This was long and by the end of it, they’re both exhausted and flailing around with slaps, but there were some neat moments on the mat, as neither is particular good at striking, and Grom utilizies some cool takedowns and slams, including a cradle-style backdrop. Kimura does have some snappy kicks and palm thrusts but his mat game is his strong suit, and he’s able to send Grom to the ropes a few times by targeting the leg. Grom, on the otherhand, utilizies more innovative submissions, like his double leg half crab or his shoot STF. In the end, Grom is able to cinch in the choke to submit Kimura.

Oh. Good match. I do love seeing the european wrestlers come to RINGS. They usually are pretty fun to watch. Zaza has a a big history in amateur wrestling and MMA (in the future) so it’s cool to see those skills put to test here. Koichiro Kimura is actually a bit more famous being a former KO-D Openweight Champion in DDT although his MMA career wasn’t as successful as Zaza. Anway. There was some real great grappling at the beginning. The striking wasn’t great but there was the occasional stiff strike that was good. Zaza getting the surprise tap was shocking. Didn’t seem like any danger but Kimura tapped to the rare naked choke.