Anyone saying this is a runaway is ignorant of the facts or a troll. Prime vs. prime, this is competitive.
Submission grappling, Kimura probably takes this. Karelin probably gets TD, Kimura breakfalls properly and it proceeds to conclusion on the ground, probably with mat returns in between.
MMA/Vale Tudo is a toss-up. Karelin's overwhelming size and strength could end it via GnP or Bob Sapp-esque brutality. But could be same result as above - the ruleset that Kimura specialized in was much closer to Vale Tudo than GR is.
IMO this goes down like Royce/Severn, Royce/Kimo or Fedor/Hong Man Choi. Size differential was comparable and Severn had sambo background + international wrestling accolades.
For context, both men retired from active competition at age 32 (Karelin did no matches of any kind after retiring in 2000), after the Gardner match and an unprecedented win streak. Kimura in 1949 after the same in Judo. He won 8 All Japan Judo tournaments (6-year hiatus in the middle due to WWII) which was the Judo Worlds of the time allowing and encouraging international competitors. Kimura never lost a Judo match after age 18.
Every match Kimura took part in after 1949 was after he was officially retired and working as a pro wrestler. This includes the 1951 Helio match when Kimura was 34 and Helio was 38. After easily defeating him, Kimura promoted Helio to Judo 6th Dan. This always makes me appreciate the man more because it shows that 1) Real recognize real, and 2) Even retired from competition, Kimura was about proliferating his art over politics. As punishment for awarding Dan ranks in Brazil and for working as a pro wrestler, the Kodokan froze Kimura's rank at 7th Dan.
In their primes, both guys were badass MFers.
https://www.bloodyelbow.com/2012/9/...ura-UFC-history-Helio-Gracie-judo-mma-history
During his wrestling career, Karelin would regularly and legally spike his opponent’s head into the mat from the Karelin Lift, viciously compressing their neck, spine, and shoulders.
The move was so feared that in the final round match of Pool A at the 1992 Summer Olympics, Ioan Grigoras elected to roll on to his back and concede the pin to Karelin in just 14 seconds, rather than risk severe injury via the Lift. Grigoras rationalized that he had a zero percent chance of defeating Karelin, but by losing quickly and relatively violence free, he could come back and capture the Bronze medal (which he did).
Good luck Kimura
That's nothing. In his day, the Undertaker had an undefeated 21-0 Wrestlemania streak going. Also, his strength and agility were unrivaled and his tombstone piledriver was unstoppable.
There's a reason we don't see reverse body lifts in sub grappling or MMA/Vale Tudo.
Kimura got wrecked by santana so bad that after experiencing that bbc his guts were messed all up.
Kimura also said that santana was a giant man...
The so called big black man was almost carlson gracies size.
What would a real giant with world class strength/speed and wrestling do to him?
Santana was Carlson Gracie's chosen representative. They matched in 1959 when Santana was 30 and Kimura was 42 and 10 years post-retirement. Kimura still easily subbed him in grappling, and achieved a draw in Vale Tudo. Santana was a BJJ and Vale Tudo specialist.
Post-1949 Kimura was a pro wrestler and entertainer. Even so he literally never lost a sub grappling match nor any contest under Vale Tudo rules.
After beating his ass convincingly, GSP said Jon Fitch was "like the Terminator." Shit if he said that, imagine what BJ Penn would do to him. GSP would probably think he was god.
