“Mr Stoic” Takayuki Kohiryumaki faced off against Korean fighter Chi Bin Lim. I remember Lim when he faced off against Masato last May and many people did not give him much of a chance in that one. But he really took it to the former champion and the fight went the distance.
This was more a strategic battle than a non-stop war. Both fighters were patient, waiting for the appropriate moment, then exploding into their combinations. Lim, looking a bit like a brawler at times, did a good job of linking his punches together while coming forward.
Kohi landed some sharp knees from the clinch and in the third he doubled-up on low kicks that sent Lim to the mat for an eight-count. Sensing a weakened opponent, the Japanese fighter again went after Lim’s legs. The Korean went down for another eight. One more lightning fast low kick after that sent Lim down to the canvas for good, giving Kohi the knockout victory.
Every great promotion needs a heel for the fans to love. In the WWE it was Stone Cold Steve Austin. Team Sherdog Japan has concluded that the heel in K-1 MAX is none other than Mike Zambidis. Tough, scrappy, and with a bit of an attitude, Zambidis just screams “bad guy” — and the fans love it.
This was probably cemented in the minds of the K-1 Max faithful when last year the Greek fighter laid a vicious knockout on another bad boy, Norifumi Yamamoto (Pictures).
This time around Zambidis was up against an opponent on the exact opposite end of this spectrum: nice guy Yoshihiro Sato. Zambidis, arguably one of the best boxers in K-1, gave up a huge reach advantage to the long, tall Japanese Muay Thai fighter. When the fighters came to the center of the ring to listen to the ref’s instructions, Zambidis only came to Sato’s chest.
Rather than allowing himself to get drawn into a brawl, Sato played this one smart and landed hard low kicks from the outside. Zambidis circled and tried to close the distance so he could get to the inside with punches. And the Greek fighter found his mark towards the end of the first, nailing Sato with a hard left hook to the jaw that sent the Japanese fighter reeling back.
Zambidis landed more hooks to the head and body in the second while Sato came in for his kicks. But in the third the Japanese fighter really pulled away, connecting with knees and leg kicks, using his hands only to push Zambidis away.
The fight went the distance and Sato took the unanimous decision.
In his mixed martial arts debut just three weeks ago against Genki Sudo (Pictures) in K-1 Hero’s, Danish fighter Ole Laursen (Pictures) showed his penchant for striking. This time around he was up against an Armenian kickboxer known only as Drago.
(Wasn’t that the name of the Russian in “Rocky 4”?. Coincidence? Hmm … I will never forget the classic line, “I must break you.”)
Laursen had a good first round in this one, following his corner’s advice to push forward no matter what, often delivering solid right hands.
Drago came back in the second, however, opening up with a big flurry against the ropes that forced Laursen to take a standing eight-count. Drago then scored with another big flurry in the corner, finishing the combination off with a textbook spin kick to the head.
Drago kept the combos coming in the third and really capitalized on his long reach. The fight went to the judges and Drago got the decision.
Fight of the night for my money was 2005 K-1 MAX champion Andy Souwer (Pictures) against Mongolian fighter “Shinobu” Tsogto Amara.
Amara came out flying off the opening bell, throwing punches and spin kicks. Souwer, traditionally a slow starter, covered well and countered with several jab-overhand right-left body-low kick combinations.
One of Souwer’s greatest weapons is his timing. He’s an awesome counter-striker and seems to know when his opponent’s last shot will come so as he can follow-up on it.
Like Kraus, Amara is also a master of mixing up his punches to the head and body. He brawled with the Dutchman toward the latter half of the fight, to which Souwer answered with a body shot. The fight was called a draw at the end of three rounds and a fourth was ordered.
In the end it was Souwer’s polished boxing prowess that helped him overcome Amara’s chaotic brawling.
Punctuated by a textbook Souwer right uppercut on the inside, the fight again went to the judges and Souwer picked up the unanimous victory as well as a ticket to the upcoming finals.