Mixed martial arts is one of those sports in which it can be a crapshoot as to who will win a certain matchup. There are many betting experts out there that may have great success for a number of events, but then comes along an event that they simply lost on. There are other events that you and all of your friends simply know is a lock, but then you are absolutely shocked by the outcome. For some, Liddell being knocked out by Jackson may have been that fight this year, or Gomi being gogoplata'd by Nick Diaz, or maybe seeing "JZ" Calvancanti steamroll Ribiero at K-1 Hero's Middleweight tournament. Either way, fights like this are one of the drawing factors for fans around the world. The K-1 Hero's event on Sunday proved to be one of those events that were great for betting odds and shocking to some fans. As for me, it wasn't too surprising, but the event did have its upsets and surprises.
Akiyama knocks out Denis Kang
Denis Kang's stance as a top middleweight in the world dropped a few notches on Sunday. Akiyama caught Kang with a punch a few minutes into the round that broke Kang's nose. A few moments later, Akiyama backed Kang into a corner and demolished him with an uppercut from the Gods. In a surprise upset, Akiyama shocked the crowd in Korea that was definitely rooting for Denis Kang's return to the ring. If you had paid attention to the betting lines, it may have been a significantly rich day for you as well. At a +250, Akiyama was actually a fairly good bet to make some great money. The underdog prevailed and the talk that Kang could potentially be a load for Anderson Silva to go up against has slowly descended to a whisper.
Giving Minowa a -600 got someone fired
Apparently the oddsmakers failed to recognize the fact that Minowa normally fights at middleweight and Min Soo Kim fought Brock Lesnar at a much higher weight in his last fight. Kim was at a +400, meaning my $100 turned into $400 fairly quickly since Kim disposed of Minowa in under four minutes into the fight. Minowa was unbelievably smaller than Kim, had little effect with his strikes to Kim, and was bullied around the ring like a ragdoll. The superstar power that Minowa apparently possesses did not help him at all. The spectacle that is "Minowaman" cannot continue to try to take on bigger fighters. His career will be over shortly if he continues to take those kinds of beatings.
Marcelo Garcia meets a punch
Considered the best submission grappler in the world, Marcelo Garcia met his match in the HERO's ring. He was defeated by Kim Dae Won via a punch in the second round that opened up a large gash in his face and caused the doctor to stop the fight. It reminded me of the old days when Charles Barkley would charge the lane and run some rookie over and say "Welcome to the NBA!". Although Garcia controlled much of the first round while grasping onto Won's back and trying to choke him out, Won's submission defense was good enough to give him another chance. Once the bell rung for the second round, Kwon threw a quick jab that stopped the fight. The lesson: Submission grappling is a great base, but it can only take you so far when you can stop the first punch. I think this was a moment in which we can see that the progression of the all-around skills of fighters is definitely coming into play.
Strikers had a bad day
Carlos Newton used to be in fairly good shape. He shows up to this fight looking like a beefier Chuck Liddell without any of his striking skills. Oyama ran a boxing clinic all over Newton's face. Newton apparently forgot the single biggest asset that you need when striking, move your feet. Newton was peppered with punches while he stood still and Oyama stuck and moved all around him. When Oyama came close to finishing Newton from blows, Newton tried to hit the floor and was submitted. It's time to say goodbye to Carlos Newton, he looks as if he doesn't have the heart to keep going.
Bernard Ackah is known as the guy who came out and blasted Johnnie Morton into a dreamland in a little over 30 seconds into their battle at K-1 Dynamite. Ackah is a big TV personality in Japan, but that wasn't going to help him in this matchup against a BJ Penn MMA fighter, Poai Suganuma. Suganuma proved that a guy who has some decent standup with outstanding ground tactics will almost always decimate a pure striker when on the ground. Ackah was exposed enormously on the ground and K-1 really hurt his chances of improving before hitting a major roadblock. Ackah needs to hit the drawing board and improve his ground game substantially.
Dong Sik Yoon once again proved that he has some great skills on the ground and is an up-and-coming force in HERO's. Although he only has a 3-4 record, he's had a horribly tough schedule to deal with, taking on Bustamante, "Rampage" Jackson, and Sakuraba in his first 3 out of 4 fights. Yoon took on Fabio Silva, another Chute Box brawler who uses his Wanderlei Silva like skills to knee and pound opponents to death. Unfortunately for Silva, he isn't Wanderlei Silva and he doesn't possess a very good ground game either. Yoon dominated SIlva on the ground and finished him off fairly easily a bit over halfway through the first round. Look out for the "Dongbar".
Final thoughts
Overall, the K-1 HERO's card was a fairly decent event with some surprises. Moreover, I enjoyed seeing some fighters that I have not seen fight in awhile get a chance to show off their skills. It was a breath of fresh air to see some judokas in the ring proving their skills against the exact type of fighters that their skills are made to counter. The betting lines were unbelievably beneficial to the hardcore fans that actually understood the matchups. Akiyama isn't a bad fighter at all, Min Soo Kim should kill middleweights, and Carlos Newton should either get back into shape or quit. Apparently the oddsmakers didn't realize this. Check out the fights online if you can find them, you will not be disappointed.