Does Baruto Kaito have potential?

[WarKO]

Seriously, noe one is talking about this guy but I think he showed some potential w decision victory to Peter Aerts.

1 of all what kind of match was this, I though they had 10 min first round for Rizin mma
2 Baruto seemed to do well. Very very fast for weight and not winding like guys that size. He barely struck but fought intelligently. Taking Aerts down many times, using not just weight but sweeps (former Judoka as well as sumo) and did some good ground technique. For instance at the end of the first round when Aerts had him in north south, kind of, you see he put his arm between Aerts hold, effectively neutralizing it.
3 He already lost 55lbs and got down to 345 at 6'6", does he have a future@ SHW, maybe even HW ?​

 

[Sivo The Ram]

i mean, to be that big, he is really athletically so i can see him picking up more wins in the future

 

[MilesAbove]

Karate Burrito is fun to watch, and I can't wait for Will Sasso to play him in the biopic.

 

[tinobar]

under the tutelage of akira shoji the sky is the limit for this kid

 

[loglegger]

Yes, he has lot of potential. If his stays healthy, he will be #1 SHW

 

[nhbfan8080]

Don't know. He's young enough but we don't know about whether he is carrying over serious injuries which caused his sumo retirement or whether he can pick up enough skills to make it in mma.

 

[applesbananas]

He looks very athletic for his size. He needs to lose some weight though. Id like to see him in the UFC at some point if he can get in shape.

 

[NHB7]

To be an all time great? No chance.

To be the best sumotori to MMA transition... He is probably one win away from that.

 

[WarKO]

Don't know. He's young enough but we don't know about whether he is carrying over serious injuries which caused his sumo retirement or whether he can pick up enough skills to make it in mma.

Sumo isn't high-damage.
He quit cuz he was sick of the politics. He had an injury like a damaged toe but if you can't compete in like a tournament where you do 50 matches you don't get the next belt.

He was denied belts twice and these guys do 10 times as much training diet, tradition and politics as MMA and less money. The literally do Sumo and eat for it all day.

Even have to have hairstyle and wear the outfit ALL DAY, even in PUBLIC.

He figured he'd make more bank in MMA in Japan and quicker. Looking@Akeebono and Sapp it's not difficult.

Except he is FASTER than both.

 

[kingcillo24]

I know the fight was 3 3 min rounds, but I don't remember Baruto being gassed at the end.

 

[Asurah]

The last of the new breed

 

[nhbfan8080]

Sumo isn't high-damage.
He quit cuz he was sick of the politics. He had an injury like a damaged toe but if you can't compete in like a tournament where you do 50 matches you don't get the next belt.
.......

He had more than a toe injury. He had to sit out much of 2013.

 

[BeardotheWeirdo]

He's got a lot of potential.

I see a bright future for him.

 

[moon to me]

He has all-time great potential. I think he'd already beat UFC heavyweights by first round (T)KO. In Rizin, the road will be tougher, but he can pass the tests with his natural ability. He's a true athlete and fighter.

 

[WarKO]

He has all-time great potential. I think he'd already beat UFC heavyweights by first round (T)KO. In Rizin, the road will be tougher, but he can pass the tests with his natural ability. He's a true athlete and fighter.

Wow I had no idea of this amazing fact. Did you know he actually landed a standing hammer fist on Aerts ?

And he took a Shamrock-style groin shot

 

[ThunderL1ps]

I was really impressed with him. Gas tank is still untested as he hasn't he fought one proper 10 minute Rizin first round. He may be sort of like a Dan Bobish type but with a different bag of tools obviously (sumo/judo). Let' s see what happens if he takes a legit shot in the chops.

Dropping weight is key for a fighter of his skill set in MMA.

I would not be surprised if Rizin gave him someone much harder next time out. Trial by fire/bushido spirit type stuff.

 

[melvinj0]

He looked good against Aerts, it's gonna be really hard for guys to keep the fight standing against him. However like with most very big men, if you can push them a little and make them work they will gas out hard.

 

[WarKO]

I was really impressed with him. Gas tank is still untested as he hasn't he fought one proper 10 minute Rizin first round. He may be sort of like a Dan Bobish type but with a different bag of tools obviously (sumo/judo). Let' s see what happens if he takes a legit shot in the chops.

Dropping weight is key for a fighter of his skill set in MMA.

I would not be surprised if Rizin gave him someone much harder next time out. Trial by fire/bushido spirit type stuff.

Honestly, what if he's combining Sumo attacks, the way Machida encorporated karate?

He uses his body to push opponents and hold them and then pummels or grapples them.

 

[cheesus]

Def has potential, but at 350lb+ and 6'6" I don't know if the guy could ever make 265 and fight in a legitimate org, it's rare occasions like this is why the 265 limit needs to be lifted.

 

[ThunderL1ps]

Honestly, what if he's combining Sumo attacks, the way Machida encorporated karate?

He uses his body to push opponents and hold them and then pummels or grapples them.

He'd probably get countered and laid out. He's not going to be like Machida moving in and out of striking range. He's gonna move forward the first chance he gets. Why throws some sumo chops like he's a Street Fighter 2 character?

Part of the reason why I said he reminded me of Bobish is because he may not respond well to being hit in the face. Baruto is a tank, but if he faces an MMA fighter instead of a K-1 guy on his last legs as a combat athlete, he's going to have to work on his gas tank because he's going to have to work that much harder to execute his game plan of someone with his skill set.

You can see his judo is actually pretty decent for someone his size. The strength of his game will probably be what we saw against Aerts: close distance, go for a takedown/trip, try to sub from top position or inflict damage from strikes. Basic, but effective. If he can protect his chin, liver, learn to block leg kicks and drop a bit of weight for conditioning purposes, he's gonna be someone that no one would want to fight.