We got another kickboxing bout to start the show. Ohe was back again and from what I caught he won pretty handily on points. I was doing stuff for work at the same time so I don't know who the opponent was. We'll move on.
Kiyoshi Tamura v Yuko Miyato
Yeah, this was good. Miyato isn't a dynamo on the mat, but this is the best he's looked and it's no coincidence that it's against Tamura. Again, Tamura's relentlessness just forces opponents to step up. You try and sleepwalk your way through something and he'll grab a heel hook or an armbar or a choke and it's on you to get out of it. The speed at which he does it continues to be super impressive as well. There's been a bit of a theme running through the last few Tamura matches that his kryptonite is getting hit in the midriff, and it cost him six points in quick succession again here. Miyato is a better striker than grappler so his kicks to the body definitely look like they'd leave someone winded. Tamura was like a dog with a bone when he was going for that choke at the end. Solid bout.
Gary Albright v Yoji Anjoh
Albright's UWFi debut. He didn't look like the wrecking ball he did in the 1/92 tag, but he still threw Anjoh around in nasty fashion and barreled into him with big forearms. I guess Anjoh's job was to go out and make Gary look legit, and I suppose he did that well enough, but he also got to do more offensively than I'd have thought. Albright is impatient and tells Anjoh to bring it, so when Anjoh forces him into a rope break he tells Gary that maybe he's the one who needs to bring it. Cocky Anjoh is the best. Anjoh lands a few kicks, some of them pretty flush, but for the most part Albright shrugs them off and moves to get in close. When he does you know what to expect, and sure enough Anjoh lands awkwardly on some big suplexes. If I was him I'd have taken the L after the first German that put me on my neck.
Nobuhiko Takada & Billy Scott v Kazuo Yamazaki & Tatsuo Nakano
Is Billy Scott one of the lost great American shoot style workers? Probably not, but he was solid again here. His wrestling is fairly strong and his takedowns look really good, and the crowd definitely buy into him because he got a few 'Billy' chants at points. He and Nakano got a little chippy now and than with elbows and breaking late, but it never devolved into anything. Nakano doesn't like anyone and he was pretty surly in this. Takada caught him with a few nasty knees and palm strikes but Nakano just put his head down and motored on. Yamazaki/Takada was the money match up and it delivered on the feet. There was one bit where Yamazaki threw a roundhouse to the gut and Takada crumpled in a heap. Later, Yamazaki caught him with a rolling kick to the side of the head and Takada just flopped into the corner looking into space. That's one of Takada's main strengths, to me. When he gets caught with a big shot he makes it look like it was a big fucking shot. At half an hour this might be a bit long in the tooth, but I didn't think there was too much fat and everybody at least pulled their weight.
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