Hioki Drops Decision to Kim
Oct 8, 2007
NAGOYA, Japan, Oct. 8 -- It's been a busy few weeks in Shooto, and
with the annual rookie tournament finals getting closer, it didn't
get any quieter over the long weekend.
On Monday night Nagoya fight fans bore witness to Shooto Gig Central 13, which hosted hometown favorite Hatsu Hioki (Pictures)'s disappointing return to action, along with a glimpse of the future at 168 pounds.
Hioki, who was coming off a hotly contested split-decision loss to
Antonio Carvalho
(Pictures), returned to the ring
against Korean puncher Jong
Man Kim (Pictures). Kim recently rattled Deep champ
Masakazu Imanari
(Pictures)'s cage before succumbing to
an armbar, and he is most famous for stopping Killer Bee's Atsushi Yamamoto (Pictures) in K-1 HERO'S.
Hioki has turned a corner in his career over the last two years. After a February 2006 draw with Bao Quach (Pictures), he has surprised many by striking rather than employing what was thought to be his best weapon -- his jiu-jitsu -- though he did use one successful trip to the canvas to capture Mark Hominick (Pictures)'s TKO strap.
Between rounds it looked as though the Alive camp was on to a winning strategy, as Kim's corner worked exclusively on trying to minimize the swelling in his leg.
In the second Hioki started right back with the kicks, going inside and outside, up and down the body while looking confident. Kim appeared frustrated with Hioki's tactics, and midway through the round he rushed his opponent with a haymaker fiesta that had little regard for what it was hitting.
Hioki survived the onslaught and returned to his rhythm. The second round could have gone either way in the judges' eyes. Kim was left with a butchered leg after getting chopped at for four minutes, and Hioki was dazed after getting pounded on for one minute.
In the final frame, Hioki looked to be cruising to victory. He spent the whole round smacking around Kim's poor excuse for a leg, and the hometown crowd was cheering for his imminent decision win. However, Kim put in a last-ditch effort and stepped in while taking a kick to drop Hioki with another barrage of hooks.
Following Hioki down, and with no official signal that a knockdown had been scored, Kim landed more punches from the top to leave Hioki dazed again as the final bell tolled.
With Hioki clearly taking the first round and Kim clearly owning the third, the fight came down to how the judges saw the second round. Two gave it to an ecstatic Kim, awarding him the split-decision win.
Hioki has now dropped two in a row and may have to rethink his game plan, if he wants to fulfill his dream of wearing Akitoshi Tamura (Pictures)'s belt.
Kim, on the other hand, seems to like to keep moving. He has fought in nearly every major promotion in Japan, and it will be interesting to see where he heads after this high-profile win.
In the co-feature, recent Alive newcomer Yoshitaro Niimi (Pictures) won a decision over Paraestra Hiroshima's Keisuke Sakai (Pictures) at 168 pounds. Sakai came out strong in the first 10 seconds, rushing Niimi, who avoided the charge and clinch and eventually worked his way to Sakai's back. Still on the feet, Niimi attempted to lock in a rear-naked choke.
Sakai fell to the ground and avoided Niimi's submission attempt, only to get caught in a triangle while escaping back control. "Buffalo" Niimi then got a bird's eye view of the Nagoya crowd as Sakai lifted him well above the ropes to try to slam his way out of the triangle. Unhurt by the slam, Niimi kept the triangle locked tight, but Sakai eventually escaped.
More action on the mat followed in the second round. Sakai scored a few takedowns on an obliging Niimi, which was curious considering his affection for striking. Yet Niimi out-positioned his adversary, and despite looking strangely hesitant on his feet, he was awarded a unanimous decision.
In clearly the most impressive showing of the evening, Alive's Takesuke Kume (Pictures), last year's 168-pound amateur Shooto champ, totally outclassed Takuya Sato.
Kume quickly closed the distance and secured the trip takedown. Within the first two minutes, he had taken Sato's back and applied the rear-naked choke by hooking it underneath Sato's chin and standing him up to choke him unconscious. Kume left him lying on the ropes directly in front of the judges.
With two impressive wins in a row and an exciting draw, Kume will likely be competing in next year's rookie tournament. He is definitely a fighter to watch.
In the 168-pound rookie tournament fight of the evening, Tomokazu Yuasa (Pictures) won a bloody decision over Paraestra Hakata's Toshihiko Sugimoto.
After dropping Sugimoto for a count early in the first, Yuasa fought hard to try and finish the fight early and book his spot in the rookie finals. Sugimoto survived the barrage of punches and a kick below the belt, though, to mount his own attack toward the end of the round. In fact, he earned a catch with a reverse triangle after taking down a gassed Yuasa.
Doctors examined Sugimoto between rounds due to what looked like a broken nose. He was deemed able to fight, but he had noticeable trouble breathing. He wasn't the only one sucking air, as the muscular Yuasa had run out of steam with his efforts in the first round.
The second was a bloody mess of a round, with Sugimoto bleeding freely from the nose and Yuasa also cut. Neither man could force a stoppage … or do much at all. Both were totally exhausted well before the final bell.
After a round of huffing and puffing and the odd haymaker, the bell finally rang, and both fighters crashed to the canvas exhausted, having to be carried back by their corners. Yuasa was awarded the decision, but he will have to work on his cardio if he's going to challenge the much more experienced Akihiro Yamazaki in the rookie finals toward the end of the year.
In bantamweight action an extremely cocky Shinichi Hanawa (Pictures) won a decision over Hiroshi Sakamoto (Pictures). Hanawa, who scored his first win in his last seven fights, was on the wrong end of a few nice combinations early, but he eventually got a takedown in both rounds and worked ground-and-pound on his way to victory.
On Monday night Nagoya fight fans bore witness to Shooto Gig Central 13, which hosted hometown favorite Hatsu Hioki (Pictures)'s disappointing return to action, along with a glimpse of the future at 168 pounds.
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Hioki has turned a corner in his career over the last two years. After a February 2006 draw with Bao Quach (Pictures), he has surprised many by striking rather than employing what was thought to be his best weapon -- his jiu-jitsu -- though he did use one successful trip to the canvas to capture Mark Hominick (Pictures)'s TKO strap.
Perhaps ignoring Kim's performances against Imanari and Yamamoto,
Hioki quickly got to work on his usual game plan of sticking and
moving with his jab and peppering the legs with his cracking low
kicks. Kim took the kicks throughout the round without checking,
instead using them to get inside and try to land his patented left
hook.
Between rounds it looked as though the Alive camp was on to a winning strategy, as Kim's corner worked exclusively on trying to minimize the swelling in his leg.
In the second Hioki started right back with the kicks, going inside and outside, up and down the body while looking confident. Kim appeared frustrated with Hioki's tactics, and midway through the round he rushed his opponent with a haymaker fiesta that had little regard for what it was hitting.
Hioki survived the onslaught and returned to his rhythm. The second round could have gone either way in the judges' eyes. Kim was left with a butchered leg after getting chopped at for four minutes, and Hioki was dazed after getting pounded on for one minute.
In the final frame, Hioki looked to be cruising to victory. He spent the whole round smacking around Kim's poor excuse for a leg, and the hometown crowd was cheering for his imminent decision win. However, Kim put in a last-ditch effort and stepped in while taking a kick to drop Hioki with another barrage of hooks.
Following Hioki down, and with no official signal that a knockdown had been scored, Kim landed more punches from the top to leave Hioki dazed again as the final bell tolled.
With Hioki clearly taking the first round and Kim clearly owning the third, the fight came down to how the judges saw the second round. Two gave it to an ecstatic Kim, awarding him the split-decision win.
Hioki has now dropped two in a row and may have to rethink his game plan, if he wants to fulfill his dream of wearing Akitoshi Tamura (Pictures)'s belt.
Kim, on the other hand, seems to like to keep moving. He has fought in nearly every major promotion in Japan, and it will be interesting to see where he heads after this high-profile win.
In the co-feature, recent Alive newcomer Yoshitaro Niimi (Pictures) won a decision over Paraestra Hiroshima's Keisuke Sakai (Pictures) at 168 pounds. Sakai came out strong in the first 10 seconds, rushing Niimi, who avoided the charge and clinch and eventually worked his way to Sakai's back. Still on the feet, Niimi attempted to lock in a rear-naked choke.
Sakai fell to the ground and avoided Niimi's submission attempt, only to get caught in a triangle while escaping back control. "Buffalo" Niimi then got a bird's eye view of the Nagoya crowd as Sakai lifted him well above the ropes to try to slam his way out of the triangle. Unhurt by the slam, Niimi kept the triangle locked tight, but Sakai eventually escaped.
More action on the mat followed in the second round. Sakai scored a few takedowns on an obliging Niimi, which was curious considering his affection for striking. Yet Niimi out-positioned his adversary, and despite looking strangely hesitant on his feet, he was awarded a unanimous decision.
In clearly the most impressive showing of the evening, Alive's Takesuke Kume (Pictures), last year's 168-pound amateur Shooto champ, totally outclassed Takuya Sato.
Kume quickly closed the distance and secured the trip takedown. Within the first two minutes, he had taken Sato's back and applied the rear-naked choke by hooking it underneath Sato's chin and standing him up to choke him unconscious. Kume left him lying on the ropes directly in front of the judges.
With two impressive wins in a row and an exciting draw, Kume will likely be competing in next year's rookie tournament. He is definitely a fighter to watch.
In the 168-pound rookie tournament fight of the evening, Tomokazu Yuasa (Pictures) won a bloody decision over Paraestra Hakata's Toshihiko Sugimoto.
After dropping Sugimoto for a count early in the first, Yuasa fought hard to try and finish the fight early and book his spot in the rookie finals. Sugimoto survived the barrage of punches and a kick below the belt, though, to mount his own attack toward the end of the round. In fact, he earned a catch with a reverse triangle after taking down a gassed Yuasa.
Doctors examined Sugimoto between rounds due to what looked like a broken nose. He was deemed able to fight, but he had noticeable trouble breathing. He wasn't the only one sucking air, as the muscular Yuasa had run out of steam with his efforts in the first round.
The second was a bloody mess of a round, with Sugimoto bleeding freely from the nose and Yuasa also cut. Neither man could force a stoppage … or do much at all. Both were totally exhausted well before the final bell.
After a round of huffing and puffing and the odd haymaker, the bell finally rang, and both fighters crashed to the canvas exhausted, having to be carried back by their corners. Yuasa was awarded the decision, but he will have to work on his cardio if he's going to challenge the much more experienced Akihiro Yamazaki in the rookie finals toward the end of the year.
In bantamweight action an extremely cocky Shinichi Hanawa (Pictures) won a decision over Hiroshi Sakamoto (Pictures). Hanawa, who scored his first win in his last seven fights, was on the wrong end of a few nice combinations early, but he eventually got a takedown in both rounds and worked ground-and-pound on his way to victory.
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