This past weekend, in New Zealand, Satoshi Ishii returned to the ring for his second professional MMA fight. Since losing to Hidehiko Yoshida on New Year’s Eve, Ishii won an exhibition fight against Sasae Paogofie. His opponent, last weekend, was kickboxer Tafa “Thunder” Misipati with a 9-1 record. He is the current WKBF New Zealand Super Heavyweight champion.
Satoshi Ishii vs. Tafa Misipati 5/15/2010
Commentary
Ishii needs ring time, and he needs as much of it as he can get. Therefore, it is admirable that he is willing to go out and take on these challenges. However, this performance does not show very much. Ishii is able to use his judo game to get the fight to the ground and work for an armbar. This is pretty much what you would expect when a judoka takes on kickboxer who has never fought MMA. Let’s hope Ishii takes a few more fights like this before he takes a step up in competition.