TOKYO — Yasubey Enomoto seemingly came from nowhere but quickly made his presence on the Japanese scene as he took out Grabaka boss Sanae Kikuta, Kenta Takagi and Taisuke Okuno in dominating fashion.
During his preparations for his Dec. 30 welterweight GP final bout with Keita “K-Taro” Nakamura at Sengoku: Soul of Fight, the Swiss prospect spoke candidly with MMA Fighting at Brave Gym in Adachi-ku, Tokyo about training with his brother in a garage in Zürich, his take on the philosophy of fighting and why he doesn’t consider mixed martial arts to be a real sport.
TOKYO — Yasubey Enomoto seemingly came from nowhere but quickly made his presence on the Japanese scene as he took out Grabaka boss Sanae Kikuta, Kenta Takagi and Taisuke Okuno in dominating fashion.
During his preparations for his Dec. 30 welterweight GP final bout with Keita “K-Taro” Nakamura at Sengoku: Soul of Fight, the Swiss prospect spoke candidly with MMA Fighting at Brave Gym in Adachi-ku, Tokyo about training with his brother in a garage in Zürich, his take on the philosophy of fighting and why he doesn’t consider mixed martial arts to be a real sport.
TOKYO — MMA Fighting was on hand for the highly unusual media workouts of DREAM lightweight champion Shinya Aoki and 2010 K-1 World MAX 2010 70kg Japan Tournament winner Yuichiro “Jienotsu” Nagashima, held at the Deep Official Gym and Silver Wolf Gym respectively.
The eccentric lightweights will square off on Dec. 31st at Dynamite!! in a mixed rules fight that will consist of alternating rounds of K-1 and MMA rules and to prepare for the bout the K-1 and DREAM Champions dressed up, sung, dance, slapped, chopped and Nagashima even trained a little bit.
TOKYO — MMA Fighting was on hand for the highly unusual media workouts of DREAM lightweight champion Shinya Aoki and 2010 K-1 World MAX 2010 70kg Japan Tournament winner Yuichiro “Jienotsu” Nagashima, held at the Deep Official Gym and Silver Wolf Gym respectively.
The eccentric lightweights will square off on Dec. 31st at Dynamite!! in a mixed rules fight that will consist of alternating rounds of K-1 and MMA rules and to prepare for the bout the K-1 and DREAM Champions dressed up, sung, dance, slapped, chopped and Nagashima even trained a little bit.
Over the past year, MMA Fighting’s E. Casey Leydon and I have traveled around the world to cover this great sport. From UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi to UFC 120 in London, England, to everywhere in between, if there was a major MMA event happening, we were more often than not there. In total, we covered 24 MMA events together this year (not including one Winter Olympic Games).
So we thought it would be fun to look back at the moments and people we encountered along the way. Enjoy parts 1 and 2 of our best interviews from the past year below.
Over the past year, MMA Fighting’s E. Casey Leydon and I have traveled around the world to cover this great sport. From UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi to UFC 120 in London, England, to everywhere in between, if there was a major MMA event happening, we were more often than not there. In total, we covered 24 MMA events together this year (not including one Winter Olympic Games).
So we thought it would be fun to look back at the moments and people we encountered along the way. Enjoy parts 1 and 2 of our best interviews from the past year below.
TOKYO, Japan — MMA Fighting was on hand for Tatsuya Kawajiri and Hiroyuki Takaya‘s open workout at JB Sports Gym in Adachi-ku, Tokyo, as the fighters prepared with striking coach Takeshi Yamada for their Dynamite!! bouts on Dec. 31.
Tatsuya Kawajiri will attempt to bounce back from his submission loss to DREAM lightweight ace Shinya Aoki when he takes on former Strikeforce lightweight champion Josh Thomson. Hiroyuki Takaya will seek redemption when he rematches Bibiano Fernandes for the DREAM featherweight title.
TOKYO, Japan — MMA Fighting was on hand for Tatsuya Kawajiri and Hiroyuki Takaya‘s open workout at JB Sports Gym in Adachi-ku, Tokyo, as the fighters prepared with striking coach Takeshi Yamada for their Dynamite!! bouts on Dec. 31.
Tatsuya Kawajiri will attempt to bounce back from his submission loss to DREAM lightweight ace Shinya Aoki when he takes on former Strikeforce lightweight champion Josh Thomson. Hiroyuki Takaya will seek redemption when he rematches Bibiano Fernandes for the DREAM featherweight title.
With Christmas just around the corner, we wanted to pause a moment from our constant stream of MMA news and notes to wish you and your family a happy holiday season … in our own special way. Enjoy.
With Christmas just around the corner, we wanted to pause a moment from our constant stream of MMA news and notes to wish you and your family a happy holiday season … in our own special way. Enjoy.
If 2010 was a cold beer, we’d be down to the backwash. December puts all of us MMA-pundit types in a reflective mood, and this year gave us a double-crapload of big stories, insane fights, rising stars, and utter embarrassments to wrap our heads arou…
If 2010 was a cold beer, we’d be down to the backwash. December puts all of us MMA-pundit types in a reflective mood, and this year gave us a double-crapload of big stories, insane fights, rising stars, and utter embarrassments to wrap our heads around. And so, we’d like to pay tribute to 2010 in the best way we know how — sarcasm and insults, mostly. Without further ado, here are 15 things we felt were worthy of some end-of-year recognition, Potato-style…
The Giant Silva Freak Show Award, presented each year to the match that’s made strictly for gruesome entertainment value; fighters should ideally exhibit a tremendous difference in either size or experience level. Winner:Randy Couture vs. James Toney at UFC 118, in which a tubby boxing champ trash-talked his way into a co-headling bout against an MMA legend, and got choked out before he was able to land a single punch. This marks the first time in eleven years that the Giant Silva Award hasn’t been granted to a fight held in Japan. Also receiving votes this year:Herschel Walker vs. Greg Nagy
The Wanderlei Silva Unintentionally Homoerotic Smack Talk Award, known as "The Wandy"ispresented each year to the fighter who, when trying to hype a fight, inadvertently makes reference to having gay sex with his (or her) opponent. Winner:Josh Koscheck, for the utterly disturbing wild-eyed, tongue-waving description above of what he was planning to do to UFC welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre during this season of The Ultimate Fighter. Also receiving votes this year: Matt Horwich, for his cringeworthy rant about how he was going to Mike Tyson 10th Planet protagonist Renato Laranja.
The Natasha Wicks Memorial Best Female Newcomer Award, presented each year to the up-and-coming MMA ring girl — preferably blonde, as per the bylaws — who gets us to forget about Arianny Celeste and Brittney Palmer, if only for a moment. Winner:Rhian Sugden, the stunning (and frequently-nude) star of the U.K.’s BAMMA promotion. Also receiving votes this year:Kelli Hutcherson, Stephanie Ann Cook, Brittany Ward, Melissa Jo
