On August 18, 2018, ROAD FC 049 went down in Seoul, South Korea’s Grand Walkerhill Resort. The show was a fast and furious event, with five of six fights ending in a finish – four of which in the first round.
ROAD FC 049: In Paradise Results – Mizuno finishes returning former champ Eun Soo Lee
Former ROAD FC title-holder at 185lbs, Eun Soo Lee made his return to the cage after two years away. Unfortunately for him, Tatsuya Mizuno gave him no time to celebrate. The DEEP Champion took Lee down very early in the fight. From here, he controlled top position with ease, eventually transitioning to the back where he forced “Heavy Metal” to tap to a rear naked choke.
“The Busan Heavy Tank,” Mu Bae Choi, and undefeated hitter Anding Ma engaged in an openweight war. After surviving an early knockdown, Choi was able to revert to his wrestling base to score a takedown. From here he was able to work his way into the mount position and pound away at Ma for a (T)KO victory.
A legendary Japanese wrestler and mixed martial arts veteran, “‘Ol Ironhead” Kazuyuki Fujita returned to the techniques that got him where he is today in this bout against Justin Morton. Fujita was – to no ones surprise – very strong in the clinch. From here he was able to stun Morton with a punch. Once the American athlete was grounded, Fujita stayed true to his wrestling roots and got top position, eventually working towards a rare north/south choke finish.
At women’s strawweight, Ming Shi and Harada Shiho competed in the night’s sole non-finish. Shi utilized her clean striking technique, mixing up crisp jabs and relentless flurries later in the fight. Early on, however, Harada used her grappling and looked for an armbar for majority of round one. It was a close one at 115lbs, but the judges ultimately gave it to Shi Ming in a split decision call. Very entertaining contest.
In a fight that was, on-paper, a striker vs. grappler match-up, Hae Jin Park utilized his excellent jiu-jitsu game to win. Evgeniy Ryazanov attempted to open up with his solid kicks early, but Park wasn’t having any of it and shot in rather quickly. It didn’t take long for the South Korean to lock in a fight-ending rear naked choke.
In a fight was supposed to be fireworks, China’s Zhenyue Huang shocked early. Right out the gate, Huang knocked down the Thai striker. The muay thai champion Thirayut Khaorat recovered quickly and got back to his feet, but this was not enough. Huang already smelled blood and sensed the finish, so he flurried him with a ruthless barrage of punches against the fence to force a standing (T)KO. This all within the first minute of the contest.
If you’re looking for a simplified round-up of the results, look no further.
Tatsuya Mizuno def. Eun Soo Lee via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 2:32 of Round 21
Mu Bae Choi def. Anding Ma via TKO (Punches) at 4:07 of Round 1
Kazuyuki Fujita def. Justin Morton via Submission (North/South Choke) at 1:19 of Round 2
Ming Shi def. Harada Shiho via Split Decision
Hae Jin Park def. Evgeniy Ryazanov via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 2:23 of Round 1
Zhenyue Huang def. Thirayut Khaorat via TKO (Punches) at 0:51 of Round 1
