Real men stay up / get up for Sengoku shows. Join us.
The official Total-MMA.com AIM Sengoku chat is now live. The room is ‘loganclarkforthewin’. Add me on AIM - Iain Total MMA - if there is any problems.
ALAN: I’m excited for the night/early morning/whatever it is wherever you are of fights. A dude who’s been to Saitama is in chat with us, and he’s quite adamant that the building is pretty empty though, which is interesting.
1. Fabio Silva 9-4-0 vs. 28-22-3 Kazuo Takahashi
ALAN: The intro video was done to “The Boys are Back in Town,” so I’m reasonably sure this will be awesome. First round had some good give and take, with Takahashi getting a takedown and controlling in top position, Silva reversing it, and some okay standup between the two. I actually give it to Takahashi and would score it 10-9, but this is Japan.
Round 2 doesn’t go the same way. Silva runs out, punches a lot, and Takahashi falls down. The ref takes his time to stop the fight and so he absorbs some head stomps.
2. Rodrigo Damm 7-1-0 vs. 13-2-0 Jorge Masvidal
ALAN: Masvidal is all sorts of awesome, so I am excited for this also.
Well, he kinda makes my faith worthless. Early knockdown of Damm leads to a takedown by Damm, but that goes nowhere. The fight is back on its feet and its really tenative standup from both. Round 2 is absurdly slow, and then somehow Damm drops a right hand on Masvidal’s chin nearing the end of it that drops Masvidal. Some punches on the ground later and a surprise Damm KO win.
IAIN: That was the outcome I least suspected, but it was a very poor stoppage. Worse than Vera/Werdum last night. Masvidal had won the first but the fight wasn’t terribly exciting and made worse by the inconclusive finish.
3. Choi Mu Bae 7-2-0 vs. 3-2-0 Marcio Cruz
Cruz runs over Choi Mu Bae here. Once it hit the mat Cruz had this on lock and controlled Choi and constantly put him in bad situations. The triangle from being on Choi’s back was choice. Good win for Marcio, who got put in with too stiff of competition too fast.
IAIN: God or Pe De Pano answered my prayers. I requested an early stoppage and they delivered in tremendous style. I am not sure who to thank specifically. Although with Cruz having so many BJJ titles maybe it is not fair of me to differentiate between the two.
4. Sanae Kikuta 26-6-3 vs. 12-5-0 Chris Rice
IAIN: Oh yes, UK MMA is ready to make it’s mark on Sengoku. Excuse me while I stand for the national anthem…
ALAN: Iain will not be please. Kikuta gets this to the ground with the slowest shot ever, and from there positions himself for the slooooooowwwwwwwwessssssst armbar ever. It made Brad Imes’ TUF triangle look masterful.
IAIN: Chris Rice, you have let Britain down. I will no longer be voting for you in the BBC’s Sports Personality Of The Year awards come December. My vote will go to ‘Buzz’ Berry again.
5. Nick Thompson 35-9-1 vs. 9-3-0 Michael Costa
IAIN: Thompson is largely dull it seems, as a character, whereas Costa has dressed up and is dancing to the ring. I cannot overlook this and will be cheering accordingly.
ALAN: First round was pretty nothing. Thompson almost gets an armbar early and then Costa gets out of it and lays in guard for 3 minutes. Second round was a vast improvement. Thompson is nearly KOed by Costa and then put on his back, but he is able to sweep his way to side mount and then gets a kimura to win the bout. Not too bad in the end.
IAIN: Thompson is wearing motherchuffin’ ZUBAS. TJ De Santis on Sherdog was right - people from minnesota really do wear them in a non-ironic way. Half-way through the fight I was questioning how good Thompson was as a fighter. He lost his first Sengoku fight despite the result and was losing this. However he recovered well and got a good victory here. I am not ready to call him World Top Twenty material like some but I am interested in seeing him fight again.
INTERMISSION - WILL AMERICA BE AWAKE FOR THE SECOND HALF?
Intermission ends and they announce a bunch of Russian dudes fighting on the 8/24 show along with Frank Trigg and a lightweight tournament featuring Mitsuoka, Ludwig, Damm, Gomi and a few other guys.
6. Kazuo Misaki 19-8-2 vs. 11-1-0 Logan Clark
IAIN: This is where I win money. Go Clark!
In a strange but pleasant turn of events, Logan Clark’s brother has joined the Total MMA live chat and will be watching the fight with us. Another reason to cheer for him.
ALAN: Not the most exciting fight ever. Misaki went out to channel Lyoto Machida and basically succeeded. Clark just didn’t impose his size and reach here. The jab, when doubled, worked well, but he only did it in combination a couple times in the fight. Misaki just took the bout with low kicks and some sharp, fast, but generally not powerful punching in a defensive performance that was not exactly for the ages.
IAIN: Misaki ran a lot. I thought Clark should have gone for more takedowns and tried to repeat the Frank Trigg / Misaki fight but he chose to stand for the whole fifteen minutes basically. He was not outclassed and great fighters have lost to Misaki but there was the opportunity to win here.
7. Kazuyuki Fujita 15-6-0 vs. 53-11-0 Travis Wiuff
IAIN: Here comes that good up-and-coming fighter (so says John Peretti) Travis Wiuff, YAMMA champion. YAMMA and Bodog champs on this show so far. Sengoku is truly the king of B-league MMA.
ALAN: So there are two guys, and both are noted as wrestlers. What happens? They punch! And in this case, Wiuff lands first and hardest. Fujita just crumples and Wiuff wins the fight as he hammerfists Fujita into oblivion.
IAIN: Never doubt the power of a YAMMA champ. Maybe now people will listen?
8. Hidehiko Yoshida 7-6-1 vs. 12-12-0 Maurice Smith
IAIN: When you’re relying on a main event to save a show, and it features a nearly 50-year-old kickboxer against a washed-up, 40-year-old judoka then it is not a ringing endorsement of the show as a whole.
ALAN: So Yoshida and Smith stand for awhile and nothing happens. And then Yoshida clinches, gets a takedown, gets to side control and has some side headlock/gi choke thing and Smith didn’t tap and goes out. Well, that was not very good.
IAIN: Oh man, avoid this show unless you’re an incredible hardcore. Yoshida is covered in ticker tape and streamers afterwards like he has actually done something worth celebrating.
ALAN: We had a short discussion in chat about how bad this was. I think it was worse than Elite XC’s last show, UFC 83, and that Strikeforce show with Sapp/Nortje. No doubt in my mind. It wasn’t YAMMA bad but that is because there were actually conclusions to these fights generally. There is really no reason to see this.
So, after a day long marathon of some uneasy moments, some sub-KOTC-level bitch-slapfests and things that make Ivan Trembow feel uncomfortable about watching Mixed Martial Arts, it is time for the finals o this season of The Ultimate Fighter. Hopefully you’ve been following Kendall’s breakdowns of each and every episode, or if you are like me, you are in the process of digesting the entire show on a slow Saturday afternoon, either way, we’ll be providing you with live analysis of The Ultimate Fighter Finale.
