Rizin Grand Prix Open Weight 2016 results: 'Cro Cop' stops 'King Mo,' meets 'Baruto' in tournament semifinals

The second round of the 16-man Rizin Open Weight Grand Prix 2016 ended in an upset. MMA legend Mirko Filipovic added another remarkable win to his lengthy resume when he stopped Muhammed Lawal by second-round TKO for arguably his most significant victory in several years.

“Cro Cop” (33-11-2) managed to thwart several of Lawal’s (20-6) takedown attempts and picked up a head of steam in the striking department before an uppercut landed midway through the second round that dropped “King Mo” and led to the surprising stoppage in the headlining bout of the online-streamed event at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

Although he won, Filipovic was forced to overcome some adversity when Lawal scored a big takedown less than 30 seconds into the fight. He spent more than half the round in top control before the referee decided to stand the fight up, and that’s when Filipovic started to unleash his patented kicks.

With confidence and momentum on his second heading into the second round, Filipovic abandoned his kicks and threw only striking combinations. Lawal pushed forward with several takedown attempts, but Filipovic stopped them all and attacked. He threw a multi-strike combination, one of which dropped Lawal, then finished the job with more shots on the ground.

“Cro Cop” will fight “Baruto” in the semifinal round on Day 2 of the Rizin Open Weight Grand Prix 2016 this Saturday (1 a.m. ET). Lawal, meanwhile, was gracious in defeat.

“Everyone give a round of applause to the fighters that made it to the semifinals,” Lawal said. ” (They have) good hearts, good game plans and they came to win. And to ‘Cro Cop,’ maybe next year if they have a tournament again we can have a rematch.”

“Baruto,” Aliakbari and Moldavsky win to round out semifinals

The size and power of Kaido Hoovelson (3-0), or “Baruto,” was once again far too much for his opponent to stop. The nearly 400-pound former sumo wrestler put his overwhelming weight advantage to use and completely dominated Tsuyoshi Kohsaka (27-19-2) for a clear-cut unanimous decision after two rounds.

Kohsaka had nothing to offer “Baruto.” He was trapped in a compromising position on the canvas early in the opening frame and ate a peppering series of grounded knees to the head for almost the entire five-minute stanza.

Although he escaped the first round, the second wasn’t any more pleasant for Kohsaka. He was mauled once again by “Baruto,” spending the round defending from the clinch and off his back.

“Baruto” advanced to the semifinal round and fights “Cro Cop” on Day 2 of the Grand Prix tournament.

Outside of the main event, the night’s second semifinal matchup was perhaps the most memorable as former PRIDE and UFC fighter Heath Herring (28-15) returned to competition after more than year eight years and fell shy of an upset against one of the tournament favorites in Amir Aliakbari (4-0).

Aliakbari looked like he was going to make quick work of Herring when he scored with early punches and a huge suplex to put his opponent on the ropes. Herring survived an utterly one-sided round that surely made he question his choice to come back to the sport, but then the fight hit the second round and it was a different story.

Herring charged at Aliakbari in the second frame and landed big punches to turn the tables. He had Aliakbari in danger one more than one occasion, but he was unable to force a stoppage. The back-and-forth affair could have arguably gone to a third, sudden-victory round, but instead the judges awarded Aliakbari the decision.

Valentin Moldavsky (6-0) punched his ticket to the semifinal round and a showdown with Aliakbari in the opening quarterfinal bout when he used a mixed offensive game plan to take a unanimous decision over Szymon Bajor (16-7). The opening round was about punches, one of which cut Bajor above his left eye, then in the second it was the takedowns that gave him the decided advantage and win.

In the Grand Prix reserve match, Vadim Nemkov (7-2) needed just a few minutes to put Alison Vicente (18-15) on the mat and unleash a hellacious flurry of ground and pound from the guard that rendered his opponent unconscious.

Nemkov solidified himself as the alternate for the tournament and will step in if any of the four semifinal participants are deemed unfit to compete.

Rin Nakai (19-2-1) extended post-UFC career winning streak to 3-0 when she put the first blemish on the undefeated record of Kanako Murata (4-1) courtesy of a third-round submission in their women’s flyweight clash.

It was a low-action, low output type of fight, with both competitors hesitant to engage or commit to any risky offensive maneuvers. It was mostly a staring contest over two rounds, but then the action swung toward Nakai’s favor in the third.

In the midst of a grappling exchange Nakai scrambled to the back and slipped her arm under the Murata’s exposed neck. She squeezed with a rear-naked choke until her opponent reluctantly tapped out and Nakai celebrated with a pair of celebratory flips in the middle of the ring.

Nasukawa, 18, thrives in professional debut

Highly touted Japanese flyweight prospect Tenshin Nasukawa (1-0) made a successful MMA debut at just 18 years old when he blasted Nikita Sapun (1-1) for first-round TKO in the special rules matchup.

With only three-minute rounds to work with, Nasukawa went after Sapun at the opening bell. Despite his inexperience, he dove at his opponent on the ground and it nearly cost him. Sapun locked up a very tight armbar that twisted his limb to a grotesque degree.

Nasukawa somehow escaped the submission and kicked his offense into high gear when he swarmed a turtled Sapun with a flurry of strikes until the referee intervened for the stoppage.

Immediately after his win Nasukawa called for a two-day turnaround and fight on the second half of Rizin’s year-end showcase. His request was taken under consideration by Rizin officials, and after receiving medical appearance, will apparently be added to the Day 2 fight card and a soon-to-be-announced opponent.

Miyata stops Souwer by submission

Two time K-1 Max champion Andy Souwer (1-2) showed plenty of heart and grit, but ultimately his lack of grappling experience led to his demise when he was unable to fend off the ground attack of Kazuyuki Miyata (15-9) and submitted in the lightweight bout.

Miyata attacked Souwer’s weak point off the bat when he quickly locked up a triangle choke early in the first round. Souwer battled through the initial submission attempt and several others that followed, but eventually Miyata found an opening to lock in an armbar to force the tap.

Complete Rizin Grand Prix Open Weight 2016 results included:

• Open weight: Mirko Filipovic def. Muhammed Lawal via TKO (strikes) – Round 2 – World Grand Prix quarterfinal
• Open weight: Kaido Hoovelson def. Tsuyoshi Kohsaka via unanimous decision – World Grand Prix quarterfinal
• Open weight: Amir Aliakbari def. Heath Herring via unanimous decision – World Grand Prix quarterfinal
• Open weight: Valentin Moldavsky def. Szymon Bajor via unanimous decision – World Grand Prix quarterfinal
• Women’s Flyweight: Rin Nakai def. Kanako Murata via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 1:27
• Flyweight: Tenshin Nasukawa def. Nikita Sapun via TKO (strikes) – Round 1
• Lightweight: Kazuyuki Miyata def. Andy Souwer via submission (armbar) – Round 1
• Bantamweight: Yuki Motoya def. Allan Nascimento via split decision
• Flyweight: Tatsumitsu Wada def. Kaiwhare Kara-France via unanimous decision
• Featherweight: Yusuke Yachi def. Mario Sismundo via TKO (strikes) – Round 1
• Women’s Atomweight: Alyssa Garcia def. Kanna Asakura via unanimous decision
• Open weight: Vadim Nemkov def. Alison Vicente via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 0:54 – World Grand Prix reserve match
• Lightweight: Satoru Kitaoka def. Daron Cruickshank via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1

For more on Rizin Open Weight Grand Prix 2016, check out the MMA Events section of the site.