OSAKA, Japan, Dec. 31 -- K-1 wrapped up the year with a card featuring a would-be classic battle between two of the biggest legends in MMA, a few comedians,
Bob Sapp (Pictures) and some of the top names in Japanese MMA.
Inside a packed Osaka Dome, Pancrase legend
Masakatsu Funaki (Pictures), who had not fought since his "retirement" bout against
Rickson Gracie (Pictures) more than six and a half years ago, and the quickly aging
Kazushi Sakuraba (Pictures) fought in the headlining bout.
Splitting the crowd in terms of support, the two men had a feeling-out period in the first five minutes of the opening round. Sakuraba threw sporadic low kicks and pawed with his jab before he managed an ankle pick off a Funaki low kick.
Soon after it hit the mat, Funaki, in classic Pancrase style, rolled for the kneebar. However, Sakuraba stuffed it with little trouble and returned to his feet.
Quickly again the fight hit the canvas, ending in the classic Sakuraba position with him standing and Funaki trying to land an up-kick from his back. Sakuraba was clearly getting comfortable, and he started to throw low kicks in rapid succession. Except for one accurate up-kick from Funaki, Sakuraba faced no threat.
Sakuraba capitalized on the Pancrase veteran's lack of offense, meeting Funaki back on the mat and obtaining side control. Then Sakuraba went for his bread-and-butter kimura from side, and still facing no stiff defense, he rotated the arm sufficiently to cause Funaki to tap.
Sakuraba, who had trained at Chute Boxe in Brazil once again for this fight, was clearly pleased with the result and thanked his fans. He said he would continue to do his best next year and expressed no hint of retirement plans.
Funaki was obviously a shadow of his former self, although it was to be expected.
"I was surprised at his striking and timing," Sakuraba said. "I don't know about my next fight, but today I felt good. After this I will go see my family in Tokyo and do karaoke."
The Zuffa-contracted
Rani Yahya (Pictures) took on one of the sport's most dynamic athletes in
Norifumi Yamamoto (Pictures). Yahya had previously only been stopped once in his career, by another K-1 top dog in
Gesias Calvancante (Pictures), but "Kid" was also up to the challenge.
Yahya quickly found out that Yamamoto was a terrible stylistic matchup for him, which caused him to abandon his game plan. Kid easily countered a takedown attempt with a hook that sent Yahya off course and to the canvas, though the Brazilian's chin was good and he recovered. Still, Yahya tried only one other takedown in the fight, which was also unsuccessful, and he was truly outclassed on the feet.
Although he started uncharacteristically slow, Yamamoto perfectly countered the grappler's wild punches and made him pay constantly as he came in against the smaller fighter. Apart from one brief spurt of dirty boxing from Yahya, Kid dominated the entire fight with his swift hooks and uppercuts.
In the second round, Yamamoto landed a hook and uppercut combo that floored the Brazilian in his own corner. Yamamoto immediately took advantage, grabbing the ropes and soccer kicking Yahya for the referee stoppage.
After the fight "Kid" was given a yellow card, not for holding the rope but for apparently yelling taunts at Yahya's corner and not immediately backing off on the referee's command. The bout really showed that Yamamoto has lost nothing during the past two years of relative inactivity, although he needed the first few minutes to shake off the ring rust.
One of the greatest talents in K-1,
Kazuyuki Miyata (Pictures) clashed with former PRIDE and Shooto standout
Joachim Hansen (Pictures) in one of the most anticipated bouts of the night.
Miyata seemed to have a winning game plan in the first. He controlled from the top after a takedown and scored with his ground-and-pound, though he gave up the position when attempting a farfetched submission. Hansen, who managed to make it back to his feet, landed a crushing right hand that sent Miyata tumbling to the canvas.
The Japanese fighter was saved by the bell, but not for long. In the second round, Hansen scrambled to Miyata's back after reversing the side-mount and quickly sunk in a rear-naked choke at 1:32.
Giving up more than 50 pounds, ZST star
Hideo Tokoro (Pictures) clashed with former RINGS star
Kiyoshi Tamura (Pictures) in front of ZST and RINGS founder
Akira Maeda (Pictures), who watched from ringside. The normally likable Tokoro had no love for Tamura, giving him a cheap punch to the jaw during the staredowns, which earned him a stern warning but no card.
The battle between the two Maeda products was truly new versus old. Tamura used the flat-footed style of the grappling-centered RINGS organization, and Tokoro employed the lighter-footed MMA striking found in today's game.
The first two rounds were fairly even, as both men landed on the feet but with nothing too dangerous. Tamura scored takedowns, but Tokoro had submission attempts that looked close at some stages and not at others.
The deciding point came in the final round. After connecting with some kicks to the body, Tamura got a takedown and secured an armbar on his new-school replacement.
Melvin Manhoef (Pictures) and Yousuke Nishijima looked set to provide some entertaining exchanges on the feet. Normally if you could place bets on one fighter sure to keep the fight standing, Manhoef would be it.
Not tonight, however. After a brief exchange, Manhoef, who entered the ring on a chain and wearing a dog collar, took Nishijima down and passed to mount, where he knocked out the one-dimensional boxer with strikes.
Nishijima had stated in his pre-fight interview that this was his "last chance" and then he entered to "The Final Countdown." This could be the last we see of the bald boxer.
In one of the many "freak" matches of the night,
Ikuhisa Minowa (Pictures) fought the enormous Zuluzinho. Minowa's strategy from the start was clear: He might as well have changed his wrestling boots for running spikes.
From the opening gong, Minowa started jogging laps around the perimeter, every now and then closing the distance for a leg kick before making tracks again. In the closing minute of the round, Zuluzinho managed to corner him and get him down. Minowa then shocked all in attendance when, while the Brazilian had his back, he stood up and lifted the 400-pound behemoth in the air before spinning him around to reverse the position for a short time.
The strategy looked solid until the second round, when Zuluzinho mustered up the cardio to get into a bit of a jog himself and corner Minowa. A slam followed, and on the ground the son of
Rei Zulu was just way too heavy. He used his weight to control Minowa, and at one point threatened with a Kimura.
Surprisingly it was Minowa who was unable to keep up the running act, the weight of Zulu having gassed him in the final round enough to allow the Brazilian to catch him. After getting the fight to the ground, Zulu locked up Minowa in side control with his substantial weight and hammered down for a corner stoppage.
Full-time comedian and part-time fighter
Bobby Ologun (Pictures) provided few laughs against
Bob Sapp (Pictures). Ologun was out-sized and out-skilled against "The Beast." Sapp got a sloppy takedown and quickly passed into side-control and then mount, where he pounded away for the stoppage.
"I feel great," Sapp said post-fight. "I'm going to sit down with FEG and K-1 to see what 2008 holds for ‘The Beast.' I plan on performing here more and more in 2008. It would be a happy new year."
On the K-1 rules portion of the card, Masato was way too good for former WBA champ Yong Soo Choi. Masato scored a third-round knockout but not before landing a devastating kick to the face in the first that would have sent a lesser man to the hospital.
Musashi survived an early scare against
Bernard Ackah (Pictures) to put him away in the third with a TKO via a left hook.
Nicholas Pettas somehow managed to axe kick his way to a corner stoppage over the gigantic Young Hyun Kim. Pettas survived some early knees to regain control with his low kicks, which eventually led to the Korean dropping his guard and allowing Pettas to get the TKO. The win was needed for Pettas, who has been plagued with injuries and other more business-related problems in the past few years.
In the K-1 Under 18 tournament, Yudai surprised everyone. He came in with no documented fight record to take out the two favorites of the four-man tournament. A decision against Kenji Kubo and then a decision in the extra round against huge favorite Hiroya saw the 16-year-old crowned the first under-18 division champ.
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