The clash of fan-favorites capped off the first edition of the revamped series, dubbed “VTJ 1st,” which took place inside a cage at Yoyogi National Second Gymnasium.
It was “Shooto Charisma” Sato who was first to throw a punch, rushing in on former K-1 and Dream star Tokoro with a barrage of punches. Tokoro managed to evade the shots, however, and used a quick trip to send Sato to the mat. The suddenness of the sweep seemed to stun Sato, and Tokoro capitalized with a diving hook that clipped his opponent straight across the chin. Sato immediately curled into a ball to cover himself as Tokoro rained huge punches and elbows from above. Referee Kenichi Serizawa hesitated, allowing Tokoro to add a few extra elbows to his onslaught before stepping in to end the fight. The finish came a mere 39 seconds into the first round.
Taro Irei
Hironaka outworked Prater.
In round three, Hironaka made it to Prater’s back, but couldn’t sink in the rear-naked choke and was content to throw punches and elbows to his opponent’s head while the clock ticked down. In the end, Hironaka’s superior grappling earned him a unanimous nod with scores of 29-28 from judges Yuki Nakai, Kenichi Serizawa and Toshiharu Suzuki.
Former Tachi Palace Fights titleholder Darrell Montague also made the trip to Japan, taking on former Shooto champion Mamoru Yamaguchi in a closely contested flyweight bout. Sporting his signature afro and mustache, Yamaguchi tried to assert his usual standup dominance on Montague, but found himself being beat to the punch by the younger man for the majority of the fight.
Montague maintained consistent pressure, using quick one-two combinations to wear down his Japanese opponent. Yamaguchi started to rally in the second and third rounds, stealing a bit of the momentum away from Montague, but still found himself on the receiving end of multiple counter-punches and kicks. After three rounds, it was the American who took home a split decision victory, earning 30-27 and 29-28 scorecards from judges Nakai and Minoru Toyonaga, respectively, while judge Kenichi Serizawa alone scored the bout 29-28 in favor of Yamaguchi.
T. Irei
Horiguchi hurt, but couldn't
finish Loveland.
The second frame was razor-thin, as Loveland took on the aggressor role, puffing up Horiguchi’s eyes with quick combinations and nearly sinking in a rear-naked choke toward the end of the five-minute period. In the final round, Loveland used the same pattern of ranged attacking to stifle Horiguchi’s offense and bloody his face. Horiguchi turned the tide with a heavy kick to the body that had Loveland retreating in pain, but the Krazy Bee prospect couldn’t finish and the fight went to the final bell. At the end of three close rounds, judges Nakai, Suzuki and Toyonaga all scored the bout 29-28 for Horiguchi, who continued his climb to the world stage.
In what may have been her final professional appearance, female MMA legend Megumi Fujii earned a dominant unanimous decision victory over fellow veteran Mei Yamaguchi at 115 pounds. The fight started with fireworks, as both fighters chose to brawl before Fujii settled into her rhythm and controlled Yamaguchi with constant takedowns, ground-and-pound and submission attempts. The bout wasn't completely one-sided, though, as “V.V. Mei” put Fujii in more than a couple scary situations, using heavy hands to fight off submission attempts. Fujii’s final performance was still good enough to earn her perfect marks across the board, as she received 20-18 scores from all three judges.
T. Irei
K-Taro choked out Suzuki.
Earlier in the night, Keita Nakamura did what “K-Taro” does best and submitted previously unbeaten slugger Nobutatsu Suzuki with a rear naked choke only 2:09 into their 177-pound catchweight bout. In the evening’s opener, Daisuke Hoshino tapped muay Thai convert Kuntap Weerasakreck with an armbar at the 2:19 mark of round one.
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