Melvin Manhoef and the Return of the Old School
Tim Leidecker Jun 11, 2008
Fight fans who have been following the sport for more than a decade
must feel as if they are stuck in a time warp back to 1998.
More than any other time in recent memory, the last couple of months have been an absolute throwback as far as classic style-versus-style matchmaking is concerned.
Traditional striker-versus-grappler bouts like Robert Berry (Pictures) against Ken Shamrock (Pictures), Michael Bisping (Pictures) against Charles McCarthy (Pictures) and most recently Maurice Smith (Pictures) against Hidehiko Yoshida (Pictures) have been popping up all around
the world. Another example of this development is set for Sunday
when Melvin Manhoef
(Pictures) takes on Kazushi Sakuraba (Pictures) in the main event of Dream 4.
On one hand you have a Dutch kickboxer in Manhoef, a 5-foot-8 power plug who has racked up 95 percent of his wins by knockout and is without a doubt the most feared striker this side of Anderson Silva. On the other hand you have Japanese legend Kazushi Sakuraba (Pictures), the "Gracie Hunter," who has taken 71 percent of his victories by submission and has made a career out of beating bigger and badder opposition.
Manhoef was not among the original participants in the Dream middleweight grand prix. He moved into the tournament with his destruction of Korean judoka Dae Won Kim (Pictures) in an alternate match on May 11. The 32-year-old Dutchman, known as "Black Storm" in Japan, reached the finals of the Hero's 183-pound tournament in 2006 but was beaten by Yoshihiro Akiyama (Pictures) via armbar.
Manhoef's questionable ground game is also a main theme for his fight against Sakuraba, who has choked out Quinton Jackson (Pictures) and armbarred Kevin Randleman (Pictures) -- two fighters similar to Manhoef in size. Despite a recent training camp at grappling stronghold American Top Team and diligent work with Remco Pardoel, Holland's top BJJ coach, the question remains whether Manhoef can avoid being submitted.
"I will try to prevent going to the ground," Manhoef says. "But I'm not like Jackson and Randleman. We may have the same build, but we have totally different fighting styles. Those fighters didn't mind going to the ground, while I will try to keep the fight standing. Of course Sakuraba is very experienced on the ground, but at the same time, I'm very dangerous standing up."
This sentiment is shared by Dream event producer and matchmaker Keiichi Sasahara, who gives a unique insight into the Japanese thought behind booking fights.
"Fighters with an aggressive striking game are a good matchup for Sakuraba," Sasahara explains. "Musashi, Benkei and Manhoef belong to this type of fighters. Especially Melvin, as he has a very high ratio of finishing fights with knockouts or technical KO's. Melvin rushes in with punches and finishes Sakuraba with the knockout or Sakuraba survives the onslaught from Melvin's hands and finishes him with [a submission] -- this is the main point of this fight."
Sasahara, who was the public relations representative for Pride's former parent company Dream Stage Entertainment, also has an interesting view of the Dutch knockout machine.
"Melvin knows what is expected of him and how the fans see him," Sasahara says. "Even though fighters know what is expected of them most of the time, sometimes they find it difficult to stick with their roles while pushing for the win. In a good sense, Melvin is a peculiar fighter who will rather lose his fight because of being overly aggressive than play a conservative game to win."
Victory over Sakuraba, a fighter revered by the Japanese hardcore fans like no other from the land of the rising sun, would not only see Manhoef advance to the semifinals of the middleweight grand prix but also would make him a household name in Japan once and for all. The man from Amsterdam is well aware of the magnitude of the bout.
"Beating a living legend like Sakuraba would of course mean a great deal to me," he says. "He has fought so many great fighters already that it is truly an honor to fight him. To win would mean that my ground skills have improved. It would put the crown on all my hard work."
The only question remaining is the physical condition of the "Marvelous" one. Prior to his recent fight against Kim, Manhoef had to have a clot of blood removed from behind his lung. The injury stemmed from the incredible amount of punishment he took at the hands of Remy Bonjasky in their fight two weeks earlier. After being in the hospital for a week, Manhoef was hardly able to train for the fight against Kim, which explains his so-so performance.
"My rib is fine, and I have recovered well," Manhoef says. "I can't say anything about my shape yet because I'm still in preparation. But I'm training hard and I'll do everything to enter the ring in the best condition possible."
Will Manhoef succumb to Sakuraba on the ground, just like he did against Akiyama and Dong Sik Yoon (Pictures) in the years before? Or has he learned enough takedown and submission defense to keep the fight standing and dismantle the "Gracie Hunter" on the feet like Igor Vovchanchyn (Pictures) and Wanderlei Silva (Pictures) did before him?
We will find out Sunday.
More than any other time in recent memory, the last couple of months have been an absolute throwback as far as classic style-versus-style matchmaking is concerned.
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On one hand you have a Dutch kickboxer in Manhoef, a 5-foot-8 power plug who has racked up 95 percent of his wins by knockout and is without a doubt the most feared striker this side of Anderson Silva. On the other hand you have Japanese legend Kazushi Sakuraba (Pictures), the "Gracie Hunter," who has taken 71 percent of his victories by submission and has made a career out of beating bigger and badder opposition.
"This is definitely the biggest and most important fight of my
career," Manhoef told Sherdog.com. "It is really a dream come true
for me to be in the same category as Sakuraba. I used to look up to
him, and now I have the chance to fight him."
Manhoef was not among the original participants in the Dream middleweight grand prix. He moved into the tournament with his destruction of Korean judoka Dae Won Kim (Pictures) in an alternate match on May 11. The 32-year-old Dutchman, known as "Black Storm" in Japan, reached the finals of the Hero's 183-pound tournament in 2006 but was beaten by Yoshihiro Akiyama (Pictures) via armbar.
Manhoef's questionable ground game is also a main theme for his fight against Sakuraba, who has choked out Quinton Jackson (Pictures) and armbarred Kevin Randleman (Pictures) -- two fighters similar to Manhoef in size. Despite a recent training camp at grappling stronghold American Top Team and diligent work with Remco Pardoel, Holland's top BJJ coach, the question remains whether Manhoef can avoid being submitted.
"I will try to prevent going to the ground," Manhoef says. "But I'm not like Jackson and Randleman. We may have the same build, but we have totally different fighting styles. Those fighters didn't mind going to the ground, while I will try to keep the fight standing. Of course Sakuraba is very experienced on the ground, but at the same time, I'm very dangerous standing up."
This sentiment is shared by Dream event producer and matchmaker Keiichi Sasahara, who gives a unique insight into the Japanese thought behind booking fights.
"Fighters with an aggressive striking game are a good matchup for Sakuraba," Sasahara explains. "Musashi, Benkei and Manhoef belong to this type of fighters. Especially Melvin, as he has a very high ratio of finishing fights with knockouts or technical KO's. Melvin rushes in with punches and finishes Sakuraba with the knockout or Sakuraba survives the onslaught from Melvin's hands and finishes him with [a submission] -- this is the main point of this fight."
Sasahara, who was the public relations representative for Pride's former parent company Dream Stage Entertainment, also has an interesting view of the Dutch knockout machine.
"Melvin knows what is expected of him and how the fans see him," Sasahara says. "Even though fighters know what is expected of them most of the time, sometimes they find it difficult to stick with their roles while pushing for the win. In a good sense, Melvin is a peculiar fighter who will rather lose his fight because of being overly aggressive than play a conservative game to win."
Victory over Sakuraba, a fighter revered by the Japanese hardcore fans like no other from the land of the rising sun, would not only see Manhoef advance to the semifinals of the middleweight grand prix but also would make him a household name in Japan once and for all. The man from Amsterdam is well aware of the magnitude of the bout.
"Beating a living legend like Sakuraba would of course mean a great deal to me," he says. "He has fought so many great fighters already that it is truly an honor to fight him. To win would mean that my ground skills have improved. It would put the crown on all my hard work."
The only question remaining is the physical condition of the "Marvelous" one. Prior to his recent fight against Kim, Manhoef had to have a clot of blood removed from behind his lung. The injury stemmed from the incredible amount of punishment he took at the hands of Remy Bonjasky in their fight two weeks earlier. After being in the hospital for a week, Manhoef was hardly able to train for the fight against Kim, which explains his so-so performance.
"My rib is fine, and I have recovered well," Manhoef says. "I can't say anything about my shape yet because I'm still in preparation. But I'm training hard and I'll do everything to enter the ring in the best condition possible."
Will Manhoef succumb to Sakuraba on the ground, just like he did against Akiyama and Dong Sik Yoon (Pictures) in the years before? Or has he learned enough takedown and submission defense to keep the fight standing and dismantle the "Gracie Hunter" on the feet like Igor Vovchanchyn (Pictures) and Wanderlei Silva (Pictures) did before him?
We will find out Sunday.
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