Issue 119
September 2014
After a controversial debut UFC win, Kiichi Kunimoto decided to make a statement in his second Octagon outing – becoming the first man to tap TUF: Brazil’s Daniel Sarafian
Winning your debut fight in the UFC is meant to be a career highlight to always be treasured. However, when 33-year-old Japanese welterweight veteran Kiichi Kunimoto earned his first victory in the Octagon against Luiz Jorge Dutra it seems to have left a bitter-sweet taste in his mouth.
Brazilian Dutra was disqualified in the first round of their Fight Night 34 clash back in January after landing a series of illegal blows to the back of Kunimoto’s head. And it looked like Kunimoto felt he still had a point to prove when he entered the Octagon to face TUF: Brazil’s Daniel Sarafian at UFC 174 in Canada.
Speaking after his first-round demolition of Sarafian in June, Kunimoto said: “Yes, I was disappointed after winning my first UFC fight against Dutra in that way. It was a win from the rules point of view, but I was not impressed with myself.
“That’s one of the reasons I was so motivated to win this second fight and show to myself and others how much I can do within the UFC.”
And that motivation worked a treat for Kunimoto as he steamrolled over Sarafian, using good footwork, a stiff jab and cage control to get the Brazilian on the canvas before swiftly taking his back and sinking in a tight rear naked choke to end the bout.
Although Kunimoto has always had a solid ground game, with eight of his previous 16 MMA wins coming via submission, he wanted to make sure his grappling was up to scratch against Dutra, so enlisted the help of JMMA legend Dokonjonosuke Mishima.
“Now I train at Cobra Kai in Japan. My coach is Dokonjonosuke Mishima, who fought in the UFC a few years ago, and he has improved my ground game. Some people were talking about this fight and mentioned it would hit the ground so I knew I had to strengthen my grappling.”
Now that he’s 2-0 in the UFC, and having earned a $50,000 ‘Performance of the Night’ check to take home with him to Osaka, Japan, Kunimoto already has his sights set on delivering another MMA masterclass in front of his countrymen when the UFC return to the Saitama Super Arena on September 20th.
