Former K-1 Fighter Scott Lighty Faces Satoshi Ishii in March

Friday, 04 March 2011 07:06

Written by Dave Walsh

K-1's short run of USA shows have produced more MMA talent than one might think at a first glance. That isn't to say that there is a wealth of talent that came out of it, but Pat Barry is currently a UFC Heavyweight who has had mixed results and there was one man that beat him that went on to MMA, Scott Lighty. Scott Lighty trains with The Pit, you know, John Hackleman's camp, best known for former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Chuck Liddell. Lighty made the transition to MMA after mixed success in the K-1 USA ring. In the 2004 USA GP he knocked out Frank Cota before being stopped himself by Mighty Mo. Then in 2005 he defeated Pat Barry in a Reserve bout and got called into action, where he was knocked out by a then game Gary Goodridge.

People hate on Goodridge for his most recent performances, but in 2005 squaring off with Goodridge was a scary affair. K-1 ran another Vegas GP in August and Lighty's guts and determination earned him a spot again. This time he pushed forward, knocking out Tatsufumi Tomihira, taking Chalid "Die Faust" to a decision only to lose a close fight to Ruslan Karaev in the Finals. He came back, again, in 2006 to take Dewy Cooper to a Decision before running head first into Gary Goodridge again, and that, as they say, was that, for Lighty's K-1 career. Lighty didn't stop because he didn't have the talent, drive and determination, it stopped because K-1 stopped running their Las Vegas GP and he started training for MMA. This was the height of the Chuck Liddell era, so for a kickboxer like Lighty to see Liddell running roughshod over an entire division, he had to think, "I can do that."

Coming into his next fight, he will be 6-1, with his only loss to hot prospect Antwain Britt, whose wrestling was a bit out of Lighty's league. But regardless, yeah, Lighty can do that. Lighty was picked up by EliteXC in his first year as a professional MMA fighter, which turned out to be EliteXC's last year. He moved on to Strikeforce where he is 1-1 and looks at his next step to moving up the ladder; 2008 Judo Olympic Gold Medalist, Satoshi Ishii.

Ishii talked and talked about making a Strikeforce debut in April, and it turns out, for once, that wasn't grandstanding, he will make his Strikeforce debut on April 1 on a Strikeforce Contenders/ShoMMA card against Lighty. This is a good fight for both fighters, as a win can justify moving up in the rankings and taking on stiffer competition, with each men providing a foil for each other. Lighty has superior stand up, if anything, K-1 level beyond UFC's Pat Barry, and Ishii has Olympic Judo skills.

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