MMA in Asia - all access pass!

one of the best parts of being a fan of MMA in Asia during the boom is that legends of the sport are so accessible. having the experience of being at Art of War in Beijing when Thomas was invited to referee was priceless. on the eve of the event, we found ourselves sharing a nightcap with Renzo Gracie.

while waiting for the bus to the stadium, i was kidding around with Bas Rutten in the lobby of the hotel as if he were just another MMA fan on the way to a show.

when Art of War came to Macau, Wanderlei Silva went up into the stands to chat and have a picture with our Kylin guys.

at the recent Fury cage fight in Macau, a BIG Japanese guy in a very bright yellow shirt had all heads turning. he was none other than Tsuyoshi "TK" Kosaka of Pride, Rings, Deep, Pancreas and UFC. he's also known as the only man to beat Fedor - even if it was by ref stoppage due to a cut. In Pride 2006 he beat Mario Sperry, but went on to lose by TKO to Mark Hunt in "Total Elimination Absolute". he had a pretty awe-inspiring aura about him, even though he was easy to approach.

another MMA legend - Yuji Shimada - was a referee at Fury. this man is a walking encyclopedia of MMA, Pride and Dream. and what many people outside of Japan don't know is that he also knows his professional wrestling - he's even had his own persona and once spoofed "Sexyama". when the last fight was over, everyone working the event made a beeline to the beer - and i was delighted that Yuji joined us. Nathanael Amacker, one of the judges, engaged him in some light conversation and learned a few more interesting things about him:
NA: "You are known over the world, and you've reffed some of the biggest fights in history. Do you ever get nervous when you go in the ring?"
YUJI: "Not really. Only sometimes I do."

NA: "Who would you say is your favorite fighter?"
YUJI: "I like Fedor. Oh, I also really like Brock Lesnar."

NA: "Do you think that Sakuraba is diminishing as a fighter?"
YUJI: "No, he's just getting older."

FURY 1 - the FIRST MMA CAGE event in China!

the 21st of May, 2010 heralded in an historic new era of combat entertainment as "FURY 1 - Clash of the Titans" made its debut at the City of Dreams in Macau, the "Las Vegas of China". the first caged fighting event ever to be held in China showcased 9 contests between fighters from Hong Kong, Macau, Japan, Thailand, Australia, South Africa, Canada, Scotland, France and the USA. the pace was fast, the fighters were aggressive, the audience was frenzied and only one fight went the distance.

the judges were Henry Fougstedt of South Africa/Macau, Benoit Lotter of France/Hong Kong, and Nathanael Amacker of Switzerland/Taiwan. the referees were Yuji Shimada of Japan, Thomas Fan of UK/Hong Kong and James Chan of UK/Hong Kong. photos of the event can be found on the Triquest Facebook page.

the first match between Sayed Irshaad and Ngoo Ditty was fast, technical and exciting. Irshaad is a Muay Thai fighter who only very recently started some ground training to enter the MMA arena. Ngoo of MMA Phuket knew this and came in with a good gameplan to engage in BJJ. Ngoo obtained some guard and back positions, but Irshaad escaped them all with a calmness usually seen in much more experienced BJJ players, and his excellent combinations finally put him in the dominant position. Irshaad caught Ngoo with an uppercut that backed Ngoo up, then followed it up with a knee which put him on the mat. it was ground and pound until Referee Thomas Fan stopped the fight.

the second fight proved that it was going to be a night of quick finishes. Vaughn Anderson of "Art of War" fame showed superior technical prowess against Ross Lavery of Scotland. Vaughn attempted a couple of great submissions and finally sunk an armbar so deep - from the top - that Ross had to tap with his feet.

the third fight was Artemj Sintenko (a replacement for James Doolan) - who landed at the airport at 5pm - against Takeshi Numajiri. he was very technical with his BJJ, but the trip took a toll on him and the TKO went to Takeshi.

in the fourth fight was local superstar Vuyisile Colossa against Tiger Muay Thai's John Vargas. John came out of his corner supper-aggressive - looking like a pit bull. Vuyisile definitely had some good reach on him in the stand up, and was able to smash his takedown attempts. finally John made a mistake on a single leg attempt and Vuyisile was able to reverse the position to take the back and win by RNC.

the fifth fight showcased Jason Jones of Golden Glory against Minoru Kato, veteran DEEP fighter. the fighters clinched and Jason caught Minoru with a knee to the groin and then landed some mean elbows that opened up a cut in his scalp. Minoru got 5 minutes to recover, but after more blood-slinging around the ring, Jason was given the win by the doctor's stoppage due to the cut.

the sixth fight was the only fight to go the distance. France's Sebastien Garguier was up against Nobuhiro Obiya of DEEP, PRIDE and SHOOTO. Sebastien was dominant in the first round, and Nobuhiro stayed safe enough to come back through the second. the result was a draw, so the two came back for a third round. all three judges scored in favor of Nobuhiro.

the seventh fight was the heavyweight fight of the night between Dion Starling from Golden Glory and Peter Graham. Dion made quick work of Peter and submitted him quickly.

the eighth fight was the main card K-1 rules fight between Ramazan Ramazanov and a Macau Thai boxer who was a last minute replacement for Seigei Vasylier. Ramazan was extremely dominant against the last-minute stand-in, and got the win.

the final fight was the much awaited match between France's Antony Rea (of CFC, PFC, fightFORCE and Bodog) and Yoshiki Takahashi (veteran of Sengoku, Bodog, K-1, Pride and Pancrase). Antony clearly had a reach advantage, but Takahashi didn't appear to be afraid of it. he took a few kicks, and unfortunately one landed in his groin area and he went down hard. he took the full five minutes to recover. when he got back up, he gamely faced Antony and a few exchanges took place, but Takahashi broke his toe and was unable to stand or continue.

it was and exciting event, and i can't wait to see more fighters get the chance to fight in a cage here!