ONE FC War of the Lions – Main Card Breakdown: Tatsuya Kawajiri vs Donald Sanchez
Main Card Breakdown: Tatsuya Kawajiri vs Donald Sanchez
Our wunderkid ONE FC insider The Coffee Boy has another part of his ONE FC Main Card Breakdown for us to enjoy:
EHe has already written two for you:
and
So why not check them out as well: OK, Let’s see what he’s got to say shall we?
When One FC announced their signing of the menace which is Tatsuya Kawajiri, the first thing I thought was “awesome”, and the second thing I thought was “I hope they bring him a game opponent.” His opponent is none other than the current King Of The Cage Bantamweight Champion Donald Sanchez. Let’s take a quick look at both of their backgrounds and recent fights.
Tatsuya Kawajiri (30 – 7) is certainly no stranger to this beautiful sport. He was born in Japan, and currently lives and trains there out of T-Blood. Known as the “Crusher”, he got the nickname from his superior strength in the clinch and brutal ground and pound techniques. He made his professional debut back in 2000, losing by way of rear-naked choke. He took some time off, and came back and put together a respectable record in the 155 division. His style is primarily kickboxing and wrestling.
Kawajiri won the Shooto title in 2004 by beating Vitor Robeiro via TKO, and later successfully defended it against Joachim Hansen. He had a good career in Pride and Dream, although he would eventually get a shot at the DREAM title, ultimately losing to Shinya Aoki via submission. He rebounded that loss in 2010 by dominating Josh Thomson at Dynamite!! 2010, repeatedly taking him down and unleashing ground and pound. He was then signed on to Strikeforce, to fight against Gilbert Melendez for the Lightweight Championship. He would go on to lose in the first round by way of TKO. After getting back and beating Drew Fickett, he dropped to the 145 division, and submitted two opponents in a row there. He currently is riding a 3 – fight win streak, finishing all 3 opponents.
Donald Sanchez (25 – 12) fights out of New Mexico in America, training with Fit NHB. He made his professional debut back in 2005 defeating Joseph Davidson via submission. He is known mostly for his wrestling approach, but is more than willing to stand with his opponents, and often throws wild haymakers and the occasional flying knee. While he may not be as well-known as his opponent, he certainly has a respectable record and has put on some stellar fights.
Sanchez won the KOTC interim Bantamweight title in 2009, and defended it two times before successfully unifying the titles by beating Angelo Sanchez by a close split decision in a grudge match. He would successfully defend it twice before losing to Jeremy Spoon. Since then, he beat 3 opponents in a row, finishing all 3 in the first round and won the Bantamweight title once again.
What’s intriguing about this fight is that I’m trying to figure out in my head how Donald Sanchez is going to approach this fight. Does he plan on trying to take down a great wrestler in Kawajiri? Does he want to stand and bang it out with a very good and dangerous kickboxer? Donald Sanchez has a 3-inch height advantage, and that could very well determine how the standup game pans out.
Standing up, I see Sanchez having a slight edge in terms of ability to throw a wide range of strikes. However, I believe Kawajiri is still very dangerous with that heavy right hand of his which has rocked several of his opponents. Kawajiri likes to push the pace when he’s on his feet, throwing a lot of straight punches right to his opponents face. Sanchez likes to throw wild knees and hooks, much different from Kawajiri.
On the ground, I give the edge to Kawajiri. He has meticulous and strong takedowns, great transitioning, vicious ground and pound, and sprawls very well. Donald Sanchez does have a decent ground game though, but I still don’t see him able to overcome the strength and experience of Kawajiri.
It’s a little hard for me to predict how this fight is going to go down, mainly because 1) Donald Sanchez will have to come up with a really smart game plan, and I’ve noticed he doesn’t always adapt well to certain situations, which he most certainly will have to if he gets taken down by Kawajiri and 2) Kawajiri has to show up to fight, because Sanchez is not going to just give him an easy fight. Against Gilbert Melendez, Kawajiri looked sluggish and unfocused, and he’ll need to be in top form for this fight if he wants to leave a lasting impression.
The Coffee Boy’s prediction: I’m going to go with the Japanese “Crusher”. He has great wrestling, seems to be in great shape since dropping to the 145 division, and is probably hungry to hold a title again one day soon. Tatusya Kawajiri def. Donald Sanchez via Submission
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