12/31 Fields Dynamite! - RESULTS

The event is underway in Saitama. I will be posting results in HDNet time, since that is what most people are watching (still earlier than Japan).

And I can promise that there will be upsets!

Over 37,000 in attendence in a sold out SuperArena!

Read on for spoilers.


K-1 Koshien (Highschool) Tournament Semi-Finals:
1. Reserve: Ryuya Kusakabe vs. Tsukasa Fuji
2. SF 1: Masaaki Noiri Def. Hiroya by decision
3. SF 2: Shota Shimada Def. Katsuki Ishida by Decision

Super Hulk Tournament Final:
4. Minowaman Def. Sokoudjou by TKO Round 3
Minowa floors Sokoudjou with a right late in the 3rd round, just about the 1st punch thrown in the round.

5. K-1: Ray Sefo Def. Yosuke Nishijima by Decision
Very one sided fight that somehow goes the distance.

K-1 Koshien (Highschool) Tournament Final:
6. Final: Masaaki Noiri Def. Masaaki Noiri by Decision

DREAM vs. Sengoku (3x5min.):
7. DREAM vs. SRC: Hiroshi Izumi Def. Katsuyori Shibata by Decision 3-0
Izumi gets a decision in a fight that could have gone either way. Some would say this was controversial.

8. DREAM vs. SRC: Michihiro Omigawa Def. Hiroyuki Takaya by TKO Round 1
Sengoku is off to a flying start. As expected, these fighters didnt wait to exchange! Omigawa pulls of a small upset! Sengoku is in the lead 2-0!

9. DREAM vs. SRC: Akihihiro Gono Def. Hayato “Mach” Sakurai by armbar round 2
Gono pulls out another win for Sengoku!! 3-0 now!

10. DREAM vs. SRC: Melvin Manhoef Def. Kazuo Misaki by TKO Round 1
Manhoef gets the first win for Dream, usual style just came out more carefully this time. Misaki is complaining (maybe rightly) of an early stoppage.

11. DREAM vs. SRC: Hideo Tokoro Def. Jong Man Kim by Decision 3-0
Fight of the night so far!!!

12. DREAM vs. SRC: Tatsuya Kawajiri Def. Kazunori Yokota by Decision 3-0
HUGE War, Kawajiri was the better fighter and it looked like the armbar at the end should finally put Yokota away. It is now 3-3 between Sengoku and Dream, Dream have levelled the score!!

13. DREAM vs. SRC: Masanori Kanehara Def. Norifumi “KID” Yamamoto by Decision
Another fight of the night candidate! Kanehara had a very strong round 2, and it was enough even though Kid came on strong in the end of round 3.

15. DREAM vs. SRC: Alistair Overeem Def. Kazuyuki Fujita by KO Round 1
Huge knee sends Fujita out of the ring. Fujita is grabbing his head, but not getting up! It is 4-4 between Sengoku and Dream!

17. Dream (3x5min): Gegard Mousasi Def. Gary Goodridge by TKO Round 1
Mousasi took Goodridge down with ease and Goodridge never really had an answer.

DREAM vs. Sengoku (3x5min.):
THe fight between DREAM and Sengoku comes down to the 2 champions!
16. DREAM vs. SRC: Shinya Aoki Def. Mizuto Hirota by submission round 1
Aoki litterally took Hirota's arm off, as Hirota didnt tap. I have no idea what it was though.

14. Sengoku: Hidehiko Yoshida Def. Satoshi Ishii by Decision
Yoshida used his experience and got a close win here. A knee to the groin of Yoshida earned Ishii a red card (point reduction) in round 2 that could have tipped the fight in Yoshida's favor.

Main Event:
18. K-1 (5×3 minutes, 1×3 ext.): Masato Def. Andy Souwer by Decision
A good fight to end the night, and Masato's career!

Discuss in the FORUM

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12/31 Fields Dynamite! - Fight Order

The fight order for tomorrows Dynamite! event is announced. Not surprising that Masato gets the honor of fighting in the main event in his last fight.

I am surprised that the last fight to be announced, Mousasi vs. Goodridge is the co-main event though... I was expecting it to be Ishii vs. Yoshida, OR the clash of champions Aoki vs. Hirota.

This card is huge, 18 fights and a lot of the top fighters in Sengoku and DREAM. There are fighters I wish were on the card, I think especially in the lightweight division there are some big names missing.

I also think K-1 fans will be disappointed at this year's card. It has ended up being a MMA event, I think due to the cooperation with Sengoku. The result is 2 K-1 fights (not counting the Koshien tournament (which is really the undercard).

Main Event:
18. K-1 (5×3 minutes, 1×3 ext.):Masato vs. Andy Souwer
17. Dream (3x5min): Gegard Mousasi vs. 23-19-1 Gary Goodridge

16. DREAM vs. SRC: Shinya Aoki 22-4-0 vs. 12-3-1 Mizuto Hirota
15. DREAM vs. SRC: Alistair Overeem 31-11-0 vs. 15-8-0 Kazuyuki Fujita

14. Sengoku: Satoshi Ishii vs. Hidehiko Yoshida

13. DREAM vs. SRC: Norifumi “KID” Yamamoto 17-2-0 vs. 15-7-5 Masanori Kanehara
12. DREAM vs. SRC: Tatsuya Kawajiri 25-5-2 vs. 11-2-3 Kazunori Yokota
11. DREAM vs. SRC: Hideo Tokoro 25-21-1 vs. 21-10-3 Jong Man Kim
10. DREAM vs. SRC: Melvin Manhoef 23-6-1 vs. 22-9-2 Kazuo Misaki
9. DREAM vs. SRC: Hayato “Mach” Sakurai 35-9-2 vs. 30-15-7 Akihihiro Gono
8. DREAM vs. SRC: Hiroyuki Takaya 12-7-1 vs. 8-8-1 Michihiro Omigawa
7. DREAM vs. SRC: Katsuyori Shibata 4-6-1 vs. 0-1-0 Hiroshi Izumi

K-1 Koshien (Highschool) Tournament Final:
6. Final: Winner of SF 1 vs. Winner of SF 2

5. K-1: Ray Sefo vs. Yosuke Nishijima
4. Super Hulk Tournament Final: Minowaman vs. Sokoudjou

K-1 Koshien (Highschool) Tournament Semi-Finals:
3. SF 2: Katsuki Ishida vs. Shota Shimada
2. SF 1:Hiroya vs. Masaaki Noiri
1. Reserve: Ryuya Kusakabe vs. Tsukasa Fuji

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12/31 Fields Dynamite! - Changes and Additions

There has been a change to the SRC "Team" on the Dynamite! card. Jong Man Kim is stepping in for an injured Marlon Sandro. Kim is a very good fighter, but he has not had a win since his very surprising upset of Hatsu Hioki in 2007, or 7 fights.

Also added to the card is Gegard Mousasi, who will take on the veteran Gary Goodridge in a MMA rules fight. Goodridge is riding a 4 fight losing streak and is facing the former DREAM middleweight title holder and current StrikeForce champion, Mousasi, who has a 14 fight winning streak.

Added:
MMA: Gegard Mousasi vs. 23-19-1 Gary Goodridge

Change:
Hideo Tokoro 25-21-1 vs. 21-10-3 Jong Man Kim

Previously Announced:
DREAM Vs. SRC:
Shinya Aoki 22-4-0 vs. 12-3-1 Mizuto Hirota
Tatsuya Kawajiri 25-5-2 vs. 11-2-3 Kazunori Yokota
Melvin Manhoef 23-6-1 vs. 22-9-2 Kazuo Misaki
Norifumi “KID” Yamamoto 17-2-0 vs. 15-7-5 Masanori Kanehara
Hiroyuki Takaya 12-7-1 vs. 8-8-1 Michihiro Omigawa
Hayato “Mach” Sakurai 35-9-2 vs. 30-15-7 Akihihiro Gono
Katsuyori Shibata 4-6-1 vs. 0-1-0 Hiroshi Izumi
Kazuyuki Fujita 15-8-0 vs. 31-11-0 Alistair Overeem

K-1 Fight:Ray Sefo vs. Yosuke Nishijima

MMA: Satoshi Ishii vs. Hidehiko Yoshida
K-1 (5×3 minutes, 1×3 ext.):Masato vs. Andy Souwer
Super Hulk Tournament Final: Minowaman vs. Sokoudjou

K-1 Koshien (Highschool) Tournament Finals:
Final: Winner of SF 1 vs. Winner of SF 2
Reserve: Ryuya Kusakabe vs. Tsukasa Fuji
SF 1:Hiroya vs. Masaaki Noiri
SF 2: Katsuki Ishida vs. Shota Shimada

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12/31 Fields Dynamite! - The Champions will Fight

FEG and WVR have announced 2 additional fights for the NYE Dynamite! event. Everyone was hoping for a DREAM title fight between Aoki and Kawajiri, but that will not happen. Instead Dream champion Shinya Aoki will take on Sengoku champion Mizuto Hirota in a fight that should be very interesting. No doubt Hirota will need to keep this off the ground, while Aoki will be desperate to get it there.

The other fight added could end up being a very good fight. Dream title challenger Tatsuya Kawajiri will take on Sengoku title challenger Kazunori Yokota. Yokota has had a very good 2009 and will be looking to end on a high. Kawajiri will be looking to cement himself as the #1 challenger for Aoki's title when 2010 starts.

A lot on the line in both these fights. There will be 2 more K-1 fights added to the card.

***UPDATE***
Melvin Manhoef vs. Kazuo Misaki has been added to the card during Christmas. Should be a good fight, everyone knows what Manhoef is planning. I am interested in seeing what Misaki is planning to counter though.


Added:
DREAM vs. SRC:
Shinya Aoki 22-4-0 vs. 12-3-1 Mizuto Hirota
Tatsuya Kawajiri 25-5-2 vs. 11-2-3 Kazunori Yokota
Melvin Manhoef 23-6-1 vs. 22-9-2 Kazuo Misaki

Previously Announced:
DREAM Vs. SRC:
Norifumi “KID” Yamamoto 17-2-0 vs. 15-7-5 Masanori Kanehara
Hiroyuki Takaya 12-7-1 vs. 8-8-1 Michihiro Omigawa
Hideo Tokoro 25-21-1 vs. 15-1-0 Marlon Sandro
Hayato “Mach” Sakurai 35-9-2 vs. 30-15-7 Akihihiro Gono
Katsuyori Shibata 4-6-1 vs. 0-1-0 Hiroshi Izumi
Kazuyuki Fujita 15-8-0 vs. 31-11-0 Alistair Overeem

K-1 Fight:Ray Sefo vs. Yosuke Nishijima

MMA Fight: Satoshi Ishii vs. Hidehiko Yoshida
K-1 (5×3 minutes, 1×3 ext.):Masato vs. Andy Souwer
Super Hulk Tournament Final: Minowaman vs. Sokoudjou

K-1 Koshien (Highschool) Tournament Finals:
Final: Winner of SF 1 vs. Winner of SF 2
Reserve: Ryuya Kusakabe vs. Tsukasa Fuji
SF 1:Hiroya vs. Masaaki Noiri
SF 2: Katsuki Ishida vs. Shota Shimada

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12/31 Fields Dynamite! - Fights Announced

FEG have announced an additional 6 fights for the Dynamite card today

6 fights are DREAM vs. SRC. "Kid" is returning to take on Sengoku featherweight champion Masanori Kanehara. And Hiroshi Izumi will have his 2nd MMA fight against Katsuyori Shibata.

Also a K-1 fight is announced. Veteran Ray Sefo is returning to take on former boxing champion Yusuke Nishijima.

DREAM Vs. SRC:
Norifumi “KID” Yamamoto vs. Masanori Kanehara
Hiroyuki Takaya vs. Michihiro Omigawa
Hideo Tokoro vs. Marlon Sandro
Hayato “Mach” Sakurai vs. Akihihiro Gono
Katsuyori Shibata vs. Hiroshi Izumi
Kazuyuki Fujita vs. Alistair Overeem

K-1 Fight:Ray Sefo vs. Yosuke Nishijima

Previously Announced:
MMA Fight: Satoshi Ishii vs. Hidehiko Yoshida
K-1 (5×3 minutes, 1×3 ext.):Masato vs. Andy Souwer
Super Hulk Tournament Final: Minowaman vs. Sokoudjou

Discuss in the FORUM

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8/2 Sengoku 9 - Akihiro Gono signs

Sengoku have announced some interesting fighters for Sengoku 9. Akihiro Gono's future in the UFC had been in doubt, and now he has signed for Sengoku. He will participate in Sengoku 9, and I am sure it will give the card a boost with the Japanese fans.

But an even more interesting fighter is also announced, taking on Kazuyuki Fujita will be the Sambo world champion from 2008, Blagoi Alexandre Ivanov. On his way to the title he made a bit of history when he defeated Fedor Emelianenko. Now he is making his MMA debut, and I am sure a fight with Fedor is already in the works.

Also announced as a participant is lightweight standout Eiji Mitsuoka.

This is looking like the best Sengoku card to date, the event will take place in Saitama Super Arena.

Announced:
Kazuyuki Fujita 15-7-0 vs. Blagoi Alexandre Ivanov

Participants:
Akihiro Gono 29-14-7
Eiji Mitsuoka 15-6-2

Previously Announced:
Lightweight Title Fight (5x5min)
Satoru Kitaoka 24-8-9 vs. 11-3-1 Mizuto Hirota

Middleweight next title Challenger
Kazuo Misaki 21-9-2 vs. Kazuhiro Nakamura

Featherweight GP Semi-Finals:
Hatsu Hioki 19-3-2 vs. 13-5-5 Masanori Kanehara
Michihiro Omigawa 6-7-1 vs. 14-0-0 Marlon Sandro

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6/8 Sengoku III - Fight Order Announced

Sengoku have announced that the main event for tomorrows big show is Yoshida vs. Smith. It also looks like they were unable to find an opponent for Duane Ludwig... Nothing official on that yet, but he is not on the card presented at SportsNavi and I therefore doubt that he will participate... It is the day before the event, so they should have announced it by now.

Be aware that GBR has a different fight order than this, but they are only mentioning the main event, so in this case I trust that SportsNavi has gotten it correct.

We will have to wait and see if Ludwig appears, but I doubt it at this stage... So that means "only" 8 fights.
***Update*** Duane Ludwig's opponent (who was never named) seems to have suffered an injury and the fight is therefore cancelled.

Again, I will be doing the Play-By-Play for this event.

8. Hidehiko Yoshida 7-6-1 vs. 12-12-0 Maurice Smith
7. Kazuyuki Fujita 15-6-0 vs. 53-11-0 Travis Wiuff
6. Kazuo Misaki 19-8-2 vs. 11-1-0 Logan Clark
5. Nick Thompson 35-9-1 vs. 9-3-0 Michael Costa
4. Sanae Kikuta 26-6-3 vs. 12-5-0 Chris Rice
3. Choi Mu Bae 7-2-0 vs. 3-2-0 Marcio Cruz
2. Rodrigo Damm 7-1-0 vs. 13-2-0 Jorge Masvidal
1. Fabio Silva 9-4-0 vs. 28-22-3 Kazuo Takahashi

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6/8 Sengoku 3 - Can they compete??

Zach Arnold at FightOpinion has called the 3rd Sengoku event "the Mystery Sengoku Event", pointing to the fact that there has been very little publicity surrounding this event. I have to agree with him... Maybe its just too close to Sengoku 2? After Sengoku 1 everyone was singing WVR's praises, but the momentum seems to have shifted towards DREAM.

This weekend Sengoku will hold their first event on a really big stage, filling the Saitama Super Arena is not easy. It will be intersting to see if they are able to compete with the attendences DREAM has put up.

For the record, here are the attendences for the first 3 DREAM events (all were held in Saitama Super Arena):
DREAM 1 - 19,120
DREAM 2 - 21,397
DREAM 3 - 21,789

The card for this Sunday looks interesting and does have some big Japanese stars, but does it draw the crowd the same way the DREAM cards have? We will see on Sunday.

I will be doing a live Play-by-Play from this event.

The card:
Hidehiko Yoshida 7-6-1 vs. 12-12-0 Maurice Smith
Kazuo Misaki 19-8-2 vs. 11-1-0 Logan Clark
Kazuyuki Fujita 15-6-0 vs. 53-11-0 Travis Wiuff
Choi Mu Bae 7-2-0 vs. 3-2-0 Marcio Cruz
Nick Thompson 35-9-1 vs. 9-3-0 Michael Costa
Fabio Silva 9-4-0 vs. 28-22-3 Kazuo Takahashi
Sanae Kikuta 26-6-3 vs. 12-5-0 Chris Rice
Rodrigo Damm 7-1-0 vs. 13-2-0 Jorge Masvidal

Participating:
Duane Ludwig 16-8-0

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6/8 Sengoku III - Fights Announced

Sengoku has announced 3 fights today for their June 8 card. This is their first attempt at filling Saitama Super Arena, and the card has to live up to expectations. I have to say that the match-up between Misaki and Clark looks very interesting.

Fights announced:
Hidehiko Yoshida 7-6-1 vs. 12-12-0 Maurice Smith
Kazuo Misaki 19-8-2 vs. 11-1-0 Logan Clark
Choi Mu Bae 7-2-0 vs. 3-2-0 Marcio Cruz

Previously announced:
Kazuyuki Fujita 15-6-0 vs. 53-11-0 Travis Wiuff
Nick Thompson 35-9-1 vs. 9-3-0 Michael Costa

Participating:
Fabio Silva 9-4-0
Rodrigo Damm 7-1-0
Duane Ludwig 16-8-0

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Sengoku Holding a Lightweight Tournament?

SportsNavi has an article today on the plans to hold a Lightweight tournament on August 23. From the article it looks like it will be a 8-man 1-day tournament. The winner will fight Takanori Gomi for the Sengoku title. I would have liked to see Gomi in the tournament, but guess he has way too much influence for that.

WVR has already made space for Satoru Kitaoka and Eiji Mitsuoka in this PLANNED tournament.

It was also announced that Takanori Gomi will fight in the August 23 event.

For Sengoku III, they have announced the fight between Travis Wiuff and Kazuyuki Fujita.

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6/8 Sengoku 3 - Fighters Announced

Sengoku has had a lot of momentum behind them lately, and today they have started announcing the fights for their 3rd event.

It was announced perviously that Kazuyuki Fujita would appear on this card, added today are 4 more fighters in addition to 1 fight.

It will be espcially intersting to see Rodrigo Damm on this card. I have not heard about him before but he holds victorys over Kultar Gill and Ryan Bow so he should be very good.

Announced:
Nick Thompson 35-9-1 vs. 5-2-0 Michael Costa

Participating:
Hidehiko Yoshida 7-6-1
Marcio Cruz 3-2-0
Fabio Silva 9-4-0
Rodrigo Damm 7-1-0
Kazuyuki Fujita 15-6-0

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Random Bits 4/10

Just some things that have happened and small things I have discovered today.

-Sengoku has announced their first participant for their June 8 event. The participant is Kazuyuki Fujita. It will be interesting to see who they put him up against this time. I have to say that Sengoku is looking very promising at the moment, the first event had good fights and the second is looking good too.
http://sportsnavi.yahoo.co.jp/fight/other/headlines/etc/20080410-00000016-spnavi-fight.html

-Cage Force 06 is going to be showed on free to air TV in the Tokyo area, TV Tokyo is showing this April 27 at 2:40-3.35 AM. Hopefully someone stays up and makes sure it hits YouTube as well.
http://www.g-c-m.net/medhia/index.html

-Ever wondered what a ring-girl audtion/competition looks like? No need to wonder any more... Follow the link and see how the DEEP audition went. Click on the links on the side. Unfortunately, you nee to sign up to see Part 2 and on. The links on top will also bring you to other GBR videos. This page is one of the best MMA pages in Japan.
http://www.gbring.com/roundgirl/movie/20070915_deep.htm

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3/5 Sengoku - LIVE UPDATE

The day of the big event! Sengoku will start their assault on the Japanese MMA
market. They have a good card, and I think there can be some upsets. I was hoping to get a chance to give you guys a live update.

Work put a stop to that, but I will be able to follow the rest of the fights live. The card should be familiar by now.

The event is over, and I think Sengoku can be proud of the result! This was a very good event, the fight had high quality and the production was good. Only thing to complain about was the number of fights, but with a bit more time before the next event, hopefully this will be corrected.

RESULTS:
Josh Barnett Def. Hidehiko Yoshida by Heel-hold, Round 3 3:23
Takanori Gomi Def. Duane Ludwig by TKO Round 1 2:28
Kazuo Misaki Def. Siyar Bahadurzada by guillotine choke, Round 2 2:02
Kazuyuki Fujita Def. Peter Graham by North/South choke Round 1 1:23
Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos Def. Makoto Takimoto by heel-hook, Round 1 4:51
Ryo Kawamura Def. Antonio Braga Neto by decision 3-0
Nick Thompson Def. Fabricio Monteiro by decision 3-0

Commentary:
Josh Barnett Def. Hidehiko Yoshida by Heel-hold, Round 3 3:23
Barnett speaks to the crowd in Japanese, which is always popular.
Josh Barnett comes in to Hokuto no Ken, a famous Japanese anime song. Yoshida is wearing Judo gi, no tights. Round 3: Yoshida tries everything to escape now. Barnett should be able to finish, but Yoshida defends well. Barnett in mount, Yoshida escapes. Barnett goes for a heel-hold, and gets it. Time 3:23
Round 2: The fight goes to the ground, Barnett tris to go for an ancle lock. Yoshida escapes. Lots of problems with Yoshida's glove that leads to time stoppages. Barnett is stronger, but is unable to get anything decisive. Barnett almost has an arm-bar, the bell saves Yoshida. Round to Yoshida who looks VERY tired and needs assistance from his corner back to his chair.
Round 1: Barnett with suplex to start of the action. Barnett in Yoshida's guard. Yoshida gets back to his feet. He has Barnett's arm and is going for a submission, on the ground now. Barnett escapes. A close round, I would give a slight edge to Barnett.

Takanori Gomi Def. Duane Ludwig by TKO Round 1 2:28
Gomi is back in the ring!!!
Round 1: Both fighters connect with their first punches, Ludwig seems to hit better. Ludwig has a small cut. Gomi hit with a good left that sends Ludwig to the ground but he bounces right back to his feet. This breaks Ludwig's nose and the doctor stops the fight.
Gomi says it was an accident, and he would like to fight again.

Sengoku just announced that they have signed Kevin Randleman and Roger Gracie for their next event to be held 5/18.

Kazuo Misaki Def. Siyar Bahadurzada by guillotine choke, Round 2 2:02
My pick for fight of the night, let's see if it delivers.
Round 2: Siyar's right hand is dangerous. The fight is starting to look like Misaki vs. Akiyama, they are trading punches. Siyar takes it to the ground and gets a guillotine choke. Siyar taps.
Round 1: Siyar hit Misaki with a punch, but should not be any damage. Misaki takes the fight to the ground. And goes for a kimura, Soyar defends well but looks like it is a matter of time. Siyar escapes. Siyar is able to get on top, goes in Misaki's guard where the fight finishes. Round to Misaki. Misaki has a swelling under the left eye from the first punch of the fight. The doctor inspects in, the fight will continue.

Kazuyuki Fujita Def. Peter Graham by North/South choke Round 1 1:23
Time for the fight that almost started at the press-conference yesterday.
Round 1: Graham does everything in this power to stay on his feet, but Fujita gets him down. Fujita gets a north/south choke and Graham taps time 1:23.

Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos Def. Makoto Takimoto by heel-hook, Round 1 4:51
Round 1:Cyborg comes out with kicks and punches, much like expected, but is unable to hurt Takimoto until a leg kick seems to do some damage. The leg kicks are really hurting Takimoto and he goes down. Cyborg goes in his guard. Ref stands them up, it is clear that Takimoto needs to take this fight to the ground.
Cyborg submits Takimoto by Heel-hook

Ryo Kawamura Def. Antonio Braga Neto by decision 3-0
Round 3: Kawamura continues to be the better fighter in this round
Round 2: Kawamura hurts Neto with a few punches mid way through. A close round, but think it will go to Kawamura. Neto has been dominating on the ground.
Round 1: Neto advantage, had mount and Kawamura's back for most of the round but was unable to capitalize.

Nick Thompson Def. Fabricio Monteiro by decision 3-0

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