Top Shootors Go Back Their Roots
Carvalho vs. Takaya
Jordan Breen Nov 7, 2007
Antonio Carvalho (Pictures) (10-2-0) vs. Hiroyuki Takaya (Pictures) (8-4-1)
While this card has some pretty damn good fights, the scrap between Antonio Carvalho (Pictures) and Hiroyuki Takaya (Pictures) is head and shoulders above the rest. With the featherweight division finally finding its footing on the global level, it's fights like this that need to happen to elevate the weight class.
We get Hiroyuki Takaya
(Pictures) back into the class and
taking on one of the division's proven best in a matchup that
should provide guaranteed excitement from two fighters who seldom
produce dull moments.
And yet, it's all bittersweet.
Then Pulver was lured away by the fat wallet of Dream Stage Entertainment to face Takanori Gomi (Pictures) on New Year's Eve, and Takaya ran into a little-known guy by the name of Gilbert Melendez (Pictures).
Following the loss to Melendez, Fight Entertainment Group came calling with deep pockets of its own. Takaya moved up to 154 pounds for the HERO'S program. Although he found some success, in losses to Genki Sudo (Pictures), Andre "Dida" Amade and Gesias "JZ" Calvancanti, it was clear that he wasn't where he belonged on the scale.
Then, this past summer, Takaya announced that he would be making the drop back to the featherweight class. In his return at 145 pounds at GCM's September CAGE FORCE card, Takaya brutally blasted American import Jarrod Card (Pictures).
Talented fighters actually fighting in the weight class they belong in? It's always sweet to see.
Now, the year after Takaya took the 143-pound tournament by storm, another flashy, fistically-inclined featherweight emerged in Shooto. "Lion Takeshi" Takeshi Inoue (Pictures) rolled over the 143-pound talent pool en route to a rookie tournament win, and when Takaya departed for bigger paydays, Inoue became the fighter that Shooto promoters rallied around to be the successor to the throne. And it was an undefeated Inoue who served as a launching pad for a then unknown Canadian named Antonio Carvalho (Pictures), who upset Lion in August 2005 in Yokohama.
Ooooo, neato, huh?
Seriously, though. While credit is in order to Sustain for putting this matchup together, as I noted, it is bittersweet. Part of the fun for high-level matchups of this nature is the aspect of where it will lead either fighter. While Takaya's plan is to stay a featherweight, this bout will likely be a one-and-done with pro Shooto, as he'll look for bigger paydays in addition to the fact that the reigning divisional champion is his personal friend and occasional training partner: Akitoshi Tamura (Pictures). For Carvalho, the internal politics of pro Shooto have consistently hampered his desire to fight regularly. This fight may be his very last in the confines of Shooto as well.
While they each approach the game differently, both fighters are strong strikers. The more compact Takaya is definitely the more powerful of the two on the feet, and he is generally regarded as a knockout artist. He has power in both hands and typically relies on short two-two and three-punch combinations in close.
However, if Takaya needs to take a different approach to striking distance, he is more than capable. In the brightest moment of his career, Takaya dictated the pace against Stephen Palling (Pictures) almost entirely with low kicks before flawlessly setting up a high kick with his lead leg that sent Bozo's body stiff as a board for several minutes.
Carvalho can be seen as perhaps the more technical of the two. Where Takaya often very slowly stalks his opponents, Carvalho backs them down at a much faster pace. He uses more head movement than Takaya, who typically shells up to block strikes, and he uses far more kicks, both low and high. While Carvalho's kicks often appear to have more slap than snap, he has managed to rock several fighters with his right high kick. In his more recent fights, his hands have also become crisper, enabling him to throw more punches, typically in quantity.
Takaya has very solid takedown defense, especially in terms of a sprawl, while Carvalho has respectable but not outstanding takedown skills. However, in the pure submission game, Carvalho, a BJJ black belt under Sylvio Behring, holds a distinct advantage over Takaya. Takaya is by no means without skill on the ground, but he simply doesn't have the grappling acumen that Carvalho does.
Although Takaya will have a power advantage in the striking department, his punches are almost all hooks. Carvalho will have a sizable reach advantage in addition to being a straighter puncher. Unless Takaya is somehow able to step inside and consistently score with punches, Carvalho will likely be able to control the striking from a distance.
While it may not jive with his macho brawler image, Takaya would perhaps be best served to take Carvalho down and pound from top control. If there is one area where Carvalho has shown a particular weakness, it is off of his back. In an effort to sweep and scramble, he typically eats a lot of punches. It is where all of Lion Takeshi's success came in their two fights, how Rumina Sato (Pictures) controlled the first round of their fight and where Hatsu Hioki (Pictures) was able to excel. Carvalho is still a submission threat from his back, but it is the best way for Takaya to make use of his short power punches and about the only way for him to gain any utility from the fact that the bout is being contested at a 148-pound catch-weight to accommodate him shrinking back into the division.
However, even if Takaya were able to execute that game plan, he would have to get takedowns consistently. Moreover, he would also open himself up to danger via a sweep, and being on his back against Carvalho is just about the last place he'd want to be. If Carvalho presses forward and uses distance effectively to back Takaya up, he should not only be able to win the striking battle, but he should also be able to capitalize on backing Takaya into the corners or the ropes, which is where he could most effectively pursue takedowns and minimize Takaya's ability to get footing to defend throws from the clinch or get space to defend a shot by sprawling.
Takaya is the fighter with the ability to end the fight in the blink of an eye, but Carvalho's technique, if put into any kind of strategic form, should allow him to avoid Takaya's power shots and take a unanimous decision. Regrettably, from there, where either man goes is anyone's best guess.
While this card has some pretty damn good fights, the scrap between Antonio Carvalho (Pictures) and Hiroyuki Takaya (Pictures) is head and shoulders above the rest. With the featherweight division finally finding its footing on the global level, it's fights like this that need to happen to elevate the weight class.
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And yet, it's all bittersweet.
Hiroyuki Takaya
(Pictures) burst into Shooto five
years ago and ripped through the 2003 143-pound rookie tournament.
Immediately after leaping to Class-A Shooto, Takaya was hanging and
banging with the likes of Joao
Roque (Pictures) and Stephen Palling (Pictures). He was set for a hotly
anticipated matchup with Jens
Pulver (Pictures) and on the inside track to
challenging long-reigning champion Alexandre Franca "Pequeno"
Nogueira for the Shooto world championship.
Then Pulver was lured away by the fat wallet of Dream Stage Entertainment to face Takanori Gomi (Pictures) on New Year's Eve, and Takaya ran into a little-known guy by the name of Gilbert Melendez (Pictures).
Following the loss to Melendez, Fight Entertainment Group came calling with deep pockets of its own. Takaya moved up to 154 pounds for the HERO'S program. Although he found some success, in losses to Genki Sudo (Pictures), Andre "Dida" Amade and Gesias "JZ" Calvancanti, it was clear that he wasn't where he belonged on the scale.
Then, this past summer, Takaya announced that he would be making the drop back to the featherweight class. In his return at 145 pounds at GCM's September CAGE FORCE card, Takaya brutally blasted American import Jarrod Card (Pictures).
Talented fighters actually fighting in the weight class they belong in? It's always sweet to see.
Now, the year after Takaya took the 143-pound tournament by storm, another flashy, fistically-inclined featherweight emerged in Shooto. "Lion Takeshi" Takeshi Inoue (Pictures) rolled over the 143-pound talent pool en route to a rookie tournament win, and when Takaya departed for bigger paydays, Inoue became the fighter that Shooto promoters rallied around to be the successor to the throne. And it was an undefeated Inoue who served as a launching pad for a then unknown Canadian named Antonio Carvalho (Pictures), who upset Lion in August 2005 in Yokohama.
Ooooo, neato, huh?
Seriously, though. While credit is in order to Sustain for putting this matchup together, as I noted, it is bittersweet. Part of the fun for high-level matchups of this nature is the aspect of where it will lead either fighter. While Takaya's plan is to stay a featherweight, this bout will likely be a one-and-done with pro Shooto, as he'll look for bigger paydays in addition to the fact that the reigning divisional champion is his personal friend and occasional training partner: Akitoshi Tamura (Pictures). For Carvalho, the internal politics of pro Shooto have consistently hampered his desire to fight regularly. This fight may be his very last in the confines of Shooto as well.
While they each approach the game differently, both fighters are strong strikers. The more compact Takaya is definitely the more powerful of the two on the feet, and he is generally regarded as a knockout artist. He has power in both hands and typically relies on short two-two and three-punch combinations in close.
However, if Takaya needs to take a different approach to striking distance, he is more than capable. In the brightest moment of his career, Takaya dictated the pace against Stephen Palling (Pictures) almost entirely with low kicks before flawlessly setting up a high kick with his lead leg that sent Bozo's body stiff as a board for several minutes.
Carvalho can be seen as perhaps the more technical of the two. Where Takaya often very slowly stalks his opponents, Carvalho backs them down at a much faster pace. He uses more head movement than Takaya, who typically shells up to block strikes, and he uses far more kicks, both low and high. While Carvalho's kicks often appear to have more slap than snap, he has managed to rock several fighters with his right high kick. In his more recent fights, his hands have also become crisper, enabling him to throw more punches, typically in quantity.
Takaya has very solid takedown defense, especially in terms of a sprawl, while Carvalho has respectable but not outstanding takedown skills. However, in the pure submission game, Carvalho, a BJJ black belt under Sylvio Behring, holds a distinct advantage over Takaya. Takaya is by no means without skill on the ground, but he simply doesn't have the grappling acumen that Carvalho does.
Although Takaya will have a power advantage in the striking department, his punches are almost all hooks. Carvalho will have a sizable reach advantage in addition to being a straighter puncher. Unless Takaya is somehow able to step inside and consistently score with punches, Carvalho will likely be able to control the striking from a distance.
While it may not jive with his macho brawler image, Takaya would perhaps be best served to take Carvalho down and pound from top control. If there is one area where Carvalho has shown a particular weakness, it is off of his back. In an effort to sweep and scramble, he typically eats a lot of punches. It is where all of Lion Takeshi's success came in their two fights, how Rumina Sato (Pictures) controlled the first round of their fight and where Hatsu Hioki (Pictures) was able to excel. Carvalho is still a submission threat from his back, but it is the best way for Takaya to make use of his short power punches and about the only way for him to gain any utility from the fact that the bout is being contested at a 148-pound catch-weight to accommodate him shrinking back into the division.
However, even if Takaya were able to execute that game plan, he would have to get takedowns consistently. Moreover, he would also open himself up to danger via a sweep, and being on his back against Carvalho is just about the last place he'd want to be. If Carvalho presses forward and uses distance effectively to back Takaya up, he should not only be able to win the striking battle, but he should also be able to capitalize on backing Takaya into the corners or the ropes, which is where he could most effectively pursue takedowns and minimize Takaya's ability to get footing to defend throws from the clinch or get space to defend a shot by sprawling.
Takaya is the fighter with the ability to end the fight in the blink of an eye, but Carvalho's technique, if put into any kind of strategic form, should allow him to avoid Takaya's power shots and take a unanimous decision. Regrettably, from there, where either man goes is anyone's best guess.
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