2/20 DEEP 40 - LIVE RESULTS

A good DEEP card in Korakuen Hall today. I will be there and if everything goes to plan, I will give you the results live. I will try to get some comments about the fights added too, but there will be no PBP. I am taking pictures, so it would just be too much.

There are several interesting fights on here, the winner of the main event will qualify for the DREAM welterweight GP.

Riki Fukuda and the veteran Ryuta Sakurai will square off to see who will be the next challenger for the DEEP Middleweight title, currently held by Yuichi Nakanishi.

Future Fights:
1. Muneyuki Sato Def. Yasuhiro Motomura by TKO Round 1 4:06
Muneyuki Sato is bloody and had to be checked by the doctors a couple of times, but he shows a lot of heart and get a TKO win.

2. Hideto Kondo vs. 2-3-0 Hiroshi Kobayashi DRAW
There are no decisions in the future fights, otherwise Mach Dojo' Kondo would have gotten this.

Main-Card:
3. 65.8kg: Naohiro Mizuno Def. Hiroto by Decision 3-0

4. 70.3kg: Kota Okazawa Def. Yuki Ito by Decision 2-0
Okazawa was the better fighter on the ground and he was able to take it there on will.

5. 77.1kg: Hiroki Nagaoka Def. Yoshitomo Watanabe by Decision 3-0

6. 93kg: Shunsuke Inoue 4-3-1 vs. 2-6-0 Minoru Kato DRAW
Inoue was getting the takedowns in round 1, Kato got in some good shots using his distance. Round 2 Inoue got tired.

7. Open: Kazuhisa Tazawa Def. Tim "Big Perm" Persey by Arm-Triangle Round 1 2:55
An entertaining fight, Tazawa is able to take Persey down and choke him out with an arm-triangle. Persey had the better of the fight early, but looked like he got tired.

8. 77.1kg: Hidehiko Hasegawa Def. Makoto Ishikawa by Decision 3-0


There is a 10 minute break and it was announced that Mitsuhiro Ishida and Daisuke Nakamura will face off at DREAM 7, I THINK!!! I am a little drunk and was not paying too much attention, but thats what it looked like.

Lightweight Tournament:
9. Koichiro Matsumoto Def. Jutaro Nakao by Decision 3-0
Matsumoto kicked the crap out of Nakao's right leg, a good stretegic victory.

10. Katsunori Kikuno Def. Bu Kyung Jung by TKO Round 1 4:15
Bu Kyung Jung cant buy a win... Kinkuno finds the opening with left high-kicks and Jung is not defending. After 3 he goes down for good.


Next DEEP Middleweight Challenger:
11. Riki Fukuda Def. Ryuta Sakurai by TKO Round 1 0:45
Very Quick win.

Main Event - DREAM Welterweight GP Qualifier:
12. Seichi Ikemoto Def. Hidetaka Monma by TKO Round 1 1:42
The DEEP Champion is in the DREAM welterweight GP!!

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2/20 DEEP 40 - Weigh-in

DEEP is putting on a very good card tomorrow. I will be there and give you live results again.

The main event on this card is a DREAM welterweight GP qualifier between 2 very experienced fighters in Seichi Ikemoto and Hidetaka Monma. It should be a good fight, but with a GP entry on the line they will come out hard.

Also on the card is a fight between 2 DEEP veterans in Riki Fukuda and Ryuta Sakurai. This is a rematch from DEEP 34, on that occation Riki Fukuda won the decision.

As if that wasnt enough, there is a lightweight tournament on the card as well. This is a 4 man tournament and the winner will walk home with the lightweight title. The final will be held in April.

Main Event - DREAM Welterweight GP Qualifier:
Seichi Ikemoto 75.6kg
Hidetaka Monma 75.7kg

Next DEEP Middleweight Challenger:
Riki Fukuda 83.9kg
Ryuta Sakurai 83.7kg

Lightweight Tournament:
Katsunori Kikuno 70.0kg
Bu Kyung Jung 69.7kg

Lightweight Tournament:
Jutaro Nakao 70.3kg
Koichiro Matsumoto 69.8kg

8. 77.1kg:
Hidehiko Hasegawa 77.1kg
Makoto Ishikawa 77.1kg

7. Open:
Kazuhisa Tazawa 123kg
Tim "Big Perm" Persey 134kg

6. 93kg:
Shunsuke Inoue 92.1kg
Minoru Kato 92.3kg

5. 77.1kg:
Hiroki Nagaoka 76.5
Yoshitomo Watanabe 76.9kg

4. 70.3kg:
Yuki Ito 70.3kg
Kota Okazawa 70.1kg

3. 65.8kg:
Hiroto 65.5kg
Naohiro Mizuno 65.3kg

Future Fights:
2. Hideto Sato vs. 2-3-0 Hiroshi Kobayashi
1. Muneyuki Sato 2-2-0 vs. 0-2-0 Yasuhiro Motomura

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2/20 DEEP Impact 40 - Fight Order

DEEP have announced the fight order for DEEP 40. For the 2nd year running, I will celebrate my birthday (even though it is not on the day) at DEEP. It looks like a very good card, not as many fights as normal but the quality is very high. I will be doing live updates, while taking pictures and drinking beers (will be a busy one).

This card is full of good fights, but the main event will be the DREAM welterweight GP qualifier between DEEP welterweight champion Seichi Ikemoto and Hidetaka Monma.

Before that, Riki Fukuda and Ryuta Sakurai (the two guys that were the favorites to win the tournament last year), will fight to deceide who gets to challenge the champion Yuichi Nakanishi next. It is almost a year, to the day since they met in the DEEP middleweight tournament. On that occation, Riki Fukuda came out on top.

In addition to that, there is a lightweight tournament on the card (final will be in April), and the former welterweight champion Hidehiko Hasegawa will also fight.

Main Event - DREAM Welterweight GP Qualifier:
12. Seichi Ikemoto 17-14-5 vs. 15-8-3 Hidetaka Monma

Next DEEP Middleweight Challenger:
11. Riki Fukuda 12-4-0 vs. 18-14-4 Ryuta Sakurai

Lightweight Tournament:
10. Katsunori Kikuno 9-1-1 vs. 0-3-0 Bu Kyung Jung
9. Jutaro Nakao 22-13-4 vs. 6-1-0 Koichiro Matsumoto

8. 77.1kg: Hidehiko Hasegawa 15-11-5 vs. 11-9-1 Makoto Ishikawa
7. Open: Kazuhisa Tazawa 3-0-1 vs. 9-2-0 Tim "Big Perm" Persey
6. 93kg: Shunsuke Inoue 4-3-1 vs. 2-6-0 Minoru Kato
5. 77.1kg: Hiroki Nagaoka 12-13-8 vs. 6-8-2 Yoshitomo Watanabe
4. 70.3kg: Yuki Ito 7-2-3 vs. 4-1-2 Kota Okazawa
3. 65.8kg: Hiroto 6-1-0 vs. 4-2-0 Naohiro Mizuno

Future Fights:
2. Hideto Sato vs. 2-3-0 Hiroshi Kobayashi
1. Muneyuki Sato 2-2-0 vs. 0-2-0 Yasuhiro Motomura

Read more...

2/20 DEEP Impact 40 - Bu Kyung Jung Added

DEEP have announced another couple of fights for DEEP 40 which will take place in Korakuen Hall on Friday February 20.

I am really excited about the lightweight tournament! The match-ups were announced today and the winner will be the DEEP Lightweight Champion (forget everything I said about Obiya earlier!).

Korean Bu Kyung Jung, the guy that almost submitted Aoki at Yarennoka a little over a year ago, returns. In spite of his record, I am really excited to see the former olympic medalist. The rest of the participants were announced earlier, and this is looking like a very good tournament.

Former DEEP welterweight champion, Hidehiko Hasegawa returns to the DEEP ring and will face Makoto Ishikawa. If it is the Makoto Ishikawa I think it is, he must have gained a bit of weight to be in the same weight division as Hasegawa... Or maybe Hasegawa has lost some...

The last fight added today is Alliance talent Yuki Ito who will face ZST fighter Kota Okazawa. This should be a very good fight.

Added:
Hidehiko Hasegawa 15-11-5 vs. 11-9-1 Makoto Ishikawa
Yuki Ito 7-2-3 vs. 4-1-2 Kota Okazawa

Lightweight Tournament:
Jutaro Nakao 22-13-4 vs. 6-1-0 Koichiro Matsumoto
Katsunori Kikuno 9-1-1 vs. 0-3-0 Bu Kyung Jung

Previously Announced:
Seichi Ikemoto vs. 15-8-3 Hidetaka Monma
Riki Fukuda 12-4-0 vs. 18-14-4 Ryuta Sakurai
Kazuhisa Tazawa 3-0-1 vs. 9-2-0 Tim "Big Perm" Persey
Hiroto 6-1-0 vs. 4-2-0 Naohiro Mizuno
Shunsuke Inoue 4-3-1 vs. 2-6-0 Minoru Kato
Hiroki Nagaoka 12-13-8 vs. 6-8-2 Yoshitomo Watanabe

Future Fights:
Muneyuki Sato 2-2-0 vs. 0-2-0 Yasuhiro Motomura
Hideto Sato vs. 2-3-0 Hiroshi Kobayashi

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5/11 DREAM 3 - Fight order

Finally DREAM has annouced the fight order for tomorrow. I cant wait for this one, this is the best DREAM card yet.

Main event:
Lightweight Tournament Round 2:
8. Caol Uno 24-10-4 vs. 16-3-1 Mitsuhiro Ishida
7. Joachim Hansen 17-6-1 vs. 13-1-0 Eddie Alvarez
6. Tatsuya Kawajiri 21-4-2 vs. 12-3-0 Luiz “Buscape” Firmino

Welterweight Champion Eliminator:
5. Nick Diaz 15-7-0 vs. 16-5-3 Katsuya Inoue

Non-Tournament Fight:
4. Jung Bukyung 0-2-0 vs. 13-9-0 Daisuke Nakamura

Middleweight Tournament Reserve Fight:
3. Melvin Manhoef 20-4-1 vs. Kim Dae Won

Middleweight Tournament Round 1:
2. Jason Miller 20-5-0 vs. 2-3-0 Katsuyori Shibata

Non-Tournament Fight:
1. Takeshi Yamazaki 13-7-2 vs. 6-2-1 Shoji Maruyama

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5/11 DREAM 3 - Fights Added

DREAM has had their fair share of problems with the tournaments. Its been well documented and I don't want to spend too much time on it. NoB has summarized the problems here. There are a couple of reasons I don't want to dwell on these things too much, but basically if you have a tournament it happens. Just think of the problems Cage Force had with their tournament.

I think the 2 first events has suffered because FEG rushed into them. For DREAM 3 things are looking WAY better. They are setting up reserve fights for the tournaments and also a welterweight championship eliminator fight! This is stuff I really like and I think DREAM 3 is showing signs that DREAM are serious. Add to that the possibility of a live broadcast on HDNet (I hope they can make that happen) and things are looking up!
Rumor is that the winner of Diaz vs. Inoue will take on Hayato Sakurai for the welterweight championship belt.

Anyway, today there were 5 fights announced:
Nick Diaz 15-7-0 vs. 16-5-3 Katsuya Inoue
Jung Bukyung 0-2-0 vs. 13-9-0 Daisuke Nakamura
Jason Miller 20-5-0 vs. 2-3-0 Katsuyori Shibata
Melvin Manhoef 20-4-1 vs. Kim Dae Won
Takeshi Yamazaki 13-7-2 vs. TBA

That gives us this card:

Lightweight Tournament Round 2:
Caol Uno 24-10-4 vs. 16-3-1 Mitsuhiro Ishida
Tatsuya Kawajiri 21-4-2 vs. 12-3-0 Luiz “Buscape” Firmino
Joachim Hansen 17-6-1 vs. 13-1-0 Eddie Alvarez
Katsuhiko Nagata 4-2-0 vs. Shinya Aoki

Welterweight Champion Eliminator:
Nick Diaz 15-7-0 vs. 16-5-3 Katsuya Inoue

Middleweight Tournament Round 1:
Jason Miller 20-5-0 vs. 2-3-0 Katsuyori Shibata

Middleweight Tournament Reserve Fight:
Melvin Manhoef 20-4-1 vs. Kim Dae Won

Non-Tournament Fights:
Jung Bukyung 0-2-0 vs. 13-9-0 Daisuke Nakamura
Takeshi Yamazaki 13-7-2 vs. TBA

Read more...

3/15 DREAM - Pictures

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Originally uploaded by japanmma

Minowa was wondering where he was...

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Originally uploaded by japanmma

Then he realized this was DREAM's first ever fight, and he was all business. The fight was, as expected, very quick.

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Originally uploaded by japanmma

Monma entering the ring for his fight against crowd favorite Sakurai "Mach"

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Hayato "Mach" Sakurai making his way to the ring.

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Originally uploaded by japanmma

"Mach" and Monma as the fight starts. As you can see, the disadvantage with the bigger organizations is the distance to the ring. It is very hard to get good action shots... As a consequence, there will be few good ones.

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Originally uploaded by japanmma

Then it was time for my personal favorite. Hellboy was facing a very strong opponent in Boku. I have read an interview that Hansen was almost KOed. Just to put the record straight, he was never close to being KOed in this fight, and from where I was sitting, never threatened. This is most likely a translation issue, things can very easily get lost when translating from English to Japanese and back...

It was a question of how long Boku could resist the attack from Hellboy. He lasted the duration of the fight and should be credited for the defence.

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Originally uploaded by japanmma

A man on a mission!

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Originally uploaded by japanmma

Then it was time for "Buscape" to face the underrated Miyata.

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Originally uploaded by japanmma

Miyata has a lot of potential, but is yet to show too much. This time, "Buscape"'s ju jitsu skills were too much.

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Originally uploaded by japanmma

Miata vs. "Buscape"

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Originally uploaded by japanmma

"Buscape" was very happy to secure his place in the next round.

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Artur Oumakhanov fought Katsuhiko Nagata, and he has lost 3 of his last 5. I am sure he was disappointed, and this was the weakest fight in the tournament (IMO).

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Originally uploaded by japanmma

Korean Bu Kyung Jung is a much better fighter than his record. It is a question of time before he upsets someone big. It was not to be this time though.

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Originally uploaded by japanmma

Ishida walked into the ring as one of the favorites for the tournament.

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Originally uploaded by japanmma

Ishida took the decision, and I hope we get to see more of Bu Kyung Jung in the near future.

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Originally uploaded by japanmma

The ring-girls went through their routine during the intermission.

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Murilo Bustamante took time to sign some autographs and talk with fans.

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Then it was time for the big one, CroCop's back!

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The fight was more about his return to Japan than the result, but he got his win.

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Eddie Alvarez has arrived in Japan!

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Originally uploaded by japanmma

Alvarez took on "Dida", who was full of confidence after his performance in HERO's last year.

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Originally uploaded by japanmma

Alvarez got an impressive win, and is definitely an outsider to this title.
At this point, I was running out of batteries, and wanted to make sure I got some pictures of Aoki vs. JZ. That meant that I didn't get any pictures of Kawajiri vs. "Black Mamba". I will check with friends and see if they have some good ones.

Anyway, it was time for the main event!

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Originally uploaded by japanmma

Aoki made his entrance. As always to "Baka survivor".

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Originally uploaded by japanmma

J.Z. made his entrance. The Japanese crowd was very excited about this fight.

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Originally uploaded by japanmma

The fight started good, but ended way to quick, the result was a No Contest... Hopefully these fighters get another chance to face each other.
As you saw by my post yesterday, I was a little disappointed. Now that I look back, it was unfortunate that it ended the way it did. But this was the beginning of something REALLY good!! For me, it was good to see Hellboy as we know him, entertaining the crowd, he was dominating and very agressive. But there are so many good fighters in this tournament! I can't wait to see how the fighters match up in the next round!

FightOpinion has put up an estimated paying attendence of 19,120.

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Originally uploaded by japanmma

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3/15 DREAM Confirms fights‏

It is confrimed, Sakurai will fight Monma in a welterweight fight March 15. It looks as if this event will have 11 fights.

Welterweight Superfight:
Hayato "Mach" Sakurai 31-7-2 vs. 14-7-3 Hidetaka Monma

Also 3 more fight in the Lightweight GP are confirmed:
Mitsuhiro Ishida 15-3-1 vs. 0-1-0 Bu Kyung Jung
Artur Oumakhanov 7-2-0 vs. 3-2-0 Katsuhiko Nagata
Andre "Dida" Amade 6-2-1 vs. 12-1-0 Eddie Alvarez

This means that there is one more fight yet to be announced in the Lightweight tournament.

Previously Announced:
Shinya Aoki 12-2-0 vs. 14-1-1 Gesias "J.Z." Calvancante
Tatsuya Kawajiri 20-4-2 vs. 9-6-0 Kultar “Black Mamba” Gil
Kazuyuki Miyata 5-6-0 vs. 11-3-0 Luiz Firmino "Buscape"
Koutetsu Boku 13-4-1 vs. 16-6-1 Joachim Hansen

Participating:
Minowaman 38-27-8
Mirko “Crocop” Filipovic 22-6-2

Source:
http://sportsnavi.yahoo.co.jp/fight/other/headlines/etc/20080307-00000014-spnavi-fight.html

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