In the early 2000s Denis Kang was one of the top MMA fighters in the world with wins over Minoru Suzuki, Murilo 'Ninja' Rua, Akihiro Gono and Marvin Eastman. In this interview, Denis opens up about: The mindset shift that took him to a 22-fight undefeated streak... How he dealt with the death of his fiance while competing for the biggest MMA organisation in the world... How … [Read more...]
Pride FC
Countering The Standing Kimura Armlock
The standing Kimura armlock is now an established and respected submission, but it wasn't always like this. In fact, when someone showed me this submission in the early 1990's I thought they were kidding and had run out of legitimate material to share. But then in 1999 and 2000, a Japanese pro-wrestler called Kazushi Sakuraba did something that many thought was impossible. In just over a … [Read more...]
The 2 Easiest Takedowns for No Gi Submission Grappling and MMA
Just because you didn't wrestle in High School or do 10 years of Judo doesn't mean that you always need to pull guard! In this 5 minute Youtube video Denis Kang and I riff about the the simplest, easiest takedowns for No Gi. Denis is a BJJ black belt and has fought in Japanese Pride, the UFC, and ADCC, so his credentials are impeccable. And me? I just like to find the easiest ways to do … [Read more...]
A Sakuraba Highlight Video Worth Watching
I came across the video below and thought it was a poignant tribute to the arc of Sakuraba's career in Pride. It combines Sakuraba's beautiful grappling with the extreme violence of Japanese Pride, along with a melancholy undertone that reminded me of the movie 'The Wrestler' starring Mickey Rourke from a few years ago. For those of you not familiar with his career it's hard to convey the shock … [Read more...]
Congratulations Denis Kang
My friend and training partner Denis Kang recently fought in the Pride Grand Prix, in the Yokohama Arena, Japan. To get to this point in the world's most prestigious welterweight tournament he had already knocked out Brazilian fighter Murilo 'Ninja' Rua … [Read more...]
Denis Wins in Pride
I am very happy to announce that my once-training-partner Denis Kang has advanced further in the Pride 'Survival' Middleweight tournament! To move to the semi-finals he decisively took out Amar Suloev, no mean feat given that Suloev had dispatched veteran BJJ fighter Murilo Bustamante in the first round of the tournament. … [Read more...]