After falling short in his bid to become the Bantamweight King Of Pancrase eight months ago, Kenta Takizawa was determined to reinsert his name into the winner’s column.
With the desire to wash the taste of defeat out of his mouth, the 24-year-old standout delivered a stunning performance, stopping compatriot Hayato Ishii within three rounds in the main event of Pancrase 310 tonight.
To the delight of the crowd inside Studio Coast in Tokyo it was an action-packed contest, with both competitors exchanging heavy blows from the opening bell. However, it was evident from the get-go that Takizawa was the sharper, more accurate striker of the two.
Striking rhythm
The complexity of the bout changed in round two as Takizawa settled into his striking rhythm and connected with straight punches and low leg kicks.
Knowing he needed to push the pace to knock Takizawa out of his comfort zone, Ishii came out for the third round looking to close the distance on his opponent.
That was all the recklessness that Takizawa needed, and he launched himself through the air and connected perfectly with a flying knee that sent Ishii crashing to the canvas at 1:59 of the final frame.
With his scintillating victory over Ishii, Takizawa improved his win-loss standing to 10-5. Meanwhile, Ishii dropped to 13-3-1.
Best of the rest
In the co-main event of the evening, Tatsuya So (18-17-4) put in another excellent performance, thwarting former Zst titleholder Ryo Hatta (13-6) with 30 seconds remaining in the third round of their strawweight encounter.
Eager to place himself back on the winning track in emphatic fashion, So finished his opponent with a flurry of left and right hands followed by a hard knee to the body.
Meanwhile Top FC mainstay Soo Young Yoo (6-1) made a promotional debut to remember, steamrolling Yuichi Ohashi (6-6) just 13 seconds into their bantamweight bout.
The Ultimate Fighter alumnus Adam Antolin (14-5) of the United States continued his rapid ascent up the promotion’s strawweight ladder, rendering Hiroaki Ijima (12-13-3) unconscious with a very rare prayer choke just 33 seconds into the second round.
Pancrase 310, Tokyo, November 10th
Kenta Takizawa def. Hayato Ishii via KO (Knee) at 1:59 of round three
Tatsuya So def. Ryo Hatta via TKO (Punches) at 4:30 of round three
Sayako Fujita def. Yerin Hong via Decision (Unanimous)
Soo Young Yoo def. Yuichi Ohashi via TKO (Punches) at 0:13 of round one
Adam Antolin def. Hiroaki Ijima via Submission (Prayer Choke) 0:33 of round two
Hanzo Tanaka def. Suguru Nii via Decision (Split)
Takashi Matsuoka def. Yasuaki Kishimoto via Decision (Unanimous)
Kohei Sugiyama def. Tatsuyuki Nakamura via Decision (Unanimous)
Yuta Nakamura def. Ikkei Nagamura via Decision (Split)
Rikiya def. Yuki Tashiro submission (front choke) at 0:40 of round one
Yasutaka Kato def. Junichi Hirata via Decision (Unanimous)
Hayashi Shunpei def. Hiroki Otani via Decision (Unanimous)
