The Weekly Wrap: May 2 – May 8
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Jack Encarnacao May 9, 2009
The Weekly Wrap walks readers through the last seven days in
MMA, recapping and putting into context the week's top story,
important news and notable quotes.
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The key happenings in mixed martial arts took place in tournaments,
as Sengoku and the Bellator Fighting Championships set the
semifinal and final rounds of their respective featherweight and
lightweight brackets.
Hatsu Hioki, Michihiro Omigawa, Marlon Sandro and Masanori Kanehara remain alive in the inaugural Sengoku featherweight grand prix. All four were impressive on May 2, as they captured wins before a small crowd in the intimate Yoyogi National Stadium Second Gymnasium in Tokyo. The semi-finals take place at Sengoku “Ninth Battle” on Aug. 2 at the significantly larger Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. How the featherweights will be matched up will be decided by month’s end, with two fighters who have been eliminated competing in a reserve bout.
A motivated Omigawa punished Nam Phan with strikes from several positions and notched a first-round technical knockout victory. Omigawa -- who began honing his striking earlier this year at the Watanabe Gym in Tokyo that has produced boxing contenders -- used head movement to stifle Phan early and loaded up with heavy punches toward the close of the bout. He also used knees and stomps on the ground to pull ahead. Omigawa stablemate and Sengoku star Hidehiko Yoshida cheered wildly at ringside, as the 6-7-1 Omigawa finished the fight. Omigawa said in a post-fight press conference that he wants to knock out all three semi-finalists.
In a spirited “Fight of the Year” candidate, Kanehara took a unanimous decision over Chan Sung Jung. The bout was all over the place. Jung used surprising striking power from his back to throw off Kanehara, and the two eventually slugged it out on their feet. Kanehara worked heel hook attempts and takedowns in edging out the win. Jung fell to his back in exasperation as the decision was announced. He said during the post-fight press conference that he was hoping for a draw so the fight could enter an overtime round.
Finally, Pancrase champion Marlon Sandro used a markedly different approach in his second tournament fight, as he knocked out Canadian Nick Denis with a strong right uppercut/left hook combination and accurate ground-and-pound seconds into the first round.
Also on the Sengoku card, Makoto Takimoto, a 2000 Olympic judo gold medalist, looked good in his first fight at welterweight; he was reportedly on the verge of leaving the sport after several consecutive losses. Takimoto submitted Chute Boxe’s Michael Costa with a first-round heel hook. Another decorated grappler, Alexandre “Xande” Ribeiro, was impressive on May 2, as he knocked out 66-fight veteran Keiichiro Yamamiya with a right hook. Ribeiro has won both of his professional fights by knockout. Meanwhile, Kazunori Yokota likely earned a shot at Sengoku lightweight champion Satoru Kitaoka with his split decision victory over Nova Uniao’s Leonardo Santos, brother of World Extreme Cagefighting featherweight contender Wagnney Fabiano.
In Dayton, Ohio, on May 1, the finals of the ESPN-backed Bellator Fighting Championships lightweight tournament were set before 1,500 fans. Eddie Alvarez picked up his second submission win of the tournament by sinking a rear-naked choke on Eric Reynolds for the third-round tapout. Meanwhile, Toby Imada shocked the MMA world and American Top Team fighter Jorge Masvidal, who was favored to reach the final, with a remarkable comeback punctuated by a unique variation of the triangle choke.
After taking two rounds of face-damaging punches and knees, Imada jumped onto Masvidal’s back in the third, as he shot in for a double leg. There, he closed out a triangle, hanging upside-down as Masvidal stood. The choke caused Masvidal to pass out and collapse dramatically. The soft-spoken Imada referred to the hold as a “Sankaku” -- “Sankaku Jime” is the Japanese judo term for a triangle choke. Imada told the Sherdog Radio Network’s “Jordan Breen Show” that he was first taught the technique when he was 15 and training in judo and drills it all the time. A video of the submission garnered more than 100,000 hits on YouTube.
Bellator’s lightweight tournament will conclude with Alvarez vs. Imada on June 19 in Hollywood, Fla. In its second season, set to start in the fall, Bellator will hold eight-man tournaments to determine challengers for the champions who emerge from this season’s brackets.
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Hatsu Hioki, Michihiro Omigawa, Marlon Sandro and Masanori Kanehara remain alive in the inaugural Sengoku featherweight grand prix. All four were impressive on May 2, as they captured wins before a small crowd in the intimate Yoyogi National Stadium Second Gymnasium in Tokyo. The semi-finals take place at Sengoku “Ninth Battle” on Aug. 2 at the significantly larger Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. How the featherweights will be matched up will be decided by month’s end, with two fighters who have been eliminated competing in a reserve bout.
Hioki, the tournament favorite, showed a command of the ring for
the second time in the tournament. He took Ronnie Mann
to the floor, eventually lined up a triangle choke position from
mount, rolled to his back and threw punches at a locked-up Mann
until he tapped out 3:09 into round one. It was the second loss in
19 career fights for Mann, a UK-based fighter who goes by his
mother’s maiden name, Ushiwaka, when fighting in Japan. Hioki won
his first tournament bout by locking in a triangle/armbar
combination on Chris
Manuel for the tapout in 4:12.
A motivated Omigawa punished Nam Phan with strikes from several positions and notched a first-round technical knockout victory. Omigawa -- who began honing his striking earlier this year at the Watanabe Gym in Tokyo that has produced boxing contenders -- used head movement to stifle Phan early and loaded up with heavy punches toward the close of the bout. He also used knees and stomps on the ground to pull ahead. Omigawa stablemate and Sengoku star Hidehiko Yoshida cheered wildly at ringside, as the 6-7-1 Omigawa finished the fight. Omigawa said in a post-fight press conference that he wants to knock out all three semi-finalists.
In a spirited “Fight of the Year” candidate, Kanehara took a unanimous decision over Chan Sung Jung. The bout was all over the place. Jung used surprising striking power from his back to throw off Kanehara, and the two eventually slugged it out on their feet. Kanehara worked heel hook attempts and takedowns in edging out the win. Jung fell to his back in exasperation as the decision was announced. He said during the post-fight press conference that he was hoping for a draw so the fight could enter an overtime round.
Finally, Pancrase champion Marlon Sandro used a markedly different approach in his second tournament fight, as he knocked out Canadian Nick Denis with a strong right uppercut/left hook combination and accurate ground-and-pound seconds into the first round.
Also on the Sengoku card, Makoto Takimoto, a 2000 Olympic judo gold medalist, looked good in his first fight at welterweight; he was reportedly on the verge of leaving the sport after several consecutive losses. Takimoto submitted Chute Boxe’s Michael Costa with a first-round heel hook. Another decorated grappler, Alexandre “Xande” Ribeiro, was impressive on May 2, as he knocked out 66-fight veteran Keiichiro Yamamiya with a right hook. Ribeiro has won both of his professional fights by knockout. Meanwhile, Kazunori Yokota likely earned a shot at Sengoku lightweight champion Satoru Kitaoka with his split decision victory over Nova Uniao’s Leonardo Santos, brother of World Extreme Cagefighting featherweight contender Wagnney Fabiano.
In Dayton, Ohio, on May 1, the finals of the ESPN-backed Bellator Fighting Championships lightweight tournament were set before 1,500 fans. Eddie Alvarez picked up his second submission win of the tournament by sinking a rear-naked choke on Eric Reynolds for the third-round tapout. Meanwhile, Toby Imada shocked the MMA world and American Top Team fighter Jorge Masvidal, who was favored to reach the final, with a remarkable comeback punctuated by a unique variation of the triangle choke.
After taking two rounds of face-damaging punches and knees, Imada jumped onto Masvidal’s back in the third, as he shot in for a double leg. There, he closed out a triangle, hanging upside-down as Masvidal stood. The choke caused Masvidal to pass out and collapse dramatically. The soft-spoken Imada referred to the hold as a “Sankaku” -- “Sankaku Jime” is the Japanese judo term for a triangle choke. Imada told the Sherdog Radio Network’s “Jordan Breen Show” that he was first taught the technique when he was 15 and training in judo and drills it all the time. A video of the submission garnered more than 100,000 hits on YouTube.
Bellator’s lightweight tournament will conclude with Alvarez vs. Imada on June 19 in Hollywood, Fla. In its second season, set to start in the fall, Bellator will hold eight-man tournaments to determine challengers for the champions who emerge from this season’s brackets.
