DEEP: Chonan Defends, Two New Champs Crowned
Undercard fights
Stephen Martinez Feb 16, 2007
Korean female fighter Ham Su Hi was brought to Japan like “cannon
fodder” for Japanese MMA diva and reigning DEEP female champion
Hisae Watanabe
(Pictures). However, someone forgot to
tell Su Hi and she went on to score the biggest upset of the
night.
The fight was scheduled with a no ground-and-pound rule, but this didn’t matter as Su Hi displayed an aggressive striking game. She connected at will and sent Watanabe, visibly shaken, against the ropes.
Su Hi rocked Watanabe several times with a wide array of punches
and knees from inside the clinch. Once the fight hit the ground due
to Watanabe’s frustration to stand and trade, nothing much happened
with Su Hi holding until the referee decided to break and bring
both fighters to their feet.
Watanabe looked sluggish and uninspired with her strikes, and sometimes clueless as how to mount any kind of offense in the clinch.
Not everything could be perfect in life, and two major controversies surrounding two matches in tonight’s card showcased that.
Hector Lombard (Pictures) made his comeback to Japan after losing to Gegard Mousasi (Pictures) back at PRID Bushido 13 to face Grabaka veteran Eiji Ishikawa (Pictures).
Both fighters started circling but this only lasted mere seconds as Lombard rushed Ishikawa on the ground after the Grabaka fighter missed a kick. Lombard basically went berserker over Ishikawa with brutal ground-and-pound similar to what he did to Ishikawa’s teammate Akihiro Gono (Pictures).
With Lombard landing 100 punches per second, Ishikawa scrambled into the turtle position and worked his way out. He finally stood but Lombard followed with more punches until the referee jumped in to stop the fight 49 seconds after the opening bell.
Ishikawa, seemingly fine, reacted to the referee by asking why the fight was stopped. Other Grabaka members like Sanae Kikuta (Pictures), Akihiro Gono (Pictures) and Kazuo Misaki (Pictures) stormed the ring asking the DEEP official about the stoppage, and later asking and yelling at Lombard not to leave the ring.
Officials gathered together to discuss the result while Lombard walked away after the referee declared him the winner. This enraged the members of Grabaka, who started demanding answers.
In the end, the referee stood up to his decision, supported by DEEP officials, and Lombard was declared the winner. The Grabaka team was given the option to appeal the result with a formal letter to the DEEP commission. Ishikawa took the microphone and addressed the crowd, first by giving apologies for the quick end and second by expressing his frustration for the decision.
The second controversy of the night involved two PRIDE veterans in Michihiro Omigawa (Pictures) and Eoh Won Jin (Pictures).
Won Jin was basically taking it to Omigawa on the feet, landing crisp and powerful shots that rocked the Japanese fighter on several occasions. At 4:25 into the first round, Omigawa managed to turn the tables by connecting with a crisp punch to Won Jin’s face that sent the Korean down next to the ropes.
From here, Omigawa scored a brutal soccer kick that was against the rules. The referee stopped the fight and doctors began to check on Won Jin’s condition.
After a minute, the ringside doctors ruled Won Jin was unable to continue. After a brief meeting between DEEP officials, it was ruled that Won Jin was out due to the punch, not the soccer kick that followed. While the kick was illegal in this match the judges and referee decided to ignore the foul and award Omigawa the TKO victory.
Yoshisuke Kitada submitted Tatsuhito Satsuma at 1:27 into the first round with a guillotine choke.
Kim Dong Hyun knocked out Hidenobu Koike with a body punch at 4:34 of the first round.
Yasuhito Namekawa (Pictures) drew with Brazilian Top Team’s Fabiano Capoani.
Pancrase’s Miki Shida (Pictures) took a majority decision over Takeshi Yamazaki (Pictures).
The fight was scheduled with a no ground-and-pound rule, but this didn’t matter as Su Hi displayed an aggressive striking game. She connected at will and sent Watanabe, visibly shaken, against the ropes.
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Watanabe looked sluggish and uninspired with her strikes, and sometimes clueless as how to mount any kind of offense in the clinch.
In the end, Watanabe left the ring bleeding from the mouth while Su
Hi was awarded a unanimous decision, gaining high praise from DEEP
officials after beating their queen.
Not everything could be perfect in life, and two major controversies surrounding two matches in tonight’s card showcased that.
Hector Lombard (Pictures) made his comeback to Japan after losing to Gegard Mousasi (Pictures) back at PRID Bushido 13 to face Grabaka veteran Eiji Ishikawa (Pictures).
Both fighters started circling but this only lasted mere seconds as Lombard rushed Ishikawa on the ground after the Grabaka fighter missed a kick. Lombard basically went berserker over Ishikawa with brutal ground-and-pound similar to what he did to Ishikawa’s teammate Akihiro Gono (Pictures).
With Lombard landing 100 punches per second, Ishikawa scrambled into the turtle position and worked his way out. He finally stood but Lombard followed with more punches until the referee jumped in to stop the fight 49 seconds after the opening bell.
Ishikawa, seemingly fine, reacted to the referee by asking why the fight was stopped. Other Grabaka members like Sanae Kikuta (Pictures), Akihiro Gono (Pictures) and Kazuo Misaki (Pictures) stormed the ring asking the DEEP official about the stoppage, and later asking and yelling at Lombard not to leave the ring.
Officials gathered together to discuss the result while Lombard walked away after the referee declared him the winner. This enraged the members of Grabaka, who started demanding answers.
In the end, the referee stood up to his decision, supported by DEEP officials, and Lombard was declared the winner. The Grabaka team was given the option to appeal the result with a formal letter to the DEEP commission. Ishikawa took the microphone and addressed the crowd, first by giving apologies for the quick end and second by expressing his frustration for the decision.
The second controversy of the night involved two PRIDE veterans in Michihiro Omigawa (Pictures) and Eoh Won Jin (Pictures).
Won Jin was basically taking it to Omigawa on the feet, landing crisp and powerful shots that rocked the Japanese fighter on several occasions. At 4:25 into the first round, Omigawa managed to turn the tables by connecting with a crisp punch to Won Jin’s face that sent the Korean down next to the ropes.
From here, Omigawa scored a brutal soccer kick that was against the rules. The referee stopped the fight and doctors began to check on Won Jin’s condition.
After a minute, the ringside doctors ruled Won Jin was unable to continue. After a brief meeting between DEEP officials, it was ruled that Won Jin was out due to the punch, not the soccer kick that followed. While the kick was illegal in this match the judges and referee decided to ignore the foul and award Omigawa the TKO victory.
Yoshisuke Kitada submitted Tatsuhito Satsuma at 1:27 into the first round with a guillotine choke.
Kim Dong Hyun knocked out Hidenobu Koike with a body punch at 4:34 of the first round.
Yasuhito Namekawa (Pictures) drew with Brazilian Top Team’s Fabiano Capoani.
Pancrase’s Miki Shida (Pictures) took a majority decision over Takeshi Yamazaki (Pictures).
