SRC Welterweight Grand Prix Reserve Bout
Takuya Sato vs Motoki Miyazawa
Round 1:
Miyazawa backed Sato into a corner early on and looked to land knees, then took Sato down. He worked from the top in Sato’s guard as Sato held on and prevented Miyazawa from landing anything meaningful. Miyazawa moved to half-guard, then took Sato’s back in a scramble. Sato tried to spin to his side to defend a rear-naked choke attempt, but he could not.
Miyazawa continued to work for the choke, then switched to a neck crank, but Sato pushed his arms away. Miyazawa attempted another neck crank, then rolled Sato to his side. Miyazawa locked on a body triangle and prevented Sato from moving. He threw short punches to the sides of Sato’s head and maintained back control until the bell. 10-9 Miyazawa.
Round 2:
Sato landed a pair of nice combinations in the second round and followed with a glancing uppercut. The fighters clinched and Sato stomped at Miyazawa’s feet. He mixed in knees to the thigh until referee Samio Kimura separated the fighters. A big one-two dropped Miyazawa and he dove in with punches. Sato raked his chin across Miyazawa’s face, but Miyazawa recovered and held on.
Sato worked from half-guard and moved to side-control. He continued to use his chin to bother Miyazawa, then stood over Miyazawa and missed with a stomp. Miyazawa upkicked from his back and the fighters were stood up. Sato landed a jab and came up just short with a left cross. The fighters traded punches in the final ten seconds. 10-9 Sato.
Round 3:
Miyazawa shot in for a takedown in the third and final round, but Sato stuffed it and the fighters clinched in the corner. Little transpired and the fighters were separated. Sato threw a left hook and a one-two, then followed with an uppercut and a right hook. A lead left hand landed for Sato and he connected with another one-two. Miyazawa landed a body kick and Sato countered with punches.
More punches landed for Sato and he backed Miyazawa up with a stiff jab. The action slowed as Sato looked to pick his shots while Miyazawa seemingly had no answer for Sato’s strikes. Sato landed quick jabs and just missed with an uppercut. He clipped Miyazawa with two left hand counters as Miyazawa pushed forward. A stiff jab and a left hook landed for Sato before the bell. 10-9 Sato.
Winner: Takuya Sato by Unanimous Decision (30-28, 30-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 6-3-2 and will advance on in the SRC Welterweight Grand Prix in the event of an injury.
SRC Asia Bantamweight Grand Prix Bout
Shintaro Ishiwatari vs Kil Woo Lee
Round 1:
Lee opened up with punches right away and Ishiwatari shot in for a takedown. Lee shook him off and landed more punches in close. Ishiwatari answered with kicks and time was called after a knee from Lee strayed low. The fight resumed and Ishiwatari ducked under a punch and scored a takedown. Lee scrambled to his feet and landed knees to the head, then pulled guard with a guillotine choke.
Ishiwatari escaped and moved to North-South. A scramble followed and the fighters stood. Ishiwatari locked on a power guillotine choke and Lee gamely tried to fight it off. He could not and was forced to submit. Very impressive submission win for Ishiwatari.
Winner: Shintaro Ishiwatari by Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 2:20 of round one.
SRC Asia Bantamweight Grand Prix Bout
Shoko Sato vs Takuya Eizumi
Round 1:
Sato opened round one with kicks to the legs and body and Eizumi answered with punches. Quick punches landed for Sato, but time was called after a kick strayed low. Eizumi recovered and the fight resumed. He landed a stiff leg kick and Sato answered with a body shot and a front kick. Sato threw a jumping knee and circled away from kicks from Eizumi. Knees and a leg kick all landed for Sato and Eizumi pushed forward with a right hook.
Sato threw a head kick and a one-two. Eizumi landed a right cross, but ate a hard leg kick in return. A knee also landed for Sato and he continued to control the striking exchanges. Sato scored with a body kick and two knees. Eizumi took Sato down briefly, but Sato got back to his feet and punished him with punches. Another combination landed for Sato and he pulled guard with a guillotine choke. The bell sounded seconds later. 10-9 Sato.
Round 2:
Sato picked his shots with crosses from a distance in round two and followed with an inside leg kick. He snapped Eizumi’s head back with a stiff jab and landed another leg kick. Sato scored with a jumping knee to the face and a one-two, but a bloodied Eizumi took him down. Time was called to check Eizumi’s nose, which was bleeding profusely. The fight was called, giving Sato the victory.
Winner: Shoko Sato by TKO (Doctor Stoppage – Cut) at 1:38 of round two.
SRC Asia Bantamweight Grand Prix Bout
Wataru Takahashi vs Tatsuya So
Round 1:
Takahashi scored a very brief takedown early on and landed in mount, but So easily escaped to his feet and threw a head kick. Takahashi answered with a flurry and knees to the body. The fighters exchanged punches and Takahashi landed two more knees. He tried for a takedown and So stuffed it. So, with nose bleeding from a previous exchange, got back to his feet and more punches were exchanged. Takahashi clinched and backed So up to the ropes.
Time was called after So’s mouthpiece fell out. His bloodied nose was also checked out, but the fight eventually resumed and So landed a flurry. Takahashi fired back with punches and a kick, but was briefly dropped by a right hook. He stood up and So landed more punches. Takahashi scored a takedown and moved to side-control, but So escaped. More strikes were exchanged and Takahashi took So down again. He moved to mount, but So squirmed out again. Both landed punches at the bell. 10-9 So, barely.
Round 2:
Both fighters landed punches early in the second round and Takahashi scored a takedown. So looked to set up a submission from his back, but Takahashi moved to side-control. So escaped to his feet and landed a left cross to the body. A trio of punches connected for So and he defended a takedown attempt. Takahashi’s second takedown try was successful and he landed in side-control again. Takahashi worked for an arm-triangle choke and So spun free. The fighters stood and So targeted the body again.
Takahashi dove for a takedown and So stuffed it. Both fighters landed straight punches and Takahashi took So down. So quickly bounced back to his feet and Takahashi dragged him down again. He tried for a bulldog choke and a guillotine, but So stood and escaped. Takahashi tried for a takedown and wound up on the bottom with So in side-control. The fighters again quickly returned to their feet and Takahashi took So down. A scramble followed and Takahashi took So’s back. He locked on a rear-naked choke and So was forced to submit.
Winner: Wataru Takahashi by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 4:34 of round two.
SRC Asia Bantamweight Grand Prix Bout
Jae Hyun So vs Hirokazu Nishimura
Round 1:
Nishimura took the fight to the mat early on and struck from the top in So’s guard. He moved to a modified mount position and isolated So’s arm, but So scrambled out and got to his feet. He took Nishimura down and secured back control. So attempted an armbar transition, but lost the position and Nishimura wound up on top. He threw more punches, but found himself trapped in a triangle choke.
Nishimura managed to keep both arms inside the triangle to relieve pressure, but So rolled him over and switched to a top-side triangle. So wound up on the bottom again in a traditional triangle position and Nishimura managed to escape. He fought out of a follow-up armbar attempt as well. A scramble ensued and So tried for another armbar from his back. Nishimura narrowly escaped and So took him down before the bell. 10-9 So.
Round 2:
The fighters exchanged punches in the second round and time was called after a vicious kick to the groin from Nishimura. So collapsed to the canvas and was in great pain. After a lengthy delay, the fight resumed and Nishimura was given a Yellow Card. So cracked him with a series of punching combinations and scored a takedown. Nishimura scrambled and tried for a Kimura from the bottom. He let it go and stood over So, then took So’s back briefly.
The fighters stood and So rolled for a leg submission. Nishimura defended, but wound up on the bottom. He tried for another Kimura, but So escaped and took Nishimura’s back. So looked to isolate one of Nishimura’s arms to set up a rear-naked choke. Nishimura kept his chin tucked as So locked on a body triangle. Nishimura defended the choke attempts well, but So maintained back control all the way until the bell. 10-9 So.
Winner: Jae Hyun So by Unanimous Decision after two rounds.
Capped off by one of the most incredible main events in mixed martial arts history, Sengoku Raiden Championship 14 was an excellent card of entertaining fights. Jorge Santiago once again rallied in the fifth round of his rematch with Kazuo “The Hitman” Misaki, while Hatsu Hioki picked up another impressive submission victory.