TOKYO, Oct. 28 — Eight fighters from around the world did battle at mixed martial arts Mecca Korakuen Hall for the chance to advance to the 65-kg (143-pounds) DEEP tournament semifinals and finals to be held again at Korakuen on December 2.
In his match-up against Brazilian Top Team member Fabio Mello, Japanese rubber man Masakazu Imanari (Pictures) strengthened his reputation of being the most unorthodox — and perhaps most entertaining — fighter this reporter has ever seen. Imanari reminds me of Neo from the first Matrix movie, dodging attacks the same theatrical way Keanu Reeves dodged bullets.
Imanari looked totally relaxed in the ring, often bouncing around with his hands down at his hips. At times he stood totally perpendicular to the Brazilian, disabling this ability to throw with his rear hand. The always amusing Japanese fighter employed two strategies when coming forward: the first was to run like an Olympic sprinter, totally defenseless, and come crashing into his opponent like a freight train then hoping to transition into a submission attempt. The second was to the patented “Imanari corkscrew baseball slide diving shoot” hooking the inside of a leg and twisting over to a leg submission.
Many times after this specialty shot, which only he can do, Imanari found himself on his back with a menacing Mello standing at the ends of his feet. The Brazilian kicked at his downed opponent several times, only to find the Japanese master of leglocks grabbing his feet and attempting leg submissions.
Imanari paid for his bizarre tactics in the second. As he came in with a sprint, Mello nailed him in the head with a well-timed punch. The Japanese fighter shrugged it off, but a huge cut to the left side of his eye, just below the eyebrow, was opened.
The fight was paused twice due to the amount of blood coming from the cut. My Sherdog.com mate, Stephen Martinez, who got a much closer look at the cut while taking pictures from ringside, said that it was a bad one and that Imanari was lucky that the doctor didn’t stop the match-up.
Mello did have his moments, but it seemed like he mostly reacted to the crazy maneuvers and tactics that Imanari threw at him. While standing over his downed opponent, Mello did little more than kick at Imanari’s legs, perhaps out of fear of leglocks, until eventually the referee stood them both up.
The third round saw Imanari turn up the strike a bit, landing punches and kicks on the Brazilian, including what could best be described as a version of the “crane kick” from The Karate Kid. The closing moments saw the Japanese fighter going for a triangle, but he could not finish before the bell. Each judge at ringside scored it for Imanari.
Pancrase veteran Yoshiro Maeda (Pictures) squared off against Tomomi Iwama (Pictures) in the only all-Japanese fight of the tournament. This one started out cautiously with both fighters circling the ring. Maeda, from a relatively unset stance, came flying out of nowhere with a lightning fast kick to the head.
The Pancrase fighter was totally committed to the kick, throwing all of his momentum and body weight behind it. After the impact, Iwama fell backwards into the ropes, totally out. Maeda follow and threw a few punches on the ground just for good measure, but he could see that it was over.
This easily ranks amongst one of the top five most brutal knockouts I have ever witnessed. The technique, timing and speed were just incredible. Maeda didn’t telegraph his movement at all. In fact, from his stance just seconds before, I would have never have guessed that he would throw a high kick. The whole affair lasted just 32 seconds.
American Top Team fighter Mike Thomas Brown (Pictures) out-powered Grabaka ju-jitsu ace Takeshi Yamazaki (Pictures). Brown looked much bigger than his Japanese opponent, especially in his arms and chest. The American staggered Yamazaki several times on his feet and scored many takedowns.
From his back, Yamazaki constantly looked for submissions and reversals. He prevented Brown from taking dominant positions, but often got trapped against the corner. In the later rounds the Japanese fighter fired several knees, but in the end Brown was just too powerful and took the unanimous victory.
ZST veteran Atsuhiro Tsuboi’s match-up with Thai fighter Muangfahlek Kiawichean was action packed. Both fighters came out striking in the first round, punch on the feet and ground. Tsuboi had several submissions attempts, including two heelhooks and an armbar.
The boxing match continued in the second round. After being rocked by a strong flurry, Tsuboi went for a shot, only to end up on his back with the Thai fighter standing at the ends of his feet. From here Muangfahlek started to fire kicks, one of which caught the Japanese fighter in the face, knocking him out cold at the 1:32 mark.