10/6 DREAM 11 - Results

A very strong card from DREAM, and with 2 title fights it might be the best they have put on so far.

On the weigh-in yesterday Miyata turned some heads as the muscular former lightweight turned up with close to no bodyfat.



One of the highlights of this card is the return of DREAM champion Joachim Hansen. He is returning to defend his title, and it will be his first title defence and his first fight since winning the title in July last year.



The DREAM featherweight title holder will also be deceided today in a tournament that is looking very interesting.

Results will be updated as they become available.

Main-Event - Featherweight GP Final:
9. Bibiano Fernandes Def. Hiroyuki Takaya by decision 2-1
Very good fight to end the night!!

Lightweight Title Fight:
8. Shinya Aoki (challenger) Def. Joachim Hansen (champion) by armbar Round 2 about 4:40
Aoki gets grounded by an upkick, the ref stops the fight and gives Aoki time to recover. The judge is staying it was a groin kick first...

7. Middle: Kazushi Sakuaba Def. Rubin Williams by Kimura Round 1
*Sakuraba still wearing a bandage on his left underarm, looks like he is still suffering from the broken arm he suffered against Manhoef.

There is a break and some Dream 12 participants are announced and asked to say a few words (quick translation):
Yoshiro Maeda - "I will take Chase Beebe's head off"
Kuniyoshi Hironaka - "I am the Cage Force champion and I have a lot of experinence in a cage. " "If I win in impressing fashion I would like a shot at the title"
Koichi Kikuno - "I am the DEEP champion and it will be an exciting fight".

6. Light: Tatsuya Kawajiri Def. Melchor "Barracuda" Manibusan TKO Round 1

Super-Hulk Semi-Finals:
5. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou Def. Bob Sapp by TKO Round 1
4. Ikuhisa Minowa Def. Hong Choi Man by heel-hook Round 2

The winners will meet on NYE at the FEG Dynamite! event

DREAM Featherweight GP Semi-Finals:
3. SF2: Bibiano Fernandes Def. Joe Warren by arm-bar round 1 (very early)
Warren is saying he didnt tap, Bibiano showes him the middle finger and leaves the ring.

2. SF1: Hiroyuki Takaya Def. Hideo Tokoro by TKO Round 2
1. Reserve: Kazuyuki Miyata Def. Daiki "DJ Taiki" Hata by Decision 3-0

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10/6 DREAM 11 - Sakuraba Added/Fight Order

This video started the speclations around wether Sakuraba will be fighting in DREAM 11. Sakuraba has not fought since Dynamite! on NYE, and even then he didnt look 100% after breaking his arm against Melvin Manhoef in June 2008.



It has now been confirmed that Sakuraba will take on American pro-boxer Rubin Williams.

This video have also been released. To me the most interesting thing here, except from the fact that "Hellboy" is fired up, is that he seems to be working with Hayato "Mach" Sakurai for this fight (and we all remeber what he did to Aoki...).



Fight Order:
Main-Event - Featherweight GP Final:
9. Winner Tokoro/Takaya v. Winner Fernandes/Warren

Lightweight Title Fight:
8. Joachim Hansen (champion) 19-7-1 vs. 21-4-0 Shinya Aoki (challenger)

7. Middle: Kazushi Sakuaba 24-12-1 vs. Rubin Williams
6. Light: Tatsuya Kawajiri 24-5-2 vs. 2-2-0 Melchor "Barracuda" Manibusan

Super-Hulk Semi-Finals:
5. Ikuhisa Minowa 42-30-8 vs. 2-2-0 Hong Choi Man
4. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou 6-4-0 vs. 10-5-1 Bob Sapp

DREAM Featherweight GP Semi-Finals:
3. SF2: Joe Warren 2-0-0 vs. 5-2-0 Bibiano Fernandes
2 SF1: Hideo Tokoro 22-16-1 vs. 11-6-1 Hiroyuki Takaya

1. Reserve: Kazuyuki Miyata 7-7-0 vs. 11-5-3 Daiki "DJ Taiki" Hata

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10/6 DREAM 11 Featherweight GP Finals - Fights Announced

DREAM have announced the featherweight GP semi-finals lineup. It is looking very good, the fights for the semi-finals have been rumored and known for a while. However, there is a very interesting reserve fight here. Kazuyuki Miyata, considered the king of take-downs in the Japanese media (after pulling out some spectacular suplexes in his last couple of fights), will take on a guy that is very hard to take down, DJ Taiki. DJ Taiki should of course have been in this GP, he had to give up his spot due to an injury, and Hideo Tokoro took his place.

The semi-finals will have an all Japanese semi-final between Hiroyuki Takaya and crowd favorite Hideo Tokoro. The other semi-final will see the former dark-horse, now favorite in many eyes, Joe Warren, take on BJJ genious Bibiano Fernandes.

I just have to say that I would love to see Miyata vs. Warren, but for now there are some awesome matchups and the tournament is wide open. I think Joe Warren might be the favorite in my book, but honestly, anyone can take this. And dont forget, the fighters in the reserve fight are still in this! As always, the final will be on the same night.

On the card might Japanese stars "Kid" Yamamoto and Tatsuya Kawajiri. Nothing official, but Dream promoter Sasahara has mentioned that he would like to have them on the card. Of course, whats also rumored are 2 title fights (light- and middleweight).

What will be on the card is the SuperHulk tournament semi-finals. This card should be awesome!

DREAM Featherweight GP Semi-Finals:
Hideo Tokoro 22-16-1 vs. 11-6-1 Hiroyuki Takaya
Joe Warren 2-0-0 vs. 5-2-0 Bibiano Fernandes
Reserve: Kazuyuki Miyata 7-7-0 vs. 11-5-3 Daiki "DJ Taiki" Hata

SuperHulk Semi-Finalists:
Ikuhisa Minowa 42-30-8
Hong Choi Man 2-2-0
Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou 6-4-0
Gegard Mousasi 25-2-1

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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?

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3/8 DREAM - Another Participant in the Featherweigh GP Announced

DEEP held an event in Korakuen hall today. It was mainly pro-wrestling, but on the card was a DREAM featherweight GP qualifier.

The fight was between the 2 Pancrase veterans Shoji Maruyama (former Pancrase champion) and Daiki "DJ Taiki" Hata.

DJ Taiki defeated Shoji by decision and by that, qualified for the DREAM GP staring March 8 in Saitama Super Arena.

Added today:
Daiki "DJ Taiki" Hata

Previously announced:
Masakazu Imanari 15-6-1
"Wicky" Akiyo Nishiura 9-3-1
Takafumi Otsuka 8-3-1
Hiroyuki Takaya 9-6-1
Hideo Tokoro 21-15-1
Atsushi Yamamoto 12-5-1
Bibiano Fernandes 3-2-0
Micah Miller 10-2-0
Chase Beebe 12-3-0
Joe Warren
Kim Jong Won

Rumored:
Abel Cullum 13-2-0

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3/8 DREAM Featherweight GP Participants Announced!

Not too many surprises, but it looks like a solid GP. Joe Warren was a name I didnt expect, he is a wrestler coming out of Team Quest, so ti will be interesting to see what he can do.

Some very familiar DREAM fighters in here. Atsushi Yamamoto was expected after his win over Tokoro, but does that mean that Krazy Bee is contributing 2 Yamamoto's? I was also half expecting Kazuyuki Miyata to be in there...

DREAM did announce that they intended 8 Japanese and 8 foreigh fighters, currently there are 6 Japanese and 5 foreign. If we assume (and I am) that "Kid" is in, there is room for 1 more Japanese and 3 foreign fighters. Just to be clear, FEG is saying that "Kid"'s participation is not assured. It is also worth nothing that no European fighter is included.

There should be some very good match-ups in here, it is also interesting to compare the Sengoku GP to the DREAM GP. Seems like DREAM is going more with established fighters (especially the Japanese), where as Sengoku has added some very young fighters.

Masakazu Imanari 15-6-1
"Wicky" Akiyo Nishiura 9-3-1
Takafumi Otsuka 8-3-1
Hiroyuki Takaya 9-6-1
Hideo Tokoro 21-15-1
Atsushi Yamamoto 12-5-1
Bibiano Fernandes 3-2-0
Micah Miller 10-2-0
Chase Beebe 12-3-0
Joe Warren
Kim Jong Won

Winner of DJ Taiki vs. Shoji DEEP 2.10

In addition to announcing the tournament participants, DREAM announced their schedule (which they sort of already had), for 2009. It looks like this:

3.20 DREAM 7 Featherweight GP Round 1 - Saitama Super Arena
4.5 DREAM 8 Welterweight GP - Nippon Gaishi Hall (Nagoya)
5.? DREAM 9 Featherweight GP Round 2 - Kanto (Tokyo) Area
7.20 DREAM 10 Welterweight GP Finals - Saitama Super Arena
9.? DREAM 11 Featherweight GP Finals - Kanto (Tokyo) Area
10.? DREAM 12 (TBA)
12.31 Dynamite - Saitama Super Arena

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