Cro Cop: Why He's Leaving Japan

Thanks to Robert, I am able to post an interview with CroCop originally done in Croatian. You can check out site here:UFC 101 odds.

Crocop goes into detail of his future and why he deceided to leave Japan.

Q: Is the contract that everyone has been talking about these past 10 days a done deal ?
A:Yes. I'm glad to be with the UFC. My first fight will take place in Dallas on August 19th against Junior Dos Santos.


Q: Why the UFC, and not Japan? Why the change of heart?
A: The UFC has became the only global fight organization, it is the strongest MMA organization in the world. Unfortunately DREAM could not emulate PRIDE where i was fighting, while on the other side UFC has grown in every respect. At this moment Japan can't compete, neither financially or with its fighters.


Q: Are you sad to leave? The impression was that you always preferred ring over the cage?
A: Of course I'm sad to leave. All that I’ve achieved, I’ve achieved in Japan. I don't owe it to PRIDE nor DREAM but to the Japanese fans, which very much appreciate and respect.I hope that they can understand my decision. In these times of global recession, I don't see anyone coming even close to the Americans. Maybe they will in a few years but i doubt i'll be around then.


Q: Your opponent is already confirmed. How much do you know about Junior Dos Santos, and how did the fight eventuate ?
A: My UFC chose the opponent for me as has always been the case. Dane White said that I will be fighting Dos Santos and I said that's fine. He is a young lion, an upcoming star, with Cain Velasquez being the biggest one. I know he trains with Minotauro, that he is a very good boxer and excellent grappler. I watched his KO against Werdum and his last fight which he also won by KO. All in all he is a great fighter, someone not to be underestimates but I expect a win. [Editors note: UFC 101 odds and UFC 103 are already out. Currently Cro Cop is a slight betting favorite at -130 over Dos Santos]


Q:Your goal is the UFC Heavyweight belt. Who is next after Dos Santos?
A: I'll take it one fight at a time but my ultimate goal is the belt. My second fight should be scheduled around New Years Eve but we will see how will I recover and prepare after Dos Santos. There is even one possibility that i might enter a ring on January 4th. I don't know, its this challenge first and then I’ll see what's next.


Q: How do you see a UFC HW competition? Winning the belt won't be easy task.
A: The competition is extremely strong. There are a couple of legends like Couture and Minotauro, but also a strong fighters like Lesnar,Mir,Velasquesa, Carwina..Like i said ,i take it fight by fight and be focused on what's next.


Q: I guess you watched recent fight for ''unification'' of the heavyweight title against Lesnar and Mir? Is that what you expected??
A:I didn't expect anything but i have to point out that his win was a loss to the fight game as such. Don't get me wrong, Lesnar is difficult opponent and very dangerous but me as an old school fighter still prefer technique. Its a step back for MMA .Mostly what he has been able to achieve is due to strength and in any case ground and pound is not really crowd pleasing. Of course Lesnar has quality sparing partners, he is an experienced wrestler and a man who learns very quick. He has few fights under him but I'd like to see how would he react to 2 to 3 good low kicks.


Q:While we're at low kicks,how's your knee?
A: My leg and knee are excellent. Its getting better and better, and it should be perfect come September. There should be no problems.


Q: Fertitta's visit is proof of your hight standing in the MMA world. Were you surprised by his visit?
A:I don't know why did Fertitta decided to visit me personally, but I'm very glad he did. I'm deeply surprised with him as a person .I only had chance to meet him once before ,but this time we spent close to six hours together. He is extremely modest and down to earth.


Q:Do you think that you are important to UFC because of its plans for Europe and Asia?
A:I know little about their plans ,and i would not want to speculate. Like i said ,I'm a fighter, they are my employers, so I'd like to leave the reasons to them.


Q:How did Dream react when you made your choice? Did they make any last ditch attempts to win you back?
A: Certainly they did,and they're sad to let me go .And i'm sad to go but I had to leave for a greater challenge. Not only that but finically too, the UFC offer was simply greater. One cannot even compare the two belts, it would be laughable .It was different once, when Pride belt meant a lot, today its a different story.


Q: You are still a big star in Japan, bigger than in UFC.
A: I'm very sorry for Japanese audience. I did not want to disappoint them, and if i never fight in Japan again, i can only say that I had my happiest moments there .I made my name over there and experienced the most beautiful things from that nation.But life is life, couldnt say no to the UFC offer.


Q: Although they have many great names under contract, UFC still can't force the best of the best,Fedor Emelianenko,to enter the cage?
A: Fedor probably has his reasons, and I respect that, and wouldn't want to talk much about that. He is a man that I truly appreciate and respect. He's a very nice guy. Of course I would be glad should he ever come to the UFC because that would open the possibility of a rematch. That fight is still a big hope of mine.


Q: Have you worked out your problems with Dana White?
A: Dana is my employer, and at the end of the day he has a really tough job. I’m just sorry that some people said some things behind my back. I was a free agent on the market. Everybody knows the contract that counts is the one with the signature. There were never any problems there.


Q: Is it true that you called Dana about 600 times after it was announced that you're signing for DREAM?
A: That bothered me very much. I don't know why he said that when that never happened. It's not even close to the truth because I never called him .I only sent him a text message saying that i wanted to talk to him and fix any issues, if there where any, i certainly did not call him. I don't know his reasons, but with that statement he presented me in a negative light. He presented me like a badger and butt kisser. I would call anyone that many times. With that statement he disrespected me indirectly.

Source

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CroCop Returning to the UFC?

There was a lot of controversy after CroCops last fight in UFC 99. It looked like it was confirmed that CroCop had signed an agreement with DREAM before entering the ring. Dana White was not happy and CroCop remained silent.

Now it looks like those rumors might not have been true, and we might see CroCop in the UFC cage in the near future.

This is kindly translated from Index.hr by Robert, you can find the UFC 100 betting odds on his page here.

Cro Cop To Return To UFC After All

After making a successful UFC comeback against Al Turk, Mirko Cro Cop’s next fight will most likely be on September 19th , at UFC 103, in Dellas, Texas. Although we’re still awaiting an official confirmation, Mirko’s opponent will likely be 24-year Brazilian Junior Dos Santos.

The rising star exploded into the heavyweight division against former UFC contender Fabricio Werdum. The fight lasted only 81 seconds.

Dos Santos, known as “The Gypsy” in Brazil was set to fight in August, but UFC organizers cancelled bout planned for UFC 102 in favour of a main event.

“I think I’ll fight September 19. They took me off the August 29 show,” he said, also announcing he will no longer be facing the same opponent. “My opponent’s changed. I’ll probably face Cro Cop. If I beat him I’ll be in really good standing. If that’s truly the case, I’m guaranteed on the main card and in the main event of the evening. If I were to fight now it wouldn’t be on the main card,” he said

“To me it’s incredible. When they asked me if they could change the fight date I was a bit bothered, because I wanted to fight right away. I’ve been away for some time now. But the Fertitta brothers asked me and I accepted. After that I found out it would be against Cro Cop and was overjoyed. It’ll be a big opportunity in my career. Lots of good things have happened in my life and this is one more. I’m going to make the most of it,” he concluded.

Cro Cop Remains Silent

The Cro Cop camp refused to comment on the situation, refusing to say whether the Croatian has signed a new contract with the UFC any other organization. Only weeks ago it was widley reported that Cro Cop had signed a three fight deal with Dream. Nonetheless Index understands that Cro Cop will more than likely return to the UFC against either Brazilian Dos Santos, Cain Velasquez or Shane Carwin. Dos Santos however remains the logical choice for Cro Cop. The most likely location is Dallas in September or Los Angeles in October.

From: Index.hr

Dana White now seems to welcome CroCop back, and this is from the UFC 100 press conference.

Dana White on Cro Cop

At the UFC 100 press conference Whie was asked to comment on the situation. Note: If you're looking for the current UFC 100 odds, head over to BigOddsMike.

On Mirko Cro Cop's possible return to the US:

"I hope so. Like I said at that last press conference in Germany, he and I had a deal, and I think he's going to honor the deal. ... I have said this many times and I'll say it again: there's some crooked sh*t that goes on over in Japan. They're all crooked. There's some sneaky sh*t going on over there, and that's always a big problem, you know. These guys who are in the fight business over there, for my Mexican friends, 'No bueno. No bueno.'"

On whether Cro Cop will face Junior dos Santos when he returns to the UFC:

"That's the fight I would like to see happen."

White said he hopes to secure a Dos Santos-Cro Cop match-up for UFC 103 in Dallas in September.

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Mirko CroCop signs 3 Fight Deal with DREAM!

Nightmare of Battle is refering to Japanese media and says that CroCop has signed a 3 fight deal with DREAM. He was considering the UFC and DREAM, but it seems the Japanese fans won him over. He won his return to the UFC on Saturday by TKO, and is rumored to fight again in July but this time in DREAM.

If this is true, it would be very interesting as I believe Fedor also would like a 1-fight deal with the UFC. Either way, the Japanese fans will be very happy to see CroCop back. And even if an accidental eye poke played a part in the TKO win, I have to say that CroCop looked in good shape after his surgery.


According to MMAWeekly this is what Dana White had to say about it:

“He fed me this (expletive) about wanting to take a run for the title, and what I think he did was, he went out and did this,” continued White. “He turned down every other (expletive) fighter I offered him, because I needed him to fight Cain. He didn’t just poke Al-Turk; he poked me, too.”

Fightlinker are updating on this news here.

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12/31 DYNAMITE! - Pictures and Thoughts

It was a very good night of fights, and I think the Japanese crowd left very satisfied. It was strange watching DREAM fighter after DREAM fighter KO K-1 fighters... It was just that sort of night. I knew Overeem was a good kickboxer, but I would not have predicted a KO win for him against Hari.

Kawajiri said in he after-fight speach that is was scary going in to the ring with K-1 rules, and maybe thats why the DREAM fighters did well... Maybe the K-1 fighters felt too comfortable going in...

Personally, the card was missing one fight. I had been looking forward to Hansen vs. JZ for a very long time. Injuries do happen though, it was just unfortunate timing. From what I understand, the injury occured in training just before the event. The doctors would not let Joachim Hansen fight on the day, but I hope he will make a speedy recovery and return!

Minowaman kicked off DREAM 1 and this year he got to kick off Dynamite! as well. His fight was predictable, he took his much bigger opponent down and finished him with a toe-hold. Leg-locks is really proving to be very popular in Japan lately.



He used the only tactic he could, get Zimmerman to the ground and go for a submission. It worked and Minowaman quickly had ahold of a leg. Zimmerman had no choice but to tap.



Next it was time for the K-1 Youth tournament, and I have to say, I am not a fan... From memory, I think the fights last year were better.. It is clear what the FEG is trying to do with this tournament though, it has a feel of the Japanese Highschool Baseball tournament (which is very popular)



After the youth tournament semi's were done, they put on a fight between 2 established K-1 stars. Artur Kyshenko took on Yoshihiro Sato in what was a highly anticipated fight. Kyshenko took a deserved but close decision.



Daisuke Nakamura and Hideo Tokoro put on an awesome display of grappling! I wish this fight continued a bit more... Nakamura needed 2 attempts to finish Tokoro by an arm-bar. Between these, Tokoro himself had his chances. A very high paced and exciting fight!



Andy Ologun was the only K-1 fighter of the night to have success against a MMA fighter. He did that with MMA rules too! BIG KO win against Pancrase fighter Yukio Sakaguchi.



After the Youth final and a break, it was time to introduce DJ Oozuma. He came on with a show that resembled his friend Akihiro Gono.



He introduced a matchup that I thought before the event might have been fixed. After what unfolded, it was clearly not. Inviting Bob Sapp to brawl is just a BAD idea!



Semmy Schilt was able to show that he can still finish people on the ground, and with the plans of crowning a DREAM heavyweight champion in 2009, I have a feeling he will be in with a chance.



Shibata charged out, and it looked like he took Sakurai by surprise. But once Sakurai regained his composure, there was no doubt who were the better fighter.



In a fight that was promoted as a battle between the neighboring prefectures of Saitama (Takeda) and Ibaraki (Kawajiri). K-1 fighter Kozo Takeda took on DREAM fighter Tatsuya Kawajiri. I guess this fight set the mood for the rest of the night. Kawajiri had much better hands than Takeda, who was unable to get the fight into his pace. Kawajiri's uppercuts opened Takeda up, and Takeda went down 3 times in less than 3 minutes.





Even more impressive was the KO win for Overeem over Hari. I really think Overeem has gained a lot of comfidence in 2008 and he will be a force in 2009!



Then it was time for the ring girls to take to the ring. They had very little work to do this event, so it was easy to forget they were there...



After the break Crocop entered the ring to take on Hong Man Choi. It will be the last time we see him for a while, as he will have to take time off for a knee reconstruction. I really hope it goes well and we get to see Crocop back to his usual self at the end of 2009. He did show that he could throw the left high-kick, even against a guy as big as Hong Man Choi. However it was a leg-kick that won the fight for him.



Gegard Mousasi have announced that he will compete in the ADCC championships in 2009, for Dynamite he took on Japanese K-1 star Musashi, with K-1 Rules. Gegard showed why you should never underestimate him! He is very mentally strong and really handed it to his opponent.





Next in the ring was Mark Hunt against the very late replacement Manfred Manhoef. It was a very quick win for Manhoef and I think Hunt didnt know what hit him... It was really a fight he needed to win... Manhoef didnt care though, a very strong KO win to the Dutchman.



Alvarez made the ultimate mistake against Aoki... A body kick. Aoki got ahold of his leg and was able to work Alvarez to the ground. Shinya Aoki got a big win and Alvarez his first loss in Japan.





And since I am out of town, with limited computer capabilities... I am unable to upload the remining pictures. It also means that updates will be somewhat slow the next few days, but I hope to be back in time for Sengoku!

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12/31 Dynamite! - Results Live

Event of the year is starting in 4 hours (3PM Japan time) in Saitama. I will be there, but focus will be taking pictres, not updating results. I will try to get results updated during the breaks though. Sherdog should have live PBP going, so they should be quicker with the results.

I am very happy that Manhoef stepped in on so short notice, and the fight with Hunt should be very interesting.

Time for me to get to the arena! If you read on, there will be spoilers when the event starts!

It is announced that "Hellboy" vs. JZ fight is cancelled!! It is due to injury on "Hellboy", the doctor stopped the fight!

The event is underway and I really hope the injury is not serious! I know Joachim was well prepared and it is very sad....

19. Main-Event: DREAM-Rule: Kiyoshi Tamura Def. Kazushi Sakuraba by Decision 3-0
18: DREAM-Rule: Joachim Hansen vs. "JZ" Gesias Cavalcante Cancelled :(
17: DREAM-Rule: Shinya Aoki Def. Eddie Alvarez by Heel-hook Round 1 1:32
16. DREAM-Rule: Melvin Manhoef Def. Mark Hunt by KO Round 1 0:18
Huge win for Manhoef! A right hook puts Hunt down!

15. K-1-Rule: Gegard Mousasi Def. Musashi by KO Round 1 2:32
Its been an awesome night for DREAM figthers fighting K-1 rules! What's going on??

14. DREAM-Rule: Mirko "CroCop" Filipovic Def. Hong Man Choi by TKO Round 1 6:32
Crocop announced that he will have a knee reconstruction in 2 days. He is looking forward to his next fight, but he will have to recover for 6 months.

--BREAK--

13. K-1 Rule: Alistair Overeem Def. Badr Hari by KO Round 1 2:02
HUGE KO, and a BIG win!

12. K-1-Rule: Tatsuya Kawajiri Def. Kozo Takeda by TKO (3 down) Round 1 2:47
Crushing victory to Kawajiri!

11. DREAM-Rule: Hayato "Mach" Sakurai Def. Katsuyori Shibata by TKO Round 1 7:01
10. DREAM-Rule: Semmy Schilt Def. Mighty Mo by Triangle choke round 1 5:31
Schilt showed that he still has ground game!

9. DREAM-Rule: Bob Sapp Def. Kinniku Mantaro by TKO Round 1 5:22

--BREAK--

8. K-1 Youth Tournament Final: HIROYA Def. Koya Urabe by Decision 3-0(after extention)

7. DREAM-Rule: Andy Ologun Def. Yukio Sakaguchi by KO Round 1 3:52
Sakaguchi looked like he had Andy in a triangle, but was unable to finish. Andy took advantage when the ref stood them up.

6. DREAM-Rule: Daisuke Nakamura Def. Hideo Tokoro by arm-bar round 1 2:43
Tokoro might have injured his arm, and this was a very exciting fight while it lasted.

5. K-1-Rule: Artur Kyshenko Def. Yoshihiro Sato by Decision 2-0
4. K-1 Youth Tournament (semi-final): Hiroya Def. Shota Shimada by Decision 3-0
3. K-1 Youth Tournament (semi-final): Koya Urabe Def. Tatsuya Kusakabe by TKO Round 3 2:29
2. DREAM-Rule: Ikuhisa Minowa "Minowaman" Def. Errol Zimmerman by Toe-hold round 1 1:01

Opening Fight:
1. K-1 Youth (Reserve): Taishi Hiratsuka Def. Daizo Sasaki by KO Round 2 1:00

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12/31 DYNAMITE! - Manhoef steps up!

Last minute changes to the Dynamite card! Jerome is out due to the flu and FEG has been working hard to find a replacement, it is announced now that Melvin Manhoef steps in!!

I have to say that I am very excited about this change, Manhoef is giving up A LOT in weight, but he is a very good fighter and this could go either way.

I really look forward to this one! Hope Manhoef get paid well to step in on so short notice!

The complete and final card for tomorrow then:
19. Main-Event: DREAM-Rule: Kazushi Sakuraba 24-11-1 vs. 32-13-2 Kiyoshi Tamura
18: DREAM-Rule: Joachim Hansen 19-7-1 vs. 14-2-1 "JZ" Gesias Cavalcante
17: DREAM-Rule: Shinya Aoki 18-3-0 vs. 15-1-0 Eddie Alvarez
16. DREAM-Rule: Mark Hunt 5-4-0 vs. 22-5-1 Melvin Manhoef
15. K-1-Rule: Gegard Mousasi vs. Musashi
14. DREAM-Rule: Mirko "CroCop" Filipovic 23-6-2 vs. 1-1-0 Hong Man Choi
--BREAK--
13. K-1 Rule: Alistair Overeem vs. Badr Hari
12. K-1-Rule: Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Kozo Takeda
11. DREAM-Rule: Hayato "Mach" Sakurai 33-8-2 vs. 2-5-1 Katsuyori Shibata
10. DREAM-Rule: Semmy Schilt 25-14-1 vs. 3-0-0 Mighty Mo
9. DREAM-Rule: Bob Sapp 9-3-1 vs. Kinniku Mantaro
--BREAK--
8. K-1 Youth Tournament Final: Winner Fight 3 vs. Winner Fight 4
7. DREAM-Rule: Yukio Sakaguchi 3-3-0 vs. 1-1-0 Andy Ologun
6. DREAM-Rule: Hideo Tokoro 21-14-1 vs. 18-9-0 Daisuke Nakamura
5. K-1-Rule: Yoshihiro Sato vs. Artur Kyshenko
4. K-1 Youth Tournament (semi-final): Hiroya vs. Shota Shimada
3. K-1 Youth Tournament (semi-final): Tatsuya Kusakabe vs. Koya Urabe
2. DREAM-Rule: Ikuhisa Minowa "Minowaman" 40-29-8 vs. Errol Zimmerman

Opening Fight:
1. K-1 Youth (Reserve): Daizo Sasaki vs. Taishi Hiratsuka

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12/31 DYNAMITE! - Jerome LeBanner is OUT!

Just so there is no misunderstanding. It was announced at the press conference today that Jerome LeBanner is out of tomorrow's Dynamite event! This is of course a huge disappointment for himself and his fans.

That means that FEG has 1 day to dig out a worthy opponent! This is the biggest show of the year, and there should be lots of fighters jumping at this chance, but 1 day? I just hope they find someone. The card is solid, but I would have liked to see Mark Hunt get another fight this year.

So, with that last minute change, here is what the card looks like:

Fight Order:
19. Main-Event: DREAM-Rule: Kazushi Sakuraba 24-11-1 vs. 32-13-2 Kiyoshi Tamura
18: DREAM-Rule: Joachim Hansen 19-7-1 vs. 14-2-1 "JZ" Gesias Cavalcante
17: DREAM-Rule: Shinya Aoki 18-3-0 vs. 15-1-0 Eddie Alvarez
16. DREAM-Rule: Mark Hunt 5-4-0 vs. TBA
15. K-1-Rule: Gegard Mousasi vs. Musashi
14. DREAM-Rule: Mirko "CroCop" Filipovic 23-6-2 vs. 1-1-0 Hong Man Choi
--BREAK--
13. K-1 Rule: Alistair Overeem vs. Badr Hari
12. K-1-Rule: Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Kozo Takeda
11. DREAM-Rule: Hayato "Mach" Sakurai 33-8-2 vs. 2-5-1 Katsuyori Shibata
10. DREAM-Rule: Semmy Schilt 25-14-1 vs. 3-0-0 Mighty Mo
9. DREAM-Rule: Bob Sapp 9-3-1 vs. Kinniku Mantaro
--BREAK--
8. K-1 Youth Tournament Final: Winner Fight 3 vs. Winner Fight 4
7. DREAM-Rule: Yukio Sakaguchi 3-3-0 vs. 1-1-0 Andy Ologun
6. DREAM-Rule: Hideo Tokoro 21-14-1 vs. 18-9-0 Daisuke Nakamura
5. K-1-Rule: Yoshihiro Sato vs. Artur Kyshenko
4. K-1 Youth Tournament (semi-final): Hiroya vs. Shota Shimada
3. K-1 Youth Tournament (semi-final): Tatsuya Kusakabe vs. Koya Urabe
2. DREAM-Rule: Ikuhisa Minowa "Minowaman" 40-29-8 vs. Errol Zimmerman

Opening Fight:
1. K-1 Youth (Reserve): Daizo Sasaki vs. Taishi Hiratsuka

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12/31 DYNAMITE! - Press Conference

At the press conference in Shinjuku today, it was confirmed that LeBanner has come down with the flu. There is still hope that Mark Hunt will get a fight tomorrow, but of course, it is very short notice.



Most of the attention from the Japanese media was today directed at the last 3 fights. They have a habbit of not asking "soup" questions, and today was no exception. They asked Joachim Hansen, JZ Calvan, Eddie Alvarez and Shinya Aoki "What kind of fight you would like to have tomorrow?". As always, the answer was "an entertaining fight".



JZ and Joachim Hansen showed eachother a great deal of respect and both admitted that it will be a difficult battle. They both have a big fan base in Japan, and it will be an awesome fight!



Eddie Alvarez has brought it family this time, and his fight with Aoki is the final that should have been. Aoki has definately made an effort to become a more complete fighter after his loss to Hansen in DREAM 5, but I dont thing we are likely to see him bang with Alvarez.



Bob Sapp is a very popular fighter in Japan, and I think he actually got the biggest cheer. He said that Kinniku Mantaro will meet his worst nightmare tomorrow... Reality! Kinniku Mantaro was unable to answer, due to the mask...





As most of you would have seen, Crocop has spent a lot of time training with a Crotian basketball player. He highlighted the value of this in front of his fight with Hong Man Choi. I am really looking forward to it, it is a difficult challenge for both fighters and Choi should not be underestimated! I shouldnt need to remind anyone what Fedor looked like last NYE (I know he won, but HMC has a vicious GnP).



For tomorrow, I will be there. To my knowledge, if you are in Japan, but not in the arena, the earliest you can see this is at 7PM on TBS. This will of course be a edited version. There is a PPV on SkyPerfect, but this starts at mid-night.



I will try to give updates from the arena, but it will be impossible to give these live. I will give updates, but most likely in the breaks. Check in and I will do my best to have the results up as early aas possible!

Also, appologies for the pictures... I was all the way in the back and used the zoom as best I could, but people kept getting in the way. :) Anyway, here are some more.

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12/31 DYNAMITE! - Weigh-In

The weigh-in for this year's Dynamite is out of the way. Andy Ologun is the only fighter that has to weigh in again after missing weight by .4kg.

To sum it up, Sakuraba looks as fit, he has clearly worked hard for this fight. Both "JZ" and "HellBoy" look extremly fit for this one, and it should be fight of the night (IMO).

Nightmare of Battle is reporting that the Aoki vs. Alvarez fight will be for the WAMMA lightweight title. I really dont know how these titles work, and I have not seen anything about it in the Japanese media...

Though it might not be the most anticipated fight for the hardcore fans, the Japanese fans love Bob Sapp.

There is a rumor that Jerome LeBanner is not able to fight... He did not weigh in today, but it is open weight and he was not the only one. Mark Hunt weighed in like normal and there was NO indication that this fight is cancelled.

The public press-conferance will be in Shinjuku later tonight, and I will be there to cover that too!

19. Main-Event: DREAM-Rule (84.0kg):
Kazushi Sakuraba 82.7kg
Kiyoshi Tamura 83.6kg

18: DREAM-Rule (70.0kg):
Joachim Hansen 69.3kg
Gesias "JZ" Cavalcante 70.0kg

17: DREAM-Rule (70.0kg):
Shinya Aoki 69.9kg
Eddie Alvarez 69.2kg

16. DREAM-Rule (+93.1):
Mark Hunt 130.4kg
Jerome Lebanner

15. K-1-Rule (Open):
Gegard Mousasi 97.8kg
Musashi 103.8

14. DREAM-Rule (+93.1kg):
Mirko "CroCop" Filipovic
Hong Man Choi 148.5

13. K-1 Rule (open):
Alistair Overeem 115.2kg
Badr Hari

12. K-1-Rule (70.0kg):
Tatsuya Kawajiri 70.0kg
Kozo Takeda 69.9kg

11. DREAM-Rule (80.0kg):
Hayato "Mach" Sakurai 79.7kg
Katsuyori Shibata 79.8kg

10. DREAM-Rule (+93.1kg):
Semmy Schilt 129.6kg
Mighty Mo 136.6kg

9. DREAM-Rule (+93.1):
Bob Sapp
Kinniku Mantaro 102.3kg

8. K-1 Youth Tournament Final: Winner Fight 3 vs. Winner Fight 4

7. DREAM-Rule (75.0kg):
Yukio Sakaguchi 70.8kg
Andy Ologun 75.4kg

6. DREAM-Rule (68.0kg):
Hideo Tokoro 66.0kg
Daisuke Nakamura 67.4kg

5. K-1-Rule (71.0kg):
Yoshihiro Sato 71.0kg
Artur Kyshenko 71.0kg

4. K-1 Youth Tournament (semi-final)(62.0kg):
Hiroya 62.0kg
Shota Shimada 62.0kg

3. K-1 Youth Tournament (semi-final)(62.0kg):
Tatsuya Kusakabe 60.7kg
Koya Urabe 62.7kg

2. DREAM-Rule (Open):
Ikuhisa Minowa "Minowaman" 91.5kg
Errol Zimmerman 109.1kg

Opening Fight:
1. K-1 Youth (Reserve) (62.0kg):
Daizo Sasaki 61.2kg
Taishi Hiratsuka 60.5kg

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12/31 DYNAMITE! - Fight Order - 19 (!) Fights on the Card!

FEG have added Errol Zimmerman vs. Minowaman to Dynamite! The fight has been rumored and the Japanese fans should be happy to see "Minowaman" on the card. The fight will be the opening fight for the main card. Errol Zimmerman will have his MMA debut against the very experienced "Minowaman".

Not unexpected, Tamura vs. Sakuraba is the main event, before the Tamura/Sakuraba battle will be the fight between Hellboy and JZ.

FEG have also added a reserve fight in the K-1 Youth Tournament. The tournament is where FEG promotes and builds the new talent. Last year YUDAI won the tournament by defeating HIROYA by split decision. Since then HIROYA have had 4 K-1 fights, and Yudai has not had any. This tournament provided some very good fights last year, and hopefully that continues this year.

As far as I am concerned, just the last 6 fights would have been a good event. This will be event of the year, without a doubt!

Have to be said though... First time since 2003 that Fedor is not fighting in Japan on NYE...

Fight Order:
19. Main-Event: DREAM-Rule: Kazushi Sakuraba 24-11-1 vs. 32-13-2 Kiyoshi Tamura
18: DREAM-Rule: Joachim Hansen 19-7-1 vs. 14-2-1 "JZ" Gesias Cavalcante
17: DREAM-Rule: Shinya Aoki 18-3-0 vs. 15-1-0 Eddie Alvarez
16. DREAM-Rule: Mark Hunt 5-4-0 vs. 3-1-1 Jerome Lebanner
15. K-1-Rule: Gegard Mousasi vs. Musashi
14. DREAM-Rule: Mirko "CroCop" Filipovic 23-6-2 vs. 1-1-0 Hong Man Choi
--BREAK--
13. K-1 Rule: Alistair Overeem vs. Badr Hari
12. K-1-Rule: Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Kozo Takeda
11. DREAM-Rule: Hayato "Mach" Sakurai 33-8-2 vs. 2-5-1 Katsuyori Shibata
10. DREAM-Rule: Semmy Schilt 25-14-1 vs. 3-0-0 Mighty Mo
9. DREAM-Rule: Bob Sapp 9-3-1 vs. Kinniku Mantaro
--BREAK--
8. K-1 Youth Tournament Final: Winner Fight 3 vs. Winner Fight 4
7. DREAM-Rule: Yukio Sakaguchi 3-3-0 vs. 1-1-0 Andy Ologun
6. DREAM-Rule: Hideo Tokoro 21-14-1 vs. 18-9-0 Daisuke Nakamura
5. K-1-Rule: Yoshihiro Sato vs. Artur Kyshenko
4. K-1 Youth Tournament (semi-final): Hiroya vs. Shota Shimada
3. K-1 Youth Tournament (semi-final): Tatsuya Kusakabe vs. Koya Urabe
2. DREAM-Rule: Ikuhisa Minowa "Minowaman" 40-29-8 vs. Errol Zimmerman

Opening Fight:
1. K-1 Youth (Reserve): Daizo Sasaki vs. Taishi Hiratsuka

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12/31 Dynamite! - Card Complete (?)/Public Press Conference

FEG finally confirmed the fight between Overeem and Hari yesterday. Of course, this had already been confirmed by both sides so there was no surprises. The fight will be K-1 Rule and it should be a good one.

Of course, K-1 rule should mean that Badr Hari comes in the favorite. But Overeem has competed with these rules before and should come in with a weight advantage. I would also guess that he will get the support of the Japanese crowd.

In addition to this fight, FEG announced yesterday that a public press conference will be held on December 30. This will be held in Shinjuku Station Square starting at 4.30PM and will of course feature the fighters, promoters and match-makers. I will be there covering it too.

So, it seems this year's Dynamite! card is complete (there might still be additions though). It should be an awesome event, as always!

The fights in no particular order:
K-1 Rule:
Gegard Mousasi vs. Musashi
Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Kozo Takeda
Yoshihiro Sato vs. Artur Kyshenko
Alistair Overeem vs. Badr Hari

DREAM Rule:
Kazushi Sakuraba 24-11-1 vs. 32-13-2 Kiyoshi Tamura
Joachim Hansen 19-7-1 vs. 14-2-1 "JZ" Gesias Cavalcante
Mirko "CroCop" Filipovic 23-6-2 vs. 1-1-0 Hong Man Choi
Mark Hunt 5-4-0 vs. 3-1-1 Jerome Lebanner
Shinya Aoki 18-3-0 vs. 15-1-0 Eddie Alvarez
Semmy Schilt 25-14-1 vs. 3-0-0 Mighty Mo
Hideo Tokoro 21-14-1 vs. 18-9-0 Daisuke Nakamura
Yukio Sakaguchi 3-3-0 vs. 1-1-0 Andy Ologun
Hayato "Mach" Sakurai 33-8-2 vs. 2-5-1 Katsuyori Shibata

K-1 Youth Tournament Semi-Final (Final held same night):
Hiroya vs. Shota Shimada
Tatsuya Kusakabe vs. Koya Urabe

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12/31 DYNAMITE! - 2 Fights Officially added

FEG have announced 2 additional fights for Dynamite! All I can say is that this is not the type of opponent I was hopeing Sakurai would face... Shibata won his 2 first MMA fights, since then he is yet to taste victory. Sakurai should really have his eyes on the DREAM title belt.

Yukio Sakagushi is takeing on Bobby's brother (that's how he is known in Japan...). But this is a matchup I like. Sakaguchi is a puncher, and it will be interesting to see how he deals with Ologun. Will this fight go to the ground? Ologun is not really an MMA fighter, even though he has had 2 fights previously. Ologun is happy to go the distance, Sakaguchi has NEVER gone past round 1. I really think it could be a fun fight!

The card is taking shape and 15 fights are officially announced. I am keeping the Overeem vs. Hari fight as a "rumored fight", since its not confirmed from FEG yet.

Added:
Dream-Rule
Yukio Sakaguchi 3-3-0 vs. 1-1-0 Andy Ologun
Hayato "Mach" Sakurai 33-8-2 vs. 2-5-1 Katsuyori Shibata

Rumored:
K-1 Rule:
Alistair Overeem vs. Badr Hari

Previously announced:
K-1 Rule
Gegard Mousasi vs. Musashi
Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Kozo Takeda
Yoshihiro Sato vs. Artur Kyshenko

DREAM Rule
Kazushi Sakuraba 24-11-1 vs. 32-13-2 Kiyoshi Tamura
Joachim Hansen 19-7-1 vs. 14-2-1 "JZ" Gesias Cavalcante
Mirko "CroCop" Filipovic 23-6-2 vs. 1-1-0 Hong Man Choi
Mark Hunt 5-4-0 vs. 3-1-1 Jerome Lebanner
Shinya Aoki 18-3-0 vs. 15-1-0 Eddie Alvarez
Semmy Schilt 25-14-1 vs. 3-0-0 Mighty Mo
Hideo Tokoro 21-14-1 vs. 18-9-0 Daisuke Nakamura

K-1 Youth Tournament Semi-Final (Final held same night):
Hiroya vs. Shota Shimada
Tatsuya Kusakabe vs. Koya Urabe

Read more...

12/31 DYNAMITE! - Bob Sapp Added

Bob Sapp has always been a favorite with the Japanese crowd on NYE. This year he will be taking on Kinniku Mantaro. I have to say that I dont know who Kinniku Mantaro is... Sounds almost like a cartoon character.

Not only is Sapp taking on a cartoon character, but it will be under DREAM rules. This should be hit with the Japanese fans, but not sure if it is much of a draw for hard core MMA fans...

Dont know how you prepare for a fight like that, but he looks strong... Of course, last year Sapp got a cardio workout chasing Bobby Ologun around the ring, I hope we get a fight this year. Here is a recent picture of Sapp's opponent.




Nightmare of battle has figured out who will be wearing the Kinniku Man costume. It is Akihito Tanaka, he is a very accomplished amature wrestler and it should be a good fight!

Added:
DREAM Rule:
Bob Sapp 9-3-1 vs. Kinniku Mantaro

Previously announced:
K-1 Rule:
Gegard Mousasi vs. Musashi
Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Kozo Takeda
Yoshihiro Sato vs. Artur Kyshenko

DREAM Rule:
Mirko "CroCop" Filipovic 23-6-2 vs. 1-1-0 Hong Man Choi
Kazushi Sakuraba 24-11-1 vs. 32-13-2 Kiyoshi Tamura
Joachim Hansen 19-7-1 vs. 14-2-1 "JZ" Gesias Cavalcante
Mark Hunt 5-4-0 vs. 3-1-1 Jerome Lebanner
Shinya Aoki 18-3-0 vs. 15-1-0 Eddie Alvarez
Semmy Schilt 25-14-1 vs. 3-0-0 Mighty Mo
Hideo Tokoro 21-14-1 vs. 18-9-0 Daisuke Nakamura

K-1 Youth Tournament Semi-Final (Final held same night):
Hiroya vs. Shota Shimada
Tatsuya Kusakabe vs. Koya Urabe

Confirmed Participants:
Yukio Sakaguchi 3-3-0

Possible Participants:
Masato
Caol Uno
Mitsuhiro Ishida
Masakatsu Funaki
Katsuyori Shibata
Ikuhisa "Minowaman" Minowa
Hayato "Mach" Sakurai
Junichi Sawayashiki
Yasuhiro Kido
Taishin Kohiruimaki

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12/31 DYNAMITE! - CroCop Confirms his opponent! **UPDATED**

**UPDATE** This is also confirmed by FEG today.

**UPDATE 2** FEG has confirmed that "Kid" Yamamoto will NOT fight this NYE. They also confirmed that Yukio Sakaguchi will fight! Sakaguchi went into the Pancrase rankings earlier this year after a huge KO win over Yuichi Ikari. He is also brother of famous actor Kenji Sakaguchi and son of famous pro-wrestler Seiji Sakaguchi.

There has been alot of speculation around who Crocop would be fighting on NYE. He has now conformed on his blog that he is fighting Hong Man Choi.

I'm excited to let you know that I have accepted DREAM's offer to fight against Hong-man Choi on December 31 at Dynamite show. We arranged all details and the contract has been signed - the fight is officialy on.

The fight will be contested under MMA Rules, and I am looking forward to it. Both fighters will be very eager to get back on the winning track.

Added:
DREAM Rule:
Mirko "CroCop" Filipovic 23-6-2 vs. 1-1-0 Hong Man Choi

Previously announced:
K-1 Rule
Gegard Mousasi vs. Musashi
Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Kozo Takeda
Yoshihiro Sato vs. Artur Kyshenko

DREAM Rule
Kazushi Sakuraba 24-11-1 vs. 32-13-2 Kiyoshi Tamura
Joachim Hansen 19-7-1 vs. 14-2-1 "JZ" Gesias Cavalcante
Mark Hunt 5-4-0 vs. 3-1-1 Jerome Lebanner
Shinya Aoki 18-3-0 vs. 15-1-0 Eddie Alvarez
Semmy Schilt 25-14-1 vs. 3-0-0 Mighty Mo
Hideo Tokoro 21-14-1 vs. 18-9-0 Daisuke Nakamura

K-1 Youth Tournament Semi-Final (Final held same night):
Hiroya vs. Shota Shimada
Tatsuya Kusakabe vs. Koya Urabe

Confirmed Participants:
Yukio Sakaguchi 3-3-0

Possible Participants:
Masato
Caol Uno
Mitsuhiro Ishida
Masakatsu Funaki
Katsuyori Shibata
Ikuhisa "Minowaman" Minowa
Hayato "Mach" Sakurai
Junichi Sawayashiki
Yasuhiro Kido
Taishin Kohiruimaki

Read more...

9/23 DREAM 6 - PICTURES

IMG_5118
Originally uploaded by japanmma

DREAM kicked off their 6th event with the Middleweight reserve fight. Yoon Dong Sik was the favorite here, but Andrews Nakahara pulled out the surprise win. It has to be said that Nakahara had a lot of fans in the audience, most likely due to his karate background rather than his MMA debut fight.

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Originally uploaded by japanmma

The second fight was Mousasi against Manhoef. I expected Manhoef to come out swinging for the fences, but he never really got going. Mousasi was all over him on the ground and pulled out a spectaturlar (much due to Manhoef's strength) triange choke submission. Manhoef has later announced that he will retire from MMA, but seems more to spend time with his family than disapointment.

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Originally uploaded by japanmma

Jacare was able to take Galesic to the ground quickly, once there he wasted no time in getting mount. Galesic showed a lot of strength in being able to turn the mount, but then he had to deal with Jacare's guard. Jacare was able to secure a quick armbar.

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Originally uploaded by japanmma

K-Taro made his return to MMA and Japan against Krazy Bee's BJJ coach, Adriano Martins. The fight went the distance, but K-Taro was the better fighter in the end.

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Originally uploaded by japanmma

Kharitonov was meant to face Mighty Mo, but due to injury DREAM had to find a very late replacement. Up stepped Jimmy Ambriz. Taking a fight against Kharitonov on such short notice shows a lot of courage, but he was outclassed in this fight.

IMG_5400
Originally uploaded by japanmma

The fight I had the highest expectations for was Yamamoto vs. Tokoro. Tokoro has a string of very entertaining wins in DREAM now, but this one he was not able to take Yamamoto to the ground as much as he wanted.

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Originally uploaded by japanmma

Once on the ground, he was close to securing an armbar, but Yamamoto was saved by the bell. The fight went the distance and Yamamoto took the decision. A strong performance by the Krazy Bee fighter.

IMG_5420
Originally uploaded by japanmma

Minowa made his signature entry. Facing him this time was the old Pro-Wrestler and Pancrase veteran, Funaki.

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Originally uploaded by japanmma

Funaki pulled out something that a lot of people would view as an upset, but Minowa's form lately has not been great. Funaki won by a heel-hook, or was it a toe-hold?

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Originally uploaded by japanmma

Akiyama will never be finished appologizing... But it makes for a good entry, so I think he almost does it more for show now...

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Originally uploaded by japanmma

His opponent today was the relatively inexperienced Masannori Tonooka. Akiyama was able to do pretty much as he wanted.

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Originally uploaded by japanmma

He secured a quick win by armbar.

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Originally uploaded by japanmma

Aoki faced the American wrestler Todd Moore. It went as you would expect, Aoki was able to wrap Moore up pretty quickly. Looked like he was going for a rear-naked choke, but in the end the winning submission was a neck crank.

IMG_5585
Originally uploaded by japanmma

There were glimmers of the old Crocop, but he did not seem to threaten Overeem too much. Overeem hit Crocop with an accidental knee to the groin and the fight ended in a no contest. But until that point there was little doubt that Overeem had Crocop on the ropes. Hopefully Crocop recovers so we can see a re-match.

IMG_5627
Originally uploaded by japanmma

The Middleweight final was between Jacare and Mousasi. Jacare took Mousasi down, but Mousasi does have a good guard. Jacare got careless diving in and Mousasi hit him with a well placed upkick. KO win for Mousasi and he is the DREAM middleweight champion.

IMG_5644
Originally uploaded by japanmma

Mousasi was the big winner on the night, but now comes the big question about DREAM's future.

Just on a side note, any ring girl pictures will from now be posted here: http://japanese-ringgirls.blogspot.com/

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