Tag: Kyotaro Fujimoto

Combat Rewind, April 3: Top highlights include the glory of ‘Ubereem’

Check out the best highlights from this day in history with MMA Junkie’s “Combat Rewind.”

There’s “Flashback Friday” and “Throwback Thursday” (and Tuesday, too, if you want). But at MMA Junkie, we figured why not expand that to every day?

“Combat Rewind” brings you some of combat sports’ best highlights from every calendar day of the year. It’s a look back at history, courtesy of the UFC Fight Pass archives, featuring stellar finishes and classic moments in MMA and beyond on their anniversaries.

So kick back and relive the following bits of greatness in the video above:

  • K-1 World Grand Prix 2010: [autotag]Alistair Overeem[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Dzevad Poturak[/autotag] – April 3, 2010
  • PRIDE Bushido 6: [autotag]Paulo Filho[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Amar Suloev[/autotag] – April 3, 2005
  • PRIDE Bushido 6: [autotag]Daniel Acacio[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Daiju Takase[/autotag] – April 3, 2005
  • PRIDE Bushido 6: [autotag]Aleksander Emelianenko[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Ricardo Morais[/autotag] – April 3, 2005
  • PRIDE Bushido 6: [autotag]Ikuhisa Minowa[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Gilbert Yvel[/autotag] – April 3, 2005
  • K-1 World Grand Prix 2010: [autotag]Kyotaro Fujimoto[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Peter Aerts[/autotag] – April 3, 2010

Fight footage courtesy of UFC Fight Pass, the UFC’s official digital subscription service, which is currently offering a seven-day free trial. UFC Fight Pass gives fans access to exclusive live UFC events and fights, exclusive live MMA and combat sports events from around the world, exclusive original and behind the scenes content and unprecedented 24-7 access to the world’s biggest fight library.

Daniel Dubois stops Kyotaro Fujimoto in second round

Daniel Dubois wasted no time in stopping Kyotaro Fujimoto in the second round of their heavyweight bout at the Copper Box Arena in London.

Daniel Dubois ended 2019 the way he began it: With a no-frills knockout win.

The rising British heavyweight stopped Japan’s Kyotaro Fujimoto in the second round Saturday at the Copper Box Arena in London, bringing to a close a banner year that began with a knockout of Razvan Cojanu in the same round in March.

It was business as usual for Dubois, who neutralized Fujimoto with his jab before putting him down early in the second round. Moments later, Dubois iced him for good with a deftly-placed straight right.

The official time of stoppage was 2:10.

“I knew I had the power, and I was really confident in what I was going to do tonight,” Dubois (14-0, 13 knockouts) said. “What can I say? The light switched on, and that was good night.”

It’s the fifth knockout win in as many fights in 2019 for the London native, who also drubbed journeymen Razvan Cojanu, Richard Lartey and Ebenezer Tetteh. His most notable was win came against domestic rival Nathan Gorman, whom he steamrolled inside five rounds.

Not surprisingly, there is now growing anticipation for Dubois to face some of his dangerous countrymen, such as Joe Joyce, or, if you’re Dubois’ promoter Frank Warren, possibly even the recently re-crowned Anthony Joshua.

“Some people may laugh about it,” Warren said in the press conference before Saturday’s fight. “If I could make (Dubois) against Anthony Joshua, I would make it. I’m so confident. I would make that fight today. And I know who I’d have my money on.”

In any case, the drum roll has begun for the 22-year-old Dubois to face a legitimate threat in 2020.

Daniel Dubois vs. Kyotaro Fujimoto, or the latest Frank Warren mismatch

Daniel Dubois faces Kyotaro Fujimoto on December 21 at the Copper Box Arena in London. Fujimoto struggled twice against a career 160-pounder.

OPINION

Call it a Frank Warren special.

Rising British heavyweight Daniel Dubois – and one of Warren’s most vital promotional assets – is set to face Tokyo’s Kyotaro Fujimoto on December 21 at the Copper Box arena in London. It will be Dubois’ fifth fight of the year, highlighted by his solid knockout win over domestic rival Nathan Gorman in the summer. It’s clear, however, that when it comes to charting out Dubois’ promotional future, he will be led along the path of least resistance.

In his last fight, Dubois (13-0, 12 knockouts) snuffed out Ebenezer Tetteh in one woebegone round. Sure, Tetteh was undefeated, but if you look closely, his record was built on the backs of undistinguished middleweights and light heavyweights in his native Ghana. Middleweights. Yes, you read that correctly.

Enter Fujimoto.

The 33-year-old may not have a record as visibly padded as Tetteh’s, but like the Ghanian, he has at least one instance of fighting a career middleweight, Nobuhiro Ishida. Remember that name? Ishida was the middleweight who scored a stunning knockout of a prime James Kirkland in 2011. His name would come up again later in 2013 under different circumstances, when then trailblazing Gennadiy Golovkin starched him inside three rounds.

How can Daniel Dubois grow as a fighter against pushovers? Julian Finney / Getty Images

For some strange reason, Ishida decided to move up to heavyweight and took on Fujimoto – and it was competitive! Though Ishida dropped a unanimous decision, he gave Fujimoto enough of a fit to call for a rematch, which Fujimoto would win by a split decision.

Anyway, this is who Dubois will be fighting, and while it’s to be commended that he is staying active, it’s not clear how he will improve against dramatically inferior opponents. Of course, anything can happen in the ring, as just about every promoter in the game will tell you to justify his self-interested motives.

It seems the fight has already become something of a joke.  In a strange twist during a press conference to announce it, Fujimoto brought in a sparring partner dressed as a panda and began comparing himself to Rocky Balboa.

“He thinks he’s going to be Rocky Balboa? If he starts getting hit with the type of shots Rocky got hit with in the films, then it’s going to be a short night,” Dubois said.

Short night, indeed.