It isn’t that rare nowadays that we get to see some top notch MMA events from both the North American market and the Asian market in the same weekend. Unfortunately for us, the IFL didn’t put on the best show in terms of excitement, but it was a venerable showing for a sinking ship. Most of the hardcore fans were simply tuning into the IFL’s event from the Mohegan Sun as a precursor to the real action that was going to begin in the wee hours of the morning on Sunday… Sengoku II.
Sengoku wasn’t as fantastic as it could have been, but it definitely gave the hardcore fans a dose of the medicine that they wanted. Josh Barnett and Jeff Monson squared off in an epic battle between two dangerous grapplers who both had the luxury of knowing what each other’s strengths were in the ring. Both fighters were former training partners, and it definitely showed during their matchup. Each man nullified one another’s submission attempts for most of the fight, and Barnett’s work ethic in top control was the only real factor in the decision win. It wasn’t a dominating performance by Barnett, but it was a clear victory for the “Babyface Assassin”. Monson will face a surging and strong Mike Russow in Chicago on June 14th at Adrenaline’s first MMA card while Barnett will battle Brazilian striker Pedro Rizzo in a rematch of their UFC 30 bout that saw Rizzo KO’ing Barnett.
Roger Gracie dominated Yuki Kondo from the beginning of the fight in their lead-up bout to the main event. It was clear that Roger had a ridiculous size advantage over Kondo, and it was the decisive factor in why Kondo wasn’t effective at all during the bout. Roger simply clinched, toppled onto Kondo, and worked his championship ground tactics to choke out Kondo in quick fashion.
Is Roger ready to begin a quest at obtaining the #1 spot in the world? It’s hard to say. He’s easily defeated both opponents with his superior jiu-jitsu techniques, but can he compete with top 10 talent so early in his MMA career? He’s definitely going to need some more tune-up fights before breaking into the elite, and his main area of concentration should be his striking. A decent striking game can set up those clinches, but he won’t have an easy time getting guys to the ground if he breaks into the top 5. He’ll definitely need some work, but he’s been impressive so far.
Kevin Randleman won a decision over Ryo Kawamura, and the fight went as expected. Ryo had little answer for the ground game that Randleman was trying to impose. For the most part, Randleman controlled from the top, but he wasn’t very effective in striking Kawamura during most of the fight. It didn’t help matters much as the fight went on because Randleman was gassing hard while Kawamura couldn’t even get to his feet. It wasn’t exactly the fight that the fans in Japan wanted to see, but Randleman did get a win under his belt after his horrific bout with the Staph.
The big KO of the night goes to Heath Herring’s love interest, Yoshihiro “Kiss” Nakao. Jim York put up a decent fight, and it wasn’t looking too good for Nakao as the fight entered the second round. Most of round one was a feeling out period, and York really didn’t take any damage whatsoever, but Nakao caught him in the second and charged in for the kill with a huge blow that knocked York out. Nakao is making some waves, but I think he’ll have some trouble on the ground.
Other action saw Jorge Santiago winning a tough battle with Yuki Sasaki via armbar, Eiji Mitsuoka defeating hard striking Kwang Hee Lee by RNC in round one, Mike Pyle pulled off the triangle choke to end Dan Hornbuckle’s chances near the end of their first round, and Satoru Kitaoka dominated XFC champ Ian Schaffa and ended it via guillotine choke in the first round.
Most of the preliminary bouts were predictable, but there was some decent showings from the losers on the card. Dan Hornbuckle had some great range, and in my opinion, was winning the exchanges until the triangle at the end of round one. Jorge Santiago had a scare during his bout from Sasaki’s striking, but he was able to push through and end the fight on an armbar. He continues his win streak and dominance.
Overall, I loved the action. There were some moments of boredom, but it was nice to see some good North American pedigree in the ring with some of Japan’s up-and-coming talent. Josh Barnett is finally on the road back to regularly fighting, and it can only help him in his quest to take on Fedor. Roger Gracie could very well be the man to beat Fedor down the road, but he needs some work on his all-around game.
And finally, can you say Kiss vs. Herring II: Valentine’s Day 2009? If it happens, let the laughing begin.