Miki Finishes Kuboyama at ‘Shooting Disco 7’
Tony Loiseleur Jan 31, 2009
TOKYO -- World-ranked flyweight Ryuichi
Miki put on a dominating performance in his one-round technical
knockout victory against Homare
Kuboyama in the Shooto “Shooting Disco 7” main event on
Saturday at Shinjuku Face.
Taking a hard low blow in the opening seconds of the fight, a determined Miki (8-2-3) bounced back to control the stand-up, as he chased down Kuboyama with stiff jabs and crisp right straights. Kuboyama returned fire, but judging by his strained expressions while taking shots, it became clear that Miki was racking up the significant damage.
Miki walked down Kuboyama (7-7-1) until he landed a right hook that
made him stumble backwards. Miki followed with a flurry of punches
on Kuboyama against the ropes, and though most of them missed,
another right sent him flailing to the canvas. Miki took back mount
and rained down punches until referee Toshiharu Suzuki called an
end to the action with two seconds to spare in round one.
Meanwhile, despite the repeated use of a dirty tactic -- he drove his stubbly chin into the eyes and face of Taisuke Okuno -- Takuya Sato generally controlled the Gutsman slugger on the canvas and posted a unanimous decision win in the co-main event.
The second round went exactly the same as the first, right down to Sato’s chin attacks. All three judges ruled the fight for Sato by 20-18 scores.
Elsewhere, Taiki Tsuchiya and Masatoshi Kobayashi hammered each other for two rounds for “Fight of the Night” honors.
Both men came out looking to trade in the first period but missed or grazed one another, until Tsuchiya (3-1) planted a right hand square on Kobayashi’s nose and stunned him. Unable to connect with follow-up punches, Tsuchiya capitalized on a Kobayashi trip and belted him with blistering ground-and-pound. Tsuchiya resumed the ground assault for the first half of the second stanza before Kobayashi scrambled to escape.
With the pace wearing on both men, the big, winging punches eventually found their marks with greater frequency, and both fighters wobbled. Kobayashi (3-6) showed signs of breaking first, as Tsuchiya forced him to retreat under the pressure of his wide hooks. Ultimately, all three judges sided with Tsuchiya. Scores were 20-18, 20-17 and 20-17.
The bout pairing Guy Delameau and Kunio Nakajima was far more decisive.
Despite getting sparked early in the fight, Delameau’s wrestling instincts carried him through battle until he submitted Nakajima in the second round.
Though he dropped Delameau (9-4) with a stiff right hand, Nakajima hesitated to finish and allowed his opponent to dive for a single-leg. Nakajima (1-4-1) stayed on his feet initially, but the Hawaiian transplant eventually pulled him to the mat with sheer tenacity. Delameau secured back control late in round one, but he was unable to sink both hooks and could not capitalize. Delameau righted the ship early in the second, however, as he captured Nakajima’s back again and cinched a rear-naked choke for the tapout 1:33 into the period.
In other action, Hiroaki Ijima used superior wrestling, neutralized Kota Funaki and put him on his back for two rounds.
Ducking Funaki’s flurries and flying knees, Ijima (2-1) whipped his opponent to the canvas with outside trips and double-legs and grinded away with short punches inside his guard. While the two men traded tit-for-tat to start round two, Ijima, after eating his fair share of punches, returned to punishing Funaki (1-2) on the canvas. There, he finished off his unanimous decision victory, as judges scored it 20-18, 20-18 and 19-18 in his favor.
In a 115-pound tilt, Katsuya Murofushi scraped by with a majority decision against Takehiro Ishii and snapped a two-fight losing streak in the process.
Between showboating, Murofushi (4-4) landed low kicks and hard right straights; he also caught Ishii’s low kick responses and swept his leg for the takedown. Murofushi dominated on the ground in the first round and, at one point, fell back for a reverse heel hook attempt. Ishii defended by controlling Murofushi’s distance and holding onto his own foot.
Ishii (5-7-2) fared better in the second, as he exchanged jabs and right hands with Murofushi and took top position on his opponent’s botched takedowns. Still, two judges scored the bout 20-19 for Murofushi; a third ruled it a 19-19 draw.
In a 167-pound rookie tournament match, Yoichiro Sato pounded on Hiroaki Sakuma from the mount in both rounds and forced the Hayato "Mach" Sakurai protégé to tap out to punches 1:04 into the second period. Meanwhile, Kenichiro Marui stifled Toshiaki Hayasaka on the ground in their 143-pound rookie tournament fight, earning a unanimous decision. Scores were 20-18, 20-18 and 20-19.
Finally, Nozomi Otsuka battled Tatsuya Nakashima to a majority draw in a 123-pound rookie tournament bout despite pushing the pace standing and on the ground. Since one referee scored the bout for Otsuka (1-1-1), he will advance in the competition. A 154-pound rookie tournament match kicked off the show, as Koji Matsumoto out-grappled Keiji Sakuta and finished him with a kneebar 2:32 into round two.
Taking a hard low blow in the opening seconds of the fight, a determined Miki (8-2-3) bounced back to control the stand-up, as he chased down Kuboyama with stiff jabs and crisp right straights. Kuboyama returned fire, but judging by his strained expressions while taking shots, it became clear that Miki was racking up the significant damage.
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Meanwhile, despite the repeated use of a dirty tactic -- he drove his stubbly chin into the eyes and face of Taisuke Okuno -- Takuya Sato generally controlled the Gutsman slugger on the canvas and posted a unanimous decision win in the co-main event.
Sato (4-2-2) capitalized on an early Okuno slip by diving into his
guard to drop punches. Botching the armbar, Okuno (7-3-1) curiously
worked wrist control to minimize the damage, rather than attempting
to control Sato’s posture. As a result, Sato punched through
Okuno’s defenses and passed to half guard and side mount. There, he
repeatedly drove his gruff chin into Okuno’s eyes and face between
controlling position and dropping punches. It all happened before
Shooto judges and referees, neither of which called the foul.
The second round went exactly the same as the first, right down to Sato’s chin attacks. All three judges ruled the fight for Sato by 20-18 scores.
Elsewhere, Taiki Tsuchiya and Masatoshi Kobayashi hammered each other for two rounds for “Fight of the Night” honors.
Both men came out looking to trade in the first period but missed or grazed one another, until Tsuchiya (3-1) planted a right hand square on Kobayashi’s nose and stunned him. Unable to connect with follow-up punches, Tsuchiya capitalized on a Kobayashi trip and belted him with blistering ground-and-pound. Tsuchiya resumed the ground assault for the first half of the second stanza before Kobayashi scrambled to escape.
With the pace wearing on both men, the big, winging punches eventually found their marks with greater frequency, and both fighters wobbled. Kobayashi (3-6) showed signs of breaking first, as Tsuchiya forced him to retreat under the pressure of his wide hooks. Ultimately, all three judges sided with Tsuchiya. Scores were 20-18, 20-17 and 20-17.
The bout pairing Guy Delameau and Kunio Nakajima was far more decisive.
Despite getting sparked early in the fight, Delameau’s wrestling instincts carried him through battle until he submitted Nakajima in the second round.
Though he dropped Delameau (9-4) with a stiff right hand, Nakajima hesitated to finish and allowed his opponent to dive for a single-leg. Nakajima (1-4-1) stayed on his feet initially, but the Hawaiian transplant eventually pulled him to the mat with sheer tenacity. Delameau secured back control late in round one, but he was unable to sink both hooks and could not capitalize. Delameau righted the ship early in the second, however, as he captured Nakajima’s back again and cinched a rear-naked choke for the tapout 1:33 into the period.
In other action, Hiroaki Ijima used superior wrestling, neutralized Kota Funaki and put him on his back for two rounds.
Ducking Funaki’s flurries and flying knees, Ijima (2-1) whipped his opponent to the canvas with outside trips and double-legs and grinded away with short punches inside his guard. While the two men traded tit-for-tat to start round two, Ijima, after eating his fair share of punches, returned to punishing Funaki (1-2) on the canvas. There, he finished off his unanimous decision victory, as judges scored it 20-18, 20-18 and 19-18 in his favor.
In a 115-pound tilt, Katsuya Murofushi scraped by with a majority decision against Takehiro Ishii and snapped a two-fight losing streak in the process.
Between showboating, Murofushi (4-4) landed low kicks and hard right straights; he also caught Ishii’s low kick responses and swept his leg for the takedown. Murofushi dominated on the ground in the first round and, at one point, fell back for a reverse heel hook attempt. Ishii defended by controlling Murofushi’s distance and holding onto his own foot.
Ishii (5-7-2) fared better in the second, as he exchanged jabs and right hands with Murofushi and took top position on his opponent’s botched takedowns. Still, two judges scored the bout 20-19 for Murofushi; a third ruled it a 19-19 draw.
In a 167-pound rookie tournament match, Yoichiro Sato pounded on Hiroaki Sakuma from the mount in both rounds and forced the Hayato "Mach" Sakurai protégé to tap out to punches 1:04 into the second period. Meanwhile, Kenichiro Marui stifled Toshiaki Hayasaka on the ground in their 143-pound rookie tournament fight, earning a unanimous decision. Scores were 20-18, 20-18 and 20-19.
Finally, Nozomi Otsuka battled Tatsuya Nakashima to a majority draw in a 123-pound rookie tournament bout despite pushing the pace standing and on the ground. Since one referee scored the bout for Otsuka (1-1-1), he will advance in the competition. A 154-pound rookie tournament match kicked off the show, as Koji Matsumoto out-grappled Keiji Sakuta and finished him with a kneebar 2:32 into round two.
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