"Yarennoka!" Results
by Robert Sargent
Fedor Emelianenko made short work of his giant opponent, K-1 star Hong Man Choi, but submission wizard Shinya Aoki had all he could handle in his battle with the debuting Jung Bu-Kyung.
An amazing undercard saw Kazuo Misaki knock out Yoshihiro Akiyama, and Mitsuhiro Ishida handed Gilbert Melendez his first career defeat.
Shinya "Tobikan Judan" Aoki vs Jung Bu-Kyung
Aoki looked confident as he came out singing and hopping along to his famous "Baka Survivor" intro theme, but Bu-Kyung, who is an amazing Judo competitor but was making his MMA debut, made Aoki work for every second of his victory in this battle, which was far more competitive than anyone could have imagined.A brief striking exchange on the feet saw Aoki attempt a front kick to the face, but it missed and Aoki quickly took Bu-Kyung to the ground. However, Bu-Kyung immediately latched on to Aoki's right arm and went for an armbar, which was very deep and seemed perilously close to ending the fight in a shocking upset. Aoki gamely defended, though, and stood up and adjusted position to lessen the pressure on his arm. After a moment, Aoki, the best submission fighter in all of MMA, managed to free himself from the hold and avoided a very real scare early in the fight.
Aoki then tried for a series of heel hook attempts, but Bu-Kyung escaped from all of them. Up against the ropes in the corner, Aoki landed a series of punches from top position as Bu-Kyung tried to cover up and defend. Aoki went for another heel hook, then quickly hit Bu-Kyung with a kick to the face from his back, and the fight was moved to the centre of the ring soon after. Aoki unleashed a series of punches and hammerfists from the top, and moved to pass Bu-Kyung's guard before attempting yet another heel hook. Bu-Kyung got back to guard and locked in a second, extremely deep armbar on Aoki, who tried for an entire minute to keep his arms clasped together to prevent his left arm from being fully extended. Bu-Kyung eventually wrenched the arm free and fully extended it, but Aoki pulled off an amazing twisting escape with his arm and got back to top position.
Aoki continued to alternate between striking from the top and going for heel hooks until a temporary stoppage from the referee to check on Bu-Kyung's left eye, which had closed shut after a strike from Aoki. After the restart, Aoki landed a good body kick, but Bu-Kyung landed a hard right to the face, which resulted in Aoki going to the ground. Following another unsuccessful heel hook attempt from Aoki, the fight went back to the feet and Aoki landed a punch and a knee, but Bu-Kyung got a takedown. Aoki reversed and landed strikes from the top for the final minute of an incredible ten-minute first round.
Bu-Kyung's left eye was completely shut at the beginning of round two, as the fighters traded strikes on the feet for the first minute. Aoki got a takedown and moved to side-control, where he landed a punch and then moved to mount. Aoki landed a few hammerfists from the top, while Bu-Kyung punched from the bottom. With just over 90 seconds remaining, Aoki postured up and began raining down punches on Bu-Kyung, who covered up and tried to avoid any damage. Bu-Kyung eventually rolled over and Aoki punched the sides of his head. Aoki sunk in both hooks and rolled over, where he went for a rear naked choke and then an armbar, but Bu-Kyung escaped. The fight went back to the feet, with Bu-Kyung now bleeding from the nose, and the bell rang soon after.
After two scares in the first round, Shinya Aoki wins by Unanimous Decision to improve to 12-2. Gesias "JZ Calvan" Calvancante, Aoki's original opponent who was forced to pull out with an injury, applauded Aoki's efforts from ringside. They are tenatively scheduled to battle in K-1 HERO's in March.
Hayato "Mach" Sakurai vs Hidehiko Hasegawa
Sakurai was not as aggressive in this welterweight battle as he typically is, but still handily controlled and dominated DEEP Champion Hasegawa, who defended well but never seemed to be able to mount any offence.Hasegawa landed a body kick early on, but Sakurai countered with his first of dozens of trademark leg kicks, and then went for a takedown. On the ground, Sakurai landed a few good punches before Hasegawa attempted an armbar. Back on the feet, Hasegawa attempted some Thai-clinch knees, but Sakurai went back to leg kicks and scored another takedown soon after. Sakurai landed some hammerfists from half-guard, but Hasegawa, as he did throughout the night on the ground, prevented Sakurai from doing any damage, and Sakurai quickly stood back up and landed a combination. Hasegawa did land a punch that bloodied Sakurai's nose, but Sakurai landed strikes and got another takedown. Sakurai landed a big right hand and a few follow-up punches, then stood back up once again. Hasegawa came in with a jumping knee attempt, which was met by a Sakurai uppercut and another takedown.
After the action was moved to the middle of the ring, Sakurai stood back up and landed a hard body kick and a knee, before taking Hasegawa down once again. Hasegawa, to his credit, continued to frustrate Sakurai by neutralising his ground attacks. On the feet, Sakurai landed a right hand and the two traded low kicks. Sakurai continued to get the better of the exchanges, but it was Hasegawa who pressed the action. Sakurai scored one more takedown with just over two minutes left in the round, then landed a knee to the head. The fight was moved back to the middle of the ring and Sakurai landed strikes from the top before standing back up. With one minute left, Sakurai unleashed a flurry of punches and knees and pushed Hasegawa down into the corner. Hasegawa's strong defence prevented Sakurai from doing any meaningful damage, and round one came to an end.
Hasegawa came out swinging in round two, attempting a series of combinations. Sakurai defended and evaded, then took Hasegawa down. Back on the feet, Hasegawa attempted a high kick, but missed, and Sakurai countered with a quick one-two combination of uppercuts, then took Hasegawa down in the corner. After a moment, the fight returned to the feet and Sakurai landed a good kick. Hasegawa tried to retaliate, but Sakurai caught his leg and pushed him down. Sakurai stood up again and landed a solid body kick to Hasegawa, then took him down and worked to side-control. After briefly striking from the top, Sakurai took Hasegawa's back, with Hasegawa twisting to get back to guard. Hasegawa got a loose triangle choke on Sakurai with just over a minute left, but Sakurai escaped and stood back up, where he continued to pepper Hasegawa with strikes. A hard body punch from Sakurai was followed by a takedown, and Sakurai landed strikes from the top for the duration of the round.
Although not as exciting as his past few fights, Hayato "Mach" Sakurai definitely won the fight and was awarded with a Unanimous Decision to improve to 31-7-2. After the fight, in an absolutely hilarious interview where Sakurai repeatedly translated (in his semi-decent English) for his Japanese translator, Sakurai expressed a desire to have all of his future fights against champions of promotions. With two straight victories over past or present champions (having previously knocked out former King of the Cage Lightweight Champion Mac Danzig at PRIDE 33), Sakurai is on a roll. However, with final PRIDE Lightweight Champion Takanori Gomi now rumoured to be moving to the UFC, Sakurai would need to make a return to North America if he wished to avenge his loss. Cutting weight to make the lightweight level has always been a problem for Sakurai, though, so he may stay in Japan and compete at or around 170 pounds in Shooto or K-1 HERO's. Time will tell.
"The Last Emperor" Fedor Emelianenko vs "Techno Goliath" Hong Man Choi
Emelianenko, the best mixed martial artist in the world, did make quick work of the behemoth, Choi, but came away with numerous cuts and bruises on his face for his troubles.The referee could barely reach Choi's head during the stare down, but that did not seem to bother the stoic Russian, Emelianenko, who went for an immediate takedown to begin round one. However, it was Choi who ended up on top, forcing Emelianenko to defend from the bottom. Emelianenko moved into an armbar after a few seconds, but Choi amazingly escaped and the fight returned to the feet. Emelianenko, already cut twice around the left eye, landed a punch and went for another takedown, but Choi again wound up on top. Emelianenko remained calm and worked for another armbar, which was deep enough to force a tapout, and the referee stopped the fight.
Fedor Emelianenko wins by Submission (armbar) at 1:55 of round one to improve to 27-1-0, 1 NC (only defeat by controversial cut). Though his victory over the gigantic Choi was impressive, Emelianenko will need to get back to fighting the upper echelon of the heavyweight division in the coming months and years. At present, barring legal action from the UFC, it appears as though Emelianenko will battle Randy "The Natural" Couture at an M-1 Global event in October of 2008.
Kazuo "Grabaka Hitman" Misaki vs Yoshihiro Akiyama
In a very rare grudge match between Japanese fighters, Misaki came back from the brink of knockout defeat to knock Akiyama out with a vicious kick late in the first round.The battle of #9- (Misaki) and #10-ranked (Akiyama) middleweights began with a very hard touching of the gloves by Misaki at the stare down, and his energy remained extremely high throughout the fight. Misaki's mesmerising style of jumping and skipping while standing did not appear to throw Akiyama off his game early on, but Misaki landed strikes and a pair of low kicks before catching a low kick from Akiyama and pushing him to the ground. Akiyama quickly got back to his feet and the stand-up war continued. Akiyama landed two leg kicks, and Misaki countered with two of his own. Misaki continued to land leg kicks and push kicks, while Akiyama countered with punches and occasional leg kicks of his own. The pace continued to remain high for the first half of the round, as both fighters traded punches and low kicks.
With just under five minutes to go, Misaki caught a kick from Akiyama and pushed him to the corner, where he landed a knee to the head. Akiyama seemed to gain more confidence afterwards, however, but Misaki continued to pepper him with leg kicks. With exactly four minutes remaining in the first round, Akiyama landed a vicious right hook that sent Misaki crashing to the canvas in a heap, but a barrage of follow-up strikes from Akiyama could not put Misaki away. Misaki defended on the ground and pushed Akiyama back, then stood up with just over three minutes left. The next minute saw both fighters again trade punches and low kicks, with neither able to score any overly damaging blows. With just under two minutes to go, Misaki landed a hard left hook that put Akiyama down. Just as Akiyama brought his hands off of the canvas (soccer kicks were not permitted to downed opponents in this event), Misaki landed a vicious kick to the head, which knocked Akiyama out and ended the fight.
Kazuo Misaki comes back from nearly being knocked out himself to win by KO (kick) at 8:12 of round one, improving to 19-8-2. After the fight, Misaki celebrated with current UFC fighter Akihiro Gono - who was wearing a very stylish white suit and top hat - before giving Akiyama a bit of a tongue-lashing for his earlier comments before the fight. Although it was a close one, Misaki takes the crown in this battle of the men who had both recently defeated highly-touted Denis Kang.
Gilbert "El Niņo" Melendez vs "The Endless Warrior" Mitsuhiro Ishida
In one of the most high-energy fights of 2007, Ishida outwrestled Melendez and controlled enough of the fight to earn a close Unanimous Decision, giving Melendez his first career loss.Ishida danced around Melendez in the opening minute of the fight, landing occasional punches and a low kick, while Melendez seemed patient. Ishida shot for a takedown and got one leg, but Melendez tried to squirm free. In the process, Ishida took his back and German suplexed him in the corner. Melendez rolled and got back to his feet, but Ishida still had his back. Ishida got Melendez back down and trapped an arm, then moved for a modified crucifix hold on Melendez's arms and neck. Ishida briefly transitioned into a guillotine, but Melendez easily escaped. Melendez attempted a haymaker right hand seconds later, but hit only the rope as Ishida dodged and moved away. Ishida missed a big left hook and went back to leg kicks. Soon after, Ishida scored another takedown and took Melendez's back again, but Melendez reversed and got Ishida's back up against the ropes. Melendez sunk in both hooks, but Ishida escaped and the fight returned to the feet with seven minutes left in the round.
Ishida scored another takedown and avoided a triangle attempt by Melendez, then took Melendez's back. However, Melendez twisted and dropped Ishida down almost directly on his head, then trapped Ishida in a guillotine seconds later. Ishida escaped, took a pair of upkicks from Melendez and then looked for a guillotine of his own. With just under five minutes to go, Ishida got Melendez's back while both fighters were standing in the corner. After a moment of inactivity, Ishida picked Melendez up from the side and dropped him on his head; returning the favour from earlier. Ishida briefly went for a Kimura, then a guillotine, and eventually took Melendez's back once again. Melendez stood up and went to the corner, then twisted around and went for a Kimura on Ishida's arm, but Ishida escaped and took Melendez's back yet again.
With just over two minutes left, Ishida went for a modified guillotine with Melendez's leg in, and used the manoeuvre to put Melendez back on the ground. Ishida struck from the top while Melendez used upkicks, with Ishida taking Melendez's back again. With a minute remaining, the fight returned to the feet and a striking exchange in the corner ended with Ishida attempting a takedown and Melendez countering with hammerfists and a brief Kimura attempt. The round ended with a takedown by Ishida, then a solid right hand and a tight guillotine, which was stopped by the bell. An extremely exciting first round.
Round two kept up the frenetic pace of the first round, with Ishida stuffing a takedown attempt by Melendez and securing a takedown of his own. Melendez squirmed free, and Ishida pressed him against the ropes in the corner. Melendez landed a one-two combination, then a knee to Ishida's head on the ground, but Ishida reversed position and took Melendez's back again, with Melendez again slamming him to the mat as he had done in the previous round. The fight was moved to the centre of the ring, with Melendez landing hammerfists from the top. Ishida went for a deep armlock on Melendez's right elbow and shoulder, which had Melendez in visible agony, but Melendez managed to twist free and continued to land strikes from the top. Ishida continued to strike from the bottom while he looked for submissions. With 30 seconds left in the round, Melendez unleashed a flurry of strikes from the top, with Ishida striking back from the bottom. The round ended with another big flurry from Melendez, who believed that he had done enough to win the fight.
The judges saw things differently, however, as Mitsuhiro Ishida was awarded with a Unanimous Decision to improve to 16-3-1. Melendez suffered his first loss. After the fight, Melendez requested a rematch on U.S. soil, feeling that the home country advantage may have played a part in the decision, but he accepted the loss nonetheless. With the upset win, Ishida regains his footing among the elite at lightweight.
Murilo Bustamante vs Makoto Takimoto
The aging Brazilian Top Team veteran, Bustamante, continued his career trend of Split Decisions in this battle, as he lost a close decision to Takimoto after Takimoto rocked him with a punch in the second round.The first round began with Takimoto landing a pair of leg kicks before the action went into the clinch in the corner. After a moment of inactivity, the referee gave both fighters a Yellow Card (-10% of their fighter purse) and the fight was restarted in the middle of the ring. Bustamante seemed frustrated, and he unleashed a series of punches. Takimoto, an Olympic gold medallist in Judo who is not known for his striking, gamely fought back with looping punches of his own, and the fight went back to the clinch. Takimoto scored the first takedown of the fight, but Bustamante, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu ace, moved right into an armbar. Takimoto rolled and squirmed, and managed to escape the submission.
From the top, Takimoto landed strikes and tried to pass Bustamante's guard. Bustamante landed a trio of upkicks, then secured an ankle pick and got top position. Takimoto rolled, and Bustamante tried to take his back, but Takimoto was too strong and muscled Bustamante back to the mat. Bustamante went for another armbar, which Takimoto countered by rolling into a heel hook, and Bustamante wound up in mount position. He quickly took Takimoto's back and sunk in both hooks, but Takimoto somehow escaped to his feet and threw Bustamante to the mat.
A striking exchange on the ground led to Bustamante taking top position again, where he rained down punches and passed to side-control. Bustamante landed a knee to the side, then moved to mount. Takimoto rolled over and escaped out the back, with Bustamante locking in a kneebar. Takimoto escaped and Bustamante went back to mount. Bustamante briefly took Takimoto's back, but Takimoto stood up and the two traded strikes once again. Bustamante used his reach to jab at Takimoto, while Takimoto ended the exchange with a solid left hook before he slipped to the canvas. Bustamante jumped into mount as Takimoto rolled to escape. Bustamante continued to land strikes from the top as he moved into mount, but Takimoto landed a double upkick which pushed Bustamante back. With a minute left, the fighters engaged in another striking exchange, and Takimoto held his own against his taller opponent. Bustamante got a takedown with 30 seconds left and moved to side-control, but Takimoto defended until the bell.
Takimoto landed a leg kick early in round two, and Bustamante replied with a punching combination. Both fighters traded strikes and then clinched against the ropes, with Takimoto executing a Judo takedown and Bustamante reversing and taking top position. Back on the feet, Takimoto landed a leg kick and a solid punch, but Bustamante was not affected. However, after Bustamante landed a hard left hook, Takimoto countered with a vicious right-left combination of his own, dropping Bustamante in the process. Takimoto pounced and landed a flurry of strikes from the top, but Bustamante recovered and defended as Takimoto landed repeated knees from side-control. With under two minutes to go, Takimoto trapped one of Bustamante's arms and began teeing off with right hands from the top. Takimoto kneed Bustamante in the side and Bustamante countered with a knee to the head from the bottom. With one minute left, Takimoto took mount, but Bustamante escaped back to guard and went for an armbar. The round ended with Bustamante taking Takimoto's back, then mount, and Takimoto defending until the bell.
Makoto Takimoto wins by very close Split Decision to improve to 4-3. Bustamante's career streak of Split Decisions continues to haunt him.
Tatsuya "Crusher" Kawajiri vs Luiz Azeredo
Both fighters came out striking, then quickly went into the clinch against the ropes. Kawajiri landed knees and then took Azeredo down. Kawajiri landed a few punches from the top, and the fight was moved to the middle of the ring. In Azeredo's guard, Kawajiri rained down lefts and rights while Azeredo defended. Kawajiri landed more punches and tried to pass guard as Azeredo briefly tried for an armbar. Kawajiri continued to posture up and punish Azeredo with strikes from the top, but Azeredo landed a pair of upkicks. However, Kawajiri went right back to his ground and pound, with Azeredo unable to do much except hold on. Kawajiri's striking from the top continued until there was just over three minutes left in round one, when Azeredo was given a Yellow Card for stalling.Back on the feet, Kawajiri landed a quick combination and went for another takedown. After a moment, he swept Azeredo and took him down, then began punching from top position once again. With just under two minutes to go, Azeredo squirmed free and quickly took Kawajiri's back, where he looked for a rear naked choke. Kawajiri spun and took top position with one minute remaining in the first round, and landed more strikes from the top. With 30 seconds to go, Kawajiri unleashed a long flurry of strikes, and Azeredo could do little more than cover up and wait for the bell. Azeredo defended well throughout the round, but Kawajiri dominated the entire duration.
Kawajiri began round two with a low kick and a body kick, then briefly got Azeredo down. Azeredo rose back to his feet in the corner and attempted to take Kawajiri down, to no avail. The referee restarted the fight in the middle of the ring, and Kawajiri landed a hard right hand and shot for a takedown. The referee moved the action to the centre of the ring, and Kawajiri continued his ground and pound from Azeredo's guard. With 2:45 to go, Kawajiri opened up a bad cut above Azeredo's left eye with hammerfist strikes. Kawajiri continued his ground and pound for the remainder of the round, with Azeredo occasionally looking for an armbar. With ten seconds left, Azeredo tried for a kneebar, but Kawajiri took mount and landed more punches from the top until the bell.
Tatsuya Kawajiri wins by Unanimous Decision to improve to 20-4-2. Although he did not get a knockout, it was a very impressive and dominating performance for Kawajiri, who had not fought in a year.
Mike Russow vs Roman Zentsov
This heavyweight battle began the show, with Russow taking the Russian veteran, Zentsov, down early. From top position, Russow landed strikes and moved to side-control, then to north-south. He sunk in a North-South choke with his right arm, but Zentsov managed to escape. Russow soon moved from side-control back to north-south once again, but Zentsov pushed off. After a punch and knees from side-control, Russow sunk in another North-South choke and Zentsov tapped out at 2:59 of round one.Mike Russow wins by Submission (North-South choke) at 2:59 of round one to improve to 7-1-0, 1 NC. With his only loss to top 10 heavyweight Sergei Kharitonov, Russow seems poised to make an impact in the heavyweight division in the future.
In what was easily one of the best mixed martial arts events in 2007, M-1 Global's co-promoted "Yarennoka!" with K-1 HERO's, DEEP and Shooto was a very worthy replacement for PRIDE's former "Shockwave" New Year's Eve event. With luck, fight fans will be treated to another similar event at this time next year. Overall, an excellent debut event for M-1 Global, and an excellent end to the year of the upsets, 2007.
