Line-up:

Genki Sudo vs. Ole Laursen
Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Karam Ibrahim
Heath Herring vs. Gary Goodridge
Jerome LeBanner vs. Jimmy Ambriz
Caol Uno vs. Rich Clementi
Kazuyuki Miyata vs. Ivan Menjivar
Hideo Tokoro vs. Yoshiniro Ikeda
Yoshihisa Yamamoto vs. Kim Min-Soo
Shungo Oyama vs. Melvin Manhoef
Kiuma Kunioku vs. Antonio McKee

Genki Sudo vs. Ole Laursen

Coming off his New Year’s Eve loss to the all-conquering KID, the ultra-talented Sudo (13-4-1) will be the overwhelming favourite in his fight with Laursen.  Many will compare this to Sudo’s match a year ago against aged Muay Thai legend Ramon Dekker, a pointless mismatch where the ‘Neo Samurai’ predictably tapped out an opponent with little idea how to fight on the ground.  But Superleague veteran Laursen is much younger than Dekker and has been training in BJJ and western-style boxing for years.  The 28-year old Dane has been around the MMA scene for a while, training with Dean Lister and BJ Penn and has done a little shootboxing (essentially kickboxing with throws) but this is his first major MMA fight and it’s on a big stage, against an excellent fighter.  A hugely talented striker, though nothing like Dekker in his prime, Laursen will be very dangerous until Sudo can take him down.  Once they hit the mat, and they surely will, Laursen’s on-off training will be no match for Sudo’s skill and experience.  Winner of the kakutougi.info ‘Submission of the Year’ award for 2005 for his beautiful triangle finish against Hiroyuki Takaya, Sudo should tap Laursen out in this one.  If he can work out Sudo’s bizarre stand-up technique, the Dane’s striking ability could keep him in the fight for a while but really, this one is just a matter of time.

PREDICTION: Sudo by submission late in the first.

Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Karam Ibrahim

Let’s hope Egypt’s 2004 Olympic Gold medallist Ibrahim (0-1) has a better gameplan for this one than he did his New Year’s Eve 2004 debut against Kazayuki Fujita.  Apparently wanting to show off some newly discovered boxing, he felt it was a good idea to stand with the far more experienced pro wrestler/fighter.  Big mistake.  Clubbed to the mat by a meaty Fujita clothesline, Ibrahim’s massively hyped, incredibly lucrative MMA debut lasted a mere 67 seconds.  Ibrahim is a truly incredible Greco-Roman wrestler – technically excellent, brutally strong, he’s a tremendous athlete with a dazzling array of eye-catching throws.  Whether he’s learned enough submissions and striking to cope with Akiyama (4-1) is the key question here.

The fashion-conscious former Judo World champion debuted on the same night as Ibrahim, quickly submitting South African boxer Francois Botha with an armbar.  An ill-advised fight with much bigger French hardman Jerome LeBanner 3 months later saw Akiyama out cold on the mat in just 2:24, courtesy of a powerful knee to the face.  Since then he’s gone unbeaten against some very mediocre opposition and has yet to spend more than 3 and a half minutes in the ring at any one time.  Oddly, Akiyama has yet to face anyone with a decent grappling background of any kind, and that combined with Ibrahim’s size advantage and athleticism provide the Egyptian with a shot at winning this fight.  He needs to jump all over Akiyama from the outset, throwing him off his rhythm and physically throwing him around.  Of course, getting close to the Gi-wearing Akiyama, a talented and experienced Judoka, is dangerous stuff, but it’s really Ibrahim’s only chance.  Look for a much improved performance from Egypt’s greatest ever Olympian.  Just don’t expect him to win.

PREDICTION: Akiyama by submission early in the second.

Heath Herring vs. Gary Goodridge

Given both men’s long, overlapping association with Pride, it’s something of a surprise that Herring (24-11) and Goodridge (21-14-1) never actually fought each other.  Both played the ‘gatekeeper’ role for a while and both had their successes inside the ring and as fan favourites.  And this should be an entertaining, hard-hitting fight.  Goodridge has concentrated far more on his K-1 career of late, having just 2 MMA rules fights since he nearly took Don Frye’s head off with a high kick on New Year’s Eve 2003.  He’s won both, hammering an over-eager, inexperienced Sylvester Terkay and finishing off the big and clumsy Alan Karaev, but Herring will be a real test for ‘Big Daddy’ at his time of life.

Herring’s move to K-1 should have revitalised his career after he hit the glass ceiling in Pride and it was clear he was never going to unseat the top 3 or 4 heavyweights under DSE contract.  But things haven’t quite worked out that way for the big Texan.  First he blew out his knee and almost had his head booted clean out of the ring by Sam Greco last March and his most recent ‘fight’ ended in a farcical No Contest when he whacked Yoshihiro Nakao before the opening bell due to the cheeky Japanese fighter’s now infamous “illegal act.”  Remember, Heath Herring is NOT a homosexual.  But he is a talented fighter.  He’s never quite lived up to his potential though.  Gan McGee took him to a close decision in a sloppy war in early 2004 and Yoshihisa Yamamoto and Giant Silva both extended Herring to the third round.  Still, Herring is a good wrestler, is well-rounded, is much younger than Goodridge and has been concentrating far more on MMA.  When he’s on form he can be devastating (just ask Hirotaka Yokoi or Yoshiki Takahashi) and he badly needs an impressive win here.  Look for him to take the always aggressive Goodridge down early and then go to work with some heavy ground n’ pound action and a stoppage win.

PREDICTION: Herring by TKO midway through the first.

Jerome LeBanner vs. Jimmy Ambriz

Californian Ambriz (8-3-1) looks like being the perfect opponent for the World’s Most Dangerous Frenchman (2-1-1) at this stage of his MMA career.  A big, imposing, powerful fighter with some decent skills, Ambriz is hardly world class and he’s gone 0-3-1 in his last 4 fights as well.  The ever-popular JLB should look good in bringing his ferocious striking to the American and KO’ing him in the first round.  It’s not that Ambriz is certain to lose – LeBanner is still pretty untested in MMA – but it’s by far the most likely outcome.  With losses to forgotten TUF2 replacement housemate Dan Christison and Ricco ‘burger king’ Rodriguez in his last 2 fights, Ambriz is hardly on a roll.  He did manage a painfully dull draw with Ron Waterman in late 2003 but before that was quickly dismantled by Josh Barnett.  If he couldn’t cope with Rodriguez and Barnett’s punches he could be in real trouble here.

LeBanner has improved a great deal since his MMA debut – a surreal submission loss to the utterly hopeless Tadao Yasuda.  True, his mixed rules fight with Bob Sapp on New Year’s Eve 2004 was more comedy than quality but he survived on the ground against ‘the Beast’ and had a successful 2005.  He went 2-0 in MMA last year (despite his poor takedown defence), wasting Yoshihiro Akiyama and Alan Karaev, as well as giving Cyril Abidi a kicking in their K-1 Paris grudge match.  Training with the likes of Dean Lister, Antony Rea and Kristof Midoux, LeBanner is set to make a real impact in Hero’s.  Look for him to start 2006 with a bang.

PREDICTION: LeBanner by KO midway through the first.

Caol Uno vs. Rich Clementi

This could easily be the best fight of the night.  Two very tough, talented veterans facing each other, with something to prove.  Uno (18-8-4) needs a strong performance to remind everyone there’s more to Hero’s middleweights than KID and Genki and Clementi (23-9-1) needs an impressive debut to prove he belongs on a bigger stage.  Uno is an established star and one of the most entertaining fighters around.  He also had a strong 2005, despite going 2-2.  He pushed Joachim Hansen all the way in their March 2005 classic (kakutougi.info ‘Fight of the Year’) and had another great fight with Hideo Tokoro before losing in the K-1 Hero’s tournament semi-finals to KID Yamamoto.  While the 30-year old has had mixed results for a few years now he’s just so talented, so adaptable and well-rounded that he’s a genuine threat to any fighter of his size.  This is going to be tough for the Lousiana native.  Clementi’s only previous shot at the big time came 3 years ago at UFC 41 where he lost an entertaining fight by submission to Yves Edwards.  This won’t be his first trip to Japan – ‘No Love’ is 3-1-1 in ZST – but Uno is by far his toughest opponent in along time.  He’s on a 9-fight winning streak that dates back to early 2004 and is a rugged, well-schooled veteran with strong wrestling skills but Uno is just too talented.  Expect a great fight, and expect Uno to walk away the winner, even if Clementi does make it much more difficult than some would think.

PREDICTION: Uno by decision after three rounds.

Kazuyuki Miyata vs. Ivan Menjivar

Ever-improving 2004 Greco-Roman wrestling Olympian Miyata (1-3) gets yet another major test here as he faces the Montreal based ‘Pride of El Salvador’ (17-5) in another fight that could be a real cracker.  Miyata’s sole win under MMA rules was his dismantling of late substitute Shamil Gaydarbekov last July.  And really, that was the only fight K-1 have given him much of a chance of winning.  He faced Royler Gracie in his MMA debut and did remarkably well, particularly with his slams, striking and submission defence, before being trapped in a triangle choke in the second round.  A tough split decision loss to the talented but unheralded Ian Schaffa and a predictable submission loss to Genki Sudo.  Miyata gave Sudo some trouble though – using his power, aggression and technique to take his opponent down several times.  He also landed a few heavy right hands and his striking has improved greatly over his short career.

Menjivar will be extremely tough though.  The short, squat Central American has many of the same attributes as Miyata.  He’s very aggressive and also powerful for his weightclass.  His wrestling is nowhere near as good as Miyata’s but he has much stronger submission skills and far more MMA experience.  Menjivar has more than earned a big break and he has a habit of forcing good fighters to really work, even when they beat him.  His UFC 48 match with Matt Serra was a mini-classic as Menjivar just never stopped moving and attacking.  He had Serra in trouble a couple of times and only the new Jersey man’s natural size and strength advantage and BJJ skills kept him in the fight long enough to grind out a decision win.  Both Miyata and Menjivar have some beautiful suplexes and this fight could serve up some genuine highlight reel action.  Whoever wins, it should be a good one and I’m going for Menjivar’s experience to see him through a close one.

PREDICTION: Menjivar by decision after three rounds.

Hideo Tokoro vs. Yoshiniro Ikeda

2005 was a massive year for Tokoro (13-9-1).  The part-time janitor and talented but undistinguished ZST regular entered the K-1 Hero’s tournament stunned the MMA world (and picked up the kakutougi.info ‘Upset of the Year’ award) by knocking out Alexandre ‘Pequeno’ Franca Noguiera last July.  A cracking fight with Caol Uno saw him lose by decision in the tournament quarter-final 2 months later but he was soon back for a quick submission win over Gabe Lemley.  Then, on New Year’s Eve he stepped in as a late replacement to face Royce Gracie and went the distance, earning himself a draw (those special rules again) with the much larger UFC Hall of famer.  Perhaps it’s in recognition of those achievements that K-1 have gifted him what looks a fairly certain victory on this show.  He could do with a break, especially after his return to ZST less than a month ago saw him knocked out by Erikas Petraitis.  Ikeda is a highly decorated  Kyokushin Karate practictioner making his MMA debut.  Tokoro’s own win over ‘Pequeno’ is proof that anything can happen in a fight but Tokoro simply has so much more MMA experience and skill that nobody in full command of their senses will be picking Ikeda in this one.  Tokoro should take this whichever way he feels like.

PREDICTION: Tokoro by TKO late in the first.

Yoshihisa Yamamoto vs. Kim Min-Soo

Whoever wins this one is unlikely to be the ‘next big thing’ as far as heavyweights go.  35-year old Yamamoto (6-13) does have talent and heart, not to mention experience.  He first competed way back in 1995, becoming something of a cult hero when he lasted close to 20 minutes with Rickson Gracie, despite being outweighed and utterly outclassed.  Today with an extra 40 or 50 pounds packed onto his frame, he’s a bigger, bloated fighter living on past glories and his willingness to get beaten up.  He’s won just 3 times since the start of 2001 – beating Mark Kerr with an accidental DDT, Alexander Otsuka due to a leg injury and the hopeless Jan Nortje by armbar.  But he still may be too good for the South Korean.  Kim (2-2) has a couple of wins against meagre opposition (including former WWE flop Sean O’ Haire) and has lost, both times by KO, to Bob Sapp and Ray Sefo.  He’s big and powerful with an excellent Judo background.  He should have a decent size advantage and this fight could end up an ugly, slow, mauling mess.  Both have good stamina and ugly striking skills so it’s unlikely this will be one for the purists.  Either man could win but Kim should be able to outmuscle, throw and submit the veteran for his first ‘major’ win in MMA.

PREDICTION: Kim Min Soo by submission late in the second.

Shungo Oyama vs. Melvin Manhoef

Fearsome Dutch striker Manhoef (11-2-1), fresh off an incredible Cage Rage 15 slugfest with Evangelista ‘Cyborg’ Santos, should win this one handily.  Oyama (5-8) may have been in there with plenty of quality fighters but as long as they avoid his leglocks he usually ends up flat on his back or in a crumpled heap.  In his last fight on New Year’s Eve he caused a minor upset by finishing Dutch K-1 legend Peter Aerts in 30 seconds with a heelhook.  He did a similar thing to Valentijn Overeem in his other big win a year ago.  Generally though, Oyama has been easy pickings for powerful, aggressive fighters.  Look at the way Mirko Cro Cop, Dan Henderson, Ryan Gracie, Sam Greco and even Sean O’ Haire hammered him.  One concern for the Cage Rage Light Heavyweight champion is the way ‘Cyborg’, hardly a submission specialist, was close to a leglock of his own during that chaotic February fight.  Against most fighters, Manhoef’s total lack of stamina would be an issue too but Oyama seems to only know two things these days – how to win quickly or lose quickly.  Manhoef is a vicious kicker and puncher who always starts explosively before slowing down later on.  Oyama just doesn’t have the stand-up skills to cope with him but things will get interesting if he can take Manhoef down quickly.  Still, the likeliest outcome is another short and painful payday for Oyama as Manhoef just blitzes him with his trademark devastating lefts and rights for a quick, impressive Hero’s debut and extending his winning streak to six.

PREDICTION: Manhoef by TKO early in the first.

Kiuma Kunioku vs. Antonio McKee

Highly talented former Pancrase veteran Kunioku (31-20-7) has floundered in the last couple of years.  He’s 1-4 since the beginning of 2004 with losses to Kazuo Misaki, Izuru Takeuchi, Rodrigo Gracie and Akira Kikuchi.  Still only 29, the likeable, entertaining well-rounded Kunioku has had a long, hard career.  His only recent win came against debuting South Korean Jung Hwan Cho and he could have a tough time with McKee.  The John Lewis trained McKee (14-3-2) has been terribly inactive recently, fighting just once since 2003.  And that was an unimpressive draw with the mediocre and inexperienced Akbarh Arreola in September 2004.  But McKee has real talent and the American has some impressive names on his record.  He took Karo Parisyan the distance, drew with Jason Black, and has decision wins over Marcus Aurelio, Heath Sims and Edwin Dewees.  A seemingly chronic lack of power and finishing skills mean 10 of his 14 victories came by decision and it’s likely this one will go the distance as well.  McKee should give Kunioku some trouble but after so long away from active MMA competition, on his first trip to japan against a quality fighter, McKee probably won’t be winning.

PREDICTION: Kunioku by decision after three rounds.

Predictions Re-cap:

Genki Sudo SUB1 Ole Laursen
Yoshihiro Akiyama SUB2 Karam Ibrahim
Heath Herring TKO1 Gary Goodridge
Jerome LeBanner KO1 Jimmy Ambriz
Caol Uno DEC3 Rich Clementi
Ivan Menjivar DEC3 Kazayuki Miyata
Hideo Tokoro TKO1 Yoshiniro Ikeda
Kim Min Soo SUB2 Yoshihisa Yamamoto
Melvin Manhoef TKO1 Shungo Oyama
Kiuma Kunioku DEC3 Antonio McKee

March 15th
Budokan Hall, Tokyo