Teruto Ishihara continued his comeback last weekend with possibly the most impressive finish of his entire career. The Japanese southpaw finished Bellator and LFA veteran Westin Wilson with a monstrous left hand.
The first round finish came at the 3:25 mark at XMMA 5 and Ishihara was able to walk away confidently knowing the job was well and truly done:
TERUTO ISHIHARA WINS BY 1ST ROUND KO AT XMMA 5!!!! pic.twitter.com/RoAUt23pdn
— Shooto's Roots (@SurfingMoonWolf) July 24, 2022
Losing streak
Ishihara was cut by the UFC after losing three straight fights and went on to lose another two after that. His winless streak lasted four years and a lot of fighters would have decided to hang up the gloves.
But the fun loving 31 year old definitely likes the MMA lifestyle and has been able to turn things around. He now has one win and two draws from his last three fights, a much more respectable run of results for a fighter who was once seen as one of Japan’s top prospects.
Ishihara is famous for declaring that ‘I love my Salt Lake City bitches’ after stopping Horacio Gutiérrez at UFC Fight Night 92. The caption accompanied a photo of him in bed with four young ladies, although they were all fully clothed.
The somewhat misogynistic catchphrase has become synonymous with Ishihara who even had ‘I love my bitches’ printed on his cornerman’s t-shirts for this fight. He was pictured partying at a strip club just days before Fury FC 52, where he fought to a draw.
UFC veteran Teruto Ishihara TKOs José Hernandez in the main event of Urijah Faber’s A1 Combat 1. Snaps a 6 fight winless streak and gets his first win since 2017. pic.twitter.com/yDYAVuQNcI
— Will (@ChillemDafoe) May 2, 2022
Left hand
A left hand has done the damage in both of Ishihara’s last fight and the charismatic Japanese featherweight is definitely on the comeback trail. He once declared that he wants to be ‘a superstar and a sex symbol’ and is based full time in the US and trains at Alpha Male.
But things didn’t go quite so well for Hong Kong’s Sasha Palatnikov at XMMA 5. Just like Ishihara he has elected to continue training in the US despite being released by the UFC.
The welterweight had won two fights out of two in 2022 but came up short against Tanner Saraceno. After an entertaining back and forth war the Hong Konger was submitted in the third round with a rear naked choke.
