Sengoku 8th Battle Preview

Michihiro Omigawa vs. Nam Phan

The Breakdown: After scoring the upset of the night against L.C. Davis in the tournament’s first round, Michihiro Omigawa has to pull the same trick against Nam Phan. The strategy stays the same against Phan: namely, working his judo from top control and stifling Phan’s versatile offense. It won’t make for the most entertaining of affairs, but Omigawa is at his best when he sticks to his judo and forces his opponents to try and survive in his realm.

The X Factor: Despite being limited offensively, Omigawa often gets the bright idea to go off in search of a slugfest. When you’re a converted judoka with no reach and even less power, getting into backyard brawl demonstrations is Darwin Award worthy. If Omigawa goes off one of his Rocky-esque moments, Phan will remind the world why Sylvester Stallone never made it as a real boxer.

The Bottom Line: Entertaining as Phan can be, his weakness has always been getting served the top control special by superior grapplers. That’s exactly what awaits him, as Omigawa will turn this into a judo seminar with Phan serving as the squirming student. Even if Omigawa tries his luck on the feet, Phan doesn’t have the power to starch Omigawa before he transitions to the clinch and drags him to the mat yet again.