Okubo was taller, but Ichimiya had a decided weight advantage. He tried to just uses his bulk, but Okubo knew how to defend and use leverage. Ichimiya was clueless and this match bit. After a series of mistakes, Okubo got the submission with an udehishigigyakujujigatame.

1R 2:41

 

Ryo Chonan vs. Katsumi Usuda

Chonan charged at the bell and connected with a jumping knee. It was hard to tell just how much damage this did, but Chonan was right on top of things, helping Usuda fall down so he could flurry. Usuda just lied there on his side looking like a dope, so it had to be stopped almost as soon as it started. I've often enjoyed Usuda's worked matches, but this was pretty embarrassing.

1R 0:05

 

MAX Miyazawa vs. Yasuhito Namekawa

MAX has the liabilities most wrestlers have on their back. His problem is he doesn't have the typical takedown skills, just no burst at all. His "offense" was often just locking up with Namekawa and leaning on him. Namekawa doesn't have a particularly good ground and pound, but sometimes opportunity is more important than skill and he was able to bust MAX's nose up anyway.

MAX was such and awkward and inexperienced fighter that there were some exciting moments. At one point MAX slipped out of a headlock takedown and did a nice German suplex. Namekawa got guard, but suddenly MAX showed some life and threw a few good punches. MAX went upright to avoid a weak punch though, which allowed Namekawa to kick him in the face twice. The match was marred by way too much pounding without conviction though, so as a whole it was only fair. Namekawa got the submission with a zenpo hadakajime (front choke).

R3 2:37

 

Joao Roque vs. Ryan Bow

One of the worst shoots ever. There's no worse match than one where neither guy tries to fight. Trap and tap is bad enough, but this hardly even had any tap. Whoever got the takedown just lay there for the duration. The most infuriating thing was Roque got the takedown in the first two rounds, but when Bow got it in the third he just rode it out like he was the one with the big lead. The only thing cool about this match is one judge called it a draw simply because neither deserved to win. To make things worse, Roque and his cronies had a big celebration after the match like he'd actually accomplished something.

3R

 

Tatsuaki Nakano vs. Dos Caras, Jr.

Nakano was no match for Sky High. Actually, I'm not sure he could have taken Sky Low Low. It was like Takada told his old UWF mate, "If you show up they will pay." So Nakano also didn't bother to learn any of the positions or anything either. Dos took him out with a choke sleeper.

1R 4:05

 

Nihon Senbatsu (selection) vs. Brazilian Top Team Taikosen: Takumi Yano vs. Fabio Mello

Yano is like Genki Sudo with the crazy stances. Mello was not distracted, he was ready for this nonsense and he pursued and pressured Yano. Yano would either stand sideways with his left foot leading or nearly backwards. Either way, Mello could throw right kicks to the legs without Yano being able to block them. Yano would back away when he had room, but Mello would keep moving toward him so there were times Yano had no room to flee. Yano's left thigh was welted up.

Mello was beating Yano in all areas, but Yano's defese was good enough to avoid anything that might finish him. Yano always wanted to be on his back, or at least he did after he'd taken a few of Mello's kicks, but he didn't try anything from there except he'd kick sometimes when Mello was standing over him trying to pass the guard. Mello fought very intelligently though. Instead of taking chances and winding up in guard more often than not, he only went to the ground when side mount was essentially guaranteed. Mello punched well from this position and Yano wasn't able to do anything, so it was well worth taking it. Match was decent because Mello kept trying to win and Yano tried some different things even if they didn't work. Mello won via unanimous decision

3R

 

Nihon Senbatsu vs. Brazilian Top Team Taikosen: Ryuki Ueyama vs. Gilson Ferreira

It appeared Ferreira had a quick win. Ueyama backed away from a straight right, but was now in the ropes and Ferreira decked him with two punches. The bell rang, but they kept fighting, as luckily the ref hadn't stopped it. Ueyama was far from done, and he went right for the takedown. Ferreira was hitting him as quick as he could, more to try for the panic stoppage I think than to avoid the takedown. Ueyama took a lot of punishment, but he did get the takedown.

This was a match that started hot with an excellent first round, crawled to a slow death, then built it's way back up to an exciting finish. Ueyama was slowed down for a while from the early strikes, so when he'd get the takedowns he was more looking to recover than to work on his comeback. He couldn't strike with Ferreira, but Ferreira's takedown defense was lousy so he could always get the takedown to avoid the major punishment. Ferreira was able to strike from all positions though, and was even winning the match from the bottom in round 1 because he'd keep hitting Ueyama, while Ueyama did his best Roque imitation. Ueyama was battered, with swelling under his left eye.

Ueyama was more offensive minded in round 2, though he more being active than trying to hurt Ueyama. His defense picked up a lot as he regained his senses, and he had an armbar attempt that was ended by the bell. In round 3, Ueyama seemed pretty much back to normal. He was able to get the positions he wanted and he was much more aggressive offensively. He finally got the top mount, and from there he was able to turn into an udehishigigyakujujigatame for the win. Very good match.

3R 3:49

 

Nihon vs. Brazilian Top Team Taikosen: Tsuyoshi Kosaka vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira

Basically what you'd expect. Kosaka always delivers a quality match, but he's always overmatched physically. He's crafty enough to turn the tables on his opponent a couple of times, usually in fairly spectacular fashion, but he doesn't have enough offense to finish them during his brief advantages. Thus, if he's against a striker he winds up getting taken out after taking a great deal of punishment and if he's against a grappler he winds up losing a decision from being controlled.

Kosaka's trick here was headscissoring his way out of side mount. The first time it didn't work, but at least allowed him to retake the guard. The second time Rogerio was able to escape to his knees, but Kosaka controlled with a front neck lock. Kosaka also did a judo takedown where he rolled Rogerio over his hip, but Rogerio kept hold of TK's waist so he had to settle for guard.

Rogerio didn't show any of the submission ability of his more famous brother Rodrigo, but he was the only one that was doing any damage in this fight. His best damage cost him a point because it came on a low blow. Kosaka's defense shut him down to the point that he wasn't able to do damage, but Rogerio still landed enough legal blows to get the victory. Rogerio controlled the fight, winning every round outright, though they were all close enough because it was just pounding for points. If Kosaka actually did something the few times he was on top instead of lying there with his arms on the outside, so Rogerio was able to hit him regularly (even if the blows were weak) and he wasn't able to do anything, I might have felt differently about the scoring since Kosaka was clearly the more skilled. Good match.

3R

 

Takafumi Ito vs. Dokonjonosuke * Mishima

Neat little match. Mishima took Ito down with a bodylock suplex. He went to the punches, but Ito was on his back with his feet in Mishima's chest, so he sent Mishima flying off by straightening his legs. Mishima recovered so quickly though that he got Ito's back. Ito tried to stand up, but Mishima put all his weight on Ito's back, causing Ito to return to kneeling. At this point, Mishima locked the udehishigigyakujujigatame and took him over for the submission.

1R 1:53

 

Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Ikuhisa Minowa

Tamura's slump can largely be attributed to no longer having a promotion behind him. Tamura was a guy you could build around because he's extremely skilled and he'll at least play even with most everyone that's his size and doesn't pound him in the face. Minowa fits that mold, so Tamura was back in business.

This was an excellent match because both guys kept moving and attempting things. They tried to win and were willing to put themselves on the line to do so. Tamura was usually in command, but Minowa was certainly a game opponent. He was pretty wild, taking chances reguarly and right from the get go. He started with an abisegiri, which caught Tamura some but Tamura also kicked him in the back. He also tried a kaitengiri (a wild jumping 360 kick), dropkick, and rolling into a kneebar

There were a number of exciting spots that weren't just rolling the dice. These guys showed a lot of skill and were able to make nice moves that actually worked. Often they didn't work of course, but they could have if not for the opponent's anticipation and ability to avoid and/or counter. Sometimes the action was so good it looked like Tamura's works.

Tamura's striking was clearly superior. Minowa blocked most of his middle kicks, but they were powerful kicks it must have hurt to stop. After Minowa saw a few of them he wanted no part of standing. Tamura punched him when he rushed in for his takedown and flurried, but they were weak rushed blows. Tamura did some good ones from the side mount though with Minowa on his side with his arms trapped between Tamura's legs. Minowa had to give Tamura his back to stop getting clubbed, but Minowa is too schooled at defending the traditional submissions for Tamura to succeed in choking him out.

There were a couple nice scrambles for position. With Tamura on the side, Minowa tried to toss him over when Tamura went for a knee lift, but Tamura rolled Minowa over him and took control. The second time Minowa gave Tamura his back, he kept rolling and hooked Tamura's waist to take Tamura to his back. Minowa's best chance was when he got a heel hold. Tamura escaped it though, took his back, and was doing a good job punching around and under Minowa's body. Tamura easily won a unanimous decision, but this is the kind of match that raises the stock of both men.

3R

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