( o Y o )
15th April 2008, 02:50 PM
Doesn't really deserve its own thread, but I am still too tired to carefully read others and see what has been covered. I also don't know what was shown and what wasn't.
Firstly, I hope that is the last we see of Kyoung. Another waste of ring entrance time really, when there are so many actual fighters out there dying for their chance to get in the ring.
Nakasako fought well, and as usual for him, was confident against a Japanese opponent. Sato had a great first round which he won (technically 9-10, 10-10, 10-10 for Sato), got caught in the second, and seemed to run out of steam in the third. I think he improved a good deal since I last saw him fight, but I guess Nakasako's 10 years more experience was the deciding factor.
Takahashi vs Enokida was...well...entertaining I guess. In a total of 40 seconds there were three downs, and the last left Takahashi KTFO.
Chalid vs Aleks was a good technical fight, but the extra rounds were never needed. Aleks did lose a chance of really getting the crowd behind him though as they loved every high/spinning kick he threw....he just didn't throw enough I guess.
The PFI has Chalid saying he doesn't think Aleks is a top 16 fighter, but I think this is a slight miss-quote as it was translated from English to Japanese, then back to English by a different person.
What Chalid did make clear though, was that Musashi never gave him his shoes after he beat him, and he laughed and said Musashi must be tight.
Dracula vs Noda....not really much to say here. Was a slog-fest without stamina. I was very happy Dracula didn't fall face first at the end though as that would have been very dangerous.
Mo vs Maeda........not sure how the hell Fujimoto got warned for a lack of action and Maeda was permitted to run, clinch all night. A lot of people are saying Mo saying he was sick is bullshit, but he was in fact sick. I still don't see how he could lose that fight though.
Glaube vs Alex....wow, what a KO. It was quite the mismatch in the end though as other than a minute or so at the begining, it looked to be like Glaube just coasted by. Alex was fine post fight too, which was great to see.
Ray vs Hari was obviously the hardest for me to watch. This was one of those win/win match ups for K-1, and Hari really stepped up to the plate. I have watched Ray training before a few fights, and on the pads etc he looked as good as I have seen him. He made no excuses, was in great condition, and actually went back to the gym the next morning. It looked harsh, but he was completely OK after the fight...just got caught between distances and couldn't recover. Props to Hari for being the first of the new generation to really make a run at things.
Musashi vs Sawayaksjifjemnandhf7hr$3 was good for me in one regard, and bad in another. I wanted to see the newcomer do well, but believe Musashi has done enough for the company over the years that he deserves better than being cast aside which I think may have happened if he lost. And doing it aggressively as well. I believe Tanikawa said both would be in the Japan GP.
Fujimoto lost due to have what Norikawa Fujiwara delicately described as having "no heart" yet again. The fight was not the most exciting, and I understand many expected a lot from Teixeira, but what you cannot see on TV is the incredible pressure he was under to represent Kyokushin, and do so well. What most people also don't understand is his preperation time for his first K-1 fight was significantly less than Filho had. Obviously his hands, and overall distancing needs lots of work, but there were glimpses of gold in there.
Semmy is the man. Hunt said he didn't even notice the kick until he heard the ref say "8" and he noticed he was on the ground. That was when his wind started coming back. He said the initial movement he saw from Sem made him think a spinning backfist was coming. Again, lots of people seem to think he milked the down for an easy way out, but he appeared very sad at having lost.
Sem actually gave a decent post fight interview. When he was told Tanikawa said they were having trouble finding opponents that would face him, he just said "thats not my problem" with a big grin. I asked about MMA and threw out Fedor and Mirko and he said he would fight whoever, under whatever rules FEG tells him to do.
As a total event, I think it fell short of last years by quite a way. Match making has to take some of the blame for that. There were some real highlights (or lowlights, depending on who you like :-P), but there were long periods where it felt kinda flat. I am sure I am missing something, but thats it for now.
Firstly, I hope that is the last we see of Kyoung. Another waste of ring entrance time really, when there are so many actual fighters out there dying for their chance to get in the ring.
Nakasako fought well, and as usual for him, was confident against a Japanese opponent. Sato had a great first round which he won (technically 9-10, 10-10, 10-10 for Sato), got caught in the second, and seemed to run out of steam in the third. I think he improved a good deal since I last saw him fight, but I guess Nakasako's 10 years more experience was the deciding factor.
Takahashi vs Enokida was...well...entertaining I guess. In a total of 40 seconds there were three downs, and the last left Takahashi KTFO.
Chalid vs Aleks was a good technical fight, but the extra rounds were never needed. Aleks did lose a chance of really getting the crowd behind him though as they loved every high/spinning kick he threw....he just didn't throw enough I guess.
The PFI has Chalid saying he doesn't think Aleks is a top 16 fighter, but I think this is a slight miss-quote as it was translated from English to Japanese, then back to English by a different person.
What Chalid did make clear though, was that Musashi never gave him his shoes after he beat him, and he laughed and said Musashi must be tight.
Dracula vs Noda....not really much to say here. Was a slog-fest without stamina. I was very happy Dracula didn't fall face first at the end though as that would have been very dangerous.
Mo vs Maeda........not sure how the hell Fujimoto got warned for a lack of action and Maeda was permitted to run, clinch all night. A lot of people are saying Mo saying he was sick is bullshit, but he was in fact sick. I still don't see how he could lose that fight though.
Glaube vs Alex....wow, what a KO. It was quite the mismatch in the end though as other than a minute or so at the begining, it looked to be like Glaube just coasted by. Alex was fine post fight too, which was great to see.
Ray vs Hari was obviously the hardest for me to watch. This was one of those win/win match ups for K-1, and Hari really stepped up to the plate. I have watched Ray training before a few fights, and on the pads etc he looked as good as I have seen him. He made no excuses, was in great condition, and actually went back to the gym the next morning. It looked harsh, but he was completely OK after the fight...just got caught between distances and couldn't recover. Props to Hari for being the first of the new generation to really make a run at things.
Musashi vs Sawayaksjifjemnandhf7hr$3 was good for me in one regard, and bad in another. I wanted to see the newcomer do well, but believe Musashi has done enough for the company over the years that he deserves better than being cast aside which I think may have happened if he lost. And doing it aggressively as well. I believe Tanikawa said both would be in the Japan GP.
Fujimoto lost due to have what Norikawa Fujiwara delicately described as having "no heart" yet again. The fight was not the most exciting, and I understand many expected a lot from Teixeira, but what you cannot see on TV is the incredible pressure he was under to represent Kyokushin, and do so well. What most people also don't understand is his preperation time for his first K-1 fight was significantly less than Filho had. Obviously his hands, and overall distancing needs lots of work, but there were glimpses of gold in there.
Semmy is the man. Hunt said he didn't even notice the kick until he heard the ref say "8" and he noticed he was on the ground. That was when his wind started coming back. He said the initial movement he saw from Sem made him think a spinning backfist was coming. Again, lots of people seem to think he milked the down for an easy way out, but he appeared very sad at having lost.
Sem actually gave a decent post fight interview. When he was told Tanikawa said they were having trouble finding opponents that would face him, he just said "thats not my problem" with a big grin. I asked about MMA and threw out Fedor and Mirko and he said he would fight whoever, under whatever rules FEG tells him to do.
As a total event, I think it fell short of last years by quite a way. Match making has to take some of the blame for that. There were some real highlights (or lowlights, depending on who you like :-P), but there were long periods where it felt kinda flat. I am sure I am missing something, but thats it for now.