Opposing Forces - Kawajiri vs. Aoki: 2006

In only 4 short weeks the eyes of the MMA world will shift back to Japan for one of the most awaited bouts in recent Japanese MMA history. July 10th will mark the day when the colorful and controversial Shinya Aoki squares off against the stoic Tatsuya CRUSHER Kawajiri. I think it's relatively safe to say that this is probably the biggest fight that DREAM has ever had the chance to put on. Both men have crossed paths on many occasions but have actually never been booked to fight each other.

It's actually bizarre to see a title fight by any Japanese promotion being pushed so hard. Title fights have strangely been the craze this year in all of MMA but even stranger when 4 of the 5 events by a "major" Japanese promotion feature a title on the line. Along with all the hype comes a lot of important questions. Is Aoki still an elite Lightweight? Can Kawajiri impose his will in the bout? Is Japanese MMA still actually relevant? Lots of big questions that will find answers at DREAM.15.

So to aid the chronologically confused, I'll take a look back from 2006 to 2010, year by year, to when this rivalry was in it's undiscovered infancy to the present day anticipation and boiling point.

February 17, 2006

Possibly the most important date in the whole grand scheme of things. At this point in time both individuals' careers seemed to be on an upswing but at a very different pace. While Kawajiri was blasting into the sky on a spaceship, Aoki was sort of like paper plane. 2005 had been incredibly kind to Kawajiri and rather cruel to Aoki. Kawajiri was the SHOOTO Welterweight Champion and didn't look like he'd lose the belt any time soon. He had come out looking magnificent even in defeat against Takanori Gomi in the BUSHIDO GP in one of the most memorable bouts in PRIDE History. More importantly, he was actually getting pushed by PRIDE as a great young talent. He was sort of part of that 2nd generation of BUSHIDO Aces with along Misaki, Gono and Henderson.

And Aoki? While he was still in his embryonic stages of his development as a fighter, he had the unenviable task of fighting SHOOTO legend Hayato Mach Sakurai in only his 7 pro fight. While he didn't look too overwhelmed in the bout, Sakurai was able to impose himself in the 1st round but luckily for Aoki he was able to steal the 2nd and 3rd by scoring key take downs and dominating from top position to pick up the win. Or so he thought. The judges unanimously gave the fight to Sakurai to the dismay of Aoki, who proceeded to pound the canvas in a mix of angry and saddened desperation.

Aoki soon found his fortunes reversed. After an impressive quick win via cut against Kuniyoshi Hironaka, he was given a shot against powerhouse Akira Kikuchi on February 17, 2006. Coincidentally or not, Kawajiri was set to defend his title that very night. The show was set. The Main Event was Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Joachim Hansen with a Semi-Main Event of Akira Kikuchi vs Shinya Aoki. 2 things newsworthy things happened that night.

First, the Main Event bout Kawajiri-Hansen bout only lasted 1 strike. A strike to the groin of Kawajiri. :08 seconds of "action" and the most anti-climactic title bout in MMA history was over. Second, there was a new champ. Aoki had succeeded in upsetting Kikuchi. Both men were now champions in their respective division concurrently.

August 26, 2006

1 year and 6 days after his heartbreaking loss to Sakurai, Aoki debuted in PRIDE at BUSHIDO 12. Aoki was still a relatively unfamiliar face to most mainstream fans so his PRIDE debut wasn't necessarily the most hyped. I didn't matter though. He was fighting in the elite show. There would be 1 major difference this time with his Aoki's previous fights. His weight class. Since the formation of weight classes in PRIDE during the "Dark Ages", there was never a 76kg weight class. That's the equivalent of Welterweight as most of us know it. For some reason or another DSE (Dream Stage Entertainment) never saw the need for that weight class. Aoki was forced to move down to PRIDE's Lightweight division (73kg).

Aoki made his PRIDE and Lightweight debut against Jason Black. Coincidentally or not, Kawajiri took on Chris Brennan that very night. Both men put on a wonderful display of offense and both scored good 1st round wins. I alluded earlier to Kawajiri being a Spaceship and Aoki a paperplane, but at this point in time, August 2006, Kawajiri was still on the same trajectory but Aoki was slowly catching up. His strange comments, simple yet effective fighting style and electric entrances would all reap benefits in the near future.

In my opinion, I truly feel that in retrospect that was the paramount of Kawajiri's career with regards to how much the fans supported him. He was enormously popular and still is, but not close to what those couple fights after his encounter with Gomi. It's really bizarre in retrospect to see old Kawajiri fights in PRIDE and watch him get the same reaction from people similar to when Gomi lost his mind against Azeredo. This lunatic adrenaline love that he shared with the fans. I think a rematch between Gomi and Kawajiri would've been as monumental as Gomi vs. Sakurai. It just never panned out.

December 31, 2006

DSE wanted 2006 to end at all cost but like always, there needed to be a year-end show. The Shukan Gendai scandal crippled PRIDE and eventually led to it's demise but the day after Shockwave 2006 nobody was talking about that. They were talking about this strange new submission they'd never seen, Gogoplata, and this strange rainbow colored pants wearing grappler named Shinya Aoki. Thus began Aokimania. This was the precise moment when Aoki made a huge splash and everyone was forced to see what the commotion was about.

This same wasn't true for Kawajiri, who also fought that same night. Notice a pattern? In what ended up being a great fight, Kawajiri lost a unanimous decision to Gilbert Melendez. I actually remember talking to a lot of people saying they thought it one of the best fights of the year but Aoki's Gogoplata completely overshadowed everything that night even a great bout by Kawajiri and Melendez. Aoki builds a name for himself in one night and quickly becomes a sweetheart of the fans in no time. It took Kawajiri a hell of a lot longer to get to the level that Aoki reached in one fell swoop.

At least PRIDE would be holding a Lightweight GP in 2007 and we'd maybe get to see Kawajiri vs. Aoki. SHOOTO Champion vs. SHOOTO Champion and a lot of other great fights. Right? 4 months after Shockwave 2006 PRIDE was dead. 2007 would go on to become a very insecure, unstable year for a lot of fighter.