Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted November 8, 2012 Paid Members Share Posted November 8, 2012 That's a good top 10. There's about 40 more fights that could have made that list though, WEC was that awesome. Yeah I always found it really strange that going into TUF, Polakowski had only had 3 fights and all against Olaf. One of the weirdest statistics in MMA. Who has their first 3 fights against the same guy. Then he fought once more against Roli Delgado and never fought again. Odd. Here's that Diaz vs Franca fight I was on about before http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B19iH3ki-_0 And here's the tremendous Olaf-Polakowksi 1 http://www.mmatko.com/olaf-alfonso-vs-john...ht-video-wec-9/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magnum Milano Posted November 8, 2012 Share Posted November 8, 2012 Nice to see Condit/Miura and especially Rosholt/Osterneck in that WEC Top 10, but as Wand said the promotion was loaded with great fights. When I've a bit of time I might list the must see 'great fights' from the promotion. Regarding Polakowski, part of me thinks he just wasn't that keen on being an MMA fighter. For the first Olaf fight he took it on ridiculously short notice (probably just to help the WEC out), it was fight of the year which led to the rematch and he won that which led to the trilogy. He's a Chuck guy and I imagined he pulled some strings or just recommended him for TUF 8 (you can see Dana in the crowd at the first Olaf fight giving them both a standing ovation) and he just didn't want to turn him down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Cum Doctor Posted November 8, 2012 Share Posted November 8, 2012 WEC 4: Battle Under the Sun Bao Quach vs. Jeff Curran Good to see a familiar name right off the bat. He's using Fuel from Metallica as his walk in as well. Good stuff. Bao has NO interest in standing here, shooting right away and taking down. The first round goes that way. Curran fights out but Bao imposes his will and keeps the fight down there, but Curran really does a good job and even switches position at one point, when it looked like he was getting outclassed on the ground, but the round still belonged to Quach. Sensational second round from them and Curran edges it, but Bao showed a LOT on the ground, instigating a guard out of nowhere and some belting scrambling to get out of bad positions. The fans chant for WEC in the third because the fight IS that good. Terrific stuff from both guys both on the ground and feet in this fight. Third round is VERY good again, and Bao winds up in trouble because he looks for the takedown and goes RIGHT into Curran's choke. The third... well. Bao edged it I think. I dunno. VERY close. Superb fight though, and I heartily enjoyed watching it. Jeff Curran wins. I'm not sure I agree, but it was VERY close. Mike Swick vs. James Gabert Mike Swick! Really enjoyed the last couple of fights I've seen with him in UFC. Lets see what he offers here. The first round seen Swick COMPLETELY obliterate Gabert with all sorts. Elbows, kicks, punches, knees. He landed everything and Gabert took it all and didn't even go down, which is impressive in itself. Gabert had a cracking go in the second, but Swick was very smart, and didn't go for the strikes as often as he did in the first, but when he did, he landed, and did damage. I'd give the round to Gabert but only just. Gabert comes out aggressive as fuck in the third round and the fans LOVE it. As well they should. Swick continues to be very clinical in what he does, but with Gabert not going down, is that enough? Swick hands out a total pasting in the third, as if to say "yeah, it's enough". It was close, but Swick did more in the third and deserved it. A superb fight though. Randall Rowe vs. Jason Jones Rowe is pretty popular here. Must be a hometown boy or something. The bell rings after the Triangle Choke and Jones then swings another big right anyways which causes a big shitstorm. I wasn't too sure what was going on there if I'm being honest. Rowe was fucking livid though and went right for him. Both fighters head for the back here. Okay... I'm not sure how this works exactly. There was clearly something horribly wrong with what Jones did, as the referee stopped the fight for whatever reason, and Jones decided to punch the guy anyways. So that was pretty deplorable, and he rightly takes a DQ loss as a result. What the fuck was he doing? It was a naw bad showing before that from both guys, with good domination from the top from Rowe while Jones kept busy and wound up almost winning the fight in the round. Then there was the moment of madness. Eric Mainai vs. John Rallo A short battle here. John Rallo was an absolute beast right from the word go as he rushed Mainai right off the bat and landed some big shots. Mainai did amazingly well on the ground to take the initiative but they wound up on the feet again and Rallo just continued to smash Mainai and then the referee stopped it. Mainai didn't seem to be defending himself in the end and the commentators agree with that assessment, so John Rallo comes out on top in a fun wee fight. Chris Wellisch vs. Jay White I have no idea what to make of this. The referee steps in when Jay White lands a big shot and down goes Wellisch in the first round. I'm assuming that the fight is over... so imagine my surprise when we wind up seeing out the round. What was with that?! I didn't think the fight should have been stopped anyways, but at the same time, if a fight is stopped like that, I thought it was over. Anyways, I'd give the round to Jay White thanks to how good he looked through it. How Wellisch manages to survive the second round is anyone's guess. I'd probably put it down to White's shots not having as much power as they did earlier because he was getting very tired pretty clearly. Whatever the reason was, White put on a hell of a beating and Wellisch just ate the lot of it up. Wellisch actually ends up taking the fight by KO in the third. He looked the more likely because White was completely knackered. He got the takedown and completed the comeback. It was a terrific fight, and amazing to see Wellisch come through and take it. Zack Light vs. Tony Fryklund With more bizarro world officiating in this show, the referee steps in when Zack Light is in the arm hold of Fryklund. We can see the other hand of Light and he clearly doesn't tap and Light is absolutely livid, so it doesn't look like he verbally quit either. This referee doesn't allow the fight to continue and we have a "verbal tap" decision in favour of Fryklund. Zack Light had the edge in the round for me. Fryklund had the slight edge on the feet, but Light was just doing too much for him. Mac Danzig vs. Kurt Pellegrino - WEC Lightweight Championship There's some name value to be had in this fight! The commentators say that the opening round is hard to call. It really isn't. Danzig doesn't do enough on the bottom and Kurt lands the takedown early doors and stays in the more dominant position and keeps the control. So it's an easy first round to call. Unfortunately, it's the first poor round of the show as well. They tried to keep busy, but neither man could get much. The second round is much better and actually IS harder to call as a result, so I'm not gonna bother attempting it. Pellegrino seems to have the better of the standing exchanges, and both men do some good stuff on the ground. I particularly liked when Pellegrino managed to escape a triangle choke and take control of the fight at one point. The third round seems to be Pellegrino's for me. Once again, Mac Danzig doesn't appear to be doing enough for me, although he did look for the choke at one point, but it didn't go anywhere. Kurt Pellegrino winds up winning the fight on the decision which I'd say is the right call. It's not the best of fights here. Richard Crunkleton vs. Luciano Oliveira I thought there was some fun scrambling and ground stuff from both guys here, but Richard Crunkleton was just insanely hard to keep control of and when he locked that Triangle Choke in, it was game set and match. Just a very impressive showing. Aaron Brink vs. Jeremy Horn So this is the main event of the show. Jeremy Horn finishes things in incredibly short order, persistantly looking for the takedown and then when he did get it, he quickly got the back, got the choke and finished the fight. That's about as simple a victory as you're ever likely to see for someone. So this was actually GREAT fun to watch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted November 9, 2012 Paid Members Share Posted November 9, 2012 That sounds like a show I need to see. I thought Danzig vs Pellegrino would be a great fight, it's weird how sometimes a fight looks great on paper but it just doesn't work out in the cage. The rest sounds excellent though. I love Jeremy Horn. He's one of the most overlooked and underappreciated fighters in MMA in my opinion. He's been around forever, fought everywhere against a who's who of the sport and beat the likes of Chuck Liddell, Forrest Griffin and Chael Sonnen 3 times. He's had some brilliant fights plus he seems like a proper nice chap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magnum Milano Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 (edited) I know we've discussed him in the past, but just watched this awesome Genki Sudo highlight video for the first time. Worth 4 minutes 20 of anyone's life. Edited November 20, 2012 by Magnum Milano Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted November 20, 2012 Author Paid Members Share Posted November 20, 2012 Genki Sudo was before his time, he would have been a superstar in the UFC if he'd come around during the 'boom' period. It pisses me off when people talk of how good Mayhem Miller's ring entrances were when they were a pale imitation of what Sudo was doing years earlier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted November 20, 2012 Paid Members Share Posted November 20, 2012 I was never a fan of Mayhem's entrances. Always came off as a poor imitation of Genki, the master. And him flailing his arms about and gurning his stupid face off to some poncey techno tune just always made me want to see him get battered. For big, over the top MMA entrances the Japanese do it right. Genki Sudo, Akihiro Gono and Kazushi Sakuraba are the 3 kings. Genki is the king of kings. Tom Lawlor is the first non-Japanese fighter to do it properly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimufctna24 Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 (edited) I really liked Yuki Kondo coming out to Enya in Pride. EDIT: Thanks for that Genki vid, great stuff. I may do a write up on him later as part of my underachiever posts Edited November 20, 2012 by jimufctna24 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimufctna24 Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 (edited) Underachiever? - Genki Sudo As a superstar, it is arguable Sudo reached his potential. Japanese MMA in 2002-2006 was a big deal, the TV ratings on New Years were massive with Pride and K1 going head to head. It was a fad for sure, but during this time MMA in Japan was bigger than the UFC will ever be in America. It was mainstream, and I am talking X-Factor (ITV version not WWE) and Match Of The Day mainstream, not 2 million viewers on FOX mainstream. Genki was cool, watching that video he stands the test of time. He was young and had charisma, his entrances and creative fighting style were the icing on the cake. The cool factor in MMA is various, but Genki no doubt had it, the modern techno look of Japanese helped and I would describe him as a hipster if I was to describe him to a non-fan. Compare that to the UFC scene at this point, you could tell which country had MMA in the mainstream. Genki coming out to his cool techno or Dana White's bald head and Face The Pain (Nu Metal is so 2001) you be the judge. Genki was surely a superstar, he beat Butterbean at the 2003 K1 year end show. Japan loved freakfights and they out drew the likes of Fedor in the ratings ,as this show was in the middle of the peak of JMMA popularity, he would have been massive. The show beat Pride in the ratings and drew over 40k fans. I do not have the exact numbers but it would have been over 20 Million. Combined with Pride, JMMA used to bring in over 40 Million, and Japans population in only half of America. Kid Yamamoto was near his peak as a fighter and a name when he beat Sudo in the NYE in 2005, that would have showcased him to millions as would his win in his retirement bout a year later. Sudo has stayed retired, instead playing baseball and having his own band, I bet he is as cool now as he was in 2004! As a name he competed in the biggest and most watched MMA shows likely ever in his own land. So for his time as a superstar he achieved all he could. Now as fighter it is a different story. His own losses when he was in his prime are against Bang Ludwig and Kid. The first being a fight that I have not seen in years, but most feeback I read says they Big John stood the fight up too much and Sudo still won 2 rounds. The word "robbery" has been used. Kid was in his prime, no shame there. He has wins over Marquart, Mike Brown and Hiroyuki Takaya. Watching footage back, he displayed slick subs and decent takedowns and GnP. He also competed in K1 and despite losing more than he won did go the distance with Masoto he was world champ, he must have had some skills standing. So what could have he achieved? Well 155lbs was a mess in this period, but the best guys were seen to be Gomi in Japan and Yves Edwards in America. Sudo could beat both of these. Yves got caught by Mark Hommnick in 2006 by triangle and Gomi was always suspect to being subbed, with Sudo having decent throws and GnP to set it up, he would have a healthy chance. He would have stood a chance against Uno, Hansen and Franca as well. As BJ was a fat knacker fighting Machida and Renzo Gracie there was no one at this stage who he would not have a chance against. If he would have met Gomi in Pride as late as 2006 he may have beaten him for the belt and been recognized as number 1, on the flip side in the UFC he could have beaten Uno or Edwards over there for their belt if it would have existed after BJ and Uno drew. Kawajiri, Edwards and Gomi could have all beat him sure, but Sudo was good enough to do very well at the top. Instead he fought gimmick fights like Butterbean and Ramon Dekker, sure he won and got more fame and attention than he ever would beating Gomi, but from a achievement perspective he did not do as well as he could have done. I kinda like how Sudo retired just as JMMA became uncool and underground, it suited the man in my eyes. When I think of him I think of packed domes on Japan and cool techno music playing in front of a amazing amount of people. It would be kinda ruined if he did what Kid did and went stateside and lost. Instead he did what he loved (music) he could have continued, but he left the scene. A scene I miss and he will always be a part of. Edited November 21, 2012 by jimufctna24 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted November 21, 2012 Paid Members Share Posted November 21, 2012 (edited) Great post. I fucking love Genki. He had it all. He had charisma coming out of his arse, he was a rare case of a show off who was extremely likeable at the same time and most importantly he could fight once the bell rang. He was way, way ahead of his time. My first memory of him is his fight with Leigh Remedios back at UFC 38 in 2002. The first ever UFC held in the UK. I didn't see it at the time, I didn't start watching MMA until 2005 but once I got hooked I went back and worked my way through most of the older shows and Genki was someone who instantly grabbed my attention. Everything he did was pure entertainment. The Remedios fight was Genki's UFC debut and it turned out to be probably one of the most enjoyable and entertaining one sided fights in MMA history. I was still more of a pro wrestling fan at the time so seeing Genki come down the ramp in a mask, then dancing around the cage as the fight began, then attempting a flying armbar...I was a fan from that point on. Then he busted out a belly to belly suplex Magnum TA would be proud of... And finished Remedios' night with a slick as fuck transition to take the back and get the choke... Fantastic. I've been a fan ever since. On top of that, he had the best entrances in MMA history... You know you've made it when Tom Lawlor pays tribute Only a priveleged select few get that honour bestowed upon them. Genki Sudo, Dan Severn, Art Jimmerson, Harold Howard, Hulk Hogan, The Shockmaster...kings of the human race. I personally thought Genki beat Ludwig. The stand ups were quick and I just felt like he was able to control a lot of the action on the ground for the majority of the fight. He should be 3-0 in the UFC to this day in my opinion. Oh yes. As already mentioned, he beat Nate Marquardt... And then did the Rutten jump. Fought in K-1 Mixed results but he had a go. Masato was no joke as well. A Japanese legend in K-1 and Genki hung in. He stomped heads Beat a Gracie in style And if all that hasn't convinced you how fucking brilliant the man is, he's pulled off a fucking big swing into a leg lock submission... As far as I know and as mental as it sounds that fight was not a work. I kinda like how Sudo retired just as JMMA became uncool and underground, it suited the man in my eyes. When I think of him I think of packed domes on Japan and cool techno music playing in front of a amazing amount of people. It would be kinda ruined if he did what Kid did and went stateside and lost. Well put. Genki was too cool to be even loosely associated with the nosedive in popularity MMA took in Japan. It's fitting that he fucked off just before it all went tits up. As much as I'd have loved to see him carry on (he's only 34 now for fuck's sake), it's great that he got to go out on his terms with his health intact, at the height of his popularity, with money in the bank and on a win. He did it right. He only got his BJJ blackbelt in 2010 according to wikipedia. He's been in films in Japan, written books and now he's got his own band with albums out and shit... Edited November 21, 2012 by wandshogun09 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted November 21, 2012 Author Paid Members Share Posted November 21, 2012 the picture of Sudo bowing over a KO'd Royler Gracie is my favorite MMA picture of all time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HWM Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 Love Genki - remember watching that UFC fight in 2002 (can't believe it's ten years ago!). Great fighter and quality bloke. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magnum Milano Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 I was never a fan of Mayhem's entrances. Always came off as a poor imitation of Genki, the master. And him flailing his arms about and gurning his stupid face off to some poncey techno tune just always made me want to see him get battered. Probably not his best entrance, but anything that pays tribute to the 'Wild Thing' Rick Vaughn and pays homage to Major League is a winner for me, and the cheerleaders spelling out 'LOVE' with their pom poms is quality. Needless to say it, smokes anything that Mayhem has ever done. I saw that Giant Swing on the highlight package I linked to yesterday but thought it had to have been in a worked fight so that's awesome that it was a shoot. The one thing that this thread has done is piqued my interest in going and watching as much of his stuff that I can get my hands on. I've got all the Hero's discs but sadly they're in a pile of unwatched stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted November 21, 2012 Paid Members Share Posted November 21, 2012 The fight with the giant swing was against Craig Oxley in Pancrase for anyone interested. It's on Youtube but the quality is cack. Worth watching though. It was Oxley's MMA debut. Tough break. He lost his second fight the following year then didn't fight again until 2010 where he lost again on a Strikeforce prelim. He's done at 0-3. But yeah as far as I know it was a shoot. Pancrase was full of works in the early days but by the time this fight took place in 2000 it was a legit MMA promotion. Huge mismatch but not a work I don't think. Just solidifies Genki as probably the coolest cunt in MMA ever. Who the fuck else would even attempt a giant swing in a real fight? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimufctna24 Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 I will be honest I thought it was worked, Pancrase is infamous for works. As said it just adds to Genki. In regards to Wand saying he was ahead of his time - I agree he was in terms of a fighter, he was very well rounded. But I think he was perfect for the JMMA peak more than any other period in MMA history, if he was about now his UFC entrances would be scaled down and if he was in Strikeforce it would not have the effect as in Japan he was performing in front of 40k fans in domes, not 2k in the middle of nowehere. I also love that picture of him bowing over Gracie, you could have not taken a better shot. It is telling how creative he was with his entrances that he went into music where he could express his creative side more, he was a creative fighter as well and as Wand said despite showboating and doing wacky things in the cage he was still likable. I always found it weird he split his time between UFC and K1 in his peak, was Pride not a option. I know he had ties with Bas Rutten. Anyone know why, or was it just a case of what was offered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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