he still has plenty left in his tank. And if the rumoured bout with Strikeforce challenge and former champion Josh Thomson comes to fruition, the former Shooto champion and Pride star has a very good shot at a dramatic career upswing.

Kawajiri has been labelled by some hardcore fans – unfairly – as a bridesmaid. The reasoning being that while he was the reigning Shooto champion, he was unable to emerge victorious in the Pride Lightweight Grand Prix, nor in his fight against fellow top 5 ranked fighter Gilbert Melendez at Shockwave 2006, nor could he win the Dream Lightweight Grand Prix in 2008, and most recently in his attempt to remove the Dream championship from around Shinya Aoki’s waist, he suffered ankle injuries after refusing for quite some time to submit to the heel hook that Aoki managed to secure on him early in the bout. These factors combine to add fuel to the fire of detractors, who say quite simply; Kawajiri is the bridesmaid, never the bride.

Against Thomson, this could all change. One has to feel that with one big win, Crusher will redeem himself and launch himself back onto the world map; a map that some feel he hasn’t entirely left as it stands anyway.

I feel Kawajiri is much better than he is viewed. The man is a warrior; a ground’n'pound style wrestler, who dominated a K-1 veteran in Kozo Takeda, and shows great thai-boxing abilities and a willingness to stand and trade. He was indeed once widely considered the #1 ranked lightweight in the world for a time – something that the aforementioned detractors vehemently disagree with – when he won the Shooto welterweight (154lbs) championship, beating elite lightweight Vitor “Shaolin” Ribiero. A title defence in Shooto later, and two wins in Pride Bushido events, and DreamStage Entertainment matched the top 2 ranked lightweights in the world up, in their Lightweight Grand Prix; Kawajiri, and the Fireball Kid, Takanori Gomi.

Gomi would emerge victorious, via chokeout in round 1, but the bout was deemed Fight of the Year by most MMA outlets at the time. The two went to war, it was an exceptional showing by both men, and while Kawajiri would never again be considered the #1 to this day, he has never slipped from the top 10, and always shows up to put on a show.

Tainted victory over a legend came next, as Joachim “Hellboy” Hansen was disqualified after only eight seconds for a low blow. On paper, this set Crusher back in motion, as Hellboy was another member of that Golden Generation from Shooto, and is the only man to beat Gomi, JZ Calvan, Caol Uno, Rumina Sato and three years after this point, Shinya Aoki. Kawajiri rolled over Charles Krazy Horse Bennet, and two wins later earned a high profile fight with the-then undefeated #2 ranked lightweight and p4p listed Gilbert Melendez, on Pride’s Shockwave 2006 card.

Again, misfortune struck. After a very close fight between the two elite combatants, Melendez got the nod unanimously from the judges; a decision that many feel should have gone Kawajiri’s way. This win would have solidified Kawajiri firmly in the top 3, and potentially earned him a rematch with Gomi for the Pride belt and the bragging rights of Japan. As it was, any momentum he may have had was once again depleted, and Kawajiri was the contender; not the champion. The bridesmaid; not the bride.

It was a year before Crusher fought again; outpointing capable Chute Boxe fighter Luis Azeredo on the Yarennokka card that was essentially a farewell to PrideFC. Then, he signed for Fighting Entertainment Group, in the fledging successor to Pride and its amalgamation of sorts with the existing Hero’s; DREAM.

Two Grand Prix wins later, and Kawajiri stood facing the American Eddie Alvarez for a shot at Aoki in the finals. With Gomi at this stage in decline, the Crusher was the clear cut #2 lightweight in Japan behind Aoki, who was consensus #1 after an incredible resume in that weight class over the last three years. It was Crushers chance to not only reclaim (or to finally earn) the #1 ranking and Japanese bragging rights, but to earn his first major championship outside of the Shooto belt. And in this consensus Fight of the Year for 2008…. he was stopped, late in round 1.

Again, he bounced back. After choking out Ross Ebanez to get back in the winners circle, Kawajiri faced off against the former K-1 Hero’s champion and still-top ranked fighter Gesias “JZ” Cavalcante. And in the fight itself, Crusher defied the tag of “bridesmaid” by dominating the fight with both his ground and pound, ground control, and in winning the striking exchanges on the feet. He proved his superiority over a champion, and once more put his name back among the very best few 155lbs fighters in the world.

He defeated Sengoku contender Kazunori Yokota at Dynamite 2009 to further solidify his standing as Japan’s #2, and waited patiently until June, when he finally got his shot; a match against former (and future) training partner and friend, Japan’s premier fighter, the Dream and WAMMA lightweight champion, Shinya Aoki.

Many felt that this was finally Kawajiri’s time. They pointed out that Melendez, whom Crusher had arguably beaten, comfortably dealt with Aoki’s takedown attempts in Aoki’s stateside cage debut, and that Melendez and Kawajiri were well-matched skillwise. They pointed out that Kawajiri could be deemed to have superior submission defence to Eddie Alvarez, also a powerful wrestler-striker, whom Aoki had surprised with an unorthodox takedown into a heel hook. The odds were even; many felt that it was Kawajiri’s time to shine.

What transpired that night, would be the worst night of his career. In a fight reminiscent of the Alvarez/Aoki fight, the Dream champion used the same leg grapevine takedown into a heel hook early in the fight, and though Crusher bravely held out for a minute, eventually the fight was called off. Kawajiri was dominated; embarrassed, and injured.

But don’t write him off. Back training with Aoki, this man has the potential to beat ANY lightweight in the world on his best day. And he isn’t done yet.

The rumour mill is swirling, and apparently Josh Thomson could be next in line to face the Crusher at Dream’s Dynamite card on New Years Eve. This fight could be perfect for Tatsuya to bounce back. Thomson just beat JZ Calvan; he is a former Strikeforce champion with excellent wrestling and decent standup. But is his wrestling any better than a motivated Kawajiri’s? Is his standup on par with a man who destroyed a K-1 veteran in Takeda, and went two rounds with the legendary K-1 MAX champion Masato?

This could be THE fight in which Crusher bounces back into the title mix, and earns a shot at the elites. He is 32; there is time yet. His last fight against Aoki aside, Kawajiri is not yet a wartorn, battle-scarred old veteran, slowing down and at the end. He is still an elite, dangerous warrior who could give any lightweight on the planet fits. And after the Aoki embarrassment, he will be more dangerous than ever. He is on the ropes, and defeat now would be disastrous. This is his time to make a statement.

If this fight goes down, look for a Kawajiri win from softening Thomson up on the feet before ending it with ground’n'pound.

At least, this Crusher fan hopes so…. it is time he became all that he could be.

And that equates to one word; champion.

Fletch

Fletch Blog: Kid & Omigawa to UFC-land; This Japanophile Thanks God for Sengoku...

Published on various sites, December 20th 2010



Two more Japanese MMA superstars are heading stateside.
Now, whereas my American brothers from East to West now have an exponentially better chance of seeing P4P God Kid and the man “whom the featherweight division revolves around” (in his own mind), this simply means that I – a pathetically biased British Japanophile – now have to deal with yet another blow to the flagging Japanese scene. Thank the Lord above for World Victory Road’s epic Soul of Fight card: without it, I may not have made it through the Christmas holidays without turning into the fight game’s Ebeneezer Scrooge.

It should come as no surprise that Omigawa has left for the UFC. His ego is such that despite his obvious Yoshida Dojo ties helping him to gift decisions over the best two featherweights in JMMA, Marlon Sandro and Hatsu Hioki, he left for Dream, beat Takaya and some comparative cans, and then declared that the featherweight division ‘revolves around him’. He then called out Dream Lightweight champ Shinya Aoki to a fight at Dynamite, and has now decamped for America.

The guy is an animal, but I can no longer stand him. Any man who steals the perfect 18-0 record from my #1 featherweight in MMA, Marlon Sandro, depriving him of the chance to win the SRC Featherweight Grand Prix, and who defects from JMMA to the UFC, ain’t cool in my book. Disclaimer: this does not reflect the views of IFI as a whole, but FletchBlogs are ‘my book’.

No Cat No Life? Not for me, sonny Jim. For me it’s no JMMA no life, and the Japanese featherweight scene has suffered as a result of its two biggest and best dropping gift decisions to a man who promptly leaves for UFC. Now if Omigawa gets grapple-f*cked, or if Jose Aldo tears him apart, how does that reflect on Japan?
Horrible news for me. The best I can hope for is that he at least works his way to a shot against the mercurial Aldo, and then I can perhaps dare to dream. I may even forgive him for the darkness that was Sengoku 9.

Kid leaving for the UFC is one that I am a little more OK with. Yes, a star has left, but that star has faded in recent years. After taking a hiatus from the sport due to his desire to compete as a wrestler at the 2008 Olympics, Kid Yamamoto returned to the MMA world with two consecutive losses – unthinkable for the undersized juggernaut who had previously torn through a 22-1 record that included a K-1 Hero’s Middleweight (154lbs) Grand Prix triumph, despite having a ‘natural’ weight of around 135lbs or so. Kid was a phenom, and in losing to the talented rookie Joe Warren and Sengoku’s official Grand Prix champion Masanori Kanehara (a man who had lost in the tournament, and replaced a finalist due to injury) Kid clearly displayed a lack of motivation. Something just wasn’t there, and it was feared that he was a star that burned out fast. And one quick win over an over-matched opponent later, and the fears haven’t completely subsided.

Either way…whether or not Kid reclaims his place at the top of either the Bantamweight or Featherweight divisions, it will be a pleasure to watch him.

And the nostalgia in me can’t help but remember the fevered debate of the old days…’Kid vs Faber, who would win?’ Well, now we may just find out. I just hope they both have enough left in them to put on the epic showing that they both deserve from each other.

Though on saying that…I wouldn’t complain at another four second flying bicycle tiger knee knockout from Kid!

So what, you ask, have Sengoku got to do with the price of chips?

Well my lovelies, they happen to be putting on an epic end 0f year show. Last year was disastrous – the World Victory Road boys put their finest on the line in a co-promotion of sorts with Dream at K-1 Dynamite, and some of the top boys got stuffed. Sengoku lightweight champ Mizuto Hirota had his arm snapped by a copper lock from the imperious Shinya Aoki, and Kazuo Misaki got smashed by the fury of Manhoef. Kawajiri beat Yokota in a battle of contenders from either promotion, and Alistair Overeem kneed Kazuyuki Fujita so hard in the head that the big Japanese fella still has nightmares about horses. It was largely disastrous for WVR.

This year is different. FEG’s attempts to organise Dynamite have been shambolic, and World Victory Road presents: Soul of Fight looks to be more epic than all three (yes, three) Die Hard films combined with Con Air and The Rock. For y’all action junkies out thur’.

Sandro vs Hioki? THIS, my pedigree chums, is the TRUE final of the Sengoku Featherweight Grand Prix. With Sandro robbed (as aforementioned) and Hioki suffering concussion in his victory, the actual final was basically contested between the two guys that LOST their semi-finals!

The winner will be – in my honest opinion – the #1 featherweight in the world. Now, if only Sandro and teammate Jose Aldo had some kind of major falling out… wouldn’t that be nice?

I will be doing a piece on Soul of Fight this week, but for now lads, have a gander at this masterpiece, and anticipate it unfolding before our eyes on December 30th.

The card:

SRC Featherweight Title Fight – 5R x 5min
Marlon Sandro vs. Hatsu Hioki

SRC Welterweight Grand Prix Final
KTaro Nakamura vs. Yasubey Enomoto

SRC Middleweight Fight 3R x 5min
Kazuo Misaki vs. Mike Seal

Sengoku Muay Thai-boxing Rules 70kg 3R x 3min
Buakaw Por. Pramuk vs. Hiroki Nakajima

SRC Lightweight Fight 3R x 5min
Kazunori Yokota vs. Jadamba Narantungalag

SRC Heavyweight Fight 3R x 5min
Yoshihiro “KISS” Nakao vs. Dave Herman

Women’s MMA Rules Open-weight
Rin Nakai vs. HARI

SRC Bantamweight Asia Tournament Semifinals
Akitoshi Tamura vs. Taiyo Nakahara
Manabu Inoue vs. Shunichi Shimizu

SRC Jacket Rules Lightweight 1R x 5min
Yukio Sakaguchi vs. Jin Suk Jung

SRC Jacket Rules Lightweight 1R x 5min
Sotaro Yamada vs. Lee Sak Kim

SRC Jacket Rules 59kg 1R x 5min
Kiyotaka Shimizu vs. Ichiro Sugita

Sengoku Muay Thai Rules Heavyweight +86.18kg 3R x 3min
Fabiano Cyclone vs. Ryuta Noji

Sengoku Muay Thai Rules 73kg 3R x 3min
Musashi Miyamoto vs. Hiroki Komata

Sengoku Kickboxing Rules 70kg 3R x 3min
Yusuke Ikei vs. Shintaro Matsukura

Sengoku Kickboxing Rules 70kg 3R x 3min
Yutaro Yamauchi vs. Go Yokoyama

Sengoku Muay Thai Rules Lightweight 60kg 5R x 3min
Kanongsuk Weerasakreck vs. Genki Yamamoto

Sengoku Muay Thai Rules 52kg 5R x 3min
Arashi Fujihara vs. Mutsuki Ebata

Sengoku Kickboxing Rules 61.23kg 2R x 3min
Hironobu Ikegami vs. Yuji Tanaka

Women’s Sengoku Muay Thai Rules Mini Flyweight 47.62kg 5R x 2min
Erika Kamimura vs. Chiharu

Mayhem Miller: Prince or Jester?

Published on various sites, December 2010



Mayhem Miller is ambiguous.
By that, I don’t mean… y’know…is he, isn’t he…as in, I’m not suggesting that it’s hard to tell if the guy is a shirtlifter or not. I’m sure he isn’t, and besides that sort of thing isn’t particularly newsworthy these days, the homosexual community can even marry in certain western countries and the media insists that there is nothing wrong with it. No, he is an ambiguous figure because he is polarising; it is hard to define him. Is he a goofy clown; messing around, playing up for the cameras, starring in his own MTV show, Bully Beatdown, in which he slaps around random folk who get paid to take beatings for their bullying ways? Or, is he merely a true Japanophile, bringing the puro resu spirit into the mainstream of Mixed Martial Arts, using his eccentric personality to draw fans, to hype fights, and to create both a persona, and public interest?

Jason Miller was a welterweight who did two things that affected the course of his career; went to middleweight, and left the UFC after one fight. Who knows what may have happened otherwise; he could have blitzed through every other welterweight other than the one who beat him – current champ GSP – or he may well have floundered. But in returning to his nomadic wanderings between lesser orgs, the new kid on the middleweight block posted an 8-1 win/loss streak following the 2005 GSP fight, right up to making his JMMA debut in slowly wearing down and then destroying pro-wrestler Katsuyori Shibata at Dream 3. In the meantime, his colourful personality landed him his famous (or infamous) MTV gig, and he launched himself up the middleweight ranks to sit pretty in the top 15 – at the least.

But some simply do not care – as shown in the recent “tirade” he launched against a friend of Nick Diaz, that polarised opinion. Despite the very real rivalry between both men, some simply scoff and claim that the act was nothing more than Mayhem “being an attention whore”. They insist that the outspoken eccentric “disrespected his own black belt ceremony”. And – as seen on every message board – the ‘C’ word…. clown.

After the Shibata win, the train was derailed somewhat with a loss to Jacare. One win later, he was facing Jacare in a rematch, with the vacant Dream Middleweight title on the line. Under Pride rules, Miller would have been crowned champ, but the soccer…. no, football kick he used to cut upon Souza’s forehead with had been illegalised in FEG’s Dream, so the bout would be ruled No Contest. His next fight would be another title fight – this time in USA based Strikeforce – and again, controversy occurred.

His entrance saw him pose in a “godlike” way, prior to Lava Lava booming out of the speakers, and Miller prancing down the aisle trying his best to dance amongst the ring girls. The fight saw him Lay’n'Prayed by Jake Shields. But Miller was ungracious afterwards, telling his foe via twitter that he’d given him staph infection. The entrance sparked discontent on some forums, but what followed would make national news in America.

Shields next defeated former 2 division Pride champion Dan Henderson, in what would be Shields’ final fight in Strikeforce before defecting to the UFC. After the fights conclusion, Miller interrupted the departing champions’ post-fight speech to ask “Where’s my rematch buddy?”
What followed that was the Cesar Gracie camp attacking Miller. Notable in their obvious punches thrown at Miller in the fracas were the Diaz brothers, Nick and Nate. And Nick also happened to be Strikeforce champion, in a weight class that Miller has fought at no less. Dollar signs flashed in front of eyes.

Diaz and Miller have since then engaged in a remarkable public spat. Now, this isn’t the first Tito/Ken we’ve had, and will be far from the last – but what sets this apart is that it involves a guy who is popular in Japan (where he fits in) and a star in America…. yet HE is being largely cast as the bad guy, against a surly, monosyllabic pot smoking bad boy.

What exactly is it about Mayhem Miller that so offends the sissy, cowardly, “beta male” snivelling runts in their THOUSANDS that causes such drivel to be posted about him, across tens of MMA forums and message boards?

“Attention whore”…. “clown”…. “goof”…. “irrelevant”….. “liar”…. does it end?

Here is my personal take on it. From here on in, this will be Fletch Blog territory i.e. unflinching, biased and at times non-journalistic opinionated content.

Mayhem is good for the sport. Those saying he is “irrelevant” – when has he been utterly outclassed or embarrassed? Please, don’t bother mentioning Shields, unless the now-welterweight possesses grip strength that would make Ubereem feel like a twelve year old fat girl, i.e. the ability to kill Mayhem anaconda style.
The fact is, recent Mayhem has won some, and lost two. But he’s far from “irrelevant”.

Now lets look at “clown”. Yeah, he’s a clown eh? And you’re a humourless bastard. Chill the fook out, and appreciate the fact that MMA has some colourful characters. We don’t want uniformity in our sport – we want excitement, talking points, drama and madness. So why hate on the “Mayhem” that Jason Miller can potentially – and occasionally – bring us? He’s good for the sport.

“Bully”. I don’t see him “picking on” Nick Diaz as particularly bullying.

*Fact 1: there is definite money to be made from the fight.
*Fact 2: Diaz fought former Light Heavyweight cum middleweight Frank Shamrock at 179lbs, why not meet Mayhem at that weight?
*Fact 3: Mayhem is not some nobody, like the Gracie camp is claiming. The man has been a title challenger in both Strikeforce and Dream.

Now, I love the way Nick Diaz fights, and I want to see this match. But I’m honestly puzzled by the horrendously bad media that Mayhem seems to get. It’s not unanimous, but the man has his share of detractors. Yet to me, he’s the very embodiment of all I love about Japanese MMA. Like me, Mayhem is a self-confessed Japanophile. Like me, he dances in a ridiculous and unembarrassed way. And he brings colour to JMMA – one only has to youtube his entrances at Dream 9 and Dream 16 to see that this man brings the enthusiasm and wackyness that Japan so embraces in its athletes and entertainment.

Give it a rest with your whining. If MMA was filled with boring, humourless fools, it wouldn’t be the sport we know and (supposedly) love.

I may not agree with everything that comes out of Jason Miller’s cakehole, but I’m usually entertained by it. And when I’m not, I have the bloody emotional maturity to not log onto an internet forum to whiiiiinnnneeee about it. Give up, you’re the real clowns!

Shit, the only thing that Jason Miller has ever done that deeply offended me was when he smashed Kazushi Sakuraba’s face in… or at least the shell of Saku. And even Jason knew that it had been his privilege to be in the ring with a true fightsports legend like the Gracie Hunter.

War Mayhem “Meeellohhhhhhhh” (Japanese announcer).

It’s been emotional.

Fletch

Bibiano versus Takaya: Rematch For The Gold

Controversy is guaranteed to either delight fans, or p!ss them off.

Every JMMA fan was buzzing over the Dream Featherweight Grand Prix. Sticking the likes of Hideo Tokoro, Hiroyuki Takaya and Bibiano Fernandes in a tournament that involves them fighting more than once against each other on the same night in the final round, was never going to be anything less than epic. And an undoubted 100% of the viewership enjoyed themselves watching the tourney, right up until the point when the final bell rang on Bibi and Takaya’s fantastic battle at Dream 11… right about when the judges’ decision announced. And when the inaugural Featherweight champ of Dream was declared – on the basis of that decision – to be Bibiano Fernandes, the ratio of satisfied fans promptly dipped by 30% at the least.

Personally, I loved it. Controversy gets me going, and hey, someone had to win!

Besides, Bibi did as much as Takaya, just that his offence did not receive the same exhilarated response from the English (speaking) commentary team as Takaya’s did.

The section of the hardcore who picked Takaya to win must be pleased with his Road to Redemption, of sorts. After being “robbed” in their eyes of the Grand Prix win – and thus, the FW divisional belt too – it must have been galling for both the man himself and his support, as his first fight after the GP saw rising star Michihiro Omigawa turn his lights off at Dynamite 2009. Clearly, 2010 has been his year of recovery, featuring a shocking KO win over Joachim “Hellboy” Hansen and a stoppage of Chase Beebe in only 1:45 of round 1. Can he top the year off with a vengeance by stopping the capable champion, a man who seemingly improves with every performance?

If there was ever a time for a featherweight not called Marlon Sandro or Jose Aldo to get Bibiano, now is the time. For a start, his constant improvement could well make him the most underrated “rising star” in MMA. Secondly, he has been inactive, and may show ring rust. His only fight of 2010 saw him impressively defeat former Lightweight champ Joachim Hansen, who was making his first sojourn down to featherweight after losing his lightweight strap to Shinya Aoki.

Bibiano’s six fight win streak boasts an impressive body of work. Should he lose, will he showbouncebackability and return to the top ranks, and put another win streak together as he did after losing his second and third professional fights? Or will he be proven to have been a flash in the pan, who slicked by with narrow decision wins over Hansen, Takaya and the controversial did-he-didn’t-he tapout win over Joe Warren?

My thoughts are that neither apply. I think it takes Bibiano, Sandro or perhaps Hatsu Hioki to topple Bibiano, and the rest of Japanese MMA’s FW scene are beneath him in rank and skill. Pure speculation, but indulge me: in my opinion, a disinterested Kid would lose a rematch; Tokoro would be stopped; Lion would be decisioned; Omigawa would be decisioned; Matsune would be destroyed; Kanehara would be hurt and pounded out; and Moon Wolf would be heart-breakingly stopped. Bibiano is an underrated and damn talented fighter, and I think that he will prove that once again at Dynamite against the warrior Takaya, who gets stopped late in an epic brawl full of straight and looping punches, explosive takedowns and maybe some ground’n'pound.

Should Dream die, my thoughts are that Bibiano could possibly be angling to join another org – be it UFC, Strikeforce, or Sengoku – as the unbeaten champ in FEG’s most recent MMA org. Takaya is tough, durable and has obvious knockout power. That may not be enough to beat the rising star that is Bibi.

Then again…stars can burn out fast. We shall see. Thank you FEG, for this match-up.

Fletch

Bizarre Dream Press Conference; Mayhem Miller Confronts a Keyboard Warrior

Published on various sites, December 2010



It’s a slow morning. I’m watching the Dream Dynamite!! (must we insist on calling it K-1 Dynamite!!?) press conference, and it’s as bizarre as expected. Sakuraba comes out in some Japanese manga mask, to some truly epic music. Nagashima enters…. and he’s dressed like a girl. A blonde schoolgirl, in a skirt. The ‘fists up staredown’ pose sees him put his pinkie finger next to his mouth, provocatively. Aoki is amusingly unamused – this is an obvious jibe at his former cross-dressing during a press visit to his former Tokyo dojo, prior to expulsion due to his conduct at last years Dynamite.

And who is sat front and centre? INOKI! They’ve got the Ultimate Chin on board. This is comical – what next, Akira Maeda? Lets roll out the Good Ol’ Boys; this might be their last (that is, unless the insider tips and rumours about new investors aren’t true or don’t come to fruition) so why not roll out the old guard? Fook it, Inoki will probably pull some viewers in. 3, 2, 1, go!

Every time Sakuraba opens his mouth (not that we can see it) everyone presents laughs. Aoki and Kawajiri are side by side behind him, grinning. They seem cool with each other, which is good – Aoki suggested they train together on twitter a while ago, in a very respectful manner.

Sakuraba will face Zaromskis for the Welterweight title, confirmed. Marius isn’t there, unsurprisingly, but Saku doesn’t apparently feel like pre-fight hype anyway. He’s cracking jokes – he’ll probably end up getting hammered today, smoking cigars with Inoki and threatening to beat up Yakuza guys. What a lunatic – WAR SAKURABA!

The other co-main (on the MMA side) is a title fight; Bibiano rematches Takaya, and once again the featherweight belt is on the line – as previously reported.

There will be a third Dream champ confirmed on the card in Aoki, but it will apparently be a mixed rules fight with Yuichiro Nagashima. They’re doing another Bob Sapp/Jerome LeBanner type match – one round will be Dream (MMA) rules, the next will be K-1 rules. I love these fights. It may not go more than one round though, either way – striking clinic against Shaolin apart, Aoki is far from impressive standing. He is also the absolute worst matchup in MMA for a striker, especially from K-1 as opposed to a striking orientated Mixed Martial Artist.

I cant wait.

Jason “Mayhem” Miller, a black belt and a screen name

Mayhem Miller is a colourful character. He receives his black belt in the following video, but not before confronting some “homie” of Nick Diaz, who supposedly has some name or other on the internet, which he has used to “talk shit” about Miller for his campaign against Diaz.

Whatever. The guy isn’t eloquent, funny or particularly interesting, there seems to be NO point to him even being there. Mayhem confronts him, and the guy barely speaks. Son…. a real internet personality like myself grows up idolising Liam Gallagher, and would have acted accordingly. That was ridiculous – you dont deserve a name. At least TRY to say something funny!
Fletch

K-1/Dream Dynamite Finally Shaping Up: Fights Announced

Published on various sites, December 2010

You can’t stop rock’n'roll, and you cant stop JMMA either.

Even though they may be on the verge of death, lets hope that FEG plan on going down swinging. The Dynamite card has looked disastrous, with only one fight booked less than a month prior to the card. Now, the filler is being arranged around the FW title fight, and fingers crossed, it will be another memorable end of year card and a solid addition to what is actually my favourite event in all of fightsports.

Last year saw the anticipation of a Dream vs Sengoku head to head theme, at least on the Mixed Martial Arts side of the card. Aoki vs Hirota in particular drew much speculation, as some pondered whether or not the mercurial Dream champ had FINALLY met his kryptonite at lightweight, a powerful boxer-wrestler. While it was not to be, as Aoki promptly snapped Hirota’s arm in a copper-lock (it would be Aoki’s next fight against Gilbert Melendez that finally saw the JMMA juggernaut toppled), the anticipation for the card was fever pitch, despite Overeem and Mousasi booked in what were ostensibly “squash matches”… which proved to be the case.

This year, due to their obvious financial perils, the affair and build up seems a tad more subdued. But now, FINALLY, there seems to be some momentum and focus.

Surpassing what appeared to be main-event in Bibiano vs Takaya II – a rematch of the FW Grand Prix final, with the belt at stake – is the reported Welterweight title match-up, as returning Grand Prix winner Marius Zaromskis makes his first divisional defence of the title against former MW, LHW and Open Weight legend Kazushi Sakuraba, who drops down to welterweight for the first time, after a career that includes victories over UFC openweight, heavyweight, and light heavyweight champions alike.

Zaromskis is on a two-fight skid, but always dangerous. Sakuraba is more removed from his prime than Hugh Heffner. But regardless, the Gracie Hunter is one of the most entertaining and talented fighters in the history of recorded fightsports, so it is not unfeasible that he could defeat the wounded Zaromskis, a man whose primary skill is striking anyway. A vintage Saku submission? It would take a hardcore Whitemare fan to not wish to see the triumphant goodbye of a legend of the game like Saku, who outside of his skills is truly one of the gutsiest bastards to ever step in a ring.

As I called on IronForgesIron over a month ago (brushes dirt off shoulder)  Tatsuya Kawajiri will face fellow top 10 ranked Strikeforce lightweight and former champion Josh Thomson, who is fresh from defeating former K-1 Hero’s LW champ JZ Cavalcante. See this article for my feelings on that tasty, tasty matchup:  http://ironforgesiron.net/index.php/2010/11/fletch-blog-thomson-bout-could-be-career-revival-for-kawajiri-the-crusher-2/

The annual minor K-1 tourney has been cancelled, but with the reported participation of JLB in an MMA-rules bout (as ever – some things never change) and of course the usual suspects; no, not Todd Hackney, McManus, Fenster, Verbal Kint and Dean Keaton, but Alistair Overeem, Melvin Manhoef and Gegard Mousasi…then perhaps, let us dare to DREAM that this Dynamite card – heavily rumoured to be the last FEG event before financial collapse – can live up to expectations and end the year 2010 on the best note possible.

Banzai, JMMA fans. Dare to DREAM.

Fletch

Fletch Blog: London Shootfighters; Camp in the Making

Published on various sites, December 2010

Marius Zaromskis: Dream Grand Prix winner & welterweight champion

London Shootfighters is one of the foremost camps in the UK and its fledgling MMA revolution.
The camp, based in the affluent West End of Europe’s largest city, is on the rise. London Shootfighters first came to prominence courtesy of its dangerous and hot tempered middleweight, the infamous Lee Murray. Known for his legendary reputation for street fights and criminal activity, Murray knocked out the then-UFC Light Heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz during a street fight in the back alley behind a London nightclub, went the distance in Cage Rage with future longtime UFC king Anderson Silva for the title, and was tipped for future greatness. Sadly, his talent will never be realised in MMA, given that he is currently serving a lengthy prison sentence in Morocco and has been on considerable hiatus already, but the Shootfighters Class of 2010 are an impressive bunch, and have all combined to put the gym on the fight game’s map.


First and foremost has to be Marius Zaromskis. The firebrand striker wowed the fight world with his spectacular performance in the final round of the Dream Welterweight Grand Prix; knocking out the legend Hayato “Mach” Sakurai and then Jason High on the same night – both by head kick. Those displays earned him the Grand Prix tournament title, and with it he became the inaugural Welterweight champion of Dream.


Perhaps we all went too far though; sections of the very hardest of the hardcore community online (that I posted with) now held “The Whitemare” to be the premier welterweight in the game, and heir apparent to GSP’s claim to the top rank. This illusion was shattered, when the undersized Zaromskis headed Stateside to lose in round 1 to the vastly larger man Nick Diaz. Though the smaller Zaromskis dropped Diaz hard after 2 minutes in round 1, and nearly finished with ground’n’pound, the rangier Diaz recovered fast, and quickly turned the fight on its head, peppering the Whitemare with his superior reach and straight punches, and finished Zaro off. Marius returned to Strikeforce to face former middleweight Evangelista Santos, and his lack of defence cost him against another larger opponent, as a disastrous flying knee was countered, and the “Cyborg” scored the knockout with punches and g’n’p.


Regardless, Zaromskis is an undersized welterweight, who barely cuts any weight to fight in the division in Japan, where the practise of weight cutting is not so widely used. One hopes that in any future American adventures, Whitemare wisely cuts to lightweight, and faces off against men his own size where his skills can shine through once more, and prove that he truly is one of the elites.


Beyond the Dream Welterweight Grand Prix winner and divisional champion, Shootfighters boast some stacked talent. Karlos Vemola went 7-0 as a heavyweight on the UKMMA scene, winning the CFC title and making waves across the pond. Despite a UFC debut loss to wrestler Jon Madsen, Vemola dropped to Light-Heavyweight, and looked fearsome in absolutely beasting Seth Petruzelli at UFC 122. One hopes big things of the Czech-born Londoner.


He is not the only LS fighter contracted to zuffa. Jon Hathaway proved he is one of Britain’s major prospects, when he thoroughly outworked and arguably outclassed TUF middleweight winner Diego “The Nightmare” Sanchez at UFC 114. Despite since suffering a loss at UFC 120, Hathaway is still young, and ditto, could achieve big things in his future.


Mostapha Al Turk is another London Shootfighter with experience in the UFC Octagon. He is perhaps most well known for his callup to face returning legend Mirko “CroCop” Filipovic at UFC 99 in Germany. Unfortunately for Al Turk, neither desired outcome transpired; namely the triumphant legend nor the unlikely underdog story. Al Turk suffered an eye poke, and under a barrage of punches from the unknowing CroCop, the fight was stopped. Disappointing for all, but such high profile fights can only help Al Turk develop as a heavyweight. Though he has also lost to Cheick Kongo and Jon Madsen (the London Shootfighters kryptonite?), Al Turk was the ADCC European champion in 2005, and also the Cage Rage heavyweight king in MMA, before he relinquished the championship to sign with zuffa, prior to the collapse of that org.


Another face to be found in that gym that needs zero introduction to hardcore fans; James “The Colossus” Thompson. While these days, James sadly loses more than he wins, there are a lot of fans who hold him with some affection, remembering his entertaining fights in Pride FC and Cage Rage. Shootfighters certainly had a strong presence in the former premier org in Europe, as along with the aforementioned Murray, Al Turk and Thompson, they also boast Jean Silva as a team member; the former Cage Rage lightweight champion. James Zikic too is a London Shootfighter; he of course captured the Cage Rage Light-Heavyweight title with a win over the aforementioned Evangelista Santos; the LHW who would in the future drop all the way down to welterweight to blitz the brave but undersized Zaromskis.


It seems inevitable, that with such notables and more, and the experience in such illustrious MMA organisations as the UFC (Murray, Al Turk, Hathaway, Vemola), Dream (Zaromskis, Thompson), Sengoku (Thompson), Strikeforce (Zaromskis) and more, not to mention boasting a Dream champion, multiple kings of Cage Rage and two solid UFC contenders, that this camp will only continue to grow and prosper. The man who – by hook or by crook – has somehow become the most famous MMA fighter in Britain, Alex Reid, calls London Shootfighters his home, and with or without justification, every fight he is in from here on in will be an undoubted attraction in the mainstream. There are champions, contenders and tough guys in that camp. This British writer hopes that they prosper, go forth and conquer, and that not only do they successfully add to their ranks and bolster the camp with more notable names, but that the fighters they already boast can achieve all their potential and continue to make waves in the fight scenes of Britain, Japan and the USA.


Fly the flag.


Fletch