Shootboxing 2014 Act 2

Last night, I was in attendance for Shootboxing's 2014 Act 2 show at Korakuen Hall. In the past when I have gone to Shootboxing events, the fights have tended to be decision heavy and usually went to extension rounds. Not only did none of the fights go to extension rounds, but there were numerous knockdowns, throws, submissions, and knockouts. 

Fights that stood out 

Yuji Ishikuza vs M16

M16, the brother of Oikawa, vs Ishikuza was the classic young lion vs old lion fight. Ishikuza, the young lion, had power and speed on his side where M16 had experience and technique. The first round was very close but at the fight went on M16 began to counter the aggressive Ishikuza and wobbled hims several times eventually knocking him down in the 3rd. The fight had me on the edge of the seat because it had the feel of a fight that could end at any second.

Kikukawa Matsukuma vs Takahashi Ai

Not much to say about this fight. Before the event I was talking to some people who said that Masukuma wasn't very good. She was knocked down twice and TKO'd at 2:04 of the 1st round so I guess they were right.

Rena vs Im Seo Hee

I got the chance to meet Im before the fight and she looked very young. She was noticeably a lot smaller and less defined than Rena. That being said she was not afraid of Rena. She hit Rena with a very hard right and knocked Rena on her butt several times with side kicks to the mid section. A visibly annoyed Rena pushed Im into a corner and with 20 seconds left locked on a front choke. With 10 seconds left Im started frantically tapping but the referee didn't see it or ignored it. A couple of seconds later Im fell unconscious to the mat. It is interesting to note that the other Korean fighter, from Im's gym, who fought immediately after her lost in the exact same fashion. Both fighters showcased flashy Taekwando kicks but seemed ill prepared for some of Shootboxing's unique rules. I would like to see Im get another chance to fight as with a little practice under Shootboxing rules, I think she could be an exciting fighter.

Omigawa vs Masaya

Omigawa, the shorter of the two, completely destroyed Masaya. Omigawa ceaselessly darted into clinching range throwing hard punches. He bobbed and weaved his way in while throwing looping hooks. He tried to showcase his Judo but Masaya employed the dead fish defense of just going limp and falling to the ground. There is only one Shootboxing Referee who is proactive in penalizing this and he wasn't in the ring so it happened over and over again. Omigawa wobbled and bloodied Masaya throughout the fight. In the third he appeared to throw less punches and afterwards looked like he might have injured his hand. It didn't affect the outcome as he won a lopsided decision.

Ham Seo Hee vs Kira Yuki

Ham Seo Hee will be facing off against Kira Yuki at Deep Jewels 4. The match will take place under Kickboxing rules. As is often the case, it is hard to find accurate records for the fighters but as I can tell Ham Seo Hee has a 7-3 record in Kickboxing/Shoot Boxing with her 3 losses coming to Erika Kamimura x2 and Rena. I know that Ham has Kickboxed in Korea and competed in Muay Thai in Thailand, but a record for these cannot be found. An accurate record is also hard to find for Kira Yuki but it is something like 6-4-1.

Kira Yuki, 17 years old, is the younger sister of Kira Chihiro. Chihiro is also a Kickboxer, having recently advanced to the Semi-Finals of the J-Girls Pin-Weight Tournament. In addition to having a sister as a fighter, it was reported that Yuki is the protege of Yuichiro "Jienotsu" Nagashima. Having lost to Shoot Boxing's Mio twice, it is safe to assume that Yuki will be the underdog going into the fight.

The Kira Sisters
Courtesy of LADY GO!

Deep Jewels 4: Match Updates

Some more fights have been added to the May Deep Jewels 4 card. 

Ham Seo Hee vs Kira Yuki

Kickboxing Rules

3R/2M

Ayaka Miura vs Ella Wu

Deep Jewels Rule

2R/5M

Tomo Maesawa vs Brittney Decker

Deep Jewels Rule

2R/5M

Shizuka Sugiyama vs Takayo Hashi

Deep Jewels Champion Deciding Match

3R/5M

Saori Ishioka vs Sarami

Deep Jewels Rules

2R/5M

Naomi Taniyama vs Yuko Kawabata

Deep Jewels Rules

2R/5M

Shiroi Hori vs Maya Dobashi

Deep Jewels Rules/No GNP

2R/5M

Ham vs VanHoose

Ham Seo Hee (12-5) will be facing off against fellow Jewels veteran Shino Vanhoose (3-2) this Sunday on April 6th.

Ham Seo Hee is coming into this match as the Deep Jewels Atomweight Champion and is riding a three fight win streak.While her 12-5 record is impressive, I would argue that it is even more impressive when one looks at the names. Her five losses were to Miku Matsumoto (23-4), Yuka Tsuji (24-3), Megumi Fujii (26-3) and Ayaka Hamasaki (9-1). She is also undefeated at 105 holding a 3-0 record in the division. One can also expect her to come into this fight highly motivated as this will be her first MMA fight in her home country.

Shino VanHoose is a definite prospect and hasn't fought since 2012. So there are questions going into the fight. She is back in the States, having previously trained in Japan, so it is impossible to tell what she has improved in and how her style has evolved. Having had seen her fight before, I can say that she used to be predominately a grappler but I don't know what she is like now. What I do know is that she has nothing to lose in this fight and everything to gain.

Ham Seo Hee Training

Shino VanHoose Grappling

Deep Jewels 4

Some of the matches for Deep Jewels 4, which takes place on 5/18, have been announced. The main event will likely be a championship match between Shizuka Sugiyama (11-3) and Takayo Hashi (14-4), with the victor becoming the inaugural champion for Deep Jewels. Also on the card is the return of Saori Ishioka (12-7). She will be dropping weight, like many fighters in Asia right now, to 105 and will face off against Satomi Takano (3-3). Yuko Kawabata (0-5) will face Naomi Taniyama (0-2). 

As always bouts will be added to the card in the preceding weeks.

Rin Nakai to fight on 5/11

The Queen of Pancrasse, Rin Nakai (15-0-1) will be competing on the Pancrase 258 card on 5/11. This is an important card. Pancrase will be debuting a 10 sided cage, called the Decagon that they will use in future events. The fights will also be fought under Unified Rules. Unless I am mistaken, this will be the first time that Nakai has ever competed under Unified Rules and will be her first time back in the cage since her Valkyrie days. As a short and powerful fighter who likes to use her judo in the clinch, one would think that the transition to the cage could be beneficial. 

I will be sure to write more about the upcoming event as information is released.

The card will also feature Bantamweight King of Pancrase Shintaro Ishiwatari.

"V.V" Mei Yamaguchi to face Gina Iniong

On March 29th, Japanese Veteran Mei Yamaguchi (11-6-1) will be making her AtomWeight debut again Gina Iniong (2-1). 

2013-14 saw a lot of fighters retire in Japan. The women's divisions and the promotion Deep Jewels were especially effected. However there are still several very good fighters in Japan. One of these fighters is Mei Yamaguchi. Mei has fought stiff competition throughout her entire career and emerged with a respectable record. Yet, Mei has also competed for most of her career against larger and stronger opponents. Standing at 5ft, she was one of the shorter women in the 115lb division. Now that she is dropping to 105, I expect that she will be fighting on a physically more level playing field. I for one am all for the cut to 105. The 115lb division in Asia dried up over night and there is no one left for her to fight in the division. In addition, with Ham Seo Hee having successfully dropped and Ayaka Hamasaki following suit it only makes sense. Coming off of a razor-thin loss in her last fight, one can expect that Mei will be very motivated to get back into the win column and to make her 105 debut a successful one. 

Gina Iniong will be coming into the fight with a 2-1 record and will also be the hometown favorite. In her two victories she has finished both of her opponents in the first round. Iniong has to be incredibly motivated going into this fight. A chance to fight against a well known veteran is what most rising fighters hope for. A victory for Iniong will catapult her career much like Amber Brown's victory over Ishikawa. From what I gain, it looks like Gina comes from a Muay Thai and striking background. She looks to be very aggressive with her punches and likes to bully her opponents around the cage. 

Both of these fighters have pleasing styles to watch and it should be a good fight.