Hiroyuki Tetsuka needed less than five minutes to settle the score with arch-nemesis Kenta Takagi and capture the interim welterweight championship in the main event of Pancrase 306. The action took place at Studio Coast in Tokyo today and was headlined by the 170lbs title bout.
Tetsuka forced Takagi to wave the white flag at the 3:36 mark of the first round with a tight rear-naked choke, attaining the first submission victory of his professional career.
From the get-go, it seemed that Tetsuka had another opportunity to claim another knockout win, unloading a powerful left hook that put Takagi on wobbly legs early in the opening round.
Submission skills
Although he is known for his heavy hands and highlight-reel finishes in the stand-up, Tetsuka opted to flaunt his skills on the mat, securing strategic and dominant positions in the process.
While Takagi scrambled to his feet, Tetsuka was able to immediately latch himself on the back of his opponent and then fastened a rear-naked choke.
Wearing Tetsuka like a backpack, Takagi was defenseless and tried to shrug off his foe in a final act of desperation. However, the latter failed miserably as he tapped facing down on the canvas.
Sweet revenge
With the surprise submission win over Takagi, Tetsuka improves his win-loss record to 7-3 and extends his winning streak to three fights. It also saw him finish a fight for the sixth time, after winning by decision for the first time in his career at Pancrase 302.
The victory also served as an act of sweet revenge for Tetsuka, who suffered a disappointing defeat to Takagi at Pancrase 279 three years ago. His opponent drops to 17-17 while the winner is in with a chance of representing Pancrase at October’s ONE: ‘Century’.
Earlier in the day Eiji Ishikawa (31-24-3) scored a decision win over Ikuhisa Minowa (65-43-8) in a battle between veteran middleweights. Meanwhile Ryuichi Miki (20-12-4) scored a highlight reel KO over Manabu Inoue (19-10-4), finishing their flyweight fight with a flying knee in the opening round.
Pancrase 306, Tokyo, June 30th
Hiroyuki Tetsuka def. Kenta Takagi via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) Wins Vacant Welterweight Title
Ryuichi Miki def. Manabu Inoue via KO (Knee)
Eiji Ishikawa def. Ikuhisa Minowa via Decision (Unanimous)
Akihiro Murayama def. JJ Ambrose via Decision (Unanimous)
Yoko Higashi def. Kim Young Ji via Decision (Unanimous)
Adam Antolin def. Teppei Maeyama via TKO (Punches)
Toshiya Takashima def. Suguru Hayasaka via Decision (Unanimous)
Genpei Hayashi def. Ukyo Abe via TKO (Punches)
Toshiya Takashima vs. Suguru Hayasaka (Strawweight)
Kohei Sugiyama def. Ryosuke Kano via Decision (Split)
Kyohei Wakimoto def. Toshikazu Suzuki via Decision (Unanimous)
Juan Lizama def. Mitsuhiro Taki via Decision (Split)
Yuki Tashiro def. Toru Fujii via KO (Punches)
Ryo Iseki def. Ippei Takase via Decision (Split)
Yohei Nada def. Yota Tatsunari via Submission (Guillotine Choke)
Tatsuki Ozaki def. Takashi Araya via Submission (Guillotine Choke)
Masayoshi Watanabe def. Real King Date via Decision (Split)
