K-1 HEROS 2 7/6/05

K-1 HEROS 2

Yoyogi National Gym, Tokyo, Japan

7/6/05 13,000 in Attendance

HEROS 2 is here! The Worlds Strongest Middleweight Tournament is upon us as the search for the next HEROS of Japanese MMA continues. We arrive at HEROS 2 in a venue that should be familiar to all those who followed along with our journey through Nobuhiko Takada's KINGDOM Pro-Wrestling: its the Yoyogi National Gymnasium in Tokyo! Wait... its in the main building (Kingdom always ran the second gymnasium) that seems to be sold out tonight at around 13,000. I say seems because I can't find exact numbers for this show from either English or Japanese sources! But I can assure you, this place is packed and is absolutely LOUD and ready for this event of great violence (LIVE!).

“TONIGHT IS THE NIGHT OF HEROS” declares a squadron of attack helicopters flying over a cityscape (I am not making this up, this is how the intro starts)! At an absolutely frantic pace, this odd voice shouts “They come from the four corners of the earth but only one can be the biggest the baddest” and “One man proves to the world that I am the HERO!” and even more shockingly “IN A FIGHT TO THE DEATH, WHO WILL STAY ALIVE.” This is statement, while hilarious, very directly contradicts the changes that HEROS was attempting to make in the televised MMA scene. As part of their broadcast deal with TBS (Tokyo Broadcasting System), taking MMA off of PPV and onto terrestrial cable channels in the early evening, they had to make ruleset changes as to not be so gruesome and shocking as compared to PRIDE. This is the reason why knees to the head on the ground and soccer kicks have been banned, though I do have to point out, jumping stomps to the head are still totally legal lol. The voice over also mentions the threat of paralyation!

BUT WE HAVE NO TIME TO TALK ABOUT THE NEGATIVE IMPLICATIONS OF THAT, as Yoshihiro Akiyama, also known as Sexyama, is already coming to the ring as Time To Say Goodbye (Con Te Partiro) blares through this gym. He's a judoka who failed in his first HEROS appearance against kinda old Peter Aerts, but this time he's ready as we are shown images of him training with BJ Penn and running by the ocean! His opponent is some goofy Australian dude named Carl Toomey who has the audacity to say that “Judo has no place in Mixed Martial Arts. They can't punch or kick.” I feel a major ass kicking is afoot!

Toomey is immidately wrapped up by Sexyama and the announcer yells JUDO AKIYAMA as he scores with a trip. Akiyama is already comfortable in full mount as you hear Toomey's mouth-breathers in the corner shout instructions. Yoshihiro Akiyama then pivots and locks on an amazing armbar that completely traps Carl Toomey's arms forcing him to tap by feet stomping. All the Small Things by Blink-182 plays in celebration as Akiyama redeems himself from his previous failure and also shames a weak man who questioned Judo as a legitimate form of martial arts. HEROS 2 is off to a great start!

Tfw you realize Judo does have a place in MMA

We see some highlights of KID Yamamoto (I am not a fan of his continued punches/submission cranking after the fights over), kickboxers, and sumo that they are bringing in to fight!

Oh shit its time for BOB SAPP going up against Alan Karaev, the big boy who lost against Gary Goodridge. Bob Sapp comes to the ring and is billed as being from the NFL, but my usual excitement for Sapp has honestly been dampened, as recently it has come out that Bob Sapp brutally abused a girlfriend. That sort of behavior is reprehensible and makes Juice a lot less fun to say the least. Karaev is 2 meters tall like Sapp but has 30kg on him! They show off Karaev's strength by demonstrating his crushing of whole fruit and nuts, and maxing out a grip strength meter. Akebono is here in the crowd, looking sad because he lost a kickboxing match to Sapp a few months earlier.

Karaev comes out swinging, completely overwhelming Sapp while bringing him down. Sapp has already given full mount to Karaev then foolishly tries to escape by giving his back. Thankfully the rear naked attempt by Karaev was poor and Sapp was able to awkwardly escape and somehow get into side control and then into FULL MOUNT as the commentator screams. LOL Karaev sweeps Sapp and is into FULL MOUNT already. Sapp gives his back and eats some punches (a familiar sight in the future Sapp fight catalog) but HOLY SHIT Sapp has full mount somehow now. This fight is a mess, and the ref breaks them for stalling. Bob Sapp wins with a series of hard straight lefts to the jaw of the big Ossetian Alan Karaev. The Juice wins a non-worked bout! I would congratulate him but he's an abuser and should be shunned. His smiley persona has no effect any longer when you see the pictures of what he did his significant other.

Our next fight is kickboxer Rey Sefo, consistent qualifier for the K-1 final (he was the 2000 GP runner-up) but was never able to grab it himself, has decided to enter into the world of MMA and is competing against judoka Min Soo Kim. Kim will be jobbing again I see, but this time it won't be a thrown fight against the Juice, but will be by his own inability to punch at all.

Ray Sefo looks so slick here and Kim is just completely out of his league. The rounds will be only 3 minutes a piece and knockdowns from standing will get a 10 count. I assume this was a way to ease Sefo into MMA by setting up his first fight to have K1 like rules. How nice of K1 going to extreme lengths to protect Sefo here despite the fact he obviously is gonna smack this guy around. Sefo is able to keep Kim away and even prevent takedowns from the Olympic judo practitioner. Kim does achieve some success at the very end of the first round by scoring with a trip off the ropes but the bell rang before he could do much. Kim's punching is so silly and Sefo just floors him with a big right hook, but since this has semi-kickboxing rules, Kim gets a count and sadly stands to his feet to receive more punishment after the 8 count. Ray Sefo instantly decapitates the poor judo man Min Soo Kim and I honestly feel bad for this outcome. Sefo is an exciting fighter but it can be hard to be excited when someone outclasses someone like Kim so handily.

More footage hyping the Strongest Middleweight tournament which also paves the ROAD TO DYNAMITE, K-1's year end show. An interesting facet of HEROS was that it built to a year end show in the same way K-1 did, though this also was a feature of Maeda's RINGS which built to the yearly Mega Battle Tournament. This tournament will be throughout the rest of 2005 and will culminate at DYNAMITE 2005!

Takehiro Murahama is facing off against Remigijus Morkevicius in another first round fight of the Middleweight tournament! Murahama (3-4-1) is a pro-wrestler, MMA fighter, and kickboxer who was a veteran of the last days of RINGS (another Maeda scouting!) and also fought in the early events put on by the DEEP promotion. Morkevicius (16-5) is a Lithuanian import from the Fighting Network ZST jmma promotion (considered by many to be a spiritual successor to RINGS) where he ran rough shot since 2003 and won the 2005 Featherweight grand prix. Maeda, unsurprisingly from anyone who has watched RINGS, is bringing in the usual suspects into HEROS: Lithuanians, Russians, the Dutch, Japanese pro-wrestlers, and Korean-Japanese fighters (like himself). Sadly, Morkevicius was shot to death in 2016 while returning home from a training session; he had run into legal troubles in his last few years before his death. This news brings to mind the similar fate of a favorite fighter of mine and associate of Maeda, Hans Nyman, who was also gunned down (this time while in a VW Golf). These kickboxers always get it rough later in life...

They show footage of Morkevicius at a training camp where everyone smacks their abs as they do situps

But let's not dwell on this sad news because we have an incredibly exciting fight on our hands! Since this is a tournament fight, its scheduled for two 5 minute rounds and one extra round if the judges score it a draw after two rounds. These dudes are keeping it standing and Morkevicius lands a nice knee from the clinch to start this one off. Murahama is having trouble getting anything off as Morkevicius is just too fast. Right as I say that, Remigijus Morkevicius hits Takehiro Murahama with a devastating left hook that snaps his head and leaves him confused as he wakes up. A great start to this tournament!

Hideo “Little Volk Han” Tokoro (34-30-2) is a serious MMA journeyman. Most recently appearing in RIZIN in 2017, he got his start in 1999 by joining our dear KINGDOM friend Kenichi Yamamoto's Power of Dream gym. After doing poorly in his early years in TFC and a one off appearance in RINGS in 2001, he hit his stride in ZST and Shooto Lithuania racking up a record of 14-11-1 before his first appearance here in HEROS. In regards to his Little Volk nickname, I am unsure of its origins. Whether its due to his fast, submission hungry style or potentially having been trained by Volk in his early days through Kenichi Yamamoto, it is a fitting name. Another quick note about Hideo Tokoro, K-1 loved to play up the fact that he had to work as a janitor to make ends meet while also being a fighter. While shown to be honorable thing, its actually disgusting that someone can be an exciting, winning fighter (a worker being paid to destroy themselves in front of others) and have to then do extra wage-labor just so they can afford the rent on a tiny apartment (capitalism is not our friend). His opponent is Luta Livre fighter Alexandre Franca Nogueira (18-6-3), the longest reigning champion ever in MMA when he was the Shooto Lightweight champ for over 6 years. Holding wins over Noboru Asashi and Rumina Sato, Nogueira favors the guillotine choke with a large percentage of his wins coming by the maneuver (the pre-fight video package hypes this fact and the data confirms it!).

After two very close up camera shots of their abs, THIS FIGHT IS ON! Tokoro starts this off with some wild kicks and quick jabs until Nogueira scoops him with a double leg into a slam. Nogueira has side control momentarily before Tokoro pushes him off and threatens with up kicks, but Noguiera manages to get the guillotine locked on in the scramble! This spells doom for Tokoro, but he perseveres, keeping Nogueira from locking his legs and keeping his chin tucked, As he gets up, he lands brutal ground and pound as the crowd cheers. Tokoro hops to the side and begins looking for a kimura until Nogueira just picks him the fuck up and drops Tokoro. A few years later in the WEC, Nogueira got caught using the juice and I think that definitely shows in his ability to throw Tokoro around here (I don't mention this to discourage the use of PEDs because I am an ethical nihilist after all). Nogueira is landing some ground and pound from the side before he scurries up, snatches Tokoro's right leg, and sits down attempting the heel hook. Tokoro is able to roll out and stand up, and attempts a cheeky guillotine choke of his own! Nogueria knows better though, and easily slips out and stands. Tokoro then snags his left arm for a beautiful arm bar attempt from the up/down postilion that really gets the crowd going. This fight is already top notch.

As the second round is about to start, the camera shows us a very nonplussed Caol Uno watching on. Tokoro wants to go right out of the gate, throwing some leg kicks and punches (that dont land) to begin the round. Nogueira leaps at Tokoro bringing him down (in a fashion similar to a football tackle or spear as its referred to in pro-wrestling) and lands in the open guard. Tokoro attempts another arm bar but Nogueira is able to stand up out of it once more. As the ref brings them back up, Tokoro goes for a flying knee but Nogueira catches him and turns it into a big single leg takedown, but Tokoro then almost catches Nogueira in ANOTHER guillotine attempt. They stand for the judges decision and they score it a DRAW so we have an extra round on our hands!

Catching a flying knee

The crowd cheers for the extra round and are thunderous in their support of Tokoro. The ring announcer screams ROUND 3 and almost immediately Hideo Tokoro annihilates Alexandre Franca Nogueira with a right spinning back fist! The crowd erupts with applause and the jubilant Tokoro spills out of the ring to go pay his respects and shake the hand of Akira Maeda who looks so proud of what just occurred (he's wearing his red suit!). What an absolutely amazing bout; this one is already on its way to being one of the best of the whole tournament and the life of HEROS itself.

Peter Aerts makes his HEROS return for a super fight against the former sumo Wakashoyo. Akebono is here in the crowd to support his former sumo stablemate but we know how this is gonna go down lets be honest: the Dutch Lumberjack is going to smash this dude up. Also, there is a very nice camera fly over the ring before this bout reminiscent of something you would see at a NFL game. HEROS production and camera angles were specifically meant to be different than both PRIDE and UFC, and it has already developed a look all its own.

Wakashoyo starts this off by pushing Aerts into the corner, but Aerts ain't a slouch and is able to force separation and land shots. In Wakashoyo's second attempt at this, he succeeds and is able to bring Aerts down but he gets stuck in Aerts' closed guard and the ref brings them back up. LOL Aerts knocks Wakashoyo down in a comical fashion with a small right hook but the ref just stands there so Aerts is forced to punch the lying man once or twice more.

Kazuyuki Miyata is gonna be fighting in this next tournament opening round and I know this because they are showing his crying wife and images of him with all his kids. He is gonna be facing kickboxer Shamil Gaydarbekov who to my knowledge only was in one MMA fight (this one). Oh they also brag about Miyata's body fat content a lot in the promo package!

Miyata shoots in and uses his massive thighs to block Shamil's defense and then Miyata throws him into oblivion. After some serious ground and pound from the back, Kazuyuki Miyata slips on a rear naked choke after locking his legs around Shamil Gaydarbekov's midsection. He gets the dominant win that he desperately needed and Miyata celebrates with some nice flips!

Our next fight in the middleweight tournament is Hiroyuki Takaya up against Jani Lax. Takaya (23-14-2) is shown in the pre-fight promo riding a motorcycle and talking about his background in street fighting (hell yes!), and showcasing his strong record in Shooto before he made the jump to HEROS. Lax (10-8) is a Finnish MMA fighter who started in the no holds barred FINNFIGHT, holding a win over Joachim Hansen from his early days, and then went to Shooto before also coming to HEROS. Poor Shooto, producing so many exciting talented fighters only to be raided time and time again. It is a sad thought, but just think of the pollination that's occurred across the martial art world because of what Sayama Satoru (aka Tiger Mask) built. There was no entrances for this bout for some reason!

We open with a knee to the head by Lani Jax. Takaya is weary after those shots and is standing back and then counters with a sharp stepping left hook that ends this one quickly.

They then show us the end to a clipped match between Royler Gracie and Koji Yoshida. Gracie wins by decision but let me say that I am so glad the producers of this show chose to clip this match and spare us all of a Gracie snore fest. Everyone by 2005 had learned what's up with these one trick ponies and it shows here.

ITS TIME FOR THE MAIN EVENT! Norifumi “KID” Yamamoto (18-6 (2) ) is facing off with Ian Schaffa (7-7-2) in the final opening round of the 2005 Middleweight Tournament. KID Yamamoto has been doing poorly in recent years in the UFC (a sad fate for many a Japanese fighter and particularly many of these HEROS veterans later on) but don't let that fool you, this dude went had a 9-1 record by the time he got to HEROS and before his losing streak after 2009 Yamamoto had a 17-1 record. He is a fantastic fighter, well rounded, but his disregard for the safety of his opponents once the fight has been called always made me weary of the so-called Killer Bee. Ian Schaffa is no slouch, but is a fairly average fighter from this era but makes up for it in being an aggressive boxer. Both of these dudes have Shooto backgrounds and just goes to show again how important Shooto was in developing the smaller weight class fighters at the close of the 90s and in the early 2000s.

KID Yamamoto's entrance is roaring, this crowd is so absolutely hyped for this fight and I am too!!

Both these dudes are of the aggro type and both are already in aggro mode at the start of this. This one is going to be strike heavy, both guys are kicking and punching right at the bell. Schaffa gets Yamamoto in the crotch with a knee so they break to give Yamamoto a breather. LOL Yamamoto gets hit in the groin again (or so he claims to be) and these dudes are so pissed they are audibly yelling FUCK at each other. Schaffa eats a yellow card and they are back to swinging. Yamamoto lands a right forcing Schaffa to clinch. After a few knees they break and begin to move and punch across the ring. Yamamoto misses with a swinging right and Schaffa counter with some nice body shots, then lands a nice leg kick into a straight. After having enough of that, Yamamoto trips and brings Schaffa down and the crowd erupts as Yamamoto throws bombs from the guard. He stands up to punch down repeatedly until Schaffa traps his arm in a triangle. This slips however and Schaffa is under the ropes just eating punches to the crowds enjoyment. As the round ends, Kid sneaks in one last punch so Schaffa gets an arm bar after the bell. The ref calmly admonishes Schaffa (lol) and they return to their corners.

"FUCK!" 

"Please stop..."

WOAH we see that Schaffa's right eye is like completely shut and bruised as the second round begins. Yamamoto shoots in high but Schaffa rebukes him. Yamamoto hurts Schaffa with another hook then proceeds to chop at Schaffa with leg kicks. Schaffa hits Yamamoto with a right knee to the body and a clean follow up strike demonstrating that he is not down and out. So far he has definitely been one of the Killer Bee's most hard-boiled challenges, but he still has this won so far on points. Schaffa starts attempting leg kicks and while some land, Yamamoto's are hitting more accurately and more force. OH SHIT Schaffa sees an opening and begins unloading on Yamamoto, pushing him and hitting his chin square. The KID somehow lives through this onslaught and shoots in but Schaffa stuffs it until... YAMAMOTO LIFTS SCHAFFA WAYYYYYYY UP for the slam . After the exertion required for that, Yamamoto is content with staying in the guard until the round is over as Schaffa holds on for dear life.

It is the FINAL ROUND! Both are keeping their distance and Yamamoto is throwing some quick snapping leg kics. LOL KID Yamamoto wins with some glancing blows and finishes it with some STOMPS in the corner. Despite the clipping nature of the punch, it was enough to bring Ian Schaffa down because of Yamamoto's sheer power. They embrace after the win in a nice show of sportsmanship even though earlier they were screaming FUCK at each other. A good day for all and this crowd is ecstatic over this win.

So what's the deal with HEROS so far? Well, I can say this event outclassed the first event by a mile, it kept my attention throughout and was stacked with quality fights. Akira Maeda also featured more prominently which brought this to another level (even if it was only a quick handshake and back slap out of respect!). Are we closer to finding a HERO? Possibly! Hideo Tokoro is obviously the front runner in my book (and my heart) because of his working class ways and his love of constantly trying to slap on elaborate submissions. This chapter of the HEROS story is done but keep your eyes peeled for the next post where we go to HEROS 3 and the ROAD TO DYNAMITE continues on!

P.S. I want to leave everyone with a question! While this is pure speculation, it seems like HEROS siphoning up every SHOOTO fighter that PRIDE hadn't already got their hands on appears to be another big fuck you to Sayama from Maeda. What are chances of this somewhat influencing scouting of talent? I'm probably just reading too much into it but... its a nice thought :)