Shooto Middleweight Title on the Line Saturday
Fujimiya vs. Tamura
Jordan Breen Feb 16, 2007
Tenkei Fujimiya (Pictures) vs. Akitoshi Tamura (Pictures)
I did note previously that it was most, not all, of the rematches on this card that were righteous. This one right here? This is the chink in the armor.
While we've seen considerably more pointless and offensive
rematches as of late in this sport, that doesn't necessarily give
this bout a free pass. Typically, it would be very hard to gripe
about a match-up between two exciting fighters, with title
trappings in tow. In the case of the second meeting of Akitoshi Tamura (Pictures) and Tenkei Fujimiya (Pictures), over Shooto's vacant 143-pound
Pacific Rim title, there are gripes aplenty.
Their first bout was an anticipated one when it took place last May. Fujimiya handed veteran Hiroyuki Abe (Hiroyuki Abe' class='LinkSilver'>Pictures) is a nasty thrashing in his first Class A tilt, while Tamura had won four of his last five, with his sole loss coming to Fujimiya's teammate "Lion" Takeshi Inoue (Pictures) in a very close and competitive match-up, where he gave the now-champion all he could handle. Tamura had established himself as very well rounded in addition to being consistently aggressive and exciting in the ring. Pitted against Fujimiya's counterstriking savvy, it had the makings of a great bout.
Now, only nine months later, we're lined up for another bout between the two. What gives?
The reality is that Fujimiya is one of Shooto's best young talents, but he's forced into an awkward position. With the emergence of Takeshi Inoue (Pictures) as Shooto world champion at 143 pounds, Fujimiya is left without a real goal or higher aspiration as a competitor, as "Lion" is a friend and teammate of Fujimiya at Shooting Gym Yokohama. Also, we aren't talking "teammates" like with Miletich-trained fighters, when one guy lives in Iowa, the other guy lives in Illinois, and sometimes they spar together during big training camps. Inoue and Fujimiya are training together in the same shoebox of a gym every single day.
To give Fujimiya his own objective within the division, Shooto bigwigs have decided that it would make sense for him to reign as Pacific Rim champion, much as Mitsuhiro Ishida (Pictures) contested for the Pacific Rim title at 154 when his teammate and close friend Tatsuya Kawajiri (Pictures) wore Shooto's world welterweight title. The first attempt at this, however, was a total failure, as Fujimiya took on veteran Katsuya Toida (Pictures) for the vacant title this past November. Toida's highly unorthodox style, as well as his solid wrestling, forced Fujimiya to be overly tentative and cautious, not wanting to get to close to Toida, who awkwardly crept around the ring looking to spring for takedowns. In the end, the passivity nixed Fujimiya's title hopes temporarily, as the disappointing fight was judged a draw.
If there is anything which could almost make this fight compelling a second time around it is that Tamura is coming off of a win over Fujimiya's other rookie tournament champion teammate "Wicky" Akiyo Nishiura (Pictures). (Trivia time: With "Lion," Fujimiya and "Wicky,” Kenji Kawaguchi (Pictures) trained three successive Shooto 143-pound rookie tournament champions out of Shooting Gym Yokohama.) However, the Nishiura bout was a reminder of exactly why this fight will look no different than before.
"Wicky" fights in a wide open, erratic fashion, and lacks any considerable takedown defense, despite having the defensive grappling to worm out of terrible positions. Even though Tamura was able to take him down at will, and lock him up in omoplatas and the sort, "Wicky" was able to get back to his feet and damage Tamura. "Wicky" even dropped him on the canvas with an explosive lead uppercut. Despite being a tough competitor, Tamura is capable of being countered and dropped to the mat. With some Shootboxing experience and a diverse compliment of weapons he is no slouch standing, but his mediocre punching and average chin make him an easy target for a talented and powerful counterstriker like Fujimiya.
Moreover, Fujimiya has said he has recognized that he needs to be more aggressive, following his dismal performance against Toida. The higher his striking output is, the more opportunities he'll get to connect with Tamura. If he begins to land decisively, Tamura may want to take him to the ground, but Tamura isn't much of a wrestler in terms of lower body takedowns. While Fujimiya has proved to be sturdy in the clinch, can control his opponent's body and can keep himself upright, he's shown a bit more vulnerability to good single- and double-leg takedowns. However, those takedowns have come at the hands of very good wrestlers, and Tamura won't be afforded such opportunities. He could try to pull guard, but it would most likely result in Fujimiya standing back up.
Tamura should be forced into a stand-up battle with Fujimiya, and it's one he'll lose again. Fujimiya's is not undefeated in Muay Tha, i, as well as MMA, for no reason. Solid fundamentals, a good arsenal, and KO power which may begin to take on a grea, ter role if Fujimiya is committed to becoming a more aggressive fighter. Tamura will always struggle in stand-up battles against fighters with better hands than him, which Fujimiya most cer, tainly has. Worse yet, is that Fujimiya has shown a rock solid chin, which affords him a greater opportunity to throw more strikes and try to exploit Tamura's.
Tamura is an incredible tough and game fighter, so it would be foolish of me to rule out him making it to the final bell. But if Fujimiya has truly dedicated himself to becoming a potent offensive threat rather than an opportunistic counterfighter, there is no reason he shouldn't KO Tamura when the opportunity arises, whenever that should be.
I did note previously that it was most, not all, of the rematches on this card that were righteous. This one right here? This is the chink in the armor.
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Their first bout was an anticipated one when it took place last May. Fujimiya handed veteran Hiroyuki Abe (Hiroyuki Abe' class='LinkSilver'>Pictures) is a nasty thrashing in his first Class A tilt, while Tamura had won four of his last five, with his sole loss coming to Fujimiya's teammate "Lion" Takeshi Inoue (Pictures) in a very close and competitive match-up, where he gave the now-champion all he could handle. Tamura had established himself as very well rounded in addition to being consistently aggressive and exciting in the ring. Pitted against Fujimiya's counterstriking savvy, it had the makings of a great bout.
And a great bout it was, for the little time it lasted. Both men
traded strikes, with Tamura as the expected aggressor, whipping
hard low kicks while Fujimiya sought to counterpunch over the top.
Just past the two-minute mark, a lazy left hand from Tamura gave
Fujimiya the opening he needed, as he blasted him with a 1-2 hook
combination that sent him onto the mat and into la-la land.
Now, only nine months later, we're lined up for another bout between the two. What gives?
The reality is that Fujimiya is one of Shooto's best young talents, but he's forced into an awkward position. With the emergence of Takeshi Inoue (Pictures) as Shooto world champion at 143 pounds, Fujimiya is left without a real goal or higher aspiration as a competitor, as "Lion" is a friend and teammate of Fujimiya at Shooting Gym Yokohama. Also, we aren't talking "teammates" like with Miletich-trained fighters, when one guy lives in Iowa, the other guy lives in Illinois, and sometimes they spar together during big training camps. Inoue and Fujimiya are training together in the same shoebox of a gym every single day.
To give Fujimiya his own objective within the division, Shooto bigwigs have decided that it would make sense for him to reign as Pacific Rim champion, much as Mitsuhiro Ishida (Pictures) contested for the Pacific Rim title at 154 when his teammate and close friend Tatsuya Kawajiri (Pictures) wore Shooto's world welterweight title. The first attempt at this, however, was a total failure, as Fujimiya took on veteran Katsuya Toida (Pictures) for the vacant title this past November. Toida's highly unorthodox style, as well as his solid wrestling, forced Fujimiya to be overly tentative and cautious, not wanting to get to close to Toida, who awkwardly crept around the ring looking to spring for takedowns. In the end, the passivity nixed Fujimiya's title hopes temporarily, as the disappointing fight was judged a draw.
If there is anything which could almost make this fight compelling a second time around it is that Tamura is coming off of a win over Fujimiya's other rookie tournament champion teammate "Wicky" Akiyo Nishiura (Pictures). (Trivia time: With "Lion," Fujimiya and "Wicky,” Kenji Kawaguchi (Pictures) trained three successive Shooto 143-pound rookie tournament champions out of Shooting Gym Yokohama.) However, the Nishiura bout was a reminder of exactly why this fight will look no different than before.
"Wicky" fights in a wide open, erratic fashion, and lacks any considerable takedown defense, despite having the defensive grappling to worm out of terrible positions. Even though Tamura was able to take him down at will, and lock him up in omoplatas and the sort, "Wicky" was able to get back to his feet and damage Tamura. "Wicky" even dropped him on the canvas with an explosive lead uppercut. Despite being a tough competitor, Tamura is capable of being countered and dropped to the mat. With some Shootboxing experience and a diverse compliment of weapons he is no slouch standing, but his mediocre punching and average chin make him an easy target for a talented and powerful counterstriker like Fujimiya.
Moreover, Fujimiya has said he has recognized that he needs to be more aggressive, following his dismal performance against Toida. The higher his striking output is, the more opportunities he'll get to connect with Tamura. If he begins to land decisively, Tamura may want to take him to the ground, but Tamura isn't much of a wrestler in terms of lower body takedowns. While Fujimiya has proved to be sturdy in the clinch, can control his opponent's body and can keep himself upright, he's shown a bit more vulnerability to good single- and double-leg takedowns. However, those takedowns have come at the hands of very good wrestlers, and Tamura won't be afforded such opportunities. He could try to pull guard, but it would most likely result in Fujimiya standing back up.
Tamura should be forced into a stand-up battle with Fujimiya, and it's one he'll lose again. Fujimiya's is not undefeated in Muay Tha, i, as well as MMA, for no reason. Solid fundamentals, a good arsenal, and KO power which may begin to take on a grea, ter role if Fujimiya is committed to becoming a more aggressive fighter. Tamura will always struggle in stand-up battles against fighters with better hands than him, which Fujimiya most cer, tainly has. Worse yet, is that Fujimiya has shown a rock solid chin, which affords him a greater opportunity to throw more strikes and try to exploit Tamura's.
Tamura is an incredible tough and game fighter, so it would be foolish of me to rule out him making it to the final bell. But if Fujimiya has truly dedicated himself to becoming a potent offensive threat rather than an opportunistic counterfighter, there is no reason he shouldn't KO Tamura when the opportunity arises, whenever that should be.
