One of the most bizarre fights in the sport’s history, and it was over before it began.
Yoshihiro Nakao was legendary for his staredowns and entered the ring intent to psyche out Heath Herring. Why your opponent is nicknamed “The Texas Crazy Horse,” it takes a lot.
The fighters came to center ring and locked eyes.
Nakao had engaged in a legendary staredown with Don Frye and appeared determined to repeat it. As the referee gave instructions, Nakao edged closer and closer, before butting heads, and finally planted a kiss square on Herring’s lips, in front of a packed house (53,025 people filled the Osaka Dome, the most of any K-1 Dynamite event there).
After the kiss, Herring responded with a short right hook that dropped Nakao to the canvas, insensate. He remained there unmoving for two or three long minutes and was eventually carried off on a stretcher.
After the knockout, Nakao’s cornermen rushed over to defend their fighter and tried to attack Herring. Then, Herring’s cornermen jumped in to defend their fighter. These things happen …
“I don’t get into staredowns, obviously he does, whatever …” said Herring shortly afterward to MMAWeekly founder Ryan Bennett (RIP). “He started to get into me, and I thought whatever. Then he plants a kiss on my lips? That really pissed me off. So it was just a gut reaction. I went pow. If you watch the tape, I didn’t step back and hit him with a full swing, it was just a short, ‘get off me you freak’ reaction.
“I was walking out of the ring heading back, and all of the sudden this dude jumps on my back, I was like what the hell? I look back and it’s Nakao’s cornerman jumping on my back, trying to choke me out,” Herring said in disbelief. “I got one guy jumping on me, my corner guys, Ricardo (Pires) trying to pull this guy off then, they jump my cornermen. I felt like I was doing pro wrestling instead of MMA.”
Nakao landed on the mat motionless for a good two to three minutes. Even though it wasn’t a “full-blown punch” as Herring later stated, the short punch did knock out Nakao, who was later carried out on a stretcher back to the dressing room.
So after being officially disqualified from the event, it was a rough go for Herring. A knee injury ended his first appearance in K-1 officially as a loss to Sam Greco. The “Kiss of Death” resulted in a disqualification for “The Texas Crazy Horse.” Herring hoped for a rematch and that we would see an actual fight between these two in the ring, instead of outside it, though it never happened.
Officially, if Nakao had been able to continue, the fight would have taken place later on in the evening. Instead, Nakao had a point withdrawn for the unsportsmanlike kiss, and Herring was disqualified. The bout was declared a no contest.
Herring’s last fight took place in 2017. He now works in motion pictures. Nakao retired in 2012 to spend more time with his family.
