MMA and UFC Updates

Below is a summary of tweets from February 7th, 2012 @themmadigest: Hitler reacts to UFC 143 decsion between Nick Diaz and Carlos Condit: http://t.co/dsVbeWja – 07 Feb 12 16:39 @themmadigest: UFC middleweight @MayhemMiller on what he learned from the Bisping fight and his partnership with @Airwalk_online: http://t.co/5aPCKwU4 – 07 Feb…

Jason Mayhem Miller on his partnership with Airwalk

    Tell us about your partnership with Airwalk   Let’s not even call it a partnership, shall we? Let’s call it a brotherhood. A brotherhood of the travelling pants, if you will. Because now I’m working with Airwalk, and Airwalk selected me, even though they have all the choices…

MMA Fighter Bios: MASAKATSU FUNAKI

MASAKATSU FUNAKI
MMA RECORD: 39-13-1
BORN: Aomori Prefecture, Japan
6’0, 195 pounds

Idolizing Bruce Lee as a child, Masakatsu Funaki would have martial arts imprinted into his psyche. He originally ventured into the choreographed violence and athleticism of Japanese pro wrestling, before entering into the mixed martial arts realm.
He would become one of the most successful Japanese MMA fighters of all time and a real legend in the industry during the mid ‘90s. after a loss to Ken Shamrock in his MMA debut, Funaki would string together 7 wins in a row. Taking out Bas Rutten, Vernon White, Kazuo Takahashi, Funaki would gain much momentum and hype in the MMA community. His submission skills was excellent as he was using a wide range of moves from keylocks, kneebars and toeholds to catch opponents off guard and force them to tap out.
He would go on to win 5 straight times after a loss to Jason Delucia, and avenge his first defeat to Ken Shamrock, only to be defeated in their rubber match in late 1994. He would however avenge his defeat to Jason Delucia and submit Frank Shamrock in his following bout too.
Funaki’s experience and submission prowess was allowing him to take out some tough opponents in quick fashion. He would tap outTakaku Fuke, August Smisi, Vernon White, Guy Mezger, Yuki Kondo and Semmy Schilt. Between the 1993-1996 period he was one of the kings of the MMA world and the top dog in many eyes.
He racked up 7 straight wins in 1997-1998 and was able to tap out 6 of those opponents. He was various aggressive with submissions and left opponents very confused as to what they were going to be up against. Kimuras, calf slicers and triangles and armbars were all being used in the submission arsenal of Funaki.
He will go down as one of the all time greats and showed a lot of heart in returning after an 8 year absence in the sport, being defeated in his return in 2008 to DREAM, but coming back and tapping out Ikuhisa Minowa in under a minute in his next bout. Funaki has a lot of skill, a lot of heart and a lot of followers not just in Japan, but followers of the MMA industry who were monitoring the industry during its formative years.
TAP OR SNAP
34 Submission
87% of wins by Submission
Moves used in victory:
Heel Hook (Ikuhisa Minowa, Alex Cook)
Arm Triangle Choke (Osami Shibuya)
Triangle Choke (Yuki Kondo, Guy Mezger)
Calf Slicer (Jason Godsey)
Guillotine Choke (Osami Shibuya)
Toe Hold (Semmy Schilt)
Rear Naked Choke (August Smisl, Gregory Smit)
Achilles Lock (Leon Dijk)
Keylock (Cees Bezems)
Kneebar (Ryushi Yanagisawa)
Armbar (Guy Mezger)