Pang, Mitsuoka, Inoue Victorious at Cage Force
TOKYO, Nov. 25 — The once horrendously named D.O.G. experienced a
rebirth tonight at Differ Ariake, debuting as the morphed Cage
Force.
Fortunately K-1 HERO’S personality and Wajyutsu Keishukai fighter Caol Uno (Pictures) had the good sense to change the name of the event to something more internationally appropriate after the promotion joined forces with the Worldwide Cagefighting Network just a few short months ago.
Not only did the event have a new and improved name, it also became
the first Japanese promotion to permit the use of elbow strikes to
the head while fighters worked on the floor. But despite this new
allowance, elbow strikes really didn’t play a role in the outcome
of the fights. In fact, barely an elbow was thrown throughout the
whole event. Perhaps it will take some time for fighters from the
Land of the Rising Sun to get used to the idea of this new
weapon.
The main event pitted Australia’s Adrian Pang against Wajyutsu Keishukai’s Taiyo Nakahara (Pictures), both of whom were coming off loses.
In the final period Nakahara again shot for a takedown, applying a nice kneebar from the bottom. Pang worked hard to escape the technique, and once freed quickly caught his Japanese opponent in a tight triangle. Nakahara tried to hang on, but the technique was on too tight, forcing him to tap at 2:00 of round three.
D.O.G. veteran Eiji Mitsuoka (Pictures) made quick of Danilo Cardoso Sanolini in their semifinal bout. The Japanese fighter shot in shortly after the opening bell, only to get caught in a deep guillotine. For a while it looked like Mitsuoka was in danger of tapping, but the Wajyutsu Keishukai RJW fighter managed to hang on, passing the Brazilian’s guard to relieve the pressure before eventually escaping the technique.
Once free of the choke, Mitsuoka quickly mounted Sanolini and applied a well-executed armbar, forcing tapout at the 1:23 mark of the first.
Takafumi Hanai is by reputation one of the best grapplers in Japan. The team twist fighter won the Abu Dhabi Japan Trails, defeating all of his opponents in under two minutes with leglocks. In fact he and DEEP featherweight champion Masakazu Imanari (Pictures) have a bit of a rivalry as to who is the true “10th Dan of Leglocks.”
But rather than sticking to what he’s good at, Hanai chose to stand and trade with former welterweight King of Pancrase Katsuya Inoue (Pictures). This strategy turned out to be a big mistake for the Japanese mat wizard.
Throughout the match, Hanai looked to land big right hands on Inoue often taunting his opponent to trade with him. The former Pancrase champion took his time, eventually catching Hanai with a hard punch to the jaw that sent him down to the canvas. Inoue followed this up with more punches on the ground.
Inoue continued to land leather in the second, sprawling out from a takedown attempt and taking side-control. Just as Hanai attempted to stand after taking damage from ground punches, Inoue tagged him with a hard right hand. The mat wizard went down again, this time for good. Inoue followed up with some hammerfists for good measure before the referee pulled him off, calling an end to the fight at the 3:29 mark.
Wataru Takahashi (Pictures) and Takumi Nakayama (Pictures) put on a grappling clinic throughout the two rounds of their bout. The action went back and forth, with both fighters taking positions and scoring reversals.
Takahashi had a decent heelhook attempt in the second which forced Nakayama to react quickly to defend. Later Nakayama took his opponent’s back, only to see Takahashi twist back into guard before being able to apply a rear-naked choke. This exciting bout went the distance and was ruled a draw.
Pancrase legend Osami Shibuya (Pictures) was suppose to face off against Iranian kickboxer turned MMA fighter Hossein Ojaghi (Pictures), but at the last minute had to back out of the match. Fortunately, American German Reyes was available to fill the gap.
With only three fights to Reyes’ credit compared to Shibuya’s 79, the experience difference was staggering. Shibuya quickly scored a takedown, going after an Achilles lock before transitioning to a toehold.
Reyes managed to survive the submission attempts, only by be mounted a few moments later. Shibuya rolled to his back and locked on a triangle, forcing Reyes to tap at 2:51 of round one.
Atsushi Yamamoto (Pictures), a stablemate of Norifumi Yamamoto (Pictures), really pushed the action in his bout against Gutsman Shooto Dojo’s So Tazawa (Pictures).
Landing several punches and always looking for takedowns, Tazawa really started to shine in the last half of the second, catching Yamamoto in a Kimura before switching to a solid armbar attempt.
Yamamoto couldn’t seem to shake off his opponent no matter what he did, but it was too little, too late for Tazawa, as the judges awarded a majority decision victory to the Killer Bee fighter.
After applying a solid leglock attempt at the end of the first, Roberto Matsumoto couldn’t answer the bell for the start of the second round due to an ankle injury. The fighter couldn’t put any weight on his foot and had to be carried out of the ring by his cornermen.
Matsumoto’s opponent, Mitsuhisa Sunabe (Pictures), had some excellent charging combo’s during his one round of work, connecting with the leather on several occasions.
Another freak injury occurred during the Asato Hashimoto-Yoshiyuki Yoshida (Pictures) fight. Hashimoto landed awkwardly after a Yoshida throw very early in the match when the two fighters were pressed against the cage. The referee saw the result of the throw and quickly stopped the fight. Hashimoto laid on the canvas, clutching his wrist in obvious pain. With this referee stoppage, Yoshida walked away with the victory 35 seconds after the opening bell.
Wajyutsu Keishukai RJW’s Wataru Miki (Pictures) defeated Kyokushin Karate fighter Yoshinori Ikeda (Pictures) by unanimous decision.
Fortunately K-1 HERO’S personality and Wajyutsu Keishukai fighter Caol Uno (Pictures) had the good sense to change the name of the event to something more internationally appropriate after the promotion joined forces with the Worldwide Cagefighting Network just a few short months ago.
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The main event pitted Australia’s Adrian Pang against Wajyutsu Keishukai’s Taiyo Nakahara (Pictures), both of whom were coming off loses.
Nakahara shot for takedowns throughout the match, but often ended
up on his back for his efforts. Pang fired down punches from the
top, connecting with a nice diving punch towards the end of the
second round.
In the final period Nakahara again shot for a takedown, applying a nice kneebar from the bottom. Pang worked hard to escape the technique, and once freed quickly caught his Japanese opponent in a tight triangle. Nakahara tried to hang on, but the technique was on too tight, forcing him to tap at 2:00 of round three.
D.O.G. veteran Eiji Mitsuoka (Pictures) made quick of Danilo Cardoso Sanolini in their semifinal bout. The Japanese fighter shot in shortly after the opening bell, only to get caught in a deep guillotine. For a while it looked like Mitsuoka was in danger of tapping, but the Wajyutsu Keishukai RJW fighter managed to hang on, passing the Brazilian’s guard to relieve the pressure before eventually escaping the technique.
Once free of the choke, Mitsuoka quickly mounted Sanolini and applied a well-executed armbar, forcing tapout at the 1:23 mark of the first.
Takafumi Hanai is by reputation one of the best grapplers in Japan. The team twist fighter won the Abu Dhabi Japan Trails, defeating all of his opponents in under two minutes with leglocks. In fact he and DEEP featherweight champion Masakazu Imanari (Pictures) have a bit of a rivalry as to who is the true “10th Dan of Leglocks.”
But rather than sticking to what he’s good at, Hanai chose to stand and trade with former welterweight King of Pancrase Katsuya Inoue (Pictures). This strategy turned out to be a big mistake for the Japanese mat wizard.
Throughout the match, Hanai looked to land big right hands on Inoue often taunting his opponent to trade with him. The former Pancrase champion took his time, eventually catching Hanai with a hard punch to the jaw that sent him down to the canvas. Inoue followed this up with more punches on the ground.
Inoue continued to land leather in the second, sprawling out from a takedown attempt and taking side-control. Just as Hanai attempted to stand after taking damage from ground punches, Inoue tagged him with a hard right hand. The mat wizard went down again, this time for good. Inoue followed up with some hammerfists for good measure before the referee pulled him off, calling an end to the fight at the 3:29 mark.
Wataru Takahashi (Pictures) and Takumi Nakayama (Pictures) put on a grappling clinic throughout the two rounds of their bout. The action went back and forth, with both fighters taking positions and scoring reversals.
Takahashi had a decent heelhook attempt in the second which forced Nakayama to react quickly to defend. Later Nakayama took his opponent’s back, only to see Takahashi twist back into guard before being able to apply a rear-naked choke. This exciting bout went the distance and was ruled a draw.
Pancrase legend Osami Shibuya (Pictures) was suppose to face off against Iranian kickboxer turned MMA fighter Hossein Ojaghi (Pictures), but at the last minute had to back out of the match. Fortunately, American German Reyes was available to fill the gap.
With only three fights to Reyes’ credit compared to Shibuya’s 79, the experience difference was staggering. Shibuya quickly scored a takedown, going after an Achilles lock before transitioning to a toehold.
Reyes managed to survive the submission attempts, only by be mounted a few moments later. Shibuya rolled to his back and locked on a triangle, forcing Reyes to tap at 2:51 of round one.
Atsushi Yamamoto (Pictures), a stablemate of Norifumi Yamamoto (Pictures), really pushed the action in his bout against Gutsman Shooto Dojo’s So Tazawa (Pictures).
Landing several punches and always looking for takedowns, Tazawa really started to shine in the last half of the second, catching Yamamoto in a Kimura before switching to a solid armbar attempt.
Yamamoto couldn’t seem to shake off his opponent no matter what he did, but it was too little, too late for Tazawa, as the judges awarded a majority decision victory to the Killer Bee fighter.
After applying a solid leglock attempt at the end of the first, Roberto Matsumoto couldn’t answer the bell for the start of the second round due to an ankle injury. The fighter couldn’t put any weight on his foot and had to be carried out of the ring by his cornermen.
Matsumoto’s opponent, Mitsuhisa Sunabe (Pictures), had some excellent charging combo’s during his one round of work, connecting with the leather on several occasions.
Another freak injury occurred during the Asato Hashimoto-Yoshiyuki Yoshida (Pictures) fight. Hashimoto landed awkwardly after a Yoshida throw very early in the match when the two fighters were pressed against the cage. The referee saw the result of the throw and quickly stopped the fight. Hashimoto laid on the canvas, clutching his wrist in obvious pain. With this referee stoppage, Yoshida walked away with the victory 35 seconds after the opening bell.
Wajyutsu Keishukai RJW’s Wataru Miki (Pictures) defeated Kyokushin Karate fighter Yoshinori Ikeda (Pictures) by unanimous decision.
