Takeshi Ono vs. Mitsuya Nagai, FUTEN 7/25/2010 - EPIC
One of the greatest FUTEN singles matches, and it's basically all Ono. Nagai hasn't done much since getting squished by Volk Han in RINGS, there is basically one thing he does really well and that is crowbarring people really hard, and this match is built entirely around that. Nagai is just destroying Ono here from the get go with kicks that hit like baseball bats and some insane elbows on the ground. Onos selling was just great here as he really flings his body around to put Nagais kicks over as super dangerous, and looking convincingly punch-drunk/near KO'd. All the while Ono is doing everything he can to fire back, then be overwhelmed again, then try to slip into a submission hold only to get mauled even more. He is also pretty great at slipping out of Nagais throw attempts and it builds to another great finish. Really ballsy to have a match built around taking brutal shots from a guy who once nearly killed another guy and really tells what a master Ono is to make such a match this compelling.
Takeshi Ono vs. Mitsuya Nagai, Futen 7/18/11 - GREAT
Very deliberate match. Nagai was off
here, but Takeshi Ono is the GOAT and makes any match he‘s in must
watch. This was mostly about Ono avoiding the thrashing he got from Nagai in their previous singles match while Nagai
was trying to get his win back. There was some amazing legwork from
Ono, and he is just great both fighting from underneath as well as
destroying a guy. Nagai wasn‘t really
suited to play his role well here, it just doesn‘t suit him like the out
and out steamrolling he gave Ono in 2010 and he seemed to be struggling
to hit his signature spots. I wouldn‘t say he outright sucked though,
as I enjoyed all the submission work. Still, you want to watch every
match Takeshi Ono is in.
Takeshi Ono vs. Shoichi Funaki
(BattlARTS 5/21/1997) - GREAT
Great 5 minute sprint. Ono was ultra vicious here (really!), and Funaki basically acted like a piece of scum. Great start with Ono hitting a big thai knee, pummeling Funaki and immediately establishing himself as a dangerous no nonsense shooter before Funaki kicks him in the balls. Funaki does some cool leg attack, including some good mat scrumbles. Neat spot where Ono catches another low blow and turns it into an ankle hold. Great finish where Funaki goes for a flying move only for Ono to catch him with a kick and then proceed to just turn his lights out.
Awesome protect, big fan of Ono!! BTW are you planning on uploading some of the matches that aren't?? I would love to see some of that stuff, thanks!!
ReplyDeleteSomething will be done about that for sure, until then I recommend scouring sites like vk.com and archive.org since they have most BattlARTS shows!
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