Something Weird
Although this last Hero's show had its share of talent, there is still something that isn't quite jiving in the matchmaking department. Many of the fights had extremely quick knockouts, and the KO in the headliner was rather "weird" for lack of a better word. This show included the return of a few big MMA veterans such as Tom Erickson and Don Frye, and of course it also included a cameo by Tiger Mask, Kazushi Sakuraba who fled from what many speculate might be a sinking ship.

Canada's humane immigration policy has produced another generation of rising Mixed Martial Artists such as Ivan Menjivar and Black Mamba. Who among these faces is truly the best?

Very Quick Victories
Many of the matches in this show went up in smoke way too quickly. In the opening bout Kazuhiro Hamanaka arm barred Wakasyoryu and clocked in the victory at only 1 minute and 22 seconds. Then came the return of Tom Erickson who made a big splash into Pride once upon a time, then shifting to K-1 and mostly appearing as a corner man and trainer as of lately. But Antonio Silva, whose huge jaw and upper body indicate he could be a distant cousin of Kazuyuki Fujita himself, used his "força de gorila," to take down Erickson and tenderize him. It was obvious that Erickson has been away for a while and almost exposed his back a couple times, but in the end he chose to look up and was finally overwhelmed with strikes to the face at 2 mins. 49 secs. of round one. For Junior, as his friends call him, this might be the continuation of a perfect road. He is solid, agile, has a huge chin and might be a force to be reckoned with. Another Japanese hopeful who went down fast was Hidetaka Monma, who was pounded out by Brazilian Gesias Calvancanti at 2 mins and 8 secs into the fight. This was indeed complete control by this talented and aggressive Brazilian who immediately disheartened Monma with a solid heel to the heart at the initial bell via frontal kick.

Hum
For Don Frye this was his first job in MMA since K-1 Premium 2004 in which he lost by unanimous decision in a rematch to a no contest with Yoshihiro Nakao. The initial stare down, or stare up, had a bit of that pro wrestling aura as Frye glared up at the freshly tattooed ex Sumo grand champion. After an initial left by Akebono, Frye landed a combination to his chin as Akebono almost buckled within the first ten seconds, but he held on and wound up pressing Fry against the ropes for the entire first five minute round landing a knee shot here and there. Frye was very patient, and was simply trying to make sure that he did not wind up underneath Akebono. This was more like a Sumo match with ropes but Akebono could not quite push Frye through the ropes for the victory.
In the second round, Frye finally brought down Akebono with a heavy leg kick. As Akebono lost his footing, the Predator moved in for the kill and finished with the good ole American ground n pound. Since he was subtle and respectful enough through the first, there was no need for subtlety from the Predator in the end. Only ten days later Fry fought to a draw with Ruben Villarreal in KOTC - Predator. Hum.

An ecstatic Caol Uno, who is on a major come back road, kept working for the arm bar and finally succeeded.

Speed
The show started picking up speed from here, as the Pride of El Salvador Ivan Menjivar once again proved that he might be the best fighter at 145 lbs in the universe. Although Menjivar lost by DQ against Urijah Faber rather recently in TKO, for an illegal kick to a downed opponent, he hasn't experienced a loss since his last minute bout with Matt Serra in the UFC in 2004. Menjivar is a fierce striker with superb grappling to resort to in case of the ground game. Although he could not finish Taiyo Nakahara, his skill was unanimous for a striking victory. Menjivar is amazing to watch since he can finish by strikes or submissions.
Although this fight might have led up to an encounter between him and Hideo Tokoro, it seems Tokoro has been used as an experiment against larger and stronger fighters, as he fell way short against a larger and more solid Black Mamba, Kultar Gill. This is the second KO by a knee shot that Tokoro has recently suffered, but this time it was in only 43 seconds. It would be nice to see the 145 lbs. category being established and solidified so that fighters such as Tokoro, Menjivar, Miki Shida, etc… have an even plane on which to combat.

Uno, Dos…
Another great fight was between the legendary Caol Uno whose goal once upon a time was to capture the UFC lightweight belt but he was left in limbo after a draw to BJ Penn in an amazing 25 minute MMA war. Uno's skills and experience is large, and he brings back memories of certain techniques which are unique unto him, and he is always working for position.
As the powerful striker Ole Laursen initiated with a straight right and low right kick, Uno ducked under the missing strike into Laursen's guard and then the half guard. When Uno got the full mount, Laursen reversed him with a burst. With Ole on top, Uno brought his legs high up towards his head and rolled out, reversing Ole again. Working from within Ole's guard Uno eventually stepped back and flew in with a hard right that landed on the grounded and cornered Laursen. As the g n p continued, Ole flipped over and Uno mounted his back striking at the turtled Laursen.

With Judoka power, Yoshihiro Akiyama delivered a precise and impressive back spinning heel to the kidney.

In the second, Ole left his leg out and Uno took it into side position, knee to chest, north south, moving clockwise looking for an arm, but Ole regains the closed guard. After delivering elbow to the thighs, Uno keeps working similarly stepping over and locking the legs around the head and arm. He loses the arm bar attempt then grabs his prey’s neck, finishing with a Mata Leon. Caol Uno is back yet again, although he was never truly gone. His only recent loss was due to a cut in a tournament match, which he was winning against Norifumi Kid Yamamoto. Ole Laursen is a solid, powerful, and dangerous striker who only needs to develop his ground game further to become a force.

Bell, Bee, Freeze, Kill
The bell buzzed and the killer bee buzzed forward. Kazuyuki Myata was simply frozen in time, non-alert in a frame of slow space. The right knee buzzed forward, Myata crouched, the left knee to the chin. Miyata frozen on the canvass. Then in typical Kid style, Norifumi delivered another right punch to the other character in the play that was already out. All of this in FOUR SECONDS; repeat four times to imagine the timing. Very weird.
I would much rather see a fight in which a fighter implements a solid strategy and display of skills, but up to now we have not had a chance to see much of Yamamoto. His victory against Sudo was ambiguous at best, landing very little and getting a stoppage from the referee. It was a controversial stoppage, which leaves everybody under suspicion.

K-1 HERO's 05/03/2006: Other Photos & Official Results >>