7/26/25 UFC: Shara Magomedov vs. Marc-Andre Barriault 3R
ML: Magomedov is one of the most exciting strikers in the UFC, the younger but still lesser MVP given the result of their 2/1/25 match. He's ultimately more an entertainer than a true title contender, which I'm perfectly okay with. I'm more interested in seeing a Fight of the Night like this than GSP doing his MMA math, laying on the opponent for 5 dull rounds of safety. I wish there were more fighters who had interesting fights while improving their overall game rather than trying to be something they aren't in hopes that it'll somehow take them to the promised land, see the UFC version of Michael Pereira that's largely just become more predictable as he's become more conventional. This fight started slow with Barriault trying to close the distance to stifle Magomedov's kicking. Magomedov did a good job of throwing kicks while he was moving sideways and backwards, and was way too fast, dangerous, and dynamic when he had space. Barriault wanted to rush or come in aggressively, but he had to worry about getting pulled into the kick. This actually happened with the elbow in the second round, with Barriault getting cut twice from trying to duck into a high bodylock. Barriault adjusted though, and got his own right hand counter in when Magomedov thought he was going for the bodylock again, crushing his nose. Barriault started to get his striking going now, and that slowed Magomedov down enough that he finally got the clinch against the cage, which didn't really help him. I think Barriault really needed to focus on his striking, especially when he had Magomedov hurt, rather than allowing him to recover by grinding. This was going to be a Barriault round, but Shara was eventually able to turn off the cage and land a good clinch knee then open up with his hands, doing enough damage before it ended to swing things back in his favor because Barriault running made it feel like he might have lost if Shara had another 15-20 seconds at his disposal. The big challenge for Barriault is that Magomedov mixed his kicks so well that it was hard to know where to defend, and he had many tactics, including elbows and jumping knees for when Barriault crashed in. Barriault really had to do something to slow Shara down, either landing his own strikes or tying him up, because Shara was way too creative when he was relaxed. Barriault had the boxing advantage, but when he would land he would immediately just try to clinch, which was never working. He never actually got at Magomedov's legs, which may partially have been because Magomedov's knees were dangerous, and Magomedov doesn't throw a lot of punches to allow Barriault to duck into a takedown. Shara was back in the flow in round three, including a jumping switch knee into a high kick. Magomedov had a late takedown and some punishing ground and pound, showing yet another aspect of his game at the end. Magomedov is almost too comfortable on his back foot for his own good. He should be able to finish this level of competition by dictating more to them, but his speed and unorthodox dynamic kickboxing is enough to beat these sort of top 25 but not really top 10 kind of opponents by decision. Magomedov won a unanimous 30-27 decision. Good match.

10/12/24 GLORY: Ionut Iancu vs. Cihad Kepenek R2 2:59
ML: Iancu weighted 78 pounds more than Kepenek, 303 to 225. Kepenek had the reach, the speed, the movement. He had every capability of winning this match, but his fight IQ wasn't very high, and I think he underestimated just how much power Iancu posesses. The first two and a half minutes of round 1 were largely feeling out, Kepenek trying to maintain distance, while Iancu was trying to back him into the corner. Once Iancu succeeded, there was some fierce exchanging of fists. Kepenek was able to punch his way out of the corner before the round ended. Excellent flurry! This gave Kepenek a false sense of confidence though. Iancu is not a fighter whose power you can simply absorb and answer back. You need a much better strategy than that. Iancu didn't expend a lot of energy chasing Kepenek down, which was probably smart since I don't assume he has too much stamina, but kind of the problem with the fight as well. Kepenek could have won a decision just staying long and moving if Iancu wasn't going to be more proactive. Until Iancu showed he was willing to plow through the front kicks and wing his bombs, Kepenek especially needed to stick to the safe and winning strategy. Kepenek was much too complacent when Iancu would finally cut him off. Instead of moving quickly in the other direction, or throwing something to open up his escape, he would just stand in front of Iancu waiting, and Iancu was accurate with his big punches. He hurt Kepenek with a big right hook, and then went to town on him in the corner. Kepenek survived the flurry, then punched his way out of the corner again, but you don't want to be exchanging with a fighter who weighs that much more than you, especially when all the important advantages beyond power are in your favor. Iancu backed him with a big right hook then walked through Kepenek's punches and dropped him with an overhand right. Kepenek got up, but he was not ready to defend himself, and continued to just stand in front of Iancu. Iancu was backing Kepenek with each punch, and scored another knockdown with a big right uppercut. Kepenek was even more out on his feet this time. His corner needed to be telling him to just stall because he needed the time to recover, and he had an extra knockdown to work with next round if he lasted that long. Maybe they were, but you couldn't tell from Kepenek's muscle memory response. Instead of trying to circle, or doing anything to stay away and buy time to recover, he just walked right over to Iancu and ate two more huge punches. Since he waded right into danger rather than running or even clinching, he lost to the three knockdown in one round rule with one second left. Kepenek slugging it out is what made the match interesting, but he won the 1st round by largely avoiding the fire fight. The fight was kind of lost because it was already a 10-7 round, so just fighting smart and winning the 3rd wouldn't have got the job done, but nonetheless, if he's a little better with his time management, maybe he recovers and figures something out. Iancu really only did one thing, but he knew how he wanted to win, and was patient enough to wait for his openings and then go all out to capitalize. Good match.

7/23/25 AEW World Tag Title Eliminator Tournament Quarterfinal: Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood vs. Kevin Knight & Mike Bailey 17:03
ML: JetSpeed are getting more and more in sync as a unit each week. I would rather just have Bailey as a singles wrestler, but this team is definitely working out. This actually felt like an '80s match with two real tag teams that know how to work together going at it. Certainly the chemistry between both the teams and the teammates was strong. This was less an FTR story match and more JetSpeed spectacle. Definitely this was mostly just doing stuff, but they kept it moving and it felt like both teams were trying to win. These teams should be meeting much later in the tournament, but we got a good match out of it, even though one had to get eliminated right away. ***

7/19/25 UFC BMF Title: Max Holloway vs. Dustin Poirier 5R
ML: Their 3rd fight over the course of 13 years, with Poirier leading the series 2-0. This was a big win for Max if he could finally get it, but at the same time, a winnable retirement fight for Dustin, and a chance to go out on top winning the title in his home state of Louisiana. Poirier is just 2-3 since defeating Conor McGregor twice in a row to presumably end his overrated career, though he'll probably still be talking about fighting again in 2045 if the UFC or the law aren't keeping him down. Holloway is 3-1 since losing to Alexander Volkanovski for the 3rd straight time, with his signature last second KO over Justin Gaethje to capture the symbolic BMF Title, but losing the crucial Featherweight Title fight to Ilia Topuria, his 4th straight loss in an officially sanctioned championship match. Max has too much speed for Dustin at this point, and did a lot of damage to the left side of Poirier's body that was largely ignored by the announcers. Poirier has lost a step, and was a bit indecisive when he wasn't just following the basic plot of coming forward. Part of this is fighting a longer and faster opponent who now possesses enough power to make people think twice about getting caught by him though. This wasn't a subpar performance by Poirier, he would still beat Benoit Saint Denis and anyone outside the top 5 or so, but this division is full of killers, and 18 years of wars were catching up to Poirier, who has had a foot out of the door the past year. Holloway got off to a fast start, dropping Poirier with a 1-2, and Poirier was always trying to claw his way back into this. Holloway has made the transition to lightweight where he actually has the power to be dropping fresh fighters, rather than being unable to quite overwhelm worn-out fighters despite massive volume, as we saw early in his career. This came quicker than Holloway broke Gaethje's nose, but was kind of along the same lines, except Poirier was able to come back because he didn't have an injury that was hampering his performance in addition to the damage. Holloway did a good job of staying on the offensive early in the fight by putting out a lot of quick jabs, staying long and light on his feet without loading up to give Poirier a better chance to counter. Poirier was stuck coming forward in order to have much chance to get his offensive in, and he was able to do that for much of the last 4 rounds, even if not to as much success as he would have liked. Max showed nice movement and timing. He would stop or back him with a kick, or plant and throw a punch. There was consistently effective body work by Holloway throughout the fight. Poirier had moments in the second, but Holloway hurt him again with a left uppercut followed by right straight. It looked like Poirier was going down two rounds for sure, but he used a knee bar attempt with a minute left in order to create room to stand back up, and was able to land a good three punch combo. Poirier's confidence began to rise, and he dropped Max with a right hook with 10 seconds left then gambled on his trusty guillotine that he always tries but has never actually won with. With this little time left in the round, the Hail Mary was the proper decision though, and he even abandoned it and landed a few good punches on the ground before time expired. The strong finish got Poirier the round from Sal D'Amato. Holloway's defense improved when his corner got him to stop backing straight out, but for the 3rd round, it felt like the more he allowed Dustin to come forward only to circle off, the less offense he actually got in. Dustin was doing a lot of chasing or reaching, so it was difficult for him to land more than one shot at a time. Max had a big advantage in strikes landed even in the rounds when he was the fighter on the move. Poirier got more aggressive in the 5th because he was losing, or at best it was 2-2 if you believed his corner, and Holloway was more willing to slug it out in the last few minutes to give the fans their money's worth. Max went for the big exchange in the final 10 seconds, but his hand speed was too much for Poirier, and Dustin wound up clinching and going into retirement without suffering an extra concussion after Max ate 1 good shot like it was nothing. This was definitely a Holloway victory, the only debate is whether Dustin won 0 to 2 rounds. I'd say it was reasonable to give Poirier the 2nd and/or 3rd, but both were kind of iffy. The numbers don't really point to Poirier winning any rounds, but he definitely had a big finish to the 2nd round, and it felt like he was controlling a lot of the 3rd even though Holloway was staying out of range then landing a lot of the time. There wasn't the sort of power discrepancy they're used to be when Poirier won this match to make up for Holloway landing almost twice as many shots. Holloway got the unanimous decision 48-47, 49-46, 49-46. In the end, Poirier definitely didn't embarrass himself, especially given his opponent is still in the pound-for-pound best list. He went out on a loss, but not on a stretcher. Poirier's legacy will be as one of the biggest stars in the history of the UFC, a scrappy, hard working fighter who perservered his way to becoming a top tier name, and was ultimately also a step below that as a fighter. He's certainly an all-time great action fighter you always looked forward to seeing who was a solid bet to earn a bonus anytime he stepped into the octagon. He was one of the most successful of the entertaining fighters, having been an interim champion, and competed in 6 title fights, which is where half of his losses came. Poirier took a while to really become a thing even though he was certainly successful early in his career and had good matches, but from 2016 onwards, he was a huge reason lightweight was a top division, with one fight after another after against hall of famers or great action fighters. He will be missed. Holloway was all class in the post match, as expected, keeping his comments as short as possible because the night was still about Dustin even though he beat him. Good match.

7/19/25 UFC: Daniel Rodriguez vs. Kevin Holland 3R
Really hard fought battle with both surviving some very difficult moments and stretches. This was a roller coaster, and both showed a lot of heart and guts, making for an exciting fight even though their decision making was questionable. Holland fought long initially, utilizing the front and side kick, while Rodriguez pressured as much as he could. I felt like Holland did more with his kicks in the 1st round than Rodriguez did with his punches, and won the 1st round by fighting smartly, utilizing his length. It was close though, as Rodriguez did good work with his hands, pumping out the volume. Still, Holland outlanded him 40-29. Rodriguez dropped Holland with a left hook early in the 2nd, and from here Holland fought like what he was, a potentially concussed fighter who was sometimes wobbly and often in survival mode. Rodriguez did his best to pound him out on the ground, then let Holland up when he realized he wasn't going to get the finish. Holland failed with a feeble shot from a mile away, then got dropped with another left hook. Holland was really unsteady, but he recovered while Rodriguez's corner screamed to let him up again, and was able to duck into his own takedown. Holland was cut on the right cheek early in round 1, and just wasn't holding up to Rodriguez's left hand. Even the left straight forced him into a desperation takedown. Holland never really got back to his length game after getting hurt in this round. He did land a nice jumping knee out of the clinch to end the round, but this was a big round for Rodriguez, and the jumping knee wouldn't serve Holland going forward, as he was just to depleted for it. Round 2 probably wasn't a 10-8 round because Holland had his moments, but it didn't feel right saying the fight was "even" when Rodriguez was up pretty big except perhaps on the scorecards. Holland was still looking somewhat out of sorts in the 3rd, but he dropped Rodriguez with an uppercut between his block. Though Holland wasn't taking advantage of his build in this round, he did have fight changing success with his short range fighting. Rodriguez took the bout on short notice, and you wondered if he'd be able to recover, with stamina already against him. Rodriguez defended the D'Arce choke, but Holland was rocking him with combinations. Holland dropped him again with an uppercut out of the clinch, and you felt like this is where he should prove why he's the fighter capable of facing the bigger and better names. As a 7-1 favorite against an unranked 38-year-old, Holland had to find a way to score the comeback finish here. Holland barely connected with an ill advised jumping knee though, and missed big with an elbow, which allowed Rodriguez to get a bodylock takedown. Rodriguez was too battered to maintain control, but he was recovering a little, aided by Holland being unable to secure a questionable choke attempt he was way out of position for that just gave away his advantage. Rodriguez was able to get some ground and pound going until Holland bucked him off like it was 1995 Igor Zinoviev. Rodriguez had a guillotine attempt with no body control that Cormier was going crazy for as if this had any chance, and finished the fight on top. As Holland did in the previous round, Rodriguez did enough well to avoid the 10-8 despite getting hurt. This was certainly a close and exciting fightfight. The 1st round could have gone either way, and the next two could arguably have alternated 10-8 rounds. Ultimately, Rodriguez got it 29-28. I thought this should have been Fight of the Night. Again, neither fighter looked great, but the fight itself had more drama and more surprises than Allen vs. Vettori, and varied a lot more. Good match.

7/19/25 UFC: Brendan Allen vs. Marvin Vettori 3R
ML: They slugged it out. Vettori did a good job of utilizing his jab, and following it up with power, but he didn't have any real defense. His head movement was minimal, and Allen's hand speed generally beat Vettori's attempts to dodge. Vettori's footwork was even worse. It's hard to think of a recent MMA fight where you actually noticed a fighter finally choosing to move around. Allen had a lot more technique and diversity, but chose not to utilize it for the most part. Vettori was active enough to pull him into a lot of exchanges, which Vettori was capable of winning because he had more power. It was difficult to land unanswered because neither were exiting or changing things up. This is some people's idea of a great MMA match because they just traded punches for 15 minutes, but I found it rather limited and tedious after a certain point. The 1st round was more of an actual MMA round, with some semblance of diversity. Allen landed right a right high kick then got to takedown with a left high single, and tried for a rear naked choke when Vettori gave his back. Vettori slipped out the back when Allen tried for the rear naked choke a 2nd time, and more or less evened things up on the ground. Vettori was showing a lot of damage early, with his nose and right eyebrow battered and bloody. Vettori's footwork, such as it was, really broke down in the middle of the second round to the point it almost looked like pro wrestling the way he was just standing in front of Allen. Allen didn't try to make him pay. Allen had good feints, but Vettori's lack of movement was somehow baiting him into not using angles or exiting, just trying to create the openings with his fakes, which was what was allowing Vettori to hit him with harder punches. In the end, while Allen had a lot more aspects to his game, because he wasn't using them, one could make the argument for Vettori because he was landing harder and the total strikes were essentially the same in every round (the biggest advantage was Allen landing 6 more strikes in the 2nd). Vettori looked slow, but it didn't matter much, since both really only threw punches after round 1. I'm not sure why Allen abandoned his wrestling, beyond these two didn't like each other, and just wanted to beat each other up. Allen was enough of a better fighter to still win, but he certainly didn't make it easy for himself. Allen won a unanimous decision 30-27, 30-27, 29-28. Good match.

7/19/25 UFC: Vinicius Oliveira vs. Kyler Phillips 3R
ML: This was really the opposite of Allen vs. Vettori in that everything was predicated upon Phillips' movement, so the power fighter Oliveira had to find a way to catch up to him. Phillips was very light on his feet, and had a dynamic right hand. He fought an excellent 1st round, but didn't do much after that. Oliveira is really large for the division, powerful and awkward, fighting with his hands low and loading up on everything. He's a menacing fighter that's been able to bully his opponents, and even though that didn't exactly work against Phillips in the sense that he couldn't push Phillips around when he was out of reach, Phillips could never keep him from coming forward, and thus lost the battle of attrition. Oliveira pursued relentlessly to keep making Phillips run away from him, and started using some leg kicks to slow him down. Oliveira finally timed Phillips' jab early in the second, coming over the top with a big right to stun him. Oliveira was literally running after Phillips throwing bombs to keep him from getting away. Phillips movement kept him from getting finished, but he clearly wasn't the same the rest of the round, and even though he recovered well in between rounds, was never quite the same. Phillips didn't really throw the rest of round 2, so even though he was still moving, there was nothing preventing Oliveira from walking or running him down. There was no way Phillips could match Oliveira's power, and he was getting tired out from all the running, in addition to slowing down from the punishment he was absorbing. Oliveira never gave any ground, and always threw with intimidating power. Oliveira loading up reduced his connection percentage, but at the same time, made Phillips unwilling to really stand up to him. Phillips kept throwing spinning high kicks, but they were usually high to the point of being above Oliveira's head without him having to duck. Phillips movement was much better in the third, but he still lacked the answer to keep Oliveira off him. Phillips avoided well in the third, but even though Oliveira kept his hands low except to strike, Phillips still couldn't land anything to get his respect. In the end, while Phillips clearly won round 1, once Oliveira took over, he dominated because Phillips was so worried about what Oliveira was going to do to him he wasn't landing his own strikes anymore. Phillips landed 29 in round 1 at 43%, but just 20 in rounds 2 & 3 combined at 24%. I was more impressed with this match the 1st viewing. Phillips fought a much better round 3 than round 2, but never fought his way back into the match. Oliveira won a unanimous decision 29-28. Good match.

7/17/25 AEW: Bandido & Mike Bailey & Kevin Knight & Mascara Dorada vs. Hechicero & Josh Alexander & Lance Archer & Rocky Romero 12:37
ML: Spectacular high flying chaos. They kept it moving and got everyone involved, often at once. There wasn't a lot of substance, but there was definitely plenty of flash. For a TV match, especially a big tag like this, having good action is the more important aspect. Archer was the guy who doesn't belong, but did a surprisingly good job of working with his smaller and more athletic opponents. I'd still rather see any of the other seven wrestlers by far, but this was arguably the most useful he's been in AEW. Dorada was the highlight from the athletic perspective. Rocky is better when putting over high-flying opponents like he had here. Overall the Don Callis Family were better and more motivated than they've been in these weekly tags. Bailey vs. Alexander and Bandido vs. Hechicero more reliable pairings from TNA and CMLL respectively. The faces were doing many of their high flying spots in unison. Knight did a big quebrada. Dorada eventually pinned Romero with a shooting star press. ***

12/23/23 GLORY: Berjan Peposhi vs. Miguel Trindade 3R
ML: Peposhi was definitely still an offense 1st, 2nd, and 3rd kind of fighter at this point, and this was another great, all action match from Peposhi. This was a wild banger, but it was also an amazingly good technical fight, and from two 22-year-olds who have a ton of potential. Peposhi applied a massive amount of pressure from start to finish, always controlling where the fight took place. He did a great job of punishing the body with hooks. Trindade got off to a slow start, but once it became obvious that Peposhi was coming forward no matter what, he was eventually able to time Peposhi coming in and then try to create space with movement or distance keepers to make Peposhi chase him. Peposhi quickly backed Trindade into the ropes to start the fight, landed a high kick, and dropped Trindade with a left hook to the liver. Trindade was bawled up in fetal pain, and didn't look like he wanted to be alive anymore, but he still forced himself back up. Trindade was throwing just to try to keep Peposhi off him, and didn't seem to mind if he missed his spinning backfist as long as Peposhi had to stop walking him down for a second. Peposhi wouldn't stop walking him down though, and was so aggressive Trindade had a hard time even keeping his back off the ropes. This wasn't the most competitive round, but some crazy, successful aggression by Peposhi. Peposhi took the fight on 10 days notice, so you wondered how he could possibly put in 3 rounds at this crazy pace. He could. Trindade tried to make adjustments. He started using the front kick to create distance, momentarily. Trindade not only fought his way out of the corner, but floored Peposhi with a left uppercut + right hook combo. Peposhi popped back up while the ref was sending Trindade to the neutral corner, hoping that the ref might be convinced it was only a slip, and you just wished any pro wrestler ever felt this sort of urgency to not lie around playing dead. Peposhi charged at Trindade trying to get it back, only to run into a backfist. Trindade landed a big hook when Peposhi backed him into the ropes again, but this time Peposhi did just slip trying to pursue Trindade. Peposhi was getting more and more impatient, swarming and swinging wildly. Peposhi had attempted twice as many strikes, but Trindade's accuracy was rising. I was getting tired just trying to keep up with all this insane action. With a knockdown each. the fight was even 18-18 going into the final round. Peposhi was a little less aggressive after eating a dick kick early in the third, and Trindade was also becoming a lot more threatening throwing big hooks or high kicks when Peposhi tried to back him. After two conventional 10-8 rounds, round 3 was a lot more difficult to call going into the final minute. Now you actually had to think what was more effective, the pressure of Peposhi or the timing of Trindade. Peposhi outlanded Trindade 106-80 for the fight, but he threw 124 more strikes to do so. The entire difference came from Peposhi landing 30 more body strikes. Peposhi got the 3rd round from 4 of the 5 judges to win the split decision. Great match.

12/24/24 STARDOM High Speed Title: Mei Seira vs. Momo Kogo 8:35
ML: Fast paced, no nonsense action where they actually gave 100% effort from start to finish and made you believe they actually cared about winning. Seira is the best at these sequence oriented sprints, and one of the most skilled performers in the world. Kogo had challenged for this belt twice before, but her 2022 5STAR Grand Prix appearance is more singles matches alone then she normally wrestles in a year. She was able to keep up with Mei. The choreography with Kogo was off a couple of times early, but the speed is so high, it's hard to always stay in unison. Overall, they worked really well together, especially considering how much they were trying, and how fast they were trying it. This was consistently crazy action. You believed in most of the flash pins because they kept each other off balance so well and kept surprising each other. My favorite spot was when Seira tried to counter an Irish whip with a boomerang off the middle rope, but Kogo knocked her off with a 619. They actually left you wanting more rather than wishing they scrapped half a match worse of nonsense. ***3/4

8/31/24 GLORY: Berjan Peposhi vs. Ayoub Bourass 3R
ML: Bourass is a 20-year-old making his GLORY debut on 2 weeks notice. They claimed he was only giving up 3 in, but he looked a full head shorter. Bourass has a lot of potential, but this was a mismatch. Peposhi had Bourass backed into the ropes most of the first half of fight with his ridiculous pressure, but Bourass was surprisingly difficult to hit, all things considered. Bourass did a very good job with his angles, avoiding Peposhi's shots and turning off the ropes. Peposhi attacked the body in the second round with the middle kick and the front kick, trying to open up the high kick, but Bourass kept blocking. Bourass got is back off the ropes in the second round, but his left/right combos couldn't keep Peposhi off him, and Peposhi was kicking his calf to compromise his movement. Peposhi was cut outside the left eye early in the third, but while there was a lot of blood, it wasn't dripping into the eye. Peposhi was up 2 rounds, and in the last half of the 3rd, Bourass just went for broke. Bourass landed a crazy double spinning back fist, then tried a jumping 360 switch kick. This was the kind of stuff you'd only see in a movie, or maybe from Cung Le. Peposhi lost his mouthpiece, and started seeming out of sorts, but settled down in the final minute to secure the 29-28 unanimous decision. Peposhi has now won 3 in a row after a rocky start in GLORY. Good match.

7/12/25 UFC: Morgan Charriere vs. Nate Landwehr R3 0:27
ML: Charriere had good lateral movement and a strong calf kick, which made it difficult for Landwehr in the 1st because he's largely a brawler, and just kept coming straight in. Landwehr took some big swings, most notable throwing a big haymaker after a low blow, trying to knock Charriere out with one punch. Landwehr had to get Charriere away from technical fighting, and in the second round, Landwehr's pressure was enough that Charriere got tired of being on his bicycle, and became more willing to accommodate. Charriere was much too hesitant in this round though, looking for the perfect strike, instead of putting something out there and trying to set it up. Landwehr was landing the opening jab, and at first, Charriere was moving to avoid most of the subsequent shots, just never getting to the point of of firing back. As the round progressed, Landwehr landed more combinations, and Charriere still didn't return fire. Charriere clearly had more power, but obviously that only helps when you actually throw and land. In the first round, Landwehr was pursuing and not really getting anywhere, while in the second round, Charriere had to stand toe to toe in order to actually get off, and not really even thing. This seemed like a clear 1-1 going into the 3rd, but some people had Landwehr up 2-0. Charriere actually put a combination together to start the third, and his overhand right rocked Landwehr. From here, he just went to town on him against the cage until he knocked him out. The finish was great because Charriere went all in on the KO, wildly swinging for the fences, and got it, which was probably lucky because I don't think he would have had much left in the tank after this explosion. This was definitely quality, but I don't think it was one of the better Fight of the Night's by any means, largely because the first round was very much whatever. The second round was good, and the third round was exciting but basically just the finish. Good match.

7/10/25 AEW: Gabe Kiddd vs. Katsuyori Shibata 9:28
ML: This was the Shibata I gave up on ever seeing again. He actually wrestled like he meant it, not like he was just robotically going through the motions at half speed. He was energetic and aggressive, doing a match that looked like the ones he used to do in New Japan. His stiffness was much better than usual. Even if not at pre injury level, his strikes looked convincing again. Kidd was one of Shibata's students, and his aggressive striking oriented style is a good match for Shibata. He knows what a Shibata match actually is, and didn't have him just clowning around with them and being silly like most of the other AEW guys do. Kidd was able to match Shibata's aggression & him Shibata down his old paths. Their exchanges actually had some violence to them. They kept it short, and that's the optimal length for these guys. Kidd threw one great punch that was probably the best punch I've seen all year. Otherwise, Kidd facilitated, but barely did anything beyond hard hitting. Shibata had most of the offense, but a distraction from Yuta cost him the match. It was a bit thin, but they didn't overextend Shibata. ***

4/27/25 STARDOM Wonder Of STARDOM Title: Starlight Kid vs. AZM 20:37
ML: SLK vs. AZM is one of the all-time great STARDOM rivalries built on fast paced, counter laden sequences. They tried to change this a little to make it feel less like a High Speed Title Match and more like a Wonder Of STARDOM, without ruining it with overdramatic stalling. They didn't slow down that much, but there were more explosive and frantic sequences in their best matches, and a greater feeling of intensity. I don't think the shift to more of Starlight's limbwork focused style benefited the match, especially since it ultimately was just passing time during the early portion. Starlight Kid is injured though, so doing a match that was slightly less taxing wasn't the worst idea in the grand scheme of things. These two are both in the Neo Genesis unit now, but they fought for the leadership of the unit, as well as the title. For the most part, it was still the flashy sprint you'd expect where they kept the pedal to the metal. They started fast, but it wasn't quite as sequence oriented or counter laden as usual. Starlight began her knee work by jumping off the apron holding AZM's knee and spiking it into the floor. They tried to balance the fast running sequences they began with and are known for with targeted arm work from AZM and knee work from Starlight. In the early portion, they seemed to be building to something involving these appendages, but of course, they just dropped this along the way, and the later stages were the usual collection of near finishes from their favorite moves. While both pairs have excellent chemistry and neither pair delivered their best match together tonight, I thought this was a little better than Mayu vs. Syuri overall, but still at the same very good level. It was more urgent and cohesive, and just doing cool stuff for the entirety rather than only the 2nd half like Mayu vs. Syuri was half that. Both fun spotfests, but neither sold me on the majority of what they were doing, got me hanging on the moves or buying into the near finishes, especially the dueling arm and knee work. Overall, this was a well paced, as they didn't get too distracted by the crowd. As with Mayu vs. Syuri, I never became particularly invested, and my appreciation remained on the scale of them being excellent workers delivering a spectacular match full of nifty maneuvers. ***1/2

1/23/25 Sareee-ISM: Meiko Satomura vs. Sareee 16:35
ML: Satomura isn't as fit, fast, or energetic as she used to be, but she can still go. They delivered a solid, technically proficient serious match that took advantage of her stiffness and fundamentals without being filled with the stalling and padding you get in most matches these days. I don't think they went into this with the idea this was going to be their best match together, but it was a worthy entry to the series. This is basically the match you would expect these two to have, a little toned down, but not in a detrimental manner. The main difference is while it built well, it never really created a big match aura or found a higher gear. Nothing felt like filler, but there weren't really bursts or explosions, and it wasn't apparent when they went to the finishing sequence. I definitely wasn't expecting it to end when it did. It was surprising to see Sareee still lose, especially kind of easily. This match was good throughout though, definitely consistent quality, and showed that Satomura could certainly hang around another year or two without embarassing herself. Both contributed, and Sareee wasn't notably better even though she's at worst in the conversation for best current female. ***

4/27/25 STARDOM, IWGP Women's Title: Mayu Iwatani vs. Syuri 21:54

2/11/23 GLORY: Berjan Peposhi vs. Ahmad Chikh Mousa 3R
ML: This was named 2023 GLORY Fight of the Year, and while it wasn't even Peposhi's best match of the year, it's a worthy enough selection. I mean, not being as amazing as Peposhi vs. Miguel Trindade from GLORY 90 12/23/23 is no fault, but speaks to just what a crazy pace, volume, and action fighter Peposhi is. All three of these guys are great young fighters to watch who will only get better and better if they don't fall apart from delivering such fantastic action. Peposhi has great all-around speed, which he translated into throwing one really fast combo into another. Just about everything he threw landed too. I question the accuracy of the statistics when I see someone landing at 80% while throwing over 300 strikes. What's crazier is it felt like Chikh Mousa blocked well. Chikh Mousa certainly wasn't the least bit intimidated. He consistently backed Peposhi into the ropes even though he wasn't throwing even half as much because he has more power. Definitely the big differences between the two were Peposhi attacks constantly and throws fast, while Chikh Mousa gets in your face and counters really hard. Peposhi was winning round 1 on activity, but Chikh Mousa got the best of a left hook exchange late, and then did good work with Peposhi against the ropes, rocking him with a left straight. Earlier, he had missed an uppercut but bobbleheaded Peposhi with a right straight. With these being the most damaging blows of the round, and Chikh Mousa controlling the final segment, the urge might be to give the round to Chikh Mousa, but it's hard to deny the sheer volume of Peposhi, who outlanded Chikh Mousa 111-48. Ultimately, Peposhi got 3 of the 5 scorecards. Peposhi was using the front kick to try to keep Chikh Mousa from advancing anytime there was actually enough separation between the two to throw it, but he didn't follow that up with anything that maintained distance. His problem is he would all too willingly give ground when Chikh Mousa refused to, and would hang out too long with his back on the ropes, rather than immediately cutting the angle into the open space. If Peposhi did a better job with his footwork, focusing on entering and exiting rather than mostly on his combos, I think he wins this fight pretty convincingly. Instead, Chikh Mousa seemed to gain ground in the 2nd round because he didn't respect the power of Peposhi, and dictated that most of it took place with Peposhi near the ropes. Peposhi managed to get a short range left high kick in though, and still had a ton of volume even off the ropes. While spatially this was a better round for Chikh Mousa, he lacked the activity or the signature shots of round 1, and every judge scored it for Peposhi, which meant that Peposhi had the decision sealed barring a knockdown or a point deduction for his problem of repeatedly losing his mouthpiece. Peposhi suffered from a mix of overconfidence and fatigue in the 3rd, and his glory was fleeting. He broke Chikh Moust's nose, but it only took 40 seconds for Peposhi to lose his mouth piece yet again, as instead of giving ground he tried exchanging with Chikh Mousa on the inside, and Chikh Mousa knocked it out when he floored him with a right hook. Chikh Mousa opened up now, and Peposhi lost his mouthpiece again, which now cost him a point. Staring down a 10-7 round within a minute and a half, he was looking at needing a knockdown back to merely escape with a draw. Peposhi was willing to go down on his shield, and did his best to answer the call, again leaving the technical volume striking that won him the first two rounds and just swinging desperately, now by necessity. Chikh Mousa knocked the mouthpiece out again with an overhand right. Now it was Chikh Mousa who was exchanging bombs even though he didn't have to. What a crazy fight! Peposhi managed to lose his mouthpiece again in the final 10 seconds in between landing a front kick and a big left hook. Amazing round! Overall, Peposhi outlanded Chikh Mousa 253-138, but lost a 29-26, 29-26, 28-27, 28-27, 28-27 decision. Fantastic comeback for Chikh Mousa, even if aided somewhat by a historically ill-fitting mouthpiece. Excellent match.

5/18/24 GLORY: Berjan Peposhi vs. Ahmad Chikh Mousa 3R
ML: A rematch of their 2023 GLORY fight of the year from 2/11/23. This was good, but failed to recapture the magic of their 1st match, seemingly because Peposhi has improved so much he's eclipsed the higher rated Chikh Mousa. Peposhi's vast and widespread improvement was apparent right from the outset, as he was able to come forward the whole fight with his greatly improved body punch combinations, push Chikh Mousa back with the front kick, and then take that space right away. Peposhi was fully prepared for Chikh Mousa's block, and landed the jab in between it, or body hooks or straights underneath it. Peposhi was consistently changing levels in this fight, whereas in their first fight he was largely just a headhunter. The body worked so well for Peposhi in this fight that it felt like he was now targeting it even more than the head even thought that wasn't the case statistically. Peposhi working the body was crucial for another reason, Chikh Mousa is largely a counter striker, and this made it far more difficult for him to get his offense going. Chikh Mousa did a much better job of landing the calf kick in this fight. He might throw a head punch then a low kick, but he had a hard time elongating his combos or getting off with any consistency. Chikh Mousa landed a few very good low kicks in the second round to upend Peposhi, but Peposhi was rarely backing and never trapped against the ropes in this fight, Chikh Mousa wasn't gaining any real momentum. Again, Peposhi found himself up two rounds going into the third. In this fight though, Peposhi's mouthpiece was staying in and he seemed to be the tough one who just refused to give ground. Chikh Mousa wasn't able to back him tonight no matter what he tried, but crucial to his defeat was that he didn't really seem to make adjustments. Chikh Mousa's calf chicks were definitely adding up in third, but this was the only thing that was working for him, and it kind of seemed like he was just waiting for Peposhi to either be forced to adjust to it or to be unable to fight the same way because of it, neither of which transpired. Chikh Mousa's jab wasn't very accurate, and he just wasn't creating the opening for nearly enough power punches. This time, his connect percentage was much more in line with Peposhi's because Peposhi landed under 50%, but Chick Mousa's volume was roughly half, so his connect numbers were half. Peposhi outlanded Chikh Mousa 134-72, even having the kicking edge 52-42, although no one would say that Chikh Mousa didn't win the kicking battle. Peposhi won a 30-27 unanimous decision. Good match.

6/28/25 UFC: Joshua Van vs. Brandon Royval 3R

7/2/05 AEW: Konosuke Takeshita & Matthew Jackson & Nicholas Jackson vs. Bandido & Kyle O'Reilly & Roderick Strong 11:53
ML: Energetic sprint involving six guys that are actually talented wrestlers and weren't just going through the motions. Kyle has been the best wrestler in the promotion since he was unchained from the mascot. He always brings fire and urgency, and it's one of the few performers here that is still doing his best to try to take the match seriously. Strong and O'Reilly pushed a big pace, packing as much action into 12 minutes as they could. Just really quick hitting action with no let up. This was just a spotfest, but with this many wrestlers bringing useful things to the match, it didn't just feel like the typical Bucks match. The Bucks stuff was good in any case, if the least believable. Bandido and Takeshita worked well together, and I'm confident their Supercard of Honor match will be better than anything at all in, especially with Ospreay & Strickland vs. Bucks as the only match announced so far for next weekend's PPV that even might be good. There wasn't any real substance here, but the best way to fill TV time is to do so with matches that don't obviously just keep filling time. ***

4/24/24 GCW, JCW Title: Masha Slamovich vs. Syuri 30:00
ML: It was logical to pit two of the most intense, realistic, and hard-hitting competitors against one another. I was excited about this match until I saw it was half an hour, which despite Masha being known for her energy and Syuri being known for her stamina, seemed entirely too long for a match that should be on the more realistic side. This also came on at about 1am, after a dozen or so hours of wrestling in the arena, including both women having other matches. The crowd was fatigued, and didn't give the performers any help, but Masha wasn't deterred. Masha is massively underrated, and she proved it by carrying Syuri to one of her best matches. It may not be to every taste, but this is roughly the style Syuri is meant to be doing. It was an actual cohesive kick and submission themed match where Syuri could just do her thing against an opponent of a similar mentality, rather than being forced to try to paddle against the stream of cooperative lucha libre like she usually is. Ultimately, this didn't disappoint because they had the energy to see it through, even if the crowd didn't. Marsha called the match, and she mostly wanted to grapple, but this never lacked activity, and they broke the submissions sequences up well with plenty of kicks and some running sequences that largely seemed designed to appease the fans who weren't into their more realistic style. This wasn't exactly shoot wrestling, but regardless, it was interesting because they managed to make it feel more like a fight than a performance. This match built up well because they kept escalating the tension. Syuri is a cold killer, but Masha, while equally serious and determined, has better vibes. You get behind her because she's excited about killing her opponent, and she doesn't lose sight of that. She has great stamina, and even in half an hour, wasn't looking for a single break. This was the rare 30-minute match that actually felt short. It wasn't designed to always be the most "exciting" match, but they only slowed down for submissions, which were on topic and were done like they actually meant them. Since they established the grappling from the outset, and took it seriously throughout, they created an atmosphere where it felt possible for someone to succeed with one. In this context, Syuri's hoverboard lock had some potential as a finisher, whereas in STARDOM, it just feels like a flashy avalanche move that's more suitable to her style than say a Frankensteiner would be. It's nice seeing two competent grapplers rather than one person just going along with it, being posed and then eventually overdramatically sliding their way to the ropes so they can get back to jumping around or whatever. This didn't feel tired and cliched. Even though they did most of their usual moves, they felt like they were serving the match rather than stuff to do. The time limit wasn't surprising given the interpromotional politics, but that's not the fault of the performers, who went all out to deliver the best match they could, finish or not. They really picked it up in the final three or four minutes to make a desperate push for a finish. There aren't many 2024 matches that warrant 30 minutes, and even fewer that felt like they could reasonably have even gone longer. This may not have been a thrill a minute, but it never stagnated or got silly. ***1/2

10/9/93 AJW Roller Coaster 4 x 4 Captain Fall Match: Mima Shimoda, Kaoru Ito, Chikako Shiratori & Chaparrita ASARI vs. Cuty Suzuki, Plum Mariko, Hikari Fukuoka & Command Bolshoi (JWP) 27:49
PA: Shimoda and Cuty were the captains of their teams. It was spotty in the sense that all the mattered was the spots, but it was put together with plenty of twists and turns on the eliminations. Some sloppiness, but it didn’t drag, and got better as it went. The questionable three were all fine here. Bolshoi was in the serious gimmick, not the clown one, so she was okay and got eliminated early anyway. ASARI and Shiratori had their best performances up to this point. None of the three added much, but they didn’t drag it down. Bolshoi was first out at 8:48, so she didn’t last long. Shiratori just did basic stuff, which she was capable of, and could execute moves properly. Her offense was about what you’d expect from a junior from ten years prior, which wasn’t a bad thing, especially when it’s something she could do. The problem was her timing is such that she’s a step late on just about every running move, which makes her look awkward still. ASARI managed to execute the Sky Twister Press flawlessly, and that’s all she needed to do. Everyone else was good and had their chances to shine. Ito was maybe the best overall, but Shimoda was all fired up, and Cuty had some really good moments, though with her it was more on defense, as her selling was tremendous and really helped get the JWP over as the underdogs. There was a run of eliminations starting at the 14 minute mark, with Hikari first being eliminated after Ito’s flying footstomp, and things weren’t looking good for JWP. However, Cuty came back and pinned Shiratori with her diving footstomp at 16:37, and pinned ASARI with her Dragon suplex at 16:50 to quickly even things up. They basically reset and rebuilt from there. The Zenjo team started blowing away JWP with spots. Ito hit her footstomp and paid the price when JWP came back taking consecutive ones from Cuty and Plum later. Shimoda and Plum traded suplexes, and Shimoda went up to the top turnbuckle, only to get rana’d down, which gave Plum the pin on her to end the match. ****

10/9/93 AJW: Sakie Hasegawa & Takako Inoue vs. Shinobu Kandori & Yasha Kurenai (LLPW) 11:09
PA: This had a lot of heat because of Kandori, but neither Sakie or Takako were even remotely a threat to her. She respected Takako when Takako fought back hard enough, and did put her over though, and it’s what really made the match. She gave her enough without giving her too much. Against Sakie, Kandori just mauled her, but in the way Bull Nakano would where it’s more just dominating her and toying with her, looking to get the best out of her rather than killing her off. Yasha didn’t add anything aside from a few chokes, and served to give the Zenjo team a chance that they could win. It wasn’t the most competitive match, the only credible finish the Zenjo team came close to was a count out tease on Kandori (which was pretty well done), but the Takako vs. Kandori stuff was really fun. ***

10/9/93 AJW Zenjo vs. JWP 3 Match Series #1: Kyoko Inoue vs. Devil Masami (JWP) 19:51
PA: This was the beginning of the Zenjo vs. JWP series, delivering a truly excellent 'Devil-paced' encounter. The match buildup was solid, with Devil methodically controlling Kyoko, and Kyoko making hot comebacks that would usually get off quickly. Kyoko was great in the match as well. She was pretty much perfect in her role aside. You never had to worry about her execution in these days, but she could struggle at times against the bigger opponents. Here, she struggled on a few submissions, but that was about it. Devil got tossed around more than she usually does, and put Kyoko’s offense over strongly so you always felt like Kyoko was gaining on her. They kept the crowd engaged the whole time, with Kyoko being the fan favorite and Devil admonishing them, though at one point a brief Devil chant did break out. Devil was constantly trying to powerbomb Kyoko, but Kyoko always had an answer for them. It did come down to the battle of powerbombs. Devil’s powerbomb vs. the Niagara Driver, but since the match ended on a flash pin and they kicked out of each others, we never got an answer to that, which was fine, but it would have been nice if the finish was a bit more fleshed out. I have no problem with the flash pin in a match like this where it was so well put together and Kyoko was gaining on Devil the whole time. However, it did seem like the match was missing the last few minutes, and they might have thrown a few more high spots in to build to those powerbombs. In any case, the overall quality was exceptional, with both delivering outstanding performance, and serves as a prime example of how to elevate an underdog in a veteran vs. underdog matchup. ****1/4

10/9/93 AJW Zenjo vs. JWP 3 Match Series #2: Manami Toyota vs. Mayumi Ozaki (JWP) 20:16
PA: There was plenty of venom here, which isn’t a surprise when Ozaki is involved, but can be when Toyota is. There was a lot of matwork here, with the two stretching each other with the intention of weakening them to hit their high spots. The build was excellent, and there was a lot of hate and emotion shown. There was plenty of hair-pulling, slapping, kicking, scrapping. Toyota had some fire during this part that we don’t normally see from her, and a real chip on her shoulder. She just wanted to bully Ozaki. Ozaki had to scrap and claw her way back in with Toyota showing more viciousness. The only thing that was really bad was the transitions, which were of Toyota’s typically brainless rope running variety. As the match picked up, Ozaki kept coming up with answers for Toyota, but was always the clear underdog. The major turning point for Toyota was when she German suplexed Ozaki on the floor. She hit some big moves, finishing up the run by completing a moonsault and a dragon suplex. Neither move got the job done, and the crowd broke out in an Ozaki chant, which Toyota wasn’t happy about. She went for the Japanese Ocean Cyclone Suplex and Ozaki turned it into a Victory Roll for a near fall. She tried her finisher again, but Ozaki slipped out, and hit her Tequila Sunrise for the biggest near fall in the match. She followed that with her body press from the top, but Toyota got the knees up and finally hit the Japanese Ocean Cyclone to finish. The first half of the match was strong. The second half was stronger, although the segments didn’t necessarily connect together that well. But it was strong in the ways Toyota matches aren’t usually strong, and although it built up to some good spots and near falls, it didn’t have that all out explosion you usually watch Toyota matches for. ****1/4

10/9/93 AJW Zenjo vs. JWP 3 Match Series #3: Toshiyo Yamada vs. Dynamite Kansai (JWP) 19:42
PA: Kansai and Yamada had the best exchanges during the great tag team matches, and they had the best match on this show as well. Yamada was at her best in 1992/93 as a worker, but her singles matches rarely lived up to her talent level. Kansai was a smarter worker than she gets credit for, and knew how to get the best out of Yamada. The two gelled together really well. Kansai’s execution was never anything you had to worry about. Yamada’s was, but she was spot on here. They did a lot of matwork, and struggled their way through, though it was largely Kansai trying to bully Yamada, with Yamada making hot, vicious comebacks. They kicked each other as stiff as you’ll see, and held nothing back there. They worked more high spots in as it went on, with Kansai setting up for her diving headbutt. She missed it, and Yamada started levelling her with brain kicks to really put Kansai into trouble. They both countered each other's finishers twice, forcing their opponent to settle for something weaker. Yamada kept going for brain kicks in between, but she lacked the firepower of Kansai, who levelled with a brutal high kick, leading to Kansai hitting a diving back elbow drop. Yamada reversed a backdrop suplex from the top, but Kansai again kicked her down with three nasty kicks. The third one was probably enough to win by itself, but she hit Splash Mountain and Yamada wasn’t surviving that. That gave JWP a win. Even though the three match series was gone, they avoided a 3-0 whitewash. A gruelling match with both at their peak. ****1/2

10/9/93 AJW: Aja Kong vs. Akira Hokuto 20:09
PA: The imfamous match where Hokuto was just coming off knee surgery, turned up to the building on crutches, in no condition to wrestle, but went ahead with the match anyway. It was supposed to be a title match, but she got on the house mic before the match and wanted it changed to a non-title match because challenging in her state would disrespect the belt. It’s a memorable match due to the circumstances. It adds to the legend that is Akira Hokuto, but she really can't go. There’s nothing wrong with the work, but it couldn’t be anything other than a one sided slaughter. Hokuto did her big dive and then spent the match getting worked over and beat on while making a few comebacks. She even hit a Northern Light’s Bomb towards the end. There are some dramatic moments in there, and watching Hokuto gut her way through makes it compelling in a way. But the way she gets controlled and worked over, she had no chance at all. She’s really just sacrificed herself because pulling out of the match would have been too embarrassing. She is no threat to Aja, so it had no actual drama, and there’s so much padding that it just becomes something to fast forward through. I suppose it’s the logical ‘tragic’ payoff to Hokuto’s Japan Grand Prix story, aside from the small caveat that Hokuto had already had the surgery and shouldn’t have been wrestling here. There’s no amount of praise sufficient enough to give Hokuto for wrestling the match, much less for a full 20 minutes to give the fans the match they’d paid to see is a level guts only she possessed, but that doesn’t mean the match should have happened. This is one of those matches I have no idea how to rate, or whether it even should be rated. It is worth watching as long as you know what it is going into it. Otherwise, it would be a massive disappointment. I think it would be an easier recommendation had they ever had the match they were capable of. ***

10/10/93 AJW Tag League The Best '93: Bull Nakano & Suzuka Minami vs. Yumiko Hotta & Takako Inoue 21:09
PA: This was a real slow builder to put it nicely. They didn’t do much at all in the first half. Everyone took turns getting worked over, and the work was solid. There was some decent stuff scattered around, but it wasn’t until the second half that things really picked up and it got good, with the last 5 minutes, leading to a huge upset win that was nothing short of great. Takako and Minami were the workhorses, and did a good job, but Bull and Hotta’s exchanges late made the match. After Minami took Bull out accidentally with a missile dropkick, she was on receiving end of a couple of double teams, including Hotta helping Takako hit the Aurora Special because she couldn’t lift Bull herself and the idea that she could lose was introduced. Later, she fell victim to the Carribean Splash from Hotta for a huge near fall. Minami hit some offense afterward, but Hotta ended up hitting a Tiger Driver to win the exchange. The finish itself was perfect teamwork, with Bull set to finish Hotta off with the guillotine legdrop. Takako tried to halt her, but was unsuccessful. She did give Hotta just enough time to move out of the way though. Takako went up immediately as Bull was getting up, and nailed her with a diving knee attack, which set up Hotta’s Pyramid Driver to take the big win. ****

10/10/93 AJW Tag League The Best '93: Aja Kong & Sakie Hasegawa vs. Toshiyo Yamada & Kyoko Inoue 24:54
PA: This was another slowly built match, but compared with the previous match, it was a fair bit more interesting. It unfolds in the way you’d expect; Aja mostly dominates, Sakie gets in small bursts and comebacks, but can’t maintain the lead. It’s far from perfect. There’s more than a few ill-advised spots that were blown, but overall, everyone did a great job here, and there’s plenty of good action. Aja and Sakie’s dynamic is a lot of fun, with Aja protecting her and trying to bring the ruthlessness out of her. I loved one camel clutch punt spot where Aja delivered the kick and Sakie even sold the impact of it. Towards the end, Aja took Sakie out with an Uraken and the match exploded to life, giving us another great finish. It looked like Aja cost them the match, but Sakie managed to survive and come back on Kyoko with an exploder. Kyoko and Yamada had Aja’s number too at the end. They got in a big run of near falls, but Sakie managed to make saves for her. Aja managed to get out and tag Sakie in. She got a burst in on Kyoko, but was ultimately able to set up for the Niagara Driver, and Aja managed to deliver an uraken to give Sakie the big upset win over Kyoko. ****1/4

3/9/24 GLORY Light Heavyweight Title: Donegi Abena vs. Tarik "Tank" Khbabez 5R
ML: Khbabez applied constant pressure, walking Abena down the entire fight to tire him out. He's mostly a boxer, but he threw some effective calf kicks, just not nearly as effective as Abena's leg kicks. Abena was actually more active despite Tank setting the pace, and his accuracy was tremendous. Abena didn't do much in the 1st 2 minutes, but Tank likes to throw his punches from more of a crouched and hunched position so it's easier to work the body, and while Abena didn't quite get his knee through to the head, landing to the shoulder opened up hurting Tank with the left hook follow up. Tank went down after landing a low kick because Abena beat him to it with a crisp jab, but this was just a slip. Overall though, Abena was more accurate and effective in the 2nd half of the round after taking his time getting the measure of Tank at the outset, and all 5 judges scored it for him. Tank was more focused and locked in during the 2nd, and did a much better job of working the body with punches, and ending with a low kick. Abena took a cheap shot on the clinch after the ref had called break because Tank was turned away. This that landed big to the chin because Tank was sideways and couldn't see it coming. Tank went down from this, and his trainer was so pissed he hopped in the ring and tried to attend to him, which the ref was none too happy about. I found it ridiculous that Abena was merely warned for this, given it might have done fight altering damage. It was funny though that they rang the bell when the round finally continued. Tank did his best to back and attack so Abena couldn't get comfortable, but he was mostly chasing rather than cutting Abena off. When Abena's feet were set and he had time, he was too hard to deal with, but he had to stay off the ropes and move away from Tank in order to create these moments where he could set and unload. I thought Tank was able to keep Abena on the ropes enough in the later part of the 2nd to win the round, but 1 judge did give it to Abena, who outlanded Tank 33-22. Tank winning rounds despite Abena outlanding him kind of became the story of the fight. Early in the 3rd, Abena took another cheap shot after Tank got turned sideways when Abena turned off the ropes. This wasn't as egregious or damaging, but since they didn't take a point the 1st time they needed to take one here. This was sort of inadvertently evened out by Abena's inside leg kick knockdown not being scored even though it clearly wasn't any kind of slip or off balance, and it was a really damaging shot. Khbabez's calf was shot, and he went down from a very ordinary calf kick almost as soon as they restarted. It was difficult for Tank to plant, push off, or even put weight on the right leg now, so he was doing more swinging and less pursuing when he could get away with it, but ultimately still had to hobble after Abena. Tank normally should take over in the 2nd half of the fight due to his cardio advantage, and making his opponent back the whole fight. That did play out, but Abena still won the third despite being gassed because that was more than evened out by Khbabez's leg injury. Abena was pissed that they gave him a standing 8 count early in the 4th, but he held the top rope to stay up after a good Tank low kick then literally just hooked his arm around the rope after ducking a big hook. Apparently this didn't count as a knockdown because Abena won 10-9 on one card and lost 10-9 on the rest. Abena spun Tank with a calf kick. and landed 2 dodgy body shots after the ref called break because Tank wasn't facing him. The action was still good, but neither fighter was moving anywhere near the way they did at the start. Abena was up on 2 cards going into the 5th, and the other 3 had it tied. Tank was still succeeding in this round even though he was hobbling because Abena just didn't have the energy to punish him coming in. There was another odd moment where Tank stopped and looked around for his mouthpiece that Abena knocked out with a left, and this time I side with Abena because the ref was reacting to Khbabez stopping rather than doing his job and finding the place to let him put it back in. Abena showed no enthusiasm for having to leave his position leaning in the corner to finish the fight. Abena finally made a push with about 10 seconds left, but Tank had already been pushing for the last minute. It was too little too late. Abena outlanded Tank 158-102 for the fight, which should get him the decision, especially being the champ. Round 4 was even at 21, but Abena had the advantage in the other 4. Interim champ Tank took the 5th round on all cards to win the split decision 48-47 and become the official champion. Good match.