Shooto Middleweight Title on the Line Saturday
Yamamoto vs. Mizugaki
Jordan Breen Feb 16, 2007
Atsushi Yamamoto (Pictures) vs. Takeya Mizugaki (Pictures)
One of the more compelling aspects of mixed martial arts is the rare opportunity for a promotion vs. promotion showdown. While, in a more perfect world, fighters would not be tied to promoters and organizations, it is a reality that fans have for the most part accepted and adapted to.
The proprietary organizational structure that currently rules the
sport has crippled our ability to find out who truly are the best
fighters in the world, and how a whole plethora of unique match-ups
would unfold. It has also bred legions of half-retarded fans that
swear allegiance to promotions. So, when the opportunity arises to
see Fighter from Organization X against Fighter from Organization
Y, there is some level of built-in excitement: for the more
sober-thinking, it can at least give us a glimpse of some
competitors from respective organizations match-up, and for the
more fundamentally insane, it can prove the absolutely superiority
of one promotion over the other.
Atsushi Yamamoto (Pictures) versus Takeya Mizugaki (Pictures) is not a Pancrase versus Shooto match-up any more than Travis Lutter (Pictures) versus Anderson Silva was representative of the UFC against PRIDE. More importantly, as intelligent fans realize, promotions don't fight each other in the ring or in the cage, fighters do. Nonetheless, the curtain jerker of this card is highly compelling for fans, as it is the only kind of empirical substance that can be looked at in imagining the desired match-ups between Pancrase and Shooto competitors.
There are more similarities between Yamamoto and Mizugaki's circumstances than one would initially think. Early in his career, Yamamoto burst into Pancrase as a potent athlete and a natural competitor, running through his division in the 2004 Pancrase Neo-Blood Tournament. Mizugaki began his career similarly, running roughshod over the competition in his 2005 Shooto rookie tournament bracket, en route to being named 2005 Shooto Rookie MVP.
Yamamoto, not long after his rookie championship run, tasted his first defeat, on the business end of Miki Shida (Pictures)'s kneecap. This past November, Mizugaki felt that same unfortunate pleasure, as Kenji Osawa (Pictures) rebounded from an early Mizugaki knockdown to smash the young standout with repeated punches and knees. Osawa stopped Mizugaki in the second round, handing the Hakkei fighter his first professional loss.
Indeed, for both Yamamoto and Mizugaki, their clash represents the first page of a new chapter in their young careers.
When they meet in the ring on Saturday, the winner will likely be the man who can be the more physically dominant. Both Yamamoto and Mizugaki are strong, explosive athletes who like to mix it up standing, as well as pound their opponents on the canvas. However, on the feet, the bout should distinctly favor Mizugaki.
Despite both fighters being susceptible to KOs, Mizugaki has shown the ability to smash his opponents standing while Yamamoto has not. Largely a right-handed power puncher, Mizugaki can throw combinations with punches and knees. Yamamoto's standing arsenal is largely single leg kicks and lead hooks, which do more to create pace and tempo rather than big damage, and could provide counterstriking opportunities for Mizugaki.
If there is a definitive advantage for Yamamoto, it is that he is the more technically outstanding wrestler, having been an All Japan collegiate runner-up while wrestling at Yamanashi Gakuin University, and having been able to adapt his wrestling to MMA competition.
Securing takedowns against a very powerful and proficient Mizugaki will not be easy, and should he do so, Yamamoto will have to work hard from top position. Mizugaki will not be content to lay on the mat, and will immediately look for the quickest route to either top position, get back to his feet. This could be fairly troublesome for Yamamoto, who despite generally being able to keep his opponents on the mat, is not great at controlling the movement of his opponents, and often finds himself fending off submission attempts from the bottom. While Mizugaki is not much of a submission-savvy guard player, Yamamoto's inability to pin his opponents down could open a number of opportunities for Mizugaki to sweep and reverse, negating whatever effort Yamamoto spent taking the fight to the mat.
Stand-up exchanges should offer the chance for Mizugaki to land strong blows on Yamamoto, and even if he's taken down, he will not be physically dominated. It is very plausible that even if Yamamoto can score a couple of takedowns in a round, Mizugaki can either stalemate him or reverse him, which all but evens up the scoring as far as Shooto judges are concerned.
Yamamoto is not a potent striker, nor a good finisher with submissions, so Mizugaki will be able to employ the relentless offensive style that saw him dominate early in his Shooto career. As stated before, the winner of the fight will be the man who can be more physically overwhelming, and Mizugaki should have more chances to assert himself in that regard, en route to a decision.
One of the more compelling aspects of mixed martial arts is the rare opportunity for a promotion vs. promotion showdown. While, in a more perfect world, fighters would not be tied to promoters and organizations, it is a reality that fans have for the most part accepted and adapted to.
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Atsushi Yamamoto (Pictures) versus Takeya Mizugaki (Pictures) is not a Pancrase versus Shooto match-up any more than Travis Lutter (Pictures) versus Anderson Silva was representative of the UFC against PRIDE. More importantly, as intelligent fans realize, promotions don't fight each other in the ring or in the cage, fighters do. Nonetheless, the curtain jerker of this card is highly compelling for fans, as it is the only kind of empirical substance that can be looked at in imagining the desired match-ups between Pancrase and Shooto competitors.
After competing against larger opponents in Pancrase's 141-pound
weight class, the 26-year-old Yamamoto, who is lean and in shape in
the high 130s weight range, decided that the 132-pound Shooto class
would be a better fit for him. While trimming down in weight will
be a new experience for the KILLER BEE fighter, facing a Shooto
competitor won't be. Yamamoto, through his competition under the
K-1 HERO'S and GCM's Demolition of Octagon Gear (now CAGE FORCE)
banners, has notched wins over Katsuya Toida (Pictures) and So Tazawa (Pictures), which could bode well for a move
into Shooto's 132-pound class.
There are more similarities between Yamamoto and Mizugaki's circumstances than one would initially think. Early in his career, Yamamoto burst into Pancrase as a potent athlete and a natural competitor, running through his division in the 2004 Pancrase Neo-Blood Tournament. Mizugaki began his career similarly, running roughshod over the competition in his 2005 Shooto rookie tournament bracket, en route to being named 2005 Shooto Rookie MVP.
Yamamoto, not long after his rookie championship run, tasted his first defeat, on the business end of Miki Shida (Pictures)'s kneecap. This past November, Mizugaki felt that same unfortunate pleasure, as Kenji Osawa (Pictures) rebounded from an early Mizugaki knockdown to smash the young standout with repeated punches and knees. Osawa stopped Mizugaki in the second round, handing the Hakkei fighter his first professional loss.
Indeed, for both Yamamoto and Mizugaki, their clash represents the first page of a new chapter in their young careers.
When they meet in the ring on Saturday, the winner will likely be the man who can be the more physically dominant. Both Yamamoto and Mizugaki are strong, explosive athletes who like to mix it up standing, as well as pound their opponents on the canvas. However, on the feet, the bout should distinctly favor Mizugaki.
Despite both fighters being susceptible to KOs, Mizugaki has shown the ability to smash his opponents standing while Yamamoto has not. Largely a right-handed power puncher, Mizugaki can throw combinations with punches and knees. Yamamoto's standing arsenal is largely single leg kicks and lead hooks, which do more to create pace and tempo rather than big damage, and could provide counterstriking opportunities for Mizugaki.
If there is a definitive advantage for Yamamoto, it is that he is the more technically outstanding wrestler, having been an All Japan collegiate runner-up while wrestling at Yamanashi Gakuin University, and having been able to adapt his wrestling to MMA competition.
Securing takedowns against a very powerful and proficient Mizugaki will not be easy, and should he do so, Yamamoto will have to work hard from top position. Mizugaki will not be content to lay on the mat, and will immediately look for the quickest route to either top position, get back to his feet. This could be fairly troublesome for Yamamoto, who despite generally being able to keep his opponents on the mat, is not great at controlling the movement of his opponents, and often finds himself fending off submission attempts from the bottom. While Mizugaki is not much of a submission-savvy guard player, Yamamoto's inability to pin his opponents down could open a number of opportunities for Mizugaki to sweep and reverse, negating whatever effort Yamamoto spent taking the fight to the mat.
Stand-up exchanges should offer the chance for Mizugaki to land strong blows on Yamamoto, and even if he's taken down, he will not be physically dominated. It is very plausible that even if Yamamoto can score a couple of takedowns in a round, Mizugaki can either stalemate him or reverse him, which all but evens up the scoring as far as Shooto judges are concerned.
Yamamoto is not a potent striker, nor a good finisher with submissions, so Mizugaki will be able to employ the relentless offensive style that saw him dominate early in his Shooto career. As stated before, the winner of the fight will be the man who can be more physically overwhelming, and Mizugaki should have more chances to assert himself in that regard, en route to a decision.
