Art of Fighting 8: Fury (5/22/2010)

Tom Lawler, Ben Glossop, and Ron Yacovetti are announcing this show on Fightzone TV. And it looks like this was a two parter that I only got the 2nd, more important part of. Oh well.

1) Fred Weatherly vs. Sergio Rodriguez: Lightweights, both are debuting.

FIGHT: Weatherly Submission Rnd 1. Rodriguez is a wrestler and he gets down Weatherly early and often. But he's not that good at controlling Weatherly. Weatherly shrimps, gets up, wriggles free, gets up, and in round 2, he regains butterfly guard then sweeps, takes the back immediately, and sinks in hooks. A rear naked soon follows. I don't like his inability to wrestle. Bad sign. No striking really displayed either. (0)

2) Eric Reynolds vs. Travis Cox: Reynolds is a Bellator vet who lost to all the good fighters he has faced. Cox is some stubby wrestleboxer. (0)

FIGHT: Reynolds Submission Rnd 2. Again, we have a fight with a wrestler who only wrestles getting takedowns over and over and winning the first round as a result. Then he makes a critical mistake in the second and loses by tapout. He just keeps giving the neck up, especially as he tires in the second round. Reynolds spends quality time working his left arm under the throat and sinching in a funky sort of guillotine that causes Cox to tap very quickly. Cox has lousy standup; just capable of boxing sorta. Reynolds just has mediocre muay thai, but that's still a lot better than bad, short armed boxing.

3) Mike Buchkovich vs. David Yost: Yost looks (as always) like he is enjoying the benefits of TRT. Also, he shaves his head but has sideburns. Can you trust someone like that? The other guy has a funny haircut and a gut - but wait! He fought Butterbean in KOTC! And this is his first pro fight in like 4 years!

FIGHT: Buchkovich Submission Rnd 2. Beatdown. Absolute beatdown. Takedowns, straight punches, GNP, etc. Just demolishes Yost, who is so gassed out in the second round that his body is a shade of purple. Holds him down, has dominant position pretty much the whole time, etc. (0)

Look - Fighters like this exist here and there but they are often too dangerous to last for long in the sport because people run from them. Promoters hate guys who kill their ridiculous prospects like this. Buchkovich is a great journeyman. He's the poor man's Roy Nelson. But he's better than Tony Sylvester. Well, maybe not. But close.

4) Raul Amaya vs. Joe Robinson: Both guys have nice 4-0 records. Robinson is THIRTY. I sense one of these men is a real prospect.

FIGHT: Amaya Submission Rnd 3 (1)

Robinson: Wrestler I suppose. And like other wrestlers who are one dimensional, he gasses out early and after having tons of success in the first round looks screwed by the second. Thirty seconds into the fight, he has Amaya's back, but doesn't really know what to do with it. By the time we're halfway through the second and he's going for desperation shots after eating high kicks to the face. Amaya's gas tank isn't that much better, so this stretches out to the third round and nearly to the distance.

Amaya: Amaya had the back, flattened out Robinson, and was damn close to closing the fight in the first with a rear naked. Instead, it took almost 10 more minutes, largely of Amaya in control, before he finally got the rear naked choke. His strikes are really wild and its all about offense. Wrestling isn't that great. Decent size for the weight class I suppose.

5) Crafton Wallace vs. Waachim Spiritwolf: Oh man. This should be a thing. I hear Waachim Spiritwolf is the nicest dude and his wife is blazing. THE MOAR YOU KNOW.

FIGHT: Spiritwolf TKO Rnd 1. Spiritwolf takes down Wallace and lands some punches and elbows early. Wallace has some bleeding on both eyes and on the back of his head, and there's some puffyness on the right eye. And so the ref stops it. Not sure why? I mean, the cut on the left eye is under? Crafton Wallace apparently quit because he can't see right. Whatever. Lame. Does Spiritwolf only have fun fights every other bout? (1)

FIGHT OF THE NIGHT: Amaya/Robinson

SUBMISSION OF THE NIGHT: Yost/Buchkovich

OVERALL FOR THE EVENT: 2.5 out of 10. Kinda lame show. No good fights. Lots of finishes and a sorta running theme for the show in terms of how fights went, but yeah. You don't need to run out and see this.

D&R Rating: 8% (2/25)

W-1 5: New Ground (10/23/2010)

Terry Riggs, Adam Reid, and Jay Adams are in NOVA SCOTIA for an event headlined by Brett Rogers vs. Ruben Villareal. Yes. That fight.

1) Ricky Goodall vs. Sean Pierson: Pierson is in the UFC. Goodall is some chubby guy with a not so great record.

FIGHT: Pierson TKO Rnd 1. KOTC special with Pierson backing Goodall into the cage, landing shots, taking him down, and smashing him out after having passed and taken the back. (2)

2) Jeff Black vs. Michael Imperato: 145lb fight with both men weighing well less than that.

FIGHT: Imperato Submission Rnd 1. Like a KOTC special. Immediate takedown by Imperato, passes to mount, rides him for like 4 minutes, hits him a few times, doesn't come close to getting bucked, and then gets an armbar. (1)

3) Ryan Machan vs. Matt MacGrath: .667 welterweight guys battling for the glory of Alberta vs. Prince Edward Island.

FIGHT: MacGrath Unanimous Decision (0)

MacGrath: Wrestling wrestling wrestling. Don't believe its the most important thing out? That defensive grappling is just as valuable? OK. Watch this fight then. MacGrath gets takedowns and goes for singles and bodylocks from the start. Plus that wrestling forces Machan to work from a distance, and there MacGrath lands superior leg kicks.

Machan: Bigger man, but not the better man. I think he wore down MacGrath because he was so much bigger and was able to use that to really force Macgrath to push for takedowns and to escape positions. Technically, his striking is pretty lousy. Boxing is his best aspect, but he can't check kicks for shit. By round three, he's basically willing to lose the fight by going to the clinch and get outwrestled and dirty boxed up.

4) Ruben "Warpath" Villareal vs. Brett Rogers: The squash that wasn't. Brings up the question -does Warpath take dives against guys, or is Rogers just not very good? BTW, Warpath is 40 now. Fourty!

FIGHT: Villareal Unanimous Decision. Horrible, horrible, horrible fight. (2)

Rogers: Lethargic from the start, he never lands an effective right hand the WHOLE FIGHT, and becomes the worst wrestleboxer ever. Its not just that he's boring and not good at doing that, he's bad at everything he does. And he gasses so early. In fact, he gasses so bad, Villareal might have won the 3rd by pushing Rogers against the cage when they clinched and taking down Rogers.

Villareal: Still lousy striking, still primarily a wrestler with not much actual skill but some strength, but he comes to survive and he does precisely that. Even makes a run at winning the third. If he had anything in the tank, he could have stopped Rogers. Yes. I said that.

FIGHT OF THE NIGHT: McGrath/Machan

KO OF THE NIGHT: Pierson/Goodall

SUBMISSION OF THE NIGHT: Black/Imperato

OVERALL FOR THE EVENT: 2 out of 10. Stupid fights. That's all I can say. I have nothing more to contribute than "stupid fights".

D&R Rating: 25% (5/20)

JUNGLE FIGHT 6 (4/29/2006)

I'll comeback to the DEEP stuff soon, but first - MOAR Jungle Fight. We are at the Tropical Hotel Manaus Sports Complex (only a three circle accommodation on tripadvisor) for this lengthy, possibly horrid MMA event headlined by the one, the only, Lyoto Machida. No sign of Inoki early on, and the entrance ramp is much bigger than before.

1) Daniva Maciel vs. Kanako Inaba: Women's MMA bout. Who?

FIGHT: Maciel TKO Rnd 2. Inaba is taken down early and worked over pretty badly. High point of the fight is when she gets a leg of Maciel's and bucks her off mount and is inside of the the guard. Wild shots from Maciel finish this fight standing as Inaba just sorta falls down face first on her knees. Basically a waste of time. (0)

2) Chinzo Machida vs. Bryan Rafiq: Lyoto's brother, who shows the world that indeed, its not just the fact that he trained from birth to do this that makes him so good. Its that he's a pretty darn good athlete too. Rafiq is an interchangable guy with some belly fat.

FIGHT: Rafiq Submission Rnd 1. Here's what you need to know - Rafiq shoots early and gets a takedown, no problem. Does that happen to Lyoto with elite guys? Right. So Machida actually does take over the round later and lands some solid GNP after defending a takedown - makes some nice bruises on the leg of Rafiq. Rafiq throws an upkick to the leg of Chinzo that causes him to step sideways, and he capitalizes by jumping off his back and taking down Machida straight into back control. Yikes. Rafiq shoots to open the second and again, he's on top inside the guard and looking to pass. Chinzo can't stop the transitions, and when he tries to defend and standup, he gets caught in a guillotine. Chinzo's grappling skill just isn't there and he looks nervous standing. (1)

3) Tony Desouza vs. Vitelmo Kubis Bandiera: Desouza is a guy that you always hear about being a great coach for big teams, and when he was an active fighter, he was pretty damn good TBH. Bandiera I have no familiarity with.

FIGHT: Desouza Submission Rnd 1. Color me surprised when Desouza is cut early in the bout and dropped hard by Bandiera. He hangs in there though when it gets to the mat and at least stalls out Bandiera and gets to top control. After a stoppage to look at the cut under the left eye, its back to action. Desouza ducks a headkick from Bandiera and shoots in, then uses that to roll for a knee bar and forces the tap. Bandiera looks like he's hurt. (2)

4) Danillo Villefort vs. Frodi Hansen: Villefort was in the UFC and out just as fast. He dominated Joey Villasenor at Shark Fights last event. Hansen is from some Northern European country where the streets are clean.

FIGHT: Villefort Submission Rnd 1. (2)

Villefort: To be honest, he is not a very good wrestler at this point. Hansen stops takedowns and actually takes to control himself. Villefort is still a very good grappler though, and so he finds a way to maneuver himself into good positions. His striking is not exciting or anything. He does try an anaconda choke, which gets me excited, but that too passes. At the start of the second, he is hurt with some wild strikes from Hansen, but gets a single when Hansen is just a little too wild, takes the back, and finishes the fight with a rear naked choke. He is totally gassed out and tired after the 6 minute contest.

Hansen: Aside from the second round where he tags Villefort with punches and kicks, honestly he's in control of very little. Most of the fight is him fighting off submissions or takedowns. His wrestling is better than Villefort's, which is probably far secondary to his ability to submit men from being on his back.

5) Fredson Paixao vs. Marcos Galvao: WEC vets COLLIDE. Galvao drew with Masakatsu Ueda when that guy was argurably the linear champ.

FIGHT: Galvao Unanimous Decision. A terrible, terrible fight to watch. I can't even really break this down. Galvao is on top more than Paixao, who never is. Most of this fight is spent at distance with no one doing anything and the crowd booing loudly or Galvao pushing Paixao into the ropes and grabbing his shorts to try and secure takedowns or keep control while the referee stands in terrible position to see this. (3)

6) Steve Reyna vs. Adriano Martins: Who? Martins lost to Keita Nakamura in DREAM. Reyna looks out of shape.

FIGHT: Martins Submission Rnd 2. Martins is one of those dudes who has never heard of attacking or defending with angles. When Reyna comes at him, he goes straight back and leans into a right hand. When he attacks. He stops, let's Reyna be right in front of him, and then goes wild with something, whether its a right hand or a knee or what have you. Sherdog said the fight ended :35 seconds into the second, but that is a lie. It ended maybe 4:25 into it. That is 3:55 I want back. (0)

7) Jose "Pele" Landi-Jons vs. Thales Leites: A month ago, I would have been all about this. Now, after watching numerous terrible Pele fights?

FIGHT: Leites Submission Rnd 1. Leites just runs through Pele. He pushes him all over the ring and gets up with ease when on his back by shrimping, powers down Pele with a body lock takedown, mounts him, punches him, and there's an arm triangle for the submission. (3)

8) Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza vs. Alexander Shlemenko: Strange fight in the context of today, huh?

FIGHT: Jacare Submission Rnd 1. Souza wastes no time getting to the clinch, and he takes down Shlemenko soon after. In only a minute or so he transitions to the mount, and from there to side control and forces Shlemenko to sleep with a arm and head triangle. Good bounce back for Souza that displays his fantastic grappling in utter dominant fashion. (4)

9) Lyoto Machida vs. Dimitry Wanderley: The other Wanderlei against the other Machida. Competitive fight at the time. At the time is such a key phrase for these shows.

FIGHT: Machida TKO Rnd 3.

Expecting this to start off with Machida bouncing leg kicks off Dimitriy? Yeah, no. Machida actually clinches and ends up on top as Wanderley pulls guard. The fight gets to the feet, where Machida looks bloated and totally human. In fact, he looks mediocre. I'll gladly go on record and say that this is the worst Machida that ever took to a ring. His attacks were often wild, he was taken down by a total non wrestler in the second round. Wanderley is actually cut with punches from the bottom, a fact that doesn't help him at all. When the fight restarts standing, he weakly shoots and absorbs shots from a chubby Machida who's mouth is wide open.

My honest feeling is that Machida in a four corner ring is at a disadvantage versus Machida in 6+ sided one. Wanderley corners him repeatedly, as had Franklin and Bonnar in their respective losses. Obviously they don't win him the fight, but hey, it happens, which doesn't occur in the UFC against better guys. Yes, he wins this fight as Dimitry Wanderley basically gives up due to exhaustion, even after the guy gets some seriously long pauses to work on the cut. But man, you can't come away from this thinking more highly of him. (4)

FIGHT OF THE NIGHT: Rafiq/Machida

KO OF THE NIGHT: Maciel/Inaba

SUBMISSION OF THE NIGHT: Bandiera/Desouza

OVERALL FOR THE EVENT: 3 out of 10. Another Jungle Fight, another 3 hour DVD down of mediocre fighting. There's a couple really impressive performance from the two submission king middleweights, and then everyone else looks totally mediocre or fights terrible. Machida's least impressive performance, the crapfest that was Galvao/Paixao, and so many other epic fails caught on tape. No promotion consistently has worse fights with higher D&R Ratings.

D&R Rating: 42% (19/45)

DEEP: ClubDEEP Toyama - Barbarian Festa 7 (6/1/2008)

MOAR OUTRAGE INTRO. Okay, this is the best part about the promotion, easily. What am I watching? Who the fuck knows?

1) Masakatzu Imanari & ____ vs. Hidehiko Hasegawa & ________: Tag team grappling bout with fake out pile drivers and shit. Not rated as it clearly is not MMA.

2) Yuya Osugi vs. Shinichiro Tanaka: Literally no clue who either is.

FIGHT: Osugi Split Decision. Osugi wins this, I think, off the back of some really rad judo throws in the first. He does a Crocota tribute after the fight. Sloppy, horrendous standup from both when they exchange. Looks like a slapfight between tweener girls. (0)

3) Kosuke Umeda vs. Yuichi Ikari: Umeda lost on an M-1 card and I don't think his bout was televised. If it was, who cares.

FIGHT: Ikari Unanimous Decision. Ikari can change levels and drop for the shot and Umeda doesn't really do that so he ends up on the bottom. And when he's there, he's not really good enough to prevent Ikari from working, especially in half guard, with ground and pound. Highlight of fight is Umeda getting dumped through the ropes headfirst onto the timekeeper table. (0)

4) Akira Kibe vs. Masayuki Demise: No idea what to expect here.

FIGHT: Kibe Majority Decision. In the clipped action shown, Demise wants to stand and bang and Kibe definitely does not. He chooses to get this fight to the mat where he transitions to dominant positions (ie mount) and throws shots and tries to get a RNC. He's not successful, and Demise is wily enough to often roll out of it. Kibe doesn't have particularly good throws or takedowns and so he doesn't really go anywhere in the sport. (0)

5) Miku Matsumoto vs. RENA: Female kickboxing bout. Miku is the big star here and among the all time great female MMA fighters. But this is kickboxing. Ends as a draw.

6) Yoshihiro "Barbaro 44" Tomioka vs. Takahiro Kajita: Tomioka was positioned as being a top prospect in Japan, but then lost a bunch of meaningful fights to take him to the next level. So, he wasn't one. Kajita is not one of those fights.

FIGHT: Tomioka Submission Rnd 2. Here we see why Tomioka didn't get to the next level - comprehensively outstruck in the first round and for the early stages of the second, Tomioka had no answers. Kajita let him too far inside though and Tomioka dropped and shot the double. That was pretty much all Tomioka really needed to do. He passed to side control, grapevined the head and nearside arm of Kajita in a crucifix style position, then cranked the far arm to get a kimura and tapout. (0)

FIGHT OF THE NIGHT: Osugi/Tanaka

SUBMISSION OF THE NIGHT: Tomioka/Kajita

OVERALL FOR THE EVENT: 1 out of 10. Lots of clipping plus the fact that none of the fights were really any good equals bad event. KOTC level stuff here.

D&R Rating: 0% (0/20)

DEEP ClubDEEP (5/24/2008)

From earlier in the day at Shinjuku FACE where the Megaton GP would continue that evening.

1) Kazuya Hirose vs. Guy Delameau: Okay. Delameau I've seen but retained no knowledge about.

FIGHT: Hirose TKO Rnd 1. Delameau controls the fight early on, pressing with strikes and getting a takedown. He does nothing on the mat and the fight is stood up. As soon as its back on, Hirose throws a spinning back fist that drops Delameau, and the ref jumps in to stop it. Maybe a touch early but Delameau was in real trouble.

2) Yoshitomo Watanabe vs. Ryoji Suzuki: Watanabe I've seen try to block takedowns. I know nothing about Suzuki.

FIGHT: Majority Draw. Great fight, to be honest. Not much clipping. (1)

Suzuki: Comes out a house afire with strikes, dropping Watanabe and looking all the while like he's got this in the bag. He dodges an armbar attempt early in the bout and then lands some more solid strikes and knees and when it goes back to the mat...he starts to peter out. He wings mostly arm punches in the second round and gets clipped by Watanabe. On the mat, he's nothing special. That's an understatement.

Watanabe: Huge german suplex in Round 2, good takedowns otherwise, an unspectacular chin, and some submission skill from the back. That is Watanabe in this fight in a nutshell. Very vertical stance, not a great boxer/kickboxer but he does better as the fight goes on and his opponent withers under the pace. Grappling wise he's miles ahead of Suzuki and that nearly gets him the first round and definitely wins him the second.

3) Takafumi Otsuka vs. Isamu Sugiuchi: No idea who these guys are. 65KG.

FIGHT: Otsuka TKO Rnd 1. Otsuka shoots a single and takes down Sugiuchi. On the mat, Otsuka generally controls position, working shots inside the guard. He postures up, Sugiuchi closes the guard, and Otsuka picks him up by the neck and slams him down. Punches follow and its all over.

4) Sotaru Yamada vs. Yasushi Kitazaki: Yamada has shootboxing trunks. 76KG.

FIGHT: Kitazaki Split Decision. Good fight.

Yamada: Throws a flying armbar to start. That's a good sign! However he doesn't really lock it down, and spends much of the first round under Yamada, who is phyiscally stronger and gets takedowns. He does have standing back control for a time in the second round, but Kitizaki fends off choke attempts until the bell. Seems to be the better striker but never gets the range he wants.

Kitazaki: Rushes in with strikes to close the distance and get takedowns. Common wrestler-boxer MMA style. Stiff standing, but physically strong.

5) Toshiaki Kitada vs. Ippo Watanuki: Ippo looks to perhaps have some yakuza ties with the trunks and tats.

FIGHT: Draw. Not much to write about here in review. From the clipped footage shown, I would have certainly scored it for Watanuki, who stopped Kitada's shot and forced him to pull guard repeatedly. But I'm not a judge for DEEP and who knows what their system is. Kitada wasn't really any better standing, and on the mat he actually had fewer real submission attempts than Watanuki, who had a triangle attempt from bottom and rolled for lower limb locks twice (including a toehold!). I dunno. It looks like a Watanuki win to me.

6) Misaki Takamoto vs. Naoko Omuro: Female MMA. Who are they? Not the slightest clue.

FIGHT: Takamoto Unanimous Decision. Okay, so this is women's MMA at a higher level than what was typical of the NAAFS show shown a month + ago. Does that make it good? We've gone from abjectly bad women's fighting to mediocre women's fighting. Either way, I honestly don't care to watch it any more than I do mediocre or bad men's fighting solely because women are doing it. Takamoto is clearly a better all around competitor, and she displays submission skill from the guard position, slightly better standup, and can take her opponent down. Omuro looks like she is burning off all her energy bouncing up and down when standing at a distance. Her bob is just shimmying all over the place. Takamoto nearly stretches out the limb of Omuro for an armbar that she gets from side control. Let's be honest, those don't happen every day. No tap though.

FIGHT OF THE NIGHT: Watanabe/Suzuki

KO OF THE NIGHT: Sugiuchi/Otsuka

OVERALL FOR THE EVENT: 3 out of 10. Short, mediocre, clipped contests with one good clipped contest. Takes 45 minutes of your life as an upside. This sort of show is completely replaceable with generic pro MMA events in the US. Its easily eclipsed by most.

D&R Rating 3% (1/30)

DEEP Megaton GP Second Round (5/24/2008)

Along with the DEEP Megaton GP's second round is the program of ClubDEEP from 5/24/2008, which I'll review later. First though, this. The intro for the show features a hardcore song from some random Japanese band called "Fat Boy" and shows clips from the first round fights as well as fat people eating and fat ring girls. This is incredible already.

1) Kosaku Shikmasu vs. Itomo Ariyama: Ariyama is the man wearing overalls and he might be among the worst MMA fighters ever. Reserve bout?

FIGHT: Shikmasu TKO Rnd 1. He throws a front kick at the start of the fight and you can see Ariyama immediately reconsider this idea of his to fight professionally. Later he absorbs a body kick, and then a couple knees to the head before he crumples to the mat. The ref flops on him to stop the onslaught.

2) Ken Orihashi vs. Mamoru Nakamura: Should be a brawl.

FIGHT: Orihashi TKO Rnd 1. Wild brawl as expected. Rock Em Sock Em Robots with both men going down, but Orihashi gets the last knockdown and pounds out Nakamura with hammerfists, forcing a ref stoppage.

3) Katsuhiko Kumano vs. Shunji Kosaka: Kosaka is by far smaller. Kumano may be the biggest man in the tourney.

FIGHT: Kosaka TKO Rnd 1. Kumano comes rushing forward and is felled with a right hand, going straight backwards. Kosaka jumps on him and punches and the ref stops it. 10 seconds!

4) Yoichi Babaguchi vs. Yusuke Kawaguchi: Baba Booey is HUGE. Not Kumano HUGE but HUGE. Kawaguchi is still big, but has some discernable wrestling talent.

FIGHT: Kawaguchi TKO Rnd 1. Babaguchi is hit with punches right away because Kawaguchi trains for real reals and ends up being battered mercilessly for 16 seconds until finally collapsing into the ropes and seeing the ref stop it.

5) Shinsuke Inoue vs. Katsumi Yamada: Inoue's hair is bizarre: like a bowl cut and then tied to a pony tail, but short. And dyed blonde.

FIGHT: Inoue TKO RND 1. Yamada comes forward, lands a right hand, and gets down Inoue! I'm surprised the fat boy could do that. But he does nothing on top and appears gassed 40 seconds in. The ref forces a standup and Inoue throws Yamada with a cool judo sweep, mounts him, and throws hammerfists and punches until the ref stops it.

FIGHT OF THE NIGHT: Nakamura/Orihashi

KO OF THE NIGHT: Kosaka/Kuman

OVERALL FOR THE EVENT: 7.5 out of 10. It was over and done in like 20 minutes! And it had huge fat guys fighting! C'mon, what is wrong with this? Yeah, no good fights. Yeah, no real skill. But if you are watching the Megaton GP, you know what you are getting. I would rather watch this than a lot of single fights, which it takes about the same amount of time as doing. Kawaguchi does a locker room interview while wearing a Lilo And Stitch shirt. What a dude.

D&R RANKING: 0%

XFC 13 (12/3/2010)

Back to HDNet Fights for another exciting card. Maybe. This show eminates from Tampa, Florida and features a title fight and one of the best fat men heavyweight bouts ever concieved. The Voice and Guy are the announce crew.

1) Joe Ray vs. Jeremy Smith: Ray is a recent convert to ATT and was ranked among BE's top ten prospects at welterweight. Naturally, he is on the patented ATT diet and is already a middleweight. His opponent is Jeremy Smith, an unheralded fighter from the XFC satellite gym in South Africa.

FIGHT: Smith Split Decision. Close, exciting fight. I had it 29-28 for Smith, two judges saw it 30-27 for him in spite of a closed eye. (2)

Ray: Big issue here - he can't wrestle. He is a decent enough striker and has some degree of submission skill. His work standing should earn him the second round in my book. But his consistent problem is that he's taken down in all rounds. All the damage in the world has the potential of being nullified if you are laid on.

Smith: Lots of heart. His technique is mediocre as far as takedowns are concerned and he just powers through them. He's listed as being primarily a muay thai expert but looks to be the worse striker by some degree.

2) Ian Stephens vs. Joe Heink: Welterweight contest with Stephens being an All American wrestler in college.

FIGHT: Stephens Unanimous Decision. Me and the judges thought it was a clean sweep. Heink couldn't stop Stephens takedown attempts and his Brown Belt in BJJ wasn't on display here. Stephens can't really strike too well - he just rushes with them to the clinch. He throws some low kicks in the third as he gets comfortable, then shoots when he's hit with a jab in the face. Well, no surprise about his instincts. Most of the fight is spent in the half guard or full guard with Stephens on top landing few shots and not really trying too hard to pass to side control or mount. (1)

3) Gabe Salinas-Jones vs. Parker Porter: A heavyweight contest of prospects! Both are heavy. Like, extra 30-40lbs each heavy.

FIGHT: Salinas-Jones Submission Rnd 1. Rear Naked Choke finish for Salinas-Jones, who consistently got takedowns and had a huge throw in this fight. Nothing to write home about in striking as he powers through him with grappling. (0)

In between fights, the XFC president says that they're gonna run three shows in China next year. XFC has that sorta co-promotion "buy a show" deal as King of the Cage or Gladiator Challenge.

4) Marissa Caldwell vs. Marianna Kheyfets: Caldwell was DEMOLISHED by Jessica Eye. Kheyfets demolished Kim Couture. So I guess we still won't know how good Jessica Eye is after this really, but we'll know if she's as good or better than Kheyfets. Right?

FIGHT: Kheyfets Unanimous Decision. So Caldwell is tough as nails. This is determined for sure. My thinking watching this is that Eye is the better fighter between her and Kheyfets. (0)

Kheyfets: Good striking - big repetoire of stuff pulled out in this fight with elbows and spinning hook kicks and stuff. Movement's not bad. Keeps the chin down. BJJ needs work, but her defense is alright and she has some solid takedowns. Punching power though is nonexistent as far as I can tell. Then again, Caldwell got beaten like a drum by Jessica Eye and went the distance too.

Caldwell: Botched a throw that got her put on her back instead. Oops. Not really a BJJ expert at all. Can't wrestle. Is a pretty orthodox striker that tries to keep everything straight, but her hands are so slow. So. Slow.

5) Chris Barnett vs. Mario Rinaldi: Barnett went to Singapore on like two weeks notice weighing 315 and got beat there. Does he have a manager? Note: I will be Barnett's manager if he sends me $50 in the mail and says he'll get me a plane ticket to Sentosa next time he's requested. Rinaldi, meanwhile, is better at everything but has a history of losing to big fat guys when he runs out of gas 4 minutes into a fight. See also: DJ Linderman.

FIGHT: Barnett TKO Rnd 2. (1)

Barnett: Barnett was 18 lbs over the 265 limit. Yikes. He gets taken down and is worked over for 3:15. Then he flips over Rinaldi and takes over. He stops him with strikes in the early part of the second.

Rinaldi: Looks like a KOTC special, as he has Barnett's back like 30 seconds in. But he runs out of gas punching Barnett and ends up on his back later in the round. In the second he gets taken down by Barnett who drops levels in the clinch, pulls a switch, and pounds him out from back control. Sad. Where's Tim Persey when you need him?

6) Jarrod Card vs. Luis Palomino: Featherweight title bout in XFC.

FIGHT: Palomino Unanimous Decision. Wide win for Palomino - I gave him every round. (2)

Palomino: Better in almost every aspect, he also hurts Card with shots in almost every round. He's cut in round 3 by a headbutt, which barely slows him down. Palomino hurts Card badly with low kicks but is afraid to throw them in spite of having Card in serious jeopardy because Card does seem to have a decent takedown. Says in the post fight interview that he doesn't like the cut to 145 and will return to lightweight after winning the title.

Card: Good wrestling, but he's below par everywhere else. Wrestling and control aren't good enough to keep Palomino on his back at will, which means that a lot of energy is expended going towards trying to do that with poor results. By round 3, he's done as far as energy is concerned, and to top it off, he can't properly block low kicks, nor does he adjust stance to move his damaged left leg out of the way of more kicks. One of the more desperate shots in history comes from Card following a low kick that sweeps him off his feet and sends him flying towards Palomino trying for a double. No Jitz.

FIGHT OF THE NIGHT: Ray/Smith

KO OF THE NIGHT: Barnett/Rinaldi

SUBMISSION OF THE NIGHT: Salinas-Jones/Porter

OVERALL FOR THE EVENT: 6.5 out of 10. Not the greatest show in the world - the decisions were generally pretty wide but the fighters that lost were at least game and tried. Ray/Smith is a great fight at this level. And I'd gladly say its the best XFC show I've watched. I'm not big on PROMOTIONAL NARRATIVE, and I think bringing in a random guy from Bellator to win your title and immediately say he wants to leave and fight at a different weight class must be a terrible way of doing that, but I'm sure someone will spin it different. Who cares. The fights were good for a change.

D&R RATING: 20%(6/30)

Caged Combat MMA (10/3/2009)

This is another amateur show, more local to me and televised exclusively on Fox Sports Detroit. The event is hosted, MCed, and promoted by former Toughman promoter Craig Ahrens. Ahrens occasionally promotes pro boxing as well and is famous regionally for basically being willing to put anyone who can pass a blood test in the cage. Consider the moral implications if you will, then remember you are watching cage fighting.

Also notable is the fact that this is a show I started a review of back in March and never finished. So there is that too. But now it is done! Since its old, its in the CLASSIK style of pseudoPBP.


Since this is MI, all rounds are 3 minutes, no elbows allowed.

1) JOSHUA ARSENIDEGA vs. TODD KELLY: This is a catchweight of 130, I think.

Competitive first round of the fight: Kelly goes for takedowns and seems to be more comfortable on top, whereas Arsenidega's somewhat archaic looking BJJ is effective enough to nearly armbar Kelly and sweeps him into mount. The second round is cut short for a commercial break almost right after it starts. When we come back, its round 3; Arsenidega gets a takedown, and its back to commercial. We return and Kelly is basically on the verge of tapping out, which he eventually does to a rear naked choke. (0)

A commercial is then shown for the 11/25/09 show: Ahrens promises $1.99 beer specials! Yeah, I'm glad I stayed home.

2) ENRIQUE CASTANEDA vs. CASEY RIFE: There aren't really weight classes here. Rife is 143 and Castaneda 141. Its like if you're at least in the ballpark, there's a fight.

Beyond terrible; neither has a lick of skill at this point. Rife's boxing stance is converted from boxing, but without any of the things that make a proper boxing stance work. Castaneda drags him down for a RNC. (0)

3) MATT BOBBIO vs. JONATHAN SCHRIER: RUN WITH THE BULL~ a banner tells me. However, it tells me to train with the tatted up white dudes of Team Murcielago rather than drink Schiltz. They're around lightweight, how's that sound?

Dudes imitate an MMA fight and it ends with Schrier losing to a arm and head triangle from the bottom. (0)

4) JEFF SHAW vs. GREG PAGGEOT: another bout that is kinda a lightweight bout.

KOTC Classic: Paggeot loses by RNC after being taken down and worked over. (0)

5) GARY FISHER vs. TYLER GILLESPIE: A legitimate lightweight contest.

Gillespie slams Fisher big early, hurts his arm, fight is over. A sorta cool slam. (0)

6) ANDRE WILLIAMS vs. TRAVIS COOK: A welterweight contest; Williams is 6 lbs under.

The first round is pretty good with Cook looking competent in the clinch and Williams a decent grappler himself. Then there is a commercial break. We don't see round 2. Round 3 starts with Williams shooting after getting hurt by a body kick. Cook tries to lock the triangle and the armbar, but Williams spins and defends. Cook works off the cage and ends up nearly getting Williams back after having attempted to sweep him due to an error in judgement. Williams turns over into mount and Cook lands bombs until the end of the round. He wins a decision. Uh, okay? (0)

7) JOSH BROWN vs. TREVOR MORRIS: Morris is 17. That's a story that's getting old, isn't it?

Terrible action through all 3 rounds that one endures. Entry level striking and grappling ends in the third with a huge right hand by Morris. The highlight aside from the KO is a jumping side kick by the teenager. (0)

8) BOYD GUZMAN vs. LOWELL FRISBIE: Frisbie has an incredible name. As best I can tell on the net, he's like 5-1 as an amateur and has a background in kempo or TKD or some shit. Welterweights.

Crazy strikes, Frisbie lands a head kick flush, and Guzman is hellaunconscious. Do promoters in MI have to pay for any insurance before a fight? I'm guessing not. (0)

9) DAVID ROHM vs. THOMAS WHITE: Welterweights, White has some bitchin' cornrows.

Rohm has no standup whatsoever. Its all about rushing into the clinch for him. Sometimes he does something, other times he prefers to push White into the cage. Rohm does throw some wild looping haymakers in the second that hurt White: Can't say I'm impressed. There's an interview in between the second and third rounds...on the PA. IN THE RING. More Rohm domination in clinch or top control in the third round with White not mustering up anything but a failed throw early on. Rohm wins the decision. I lose dignity. (0)

10) JAKE SEILER vs. JOHN MONTGOMERY: Light heavyweights now. Seiler has some sort of karate background.

Seiler works a single into an RNC and forces the tap out. See that play out in your mind. Not "Single into a takedown, passes guard to side control, mount, opponent flips and gives neck". Exactly what I said. (0)

11) JOSH PONDER vs. TEMAIN CUNNINGHAM: Heavyweights. Big boys. Untalented large men scrapping.

Hockey fight, Ponder is hurt with a knee, Cunningham fails to capitalize, gasses, ends up choked out. (0)

12) LUKE GRUMMET vs. ART DE LEON JR.: Relation to Ron De Leon of Lansing ammy MMA fame? Like I really know.

Bad striking leads to a body lock takedown, full mount, and strikes stop it for Grummet. Whatever. During the fight slo-mo replays are spliced in without warning. (0)

13) COREY KRINGS vs. DAMIAN VERCETTI: Lightweight title fight.

Krings gets a takedown off the clinch, mounts, and Vercetti turns over. You expect RNC...but you expect wrong! Or not. He defends some and rolls a bit, then gets tapped with it. (0)

14) ERIC PRICE vs. CALEB GRUMMET: Middleweight title on the line. Why does it matter?

Grummet is far bigger, outweighing Price by 16 lbs. He slams Price after having overhooks (!), but they get up and trade nervous winging shots. Neither is very good. Grummet has another takedown, and eventually it leads to a stop by strikes after Price tries to roll around a little and doesn't even come close to really bucking him. (0)

FIGHT OF THE NIGHT: LOLOLOLOL

KO OF THE NIGHT:Frisbie/Guzman

SUBMISSION OF THE NIGHT: Bobbio/Schrier

OVERALL FOR THE EVENT: 0 out of 10. Literally the worst MMA I've perhaps ever endured. That I went something like 9 months without finishing the review tells you everything you need to know.

DEEP MEGATON GP 1ST ROUND/ClubDEEP Tokyo (3/29/2009)

The freakshow. Hated, loved. The duplicitous nature of the freakshow in MMA is what separates it from boxing in this country. We fight in a cage and let fat men in shirts, street brawlers with little training, and pro wrestlers do it to adoring fans seeking to satiate their blood lust. In Japan, it is no different. In both lands they are a necessary evil to attract the eyes to this sport that it must then turn to real fans.

I once read an article about junk food, and it said that 30 years ago, people were perfectly happy with just old fashioned nachos. Then they added beans and meat and shit to them and people needed more and more on their nachos. The release of opiates from the brain from eating such fatty food couldn't be pleased with just junk cheese any more. That is what Kimbo Slice is to the 18-34 year old male; Nachos covered in tons of meat and then more cheese. And then salsa. And yeah, there's more healthy choices, but your average meathead will just ignore them. MMA is the same.

I say this long intro because this event, held in the nightclub Shinjyuku FACE in front of about 500 people, is the alpha and omega of freakshows. All fat Japanese dudes in shirts. All fighting. Anyone who comes to the show over 100KG got free booze. This is the world we inhabit. You can't trade it for another. The opening montage is of small dudes throwing punches over the sounds of Japanese metal legends Outrage. This two hour special was aired by the folks at Samurai TV and is basically one hour of the GP and one hour of ClubDEEP and its, well, normal fights.

1) Guy Delameau vs. Hideo Matsui: No idea who either is or what the weight class is for the opener.

FIGHT: Delameau TKO Rnd 1. Clipped, I think. It shows on fightfinders as being a second round TKO, but the fight was only a 2 round bout, so that might screw it up a little. Delameau gets down Matsui, ends up taking his back, and punches him when a RNC can't be sunk. (0)

2) Sadao Kondo vs. Shingo Matsuda: HEAVILY clipped. He looks like he defended takedowns and went for a head and arm choke. (0)

3) Tetsuya Yoshioka vs. Kenji Ushioda: Yoshioka Unanimous Decision. Heavily clipped. Had a couple takedowns??? (0)

GRAPPLING EXHIBITION~ between dudes who's names I can't find. Someone wins with a Sakuraba style Kimura. Rad? Yes. When I find out who it was, I will say.

4) Tomoya Miyashita vs. Tatsumitsu Wada: Back to normal MMA action. Expecting this to be clipped because, hey, I expect lots of that and there's not enough time in the program.

FIGHT: Miyashita TKO Rnd 2. Clipped, but not outrageously so. (1)

Miyashita: Miyashita is actually getting beaten up pretty much the whole fight. Outstruck EVERYWHERE with low kicks, punches, etc. In the second round he gets hit with a head kick tha fells him, and as he gets up, he sorta throws his right hand out at a charging Wada. Wada runs right into it and lands his own shot, so both men drop. Wada doesn't get up though. He's out cold.

Wada: Decent fighter, smaller than Miyashita, and did a lot of showing off during the second round of the fight as he was lacing up his opponent with shots. But he came in real sloppy when he went for the kill and paid for it in almost cartoonish fashion. KO of the decade candidate.

5) Ippo Wantanuki vs. Isao Tereda: Tereda has a mohawk. That is what I can tell you about this fight.

FIGHT: Watananuki Unanimous Decision. Clipped again. (0)

Watannuki: Smaller man who likes to wrestle. Top control grappler. And since Tereda doesn't seem good at defending the shot or takedowns, this works well for him. He spends most of round 1 on top inside the guard giving it up only at the end of the round for a heel hook attempt. He gets to mount in the second but Tereda bucks him and lands some effective blows. Watanuki seems to steal the round in the closing 30 seconds or so by landing stout punches, getting a takedown, the back, and nearly an armbar.

Tereda: Bigger guy, likes to strike, but not much of a grappler. Guys who aren't really grapplers don't go far in MMA.

At this point we see fighters getting brought out for a lightweight tournament. I think. Then I think Imanari is out there with a DEEP belt and talks some. Then Mishma comes out and talks some. Oh! Hey! They are gonna fight at DEEP 35! I needs me that card.

6) Yoshitomo Watanabe vs. Yuki Inoue: Dudes.

FIGHT: Inoue Majority Decision. Clipped. Shock. Inoue comes forward and that's about it in terms of angles. One speed too. He gets more time on top than does his opponent, which basically gets him the win. Watanabe shows the ability to block takedowns sometimes. (0)

7) Teruhiko Kubo vs. Kousei Kubota: Wrestling shoes! I love DEEP. Kubota is wearing them and he is like so old in this sport.

FIGHT: Kubota Unanimous Decision. Dana White special breaks out in round one with both men just throwing leather...and Kubota actually gets the better of it. Same in the second as Kubota also gets a double leg takedown. Tough to take away much from Kubo - had physical advantages in size, but wide punching and middling takedown defense means he loses to a .500 fighter. (0)

8) Yasusi Kitazaki vs. Tseuneyoshi Kashimura: Mystery men to me.

FIGHT: Kitazaki Split Decision. (0)

Kitazaki: Early on when he has his legs, he throws shots coming inside and then bounces out before there can be an answer. But Kitazaki gets him down in the second and that sucks some of the energy out of him. He gets up out of half guard way too easily, and Kashimura pays big. Kitazaki gets top control after another takedown attempt leads into the night's second attempt at a Sakuraba Kimura. Not much happens there but it sorta locks the fight up for Kitazaki.

Kashimura: Grappler, OK standup that he doesn't trust enough because he doesn't throw (until late in the fight), can't counter, just covers up to defend. Gave the fight away when he had Kitazaki on his back in half guard and just postured up and basically set him free to stand.

9) Naoki Matsushita vs. Ryan Bow: Bow does reporting for Japan-MMA I think.

FIGHT: Draw. (0)

Bow: Goes for takedowns, gets them in the second round, otherwise mostly a clinch stalemate where he's pushing Matsushita. Of course, the judges make it a draw in spite of Bow controlling the bout.

Matsushita: Seems to be able to throw low kicks, engage with a closed guard when on his back, and prevent takedowns sometimes. How's that for a scouting report?

10) Luiz Andrade vs. Seung Hwan Bang: If Bang's name sounds familiar, its because he lost to Takanori Gomi and Masvidal in Sengoku. Andrade is Brazilian and living in Japan. Even fought for Japan's M-1 squad in 2009.

FIGHT:Bang Unanimous Decision. Bang goes for the takedown a lot here, which honestly surprises me. Does a really good job timing Andrade, in fact - takedowns off low kicks and punches come with instinct and someone for whom the sport has slowed down a good deal. Too bad he got out of the sport after the losses in Sengoku. Coulda been a prospect if he weren't used up so fast. (0)

MEGATON GP TIME! Even the ring girls are fat.

11) Yoshito Takahashi vs. Hiroshi Kiyohara: Not fat dudes. One in rash guard, the other in thai shorts.

FIGHT: Takahashi TKO Rnd 1. Takahashi might be the dude in the rash guard, but Kiyohara is disposed of fast. He has a big set of bandages on his knee that are probably slowing him. Just wild striking. (0)

12) Muneyuki Suzuki vs. Katsumi Yamada: YES. Fat dudes time. One is from U-File.

FIGHT: Yamada TKO Rnd 1. Suzuki is rushed at the start in spite of being the U-File guy and is dropped while running away with a right hand. He gets pounded out and Yamada keeps punching after the ref tries to break them. (0)

13) Tadahiro Hosaka vs. Shunji Kosaka: Hosaka is in gi pants and a tank top.

FIGHT: Kosaka Unanimous Decision. Kosaka uses actual technique in the fight and that makes the difference. Early on Hosaka just throws leather and actually goes into a counter punching mode, attacking when Kosaka throws leg kicks. But by the second round as both are winded, Hosaka starts to fall victim to the kicks, straighter punching of Kosaka, and also a pancake sprawl of sorts. (0)

14) Ken Orihashi vs. Kazuki Nojiri: Wow. One of these guys looks like Ryo Chonan in a fat suit.

FIGHT: Orihashi Unanimous Decision. Two fighters just standing and trading. Wild crazy brawl between two tough men. Nojiri takes the worst of it though and gets dropped in the second but hangs on and keeps throwing leather back. Nojiri seems to have some basic understanding about kickboxing. (0)

15) Katsuhiko Kumano vs. Itomo Ariyama: This fight is the symbol of the tournament: Kumano is ridiculously fat. Ariyama is even fatter. He is weighing what appear to be Pumas. He is also wearing a red long sleeve shirt and overalls. Ariyama also looks facially to perhaps have Down's.

FIGHT: Kumano Split Decision. Incredible collision of fatties who throw the worst punches. Ariyama is in trouble early taking blows, runs across the ring, but weathers an early storm. The fight then falls into a pattern of two men staring at each other and then unloading lead overhand rights. Kumano is clearly the stronger man and he shoves Ariyama around the ring in the early part of the first and second. This is a fight I'm pleased to see was cut and edited. (1)

16) Ryosuke Kojima vs. Shinsuke Inoue: Neither fighter is really that huge in this fight. In fact, they are downright svelte for this tourney.

FIGHT: Inoue Unanimous Decision. Watching this makes me feel like I accidentally exited out of the DVD and are watching random Americans in some ISKA Muay Thai tournament on Altitude TV. Lots of technigally not terrible MMA. Inoue wins a unanimous decision and its deserved. He lands a lot of low kicks and also does a solid job throwing punches and leading the action. Kojima is sorta a grizzled vet kickboxer as best I can tell here. (0)

17) Yoichi Babaguchi vs. Kintaro Tsurukame: Dudes are HUGE. Babaguchi in shoes.

FIGHT: Babaguchi TKO Rnd 1. Babaguchi wins with strikes after cornering a running Tsurukame. He drops him after a chopping right and finishes the job on the man. (0)

18) Muscle Hiranuma vs. Mamoru Nakamura: One fighter hails from MUSCLE JUNGLE GYM; guess which?

FIGHT: Nakamura Unanimous Decison. Nakamura is wide, but wider yet with punches is Hiranuma. Hiranuma can't stop takedowns very well either, but can power his way out of a kimura attempt. Muscle is all done in the first, and Nakamura pours it on in the second with punches and takedowns. He's close to finishing with a RNC when the bell rings for the end of the fight at the conclusion of the second round. Hiranuma can throw his fists around. Clipped. (0)

19) Yusuke Kawaguchi vs. Nobuyoshi Takahara: Kawaguchi is the big favorite here in the tourney.

FIGHT: Kawaguchi TKO Rnd 1. Kawaguchi comes right out and tags Takahara, then takes him down. Punching is a bit robotic, but these guys suck so its not like its a shock. He pounds out Takahara from top control in 40 seconds. (0)

FIGHT OF THE NIGHT: Andrade/Bang? I guess?

KO OF THE NIGHT: Wada/Miyashita

SUBMISSION OF THE NIGHT: that grappling exhibition. Is that unfair?

OVERALL FOR THE EVENT: 5 out of 10. Too much clipping. Boo on clipping. However, the fat men fights were generally entertaining. None of it felt too serious, which I appreciated when watching fat men fight. Shame about the clipping though.

D&R Rating: 2% (2/95)

SHOOTO DISC 9: Las Grandes Viajes 1 (1/17/1998)

Onward to 1998 - We've got Noboru Asahi in the main event here for Shooto as they run Korakuen Hall for the umpteenth time. Nakai and Ishioka are the announce team as usual.

1) Masanori Suda vs. Ray Cooper: Cooper represents the long lost and beloved JESUS IS LORD fight team from Hawaii. Suda is a future Shooto champ.

FIGHT: Suda Submission Rnd 1. Cooper is a smaller man and works fast to get the takedown and prevent standup exchanges he believes he can't win. On the mat Suda proves to be superior in technique as well as in size, going for a triangle and then transitioning into an armbar after several attempts to escape by Cooper, none of which really allowed him to separate. (2)

2) Jutaro Nakao vs. Jay R. Palmer: I can barely express my interest in this. Jay R. Palmer was outrageously dangerous once.

FIGHT: Nakao Submission Rnd 1. Okay, not surprised by this. Nakao closes the distance at the very start, eventually gets a takedown, and Palmer gives his back in this long, boring version of the classic RNC finished standard issue KOTC bout. (0)

At this point, clips of other fights are shown from earlier in the night after an interlude with the studio crew. Included in this? Dokonjonosuke Mishma's bout with Fujisaki that ends in a draw (looks like a good fight via clips), Tetsuji Kato submitting Kohichi Tanaka, and Jin Akimoto dropping a decision to Hikeo Ikeda. (0) for all three combined in spite of Mishma being something later on. 45 seconds of footage isn't enough.

3) Masao Fujiwara vs. Ricky Botelho: First time I can remember seeing Botelho since getting beaten by Rumina.

FIGHT: Botelho Unanimous Decision. Also clipped up for the first two but I give this its own listing because, hey, it got a prefight video package and I do see the full third. God does it suck. Want to see 5 minutes of a brazilian with a ridiculous stance stopping a single leg? This is the fight for you. (0)

4) Noboru Asahi vs. Dennis Hall: Hall represents RAW team and so you imagine that Rico Chiaparelli is around there too. 65KG.

FIGHT: Asahi Submission Rnd 2. This wasn't a title defense. (4)

Asahi: He has a tough time with Dennis Hall's takedowns as you might expect given the pedigree that Hall brings in. But he's active off the bottom and actually the better striker. When he lands a low kick on Hall in round 2, it looks realy clear that Hall's defense for that is "walk through them". Hall goes for a takedown in the second round that Asahi defends and actually ends up taking the back of Hall during. This, after a long period of time, leads to an armbar.

Hall: ProtoWrestleboxer. Provides some pressure on Asahi but his most devastating offensive technique is to lay on his opponent. Really. Its like the only real tip given by Chiparelli ("Put weight on him!") in an offensive fashion. Most anything else is begging him to defend things that the ProtoAoki does.

FIGHT OF THE NIGHT: Asahi/Hall

SUBMISSION OF THE NIGHT: Suda/Cooper

OVERALL FOR THE EVENT: 3 out of 10. Lots of clipped stuff, a couple full fights that suck, one that's long but not very good. Seeing Asahi act as an early blueprint for nerdy, stringy submission guy who can't stand at all is pretty interesting. I'm surprised some old dudes haven't seen him in Aoki's style?

D&R Rating: 30% (6/20)