Tag: JMMA

Rizin 13 Results & Highlights: Nasukawa & Horiguchi Impress In Crossover Bout

Today’s (Sun., September 30, 2018) Rizin 13 featured a rarely-seen spectacle in combat sports. Former UFC title challenger and current Rizin FF champion Kyoji Horiguchi ventured outside of his comfort zone to take on Japan’s biggest kickboxing star Tenshin Nasukawa under kickboxing rules. Horiguchi put on a valiant effort over the course of the three-round […]

The post Rizin 13 Results & Highlights: Nasukawa & Horiguchi Impress In Crossover Bout appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Today’s (Sun., September 30, 2018) Rizin 13 featured a rarely-seen spectacle in combat sports.

Former UFC title challenger and current Rizin FF champion Kyoji Horiguchi ventured outside of his comfort zone to take on Japan’s biggest kickboxing star Tenshin Nasukawa under kickboxing rules. Horiguchi put on a valiant effort over the course of the three-round bout, landing some power shots and holding his own.

Nasukawa rallied late thanks to a final-round cartwheel kick, however. He emerged with a unanimous decision victory. Horiguchi held his own in a ruleset outside of what he’s used to in mixed martial arts. The Japanese champion gave a touching tribute to his mentor Morifumi ‘Kid’ Yamamoto, who passed away earlier this September.

The defeat was Horiguchi’s first since he lost to all-time great former UFC champion Demetrious ‘Mighty Mouse’ Johnson more than three years ago.

An Amazing Crossover Fight

Watch the highlights of Nasukawa’s second-round flurry here:

Check out Nasukawa’s vicious kicks and Horiguchi’s power punches in slow motion here:

Finally, watch the video of Nasukawa’s awe-inspiring third-round cartwheel kick that helped him seal the huge win:

A Star Rises

Also on the card, Jiri Procházka beat Jake Heun with a first-round onslaught. The rising star has won six in a row. Watch his latest stoppage, his 21st in 22 wins:

An Old UFC Veteran Continues To Impress

UFC veteran Daron Cruickshank also scored another impressive finish in Rizin. Cruickshank floored fellow UFC veteran Diego Brandao with a brutal knee. Watch it right here:

All-time great former PRIDE GP champion and UFC vet Mirko Cro Cop picked up at the event. He finished Roque Martinez in the final seconds of the opening round via TKO.

Full Rizin 13 results are as follows:

  • Jiri Prochazka def. Jake Heun via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 4:29
  • Mikuru Asakura def. Karshyga Dautbek via unanimous decision
  • Daron Cruickshank def. Diego Brandao via knockout (flying knee) – Round 2, 0:17
  • Tenshin Nasukawa def. Kyoji Horiguchi via unanimous decision (kickboxing bout)
  • Miyuu Yamamoto def. Andy Nguyen via unanimous decision
  • Mirko Cro Cop def. Roque Martinez via TKO (doctor stoppage) – Round 1, 4:58
  • Bob Sapp def. Abdelrahman Shalan via unanimous decision
  • Haruo Ochi def. Mitsuhisa Sunabe via knockout (punch, soccer kicks) – Round 3, 2:53
  • Kai Asakura def. Topnoi Tiger Muay Thai via unanimous decision
  • Ayaka Hamasaki def. Mina Kurobe via submission (kimura) – Round 1, 4:45
  • Manel Kape def. Yusaku Nakamura via technical submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 3, 4: 27

 

The post Rizin 13 Results & Highlights: Nasukawa & Horiguchi Impress In Crossover Bout appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

UFC Plans Four Event Tour of Japan for 2013

At UFC 144, the organization made a triumphant return to the Land of the Rising Sun with an evening full of exciting fights, culminating in Benson Henderson winning the lightweight championship from Frankie Edgar. Add on the way that the polite, educated Japanese fans packed the Saitama Super Arena, and it felt like it would only be a matter of time before the organization returned to Japan for more events.

Today, Japanese sportspaper NikkanSports is reporting (translated by MMAWeekly) that the UFC is planning on returning to Japan with a series of four smaller events in 2013. The events will showcase local, Japanese talent and will take place at a small, yet-to-be-determined venue. The UFC is reportedly aiming for 5,000 people attending each event.

At UFC 144, the organization made a triumphant return to the Land of the Rising Sun with an evening full of exciting fights, culminating in Benson Henderson winning the lightweight championship from Frankie Edgar. Add on the way that the polite, educated Japanese fans packed the Saitama Super Arena, and it felt like it would only be a matter of time before the organization returned to Japan for more events.

Today, Japanese sportspaper NikkanSports is reporting (translated by MMAWeekly) that the UFC is planning on returning to Japan with a series of four smaller events in 2013. The events will showcase local, Japanese talent and will take place at a small, yet-to-be-determined venue. The UFC is reportedly aiming for 5,000 people attending each event.

Obviously, none of these events will be numbered events, although there are no current plans in place pertaining to what network will broadcast the series. Still, the series seems like a good compromise. On one hand, it’s no secret that the UFC wants to re-establish itself in Japan, which has to include regularly holding events in Japan. However, good luck finding an abundance of Japanese fighters in the UFC who can headline a pay-per-view. Sure, guys like Takanori Gomi, Takeya Mizugaki and Hatsu Hioki are good for some entertaining fights, but I wouldn’t exactly rush to buy a pay-per-view headlined by any of them. With the UFC 151 fiasco fresh on everybody’s mind, a four event cable television series seems like a great way to book fights that the Japanese fans want to watch but the American fans don’t want to pay for.

We’ll keep you up-to-date as events are named, dates are set and fights are booked. Until then, have at it in the comments section on whether or not this is a good strategy for the UFC.  And try not to turn this into another Jon Jones/Chael Sonnen war, okay?

@SethFalvo

Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Shinya Aoki Reportedly Booked for Next DREAM Event

Kazushi Sakuraba Ricardo Arona photo eye face bloody MMA photos gallery
(Kazushi Sakuraba during his PRIDE glory days in 2005.)

By Elias Cepeda

What does it take for a person not to eagerly anticipate the next time one of his favorite fighters competes? When that fighter should have retired years ago due to the damage he’s endured over the years. That’s the way I’ve feel each time Kazushi Sakuraba gets a new match — not with excitement, but with genuine concern for his well-being. The legendary “Gracie Hunter” may be the best MMA fighter the warrior-nation of Japan has ever produced, but he’s lost four fights in a row, hasn’t won a bout since 2009, and has suffered enough beatings for 12 lifetimes. (This guy knows what I’m talking about.)

What makes Saku’s situation worse is that so many of his early losses were the result of savage abuse at the hands of much larger opponents (Wanderlei Silva, Mirko Cro Cop, Ricardo Arona, etc.), leaving him completely broken down at the age of 42. Sakuraba competed just once in 2011 — getting choked out at Dream 17 by unheralded Brazilian prospect Yan Cabral — and has yet to fight this year, while venturing back into pro wrestling just to stay active.

It is now being reported that Sakuraba will return to the ring at Dream’s next event, for a welterweight match against Shinya Aoki. If there’s a silver lining to rolling out Saku for another pay day, it’s that Aoki is foremost a grappler like Sakuraba, so it’s possible that we could see a technical wrestling and Jiu Jitsu match with minimal blunt strikes hitting the legend. Also, Bloody Elbow’s Anton Tabuena is reporting that the fight, now signed according to him, could be Sakuraba’s final MMA appearance.

Kazushi Sakuraba Ricardo Arona photo eye face bloody MMA photos gallery
(Kazushi Sakuraba during his PRIDE glory days in 2005.)

By Elias Cepeda

What does it take for a person not to eagerly anticipate the next time one of his favorite fighters competes? When that fighter should have retired years ago due to the damage he’s endured over the years. That’s the way I’ve feel each time Kazushi Sakuraba gets a new match — not with excitement, but with genuine concern for his well-being. The legendary “Gracie Hunter” may be the best MMA fighter the warrior-nation of Japan has ever produced, but he’s lost four fights in a row, hasn’t won a bout since 2009, and has suffered enough beatings for 12 lifetimes. (This guy knows what I’m talking about.)

What makes Saku’s situation worse is that so many of his early losses were the result of savage abuse at the hands of much larger opponents (Wanderlei Silva, Mirko Cro Cop, Ricardo Arona, etc.), leaving him completely broken down at the age of 42. Sakuraba competed just once in 2011 — getting choked out at Dream 17 by unheralded Brazilian prospect Yan Cabral — and has yet to fight this year, while venturing back into pro wrestling just to stay active.

It is now being reported that Sakuraba will return to the ring at Dream’s next event, for a welterweight match against Shinya Aoki. If there’s a silver lining to rolling out Saku for another pay day, it’s that Aoki is foremost a grappler like Sakuraba, so it’s possible that we could see a technical wrestling and Jiu Jitsu match with minimal blunt strikes hitting the legend. Also, Bloody Elbow’s Anton Tabuena is reporting that the fight, now signed according to him, could be Sakuraba’s final MMA appearance.

Aoki is coming off of a TKO loss to Eddie Alvarez at Bellator 66 last month, but before that he was on a seven-fight win streak and is still considered a top fighter in the sport. Here’s hoping that Sakuraba makes it out of the Aoki fight without any new concussions.

And, just so as not to be a total Debbie Downer, enjoy some prime-form Sakuraba in the highlight video below:

Genghis Con: Honor Among Champs

If you’re like me, you are a YouTube Genghis Con subscriber, and you have a fondness for the theater of Japanese MMA. Also, you write rebuttal articles completely off the cuff, you’re not getting any younger, and you’re frustrated at the extra weight you’re putting on. And you’ve also been known to cry over Disney movies and those damn Pedigree commercials. Long story short, you’re a pretty cool person, and we should probably hang out and share some Ben & Jerry’s Americone Dream and talk about fighters with heart.

Ok, you’re probably not like me, and that’s probably just fine with you. But if you don’t enjoy a good scrap from the land of PRIDE, Shooto, and DREAM, then we probably shouldn’t hang out, because chances are we’re going to have less in common than Miley Cyrus and Emanuel Yarbrough. By the way, Ben says that picture is a celebrity with a random-ass fighter, which is totally different.

If you do dig JMMA and Genghis Con, go ahead and enjoy his latest effort, “Honor Among Champs”. Then you can rag on me for being a fifteen year old girl in the comments.

[RX]

If you’re like me, you are a YouTube Genghis Con subscriber, and you have a fondness for the theater of Japanese MMA.  Also, you write rebuttal articles completely off the cuff, you’re not getting any younger, and you’re frustrated at the extra weight you’re putting on. And you’ve also been known to cry over Disney movies and those damn Pedigree commercials.  Long story short, you’re a pretty cool person, and we should probably hang out and share some Ben & Jerry’s Americone Dream and talk about fighters with heart.

Ok, you’re probably not like me, and that’s probably just fine with you.  But if you don’t enjoy a good scrap from the land of PRIDE, Shooto, and DREAM, then we probably shouldn’t hang out, because chances are we’re going to have less in common than Miley Cyrus and Emanuel Yarbrough.  By the way, Ben says that picture is a celebrity with a random-ass fighter, which is totally different.

If you do dig JMMA and Genghis Con, go ahead and enjoy his latest effort, “Honor Among Champs”.  Then you can rag on me for being a fifteen year old girl in the comments.

[RX]

FEG in Trouble As Financial Backing Falls Through and NYE TV Deal Has Yet to Be Struck; DREAM and K-1 On Life Support

(All for one and one for all….right guys?)
The plausibility that DREAM and K-1 will continue past the first quarter of 2011 is looking bleak as the promotions’ parent consortium, Fighting and Entertainment Group (FEG) has failed to secure much needed…


(All for one and one for all….right guys?)

The plausibility that DREAM and K-1 will continue past the first quarter of 2011 is looking bleak as the promotions’ parent consortium, Fighting and Entertainment Group (FEG) has failed to secure much needed financial backing.

A $200 million deal that was in the works with Japanese capital investment firm PUJI has collapsed according to Fighters Only and it seems that the reason the agreement fell through was because the popularity of kickboxing and MMA in The Land of the Rising Sun" is waning.

Some red flags that signalled to PUJI that Japan’s interest in combat sports is on the decline were a dramatic drop in advertising dollars, live gate revenue and FEG’s inability to secure a television deal for its K-1 Dynamite! New Year’s Eve show this year. Investors weighed the risks of the deal and decided that FEG had grossly exaggerated the value of the company and the potential revenue that could be made in Japan, given the current state of the sport in the country.

read more

Gomi Says It’s Necessary to Train Full-Time in the U.S. if He’s Going to Compete in America

(Video courtesy YouTube/Fight!)
As impressive as Takanori Gomi’s knockout win over Tyson Griffin was last night at UFC Live on Versus 2, I think it might be somewhat premature to jump on the bandwagon that a lot of reporters have seemed to have piled o…

(Video courtesy YouTube/Fight!)

As impressive as Takanori Gomi’s knockout win over Tyson Griffin was last night at UFC Live on Versus 2, I think it might be somewhat premature to jump on the bandwagon that a lot of reporters have seemed to have piled onto since last night by making claims like Fight! Magazine’s Danny Acosta that the "old Takanori Gomi is back" and that he was "the biggest star in PRIDE."

Even Gomi,  seems like he wants to further prove himself and obviously he feels that he has improvements to make, which he thinks will only come to fruition if he trains Stateside to learn the "American style of fighting" he referred to in his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan after his win last night.

read more