(NOAH) Kaito Kiyomiya goes to the Marufuji match with IQ fighter Kazushi Sakuraba's transfer of countermeasures

6th March 2019
Yahoo Japan/Nippon Sports

Pro Wrestling Noah's GHC Heavyweight Champion, Kaito Kiyomiya (22), did a public workout in a gym in Tokyo on the 6th March ahead of his match with Naomichi Marufuji on the 10th at the Yokohama Cultural Gymnasium.

Kiyomiya, who suffered from the joint lock of Marufuji in the pre-match, engaged Kazushi Sakuraba (49), a legend of MMA, to instruct him in countermeasures.

Beginning with the tackle cutting, he received detailed guidance from Sakuraba (called the "IQ Fighter"), such as a knee kick from a face lock.
At Korakuen Hall on the 24th, he tapped out to Marufuji who used "the Perfect Keylock". The countermeasures have been unreleased to the press.
Also, the evolution of the chicken wing\face lock often used by Kiyomiya, was completed with the advice of Sakuraba.
Kiyomiya commented "Marufuji often used the submission in the pre-matches, because it is my weak point I wanted to gain the experience of a specialist in joint techiques to overcome it, so I asked. I felt each strike in my body, and I want to do what I learned today in the ring".

Sakuraba said, "it is fun to memorize joint lock skills. Even with the face lock, it is more effective to do it while pressing down on your opponents vulnerable point. His chicken wing and face lock stand to reason".

Link to original article from Yahoo Japan\Nippon Sports
Picture credit: Yahoo Japan\Nippon Sports