[1997-04-13-BattlARTS] Takeshi Ono vs. Katsumi Usuda

[Jetlag]

This was right before Takeshi Ono joined Masao Orihara to form the sleazy superduo of the Tonpachi Machine Guns. Ono and Usuda had a damn great match in 2010 (review to come), and this was also a damn great match and a more grandiose finishing stretch away from being on the level of the 2010 match. Basically straight shootstyle full of intense mat scrambles and Ono attacking as a dangerous striker with kicks and knees on the ground. Usuda kind of took a backseat in this match and let Ono dictate the bout, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Some really brutal leglocks in this that seemed to be broken short of popping someones knee. There was an especially violent moment near the end where Usuda went for another break and Ono tried to kick his leg out of his leg in frustration. It builds to a series of near finishes with Ono continueing to force breaks and being super close to scoring the upset until Usuda is able to score a nifty counter and put him away with a quick flurry of devastating strikes.