Fighters Only

Issue 016

August 2006

Saitama Super Arena, Japan, 4th June 2006

By Andrew Garvey

Another year, another Grand Prix; at least that what it seems like with Japanese mega-promotion PRIDE FC. This was the first time PRIDE’s Bushido series had taken place at Tokyo’s Saitama Super Arena and unfortunately for PRIDE, a poor crowd of some 7500 (announced as a face-saving 13,371) witnessed a show that saw five of the seven welterweight Grand Prix bouts go the distance. Fans have come to expect great things of Bushido events, and this didn’t quite deliver. There was something for the fans to get excited about though, as the Japanese fighters Kazuo Misaki and Mitsuhiro Ishida turned in excellent performances, not to mention Sakurai’s sensational 64-second knockout win, but by PRIDE’s own astronomic standards, this event fell short somewhat- not what it needs what with the current scandals it is facing.

Non-tournament matches

Marcus Aurelio vs. Mitsuhiro Ishida

American Top Team fighter Aurelio shocked everyone by beating Takanori Gomi last time he entered the PRIDE ring, but with Gomi looking on, ‘Maximus’ dropped a unanimous decision to a frenetic Ishida. His freaky win over Gomi propelled him up the ranks, with everyone suddenly touting him as the next big thing. For fifteen minutes all those people were quiet though, as they were left with nothing to do but eat their words.

Aurelio went for plenty of submissions in the first round and even scored a flash knockdown but the relentless Ishida, a smaller southpaw with much better endurance, simply outworked him. Constantly active after a slow opening three minutes, Ishida (a Shooto champion and protégé of Kawajiri, one of PRIDE’s top lightweights) scored some great takedowns. The highlight was a lightning fast head and arm takedown that ended with Ishida in the mount. Most of the fight was on the ground and Ishida simply never let up. Whichever guard variant Aurelio tried, the Shooto Pacific Rim champion just kept finding a way to land rights, lefts and hammerfists. At one point the crowd were counting along with each punch and a very enjoyable lightweight fight ended with Aurelio clinging on for dear life as the increasingly popular Ishida threw one last incessant barrage of shots.

Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Charles ‘Krazy Horse’ Bennett

Most observers expected Kawajiri, a star in Shooto and genuine lightweight contender in PRIDE, to destroy his bizarre opponent. They were nearly right. Kawajiri forced him to tap 2:30 into the fight with a kneebar but Bennett, called a ‘broken man’ by the Japanese TV commentators in reference to his apparently ‘broken’ brain, made a fight of it, for a few seconds at least. Kawajiri went for, and after a brief struggle, got an early takedown. Calmly defending a brief Bennett reversal, Kawajiri went for a kneebar, switched to a toehold and then back to a kneebar for the win. This was pure, straightforward and predictable stuff from the talented Kawajiri.

Hayato Sakurai vs. Olaf Alfonso

Likeable, eccentric and very hairy, Mexican-American Alfonso, who claims to train by swimming, meditating and playing around in trees, is usually an exciting brawler. But its tough to entertain the crowd when you’re knocked out cold with a single right hand 64 seconds into a fight. This was a much-needed win for Sakurai- he is highly popular among the domestic and even international audience and has been a terror since dropping all the way from 185lbs, but his loss to Gomi left him in no man’s land; not a title holder, not a contender. KO’ing Alfonso put him back in the mix, and gave the fans the best finish of the night.

Alfonso came out swinging but the patient and highly skilled Sakurai landed some good low kicks before delivering a beautiful arcing shot that finished the fight. The Shooto legend followed up with another on the ground before the referee could step in to wave off the second-quickest fight of the night. Alfonso was up and about in no time, but it makes you think- should he try some real training instead of all the meditating?

Welterweight Grand Prix Opening Round

Amar Suloev vs. Murilo Bustamante

Red Devil fighter and extremely dangerous man Amar Suloev took a unanimous decision over pre-fight favourite Bustamante of Brazilian Top Team by virtue of a jumping ‘Superman’ right hook that floored the veteran midway through the second round. That one move was the only real highlight of a patient and conservative fight, where an elusive Suloev threw some nice combinations but uncharacteristically showed little aggression.

Suloev also displayed excellent defence, sprawling or ducking away from the Brazilian each time a takedown was attempted. Bustamante landed some good jabs and straight right hands, but never looked like hurting Suloev in a very one-dimensional performance. Suloev scored with some neat low kicks too, and although he couldn’t finish Bustamante when he floored him, Suloev’s hands-down reaction-based defence and counter punching style saw him through the fight and on his way through to the next round. Without the knockdown either man could have sneaked the decision win, but Suloev sealed it with that one punch.

Paulo Filho vs. Gregory Bouchelaghem

Another Filho fight, another thoroughly dominant and utterly boring unanimous decision win. Late replacement Bouchelaghem deserves enormous credit for his defensive skills and stubborn resistance against such an accomplished, difficult opponent. The lanky Frenchman showed some good striking and had one great reversal on the ground but as expected Filho continually took him down at will and completely controlled the fight with flurries of punches and frequent switches of position and guard passes. At one point, the referee restarted the fight even though Filho, with his millions of meaningless punches and near-total refusal to go for submissions, was in the full mount position. Typically of Filho, who earned a green card penalty for stalling while Bouchelaghem was somewhat unfairly shown a pair of them, he made little attempt to finish the fight but progresses to the next round.

Joey Villasenor vs. Ryo Chonan

Bushido regular Chonan took a split decision over an impressive Villasenor in the Mexican-American’s PRIDE debut. The third decision verdict of the tournament was much better than the first two though, as Chonan and Villasenor at least provided some spirited exchanges. Swapping low middle and high kicks, jumping knees, big overhand rights and heavy left hooks, the action slowed at times but both men kept coming back swinging.

Villasenor even tried a spinning back fist and came inches away from landing a stomp to the face that could have finished the fight. Both men looked very good at times but Chonan did a little more damage and obviously hurt Villasenor very late in the first with a kick to the face and a barrage of punches on the ground. Villasenor did some damage very late in the second round but for me, Chonan did just enough to earn the win. Villasenor’s long unbeaten streak is over, but he proved he belongs on the big stage while Chonan, his stand-up skills noticeably improved, and his chin rigorously tested after being knocked out last year by Dan Henderson and Phil Baroni, moved onto the final eight. However, a few days after the fight, Chonan’s participation was left doubtful due to an eye injury sustained late in the match.

Makoto Takimoto vs. Gegard Mousasi

20-year-old Armenian born but Dutch-based kickboxer Mousasi, the tournament’s youngest entrant, survived an early armbar to dominate and injure the judo player Takimoto, taking a well-earned first round TKO victory. Aside from the early submission that Mousasi used some incredible flexibility to slip out of, Takimoto did very little. Most of the fight consisted of Mousasi constantly going for rear naked chokes or bashing away with right hands to the head. His legs tightly wrapped around Takimoto, the former Japanese judo star was completely unable to shake off the energetic Mousasi. The end came when a lengthy examination of Takimoto’s now swollen right eye ended with the fight waved off in 5:34 and Takimoto (who reportedly suffered a broken orbital socket) notably offering no protests. Mousasi has real potential but is clearly the most untested of the tournament’s last eight competitors.

Akihiro Gono vs. Hector Lombard

The ultra-aggressive and much-hyped Lombard lost a unanimous decision to the more experienced Gono in a fight that started with a furious onslaught, by Lombard but was decided by Gono’s neater more varied striking. Charging at Gono like an enraged monster, Lombard bundled him to the ground with wild punches and chased him all over the ring but just couldn’t finish him. Out of the whole fight, that was the highlight for the Cuban (who placed 5th in his judo weightclass at the 2000 Olympics, moved to Australia and who now represents the Yoshida Dojo). Gono survived, slowed the fight down and despite doing nothing on the ground, picked Lombard apart on their feet.

His hands contemptuously low, Gono seemed open to punches but scored with plenty of straight right hands, a range of low and mid-kicks, knees to the body and a nice hook to the liver as the fight ended. Gono hurt Lombard a couple of times, but the Cuban has real potential. He just needs to calm down a little, use his judo more and gain some experience. Due to time constraints, Gono’s hilarious entrance (afro wig, white suit, ludicrous disco dancing) was edited off the North American pay-per-view, but hopefully he comes up with something equally ridiculous next time.

Denis Kang vs. Murilo ‘Ninja’ Rua

The Canadian/South Korean fighter Kang, unbeaten in PRIDE and fresh off his destruction of England’s Mark Weir, needed just 15 seconds to beat Chute Boxe fighter Rua unconscious in a stunning display. Kang rocked Rua with the first punch of the fight, an overhand right that whacked into the Brazilian’s temple. From there, Kang went ballistic, firing off lefts and rights and when his opponent fell, hammerfists and more lefts and rights until the referee rescued a completely finished Rua.

The fact Kang won was not so unexpected, but the sheer destruction job he did on ‘Ninja’ was a real shocker. Even a minute or so later Rua, still out of it, seemed to be asking his teammates what had happened while Kang celebrated the biggest and most spectacular win of his career. Dan Henderson was sat at ringside and looked happy, while Paulo Filho (who ground out a terribly boring 15-minute win over Rua at Bushido 10 and could well face Kang next) looked more than a little concerned.

Phil Baroni vs. Kazuo Misaki

Charismatic puncher Phil Baroni was outclassed by Pancrase veteran and Team Grabaka cornerstone Misaki in a gripping main event. Misaki took a very satisfying and well-deserved unanimous decision with an energetic performance highlighted by a pair of unusual flying leg trip takedowns (Ed- specifically, two jumping osoto-gari’s) and some very crisp punching and kicking. Maybe the world’s most tanned Japanese man, Misaki was excellent in this fight while Baroni, for all his pre-fight bluster and the constant shouting of cornerman Mark Coleman, just couldn’t cope with Misaki’s elusiveness and the sheer variety of his fast, accurate strikes.

Even after all his years as a fighter, Baroni seems to think there’s nothing more to it than swinging massive right and left haymakers. In contrast Misaki threw some hurtful low kicks that turned the American’s thigh an ugly shade of violet, and he rattled Baroni with several flying knees. Misaki was even the sharper puncher, landing numerous jabs and deftly avoiding Baroni’s swings while countering with straight rights. Misaki also controlled the few periods of ground action. He pushed welterweight champion Dan Henderson to a very close decision at Bushido 10, and if he keeps fighting like this Misaki should go into the next round as one of the tournaments leading contenders.

Welterweight Grand Prix: Next Round

Though the first round felt a little lacklustre, it does give us a fascinating line-up for the quarterfinals, as welterweight champion Henderson joins the tournament alongside the night’s winners. Henderson, Paulo Filho, Denis Kang, perhaps Ryo Chonan, a pair of Armenian strikers in Amar Suloev and Gegard Mousasi and Team Grabaka teammates Akihiro Gono and Kazuo Misaki make for a very intriguing final eight. Henderson remains the favourite but Filho, despite boring everyone half to death, Kang and Misaki (who went the distance with Henderson at Bushido 10) present serious threats. The next round should be well worth watching and takes place in late August.