Shinya Aoki -105
Tatsuya Kawajiri -125
Pretty interesting....who ya got?
Hope Kawajiri KOs Aoki. It's funny seeing Aoki get KTFO.
This is a tough one to call.....Aoki has fought more top guys, but Kawajiri has had some good wins too, and he's no joke. I'm taking Kawajiri by UD.
Kawajiri.
i think im quick to say Kawajiri after the Melendez fight, but that would just be dumb considering how dynamic Aoki can get
there were a lot of factors against Aoki in that fight with Gilbert, he had never fought in a cage, Yamasaki was quick to stand up with the first sign of butt scooting, a luxury Kawajiri will certainly not have
if Aoki can close the distance and take you into his world, you are in trouble
now how could Kawajiri win this fight? he would follow Sakurai's gameplan of using his superior strength to overpower Aoki, and rain knees into his face or pound him out
all of this is easier said than done
im gonna go with Kawajiri but will not be shocked if Aoki pulls off a triangle or something
who are you taking MX?
Kawajiri
To be honest, I'm undecided.
Aoki is a master at using the right angles of the ring corners. Rings are just so much easier to cut off and close the distance. In a cage there's no corners to stick people in and then jump guard or take a back mount.
I also just don't know if Kawajiri can keep a fight standing for 15 minutes like Melendez can. Kawajiri is not a guy that uses distance like Melendez. He usually gets very close to strike, and this is a problem against Aoki.
All that said, Kawajiri is very difficult to get to the ground when he doesn't want to go there. He stubby and strong as hell. But Aoki has shown ways to get guys to the ground, or force standing grappling situations like he did against JZ.
I'm really undecided as of right now. I was initially leaning towards Kawajiri, now I think I'm leaning towards Aoki, but I've never been convicted about either.
Kawajiri
Mister Saigon - The line should be set at..
+nobody cares.
Hi duechebag :). Just because Court McGee or Forrest Griffin aren't fightin on the card doesn't mean no one cares. Did you know there's actually mma outside of the USA thats full of warriors? So move along, troll. You're giving the 10'ers who actually understand the game a bad name.
Kawajiri by TKO.
That battle with Alvarez was WOW.
Honestly, only a small handful of MMA fights have ever had be riveted and that was one of them.
I'm picking Aoki, Kawajiri has good subs but susceptible to submissions
Dunno who wins but im hoping Kawajiri beats him into a living death
Aoki and definently the FANS. :)
I always expect Aoki to get crushed, but he almost always pulls out the win (with the recent exception, of course). Aoki by sub.
caposa - im gonna go with Kawajiri but will not be shocked if Aoki pulls off a triangle or something
+1
great analysis, btw
i want Kawajiri to win, but i have a feeling aoki will get some sort of sneaky sub.
Kawajiri but I'm not being terribly impartial with that pick...
just looking forward to the fight, I enjoy both fighters and hope for a decisive outcome
jkennedy - Fuck Aoki. He's back in Japan with his magic pants and a favourable ref. He'll be allowed to but scoot all night with no standups. Hell the ref might even help him with takedowns like they did during the Hansen fight.
Fuck Aoki.
Fuck Aoki fighting in the cage in the US.
Back in the cage that you can just stuff someone against with their slippy grease and refs that call standups quicker than sluts when you're drunk. The ref might not even let them fight it out like they did during the Melendez fight.
Fuck Fuck Aoki fighting in the cage in the US.
caposa -
now how could Kawajiri win this fight? he would follow Sakurai's gameplan of using his superior strength to overpower Aoki, and rain knees into his face or pound him out
Dont think Mach overpowered/manhandled Aoki there, he caught him with a transition.
I would highly doubt on Mach being able to duplicate that particular sequence.
Kawajiri seems to be coming more into his own as a more polished overall fighter. He can now box on top of bang, he can mix up his striking and tds, he can GNP and pass and submit.
But he hasnt finished a top guy in quite some time.
To me, I think Aoki's mental state/confidance will play maybe the biggest factor here. I think Kawajiri is on par with many of the top UFC LW wrestler based guys. Isnt Dream using the cage now though?
Its funny how many Aoki haters keep on reeming on the tights when so many things are already stacked against sub guys that is just standard for them: the cage, grease, quick standups.