Hiromitsu Kanehara vs Mikhail Ilyukhin (RINGS - 3/28/1998)

One of the more underrated and under-discussed matches in RINGS. This was worked in the realistic house style that RINGS adopted during the late 1997-1999 period, and the result was a very fluid match with incredible grappling and counterwork by both. This match asks for some patience and attention to detail for a 14-minute match, but the award is a very good technical battle between a SAMBO specialist and one of the best shoot-style workers from UWFi and KINGDOM. Lots of nice reversals and a good finish where Ilyukhin catches Kanehara off-guard. This looked like a modern MMA contest in some ways. Ilyukhin was really good, and his name doesn't get mentioned enough in terms of great shoot-style workers. The same applies to Kanehara. ****3/4