ALPHA-1 with extra kakutougi flavour

[Tommy J.]

Preface: I'm running a very slightly modified database. Changes include the spelling of Japanese names so they make sense in kanji, title histories that are somewhat based off WMMA 1, fight histories for every current title reign (this means Fezzik already beat Kikuchi twice in my game) and so on. With this out of the way it's time for...

-----------------------------------

 

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j299/Tidzej/vendetta.jpg

 

ALPHA-1 presents Vendetta

Feb. 13th 1999 from the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo

The main event of the evening pits ALPHA-1 Light Heavyweight Champion Tadamasa "The Dragon" Yamada (21-1, Blurcat's #1 LHW in the world) in a rematch against Roberto "The Sniper" Aldez (42-6, #4 LHW). Their first fight ended quickly when Aldez tapped out near the 2-minute mark but with other top contender Jin Katou training out of the same gym as Yamada the Brazilian gets a chance to avenge his loss and become only the second man to win titles in ALPHA-1 and GAMMA. The Brazilian's gameplan will be to keep the fights standing and use his feared muay thai skills to do damage, Yamada, who entered MMA as a grappler, has worked dilligently on his stand-up the past couple of years but engaging Aldez there might still be a dicey proposition, especially considering his world-class jiu-jitsu.

 

The second fight is effectively a number 1 conteder fight for the welterweight title between the Argentinean Gabriel Gallego (15-1, #4 WW) and the Chinese bruiser Xie Ming (20-4, #7 WW). There are practically no secrets as to how this one will play out. Both men thrive in a thai clinch fight and odds are they will end up in this position sooner or later.

 

In the heavyweight division Gregorz Boniek (33-4, #8 HW) and Jeff Carlton (32-7, #9 HW) square off to move up the ladder in Fezzik's shadow. Boniek is somewhat of an unsung hero of the division going 9-0 in ALPHA-1 but hardly anyone would point to him as one of the promotions more recoginzed fighters. He gets a chance to put a considerable feather in his cap should he beat Jeff Carlton.

 

Japanese scene veteran Robun Yamazaki (37-12) looks to get back to winning ways against Inejirou Chiba (13-5) who's also coming off a loss. Chiba is a late comer to the MMA game and hasn't particularily picked up anything but his striking. While he has the power to rock Yamazaki, he'll be hard pressed to avoid the Kitakyushu native's takedowns and submissions.

 

With the middleweight division in dissarray Petey Mack (12-2, #6 MW) and Jerezo (31-9) look to separate themselves from the rest with a win. Mack, only two fights in his ALPHA-1 career, is already forcing people to take notice with his well rounded skill-set and cerebral approach to fights. Jerezo, 10-years his senior, is an equally adept strategist but the Escola da Luta founder hasn't improved his striking over the years and is still pretty much forced to win fights on the ground.

 

The main card opens with a possible "passing of the torch" fight and Dokuhotei Kuroki (33-13) fights for the last time agains the debuting BJJ world champion Jonathan "The Locust" Huang (0-0). Huang has been training for months at the Wudang Academy and wants to make an impact in his new sport. The question is how will his grappling translate to MMA and can Kuroki trouble him in the stand-up because, surely, he wants no part of the Thai on the ground.

 

ALPHA-1: Vendetta Prediction form

PPV card:

205 lbs: Tadamasa Yamada (21-1) vs. Roberto Aldez (42-6)

170 lbs: Gabriel Gallego (15-1) vs. Xie Ming (20-4)

265 lbs: Grzegorz Boniek (33-4) vs. Jeff Carlton (32-7)

205 lbs: Robun Yamazaki (37-12) vs. Inejirou Chiba (16-3)

185 lbs: Petey Mack (12-2) vs. Jerezo (31-9)

185 lbs: Dokuhotei Kuroki (33-13) vs. Johnathan Huang (0-0)

Undercard bouts:

155 lbs: Jungo Futagawa (16-8) vs. H.M. Menzel (10-3)

265 lbs: Yoshikazu Inamoto (7-3) vs. Gyousei Fujimoto (1-0)

170 lbs: Masayoshi Satoh (5-1) vs. Washichi Kobayashi (11-4)

155 lbs: Drauzio Siman (5-0) vs. Branco Conceicao (8-0)

[Tommy J.]

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j299/Tidzej/ALPHA1.jpg

 

ALPHA-1: Vendetta report, 13th Feb. 1999

 

If Roberto Aldez changed up his entire training routine in preparation for the fight against Tadamasa Yamada nobody would've noticed. Especially not the 7,5 thousand people who made their way to the Nippon Budokan on Saturday to see their hero Yamada make a statement with his 4th successful title defense. Aldez came out aggresive but paid a hefty price for it when Yamada caught the first kick he threw and took the fight to the ground. The veteran Brazilian squirmed and attempted to create a scramble but Yamada held on and eventually made his way from half-guard straight to mount from where he secured an armbar to get him a victory in quick fashion.

 

Gabriel Gallego had much more work cut out for him when he took on fellow muay thai stylist Xie Ming. The Chinese fighter controlled the first round stalking his opponent and trying to tie him up in a clinch a few times and even attempted some takedowns, though none of them were successful. Gallego fought the entire round pretty much in reverse and failed to score any significant strikers. The Argentinean, having recieved and earful from his corner between rounds, came out with a different approach for the second round. He hurt Ming with a body kick and a powerful jab before unleashing a combo that forced the referee to call the fight and in all likelihood set up a showdown between Gallego and lightweight kingpin Carlos da Guia.

 

After going 9-0 in ALPHA-1 Grzegorz Boniek's run came to a prolonged and unspectacular halt at the hands of Jeff Carlton who bested him via unanimous decision. With both fighters hesitant to throw strikes the great majority of this fight turned into a grappling match. Carlton used his wrestling skills to make sure he got the dominant positions and managed to avoid a few of Boniek's guillotines through round 1. However the wheels seemed to fall off in round 2 as Carlton gassed in a drastic way. He attempted 7 takedowns within 5 minutes and never managed to get even one completed. Fortunately, Boniek didn't do much himself and it was that passivity that swayed the judges to award the American with the victory based on his performance in the 1st round.

 

Inejirou Chiba played spoiler for Robun Yamazaki's 50th pro fight. The charismatic ALPHA-1 legend looked very shop-worn and was unable to take the fight to the ground. Chiba played the waiting game but when he moved forward he was much too fast for Yamazaki. As Yamazaki's gameplan began to unravel Chiba caught him with a big punch when coming in for another takedown. Chiba moved in and mounted the Kitakyushu resident and began raining down punches which eventually netted him the upset victory.

 

In a fight that's best left unmentioned Petey Mack defeated Jerezo by unanimous decision though he hardly moved himself any closer to a title shot with an abysmally dull performance. Suffice to say the highlight of the opening 10-minute first round was Mack moving from Jerezo's guard to half-guard. He did so again in the second stanza and, coupled with getting the takedowns in the first place, probably did just enough to win the fight. Barely.

 

Don't be surprised if you see Johnathan Huang's fight with Dokuhotei Kuroki appear on some of his instructionals down the line. The BJJ wonderkid absolutely tooled the veteran in his last fight taking him down, passing to mount and applying the armbar for the tap. All in under 2 and a half minutes.

 

The undercard saw H.M. Menzel pick up a victory with a fairly uninspired performance against Jungo Futagawa, Gyousei Fujimoto winning against a plodding Yoshikazu Inamoto but not being able to put him away, despite hitting some solid shots. Masayoshi Sato won in exciting fashion as he executed an armbar from back control over Washichi Kobayashi and in the opening fight Branco Conceicao bested Drauzio Siman by decision in a fairly one-sided affair.

 

Full Results:

Tadamasa Yamada def. Roberto Aldez by submission (armbar), 1/3:23

Gabriel Gallego def. Xie Ming by TKO (punches), 2/1:29

Jeff Carlton def. Grzegorz Boniek by decision (unanimous), 2/5:00

Inejirou Chiba def. Robun Yamazaki by TKO (punches from mount), 1/6:03

Petey Mack def. Jerezo by decision (unanimous), 2/5:00

Jonathan Huang def. Dokuhotei Kuroki by submission (armbar), 1/2:23

H.M. Menzel def. Jungo Futagawa by decision (unanimous) 2/5:00

Gyousei Fujimoto def. Yoshikazu Inamoto by decision (unanimous), 2/5:00

Masayoshi Sato def. Washichi Kobayashi by submission (armbar), 1/4:20

Branco Conceicao def. Drauzio Siman by decision (unanimous), 2/5:00

 

Attendance: 7,558

PPV buys: 80,640

 

Technique Prize (awarded for the most skillful finishing technique be it standing or ground): Masayoshi Sato

Fighting Spirit Prize (awarded for the best performance by a single fighter): Inejirou Chiba

Outstanding Performance Prize (awarded to the parties involved in the best fight of the night): Gabriel Gallego vs Xie Ming

[Tommy J.]

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j299/Tidzej/forceofnature.jpg

 

ALPHA-1 presents Force of Nature

Mar. 20th from the Osaka Castle Hall in Osaka

The lightweight dominated card is headlined by the rematch between champion Luis Basora (23-3-2, #5 LW) and the man he beat to get the belt in the first place Go Yamamoto (26-8-2, #2 LW). Many people still call the Spaniard a paper champion even though he already defended his belt one time many consider Yamamoto the favourite here. Can the Osaka native become the first man to reclaim a title and do it in his home town no less? Yamamoto brings the proverbial it and should be all over Basora in the stand up but, as the first fight attests, there are very exploitable holes in his ground game.

 

Undefeated light heavyweight Jin Katou (17-0, #3 LHW) makes for one half on the co-main event facing the Brazilian veteran Elgar Ribeiro (25-7, #9 LHW). Katou fights pretty much in the shadow of his much more recognized Dragon's Lair team-mate - the 205 champ Yamada - but the experst agree that he has all the makings of a champion. Elgar presents a stiff test in the striking department but if the fight hits the ground the Brazilian will be completely out of his element.

 

With the middleweight division still in limbo after the disastrous Mack vs. Jerezo fight Mal Phe Roby (15-4) looks to punch his ticket to a big fight with a win over Mario de Souza (24-4). The gritty Sumatran is 7-3 in his ALPHA-1 tenure but never could manage to string enough impressive wins to warrant a title shot. De Souza, as all Escola da Luta fighters, has good BJJ skills and so far used them to get 6 wins in the promotion, none, however, were the caliber of his next opponent.

 

Shizuya Nakae (26-9) and Caca de Andrade (17-3) square off in a fight with potential title implications. Nakae faces the challenge of nullifying the reach adavntage and avoiding the power strikes of "Ninja" while trying to get the fight to the ground where he excels.

 

The lone heavyweight attraction on the card pits the talented Hiro Arai (7-0) against a tough and versatile Randall Donelly (12-5). One of the Japan's most promising prospects has already considerable striking chops but has been working hard on improving his ground game with Top Team Japan. Donelly usually wins by sheer physical domination but the muscle-bound Oregonian will not dwarf Arai by any measure and has to bust out some new tricks in hope of giving him his first loss.

 

Kicking off the PPV broadcast will be Edilberto Clemente (32-7) who looks to keep his status near the top of the light heavyweight ladder against up-and-coming Daniil Skala (19-5). Skala's name means "Rock", quite accurately considering his monster chin that will once again be put to the test against the Brazilian's limbs as Edilberto looks to prevent any further slide in his long career.

 

ALPHA-1: Force of Nature Prediction form

PPV card:

155 lbs: Luis Basora vs Go Yamamoto

205 lbs: Jin Katou vs Elgar

185 lbs: Mal Phe Roby vs Mario de Souza

155 lbs: Shizuya Nakae vs Caca de Andrade

265 lbs: Hiro Arai vs Randall Donelly

205 lbs: Edilberto vs Daniil Skala

Preliminary fights:

205 lbs: Ryousei Sakamoto (8-0) vs Pete Shilton (7-2)

155 lbs: Masato Wai (1-0) vs Sadao Katou (19-13)

185 lbs: Bill Brown (1-0) vs Marcelo Oberto (22-14)

205 lbs: Afonso Villar (0-0) vs Yukichi Sato (18-12)

[Hawk1665]

As a huge MMA mark, and someone whose attempted a true "Kakutougi" fed in WMMA2 with Fighting ARTS, I fully appreciate what you're going for here. And that last PPV poster is something that DREAM would produce *today*. Just enough hint of pretenuousness to make a Japanese promotion think their deep.

 

I can't wait for you to sign someone like Rav Kapur and give him a Bob Sapp-like push. It's hard to resist the temptation, really...Plus, in the grand scheme, Kapur's a better fighter then Sapp ever was.

 

I'll be following this diary. Good luck.

[Rob4590]

Not ever played as ALPHA, so don't know some of the names but here's my picks anyway:

 

 

ALPHA-1: Force of Nature Prediction form

PPV card:

155 lbs: Luis Basora vs Go Yamamoto

205 lbs: Jin Katou vs Elgar

185 lbs: Mal Phe Roby vs Mario de Souza

155 lbs: Shizuya Nakae vs Caca de Andrade

265 lbs: Hiro Arai vs Randall Donelly

205 lbs: Edilberto vs Daniil Skala

Preliminary fights:

205 lbs: Ryousei Sakamoto (8-0) vs Pete Shilton (7-2)

155 lbs: Masato Wai (1-0) vs Sadao Katou (19-13)

185 lbs: Bill Brown (1-0) vs Marcelo Oberto (22-14)

205 lbs: Afonso Villar (0-0) vs Yukichi Sato (18-12)

[Richyg]

ALPHA-1: Force of Nature Prediction form

PPV card:

155 lbs: Luis Basora vs Go Yamamoto

205 lbs: Jin Katou vs Elgar

185 lbs: Mal Phe Roby vs Mario de Souza

155 lbs: Shizuya Nakae vs Caca de Andrade

265 lbs: Hiro Arai vs Randall Donelly

205 lbs: Edilberto vs Daniil Skala

Preliminary fights:

205 lbs: Ryousei Sakamoto (8-0) vs Pete Shilton (7-2)

155 lbs: Masato Wai (1-0) vs Sadao Katou (19-13)

185 lbs: Bill Brown (1-0) vs Marcelo Oberto (22-14)

205 lbs: Afonso Villar (0-0) vs Yukichi Sato (18-12)

[Tommy J.]

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j299/Tidzej/ALPHA1.jpg

 

ALPHA-1: Force of Nature report, 20th Mar. 1999, Osaka

 

Nearly seven thousands fans cheered on Go Yamamoto as he tried to regain his lightweight title from Luis Basora but his effort lasted only 129 seconds. Basora quickly set up a takedown straight to side control, moved to mount and armbared his opponent without breaking much of a sweat. Yamamoto adressed the crowd and apologized for his performance as he enters the "Kikuchi Zone" as another very skilled fighter that just can't beat the very top dog in his division. That result was characteristic of a show that looked so much better on paper but didn't really deliver once it took place.

 

Jin Katou also made relatively short work of Elgar indulging the Brazilian in the stand-up for a few minutes before taking the fight down were he subsequently tapped his opponent out with an americana. After his victory Katou pronounced a Dragon's Lair stranglehold on the division and said that his camp will add too their tally of titles in the next few months.

 

Mal Phe Roby and Mario de Souza had a great back and forth fight that probably did more for both the winner and loser than Petey Mack got out of his putrid performance last month. This had all the makings of a ground war and it turned out just like that. Roby got the first takedown but the fight soon returned to the stand-up after a scramble and it was de Souza taking the Indonesian down the next time. However Roby threw up submission after submission from his back but he couldn't catch the Brazilian grappler. Round two started with Roby dropping de Souza with a flurry but he wasn't able to put the fight away as the Brazilian regained his composure. De Souza was decked again later in the round but one more time scrambled to his feet before Roby dived in. The fight eventually reached the time limit and all three judges awarded the win to the Indonesian, who said he wants to fight for the belt in his next fight.

 

Also making it's way to the judges scorecards was the Nakae vs de Andrade fight but much of that can be attributed to Nakae's iron chin. With his wrestling nullified by "Ninja" Nakae was forced to slug it out with the Brazilian and was getting straight beat up. de Andrade hit Nakae early and often but even though soild shots were scoring the Japanese fighter never once lost his footing. That said after 20 minutes of such a fight the decision was quite obvious and indeed "Ninja" walked out with the unanimous nod.

 

Hiro Arai methodically outstruck Randall Donelly en route to a decision victory employing a lot of vicious leg kicks that slowed down the American. The Japanese had a small scare when he decided to try a takedown and found himself reversed by Donelly but he managed to contain his opponent in guard and even threaten with some guillotines.

 

The opener turned out to be the worst fight of the entire event as Edliberto and Daniil Skala were happy to clinch up with each other for much too extended periods of time. The Russian turned out to be the better grappler and dirty boxer as he used those skills to deal enough damage for the unaninmous decision victory.

 

The undercard saw Pete Shilton cancel out Ryousei Sakamoto's takedowns and keep his fight standing to become the first man to beat the Japanese wrestler. In a similar scenario Sadao Kato outpointed Masato Wai who didn't have the well rounded skills to hang with the veteran. Bill Brown pounded out Marcelo Oberto with punches from the mount in just over three minutes and Afonso Villar put a clinch clinic on Yukichi Sato kneeing his face in while clinching and opening an axe wound type of cut that forced the stoppage.

 

Full Results:

Luis Basora def. Go Yamamoto by sumbission (armbar), 1/2:09

Jin Katou def. Elgar by submission (americana), 1/5:11

Mal Phe Roby def. Mario de Souza by decision (unanimous), 2/5:00

Caca de Andrade def. Shizuya Nakae by decision (unanimous), 2/5:00

Hiro Arai def. Randall Donelly by decision (unanimous), 2/5:00

Daniil Skala def. Edilberto by decision (unanimous), 2/5:00

Pete Shilton def. Ryousei Sakamoto by decision (unanimous), 2/5:00

Sadao Kato def. Masato Wai by decision (unanimous), 2/5:00

Bill Brown def. Marcelo Oberto by TKO (punches from mount), 1/1:37

Afonso Villar def. Yukichi Sato by TKO (cut), 1/2:53

 

Attendance: 6,795

PPV Buys: 62,464

 

Technique Prize (awarded for the most skillful finishing technique be it standing or ground): Afonso Villar

Fighting Spirit Prize (awarded for the best performance by a single fighter): Luis Basora

Outstanding Performance Prize (awarded to the parties involved in the best fight of the night): Mal Phe Roby vs Mario de Souza

[Tommy J.]

OOC:I lost the preshow notes on this event, so no preview and pick'em this time, just a straight report.

 

 

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j299/Tidzej/ALPHA1.jpg

 

ALPHA-1: Martial Arts on JSV-2 report, 22th Apr. 1999

from the Fukuoka Convention Center in Fukuoka

 

At the show's conclusion Leon Banks announced that he intends to drop down in weight and fight in the 205 lbs division but not until he put on a fine performance against dangerous grappler Carter Potter. "Street Fighter" came out on fire and immediately took the fight to the New Zealander with hard punches. That trademark aggresiveness led him to give up the takedown but Banks, against odds, held his own on the ground and forced a stand-up due to inacitivity. Potter failed to set up subsequent shots properly and Banks had no problem stuffing the takedowns. The American grew more confident by the minute and put some serious leather on Potter in the second round but somehow his opponent made it through to the end only to see the judges award the W to Banks.

 

In a fight that was in some ways the mirror opposite of the main event Ichisake Miyagi defeated Ricardo Fernandes by effective wrestling and ground control. Fernandes, unlike Banks, couldn't avoid the Japanese's takedowns nor could he force scrambles or any other offence while on his back. Some call it methodical others call it lethargic but Miyagi's style gets the job done against a great majority of opponents and it did so tonight according to all three judges.

 

Legendary judoka Heikichi Shimizu announced his intentions to show everyone that judo is strong and to that end he signed with ALPHA-1 and wants to fight with the best in short order. He had absolutely no problems with disposing Bakin Sakamoto in his debut fight for the promotion tapping him out with an arm triangle choke in 1:34.

 

Juro Fukuzawa put the first blemish on Haruaki Oshiro's record defeating him in a very entertaining fight. Not surprisingly both men chose to stand at first and in the first round Oshiro seemed to be getting the better of the exchanges as he had Fukuzawa covering up under heavy fire at least three times. Fukuzawa was more actively looking for a chance to get this fight to the ground but nothing came of it until he dropped Oshiro with a counter midway through the second round. While not being able to seal the deal right there he got to side control and pounded Oshiro from that position until the end. Fukuzawa walked away with a very close decision.

 

In preliminary action Ikuhisa Tamura made a successful return to ALPHA-1 stopping Gary Sampson in the first round with ground and pound. Steve Mason improved to 6-0 after beating Daiki Ekiguchi by decision and Shuraku Kon submitted Naoki Itou with an armbar from mount.

 

Full Results:

Full results

Leon Banks def. Carter Potter by decision (unanimous), 2/5:00

Ichisake Miyagi def. Ricardo Fernandes by decision (unanimous), 2/5:00

Heikichi Shimizu def. Bakin Sakamoto by submission (arm triangle), 1/1:34

Juro Fukuzawa def. Haruaki Oshiro by decision (unanimous), 2/5:00

Ikuhisa Tamura def. Gary Sampson by TKO (punches from side), 1/2:40

Steve Mason def. Daiki Ekiguchi by decision (unanimous), 2/5:00

Shuraku Kon def. Naoki Itou by submission (armbar), 1/2:40

 

Attendance: 4,067

 

Technique Prize (awarded for the most skillful finishing technique be it standing or ground): Heikichi Shimizu

Fighting Spirit Prize (awarded for the best performance by a single fighter): Leon Banks

Outstanding Performance Prize (awarded to the parties involved in the best fight of the night): Juro Fukuzawa vs. Haruaki Oshiro (rating: good, obviously there were better ratings but I award this prize to fights that at least lasted a little)

[Tommy J.]

<p></p><div style="text-align:center;"><span>http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j299/Tidzej/allbusiness.jpg</span><p> </p><p>

<strong>ALPHA-1 presents All Business</strong></p><p><strong>

May 1st from the Yokohama Arena in Yokohama</strong></p></div><p></p><p></p><p>

The best fighter in the world ALPHA-1 Heavyweight Champion Hassan Fezzik makes the first defense of his title in 1999 against the hard hitting American Palmer Lette who, probably by being big and black, made himself into a serious combat sports star in Japan. The "Daddy Bear" hasn't exactly been setting the world on fire lately but the watiting line for a match vs Fezzik is extremely, extremely short and, in all honesty, isn't going to get any longer after this fight. Unless Lette can pull of a miracle expect the Turk to win his 26th straight and ALPHA-1 execs to scramble in finding him another challenger.</p><p> </p><p>

That challenger might arise from the co-feature where veterans Gunnar Nilsson and Harry Milne square off. Both are yet to fight "The Big Bad" and a win here might be pivotal in getting them such a bout. Both are also on the wrong side of 35 and between them have 100 fights of wear and tear on their bodies. If they are to get one more shot at glory they need to win and they need to do it now.</p><p> </p><p>

Breaking away for a moment from the heavyweights perennial contender Fumiaki Hayashi welcomes Helio da Cunha to ALPHA-1's lightweight division. "The Lightining Kid" will look to stifle the ultra-aggresive Brazilian with his wrestling and ground game. Should he win it's likely that he'll face Basora and try to bring the title back to Top Team Japan.</p><p> </p><p>

In the proverbial "don't blink" match Muay Thai specialist Khru Duangjan will take on Chuck Dooley and his killer left hand. Duangjan is widely believed to have an impenetrable chin and that reputation will surely be put to a test in this fight as Dooley desperately needs a win to stay relevant in the upper echelon of the division.</p><p> </p><p>

One of the premier prospects in MMA Atep gets his sternest test to date against the experienced Toson Ouno. The Indonesian so far never made it out of the first round and, actually, is yet to fight on the ground in his matches. His trainers at Zi Quan's Dojo assure that his ground game is up to par but in all likelyhood Ouno will give the public a better indicator than Atep's team.</p><p> </p><p>

Rounding out the PPV card Kafu Bunya will attempt to go 10-0 when he faces Yoshiro Yamamoto. Yamamoto, a good thai fighter, has to pass Bunya's excellent defense which frustrated his opponents to no end as MMA's foremost T'ai Chi stylist racked up an inordinate number of decision victories.</p><p> </p><p>

<span style="font-size:8px;">ALPHA-1 All Business prediction form</span></p><p><span style="font-size:8px;">

PPV card:</span></p><p><span style="font-size:8px;">

265 lbs: Hassan Fezzik (25-0, #1 HW) vs. Palmer Lette (19-5)</span></p><p><span style="font-size:8px;">

265 lbs: Gunnar Nilsson (42-9, #8 HW) vs. Harry Milne (23-5)</span></p><p><span style="font-size:8px;">

155 lbs: Fumiaki Hayashi (17-4, #7 LW) vs. Helio da Cunha (20-2, #9 LW)</span></p><p><span style="font-size:8px;">

265 lbs: Khru Duangjan (14-2) vs. Chuck Dooley (21-11)</span></p><p><span style="font-size:8px;">

155 lbs: Atep (4-0) vs. Toson Ouno (16-9)</span></p><p><span style="font-size:8px;">

170 lbs: Yoshiro Yamamoto (15-3) vs. Kafu Bunya (9-0)</span></p><p><span style="font-size:8px;">

Preliminary bouts:</span></p><p><span style="font-size:8px;">

185 lbs: Greg Atteveld (37-14) vs. Tetsuo Myoujin (4-0)</span></p><p><span style="font-size:8px;">

185 lbs: Genpachi Higa (21-6) vs. Ieyoshi Yama****a (22-10)</span></p><p><span style="font-size:8px;">

265 lbs: Russell McPhee (18-4) vs. Sylvester Collins (3-0)</span></p><p><span style="font-size:8px;">

170 lbs: Rich Robinson (2-0) vs. Bunmei Iida (17-11)</span></p>

[Blackman]

<p>I'll give it a go:</p><p> </p><p>

265 lbs: <strong>Hassan Fezzik</strong> (25-0, #1 HW) vs. Palmer Lette (19-5)</p><p>

265 lbs: Gunnar Nilsson (42-9, #8 HW) vs. <strong>Harry Milne</strong> (23-5)</p><p>

155 lbs: Fumiaki Hayashi (17-4, #7 LW) vs. <strong>Helio da Cunha</strong> (20-2, #9 LW)</p><p>

265 lbs: <strong>Khru Duangjan</strong> (14-2) vs. Chuck Dooley (21-11)</p><p>

155 lbs: <strong>Atep</strong> (4-0) vs. Toson Ouno (16-9)</p><p>

170 lbs: Yoshiro Yamamoto (15-3) vs. <strong>Kafu Bunya</strong> (9-0)</p><p>

Preliminary bouts:</p><p>

185 lbs: Greg Atteveld (37-14) vs. <strong>Tetsuo Myoujin </strong>(4-0)</p><p>

185 lbs: Genpachi Higa (21-6) vs. <strong>Ieyoshi Yama****a</strong> (22-10)</p><p>

265 lbs: Russell McPhee (18-4) vs. <strong>Sylvester Collins</strong> (3-0)</p><p>

170 lbs: <strong>Rich Robinson</strong> (2-0) vs. Bunmei Iida (17-11)</p>

[Rob4590]

<p>ALPHA-1 All Business prediction form</p><p>

PPV card:</p><p>

265 lbs: <strong>Hassan Fezzik (25-0, #1 HW) </strong>vs. Palmer Lette (19-5)</p><p>

265 lbs: <strong>Gunnar Nilsson (42-9, #8 HW) </strong>vs. Harry Milne (23-5)</p><p>

155 lbs: <strong>Fumiaki Hayashi (17-4, #7 LW)</strong> vs. Helio da Cunha (20-2, #9 LW)</p><p>

265 lbs: <strong>Khru Duangjan (14-2)</strong> vs. Chuck Dooley (21-11)</p><p>

155 lbs: <strong>Atep (4-0) </strong>vs. Toson Ouno (16-9)</p><p>

170 lbs: Yoshiro Yamamoto (15-3) vs. <strong>Kafu Bunya (9-0)</strong></p><p>

Preliminary bouts:</p><p>

185 lbs: Greg Atteveld (37-14) vs. <strong>Tetsuo Myoujin (4-0)</strong></p><p>

185 lbs: Genpachi Higa (21-6) vs. <strong>Ieyoshi Yama****a (22-10)</strong></p><p>

265 lbs: Russell McPhee (18-4) vs. <strong>Sylvester Collins (3-0)</strong></p><p>

170 lbs: <strong>Rich Robinson (2-0)</strong> vs. Bunmei Iida (17-11)</p>

[Tommy J.]

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j299/Tidzej/ALPHA1.jpg

 

ALPHA-1: All Business report, 1st May. 1999, Yokohama

 

In a show that mixed brilliance with boredom Hassan Fezzik surely was part of the former. Though the crowd in Yokohama rooted for his opponent, Palmer Lette, from the moment he made his enterance to the sounds of "Lette Time" the man from Istanbul did not care about such favouritisms. In fact it was business as usual for the best fighter on the planet when he took Lette down right off the bat, passed his guard and tapped him out with an americana. Ever since winning his ALPHA-1 Heavyweight Title Hassan Fezzik has not fought past the first round.

 

Gunnar Nilsson inched closer to being the next man to challenge the Turk but he did so in an uninspired fashion defeating Harry Milne in a bland decision. Milne was the one pushing the pace initially and got a takedown after few failed attempts. Once on the ground however the Brit couldn't pass guard or deal effective damage and resorted to lay-and-pray which made the referee stand them up eventually. Round two saw "The Bulldog" go for more takedwons but this time the Swede had his timing right and reversed the first try landing on top. The same scenario repeated itself with Nilsson unable to launch any noteworthy offence and the referee stood them up again but that was with less than a minute left in the fight. Nothing of note happened in that short period and Nilsson was judged to have done enough to win.

 

One of Brazil's finer talents, Helio, had a rude welcome in the big leagues courtesy of Fumiaki Hayashi. The Japanese's strong wrestling was enough to take the fight to the ground but at first Helio defended position well forcing a stand up. The Brazilian seemed to settle in after that and hit some particularily vicious kicks to Hayashi's midsection and managed to avoid further takedowns in round one. He went one step further in round two reversing one of Hayashi's attempt and landing in his guard. That backfired in a spectacular way however as Hayashi wrenched back a kimura to get the submission victory.

 

When Khru Duangjan threw strikes he seemed as fast as a lightweight next to the immobile Chuck Dooley. Dooley's sole idea for the fight was to try and clinch up and grappler with the Thai. His sheer size made that tactic somewhat effective at first but once Dooley's tank emptied he became less and less effective in the clinch. He made it through the 10-minute opening round but as soon as the bell for round two sounded Duangjan exploded on his opponent with huge punches that Dooley was unable to defend and that flurry caused the TKO stoppage in favor of the "Bringer of Pain".

 

The lightweight phenom Atep was nearly flawless in his fight with Toson Ouno. From the first clinch Atep snuck around his opponent and got his back, Ouno managed to turtle up before the choke could be applied but was taking bombs to the body in that position. Finally, sensing an opening, Ouno managed to get back to a standing position. That might have played even more into Atep's strengths as the Indonesian started to dissect Ouno in the stand-up. He locked in a thai plum and hit a picture-perfect knee that knocked out the Japanese fighter.

 

Kafu Bunya also remained undefeated but did so in an entirely different fashion winning a dominant but drawn-out decision over Yoshiro Yamamoto. Bunya stalked Yamamoto across the ring and kept him off balance with repeated threats of a takedown. As usual Bunya didn't really throw many strikes in the fight but also didn't allow himself to get hit in any significant way. Shortly speaking it was your typical Kafu Bunya 15-minute decision that didn't go over well with the crowd.

 

In preliminary action Greg Atteveld looked completely out of his element as he coudln't keep up with Tetsuo Myoujin's pace. The American's face looked like a train ran over it after the fight which Myoujin won by a commanding decision. Ieyoshi Yama****a ran out of gas after round one but managed to right the ship in round two to get away with a decision victory against Genpachi Higa in an ugly fight. Sylvester Collins made an emphatic debut for ALPHA-1 putting away Russell McPhee with punches from mount in 99 seconds. Fellow Canadian Rich Robinson also picked up a "W" defeating Bunmei Iida. Round one ended with Robinson having the rear naked choke all but locked in but he didn't manage to finish the Japanese veteran and had to settle for a decision victory.

 

Full Results:

Hassan Fezzik def. Palmer Lette by sumbission (americana), 1/1:03

Gunnar Nilsson def. Harry Milne by decision (unanimous), 2/5:00

Fumiaki Hayashi def. Helio da Cunha by submission (kimura), 2/1:13

Khru Duangjan def. Chuck Dooley by TKO (punches), 2/0:16

Atep def. Toson Ouno by KO (knee), 1/6:48

Kafu Bunya def. Yoshiro Yamamoto by decision (unanimous), 2/5:00

Tetsuo Myoujin def. Greg Atteveld by decision (unanimous), 2/5:00

Ieyoshi Yama****a def. Genpachi Higa by decision (unanimous), 2/5:00

Sylvester Collins def. Russell McPhee by TKO (punches from mount), 1/1:39

Rich Robinson def. Bunmei Iida decision (unanimous), 2/5:00

 

Attendance: 9,002

PPV Buys: 82,693

 

Technique Prize (awarded for the most skillful finishing technique be it standing or ground): Fumiaki Hayashi

Fighting Spirit Prize (awarded for the best performance by a single fighter): Atep

Outstanding Performance Prize (awarded to the parties involved in the best fight of the night): Khru Duangjan vs Chuck Dooley (rated fantastic)

[Tommy J.]

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j299/Tidzej/tradition.jpg

 

ALPHA-1 presents Tradition

ALPHA-1 makes the trek up north for it's fourth pay per view event of the year headlined by promotion stalwart and icon Kunimichi Kikuchi taking on Jeff Carlton in the main event. Kikuchi's two losses at the hands of Fezzik make people forget that he just may be the 2nd (or, at worst, 3rd) best heavyweight in the history of the sport. A mantle he will look to live up to against the dnagerous American wrestler and ex-GAMMA champion who's flying high after giving Grzegorz Boniek his first loss in an ALPHA-1 ring. That said both men have already challenged for the title and lost so this bout, though marquee, has little title implications.

 

Such implications are present in the card's title fight between champion Carlos da Guia and Claudio Palacios for the welterweight crown. For many fans this is but a stopover until da Guia fights Gabriel Gallego, who has taken out all of his teammates but due to scheduling quirks that fight had to be pushed back and Palacios now has an opportunity of a lifetime.

 

One of GAMMA's most recoginzed fighters makes his first appearance on the other side of the Pacific as veteran Rick Stanley takes on Duke Aiona in what promises to be a slugfest. Stanley is coming off a submission loss to Christopher Sharp but his Hawaiian opponent won't look for a win in such fashion. Instead both fighters made promises on going eye for an eye in the striking match.

 

Ikku Funaki takes on 36-year old Giovani Silva. The Japanese, one of the fiercest power punchers in the welterweight division, looks to extend his ALPHA-1 run to four straight wins against a man 9 years older and vastly more experienced. Silva will look to his ring generalship to carry him through this fight but, that said, strategy has never been his strong suit.

 

Chouji Goto returns to the ring for his second fight where he will be faced with a challenge of overcoming a 6-inch height advantage and 7-inch reach advantage agains fellow striker Washichi Kobayashi who will attempt to get his ALPHA-1 record back to .500.

 

Dangerous muay thai fighter Leandro Piquet will open the card as he tries to put himself on the 205 lb. map with a win against tough Trevor Murray. The Canadian's style may not be pretty to watch but it gets the job done agains regular competition. However Piquet is clearly the most prominent fighter Murray had to face in his 32 fight career so the question is can he step up?

 

 

ALPHA-1 Tradition prediction form

PPV card:

265 lbs: Kunimichi Kikuchi (32-4, #3 HW) vs. Jeff Carlton (33-7, #8 HW)

170 lbs: Carlos da Guia (15-0, #1 WW) vs. Claudio Palacios (22-6)

265 lbs: Duke Aiona (13-3) vs. Rick Stanley (22-8-3)

170 lbs: Ikku Funaki (14-4) vs. Giovani Silva (21-7)

170 lbs: Chouji Goto (8-2) vs. Washichi Kobayashi (11-5)

205 lbs: Leandro Piquet (21-5) vs. Trevor Murray (21-11)

Preliminary bouts:

185 lbs: Bernard Blue (7-2) vs. Kyuwa Itou (22-11)

205 lbs: Sho Kitabatake (0-0) vs. Etsuo Fujishima (24-12)

185 lbs: Keith Plaice (12-4) vs. Wade LeCavallier (24-13)

155 lbs: Bunrakuken Abe (10-3) vs. Mikiyo Inoue (7-2)

[Blackman]

265 lbs: Kunimichi Kikuchi (32-4, #3 HW) vs. Jeff Carlton (33-7, #8 HW)

170 lbs: Carlos da Guia (15-0, #1 WW) vs. Claudio Palacios (22-6)

265 lbs: Duke Aiona (13-3) vs. Rick Stanley (22-8-3)

170 lbs: Ikku Funaki (14-4) vs. Giovani Silva (21-7)

170 lbs: Chouji Goto (8-2) vs. Washichi Kobayashi (11-5)

205 lbs: Leandro Piquet (21-5) vs. Trevor Murray (21-11)

Preliminary bouts:

185 lbs: Bernard Blue (7-2) vs. Kyuwa Itou (22-11)

205 lbs: Sho Kitabatake (0-0) vs. Etsuo Fujishima (24-12)

185 lbs: Keith Plaice (12-4) vs. Wade LeCavallier (24-13)

155 lbs: Bunrakuken Abe (10-3) vs. Mikiyo Inoue (7-2)

 

the undercard is a bit random guesses, but hey.

 

edit: and dude, what happened to the title bouts main event rule? It's sacred.

[BYU 14]

265 lbs: Kunimichi Kikuchi (32-4, #3 HW) vs. Jeff Carlton (33-7, #8 HW)

170 lbs: Carlos da Guia (15-0, #1 WW) vs. Claudio Palacios (22-6)

265 lbs: Duke Aiona (13-3) vs. Rick Stanley (22-8-3)

170 lbs: Ikku Funaki (14-4) vs. Giovani Silva (21-7)

170 lbs: Chouji Goto (8-2) vs. Washichi Kobayashi (11-5)

205 lbs: Leandro Piquet (21-5) vs. Trevor Murray (21-11)

Preliminary bouts:

185 lbs: Bernard Blue (7-2) vs. Kyuwa Itou (22-11)

205 lbs: Sho Kitabatake (0-0) vs. Etsuo Fujishima (24-12)

185 lbs: Keith Plaice (12-4) vs. Wade LeCavallier (24-13)

155 lbs: Bunrakuken Abe (10-3) vs. Mikiyo Inoue (7-2)

[Tommy J.]

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j299/Tidzej/ALPHA1.jpg

 

ALPHA-1: All Business report, 26th June. 1999, Sapporo

 

Despite being riddled with decisions ALPHA-1 Tradition event proved to be a very entertaining proposition for fight fans as neraly all the fights that went the distance were quality bouts. The main event ended up a shocker when Jeff Carlton defeated Kunimichi Kikuchi, becoming only the fourth man to achieve such a feat. The American looked to use his amateur wrestling skills and contained Kikuchi for the first 5 minutes against the ropes. The Japanese star turned the tide afterwards by catching Carlton with a good punch and then threw Carlton down with a harai goshi that excited the packed Makomanai Indoor Stadium crowd. From side control he made his way to mount and in the dying seconds of the round Carlton gave up his back but Kikuchi didn't have enough time to finish his opponent. "The Rock" retooled for round two as he sprawled out of a Kikuchi shot and hurt him while the Japanese was turtled up. The fight returned to stand-up but it looked as Kikuchi ran out of ideas and steam when he attempted takedown after takedown but never managed to actually get the fight to the ground. Still, many fans believed that his outburst of offence in the second part of round one should seal the deal for "Unstoppable K" but the judges saw it in a different light and, much to the crowd's disappointment, all three awarded the victory to Jeff Carlton.

 

In going the full 20 minutes with Claudio Palacios Carlos da Guia showed off his relentless attack but in doing so the reigning ALPHA-1 champion also showed holes when he overcomitted and was put in compromising positions more than once during the scrap. The Brazilian started like a starved pitbull as he absolutely mauled Palacios in round one. The Peruvian persevered somehow and in the last minute used da Guia's aggresiveness against him in reversing a rushed takedown attempt. Round two was more of the same when Palacios miraculously survived a beautiful head kick in the early going and contained da Guia in his full guard after he crashed to the mat. Palacios soldiered on and actually got a takedown of his own with time to spare in round three but once again da Guia scrambled out and dove for a leg which led him to giving up side mount to the challenger. Fortunately for the Brazilian by that time Palacios was spent and didn't do much with the position which led to Carlos da Guia retaining his belt by way of judges decision.

 

Rick Stanley made his much anticipated ALPHA-1 debut coming out to Danzig's "Mother" but it was perhaps his sole high point of the evening. He looked plodding and slow against the much younger and quicker Duke Aiona and, after taking a few nasty low- and mid-kicks, realized that standing with the Hawaiian wasn't really to his best interest. Even than he couldn't get close enough to his lanky opponent to get a takedown. Aiona comfortably outstruck him and earned himself a serious win on his record.

 

Giovani Silva and Ikku Funaki had a great back and forth fight that had the fans oohin and aahin with great regularity. Funaki got the first takedown and started raining down some serious ground-and-pound but then distracted himself with trying to pass the guard instead of attempting to finish the fight. In return Silva got his opponent in a muay thai plum and launched knees, one of which opened a big gash right under the eye of the Japanese fighter. Funaki started round two in same fashion as the first stanza - with a takedown. Difference was, this time Silva reversed him, though he soon gave up the position after a scramble and found himself holding Funaki in guard. The fight remained in that position with Funaki unable to improve it or get an arm-triangle. Two judges had the fight for the Brazilian while the one dissenter went with Funaki.

 

Needing a comeback deep in the second round Chouji Goto did just that when after getting slowly but surely outpointed by Washichi Kobayashi throughout the fight but when the opportunity presented itself Goto grabbed the thai clinch and blasted Kobayashi in his face and ribs with two knees that put him away on the spot. Leandro Piquet fought a similar fight to Kobayashi, stedily outstriking Trevor Murray but he never let his concentration lapse and carried the fight through 15 minutes to get the victory.

 

In the preliminary portion of the card Kyuwa Itou absolutely mashed Bernand Blue's legs sending the American limping after a fight in which he landed them at will. Blue didn't have an answer and with his base taken out dropped a decision. Judo stud Sho Kitabatake disposed of veteran Etsuo Fujishima by quickly submitting him with an armbar that yielded the card's sole tap out. Wade LeCavalier beat Keith Plaice by unanimous deicison in an entirely forgettable fight and Mikiyo Inoue put Bunrakuken Abe's chin to the test numerous times. Abe made it through the fight but winning it was out of the question.

 

Full Results:

Jeff Carlton def. Kunimichi Kikuchi by decision (unanimous), 2/5:00

Carlos da Guia def. Claudio Palacios by decision (unanimous), 3/5:00

Duke Aiona def. Rick Stanley by decision (unanimous), 2/5:00

Giovani Silva def. Ikku Funaki by decision (split), 2/5:00

Chouji Goto def. Washichi Kobayashi by KO (knee), 2/2:23

Leandro Piquet def. Trevor Murray by decision (unanimous), 2/5:00

Kyuwa Itou def. Bernard Blue by decision (unanimous), 2/5:00

Sho Kitabatake def. Etsuo Fujishima by submission (armbar), 1/4:41

Wade LeCavalier def. Keith Plaice byby decision (unanimous), 2/5:00

Mikiyo Inoue def. Bunrakuken Abe decision (unanimous), 2/5:00

 

Attendance: 10,643

PPV Buys: 87,519

Show rating: Excellent, believe it or not

 

Technique Prize (awarded for the most skillful finishing technique be it standing or ground): Sho Kitabatake

Fighting Spirit Prize (awarded for the best performance by a single fighter): Kyuwa Itou

Outstanding Performance Prize (awarded to the parties involved in the best fight of the night): Giovani Silva vs Ikku Funaki (rated great)

 

Matchmaker comments: New feature with some less objective commentary. First off all Blackman, this is Japanese MMA I'll order the fights however the hell I want . Decisions aside the results were pretty much all I wanted, except for the main event, but that might turn out to be a blessing in disguise. I totally set up Stanley who in my opinion is a shot fighter and Aiona came through. I'll keep "The Pit Bull" around cause he's insanely popular and not that expensive and it looks like Kikuchi needs a tune up fight right now. Da Guia is taking a crazy 4 months off, which messes with my scheduling and it looks like Gallego will need a tune up fight soon. Finally I got to international so I'm looking forward to actually making a profit. This is doubly important as I made a mistake in booking only 10 fights per show, which, for a roster this size is way too little and some guys are seriously behind on their contracts. I'm looking to holding a PPV every 2 months now with at least 12 fights and the TV show, which is up next, every other month. The show is limited to 7 fights and I might have to retool that soon.

[Tommy J.]

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j299/Tidzej/ALPHA1.jpg

 

ALPHA-1 Martial Arts, July 21st from the Nagoya Gaishi Hall, LIVE on JSV2 and Net-A Preview

 

From fighting one high-profile Dragon's Lair fighter to another Roberto Aldez returns to take on Jin Katou in the main event of the TV Special. Aldez is coming off a humbling loss to champion Yamada and will look to extract some manner of revenge against Yamada's protege Katou. The Japanese, a star in his own right, has been stuck in the shadow of "The Dragon" and after 11 wins in ALPHA-1 is lacking direction. Word out of Dragon's Lair is that, in the wake of Kunimichi Kikuchi losing his last fight, Katou might test the waters at heavyweight should he win this fight. He should not however overlook Aldez by any margin. The Brazilian has slowed down since his GAMMA heyday but remains a world-class striker with an above average takedown defence. Katou, while one of the hardest punchers in the division, lacks Aldez's versatility on the feet and should look for a win on the ground.

 

As forecasted welterweight top contender Gabriel Gallego gets a tune up fight against Japanese wrestler Masayoshi Sato. Sato has shown some promise in his fights but let's not dance around the subject. He's going to get blown out of the water by Gallego which will serve a fine lead-in to the much anticipated Gallego - Da Guia showdown.

 

Former rikishi Eien Kawano makes his ALPHA-1 debut against the explosive Daiki Ekiguchi. Kawano, a popular figure following his sumo days, is seen as one of Japan's finer prospects in the heavier divisions and brings a largely unique style but has to expand his toolbox in order to succeed in the big leagues.

 

Brazilian veteran Edson Edmilson has his first fight of this year agains Indonesian wonderkid Atep. Edmilson's glory days are long behind him but on of the original Escola da Luta members still is around to fill the role of gatekeeper to the lightweight division. It would seem that Atep has long since evolved past the need to fight Edmilson but he's looking to stay active and Edmilson was willing to take the fight.

 

ALPHA-1 Martial Arts prediction form

205 lbs: Roberto Aldez (42-7, #5 LHW) vs Jin Katou (18-0, #3)

170 lbs: Gabriel Gallego (16-1, #4 WW) vs Masayoshi Sato* (6-1)

265 lbs: Daiki Ekiguchi (6-3) vs Eien Kawano (3-0)

155 lbs: Edson Edmilson (27-12) vs Atep (5-0)

--Preliminary bouts--

185 lbs: Ukichirou Narita* (16-8) vs Yoshinobu Tanaka (26-16)

185 lbs: Atsushi Nakajima (29-13) vs Marlon John (1-0)

205 lbs: Afonso Villar (1-0) vs Zenko Hakateyama (11-6)

170 lbs: Manuel Silva (2-0) vs Tsuyoshi Oonishi* (14-7)

 

*- If you don't recognize the names (since I changed them) just go by family names, they stayed the same.

[Richyg]

205 lbs: Roberto Aldez (42-7, #5 LHW) vs Jin Katou (18-0, #3)

170 lbs: Gabriel Gallego (16-1, #4 WW) vs Masayoshi Sato* (6-1)

265 lbs: Daiki Ekiguchi (6-3) vs Eien Kawano (3-0)

155 lbs: Edson Edmilson (27-12) vs Atep (5-0)

--Preliminary bouts--

185 lbs: Ukichirou Narita* (16-8) vs Yoshinobu Tanaka (26-16)

185 lbs: Atsushi Nakajima (29-13) vs Marlon John (1-0)

205 lbs: Afonso Villar (1-0) vs Zenko Hakateyama (11-6)

170 lbs: Manuel Silva (2-0) vs Tsuyoshi Oonishi* (14-7)

[Tommy J.]

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j299/Tidzej/ALPHA1.jpg

 

ALPHA-1 Martial Arts report, 21st July 1999, Nagoya

 

Jin Katou extended his undefeated run to 19 fights this Wednesday with a hard-earned victory over the veteran Roberto Aldez. The Brazilian surprised even his trainers by going for a takedown early on and even more astoundingly was successful. It would turn out to his detriment though, as he wasted valuable time by smothering Katou through almost the entire first round when he should've been peppering the Japanese with strikes. Karma reared it's head in round two when Katou hit Aldez with a huge punch right away but Aldez came to before the referee could declare it a TKO. Katou, much like "The Sniper" in round one, spent the remainder of the fight on top of Aldez but he regressed in position and couldn't get anything going. Still the judges saw enough in that one huge punch to give him the win.

 

It was booked as a showcase fight and while Masayoshi Sato hung in there longer than many expected it was a one man show when he got beat down by Gabriel Gallego. The Argentinean stuffed all of Sato's takedown and brutalized him with kicks to the legs, kicks to the midsection running away with the fight on the scorecards. He finally put his opponent to the sword halfway through round two with a big punch and followed up with strikes for the TKO victory.

 

Eien Kawano made a pretty seamless transition from a Sumo dohyo to a MMA ring by taking out Daiki Ekiguchi with a rear naked choke 5 minutes into round one. Kawano muscled Ekiguchi to the floor and reached full mount. Precise ground and pound seemed to still be an alien concept to the rikishi as he tried to pound on Ekiguchi for quite a while with minimal success. He did have a very good base though and finally with no other ways to escape Ekiguchi gave up his back. Kawano's submissions turned out to be a lot sharper than ground strikes as he quickly subbed his oppponent.

 

In one more finish for his growing highlight reel Atep KO'd Edson Edmilson in just 38 seconds in the opening fight of the broadcast. The Indonesian flurried on his opponent knocking him down and then came with an absolute vicious punch when diving into side control to finish. Edmilson was out cold and Atep improved to 6-0.

 

In the unaired bouts Ukichirou Narita defeated Yoshinobu Tanaka in a dull fight, Marlon John merked veteran Atsushi Nakajima with ground and pound in under 3 minutes, Afonso Villar subbed Zenko Hakateyama with an armbar after softening him up with gnp in round one and Manuel Silva KO'd Tsuyoshi Oonishi with a muay thai knee 8 minutes in.

 

Full Results:

Jin Katou def. Roberto Aldez by decision (unanimous), 2/5:00, rat: average

Gabriel Gallego def. Masayoshi Sato by TKO (punches), 2/3:11, rat: great

Eien Kawano def. Daiki Ekiguchi by submission (rnc), 1/5:18, rat: great

Atep def. Edson Edmilson by KO (punch), 1/0:38 rat: great

Ukichirou Narita def. Yoshinobu Tanaka by decision (unanimous), 2/5:00, rat: poor

Marlon John def. Atsushi Nakajima by TKO (punches from mount), 1/2:48 rat: fantastic

Afonso Villar def. Zenko Hakateyama by submission (armbar), 1/4:37, rat: great

Manuel Silva def. Tsuyoshi Oonishi by KO (knee), 1/8:02, rat: good

 

Attendance: 4,132

Viewers: 867,240 on JSV 2 (Japan), 289,080 on Net-A (Asia)

Show rating: Excellent I think. (didn't write this down)

 

Technique Prize (awarded for the most skillful finishing technique be it standing or ground): Afonso Villar

Fighting Spirit Prize (awarded for the best performance by a single fighter): Marlon John

Outstanding Performance Prize (awarded to the parties involved in the best fight of the night): Gabriel Gallego vs Masayoshi Sato

 

Comments: I was SHOCKED when Aldez went for takedowns. After the show I went to the editor and saw that he had no strategic inclinations (I don't think any fighter in the CVerse has them). So I made him a bit more "Axe Murderer" like, because we all know that he is Wanderlei Silva . I think I'll also look into other fighters, not only in my company, to make sure such brain farts don't happen. I'm not happy he lost, I don't have anything to do with Katou due to my house rule of not matching up team mates. He's likely heading to heavyweight so that, along with Kikuchi's (also Dragon's Lair) loss, might open up some avenues. Other than that fight I'm delighted with the show. Gallego only needs 55 days off so one he and Da Guia are ready the trigger gets pulled on that fight - likely the PPV after the next one. On the match-making tip I stole Raul Hughes so he's likely to be fighting Fezzik next (and once he looses I'm dropping him down to 205 where he belongs). Also look for Kanezane Fujii and Katashi (or Kadonmaro in the original db) Deguchi to be making their debuts, they both won 2 fights already on the regional circuit so it's time to bring in some Japanese fighters that aren't cans.

[Tommy J.]

OOC: Damn, it's been so long I made two consecutive posters with the same theme. Shame on me.

-----------------------------------

 

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j299/Tidzej/blueprint.jpg

 

ALPHA-1 presents Blueprint

Aug. 28th 1999 from the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo

Tadamasa Yamada returns to the ALPHA-1 ring to defend his 205-lbs. title for the 5th time against heavy hitting American Leon Banks, who drops down from heavyweight. Banks will be the bigger fighter but by a small margin, enjoying just a 2 inch advantage in height and reach. In his last fight he did well stopping Carter Potter's takedowns but Yamada is a whole different animal and plies his trade by submitting opponents in lightining quick fashion.

 

The one fighter who was able to hang with Yamada for the whole 20 minutes taking him to a decision back in 1997 was Heiji Endou. That still stands as the sole loss in his career and he'll look to avoid slipups in his first middleweight title defense against the gritty Sumatran. The 33-year old finally won his way to a title shot, he has a good submission game but prefers to slug it out on the feet. Endou still has a way to go with his striking but is aided with a granite chin and meticulous gameplanning. He'll probably look to take Roby down and flex his grappling.

 

Two muay thai artists collide when Xie Ming takes on Ricardo Fernandes. Ming, China's greatest MMA fighter, is coming off a hard fought loss to Gabriel Gallego. He'll try to get back in the win column against the Brazilian veteran, who's been showing signs off slowing down coming into his 40th pro fight. Ming is a bit more dynamic striker but has to overcome a 3-inch reach disadvantage.

 

Last time out Inejirou Chiba surprised everyone when he TKO'd Robun Yamazaki in February. The boxing convert has sinced joined J1 Circle to round off his game and he'll have a chance to show the improvements he made against veteran Brazilian Edilberto. The Brazilian is good at muay thai and complements it with decent grappling. Stylistically Chiba is once again at a disadvantage, though he should be dominant as long as the fight stays standing.

 

Hiro Arai, one of Japan's top prospects, has his work cut out for him against Ikuhisa Tamura. Tamura wouldn't be wise to stand with the dominant striker but he is a good enough wrestler to take Arai down and hold him there. This is the kind of fight that might propel Arai to a higher level should he win.

 

BJJ sensation Jonathan Huang returns to mixed martial arts competition after subbing Kuroki versus fellow grappler Mario de Souza. Both fighters have faced each other in grappling before and Huang got a win there that put the BJJ-world on notice. The Thai looks to make history repeat itself and submit the Brazilian one more time.

 

ALPHA-1: Vendetta Prediction form

PPV card:

205 lbs: Tadamasa Yamada (22-1) vs. Leon Banks (32-7)

185 lbs: Heiji Endou (13-1) vs. Mal Phe Roby (16-4)

170 lbs: Xie Ming (20-5) vs. Ricardo Fernandes (34-5)

205 lbs: Inejirou Chiba (17-3) vs. Edilberto (32-8)

265 lbs: Ikuhisa Tamura (21-8) vs. Hiro Arai (8-0)

185 lbs: Johnathan Huang (1-0) vs. Mario de Souza (24-5)

--Preliminary bouts--

155 lbs: Shizuya Nakae (26-10) vs. Helio da Cunha (20-3)

155 lbs: H.M. Menzel (11-3) vs. Branco Conceicao (9-0)

205 lbs: Pete Shilton (8-2) vs. Kendall Tracey (10-1)

185 lbs: Juro Fukazawa (12-5) vs. Bill Brown (2-0)

265 lbs: Gyousei Fujimoto (2-0) vs. Randall Donelly (12-6)

265 lbs: Yoshikazu Inamoto (7-4) vs. Gary Sampson (16-6)