SRC Asia Bantamweight Grand Prix Quarterfinal
Taiyo Nakahara vs Shintaro Ishiwatari
Round 1:
Ishiwatari landed a nice leg kick to open the fight and the fighters traded hard punches in three exchanges. More kicks landed for both and Nakahara threw a head kick. Ishiwatari scored with a knee to the body and more punches were exchanged. Another knee landed for Ishiwatari and he drilled Nakahara with a looping right hook. Nakahara backed Ishiwatari up with a flurry, but Ishiwatari dropped him with a counter left.
He swarmed with punches, but Nakahara recovered and tied Ishiwatari up. He attempted a triangle choke and an armbar, but Ishiwatari stood. Both landed punches and Ishiwatari floored Nakahara with a right hook. Again, Ishiwatari swarmed with punches and a stomp, but Nakahara locked on a kneebar. Ishiwatari grimaced in great pain, but managed to hold on. Nakahara adjusted his grip on the kneebar and Ishiwatari grimaced again, but he survived until the bell. Excellent round. 10-9 Ishiwatari.
Round 2:
Ishiwatari scored with punches to begin round two and Nakahara tried to pull guard. Ishiwatari stepped away and Nakagara stood. Both fighters landed kicks and Ishiwatari connected with another combination. Nakahara took him down and worked for a figure-four guillotine choke from the top. Ishiwatari escaped and scrambled to his feet. Nakahara followed and Ishiwatari began to target the body. Nakahara fired back with an overhand left. Two lead right hands briefly stunned Nakahara, but he regained his composure and threw a wild uppercut.
Punches were exchanged and Ishiwatari continued to target the body, but he appeared to slow down. Time was called due to an accidental poke to Nakahara’s right eye. The fight eventually resumed and both fighters threw body kicks. Ishiwatari’s strayed low and time was called again. Ishiwatari was given a Yellow Card. Action resumed and Ishiwatari landed a grazing head kick. He stuffed a takedown and landed a knee, then locked on a guillotine choke. Nakahara punched until the bell. Closer round. 10-10.
Very strange scoring resulted in a contentious victory for Nakahara.
Winner: Taiyo Nakahara by Split Decision (20-20 [Must Decision – Nakahara], 18-18 [Must Decision – Nakahara], 19-20) after two rounds. He improves to 11-6-0 and advances on in the SRC Asia Bantamweight Grand Prix.
SRC Asia Bantamweight Grand Prix Quarterfinal
Akitoshi “Ironman” Tamura vs Shoko Sato
Round 1:
Tamura landed a leg kick in the opening 30 seconds and Sato replied with a right hook. Tamura took him down and worked for a guillotine choke from the top in Sato’s half-guard. Tamura used strikes to try to pass to mount and tried for the choke again. Tamura switched to a Brabo Choke, but Sato persevered and battled back to his feet. Tamura released the choke and the fighters clinched against the ropes.
Sato broke free of the clinch with a one-two and walked Tamura down with punches. Another combination landed for Sato and time was called to check Tamura’s swollen left eye. Action resumed and Tamura landed an uppercut and a kick. He clinched and Sato pulled guard. Tamura landed a right hand from the top, but Sato rolled into an armbar just before the bell. Good round. 10-9 Tamura.
Round 2:
The second round opened with an exchange of kicks and Sato landed a left hook as Tamura clinched. Sato pulled guard again, but time was called due to a cut on the eyelid of Tamura’s already damaged left eye. The fight was allowed to continue and Sato worked for submissions from his back. He trapped Tamura in rubber guard briefly, but let it go and landed a hard upkick. Tamura remained on top in Sato’s half-guard, but had to fight off a Kimura attempt.
Sato struck from his back as Tamura seemed content to maintain position. He pushed Sato up against the ropes and landed short right hands. Tamura finally escaped Sato’s half-guard and moved to side-control. He managed to sneak in short knees to the side of Sato’s head. Sato regained half-guard and Tamura threw more short right hands. Tamura stood and was rocked by a series of upkicks. He recovered and punched until the bell. Very close round. 10-9 Tamura, barely.
Winner: Akitoshi Tamura by Split Decision (20-19, 19-18, 19-20) after two rounds. He improves to 15-9-2 and advances on in the SRC Asia Bantamweight Grand Prix.
SRC Asia Bantamweight Grand Prix Quarterfinal
Shunichi Shimizu vs Wataru Takahashi
Round 1:
Shimizu opened the fight with a nice leg kick and avoided an overhand right. Takahashi tried for a takedown and met with no success. He landed a stiff jab and two left hands, but Shimizu took Takahashi down with a flying scissor heel hook. Takahashi escaped and stood. The fighters exchanged punches and Shimizu ran in a circle around the ring. He took Takahashi down and punched from Takahashi’s guard.
Shimizu stood and landed a stomp, then attempted to secure a can opener as Takahashi worked for a heel hook. Shimizu flopped backward and kicked at Takahashi’s face, then battered him with punches. He took Takahashi’s back and threw hammerfists. Shimizu transitioned into an armbar, but Takahashi escaped. The fighters stood and Takahashi threw a one-two. A clinch followed, but neither could score a takedown. 10-9 Shimizu.
Round 2:
Shimizu defended an early takedown attempt with a jab that stunned Takahashi, but Takahashi recovered and landed a leg kick. Shimizu clinched and pushed Takahashi through the ropes. After the restart, Shimizu reversed a takedown and took Takahashi’s back. He flattened Takahashi out and worked for a rear-naked choke. Takahashi rolled and tried to escape, but Shimizu kept him in place with a body triangle. Takahashi continued to try to escape to his feet, but Shimizu had none of it and kept the body triangle locked on.
Shimizu attempted a unique reverse Kimura from back control, but Takahashi finally managed to spin and took top position. Shimizu instantly sprung to his feet and Takahashi scored with a body kick. He rushed in with a left and Shimizu used another flying scissor heel hook attempt to take Takahashi down. Takahashi wound up on top, but Shimizu scrambled into an omoplata, then took Takahashi’s back. Shimizu scored with hammerfists and upkicked from his back late in the round. 10-9 Shimizu.
Winner: Shunichi Shimizu by Unanimous Decision (20-18, 20-18, 20-19) after two rounds. He improves to 18-6-9 and advances on in the SRC Asia Bantamweight Grand Prix.
SRC Asia Bantamweight Grand Prix Quarterfinal
Manabu Inoue vs Jae Hyun So
Round 1:
Inoue took So down very early in the fight and worked from his guard. He threw short punches and added elbows to the body, then passed to half-guard. So defended well and prevented Inoue from doing much of anything. He eventually regained full guard, but Inoue retained top control and continued to pepper So with strikes.
So scrambled and tried to get to his feet, but Inoue took his back. So continued to move to try to escape, but could not. Inoue landed a handful of strikes from back control and returned to So’s guard with one minute left in the round. More short strikes and a solid left hand scored for Inoue and the fighters ended the round in a clinch. 10-9 Inoue.
Round 2:
The second round began with an exchange of strikes before Inoue took So down again. He punched from the top in the corner of the ring, but So reversed and pinned Inoue against the ropes. Inoue swept and took top position again. He landed a nice left hand and followed with more soon after. So reversed again and fought off a guillotine choke. The fighters stood and traded kicks and punches.
So fought off a takedown and tried for a guillotine choke of his own soon after, but Inoue escaped and drilled him with a knee. More knees landed for Inoue as he punished So with hammerfists. A hard knee forced So to roll to his back and Inoue took top position. He secured a modified scissor choke that quickly became a neck crank, but So escaped. Inoue landed punches before the bell. 10-9 Inoue.
Winner: Manabu Inoue by Unanimous Decision (20-18, 20-18, 20-19) after two rounds. He improves to 11-5-1 and advances on in the SRC Asia Bantamweight Grand Prix.