A lot is made of Rizin's events in MMA circles. A lot of people heralded it as the new PRIDE the moment it showed up on New Year's Eve 2015, and while it dropped two incredible events, it didn't live up to that moniker because it never could. A lot of people, conversely, detract from Rizin, saying it's a retirement home for old legends and the host of gimmick matches like the ongoing Gabi Garcia Does Japan trainwreck. Both of these perceptions are on opposite sides of a very delicate spectrum, and while I lean more towards the overwhelming praise, I understand that Rizin is, in many ways, the first of it's kind, taking hints from the predecessors that fell before it while also utilizing what worked for audiences. Yes, there are gimmick fights, but those fights give way to intriguing characters like Gabi Garcia, Jazzy Alpha Female, King Reina and most intriguing/baffling, Old Lady Gang.
Every promotion needs their important fight to give it an identity, something early on that gives you a foothold with which to enjoy a promotion. PRIDE had Sakuraba vs Royce Gracie, a 90 minute grueling battle to the death that saw Sakuraba cleanly beat a member of the Gracie family. Bellator, for me anyways, had Soto vs Warren, a comeback knockout from out of nowhere from a wrestler who had lost a 10-8 round previously and, all importantly, was the first huge clip shared around in MMA circles getting people talking about bellator. Signature fights in promotions are important, but they are not always the most important fights. UFC's signature fight is a little muddled, but unquestionably their most important fight was 2005's Forrest Griffin vs Stephan Bonnar. It was the bookend to the show that saved their company, and while it's overrated purely as a fight, it can't be looked as anything except the most important fight in the promotion.
Rizin's signature fight has arguably yet to be decided. It's had many GREAT fights, Kizaemon Saiga vs Erson Yamamoto in September 2016, Jiri Prochazka vs Vadim Nemkov at New Year's Eve 2015 Night 2, Kron Gracie vs Tatsuya Kawajiri at New Years Eve 2017 Night 2, all of these are great fights, but the most important fight in Rizin's short history, in my opinion, was the very first fight they put on, Tsuyoshi Kohsaka vs James Thompson, New Years Eve 2015 Night 1.
I'm sure that this causes you to scratch your head. I described Rizin as it's own thing, but why would their most important fight be TK vs James Thompson, two relics from JMMA's past? Let me explain the context.
Rizin was announced and not a lot of people knew what to make of it. It was headed by Sakakibara, the former president of PRIDE, it was going to be holding a grand prix on new years eve over the course of 3 nights with 2 events, it would feature a lot of names we recognized and many we didn't, and that was about it. Nobody knew what to think when they settled in to watch their strange Russian stream. The opening ceremony was beautiful, the first fight was on it's way, and it was James Thompson, who had a minor resurgence recently before blowing his knee out against Bobby Lashley in Bellator weighing in at a mighty 292 facing TK, an ancient grappler who hadn't fought since losing to Mark Hunt almost a decade previously. It was early in the morning if you lived in America, so if this match was bad, it could decide your evening, or worse, it could decide the ultimate perception of the promotion. This was Rizin's first event, but also the first fight they would ever put on, it was their only chance to make a first impression, and they chose THIS fight? They chose a bloated James Thompson with a blown out knee to face a guy who hadn't fought in 10 years, and was old then? The table seemed set for a sad display of huffing and puffing for a staggering 10 minute first round en route to a disappointing and deflating decision that would take the wind out of the sails of any potential fan who had tuned in to see the return of Fedor Emelianenko.
That didn't happen.
James Thompson, in classic James Thompson fashion, sprinted at TK, an old grappler, and the two proceeded to throw hands at each other as if this were the most important fight in the world. Was it technically beautiful? No, it was sloppy and quickly degenerated into chaos. Was it an enduring great fight? Not really, it was kind of slow in a lot of spots and by nature of going into the second round (After a 10 minute first round, a heavyweight's worst nightmare) was very rough. But what it meant was everything: It meant that no matter what was at stake, the fighters in Rizin CARED. They cared about putting on a great fight, they cared about showing they're the best. Two guys with no business to be in Saitama Super Arena for JMMA's revival were fighting as if their lives depended on it, not for titles, not for money, but for their honor and for pride.
There are many fights booked that should have happened like this, but didn't. This is exactly what the much maligned Kimbo vs Dada 5000 fight should have looked like instead of a plodding mess that devolved almost instantly. Kimbo/Dada 5000 wasn't booked as a serious MMA contest, it was booked as king of the streets, but Kimbo was shooting takedowns because it was the "gameplan", Kimbo was working jiu jitsu because it was the "smart thing to do". Do you think that TK's gameplan was to swing wild with James Thompson? Do you think James Thompson wanted a prolonged war? No, they went in and spirit took over. Guts and heart, that's what this fight was.
Eventually it devolved into a ground battle, which TK is far better versed in, but TK isn't going out there to play the ground like a bitch. He introduced Rizin's ace in the hole, their hook to distinguish them from everything else running:
 |
| I can't make sense of Old Lady Gang and where their allegiances lie. |
Rizin's signature fight has arguably yet to be decided. It's had many GREAT fights, Kizaemon Saiga vs Erson Yamamoto in September 2016, Jiri Prochazka vs Vadim Nemkov at New Year's Eve 2015 Night 2, Kron Gracie vs Tatsuya Kawajiri at New Years Eve 2017 Night 2, all of these are great fights, but the most important fight in Rizin's short history, in my opinion, was the very first fight they put on, Tsuyoshi Kohsaka vs James Thompson, New Years Eve 2015 Night 1.
I'm sure that this causes you to scratch your head. I described Rizin as it's own thing, but why would their most important fight be TK vs James Thompson, two relics from JMMA's past? Let me explain the context.
Rizin was announced and not a lot of people knew what to make of it. It was headed by Sakakibara, the former president of PRIDE, it was going to be holding a grand prix on new years eve over the course of 3 nights with 2 events, it would feature a lot of names we recognized and many we didn't, and that was about it. Nobody knew what to think when they settled in to watch their strange Russian stream. The opening ceremony was beautiful, the first fight was on it's way, and it was James Thompson, who had a minor resurgence recently before blowing his knee out against Bobby Lashley in Bellator weighing in at a mighty 292 facing TK, an ancient grappler who hadn't fought since losing to Mark Hunt almost a decade previously. It was early in the morning if you lived in America, so if this match was bad, it could decide your evening, or worse, it could decide the ultimate perception of the promotion. This was Rizin's first event, but also the first fight they would ever put on, it was their only chance to make a first impression, and they chose THIS fight? They chose a bloated James Thompson with a blown out knee to face a guy who hadn't fought in 10 years, and was old then? The table seemed set for a sad display of huffing and puffing for a staggering 10 minute first round en route to a disappointing and deflating decision that would take the wind out of the sails of any potential fan who had tuned in to see the return of Fedor Emelianenko.
That didn't happen.
 |
| Gong And Dash 4-4-4-4 Life |
James Thompson, in classic James Thompson fashion, sprinted at TK, an old grappler, and the two proceeded to throw hands at each other as if this were the most important fight in the world. Was it technically beautiful? No, it was sloppy and quickly degenerated into chaos. Was it an enduring great fight? Not really, it was kind of slow in a lot of spots and by nature of going into the second round (After a 10 minute first round, a heavyweight's worst nightmare) was very rough. But what it meant was everything: It meant that no matter what was at stake, the fighters in Rizin CARED. They cared about putting on a great fight, they cared about showing they're the best. Two guys with no business to be in Saitama Super Arena for JMMA's revival were fighting as if their lives depended on it, not for titles, not for money, but for their honor and for pride.
There are many fights booked that should have happened like this, but didn't. This is exactly what the much maligned Kimbo vs Dada 5000 fight should have looked like instead of a plodding mess that devolved almost instantly. Kimbo/Dada 5000 wasn't booked as a serious MMA contest, it was booked as king of the streets, but Kimbo was shooting takedowns because it was the "gameplan", Kimbo was working jiu jitsu because it was the "smart thing to do". Do you think that TK's gameplan was to swing wild with James Thompson? Do you think James Thompson wanted a prolonged war? No, they went in and spirit took over. Guts and heart, that's what this fight was.
Eventually it devolved into a ground battle, which TK is far better versed in, but TK isn't going out there to play the ground like a bitch. He introduced Rizin's ace in the hole, their hook to distinguish them from everything else running:
Sometimes you forget that knees on the ground or soccer kicks are even an option; you get so wrapped up in the unified rules that once knees get thrown on the ground, you get an almost primal rush complimented by the feeling that you are watching something that isn't fit to be on television. You are watching counter culture embodied in a single, concussive strike. The first fight on the first Rizin card reintroduced us to this nugget of glory. One FC tried to bring them back, and good on them for trying, but they had strange rules for them, and briefly instituted a full PRIDE policy before taking them away because they looked too violent. Yeah, whatever square.
 |
| Round one ended and round two picks up similarly, albeit much slower. It's the thought that counts. |
 |
| Tsuyoshi Fistfuck came to play. |
And with that, the first fight in Rizin history, a history defined by great fights, was over, and I can remember what I was doing the entire time: I was laughing, clapping and smiling, because I had watched a great fight that had no business being great at 2 in the morning. It was the first step on an amazing journey, and the first step fell onto solid ground. Rizin would go on to shift it's identity over it's 2+ year run, moving away from Openweight contests to a much tighter DREAM-esque approach, but watching TK vs James Thompson, I felt like I was watching the beginning of something special. It's an age of cynicism and overanalyzing everything, but any cynicism melted away after this fight. I was ready for the destination because the journey started so well. There would be highs and lows like all journeys, but when James Thompson sprinted at TK on December 29th, 2015, I felt like everything would be okay.
Comments
Post a Comment