The one and only show from WCC occured in North Carolina. Sherdog says Charlotte, I thought they said Raleigh Durham, in the end, does it matter? This is a phenomenal promotion as far as MMA goes: Boom Boom Mancini is their chairman, some dude named Christopher Peters is their figurehead president guy/money mark, none of the announcers are recognizable, and the fighters are quite the assortment. We've got Ben Spijkers, Renzo Gracie, Erik Paulson (w/long hair), James Warring, Bart Vale, Jerry Flynn, and so many more. There's these hilarious video intro pieces for everyone, which show Bart Vale punching bags and shit like that.
Also, we've got two sets of rules. Grapplers division features Renzo and Bart Vale, and they have a 22 minute single round with a 10 minute time limit on the mat. Strikers have a 2 minute ground limit and you cannot win by joint lock or choke.
1) BEN SPIJKERS vs. RENZO GRACIE: You might know this fight already. Spijkers is rocking a gi and is a judoka from the Netherlands. Gracie is Renzo.
Spijkers gets a gnarly slam early on and is inside the full guard of Gracie. Renzo sweeps him though and gets it standing. Gracie gets the takedown this time, and Spijkers tries to counter on the ground with a gi choke. Gracie pushes him into the cage and moves to side control. Spijkers tries to get up by flipping over onto his stomach and Gracie retaliates with some elbows to the base of the skull. Oh, the irony. Gracie then chokes him out, holds on a little long, and then in his celebration of getting the tap out, decides to cross the ring by stepping on the back of Spijkers neck. Renzo ended up coming across as a super nice guy years later on 60 Minutes. How times have changed. (2) for the outrageous finish.
2) SEAN MCCULLY vs. ERIK PAULSON: McCully is supposedly a boxer. Paulson is in the striker's division for some ungodly reason.
Clinch early, and McCully gets a takedown. Paulson is constantly trying for submissions but he can't do them without getting DQed, making this a bizarre bout of Paulson fighting his best instincts. McCully, on the other hand, is actually doing some decent GnP and cuts Paulson before the fight is stood up at the end of the 2 minute mark. They clinch again and Paulson lands some nice knees before taking down McCully. Paulson is in mount and just blasts McCully with punches until the ref stops it. (1)
3) MIKE BITONIO vs. BART VALE: Vale is everyone's favorite shootfighting redneck, even if he was rarely ever in shootfights. Bitonio is a teammate to John Matua.
Bitonio gets a takedown to start but is sweeped fast. Vale just headbutts the shit out of Bitonio, busting his face up. Vale is beating Bitonio silly and the announcers are wondering why the fight isn't being stopped. Vale tries for a kimura in the mount and Bitonio sweeps using the cage. Vale is on the bottom but gets a side choke from there and Bitonio is finally done. Brutal 7 minutes of Bitonio having brain damage inflicted on him. (1)
4) JAMES WARRING vs. JEROME TURCAN: Turcan was the favorite of the strikers division, being a well known muay thai and savate talent. Warring was himself a kickboxing champion in the late 80s/early 90s and also won the IBF Cruiserweight title.
All standup, kinda tenative given the distance and what not. Turcan threw a lot of kicks and Warring some weak punches. Suddenly, Warring lands a monster rabbit shot to the back of Turcan's skull. Turcan drops and Warring follows it with a stomp and several punches. Cecil Peoples was the ref, and like now, he ended it late. (1)
Bart Vale is apparently injured and unable to continue, so let's watch the alternate bout from earlier!
5) JERRY BELL vs. PHIL BENEDICT: Benedict is a big muscled up wrestler guy and Bell is a boxer who boxrec shows as having stopped fighting in 1998 with a 9-0(9KO) record.
Benedict charges straight at Bell, takes him down, but ends up with Bell on top by accident. Benedict knows to sweep and ends up winning early with a RNC. (0)
6) PHIL BENEDICT vs. RENZO GRACIE:
Benedict tries to keep the fight standing, recognizing that his strength is a benefit for throwing strikes. He is able to defend one takedown but fails with the second attempt and Gracie quickly attains mount. Lots of nasty elbows and punches and Benedict taps. (1)
7) ERIK PAULSON vs. JAMES WARRING: This is the only time a former world champion/titlist in boxing faced a champion (Paulson was a Shooto champ) in MMA history. The rules help out Warring a huge deal though.
This was a close contest almost entirely standing, mostly in the clinch against the cage. Warring realized about midway through that holding Paulson's long hair could be a key and used it to control Paulson's movement. Warring has a better gas tank than Paulson and uses his weight to push him around and tire him. Eventually, Warring lands an uppercut in the 17th minute and Paulson is dropped hard. Warring stomps him until the towel is thrown in. (2) for historical importance.
Another prelim fight!
8) JERRY FLYNN vs. FRED FLOYD: Floyd is a fat black man that was once decimated by Igor Vovchanchin after this in that Russian IFC event that the mob tried to take the tapes of. Flynn was a wrestler in WCW.
Flynn is dropped early with a right hand and Floyd gets on top. Flynn is semicompetent and sweeps him and is in side control, and tries to get a kimura. Flynn decides to give up the arm and goes for a leg and toe hold, but Floyd rolls him and tries to stand. Flynn goes for a heel trip and Floyd defends it, spins to north/south, and gets a front choke that forces a submission. (0)
9) RENZO GRACIE vs. JAMES WARRING: This is with grappler's rules.
Gracie with a single, goes to half guard, then mount. Gracie wins with a neck crank. Nothing special. (1)
FIGHT OF THE NIGHT(S): McCully/Paulson
KO OF THE NIGHT(S): Warring/Paulson
SUBMISSION OF THE NIGHT(S): Renzo/Spijkers
OVERALL FOR THE EVENT: 7 out of 10 - What a fun ass show. The rules were frustrating with the strikers, but it was a talent filled event. The only sad part is that there was a very real chance of Gracie having to fight Spijkers, Vale, and then Paulson in one night. That would have been the toughest overall draw of any one night tourney during the time frame.
D&R RATING: 11%(5/45)
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Thursday, September 4, 2008
SHOOTO DISC 1: 5/12/1995 & 6/4/1995
Finally, I begin digging into the world of Shooto. Thanks to a certain dude, I now own hundreds of Shooto DVDs encompassing everything ever recorded to tape. We start almost randomly in 1995 with Shooto Vale Tudo Access 4 before shifting to Yokohama for Shooto Yokohama Free Fight. Its all part of the same program, commercials removed.
1) KAZUYOSHI KUDO vs. JIN AKIMOTO: Kudo looks like a bouncer. This is at feather, three 3 minute rounds.
Akimoto shoots in, gets a takedown, takes the back, rear naked choke. At least it was fast. (0)
2) MAGNUM KAWAMURA vs. UCHUU TATSUMI: Kawamura is rocking the grappling pants! Yessssssss. Lightweight bout, Three 3 min rounds.
First round is pretty straight forward. Both men trade takedowns, but Tatsumi is better doing stuff once he gets it to the mat. However, even with his ability to get mount, he's not able to finish. Second round is a repeat of the first outside of a pretty nifty judo throw by Kawamura, and the third...well, you can guess. The lack of striking on the mat is unfortunate when guys who don't know what to do are in the ring. Uchuu Tatsumi wins a decision in this bout. (0)
3) YUJI HASHIGUCHI vs. MASATO SUZUKI: Middleweight bout, three 4 minute rounds.
Suzuki landed a hard left hand early in the round and gets a pretty solid judo throw as well to put in the most offense of the two while alternately controlling position on the mat for the first round. Second round sees Hashiguchi dominate the majority of the round in top position on the ground, but slips up and gets thrown late in the round. Suzuki then applies a sort of kimura/crucifix hybrid that is called a "v cross armlock" and Hashiguchi taps. (1) for the nifty sub.
INTERMISSION! It is time for Shooto Talk with Tiger Mask Sayama, Kenji Kawaguchi, Youki Nakai, and some dude named Enson Inoue that has hair at this point.
4) KYUHEI MIKAGE vs MAURICE ROUMIMPER: There is a segment of broken english where Roumimper talks about what he is going to do. Given that he's from the Netherlands, either he is a stupendous judoka or a kickboxer with no chance. Later, text on the screen tells us it is the former. This is at middleweight, and its three 5 minute rounds.
Both are horrid standing. Somehow, there is not much surprise here. Roumimper gets a takedown with a side headlock, but that's always a bad idea. You know, giving up your neck and stuff. Kyuhei (who is introduced solely as that) takes the back and gets an armbar to win. Judo and mankind are the losers. (0)
5) YASUNORI OKUDA vs. NAOKI SAKURADA: This is held at 80KG, three 5 minute rounds.
Leg lock battle. Oh, the olden days of catch wrestling based MMA. Sakurada gets a heel hook after the bell and Okuda taps. Since the bell went off two minutes early, the ref is okay with that and Sakurada is the winner. (1) for funny finish. Sakurada improves to a record of 13-7-1, which is pretty damn incredible in 1995.
6) YASHUSHI WARITA vs. KAZUHIRO KUSAYANGI: This is at -78KG, three five minute rounds.
Warita gets a headlock early, tries a guillotine with the arm in and Kusayangi in half guard. As expected, this does not work. Kusayangi takes an arm very soon after popping his hear out and passing to secure an armbar victory. (0)
7) RENE STIGER vs. KAZUHIRO SAKAMOTO: Not even sure what weight class this is. Forgot to record that. Sakamoto is claimed to be 11-4, which isn't bad. Stiger? Pro debut.
Sak shoots off a right hand, gets in side control and then knee on belly. Not a lot of action, and the ref breaks them and stands it. Stiger throws a kick and he gets caught and slammed. Sakamoto secures an armbar and the win. (0)
INTERMISSION AGAIN~! There is footage of Narita airport, some random Shooto dudes Ford Escort rental, and an exhibition at the Jujitsu Denmark Open on 5/27/95. Then the Shooto dudes do a seminar at Remco Pardoel's school for two days (5/29 and 30). Then footage of fights from Yokohama Free Fight that were not good enough to show in full. They were all in Japanese and I didn't bother matching them with the results to find out what was what. Oh, wait, there are no results on Sherdog for those fights. Never mind! The fighters also rocked the headgear, so I'm guessing it was ammy rules.
8) JIN AKIMOTO vs. MASATAKA KAWAKAMI: This is Akimoto's second appearance, so he must be a big deal. Featherweights, 3 min X 3 rounds.
Akimoto catches a kick and takes down Kawakami. Inside the guard, he postures up, punches to the head. Pretty serious GnP ensues at a time when it was just being invented. Akimoto passes guard, punches the stomach, and mounts. Kawakami rolls over and basically allows himself to get choked out. (1) Tactically ahead of its time.
9) RUMINA SATO vs. KATSUAKI YANO: Sato was a quantum leap in the right direction for MMA. Its a shame he'll be largely forgotten years from now.
Sato tries to takedown Yano with a headlock, but Yano defends and is on top in side control. Sato is good enough to prevent any offense and force a ref break. Yano misses a punch and Sato pulls guard in order to get it back to the mat, but Yano shakes him off. Sato does go onto his back and Yano has enough of a brain fart to follow him there. Sato is in control from there, going for a triangle and using it instead to sweep Yano. Sato blasts him with strikes to head and body and the ref stops it. Rumina Sato, welcome to the big time. (3)
The show closes with a montage of Sakamoto standing on the ropes and random footage from Europe.
FIGHT OF THE NIGHT(S): Sato/Yano
KO OF THE NIGHT(S): Sato/Yano by default
SUBMISSION OF THE NIGHT(S): Hashiguchi/Suzuki
OVERALL FOR THE EVENT: 3 out of 10. Compared to the modern classics, nothing to get excited about. Plus, a distinct lack of top end talent on the shows.
D&R RATING: 13%(6/45)
1) KAZUYOSHI KUDO vs. JIN AKIMOTO: Kudo looks like a bouncer. This is at feather, three 3 minute rounds.
Akimoto shoots in, gets a takedown, takes the back, rear naked choke. At least it was fast. (0)
2) MAGNUM KAWAMURA vs. UCHUU TATSUMI: Kawamura is rocking the grappling pants! Yessssssss. Lightweight bout, Three 3 min rounds.
First round is pretty straight forward. Both men trade takedowns, but Tatsumi is better doing stuff once he gets it to the mat. However, even with his ability to get mount, he's not able to finish. Second round is a repeat of the first outside of a pretty nifty judo throw by Kawamura, and the third...well, you can guess. The lack of striking on the mat is unfortunate when guys who don't know what to do are in the ring. Uchuu Tatsumi wins a decision in this bout. (0)
3) YUJI HASHIGUCHI vs. MASATO SUZUKI: Middleweight bout, three 4 minute rounds.
Suzuki landed a hard left hand early in the round and gets a pretty solid judo throw as well to put in the most offense of the two while alternately controlling position on the mat for the first round. Second round sees Hashiguchi dominate the majority of the round in top position on the ground, but slips up and gets thrown late in the round. Suzuki then applies a sort of kimura/crucifix hybrid that is called a "v cross armlock" and Hashiguchi taps. (1) for the nifty sub.
INTERMISSION! It is time for Shooto Talk with Tiger Mask Sayama, Kenji Kawaguchi, Youki Nakai, and some dude named Enson Inoue that has hair at this point.
4) KYUHEI MIKAGE vs MAURICE ROUMIMPER: There is a segment of broken english where Roumimper talks about what he is going to do. Given that he's from the Netherlands, either he is a stupendous judoka or a kickboxer with no chance. Later, text on the screen tells us it is the former. This is at middleweight, and its three 5 minute rounds.
Both are horrid standing. Somehow, there is not much surprise here. Roumimper gets a takedown with a side headlock, but that's always a bad idea. You know, giving up your neck and stuff. Kyuhei (who is introduced solely as that) takes the back and gets an armbar to win. Judo and mankind are the losers. (0)
5) YASUNORI OKUDA vs. NAOKI SAKURADA: This is held at 80KG, three 5 minute rounds.
Leg lock battle. Oh, the olden days of catch wrestling based MMA. Sakurada gets a heel hook after the bell and Okuda taps. Since the bell went off two minutes early, the ref is okay with that and Sakurada is the winner. (1) for funny finish. Sakurada improves to a record of 13-7-1, which is pretty damn incredible in 1995.
6) YASHUSHI WARITA vs. KAZUHIRO KUSAYANGI: This is at -78KG, three five minute rounds.
Warita gets a headlock early, tries a guillotine with the arm in and Kusayangi in half guard. As expected, this does not work. Kusayangi takes an arm very soon after popping his hear out and passing to secure an armbar victory. (0)
7) RENE STIGER vs. KAZUHIRO SAKAMOTO: Not even sure what weight class this is. Forgot to record that. Sakamoto is claimed to be 11-4, which isn't bad. Stiger? Pro debut.
Sak shoots off a right hand, gets in side control and then knee on belly. Not a lot of action, and the ref breaks them and stands it. Stiger throws a kick and he gets caught and slammed. Sakamoto secures an armbar and the win. (0)
INTERMISSION AGAIN~! There is footage of Narita airport, some random Shooto dudes Ford Escort rental, and an exhibition at the Jujitsu Denmark Open on 5/27/95. Then the Shooto dudes do a seminar at Remco Pardoel's school for two days (5/29 and 30). Then footage of fights from Yokohama Free Fight that were not good enough to show in full. They were all in Japanese and I didn't bother matching them with the results to find out what was what. Oh, wait, there are no results on Sherdog for those fights. Never mind! The fighters also rocked the headgear, so I'm guessing it was ammy rules.
8) JIN AKIMOTO vs. MASATAKA KAWAKAMI: This is Akimoto's second appearance, so he must be a big deal. Featherweights, 3 min X 3 rounds.
Akimoto catches a kick and takes down Kawakami. Inside the guard, he postures up, punches to the head. Pretty serious GnP ensues at a time when it was just being invented. Akimoto passes guard, punches the stomach, and mounts. Kawakami rolls over and basically allows himself to get choked out. (1) Tactically ahead of its time.
9) RUMINA SATO vs. KATSUAKI YANO: Sato was a quantum leap in the right direction for MMA. Its a shame he'll be largely forgotten years from now.
Sato tries to takedown Yano with a headlock, but Yano defends and is on top in side control. Sato is good enough to prevent any offense and force a ref break. Yano misses a punch and Sato pulls guard in order to get it back to the mat, but Yano shakes him off. Sato does go onto his back and Yano has enough of a brain fart to follow him there. Sato is in control from there, going for a triangle and using it instead to sweep Yano. Sato blasts him with strikes to head and body and the ref stops it. Rumina Sato, welcome to the big time. (3)
The show closes with a montage of Sakamoto standing on the ropes and random footage from Europe.
FIGHT OF THE NIGHT(S): Sato/Yano
KO OF THE NIGHT(S): Sato/Yano by default
SUBMISSION OF THE NIGHT(S): Hashiguchi/Suzuki
OVERALL FOR THE EVENT: 3 out of 10. Compared to the modern classics, nothing to get excited about. Plus, a distinct lack of top end talent on the shows.
D&R RATING: 13%(6/45)
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