Goodbye Tokyo!
Farewell Japan and thanks for all the MMA! I had a great week in Tokyo, attending both K-1 Premium Dynamite!! and Sengoku, while covering Mo Lawal backstage and press events. “King Mo” and his camp allowed me to follow them around backstage during Sengoku and it was an awesome experience. Operations essentially run the same, though I have to say, Sengoku is very smooth (and staffed to the hilt — everyone busy with a task). I’ll post more about this once I land in Taipei but for now I wanted to share a small selection of the photos from my night.
It’s fun to see a place as polite as this enjoying sanctioned violence. You see small children in the crowd shouting, “Misaki Ganbate!” (Misaki, do your best!) and hear appreciative ooohs and aaahs each time a takedown or position is reversed. It was also great to see Mo win the crowd over with his “King Mo” chant, event getting the referee to participate.
After one week and 28 fights, I’m not ready to leave but I can’t stay here. I hope to return soon and cover more MMA and perhaps even see Japan next time!
Check out the photos here, but don’t forget to check back in a few days for more!