As Tony Kornheiser may (would) say, here's the storyline: Hidehiko Yoshida is celebrated as a Japanese judo superstar because of his gold medal victory at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. However, Yoshida was never the superstar of that Japanese Olympic judo team. Rather, the national darling of the team was three-time judo world champion Toshihiko Koga, who overcame a knee injury to win gold at 157 pounds. That knee injury prevented Koga from using his most vaunted throw -- the ippon seionage – and was the result of a training session with none other than Yoshida himself.
Koga, who would go on to an Olympic silver medal in Atlanta in 1996, was also a judo instructor at the Nippon College of Physical Education. Amongst his students, was a young judoka and would-be MMA fighter named Sanae Kikuta.
Unfortunately, that's a bit more interesting than the fight itself. In the actual bout, we have two shopworn fighters closing in on 40 years old, whose styles aren't conducive to excitement. Furthermore, they've trained together in the distant past, and as a result, both have indicated they're not exactly gung-ho about fighting one another, with Yoshida even going so far as to say he felt the matchup was "confusing."
Neither fighter is much of a striker, but if nothing else, Yoshida has shown the willingness to wing punches, some of them even moderately effective. While Yoshida will not completely overpower Kikuta, he will enjoy a moderate size and strength advantage, which should coincide well with his deeper arsenal of takedowns. Yoshida has also all-but-said he will be gi-free for this bout, after seeing the way in which Kikuta was able to deal with another former Olympic gold medal judoka, and Yoshida student, Makoto Takimoto. Without the gi, Yoshida can force more an in-fighting style of clinch rather than worrying about gripping and grabbing, which should prize his strength over Kikuta's technique.
The bout may not be God awful, but it's not going to be an early fight of the year candidate. Look for some ho-hum strikes, arduous clinching, and eventual takedowns all en route to a competitive Yoshida decision. Hopefully, next time WVR have a burning desire to create a judo storyline, it involves French man-child Teddy Riner.