[2016-08-28-DDT] Shuji Ishikawa vs Konosuke Takeshita

[superkix]

Konosuke Takeshita had a breakout year in 2016 and has improved so much from his January KO-D Openweight challenge against Kodaka, which was a really good match. This match is red hot right out of the gate, with Takeshita emptying the tank and tapping into his reserves in an attempt to hang onto the title. He's become such a good selling, whether it's the back that Ishikawa was working or the physical exhaustion of going toe-to-toe with Ishikawa. Toward the end, you can see Takeshita's desperation bleeding through into his strikes, to a point where he just starts punching Ishikawa in the face. Great finish, with both guys dog-tired but still slugging away, having poured out everything into this match. Hard-hitting from bell to bell with very little downtime.