Pancrase Recap
By Keith Vargo
Some of mixed martial arts' big names checked into the Ryogoku
Kokugikan in Tokyo yesterday for Pancrase's Tenth Anniversary show.
Here's how the card went down:
Josh Barnett vs. Yuki Kondo
This "King of Pancrase" title match had the potential to be a
mismatch. Barnett weighed in at 113.8 kilos while Kondo was a mere
86.9 kilos. In spite of this, the match was competitive. The first
round a cautious Barnett kept Kondo pinned in the corner and traded
knees and punches with the Japanese fighter. The second round saw
the former UFC champ score a takedown, get the mount and score some
punches. Kondo, in a valiant effort, struggled and squirmed his way
back to standing only to be taken down and pounded again, surviving
the round. In the third round, Kondo had his best moments. After
getting suplexed twice by Barnett, the american fighter paused to
see if Kondo was unconscious. Kondo took advantage, escaped to
standing and jarred Barnett with a series of knees to the head. But
it was a short rally, as Barnett struggled into a clinch, got the
takedown, and then caught Kondo in a sleeper hold.
Sanae Kikuta vs. Elvis Sinosic
Is there anyone more methodical than Sanae Kikuta? In each round he
took Sinosic down early. Then, over and over again, he'd maneuver to
progressively better positions and then submission holds. With slow
certainty, dominated all aspects of the ground game all Sinosic
could do was hang on and defend against numerous kimura attempts in
order to not get submitted.
Crosley Gracie vs. Kiuma Kunioku
This was Crosley Gracie's pancrase debut and, in true Gracie style,
he outperformed Kunioku on the ground. The only problem was getting
him there. The game japanese fighter gave Gracie all he could handle
standing up and stopped a number of takedowns. Kunioku scored a lot
of punches and worked on Gracie's lead leg with shin kicks
throughout the fight. But Gracie scored good punches of his own,
opening up a cut above Kunioku's eye that the doctor had to check
twice in the third round. In the end, the lanky Gracie's ground
control and competitive stand-up earned him a unanimous decision.
Minoru Suzuki vs. Takashi Iizuka
In this "Catch-Wrestling Rules" match, Suzuki and Iizuka spent most
of the time standing and fighting for grips. When Suzuki finally did
score a takedown, he caught Iizuka in an achilles lock that he
eventually had to let go of. Then he went for a sleeper hold as time
ran out. Suzuki by decision.
Nilson de Castro vs. Akihiro Gono
Everyone should say a little prayer for Akihiro Gono's testes. At 29
seconds into the first round chute boxe fighter Nilson De Castro
accidentally blasted Gono in gonads with a round kick and the fight
was over. The japanese fighter was not only unable to continue, he
was unable to stand, spending the rest of the evening on a
stretcher. Gono wins by DQ.
Yuki Sasaki vs. Heath Sims
Both Sims and Sasaki looked tentative in the first round. Both
landed punches and kicks but it looked like a careful kickboxing
match. By the second, Sasaki found the right distance and used his
reach advantage to score some good punches and kicks on Sims. When
Sims got wobbled with a good punch, he went for the single-leg but
couldn't get it, hanging on til they were stood up. Sasaki continued
hitting Sims with punches and some really accurate kicks to the jaw,
scoring a knockdown at the end of the round. But Sims turtled up and
survived the round. In the third Sims scored one good takedown but
not much else and elected to stand up out of Sasaki's guard. Sims
did his best to stay competitive, bloodying the japanese fighter's
nose. But Sasaki's reach advantage continued to give him problems
and in the end the unanimous decision went to Sasaki.
Ricardo Almeida vs. Kazuo Misaki
In the opening round, Almeida was on his back for half the round
getting his legs kicked. When he escaped to standing, he scored a
takedown and got Misaki's back at the end of the round. But Misaki
defended til the bell sounded. In the second, Misaki slammed Almeida
and ended up in his guard. But he immediately escaped by picking him
up and slamming his way out of it. After that, the traded some
punches and kicks standing up. Then Almeida scored a takedown with 2
minutes left in the round. Misaki tried a triangle but Almeida
escaped and hit him with some heavy punches on the ground and a jump-
stomp. In the third, Almeida ate some punches on the way to getting
a takedown. But he also got a cut the doctor's had to check. When
the action resumed, Misaki tried to work on the cut while Almeida
was in his guard. Meanwhile, Almeida continued landing hevy shots
and even one mongolian chop! In the end the majority decision went
to Almeida.
Osami Shibuya vs. Toru Yano
In this match the first round went to the New Japan pro-wrestler,
Yano. He scored a body lock and trip and spent the end of the round
throwing right hooks to Shibuya's head. But in the second round,
Shibuya returned the favor, scoring his own body lock and trip. That
led to a little ground and pound and then an arm bar by Shibuya at
2:25 of the 2nd round.
Grüsse
