| Total Views: 1320 - Total Replies: 1 |
|
| POSTED BY: Complete on 10/30/2007 00:11:40 |
|
K-1 HERO'S KOREA IN REVIEW
Monday, October 29, 2007
- by John Evans for MMAWeekly.com
(Photo by Scott Elliot)
SEOUL,
South Korea – On Sunday night, even the cheap seats were sold out in
Seoul’s Jangchung Gymnasium where $190 U.S. would get you a ringside
view of the action. Since the demise of Pride Fighting Championships,
K-1 Hero’s has inherited the moniker of Asia’s premier MMA promotion.
With
a main event pitting Denis Kang against Yoshihiro Akiyama, as well as
fights showcasing former Ultimate Fighting Championship titleholder
Carlos Newton, Japanese TV personality Bernar Ackah, and the mixed
martial arts debut of arguably the best pound-for-pound submission
grappler in the world, Marcelo Garcia, it was no wonder that one Sprit
MC heavyweight, a veteran of shows in this very stadium, resorted to
creeping through a service entrance using borrowed credentials.
Six
of the twelve main card fights featured Korean fighters, including four
matches billed as “Korea versus Japan,” with the promoter’s obvious
intention being to play upon a long-standing rivalry and boost
television ratings in the two countries, where MMA events air on an
almost daily basis. Going into the contest, the cumulative record for
Korean fighters was 4-10-0, while their Japanese opponents entered at
57-52-8.
The evening began with wins for Masanori Tonooka of
Japan, (def. Ryo Kakigawa at 1:30 of the first round via TKO), and
Magomed Sultanakhmadov of Russia, (def. Eun Soo Lee of Korea at 3:33 of
round one, also by TKO). Sultanakhmadov was the stand-out fighter,
using a stiff jab from the southpaw stance and brutal low kicks to the
inside of Lee’s left leg as groundwork for the knockdown and flurry
that would finish him. Though relatively untested at this event,
Sultanakhmadov is a well rounded fighter who won’t be appearing on
under cards for long.
The first of the main card contests was a
205-pound fight between Bernar Ackah and B. J. Penn protégé Poai
Suganuma. Soon after the bell, Poai improvised a takedown and began
striking to the ribs from Ackah’s half-guard. Transitioning from an arm
triangle attempt into rear mount, Paoi flattened out Ackah and landed a
number of left strikes to the head. After another cycle through rear
mount and rear naked choke and arm triangle attempts, Poai finally
initiated a solid arm bar as Ackah attempted to escape from full mount.
Although Ackah would later protest, the hold appeared to be sunk tight,
and after a yell that was interpreted as a verbal submission, the
referee stopped the fight with 1:59 remaining in the first round.
Ackah,
who began his MMA career with impressive wins over Hyun Pyo Shin and
retired NFL wide receiver Jonnie Morton, adds this second loss to a
knockout suffered at the hands of Melvin Manhoef in his last outing.
The
next fight pitted A Sol Kwan, arguably the best Spirit MC fighter with
a losing record, (the twenty-one year old has only two losses, both to
Kwang Hee Lee, the current Spirit MC welterweight champion), against
seasoned DEEP and Pride fighter, Daisuke Nakamura. This was the fight
of the night.
Round one began with exchanges of low kicks and
jabs, evolving into a true slugfest before Kwan dropped Nakamura with a
knee and ensuing flurry. From there Nakamura had a brief stay at rear
mount, before an unsuccessful toe hold attempt.
The slugfest
turned into a full-blown headhunt in round two. Several times during
this round Nakamura was visibly rubber-legged, but it was unclear if he
was truly rattled or if he was just trying to bait the less experienced
Kwan to within range of his stiff jab. The round was stopped twice,
both times to control bleeding from Kwan’s nose. Just before the bell,
Nakamura landed a hard right that appeared to send a tooth flying.
In
round three the fight bogged down. With both fighters visibly exhausted
and Nakamura continuing to earn the better of each exchange, Kwan went
on the offensive after a third break to control the bleeding from his
nose, presumably warned by his corner that he was on the verge of a
doctor’s stoppage. After a failed takedown attempt, Nakamura submitted
Kwan via arm bar with 1:49 left in the round. (Korea 0, Japan 1).
In
a 187-pound contract fight, Min Duk Heo took on Katsuyori Shibata. This
fight began with some short-burst, head-down overhand flurries, only to
lull into a mid-round notable for a couple of lead rights landed by
Shibata to the diaphragm of Heo, before evolving into an exchange of
soft knees that ended with the two fighters on the canvas, Heo in half
mount and pounding. Shibata’s defense prompted a standup, after which
Heo landed a right, a knee, and several unanswered blows, but was too
exhausted to capitalize before the bell.
Between rounds, an
equally wasted Shibata rested on the canvas beside his stool. After
several calls for action from the referee and some clinch work in the
corner, Shibada went down under a deluge of undercuts and hooks mid way
through the second round. (Korea 1, Japan 1).
Next, Carlos
Newton took on Shungo Oyama in what was anticipated to be a tough
battle between experienced, hard-hitting fighters at pivotal points in
their respective careers. It wasn’t. The former UFC Champion looked
heavy and flat-footed from the start, and out of his natural weight
class at the contracted 198 pounds. After being hit early with a series
of right-left combinations, Newton responded with a momentary
stare-down before being hit with a flurry that left him stunned. With
1:51 left in the first, time was stopped to attend to a cut over
Newton’s right eye. Calls of “Hands up!” and “Chin down!” from his
corner were answered with a takedown attempt that ended after a
scramble with both fighters standing.
In the second round,
Newton was on the losing end of almost every standing exchange,
throwing his punches one at a time while Oyama answered with
combinations. By the third round the stadium was almost silent. Newton
threw a couple flipping jabs that looked like Floyd Mayweather on
Phenobarbital and gin then was stuffed on a double-leg attempt. Oyama
pounded to the side of the head and Newton tapped out due to strikes.
The
crowd erupted to welcome Marcelo Garcia, three-time Abu Dhabi Combat
Club division champion, to the ring for his professional MMA debut
against Dae Won Kim, a fighter at the losing end of submissions in two
of his last three outings. From the bell, Garcia went for single leg
takedowns. The third attempt ended with Kim on his back. A lot of
scrambling and ineffectual striking terminated with Garcia in rear
mount attempting a rear naked choke, but Kim escaped and landed a
straight right to end the round.
Kim went on the attack to start
the second. A lunging right hand left Garcia dazed as the follow-up
flurry drove him into the corner. A hard knee from Kim sent Garcia into
guard. The fight was stopped twenty seconds into round two for a cut
that had opened on Garcia’s forehead.
If you’ve seen the video
of Min Soo Kim getting pummeled by recent UFC acquisition Brock Lesner,
then no description is necessary for the beating Tae Hyun Lee gave
Yoshihisa Yamamoto and you can skip to the next fight. Ssirim wrestling
champion Tae Hyun Lee is almost that big and the beating he gave the
thirty-eight year old Yamamoto was almost that bad. Think looping lefts
and rights, a middle kick followed by a short pounding on the canvas,
and you’ve got it. (Korea 2, Japan 1).
Coming off four
consecutive MMA losses, Korean punch-sponge Min Soo Kim was seeking to
chock his slide with a win against Japanese crowd favorite Ikuhisa
Minowa. On paper, this fight looked like a mismatch, (Kim is 3-6-0,
while Minowa is 38-25-8), but in this instance the deciding factor was
size, (Kim weighed in at 254 pounds while Minowa tipped the scales at
201 pounds).
Apparently incensed by the smaller Minowa’s lean
build and athleticism, or motivated out of embarrassment for his own
dough-like consistency, Kim charged from the opening bell. He quickly
forced Minowa to the corner with a deluge of overhand rights and lefts
and though Minowa fought back hard, it was soon clear that the pairing
was a simple size mismatch. A temporary break in the action occurred
with 3:37 elapsed, when Kim was yellow carded for an illegal knee to
the head, (Minowa had three points down), but this served only to delay
the inevitable. Even in the center of the ring, Minowa simply could not
reach the larger Kim. The referee stopped the fight at 3:46 of the
first round. Kim celebrated by climbing the ropes on each side of the
ring and leading the crowd in Minowa’s signature victory cheer. (Korea
2.5, Japan 1)
The showcase fights began with Teiei Kin, (212
pounds) of Japan versus Croatian Zelg Galesic (183 pounds) in what was
billed as a 187-pound contract fight. It took only thirty-six seconds
for Galesic to land a straight right followed by a left high kick that
opened a cut over Kin’s right eye. The fight was ruled a TKO by doctor
stoppage.
The press conference tension between Dong Sik “I don’t
fight with my eyes” Yoon and Fabio “I know what a real fight is” Silva
carried over into the pre-fight instructions as Silva once again tried
to spontaneously combust Yoon with his stare. Soon after the bell, Yoon
shot in and Silva fell back to half guard. From there Yoon moved to
full mount and began pounding. After several transitions, Silva spun a
reversal. Yoon locked down and with 6:50 left in the round, action was
paused to re-stand the fight. A clinch on the ropes led to a nice body
lock takedown by Yoon, who began pounding from the half mount position.
Following a failed heel hook attempt, Yoon transitioned smoothly from
half guard to a high tight mount, where he paused just long enough for
all 5,289 in attendance to find cadence in their chants of, “Arm bar!
Arm bar!” Yoon responded by muscling an arm free and earning his third
straight victory via arm bar submission with 3:42 remaining in the
opening round.
Both main event fighters were coming off extended
layoffs – Kang due to a broken had that required surgery, Akiyama due
to suspension – are Korean crowd favorites and appear to be at or
nearing the prime of his career. Jangchung Gymnasium is home to Spirit
MC, an organization in which Kang currently holds the heavyweight belt.
Akiyama could slather himself with Nonoxynol 9 before a fight and still
be adored by 98% of all Koreans. Both fighters entered the ring to
deafening cheers.
Kang was the aggressor from the opening
bell, mixing hard right punches with his jabs and landing several low
kicks, but Akiyama countered to end most of the exchanges with more
accurate strikes. Around 2:30 into first 10:00 round, the fight was
paused to attend to blood streaming from Kang’s nose. After the
re-start Kang attempted a takedown, but both fighters remained on their
feet. From there Kang elected to face Akiyama with his back to the
corner, but when a single right uppercut dropped Kang, Akiyama threw
only a half hearted follow-up at the obviously disoriented fighter.
Even before the referee could cover Kang, Akiyama was running toward
his corner to celebrate.
Kang exited the ring under his own
power, but skipped the post fight press conference and left the stadium
in an ambulance, while Akiyama lingered in the ring for a
confetti-strewn photo session with the ring girls.
(Final score: Korea 3.5, Japan 2.)
Final Results from K-1 Hero’s, Jangchung Gymnasium, Seoul
Yoshihiro Akiyama def. Denis Kang by KO (Punch) at 4:45, R1
Dong Sik Yoon def. Fabio Silva by Submission (Armbar) at 6:12, R1
Zelg Galesic def. Taiei Kin by TKO (Doctor Stoppage) at 0:36, R1
Min Soo Kim def. Ikuhisa Minowa by TKO (Punches) at 3:46, R1
Tae Hyun Lee def. Yoshihisa Yamamoto by TKO (Punches) at 1:03, R1
Dae Won Kim def. Marcelo Garcia by TKO (Doctor Stoppage) at 0:20, R2
Shungo Oyama def. Carlos Newton by Submission (Punches) at 2:42, R3
Heo Min Seok def. Katsuyori Shibata by TKO (Punches) at 1:31, R2
Daisuke Nakamura def. A Sol Kwon by Submission (Armbar) at 3:09, R3
Poai Suganuma def. Bernard Ackah by Submission (Armbar) at 3:05. R1
Magomed Sultanakhmedov def. Eun Su Lee by TKO (Punches) at 3:33, R1
Ryo Kakigawa def. Masanori Toonoka by TKO (Punches) at 1:30, R1
|
|
| POSTED BY: MMA_Fan on 11/10/2007 09:35:19 |
|
It's too bad that Denis Kang lost. I would like to see him fight in the UFC, although that won't happen for a while. I read his interview and he didn't want to get tied down to a single organization and UFC only has exclusive contracts.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Die Hard MMA Fan!!
|
| Back To Top |
|
|
|
