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Post by vampiro on Sept 10, 2023 9:32:20 GMT 1
Ce winning is surprising to me, but what little I saw, he looked good. I thought he looked really good here. His style, but also the level of competition plays into that. Nice to see China representing! I wasn't surprised he KO'd Bordianu early, but thats because I genuinely think Bordianu is shit. Won't beat around the bush. Didn't expect the leg kick knockouts of Machado and Istrate though. Beat them? Sure, but not by ko.
I feel happy with my pick of Istrate making the final. I said him or Jemai. I thought the ko over Mahmoud was expected, and the ridiculous nature of the Karimian fight was also expected lol. Despite how it ended, I wouldn't mind seeing him in K-1 again.
Karimian is must see for shenanigans. I actually really liked his fights! I thought the Budiauo, Jemai and Istrate fights were all pretty fun.
I actually was surprised at how Machado looked. He didn't look as terrible imo as the fights he had in Russia. Another reason I want those Russians involved in K-1. They would be so fun to watch imo. I did think he looked ponderous though. The Turinsky fight was not so much fun to watch, and Ce fight was not so interesting either.
I kinda liked Jemai. He wasn't so bad imo, but didn't looked anything above ordinary either. I would like to see him again.
Mahmoud needs to go to RIZIN and do mma, because that was what he was focusing on this year. I don't think he will do well. As I have long suspected, he came in at the right time.
I personally never want to see Turinsky or Bordianu fight again.
Ueda beating K-Jee is not surprising to me, nor Kaneko winning. I actually am not that much of a fan of the Kaneko-Kumura fights.
I also forgot.. Egawa. I asked this question a while ago; is he any good? I am still wondering that. He was pegged for greatness years ago, and I never feel satisifed watching him. I have thought for a while he was a bit manufactured, and I still believe that.
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Post by K1power on Sept 11, 2023 8:05:40 GMT 1
Ce winning is surprising to me, but what little I saw, he looked good. I thought he looked really good here. His style, but also the level of competition plays into that. Nice to see China representing! I wasn't surprised he KO'd Bordianu early, but thats because I genuinely think Bordianu is shit. Won't beat around the bush. Didn't expect the leg kick knockouts of Machado and Istrate though. Beat them? Sure, but not by ko. Liu Ce was definitely the surprise of the tournament. It's good to see a young guy in good shape winning with versatile techniques. That said, he's a bit small for a heavyweight and was visibly getting rocked whenever Machado landed a punch. He's going to struggle against actual heavyweights with good hands. That said, he's only 27 and still has potential to grow. I feel happy with my pick of Istrate making the final. I said him or Jemai. I thought the ko over Mahmoud was expected, and the ridiculous nature of the Karimian fight was also expected lol. Despite how it ended, I wouldn't mind seeing him in K-1 again. I think Istrate making it to the final is slightly misleading. Sure, he took care of Sattari, but anyone else in the tournament could have done that. After that he struggled against Karimian and couldn't do anything against Ce. Istrate definitely has some power and good timing in his punches, but his chin is questionable and his gas tank is terrible. He's just way too heavy. I saw a picture of him on social media where he looked shredded so I expect him to be in shape here, but it must have been an old picture lol. I'm not sure what kind of contract he signed with K-1, but for beating both Iranian K-1 champs in one night and making it to the tournament final he should be back. They can give him an ill-advised revenge match against Karimian or make him fight someone like Carlos Budiao who made quick work of Ryunosuke Hoshi recently. Karimian is must see for shenanigans. I actually really liked his fights! I thought the Budiauo, Jemai and Istrate fights were all pretty fun. All those fights were bad. They may have had fun moments in terms of raw entertainment, but in terms of quality kickboxing it was pretty much bottom of the barrel, no way around it. I tend to like K-1's cruiser and open weight fights for entertainment value, but these divisions can in no way compete with actual top level talent, there's no way around that. As for Karimian specifically. He's been able to somewhat dominate a weak division, but doesn't have anywhere near the quality he thinks he has nor is he this serene, collected guy he presents himself as. The second things don't go his way he starts misbehaving and has some really nasty tendencies: "Sina Army" my ass. He's his own biggest fan. I can't wait for someone putting him to sleep. I actually was surprised at how Machado looked. He didn't look as terrible imo as the fights he had in Russia. Another reason I want those Russians involved in K-1. They would be so fun to watch imo. I did think he looked ponderous though. The Turinsky fight was not so much fun to watch, and Ce fight was not so interesting either. I think Machado looked terrible against Turinsky, but it's hard to look good against Turinsky. Turinsky just has this weird, unattractive style that prevents exchanges from taking place or any sort of consistent action. Anyone who's seen Turinsky fight before knew his quarter-final wouldn't be any good. That said, Machado looked a bit better against Liu Ce. I didn't know he slowed down as much as he has, but he still landed some nice combinations on Ce until he was put down with the lowkicks. Based on what I saw from Machado in the tournament, I don't think he has much in him anymore. I kinda liked Jemai. He wasn't so bad imo, but didn't looked anything above ordinary either. I would like to see him again. I thought he looked pretty bad. He had maybe a good minute in the first round, but that was it. He tried all these fancy kicks, but ended up slipping and falling or getting his leg tangled up in the ropes. I don't know. Maybe it was the nerves of fighting at a big stage, but he doesn't seem to be going anywhere meaningful in the division. Mahmoud needs to go to RIZIN and do mma, because that was what he was focusing on this year. I don't think he will do well. As I have long suspected, he came in at the right time. I'm not sure where his ambitions lie, but I think he could still compete at kickboxing successfully. Wherever he goes though, he shouldn't try to fight anyone aboven 90kg anymore. Ideally he'd compete at middleweight/85kg. He just doesn't have the power to hurt these big guys and he certainly can't take their shots. I personally never want to see Turinsky or Bordianu fight again. Can't really disagree there. I don't recall ever seeing a 'fun' Turinsky fight, but at least he used to be pretty fast. Now that he's aged and gained weight it was like watching an elephant move. Everything was so telegraphed that I'm surprised no big counters landed on him. As for Bordianu. I believe I saw him fight on a Romanian card before, but he certainly didn't leave an impression. Ueda beating K-Jee is not surprising to me, nor Kaneko winning. I actually am not that much of a fan of the Kaneko-Kumura fights. K-Jee losing may not have been surprising, but it was frustrating to see. Sure, Ueda outweighs him by what 20+kgs? But a lot of it is fat and K-Jee was able to tag him a few times. Since Ueda is a Kyokushin representative and he won here I'm sure K-1 has 'bigger plans' for him, but he'll struggle against good boxers that are closer to his size. I also forgot.. Egawa. I asked this question a while ago; is he any good? I am still wondering that. He was pegged for greatness years ago, and I never feel satisifed watching him. I have thought for a while he was a bit manufactured, and I still believe that. I think we've actually discussed Egawa in the K'Festa 6 thread a bit, but yeah he used to be pretty good. Started to get into his own in 2019 when he scored a series of good knockouts. For whatever reason he started falling off the wagon in 2020. Lost a bunch of fights in a row and fought less frequently than before. Not sure what happened there, but the pandemic sure didn't help anybody's schedules nor did Egawa exactly lose to cans. Not sure where he's going at this point, but he was on a three fight winning streak before yesterday's loss. |
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Post by K1power on Sept 11, 2023 11:43:32 GMT 1
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Post by vampiro on Sept 13, 2023 7:18:57 GMT 1
I remember seeing her reaction while watching lol.
I have been thinking about Karimian in this tournament. He is clearly a limited fighter, but does anybody else think that this was probably the best they have seen him? I think 209 is a good weight for him. I would be interested in seeing him with Ce. I think the leg kicks would do him in. I'll finish by saying, and perhaps recency bias is playing a part here, that I have never seen someone get so much out of one particular move than Sina. His spinning back fist is money.
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Post by K1power on Sept 13, 2023 18:34:49 GMT 1
It's impossible for me to judge Sina's performance without taking into account the plethora of fouls he committed. There have been times before where he has actually shown competent kickboxing without resorting to a bag of cheap tricks.
As for fighting Ce. I think Sina stands a chance, because he has some power in his hands and Ce clearly doesn't deal well with punchers. That said, if Ce keeps his hands up and commits to the lowkicks he should be able to punish Karimian.
When Karimian fought Yamashita Rikiya at The Match everybody said he was just cruising to an easy win, but I disagree. Yamashita was clearly hurting him with lowkicks and if he was in better physical shape he would have won that fight.
Lastly, Karimian definitely likes his spinning backfist, but has he ever knocked someone out with it? He has definitely hurt fighters with it, but I always get the impression that he connects more with his wrist/underarm than he does with his fist.
I also don't like how he throws it. He throws it like someone who learned it from YouTube. Clearly he has some success with it, but it just looks ugly and I question its legality in some cases. I've seen much better backfists; Kido comes to mind. He times it well, throws it well and has actually taken fighters out with it.
If we're talking about people getting much out of a single technique in general, Peter Aerts with both his lowkicks AND his highkicks come to mind, Mighty Mo with his right overhand, Feitosa with his question mark kick and there are many, many more that have had way more success with a single move than Karimian can ever hope to achieve with anything in his arsenal. Also, the aforementioned fighters have had success at a much higher level with their moves.
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Post by K1power on Sept 16, 2023 14:48:56 GMT 1
So I've noticed that a couple of days ago post-fight interviews have appeared on K-1's YouTube channel.
A bit late, but oh well.
More unforgivably though, they added the weigh-in and presser videos the day after the event, making them essentially pointless additions.
This type of sloppiness is uncharacteristic for K-1.
Let's just chalk it up to growing pains.
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Post by K1power on Sept 18, 2023 8:56:30 GMT 1
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