[1996-09-25-RINGS] Yoshihisa Yamamoto vs Andrei Kopilov

[superkix]

Fresh off Yamamoto's utter shoot annihilation, the once golden child of RINGS faces gruff Russian submission dad Kopilov in a predictably solid match-up. They work through some decent holds in the early going - nothing super slick. It picks up when Yamamoto starts paintbrushing Kopilov with face slaps, and then slides in for the takedown into the rear choke, which he works into an armbar. In general, the takedowns look weak and the transitions sloppy but when they're both on their feet, slapping away at each other, it's pretty great. Kopilov's lip gets busted and he comes at Yamamoto hard and pissy with the open hands. By the end of it, Kopilov is spent but poor Yamamoto still can't put him away and after eating some more face palms in the corner, Kopilov grabs the kneebar for the win. Solid but underwhelming.