He is absolutely overpowering at 145 lbs. It was very impressive to see him close distance and topple Phan, and subsequently unleash fury on him in the floor exchange. He was also very precise in his footwork, cornering Phan, and putting him into a dangerous situation of clinching with him. Omigawa has definitely turned things around, and it’s going to be exciting to see if he can pull off another huge upset in the next round, although I think he can handle Kanehara if he’s matched up there.

Omigawa’s dramatic improvement has been one of the most exciting things to see this year. Japan simply produces too many talented fighters not to be producing true world champions at several weight classes. Hopefully Omigawa is the beginning of a new trend.

If anyone wants to see the fight, click the ‘Recap, Analysis’ post in the Recommended Fanposts section. It’s a goody, and all you fans out there not too keen on Japanese MMA, this is a solid event you have to watch. Some very techinical, solid bouts on the card.

Nice to see that “Judoka Thrown to the Wolves” #784 is actually getting a chance to improve.

“I watched his wins over Davis and Pham”

Phan*

You can delete this comment, thanks

because I was trying to figure out a way after watching the fights (and watching him take a nice chunk of my betting cash away) to say that Omigawa was fighting like “an American” now. Which sounded overly nationalist or something…but I just mean exactly what Breen said. He’s cutting to an appropriate weight class, working on holes in his game rather than just relying on being “exciting”, and is coming into fights with legitimate gameplans. It’s been fun to watch.

That might be my favorite article ever from Breen. I especially liked the part about how honest and gruff Omigawa has been in his interviews when compared to other Japanese talents. I’m excited by this newfound fire in Omigawa, and I’d be pretty stoked to see him win the tournament.

Omigawa is a beast. He looks like a very well rounded fighter now, and I hope other Japanese fighters start training and having a mindset like him.

It’s been very awesome watching him in the tournament, and it will be great seeing him against Sandro, Kanehara, or Hioki in the finals.

I couldn’t have picked a better time to see one of his fights…the whole ‘F* you’ to the crowd thing is awesome, but could have been blown off as luck. He completely owned Phan. Granted, Phan didn’t look like a world beater in his previous fight, but Omigawa beat that ass…that was probably the biggest surprise on the card (on paper)…5-7 guys just don’t beat 16-1 guys like that. Great showing…I can’t wait for the next round

I watched his wins over Davis and Phan with keen interest on how positively bruising, strong, tactical and aggressive he looked (particularly when compared to his very lackluster UFC run).

Did you watch Omigawa vs. Wiman? There was nothing lackluster about that fight.