Fighters who are awesome in Japan, but can't seem to get anything going anywhere else
I'll start it with Akihiro Gono. Dude subbed Mousasi and UD'd Lombard, but couldn't get his stuff together in UFC, going 1-4.
I'm one of those guys who really wants to see Japanese fighters succeed elsewhere, too, so it's frustrating. It was also frustrating to see Yoshida get KO'd again, because I'm a big fan.
God there are a bunch of them.. I think it's a combo of several things:
- transition from ring to cage obviously.
- different rules, top control and clinching over valued by the judges, elbows on the ground etc
- let's be honest, sometimes they aren't fed easy match ups when they come over to the UFC (probably because they arent marketable in NA). For example Kos and AJ are nightmare match ups for Yoshida, etc.
- and let's not kid ourselves: some of them will under-perform here because of the drug testing policies.
Edit: Aoki would get mauled by almost all of the top UFC 155ers imo.
This doesn't really apply to the same category, but I always wanted Akira Kikuchi to come over to North America, I felt like he'd do well... so much for that idea.
Fighters who are awesome in Japan, but can't seem to get anything going anywhere else
So much for that idea?
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