5/26 DREAM 9 - Results

This is the first ever DREAM event that I have not been able to watch live, and I am only reading Play-by-Play from BloodyElbow.com. Of course there were lots of things to look forward to here, the SuperHulk Tournament got Minowa back where he loves to be, taking on the big guys.

Other things to look for in this event, a Middleweight title fight and 2nd round in the Featherweight GP. Don't forget about the lightweight battle between JZ and Kawajiri, it could determine the next challenger for the lightweight title (I am hearing rumors that there will be a title fight before this challenger gets his shot though).

There is a HUGE upset!!!! And a dramatric end...

A very interesting card, and there are spoilers if you read on.

Main-Event - Middleweight Title Fight:
10. Ronald "Jacare" Souza 10-2-0 vs. 22-6-0 Jason "Mayhem" Miller No Contest!
Jacare suffered an illegal soccer kick that opened a cut on his forehead. The doctors stopped the fight and it has been ruled a no contest.

Featherweight GP Round 2:
9. Joe Warren Def. Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto by split decision!!!
8. Bibiano Fernandes Def. Masakazu Imanari by Decision 3-0
7. Hiroyuki Takaya Def. Yoshiro Maeda by TKO Round 1

In the intermission, the following fights are announced for DREAM 10:
Shinya Aoki vs. Vitor "Shaolin" Ribeiro
Melvin Manhoef vs. Paulo Filho
Unconfirmed: Katsunori Kikuno vs. Andre "Dida" Amade

6. Hideo Tokoro Def. Abel Cullum by rear-naked choke Round 2

No-Tournament:
5. Light: Tatsuya Kawajiri Def. Gesias "JZ" Calvancante by Decision 3-0

Super Hulk Tournament:
4. Gegard Mousasi Def. Mark Hunt by Kimura Round 1
3. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou Def. Jan “The Giant” Nortje by TKO Round 1
2. Choi Hong Man Def. Jose Canseco by Strikes (tapout) Round 1
1. Ikuhisa Minowa Def. Bob Sapp by Achilles Lock Round 1

vg

Read more...

5/26 DREAM 9 - Fight Order

DREAM has been early with the fight order this time, and this event will be a bit different than the previous DREAM events, thanks to the addition of the "Super Hulk Tournamnet". FEG have also announced ticket discounts for fans who go to both DREAM 9 and 10. They are clearly trying to appeal more to the casual fans with these additions.

The event has many interesting fights though. "Kid" is returning, and I was expecting him to return to a main event. But there is a title fight on the card, so it will rightly take the spot as the main event.

"Kid" is taking on the American wrestler, Joe Warren, in the 2nd round of the featherweight tournement. It will be interesting to see if ring rust will play a part in his return from injury.

The main event is the DREAM Middleweight title fight between "Jacare" and crowd favorite "Mayhem" Miller (they are both crowd favorties though). The title was vacated by Gegard Mousasi, because he is moving up in weight.

Mousasi might be moving up in weight, but he is still a lightweight in thee Super Hulk Tournament where he will be taking on Mark Hunt in the 1st round. Hunt was once considered one of the top heavyweights in the world, now he is in desperate need of a win. Dispite having a big weight advantage over his opponent might still be considered the underdog in this fight.

Minowaman will be in the opening fight, it is becoming something of a tradition for him. This time he is back to taking on much bigger opponents, this time its Bob Sapp and I am sure they will put on a show that will get the Japanese fans going.

Main-Event - Middleweight Title Fight:
10. Ronald "Jacare" Souza 10-2-0 vs. 22-6-0 Jason "Mayhem" Miller

Featherweight GP Round 2:
9. Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto 17-1-0 vs. 1-0-0 Joe Warren
8. Masakazu Imanari 16-6-1 vs. 4-2-0 Bibiano Fernandes
7. Yoshiro Maeda 24-6-2 vs. 10-6-1 Hiroyuki Takaya
6. Hideo Tokoro 21-16-1 vs. 14-2-0 Abel Cullum

No-Tournament:
5. Light: Gesias "JZ" Calvancante 14-2-1 vs. Tatsuya "Crusher" Kawajiri

Super Hulk Tournament:
4. Gegard Mousasi 24-2-1 vs. 5-5-0 Mark Hunt
3. Jan “The Giant” Nortje 2-5-0 vs. 5-4-0 Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou
2. Choi Hong Man 1-2-0 vs. Jose Canseco
1. Ikuhisa Minowa 41-30-8 vs. 10-3-1 Bob Sapp

Read more...

5/26 DREAM 9 - Super Hulk Tournament

FEG have announced the Super Hulk Tournament. Round 1 will take place at DREAM 9, and is in some ways back to what the Japanese fans love. If you like "freakshow" fights, open weight tournament etc. This is the tournament for you!

3 of the fighters are taller than 2 meters, Minowaman will be the shortest at 1.75. Also making his MMA debut will be the former baseball star Jose Canseco. In 2005 Canseco made headlines by admitting using steroids while he was playing baseball.

Mark Hunt is also in this tournament, he will face Gegard Mousasi in the first round. Hunt was at one time ranked among the worlds top heavyweights, and will be desperate for a win here after 4 straight losses.

The rules will be "DREAM based", so expect a bit different rules.

This card will also see the featherweight 2nd round, and FEG are really going all out. They are desperate to improve on their TV ratings and it is looking like a very interesting event that I think will draw casual fans as well.

Super Hulk Tournament:
Ikuhisa Minowa 41-30-8 vs. 10-3-1 Bob Sapp
Jan “The Giant” Nortje 2-5-0 vs. 5-4-0 Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou
Gegard Mousasi 24-2-1 vs. 5-5-0 Mark Hunt
Choi Hong Man 1-2-0 vs. Jose Canseco

Previously Announced:
Middleweight Title Fight:
Ronald "Jacare" Souza 10-2-0 vs. 22-6-0 Jason "Mayhem" Miller

Light: Gesias "JZ" Calvancante 14-2-1 vs. Tatsuya "Crusher" Kawajiri

Featherweight GP Round 2:
Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto 17-1-0 vs. 1-0-0 Joe Warren
Hideo Tokoro 21-16-1 vs. 14-2-0 Abel Cullum
Yoshiro Maeda 24-6-2 vs. 10-6-1 Hiroyuki Takaya
Masakazu Imanari 16-6-1 vs. 4-2-0 Bibiano Fernandes

Read more...

5/26 DREAM 9 - Kawajiri vs. J.Z.

DREAM 9 will be held in Yokohama Arena on May 26. The card was already looking very good, and now FEG has announced another big fight that has been rumored for a while.

JZ Clavan is one of the most popular lightweights out there, and he will return to the ring after more than a year off. Last year he had a controversial loss to Shinya Aoki in the 1st round in the lightweight GP, they needed 2 attempts to get a result.

Tatsuya Kawajiri reached the semi-final in the same GP, and only Eddie Alvarez was able to deny him a spot in the final in a FOTY candidate.

This is a fight between two of the top lightweights out there and a very good addition to an already stacked card.

Added:
Light: Gesias "JZ" Calvancante 14-2-1 vs. Tatsuya "Crusher" Kawajiri

Previously Announced:Middleweight Title Fight:
Ronald "Jacare" Souza 10-2-0 vs. 22-6-0 Jason "Mayhem" Miller

Featherweight GP Round 2:
Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto 17-1-0 vs. 1-0-0 Joe Warren
Hideo Tokoro 21-16-1 vs. 14-2-0 Abel Cullum
Yoshiro Maeda 24-6-2 vs. 10-6-1 Hiroyuki Takaya
Masakazu Imanari 16-6-1 vs. 4-2-0 Bibiano Fernandes

Read more...

5/26 DREAM 9 - Title Fight Announced

FEG have announced that Middleweight Champion Gegard Mousasi has vacated his title, it has been well known for a while that Mousasi was planning to move up in weight and DREAM needs a Middleweight champion.

They do have some very good candidates, and FEG have announced that 2 of the most popular fighters from their GP last year will fight for the title. Finalist Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza will take on crowd favorite Jason "Mayhem" Miller.

This card is looking very good now, and I would expect another

Added:
Middleweight Title Fight:
Ronald "Jacare" Souza 10-2-0 vs. 22-6-0 Jason "Mayhem" Miller

Previously Announced:
Featherweight GP Round 2:
Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto 17-1-0 vs. 1-0-0 Joe Warren
Hideo Tokoro 21-16-1 vs. 14-2-0 Abel Cullum
Yoshiro Maeda 24-6-2 vs. 10-6-1 Hiroyuki Takaya
Masakazu Imanari 16-6-1 vs. 4-2-0 Bibiano Fernandes

Read more...

5/26 DREAM 9 - Featherweight Round 2 Announced, KID Returns!

FEG have announced that "KID" Yamamoto will make his return to the ring in this event, in the 2nd round of the featherweight GP he will face the wrestler Joe Warren. To be honest, it is as close to a dream opponent "Kid" could get, he has the wrestling experience and should be able to handle Warren in a MMA fight. However, "Kid" has not been in the ring since December 2007 and ring rust might come into play here.

Though I have a feeling the Yamamoto vs. Warren fight will be the main-event, there are some other very interesting matchups in the 2nd round.

DJ Taiki is not having much luck... The doctors have put a stopper to his advancement in this GP. He won a decision victory over Hideo Tokoro, but was injured in his qualifying fight with Shoji. I have a feeling the eye injury had not healed properly, and Tokoro will advance. Hideo Tokoro had his 1st round fight on April 5, he has to recover quickly to take on Abel Cullum.

2 fighters that are experienced at this level, Yoshiro Maeda and Hiroyuki Takaya, will face off in the 3rd fight announced.

The last fight announced is sure to get some attention, foot-lock specialist Masakazu Imanari is taking on the BJJ specialist Bibiano Fernandes. Both these fighters have a lot of fans in Japan, and around the world. This should be an interesting fight that I expect (or hope) will go to the ground early.

Featherweight GP Round 2:
Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto 17-1-0 vs. 1-0-0 Joe Warren
Hideo Tokoro 21-16-1 vs. 14-2-0 Abel Cullum
Yoshiro Maeda 24-6-2 vs. 10-6-1 Hiroyuki Takaya
Masakazu Imanari 16-6-1 vs. 4-2-0 Bibiano Fernandes

Read more...

3/8 DREAM 7 - Ishida vs. Nakamura Announced

At yesterday's DEEP event, it was announced that Mitsuhiro Ishida will face Daisuke Nakamura at DREAM 7. This will of course not be a GP fight, but one of the non-GP fights on the card.

Daisuke Nakamura had an amazing 2008, winning all of his 7 fight and only once going the distance. His last loss came to Vitor Ribeiro, and he has only 1 loss in his last 12 fights. This should be a very good fight.

Another one will be the fight between Shinya Aoki and David Gardner. Aoki expressed an interest in fighting on the DREAM 7 card, even though he is scheduled for DREAM 8 as well. DREAM has granted him that request, and I am sure the Japanese fans will be looking forward to that fight. David Gardner is an experienced opponent and he has been to Japan before. On that occation, he was fighting in Cage Force and he lost to Koutetsu Boku.

DREAM 7 is shaping up to be a very good card, main focus will be on the featherweight GP, of course.

Announced:
Shinya Aoki 19-3-0 vs. 16-10-0 David Gardner
Mitsuhiro Ishida 17-4-1 vs. 19-9-0 Daisuke Nakamura

Previously announced:
Masakazu Imanari 15-6-1 vs. 12-5-1 Atsushi Yamamoto
Hiroyuki Takaya 9-6-1 vs. Kim Jong Won
Yoshiro Maeda 23-6-2 vs. 10-2-0 Micah Miller
Chase Beebe 12-3-0 vs. Joe Warren
Takafumi Otsuka 8-3-1 vs. 3-2-0 Bibiano Fernandes
"Wicky" Akiyo Nishiura 9-3-1 vs. 13-2-0 Abel Cullum

Read more...

3/8 DREAM 7 - Featherweight GP Match-Ups

FEG have announced the match-ups for the DREAM featherweight GP. DJ Taiki's fight is moved to DREAM 8 due to an injury he sustained in the qualifying fight with Shoji Maruyama earlier this month.

Yoshiro Maeda is returning to Japan from his WEC experience and should be a good addition to this GP.

They are keeping a spot open for "Kid", so I hope we get to see him in round 2.

The weight is set to 63kg.

Early picks for best match-ups:
-Imanari vs. Atsushi Yamamoto should be awesome!
-Takafumi Otsuka vs. Bibiano Fernandes should be a very good fight as well.

There are really no easy match-ups, even if I know next to nothing of the debutants.

Masakazu Imanari 15-6-1 vs. 12-5-1 Atsushi Yamamoto
Hiroyuki Takaya 9-6-1 vs. Kim Jong Won
Yoshiro Maeda 23-6-2 vs. 10-2-0 Micah Miller
Chase Beebe 12-3-0 vs. Joe Warren
Takafumi Otsuka 8-3-1 vs. 3-2-0 Bibiano Fernandes
"Wicky" Akiyo Nishiura 9-3-1 vs. 13-2-0 Abel Cullum

On a side note from the comments, does this post card reveal some participants for DREAM 8?

Read more...