Does Baruto Kaito have potential?

[GloryOfIran]

A ton of potential. To get where he did in Sumo requires dedication and athleticism of the top 5% of society. The only issue is he is old and his body type doesnt translate well to mma where cardio is big part of winning. If he lost 50 lbs of fat and stays dedicated to mma he could beat the pudzillas and tim sylvias of mma.

 

[Ye]

A ton of potential. To get where he did in Sumo requires dedication and athleticism of the top 5% of society. The only issue is he is old and his body type doesnt translate well to mma where cardio is big part of winning. If he lost 50 lbs of fat and stays dedicated to mma he could beat the pudzillas and tim sylvias of mma.

I'd already pick him over Pudz or Tim Sylvia. Their cardio is so bad they make Baruto look like a Diaz brother.

 

[WarKO]

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.

Are you kidding? He was eating Aerts (a K-1 pro and harder striker than mmas) punches like they were Chankonabe.

 

[WarKO]

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.

Yeah I think UFC should have SHW there's just not enough guys. There's barely enough for HW.

Very few dudes naturally weigh around 240 almost none over 265

 

[NHB7]

Has he even expressed interest in continuing? Or is this one and done?

 

[WarKO]

Has he even expressed interest in continuing? Or is this one and done?

He has made MMA his home and he plans on living there a long time.

And he wants Fedor http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2016/2/1...ants-fedor-fight-in-rizin-sakakibara-mma-news

I'd rather see that than Blagovi...ppl get so amped about Blagovi but he's overrated IMO.
If you're gonna have an under-rated opponent for Fedor might as well make it fun.​

 

[NHB7]

I think answers to this question get stuck at is he a Freakshow, or could he be top 10. But of course there is a lot of space between those two concepts. And I think he fits somewhere comfortably between them.

Sure, he is kind of being pulled out for Freakshow novelty, but if you look at the history of Freakshow fighters, I think he easily beats nearly all of them;

Giant Silva
Akebono
Bob Sapp
Zuluhino
Sentoryu
Jose Canseco

Maybe the only freakshows that could give him trouble are the ones themselves that probably belong somewhere in that gray area:

Butterbean (but Baruto only needs to topple him once to win).
Pudz
Hong Man Choi

And so if he is the best of the freakshows, are there any low hanging fruits he could beat? True MMA guys that aren't great but aren't terrible or are at the end of a career. He could sure as hell beat Shamrock now. I'd have money on him against James Thompson or TK or Mighty Mo.

But I don't think he could hang with good HWs outside the UFC yet. Like Congo, Blagoi, etc.

 

[WarKO]

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.

Another point: slapping and striking is allowed in Sumo. You can do anything but closed punches and kicks.

I know slapping doesn't sound too bad but the point is it develops a non-flinch reflex.

This would make the transition easier than someone like Brock who was never hit
in the face before MMA.

 

[WarKO]

I think answers to this question get stuck at is he a Freakshow, or could he be top 10. But of course there is a lot of space between those two concepts. And I think he fits somewhere comfortably between them.

Sure, he is kind of being pulled out for Freakshow novelty, but if you look at the history of Freakshow fighters, I think he easily beats nearly all of them;

Giant Silva
Akebono
Bob Sapp
Zuluhino
Sentoryu
Jose Canseco

Maybe the only freakshows that could give him trouble are the ones themselves that probably belong somewhere in that gray area:

Butterbean (but Baruto only needs to topple him once to win).
Pudz
Hong Man Choi

And so if he is the best of the freakshows, are there any low hanging fruits he could beat? True MMA guys that aren't great but aren't terrible or are at the end of a career. He could sure as hell beat Shamrock now. I'd have money on him against James Thompson or TK or Mighty Mo.

But I don't think he could hang with good HWs outside the UFC yet. Like Congo, Blagoi, etc.

I think he'd destroy Pudz, if he could block and get around Aerts strikes like that.

Pudz would try to outmuscle him and it really wouldn't work, unlike some big guys this Baruto really knows how to use his weight to his advantage.
He'd sumo rush Pudz and gas him in 30 seconds.

Also HMC hasn't been the same since MMA.

Ivanov at open weight would be a tough one...for Ivanov.

​

 

[cheesus]

Yeah I think UFC should have SHW there's just not enough guys. There's barely enough for HW.

Very few dudes naturally weigh around 240 almost none over 265

Well yeah it's a rarity but the cap may as well be lifted to open doors for when their are potential candidates that struggle to make the 265 cut, plus guys like Hunt, Bigfoot etc wouldn't have to worry about shedding weight and probably perform better as a result.

It's possible Baruto may have absolutely no chance to hang with any UFC HW, but it would be interested to see how some of the smaller HW's would deal with having a huge weight & possible strength disadvantage.

 

[WarKO]

Well yeah it's a rarity but the cap may as well be lifted to open doors for when their are potential candidates that struggle to make the 265 cut, plus guys like Hunt, Bigfoot etc wouldn't have to worry about shedding weight and probably perform better as a result.

It's possible Baruto may have absolutely no chance to hang with any UFC HW, but it would be interested to see how some of the smaller HW's would deal with having a huge weight & possible strength disadvantage.

Nah, I would not be for lifting the cap especially in the cage. Hunts better on a diet.

 

[cheesus]

Nah, I would not be for lifting the cap especially in the cage. Hunts better on a diet.

Based on what ? Hunt was regularly above 265 in Pride & K1...it does force him to get into shape but his cutting techniques & diet are questionable at the best of times, I think it's more his training more consistently and taking fighting more seriously, rather than forcing him to cut down to 265 being the difference. He still bloats up to near 300lb when he hasn't got a fight scheduled and that's never going to change.

 

[WarKO]

Based on what ? Hunt was regularly above 265 in Pride & K1...it does force him to get into shape but his cutting techniques & diet are questionable at the best of times, I think it's more his training more consistently and taking fighting more seriously, rather than forcing him to cut down to 265 being the difference. He still bloats up to near 300lb when he hasn't got a fight scheduled and that's never going to change.

He's faster and healthier. Dude's 5'10 for crying out loud and you want him 300lbs ?

 

[cheesus]

He's faster and healthier. Dude's 5'10 for crying out loud and you want him 300lbs ?

I would not say he is faster, he has lost a lot of speed since his k1 days where he fought at a HEAVIER weight.

 

[ThunderL1ps]

Are you kidding? He was eating Aerts (a K-1 pro and harder striker than mmas) punches like they were Chankonabe.

You need to rewatch that fight. That strike that was at the start of the fight and that photo doesn't capture what was going on. It was at the very start of the fight, Aerts hardly stepped into it and Baruto had him going backwards less than a second after it was thrown.

I just rewatched the fight and a couple of those judo throws (makikomi) needs to be tossed out the window for MMA, due to the bad position it puts tori in. He gave up his back a couple of times to Aerts. Someone with an MMA background may have finished him with a choke.

 

[ThunderL1ps]

I'd already pick him over Pudz or Tim Sylvia. Their cardio is so bad they make Baruto look like a Diaz brother.

Sylvia could beat him with his experience. And I'm not joking either.

 

[ThunderL1ps]

Another point: slapping and striking is allowed in Sumo. You can do anything but closed punches and kicks.

I know slapping doesn't sound too bad but the point is it develops a non-flinch reflex.

This would make the transition easier than someone like Brock who was never hit
in the face before MMA.

You might be right. I dunno.

Looking forward to his next fight and seeing what sort of improvements/tweaks he makes.

 

[D3thr0n3d K1ng]

Definitely want to see him fight again

 

[Hagelslag2]

I don't think we can take much away from the Aerts fight. Baruto was to fight JLB, who pulled out, so Aerts stepped in, who, coincidentally, is also his striking coach. I don't think old washed-up Aerts would go on and destroy Rizin's potential cash cow, even if he could.

 

[WarKO]

You need to rewatch that fight. That strike that was at the start of the fight and that photo doesn't capture what was going on. It was at the very start of the fight, Aerts hardly stepped into it and Baruto had him going backwards less than a second after it was thrown.

I just rewatched the fight and a couple of those judo throws (makikomi) needs to be tossed out the window for MMA, due to the bad position it puts tori in. He gave up his back a couple of times to Aerts. Someone with an MMA background may have finished him with a choke.

IDK enough about Judo.

Youre right he did give up his back and then rolled around and reversed it. Some stuff was pure overpowering and weight but some of it was real technical. Particularly positionally. When Aertas had him in guard he advanced out of it by bringing one leg over at a time.

He's still growing but I think this was a phenomenal debut. No fear. I think he should cut weight and competer@hw w a 20-30 lbs weight cut each time coming in at 300 on fight night for the UFC. For Rizin IDK if they have a hw cap even.