Hiromitsu Kanehara vs. Volk Han
Super match. Han is aging and Kanehara is younger and fresh but Volk Han and his knee bars are still the most dangerous things in RINGS and he constantly goes for them from any position possible. Kanehara fires off some good strikes to the head that rock Han a few times and is in dominant positions at certain periods of the bout but he ultimately succumbs to the relentless Volk Han. ***1/2
Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Tsuyoshi Kohsaka
What a fucking finish. Tamura gets a down with a knee to the ribs but Kohsaka is somehow able to get to his feet just before the 10. Then he is able to get himself out of the corner, nail a wicked harai goshi into a cross arm breaker for the tap out win. The crowd blew a gasket for the throw and the tap. The commentator screaming “JUDO WAZA. IPPON!” was incredible. The match is more realistic than RINGS has been before. A lot of cautious grappling opposed to the intricate style that these two usually do but they still are so smooth and are able to create drama out of their grappling. Tamura is on the defensive against the strong Kohsaka but that's his bread and butter. How Tamura is able to create these magnificent submission openings while on the back foot. Tamura is able to lock in a cradle almost out of an arm-breaker and lock in an cross arm-breaker of his own. The striking was limited to the end and even that was excellent. Tamura got confident and blasted Kohsaka with jumping knees and kicks leading into the finish. 10 minutes of class. ****1/2
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