Pride: Bushido III Review
Mirko Filipovic vs. Hiromitsu Kanehara
May 25, 2004
Mirko Filipovic vs. Hiromitsu Kanehara
Let’s just get this straight: Hiromitsu Kanehara is one tough hombre. He has fought some of MMA’s best, and although he doesn’t have a perfect record, he always puts up a great fight. Once again, he seemed severely outmatched by his opponent. After his devastating KO loss to Kevin Randleman, everyone expected Mirko “Cro-Cop” Filipovic to come back with a vengeance.
Most people expected him to KO his next opponent fast and
viciously. This is absolutely not what happened. From the beginning
of the fight to the ugly end, Kanehara showed the world just how
much heart a Japanese underdog can have.
Mirko hit Hiro with everything he had, and plenty of things nobody knew he had acquired yet. Cro Cop punched, kneed, kicked (of course), and even tried a few submissions on poor Hiro. There wasn’t much Kanehara could do, except valiantly get up every time he was knocked down. Mirko looked very unkempt and sluggish. He stood flat-footed and kept his hands down. He didn’t have the same kind of aggressiveness that he usually does, and his strikes seemed less powerful than before. He wasn’t throwing many combinations, and he didn’t really try to finish the fight. He even looked gassed at a few points during the match.
He did try a number of new things though. For one, you could tell that he worked on his ground skills a lot, as he handled positions very well, even attempting a key lock and a side choke. His Muay Thai skills seemed to improve as well, as he landed many effective knee strikes from the Thai clinch.
Kanehara didn’t really do much. He mostly just attempted to stand and trade with Mirko, as his takedowns were stuffed every time he tried. When the final bell sounded, the battered and bloodied Hiro could barely stand up. Mirko got the unanimous decision victory, but he looked very ashamed and almost depressed as he was leaving the ring.
Maybe he stepped back into the fight game too soon after his worst loss yet. Maybe Kanehara is just that tuff? Nobody but Mirko and Kanehara know. Only time will tell if the old Mirko will be back.
Let’s just get this straight: Hiromitsu Kanehara is one tough hombre. He has fought some of MMA’s best, and although he doesn’t have a perfect record, he always puts up a great fight. Once again, he seemed severely outmatched by his opponent. After his devastating KO loss to Kevin Randleman, everyone expected Mirko “Cro-Cop” Filipovic to come back with a vengeance.
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Mirko hit Hiro with everything he had, and plenty of things nobody knew he had acquired yet. Cro Cop punched, kneed, kicked (of course), and even tried a few submissions on poor Hiro. There wasn’t much Kanehara could do, except valiantly get up every time he was knocked down. Mirko looked very unkempt and sluggish. He stood flat-footed and kept his hands down. He didn’t have the same kind of aggressiveness that he usually does, and his strikes seemed less powerful than before. He wasn’t throwing many combinations, and he didn’t really try to finish the fight. He even looked gassed at a few points during the match.
He did try a number of new things though. For one, you could tell that he worked on his ground skills a lot, as he handled positions very well, even attempting a key lock and a side choke. His Muay Thai skills seemed to improve as well, as he landed many effective knee strikes from the Thai clinch.
Kanehara didn’t really do much. He mostly just attempted to stand and trade with Mirko, as his takedowns were stuffed every time he tried. When the final bell sounded, the battered and bloodied Hiro could barely stand up. Mirko got the unanimous decision victory, but he looked very ashamed and almost depressed as he was leaving the ring.
Maybe he stepped back into the fight game too soon after his worst loss yet. Maybe Kanehara is just that tuff? Nobody but Mirko and Kanehara know. Only time will tell if the old Mirko will be back.
