Dream 8: Shinya Aoki vs Hayato Sakurai

Dream 8: Shinya Aoki vs Hayato Sakurai

K-1 Dynamite: Hayato Sakurai vs Katsuyori Shibata

K-1 Dynamite: Hayato Sakurai vs Katsuyori Shibata

Dream 6: Hayato Sakurai vs Kuniyoshi Hironaka

Dream 6: Hayato Sakurai vs Kuniyoshi Hironaka
Round 1: Hironaka ducks a right from Sakurai and drops levels for a shot but “Mach” stays standing. Kuniyoshi eventually wrestles him down, now working from Sakurai’s half guard as the former Shooto champ digs quick heels into Hironaka’s midsection. Back on the feet, the fighters exchange crisp leg kicks. Hironaka’s jabs are falling just short, while Sakurai is moving in with one-two combos that connect consistently. midway through the round, Sakuai mounts the best offense so far with a pair of right straights and a hard leg kick. Hironaka finds his jab now, but another leg kick leaves him visibly hindered. Sakurai slips as he moves in for a right leg kick and Hironaka rushes to the ground after him. 2:00 remain and Hironaka is throwing decent but not very powerful shots from the guard. Standing over a scooting Sakurai, Hironaka delivers a stomp square to the jaw of “Mach” but is not issued a yellow nor red card, merely a warning. Sakurai back at it, loading up on body-head combinations and lazer kicks. Hironaka tosses another jab and a low kick of his own as the round expires.

Round 2: Hironaka shoots and stacks Mach up in a corner, eating a few upkicks for his trouble. Now the UFC veteran is leaning through the ropes to rain punches down on Sakurai but the ref restarts them in the center. Hironaka initiates a clinch and Sakurai scores a trip, but both quickly bounce back up. Though Hironaka’s shots are landing more consistently now, Sakurai’s still carry more power and those constant leg kicks have got to be adding up. Mach still looks fresh, bouncing around on the balls of his feet in between combos. A pair of knees soften Hironaka up before a hard left jab puts him on his back. Sakurai pounces and tries to pound out a finish, but Hironaka defends and the bell sounds. Afterwards, a kneeling Sakurai grabs the arm of a standing Hironaka and playfully uchi-komi’s him and applies a rear naked choke. Funny stuff.

Hayato Sakurai def. Kuniyoshi Hironaka via Decision (Unanimous)