The Future of Fighting Blog

The debate has been raging since the rematch was made official.

Will B.J. Penn’s jiu-jitsu or Georges St. Pierre’s wrestling prevail at UFC 94? Will Penn pound his left jab and unload a fight-ending right hand or will St. Pierre wear out “The Prodigy” and ground-and-pound his way to another victory?

Sherdog.com spoke with dozens of professional fighters and trainers for their thoughts on how the welterweight title fight will unfold.

Din Thomas: I’m going with BJ. That fool knocked me out. That right there is an accomplishment and should say it all.

Scott Bieri: Wow! Thanks, Dana White and crew, for this one. Tough to pick between two of the most gifted fighters ever. I like Penn’s skill set and fortitude to win this one. BJ will lick Georges’ blood from his gloves and throw fist-pump shakas postfight!

Rick Roufus: It has the hype of a Ray Leonard fight or a big heavyweight fight. It’s a big fight to start the year off. It’s gonna be a war. I don’t see the fight going to the ground much. (There’s) a lot of dislike between these two. Each is gonna try to take each other’s head off. It’s a tossup and it’s a tough fight to call. I’m going with GSP.

Guy Mezger: I am going with GSP. My head says Penn, but my gut tells me GSP.

John Hackleman: It will be a tough fight, but I think after some great standup with BJ having the edge, GSP will get a hard-fought takedown but lose by omaplata.

Falaniko Vitale: Gotta go with the local boy. Tough fight for BJ — definitely another war. BJ, do your thing!

Cub Swanson: GSP by decision.

Matt Lindland: What an amazing fight. Two of the pound-for-pound best fighters in the world. I have to go with the American and say BJ takes this one. I am really looking forward to watching this fight.

Nate Marquardt: GSP in round four.

Troy Mandaloniz: BJ is the meanest I’ve ever seen him. It may not be an easy fight for either of them, but BJ is the better fighter. More technique and more heart. BJ by TKO, round two.

Scott Lighty: BJ Penn. Go Team Hawaii!

Kevin Burns: I think it’s going to be one of the best fights of ’09 even though it’s so early in the year. I think BJ has his number so long as he doesn’t get tired and comes in shape. GSP will not go down easy, and unless he gets caught early, the fight will go into the later rounds. Can’t wait to see it!

Eddy Millis: This one’s tough, very tough. I believe this fight is going to be a war of attrition (with) stamina being the major factor. I’ll be pulling for BJ, but (I) believe St. Pierre may edge out a decision.

Ron Frazier: As good as GSP is, an in-shape and focused BJ Penn is better. BJ Penn wins a tough, hard-fought contest.

Travis Lutter: I think it will be a continuation of the last fight with BJ doing good early and Georges dominating in the later rounds. BJ has a puncher’s chance and could submit him, but I think Georges’ condition and wrestling will win in the end.

Chris Lytle: I’ll say GSP based purely on the coin I just flipped. It was tails.

Mike Whitehead: BJ by decision!

Erin Toughill: Yeah, this is a tough one, but I am gonna go with GSP. BJ Penn is a phenom, but I think that GSP is just going to be too big, strong and athletic for him. We know that the fighter who “looks” stronger is not the one who is better. But when you have two athletes that are very well rounded across the board, I think the bigger, naturally stronger, aggressive man will have the edge. BJ Penn’s boxing is so dangerous, and GSP has his kicks. BJ has the BJJ and GSP has the wrestling. They are both great from the clinch and hard to control. I think GSP will pick his spots with his unorthodox kicking and will go for the takedowns and ground-and-pound. I think that is where GSP will impose his will on BJ. He’ll look to avoid subs from BJ and capitalize on the openings BJ gives him after trying to submit Georges. GSP will ground-and-pound the s— out of him. This fight will go into the later rounds where BJ is known to gas. I pick GSP via TKO by ground-and-pound, round four.

Mixed martial arts fans have enjoyed an embarrassment of riches lately, and UFC 94 “St. Pierre vs. Penn 2” serves as the seven-layer chocolate mousse cake at the end of a five-course feast. Besides the epic headliner, the event will have plenty of backup when it’s beamed into our brains this Saturday from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Whether it’s the light heavyweight tilt between undefeated Brazilians Lyoto Machida and Thiago Silva or the return of UFC regulars Karo Parisyan and Stephan Bonnar, there’s something for everyone on this main card. Even lightweight aficionados get a bout to call their own, as “The Ultimate Fighter” season five winner Nate Diaz takes on all-around man’s man Clay Guida.

Of course, the fight that has all the fans on edge is the rematch between UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre and UFC lightweight titleholder B.J. Penn. Pound-for-pound esteem and long-term legacies are up for grabs in this one.

15952

Jeff Sherwood/Sherdog.com

Georges St. Pierre vs. B.J. Penn

Georges “Rush” St. Pierre Scouting Report
Ht/Wt: 5-foot-10/170 lbs.
Age: 27
Hometown: Saint-Isidore, Quebec, Canada
Fighting out of: Montreal
Record: 17-2

The stakes: Motivation is overstocked for this title tilt, as St. Pierre looks to erase any doubts about his much-debated split decision win over Penn at UFC 58. Silencing his perpetually prolix Hawaiian rival would cement a spot alongside Fedor Emelianenko and Anderson Silva among the pound-for-pound elite.

St. Pierre has to realize this will be one of his career-defining fights. With moments of mental malfunction against Matt Serra and Matt Hughes still fresh in many minds, St. Pierre needs to view this match as his chance to carve out a spot on MMA’s Mount Rushmore.

The breakdown: While much is made of St. Pierre’s struggles with Penn in their first bout, he does enter this one with the tactical advantage of knowing he can control Penn on the ground. If that sounds unimportant, keep in mind that Sean Sherk — a downright beastly wrestler in his own right — was so intimidated by Penn’s grappling ability that he chose to absorb a beating on the feet rather than risk having his extremities extracted on the ground.

Where St. Pierre must prove himself is standing. Although Penn certainly gave St. Pierre some pause in the striking department in their first go around, most of his success came off a pair of glancing blows that exacted a surprising toll on St. Pierre’s fragile mug. St. Pierre needs to use his jab and kicks to keep Penn at bay long enough to wear him down.

B.J. “The Prodigy” Penn Scouting Report
Ht/Wt: 5-foot-9/170 lbs.
Age: 30
Hometown: Kailua, Hawaii
Fighting out of: Hilo, Hawaii
Record: 13-4-1

The stakes: Known as much for the immaturity that has often constricted his success as he is for his once-in-a-generation talent, Penn will once again walk his own path by abandoning the comforts of the lightweight division in an attempt to hold two titles at once.

For all the debate over whether or not St. Pierre beat Penn three years ago, the fact is that the Hawaiian’s notoriously poor conditioning failed him in that fight and could remain a flaw that detracts from his otherwise sterling skill set. Jumping up in weight to the 170-pound limit will certainly put a strain on Penn’s gas tank but will also provide him with a chance to finally let his talent overshadow his tongue.

The breakdown: The most obvious part of Penn’s strategy should involve going after St. Pierre’s historically suspect chin by closing the gap early and keeping the pressure on the incumbent welterweight champion. What Penn must be wary of is getting into striking exchanges with St. Pierre, as it leaves him vulnerable should the French Canadian change levels and pursue the takedown.

Ideally, Penn would look to crack St. Pierre on the feet before quickly transitioning to the ground and taking advantage of an unsteady champion. More than likely, however, Penn will have to take his licks standing and deal with St. Pierre’s suffocating top control. As always, if Penn has the gas tank to hold up under St. Pierre’s pressure, his talent can take care of the rest.

The bottom line: If you’re a gambling man, then just assume Penn will have the stamina to last against a physically dominant opponent while ignoring the history that says otherwise. Those of us looking to remain financially solvent must remember that St. Pierre took the best Penn had to offer once before and managed to rally for a win in the space of 15 minutes.

With the five-round title fight format playing heavily in St. Pierre’s favor, he can afford to take Penn head on in the early going, even if it means dropping a round or two. As long as St. Pierre avoids Penn’s vaunted submission game and controls the tempo of the bout, he’ll head back to Canada having finally assured his place as one of the sport’s true greats.

Lyoto Machida will put his undefeated record on the line against his ill-tempered and nasty compatriot, Thiago Silva — who also has never tasted defeat — in one of the featured bouts at UFC 94 “St. Pierre vs. Penn 2” this Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

What follows is a comprehensive look at the fighters, stakes and tactics of a bout certain to shake up the 205-pound rankings.

The Fighters

Machida possesses a unique life story for a modern-day mixed martial arts fighter. Coming from a strict traditional martial arts background — he grew up as one of five sons to Yoshizo Machida, one of Brazil’s highest-ranked Shotokan karateka — one might have expected his brand to have become obsolete in today’s quickly evolving sport. Think Teila Tuli, Art Jimmerson and Gerard Gordeau.

Machida not only stuck with traditional karate, but he continued his martial arts education and took up sumo wrestling and Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Living for years in the Amazonas area, he had the opportunity to train with some of BJJ’s best, like Fredson Paixao and Ronaldo Souza.

Through all the knowledge he has accumulated, the 30-year-old Machida – who’s half Japanese and half Brazilian — has become one of the most complete fighters in the game. Unfortunately, he rarely uses those skills to entertain crowds, as he almost always puts effectiveness before aesthetics in his fights.

As a result, fans around the world who’ve had the dubious pleasure of watching Machida fight must feel, at times, like dieting monks in Cockaigne. Here you have a guy with incredible reflexes who effortlessly strings together spectacular combinations of kicks and punches, and, yet, he holds them back for most of the time to wait for a well-timed counter attack.

Machida’s defensive tactics have many experts under the impression that he’s too cerebral to finish off shaky opponents, and even though he can mix it up if he has to, it almost appears as if he dislikes the physicality of the sport. The UFC wants to sell that as an “elusive and highly technical style,” but in the boxing world, they might view him as a fighter who first of all makes his opponent look bad.

Machida’s opponent on Jan. 31 is almost his polar opposite. Even though the 26-year-old Silva comes from a martial arts background still considered “boring” by viewers who only tune into MMA occasionally — like Machida he’s a BJJ black belt — he understands the need to deliver spectacular fights and finishes. As a result, he adopted an aggressive stand-up style.

In four appearances inside the Octagon, Silva has made so little use of his excellent ground game that casual onlookers might mistake him for a pure striker. In reality, he’s a student of Jorge “Macaco” Patino, one of the most underrated BJJ teachers in the game, especially when it comes to grappling without the Gi, a vital skill for MMA.

Silva knocked himself through local competition in São Paulo, Brazil, by letting his heavy hands do the talking. Less than a year into his career, word reached Curitiba 250 miles to the south that Macaco had a genuine talent on his hands, and Patino formed a partnership between his Gold Team and the Chute Boxe Academy. That gave Silva the opportunity to train with Wanderlei Silva and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, at the time considered to be two of the world’s premier 205-pound fighters.

Learning muay Thai from Rafael Cordeiro, one of the best coaches in Brazil, added another dimension to the young fighter’s repertoire. However Chute Boxe was not his final stop, as he linked up with Team Link in Ohio for his first three UFC fights before eventually joining American Top Team last February.

Much of the criticism directed at Silva has centered on the fact that he has yet to fight anyone of Machida’s caliber in his brief three-and-a-half-year career. Still, fighters like Dave Dalgliesh, Vitor Vianna and Tomasz Drwal are experienced and respected opponents, as everyone following the sport closely knows. 

15948

Photo by Sherdog.com

Power Ratings
Machida
Striking: 3.5
Grappling: 3.0
Submissions: 3.5
Experience: 3.0
Total: 3.3

Silva
Striking: 3.0
Grappling: 3.5
Submissions: 3.5
Experience: 2.0
Total: 3.0

With his karate background, Machida definitely has the edge in stand-up. Silva might pack the bigger punch, as his impressive knockout ratio reveals — 10 of his 13 wins have come by way of knockout or technical knockout. And he will certainly have put in hours and hours with ATT’s boxing coach, Howard Davis Jr., but he’s had the tendency to leave himself open while striking in the past, which may cause problems against Machida’s precise strikes.

In the grappling department, Silva has a slight edge. He may not do anything groundbreaking, but Machida’s BJJ, even though he’s a black belt, remains pedestrian. Machida has solid top control but was unable to hold down more mobile opponents, like B.J. Penn. His ability to fight effectively off his back has also come into question, as he has rarely had to do so. What’s more, Machida was in big trouble in his last fight, when Tito Ortiz — who has never had the reputation as a submission specialist — locked him in a third-round triangle choke at UFC 84.

On the other hand, Machida owns a clear experience advantage. He has been around twice as long as Silva, fighting all around the world in MMA-rich countries such as Japan, Brazil and the United States. He’s also comfortable fighting in front of big crowds, as he made his debut at the 55,000-seat Tokyo Dome and has also competed at the 30,000-plus-seat Kobe Wing Stadium in Kobe, Japan.

The Stakes

From a sporting perspective, a bout between two undefeated fighters who have gone 4-0 and 5-0 in the UFC, respectively, should be an automatic title eliminator. However, that’s not how Zuffa’s promotional model works. At this time, it appears that both Quinton Jackson — should he beat Keith Jardine at UFC 96 in March — and Chuck Liddell — should he defeat Rua at UFC 97 in April — are ahead of the Machida/Silva victor in the line of title contenders.

Still, the winner of Saturday’s scrap can, in Machida’s case, consolidate his place in the world rankings behind promotional favorites Forrest Griffin and Liddell or, in Silva’s case, make a gigantic jump up the light heavyweight ladder. In fact, a win over the hyped Machida could help the ATT prospect leapfrog Jardine, former teammate Wanderlei Silva and perhaps even the once untouchable Liddell in the 205-pound division.

The Prediction

Both contenders will come into this fight in great shape, having enjoyed strong training camps — Machida with UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva and the Nogueira brothers, Silva with Jorge Santiago, Wilson Gouveia and Marcus “Conan” Silveira at ATT. Flawless records mean Machida and Silva will enter the cage brimming with confidence.

Two obvious scenarios exist for how this fight will play out. First, it’s likely we’ll see a lot of clinching and exchanged knee strikes on the cage. Second, Machida will once again be on his bicycle, evading the wild attacks of the aggressive Silva. The ATT product will have to take a page out of Kazuhiro Nakamura’s book if he wants this fight on the ground, as conventional takedowns appear ineffective against Machida.

Machida has the resolve to absorb some of his opponent’s big bombs, so Silva’s key to victory is the ground. Silva appears to be the bigger and stronger of the two, but, despite his youth, he’s more likely to gas due to the big muscles he carries around.

As previously mentioned, Machida’s simply too cerebral to finish off opponents who have taken a real beating. As a result, we’re likely to see another, uglier-than-expected unanimous decision from “The Dragon.”

15884

Three months to the day of its official announcement, Fedor Emelianenko and Andrei Arlovski finally stood toe-to-toe inside the House of Blues in Los Angeles for the first of three staredowns leading up to their heavyweight tilt on Saturday at Affliction and M-1 Global’s “Day of Reckoning” at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.

The confident couple will square off again Friday at the event’s weigh-ins, also inside the Honda Center, and will converge one last time in the center of the ring before they retire to their corners.

It hasn’t been an easy task assembling such a high caliber bout between the world’s No. 1 and 2 ranked heavyweights, though one wouldn’t notice from the polished presentation that Affliction, M-1 Global, Golden Boy Productions, and the Trump Organization presented their few month’s effort Wednesday for the press.

The road to “Reckoning” has had its twist and turns though.

Following Emelianenko’s 36-second trouncing of Tim Sylvia at Affliction “Banned” last July, word quickly spread that the unflappable Russian would not be well enough to helm a second event planned for Oct. 11 in Las Vegas. It seems Emelianenko’s right hand, which has steadily betrayed the heavyweight throughout his 8-year career, could not withstand the shellacking he inflicted.

Affliction rightfully turned its efforts to a contender’s match between Josh Barnett, hot off avenging his 2000 loss to Pedro Rizzo, and Arlovski, who has flourished with victories against Ben Rothwell and Roy Nelson since he exited the UFC in July.

However, amidst whispers of emaciated ticket sales and Zuffa LLC’s strong-arm tactics in exerting its home turf advantage, the event was cancelled.

On Oct. 21, Affliction announced that it would team up with Golden Boy for an illustrious hybrid event. Those plans fell to the wayside shortly afterward, but a solo MMA offering stayed on the docket for Jan. 24, while Oscar De La Hoya’s unit booked a monster attraction between “Sugar” Shane Mosley and Antonio Margarito just 30 miles down the road at the Staples Center.

But all this is water under the bridge, say the partnering promoters. What’s important is Emelianenko (28-1), who hasn’t always faced the strongest opposition available, should get a test in a hungry Arlovski (15-5). The bout, which will reportedly cost Affliction a few million dollars in purses alone to pull off, will answer a relevant question in the heavyweight division.

“It’s a very, very important fight,” said Emelianenko through his interpreter Steve Nash. “It’s one of the most important fights of my life, my career. I’m fighting a very difficult, a very dangerous opponent, one that I’ve trained for very seriously with all of my efforts.”

With a yogi’s calm, the slightly grinning Emelianenko addressed the room Wednesday as if he were speaking at a Tony Robbins seminar.

“I’d like to wish all the fighters no injuries, a great show and for them to perform to the best of their ability,” he said.

That’s all anybody can ask for.

The magnitude of Saturday’s meeting between Fedor Emelianenko and Andrei Arlovski at Affliction “Day of Reckoning” has not been lost on TV producers.

Two documentary projects cast the spotlight on the pair of world-ranked heavyweights this week.

Fox Sports Network airs the one-hour “Best Damn Fedor Special –- The Baddest Man on The Planet” on Tuesday at 10:30 p.m. EST/PST (check local listings), while Arlovski’s preparation for the world’s No. 1 heavyweight is chronicled in the seven-part mini-series “Arlovski 360: On the Road to Reckoning” at www.arlovski.com

“Baddest Man” takes viewers inside the feared Russian’s never-before-seen training camp, speaking with the stoic fighter, his trainers, and sparring partners. Complete with footage from Emelianenko’s great conquests in Pride Fighting Championships, the episode also introduces Emelianenko’s mother and investigates the fighter’s childhood, his rise in MMA, and the legacy he has created in the sport.

MMA personalities Randy Couture, Kevin Randleman, Frank Trigg, Bas Rutten, “Big” John McCarthy, Sherdog.com News Editor Loretta Hunt, Sports Illustrated’s Josh Gross, commentator Stephen Quadros, and author Sam Sheridan are also featured.

“Arlovski 360” follows the Belarusian heavyweight through his six-week training camp leading up to his Jan. 24 meeting with Emelianenko at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. Cameras roll in Chicago and Los Angeles, recording key moments during Arlovski’s quest to become the world’s greatest fighter. Arlovski’s physical preparation, mental game, and entourage are also dissected, while those closest to “The Pitbull” describe the man behind the fighter.

15778

Headlining the UFC 93 card in Dublin, Ireland, on Saturday is one heck of a matchup between two former world champions.

Dan Henderson, the former Pride champion at 205 and 183 pounds, will take on former UFC middleweight king Rich Franklin. A real fight in every way, MMA experts seem to be torn between Franklin’s vaunted striking prowess and Henderson’s trademark dirty boxing and vicious wrestling.

With the winner penciled in to coach alongside Michael Bisping on the next season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” Sherdog.com caught up with plenty of professional fighters and trainers for their predictions on Henderson vs. Franklin.

Ricardo Liborio: Franklin will pull this one by decision.

Randy Couture: Henderson should win, but that’s a tough fight!

Rick Roufus: No knockout. It’s a hard fight. Could go either way, submission or TKO.

Jaime Fletcher: I think this is a good matchup. Hendo’s wrestling is sick and he’s got iron in his chin and fists. However, I think Franklin is a bit more well versed all around. Look for Hendo to try and dominate with his Greco ground control and turn it into a brawl standing and for Franklin to get the better of the standing exchanges and scrambles. Rich by some type of finish in the third round. I love both of these guys, though!

Marvin Eastman: Ground-and-pound (by) Dan Henderson in the third round.

Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com

Matt Lindland: Dan. Did you even need to ask? If it wasn’t for that fight, I doubt I would even watch this one.

Guy Mezger: I am going to take Hendo just because it’s tough to bet against him.

Eddy Millis: Henderson by KO.

Shannon Gugerty: I got Dan Hendo by decision.

Nathan Diaz: Henderson. He’s better.

Kevin Burns: Henderson wins a decision. It will be a tough fight, though, and great to watch!

Travis Wiuff: Tough fight to predict. Both great fighters. I will take Henderson because of his ability to control the fight with his wrestling in a very close decision.

Urijah Faber: I think Henderson will win via TKO in the second.

James Fanshier: I love Franklin. He has been one of my favorites since he started fighting in the UFC. However, Henderson’s strengths should neutralize Rich’s. Henderson (via) TKO in the third from the clinch.

Gabe Ruediger: I’ve got to go with Dan either by decision or TKO. Franklin is a great fighter and this is a great matchup.

Travis Lutter: I think Dan will win the first round and then start kickboxing and end up losing on decision in a close fight.

Nick Thompson: I think Rich takes it because he is unbelievably good and Dan won’t be able to keep him down. That being said, I got all three wrong (for UFC 92), so what do I know?

Luigi Fioravanti: Hendo by decision.

Zac George: Dan and Rich are equally skilled, but I think Dan’s aggressive boxing and ground-and-pound lay the foundation for the win.

Cyrille Diabate: I’ve been training with Dan for this fight and I think he’s come up with the perfect plan and skills to beat Rich. Dan’s power and wrestling will be too much for Rich. Dan by TKO in the second.

Jamie Varner: I give the edge to Dan even though Rich is bigger. Dan has heavy hands and is a great wrestler. I see him taking Rich down and controlling the fight.

Stephane Vigneault: I think Dan Henderson is going to win that fight by unanimous decision (after) three rounds because of his aggressiveness and superior wrestling.

Jonathan Goulet: I really hope that Dan Henderson will win that fight and I think he will win in the second round by KO.

James Zikic: I predict that Franklin will overcome the strength and wrestling of Henderson with intelligence, skill and technique in a similar way to how he overcame the superior wrestler in Hamill.

Pros who picked Henderson: 18
Pros who picked Franklin: 5
Pros who couldn’t decide: 1

TOKYO — Despite last-minute absences, late replacements and the lack of certain marquee New Year’s Eve fighters, Fighting and Entertainment Group still delivered the goods Wednesday with its final card of the year, Dynamite.

Due to the last-minute withdrawal of Joachim Hansen, who had an unspecified head injury that prevented him from passing a preliminary medical check to fight Gesias Cavalcante, grappling sensation Shinya Aoki and former Bodog welterweight champ Eddie Alvarez took co-main event honors before a sold-out Saitama Super Arena.

Alvarez stuffed a double-leg early, and Aoki chased him around the ring while butt-scooting. Realizing that the ground was the absolute last place he wanted to be with Aoki, Alvarez continued to backpedal until referee Noguchi stood Aoki up.

Alvarez then delivered a middle kick, which Aoki caught and used to capture the back clinch. In response Alvarez whipped Aoki over his hip with a harai-goshi, landing on top in mount, but Aoki escaped immediately and put Alvarez in guard. The Japanese fighter then dove for Alvarez’s leg, taking the American to the mat.

As neither man had worked up a sweat yet, Aoki had the adequate grip to lock on the heel hook and put away yet another opponent by the submission of choice according to the Nippon Top Team playbook. Alvarez tapped out at 1:32 in the opening frame.

Despite an entertaining night of fights, the Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Kazushi Sakuraba main event brought the evening to an anticlimactic end as Tamura capped their 15-year feud with a safe but dominant unanimous decision.

Stuffing Sakuraba’s single-leg attempts in the opening moments, Tamura bullied his way into the IQ Wrestler’s guard to drop hammerfists and punches — much to the surprise of the 25,634 fans in attendance, who didn’t expect striking on the ground from this UWF throwback bout. Sakuraba attempted submissions from bottom, but Tamura shrugged them off to wear away at his one-time UWF Dojo junior with punches. Weary under the mounting damage, Sakuraba hung on and survived the 10-minute round.

The second period saw more of the same, prompting a double yellow card from referee Daisuke Noguchi, who warned both fighters for not fighting aggressively. Outside of slamming three hard low kicks that buckled Sakuraba’s legs, Tamura continued to punish from the top position in guard until a last-minute reversal from Sakuraba put him in top position. It was too little too late, however, as the previous 14 minutes clearly belonged to Tamura. As such, all three judges ruled the bout for Tamura.

Though a last-minute replacement, Dream middleweight grand prix semifinalist Melvin Manhoef shockingly and quickly put away Mark Hunt in brutal fashion. As Hunt jumped into action to throw punches, Manhoef backpedaled and planted a hard left-right hook counter square on the “Samoan Monster’s” jaw, knocking him stiff for the knockout at a mere 18 seconds into the first.

Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic took his time dispatching the “Techno Goliath,” Hong Man Choi, and backpedaled for the majority of the fight. Both Cro Cop and Choi received yellow cards for not fighting aggressively. However, a hard left low kick from Filipovic came shortly after the penalty and landed on Choi’s knee as he tried to check it. The blow sent the Korean crashing down, gripping his knee in pain, for the stoppage at 6:32.

Hayato Sakurai took a handy TKO over Katsuyori Shibata in a 7:01 beating that saw the pro-wrestling convert helplessly eat punches and knees off of his back for most of the bout. Sakurai ate a few punches early en route to getting Shibata to the ground, but once there, that’s where the fight stayed. Sakurai transitioned from side mount to full mount to knee on belly at will, dropping big punches and knees on a defenseless Shibata. Just beyond the halfway point, referee Moritaka Oshiro decided he’d seen enough, calling the bout to award Sakurai the TKO.

Three-time K-1 world grand prix champ Semmy Schilt bested Salia “Mighty Mo” Siliga in their MMA bout by way of submission. Mo surprised early, barreling the taller Schilt over to take the top position and drop big punches from guard. Schilt tried to control both Mo’s posture and his wrists, but Mo threw punches regardless, racking up the points as Schilt crept his legs up for submission attempts. Soon enough, though, Schilt’s efforts were rewarded as he triangled his legs on a tired Siliga for the tap at 5:31 in the opening frame.

Daniel Herbertson/Sherdog.com

Despite the cartoon exterior, what lay under the Kinniku Mantaro mask was a bona-fide Japanese wrestling stud in Akihito Tanaka, whom FEG has had under contract for four years. However, Tanaka’s four-year prep time proved ineffective against Bob Sapp’s fists. After controlling Sapp on the ground for most of the fight, Sapp eventually powered out and reversed position on Tanaka. Tanaka escaped to standing, but was soon eating punches. As he turned into the ropes to evade the barrage, referee Daisuke Noguchi stopped the bout at 5:22.

In the battle of fighters with famous brothers, Andy Ologun separated Yukio Sakaguchi from consciousness. Sakaguchi cinched an early triangle attempt, but Ologun punched his way free to guard, prompting the stand-up call. Sakaguchi then lunged with a wide right, but was countered by a big Ologun right uppercut, left hook combo, dropping the Japanese fighter. Ologun lunged to finish and planted a big left hand on Sakaguchi’s chin that caused referee Samio Kimura to save Sakaguchi at 3:52.

In the grappling highlight of the evening, Daisuke Nakamura proved too heavy a test for Hideo Tokoro, as the former 176-pounder was just as nimble and quick as his featherweight opponent. Though Tokoro has faced larger opponents in the past, the story of his giant-slaying career was not much different on New Year’s Eve 2008 as Nakamura overwhelmed Tokoro’s spirited efforts on the mat. Wrenching out armbar and kimura attempts between defending a lone Tokoro armbar attempt, it was only a matter of time until Nakamura had one of Tokoro’s arms fully extended. With Tokoro tangled in Nakamura’s legs and with no avenue of escape, referee Oshiro called the bout at 2:43 of the opening frame.

Starting off the evening, Ikuhisa Minowa dispatched MMA neophyte Errol Zimmerman with ease, taking him to the floor to lock a scream-inducing toehold for the tap at 1:01 in the first round.

In the kickboxing bouts, all of MMA’s representatives did their sport proud by thoroughly whipping on their K-1 counterparts. Tatsuya Kawajiri destroyed the thoroughly shop-worn Kozo Takeda with four knockdowns — one by a particularly brutal flying knee — while Alistair Overeem knocked out 2008 World Grand Prix finalist and Moroccan Bad Boy Badr Hari, putting an exclamation point on the evening’s MMA dominance. Also, Dream middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi blitzed an unsuspecting Musashi until the referee was forced to save the Japanese kickboxer from suffering a third knockdown while eating punishment against the ropes.

K-1 Koshien Under-18 Kickboxing Tournament Results:

Hiroya def. Koya Urabe — Unanimous Decision 3:00 R4 (extra round)
Hiroya def. Shota Shimada — Unanimous Decision 3:00 R3
Koya Urabe def. Ryuya Kusakabe — TKO (Doctor Stop) 2:21 R3
Taishi Hiratsuka def. Daizo Sasaki — KO (Punch) 1:00 R2