Twist of Fate: Misaki, Gomi Victorious in Bushido
Under card bouts
Jason Nowe Nov 6, 2006
Grabaka boss Sanae Kikuta
(Pictures) dropped weight and made his
first venture into the Bushido ring to face Jean Francois Lenogue
(Pictures). This fight had special
significance for Kikuta, since Lenogue recently drew against the
Grabaka founder’s old Pancrase rival Yuki Kondo (Pictures) last October.
On the feet, Lenogue pretty much controlled this one by using his reach to tag Kikuta while linking together good flurries. But it was on the ground where Kikuta, the 2001 Abu Dhabi grappling champion, showed his skill, controlling position as he attempted armbars and leg submissions.
To his credit, Lenogue fought off the attempts. But in the end it
wasn’t enough as the judges awarded Kikuta with a unanimous
victory.
Brazilian Top Team fighter Luiz Firmino (Pictures) made his long awaited return to the PRIDE ring since losing to Tatsuya Kawajiri (Pictures) at Bushido 8. This time he squared off against DEEP lightweight champion Nobuhiro Obiya (Pictures).
Obiya worked a few reversals, but rather than pushing the action he seemed to only react to what Firmino threw at him. The fight went to the judges and Firmino took the unanimous decision.
Yoshihiro Maeda made his second venture into the Bushido ring, his first since winning the Pancrase featherweight title in August. His opponent on this occasion was Militech Fighting System’s Joe Pearson (Pictures).
This fight didn’t last very long. Pearson came out punching and backed Maeda into a corner, from where he shot for a takedown. Unfortunately for Maeda, he left his neck unprotected, and it was here that Pearson slapped on a tight guillotine. Maeda struggled to get out, but the technique was too deep, and the Pancrase champion was forced to tap just 54 seconds into the fight.
For a guy who started fighting MMA a little over a year ago, Yoon Dong Sik always seems to get matched up against tough fighters. And yet despite losing, he always seems to be able to hold his own and put on a good fight. This time around, DSE matched him up with Brazilian veteran Murilo Bustamante (Pictures).
Bustamante had several armbar attempts in this one and managed to control on the ground, but despite this Sik pulled off some impressive takedowns, reversals and escapes against the former UFC middleweight champion. Although he put up a valiant effort, Sik once again finds another loss on his record, as the judges gave the unanimous decision to Bustamante.
The bout between “Real Pro Wrestler” Ikuhisa Minowa (Pictures) and former WWE wrestler Mike Barton turned out to be a real slugfest. Minowa scored some takedowns at the start, but Barton showed that he does know some stuff on the ground, scoring reversals and escaping submissions. Minowa took a lot of big lefts and knees from the much larger Barton, and by the end of the first round both guys were quite tired.
The second round saw a lot of pausing by both fighters, but Minowa hung in there and scored several overhand rights and low kicks on his opponent. This one saw the final bell, and the judges awarded Minowa the unanimous victory.
Dutch fighter Gegard Mousasi (Pictures) defeated Cuban Hector Lombard (Pictures) by unanimous victory in the Welterweight Tournament’s reverse match.
On the feet, Lenogue pretty much controlled this one by using his reach to tag Kikuta while linking together good flurries. But it was on the ground where Kikuta, the 2001 Abu Dhabi grappling champion, showed his skill, controlling position as he attempted armbars and leg submissions.
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Brazilian Top Team fighter Luiz Firmino (Pictures) made his long awaited return to the PRIDE ring since losing to Tatsuya Kawajiri (Pictures) at Bushido 8. This time he squared off against DEEP lightweight champion Nobuhiro Obiya (Pictures).
As per his usual fighting style, Firmino was always attacking. The
Brazilian fighter has a tremendous ability of seamlessly linking
his punches with takedowns. He exerted dominant ground control
throughout, often firing knees at his opponent’s head from a
sprawled out position.
Obiya worked a few reversals, but rather than pushing the action he seemed to only react to what Firmino threw at him. The fight went to the judges and Firmino took the unanimous decision.
Yoshihiro Maeda made his second venture into the Bushido ring, his first since winning the Pancrase featherweight title in August. His opponent on this occasion was Militech Fighting System’s Joe Pearson (Pictures).
This fight didn’t last very long. Pearson came out punching and backed Maeda into a corner, from where he shot for a takedown. Unfortunately for Maeda, he left his neck unprotected, and it was here that Pearson slapped on a tight guillotine. Maeda struggled to get out, but the technique was too deep, and the Pancrase champion was forced to tap just 54 seconds into the fight.
For a guy who started fighting MMA a little over a year ago, Yoon Dong Sik always seems to get matched up against tough fighters. And yet despite losing, he always seems to be able to hold his own and put on a good fight. This time around, DSE matched him up with Brazilian veteran Murilo Bustamante (Pictures).
Bustamante had several armbar attempts in this one and managed to control on the ground, but despite this Sik pulled off some impressive takedowns, reversals and escapes against the former UFC middleweight champion. Although he put up a valiant effort, Sik once again finds another loss on his record, as the judges gave the unanimous decision to Bustamante.
The bout between “Real Pro Wrestler” Ikuhisa Minowa (Pictures) and former WWE wrestler Mike Barton turned out to be a real slugfest. Minowa scored some takedowns at the start, but Barton showed that he does know some stuff on the ground, scoring reversals and escaping submissions. Minowa took a lot of big lefts and knees from the much larger Barton, and by the end of the first round both guys were quite tired.
The second round saw a lot of pausing by both fighters, but Minowa hung in there and scored several overhand rights and low kicks on his opponent. This one saw the final bell, and the judges awarded Minowa the unanimous victory.
Dutch fighter Gegard Mousasi (Pictures) defeated Cuban Hector Lombard (Pictures) by unanimous victory in the Welterweight Tournament’s reverse match.
