After defeating PRIDE lightweight champion Takanori Gomi (Pictures) in a non-title bout at Bushido 10, it was expected that American Top Team fighter Marcus Aurelio (Marcus Aurelio' class='LinkSilver'>Pictures) would get a shot at the top prize in the lightweight division fairly soon. But now SHOOTO Pacific Rim champion Mitsuhiro Ishida (Pictures) has just put those plans into jeopardy.
Aurelio was really active off his back, constantly looking for triangles and armbars, but Ishida was able to fight these off and really lay some leather.
The deciding moments came in the final few minutes of the fight. Here Ishida connected with several hard, unanswered punches to Aurelio’s head from within his guard. The Brazilian looked rocked and for a while it seemed like a knockout victory was just moments away. But the American Top Team fighter held on to the final bell, and Ishida took the unanimous victory.
With this win it seems that now Gomi, Aurelio and Ishida are trapped within a bizarre triangle. When asked who would challenge for Gomi’s lightweight title next, DSE President Nobuyuki Sakakibara couldn’t give an answer, stating that the whole situation is in a state of chaos.
In his first fight since receiving a painful groin shot from Joachim Hansen (Pictures) in SHOOTO back in February, Tatsuya Kawajiri (Pictures) made short work of the always entertaining Charles Bennett (Pictures).
Kawajiri scored the first and only takedown before moving into half-guard. Bennett tried a Kimura from the bottom, but the SHOOTO welterweight (154 pounds) champion circled overtop his opponent to escape.
After a scramble, Bennett briefly took Kawajiri’s back, only to have the Japanese fighter grab his leg and apply a kneebar for the tapout victory at the 2:30 mark of the first round.
Hayato Sakurai (Pictures) needed only one minute 53 seconds to finish WEC veteran Olaf Alfonso (Pictures). This was Sakurai’s first fight since suffering a broken orbital bone during a road rage incident back in April. Perhaps that’s what he was thinking about when he tagged Alfonso with a beautifully timed right hand that sent the Mexican to the mat for good just as he was coming in to attack.
In a bit of a back-and-forth match, Miletich Martial Arts fighter Jason Black (Pictures) scored a knockout over Eoh Won Jin with a big knee strike on the ground.