Kunioku and Nakao Fight to a Draw
Jul 8, 2007
OSAKA, Japan, July 8 -- Headlined by a "dream fight" that promoter
Shigeru Saeki said came four or five years too late, the 30th
installment of DEEP featured former Shooto contender Jutaro Nakao (Pictures) against ex-King of Pancrase
Kiuma Kunioku (Pictures).
Both men were desperate for a win, each having losing their last two outings.
The main event was a decidedly awkward affair: Nakao was unable to
adjust to Kunioku's southpaw stance while Kunioku seemed incapable
of capitalizing upon this problem.
The first round consisted of both fighters attempting to make the other dizzy with prolonged periods of circling. Kunioku manages on one occasion to land a heavy right before clinching and employing some effective jumping shoulder strikes to finish off the round.
The third and final round saw both fighters warned for inactivity after more circling. Nakao chose to employ more of the "mixed" part of the sport and successfully took Kunioku down from the clinch before securing back-control with a body-triangle, finishing out the round with strikes.
The bout was ruled a majority draw after three rounds, with one judge giving a nod to Nakao.
Post-fight both men commented on troubles adjusting to each other's style. Kunioku in particular said that he found Nakao's southpaw stance very challenging. The former Pancrase champ went on to say that the pressure on both fighters for a win led to the result.
PRIDE Bushido veteran Seichi Ikemoto (Pictures) took on Korean Bang Seung Hwan, marking Ikemoto's return to the ring after his armbar loss to Daisuke Nakamura (Pictures) at Bushido 12.
During the first round Ikemoto looked to shake off ring rust, employ flashy kicks up and down the body, control the pace effectively on the feet and tie up well in the guard on the ground.
Hwan managed his own offensive in the second but appeared to be confused with the rules and was yellow carded for throwing an elbow from guard while Ikemoto upped the pressure with some heel hook attempts.
In the last stanza Hwan again appeared to be out of the loop in regards to rules and was again yellow carded, this time for throwing knees to the head on the ground after he managed a takedown. Ikemoto was aggressive with submissions, landing a tight-looking triangle that Hwan managed to slam his way out of.
Ikemoto was awarded the unanimous decision in a solid, although not overly impressive showing.
Ken Hamamura (Pictures) faced off against a game "Yabu," but it turned out to be a one sided fight and a good day at the office for Hamamura. Yabu looked good standing initially with slick combinations but Hamamura would have none of it and quickly went for a takedown.
Hamamura rode out the rest of the round in the mount and back-control while laying on a large dosage of ground-and-pound. The second round was more of the same with Hamamura immediately securing a body-lock to take Yabu down before quickly pinning his opponent's arm with his knee.
With his head inconveniently isolated, Yabu was left open for the barrage of strikes that led to a referee stoppage in the second.
Hiroshi "Goodman" Tanaka battled with Yasushi Kitazaki but the good man came up short on this occasion despite his fans' cries. Tanaka immediately got a takedown only to be reversed and, soon after, armbarred.
Kousuke Eda certainly made an impression in his bout by entering the ring dressed as a French maid and throwing his lace thong into the audience. His opponent Isao Terada came into the ring sporting a large mohawk but Eda had prepared a counter to this, removing his head covering to reveal his "reverse Mohawk," which was shaven down the center.
Back to the actual fighting. Eda managed a nice throw in the first and controlled his opponent in the mount, but it was not to be his night. Terada found his range in the second and started to land with some jabs before sending in a right cross that knocked Eda out cold.
The Seigo Mizuguchi (Pictures)-Yusuke Sakashita bout was also worth a mention. Mizuguchi was a bloody mess as a result of walking forward into Sakashita's counters for two rounds en route to a decision loss. Mizuguchi showed heart though, never stopping his trek forward, looking for a fight finishing blow whenever possible.
Other matches on the card saw Tomoyuki Fukami submit Henrik Kakuichi with a head-arm triangle in the second after a dominating performance on the ground. Yukinari Tamura tapped "Animal" with strikes from the mount in the first. Miura Yasuaki put Kazuhiko Wakita to sleep with an anaconda choke early in the first, Motoyuki Takinishi decisioned Kenta Nakamura. And Masahiro Toryu (Pictures)'s bout with Nobuyuki Shimakawa resulted in a draw.
Both men were desperate for a win, each having losing their last two outings.
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The first round consisted of both fighters attempting to make the other dizzy with prolonged periods of circling. Kunioku manages on one occasion to land a heavy right before clinching and employing some effective jumping shoulder strikes to finish off the round.
In the second, Kunioku started to land more frequently with
effective straight punches, although both fighters are unable to
string together any combinations.
The third and final round saw both fighters warned for inactivity after more circling. Nakao chose to employ more of the "mixed" part of the sport and successfully took Kunioku down from the clinch before securing back-control with a body-triangle, finishing out the round with strikes.
The bout was ruled a majority draw after three rounds, with one judge giving a nod to Nakao.
Post-fight both men commented on troubles adjusting to each other's style. Kunioku in particular said that he found Nakao's southpaw stance very challenging. The former Pancrase champ went on to say that the pressure on both fighters for a win led to the result.
PRIDE Bushido veteran Seichi Ikemoto (Pictures) took on Korean Bang Seung Hwan, marking Ikemoto's return to the ring after his armbar loss to Daisuke Nakamura (Pictures) at Bushido 12.
During the first round Ikemoto looked to shake off ring rust, employ flashy kicks up and down the body, control the pace effectively on the feet and tie up well in the guard on the ground.
Hwan managed his own offensive in the second but appeared to be confused with the rules and was yellow carded for throwing an elbow from guard while Ikemoto upped the pressure with some heel hook attempts.
In the last stanza Hwan again appeared to be out of the loop in regards to rules and was again yellow carded, this time for throwing knees to the head on the ground after he managed a takedown. Ikemoto was aggressive with submissions, landing a tight-looking triangle that Hwan managed to slam his way out of.
Ikemoto was awarded the unanimous decision in a solid, although not overly impressive showing.
Ken Hamamura (Pictures) faced off against a game "Yabu," but it turned out to be a one sided fight and a good day at the office for Hamamura. Yabu looked good standing initially with slick combinations but Hamamura would have none of it and quickly went for a takedown.
Hamamura rode out the rest of the round in the mount and back-control while laying on a large dosage of ground-and-pound. The second round was more of the same with Hamamura immediately securing a body-lock to take Yabu down before quickly pinning his opponent's arm with his knee.
With his head inconveniently isolated, Yabu was left open for the barrage of strikes that led to a referee stoppage in the second.
Hiroshi "Goodman" Tanaka battled with Yasushi Kitazaki but the good man came up short on this occasion despite his fans' cries. Tanaka immediately got a takedown only to be reversed and, soon after, armbarred.
Kousuke Eda certainly made an impression in his bout by entering the ring dressed as a French maid and throwing his lace thong into the audience. His opponent Isao Terada came into the ring sporting a large mohawk but Eda had prepared a counter to this, removing his head covering to reveal his "reverse Mohawk," which was shaven down the center.
Back to the actual fighting. Eda managed a nice throw in the first and controlled his opponent in the mount, but it was not to be his night. Terada found his range in the second and started to land with some jabs before sending in a right cross that knocked Eda out cold.
The Seigo Mizuguchi (Pictures)-Yusuke Sakashita bout was also worth a mention. Mizuguchi was a bloody mess as a result of walking forward into Sakashita's counters for two rounds en route to a decision loss. Mizuguchi showed heart though, never stopping his trek forward, looking for a fight finishing blow whenever possible.
Other matches on the card saw Tomoyuki Fukami submit Henrik Kakuichi with a head-arm triangle in the second after a dominating performance on the ground. Yukinari Tamura tapped "Animal" with strikes from the mount in the first. Miura Yasuaki put Kazuhiko Wakita to sleep with an anaconda choke early in the first, Motoyuki Takinishi decisioned Kenta Nakamura. And Masahiro Toryu (Pictures)'s bout with Nobuyuki Shimakawa resulted in a draw.
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