Sakuraba's Dynamite Opponent (Rumors)

There has been a lot of discussion around Sakuraba's possible opponents.

Nightmare of Battle have their eyes on Misaki, who recently left Grabaka, his long time gym and his nick-name "Grabaka Hitman".

Rumor has it that his days in the Sengoku organisation might also be over (part of Grabaka and Sengoku deal), and he could be heading for Dream, Dynamite and Sakuraba!

Another rumored is Daiju Takase, as Gryphon has put up on his twitter, it is a better opponent for Sakuraba:

SAKURABA's NY eve opponent,one of the candidate is TAKASE Daiju? http://bit.ly/Kpkmc...

this reason is from kamipro special article too. this bloggers guess,article's hint is same as TAKASE Daiju ,they said...

Kamipro's hint ..."If this card come true,Impact is big""It looks not serious,.but actually be very serious ""SAK'll show us his grappling"...

it means TAKASE Daiju? this is not only rumor but also reasonable expection from magazine...

2 rumored opponents and I think Takase is the most likely, but anything can happen and its a long time until NYE.

Discuss in the FORUM

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10/25 DREAM 12 - RESULTS

The event in the "White Cage" is underway, and I will be giving you the results live here.

It will be an interesting event, personally, I am looking forward to seeing DEEP champion against Eddie Alvarez but there are lots of fights to look forward to here!

1. Feather: Keisuke Fujiwara 7-1-3 vs. 12-5-6 Tomoya Miyashita
Miyashita has been controling the fight so far, getting it to the ground. Fujiwara so far been unable to pose much of an offence. Round 3 is closer, Fujiwara close with a triangle attempt.

Miyashita gets the decision 3-0

2. Light: "Parky" Won Sik Park 7-1-1 vs. 15-6-0 Kuniyoshi Hironaka
"Parky" controling the distance in round 1. Has Hironaka damaged, but no real danger.

"Parky" throws in the towel in the break. Looks like an eye injury. Hironaka gets the TKO win!

3. Feather: Yoshiro Maeda 25-7-2 vs. 12-5-0 Chase Beebe
Maeda comes out hard, Beebe is backing up and then gets the fight to the ground. Maeda is able to get up. Maeda takes Beebe down and comes out on top. Maeda gets Beebe's back and the rear-naked choke is very tight, Beebe taps.

Maeda rear-naked choke Round 1.

4. Middle: Yoon Dong Sik 4-7-0 vs. 7-1-0 Tarec Saffiedine
Saffedine takes it to the ground of the back of a Dong takedown attempt, on top but the ref stands it up. Dong is not able to take Saffiedine down and it is a very close fight so far.

Saffiedine looks in in control early in round 2, then Dong takes it down and is on top. Dong controls the fight and gets the back, Saffiedine does well to survive the round.

The final round is all standing, Dong unable to take it to the ground. Saffiedine is the better fighter standing, and it will be a close decision.

Yoon Dong Sik gets the decision 2-1! The domination on the ground is round 2 was enough.

5. Middle: Katsuyori Shibata 3-6-1 vs. 1-4-1 Tokimitsu Ishizawa
Fight of the pro-wrestlers.

Ishizawa in trouble early, as Shibata gets a few uppercuts through his guard. Both these fighters are giving it their all, but it looks like Shibata is in control. Ishizawa wants this to the ground. Shibata hits Ishizawa with a solid left hand, Ishizawa goes down and covers up.

Shibata by KO round 1 (with seconds to go).

Intermission.
In the cage to promote Dynamite:
Tatsuya Kawajiri
Hideo Tokoro
Shinya Aoki

6. Middle: Kazushi Sakuraba 25-12-1 vs. 9-4-0 Zelg Galesic
Sakuraba takes it down and goes for a leg lock. Galesic is managing to resist and is pounding Sakuraba hard. It looks like Galesic is going to pound Sakuraba out, but Sakuraba is not letting go of the leg. Finally he gets the leg straightened and the kneebar is tight. Galesic taps very quickly and he looks injured.

Sakuraba by kneebar round 1!

7. Welter: Myeon Ho Bae 8-4-0 vs. 12-3-0 Marius Zaromskis
Zaromskis is a huge favorite here, but I would not underestimate Bae.

Zaromskis came out running, but Bae counters with a right. Zaromskis is stunned and steps back, then comes back with a left high-kick and Bae goes down. Zaromskis is taking Crocop's reputation!

Marius Zaromskis by KO round 1.

8. Light: Katsunori Kikuno 12-1-2 vs. 18-2-0 Eddie Alvarez
As always, Kikuno comes out to "We are the world".

Kikuno is coming out in the traditional Kyokushin stands. Eddie tries a takedown, but Kikuno squashes it and has a neckcrank going. Alvarez gets out, but looks hurt. Eddie not able to take the fight to the ground, Kikuno has a small cut. Kikuno hits with his trademark bodykick just as the bell rings. Alvarez has not been able to get the fight down, and is looking a little tired.

Kikuno goes down from a right, but bounces right up. Alvarez takes it to the ground and attempts a guillotine choke. Alvarez is giving it his all, but Kikuno pops out. They stand up. Both fighters are looking tired and Alvarez takes it down again. Alvarez secures an armtriangle and Kikuno taps. Awesome fight!

Alvarez by armtriangle round 2.

Main-Event:
9. Heavy: Alistair Overeem 30-11-0 vs. 14-10-0 James Thompson
Thompson does a gong and dash, but I think it was a bit more careful than usual. Overeem gets pushed back to the cage, but gets a guilltine choke. It is a standing neck crank or guillotine that that Thompson taps to.

Alistair Overeem by submission Round 1.

Read more...

10/25 DREAM 12 - Fight Order

FEG have announced the fight order for DREAM 12, which will take place in the White Cage in Osaka. Personally, I am really looking forward to seeing how that looks and there are some very interesting fights on the card too.

The main event this time goes to the heavyweight battle between Alistair Overeem and James Thompson. Overeem have been looking great lately, and is therefore a huge favorite, but Thompson always gives it a 100% and it will be an entertaining fight.

Personally, I am really looking forward to seeing DEEP champion Katsunori Kikuno take on Eddie Alvarez. I think it is the best matchup of this event, and it should be a very competitive fight.

It is also confirmed that Tarec Saffiedine will step in for Paulo Filho on short notice. No easy fight for Dong and it is another fight to look forward to on this card.

Heavy: Alistair Overeem 30-11-0 vs. 14-10-0 James Thompson
Light: Katsunori Kikuno 12-1-2 vs. 18-2-0 Eddie Alvarez
Welter: Myeon Ho Bae 8-4-0 vs. 12-3-0 Marius Zaromskis
Middle: Kazushi Sakuraba 25-12-1 vs. 9-4-0 Zelg Galesic
Middle: Katsuyori Shibata 3-6-1 vs. 1-4-1 Tokimitsu Ishizawa
Middle: Yoon Dong Sik 4-7-0 vs. 7-1-0 Tarec Saffiedine
Feather: Yoshiro Maeda 25-7-2 vs. 12-5-0 Chase Beebe
Light: "Parky" Won Sik Park 7-1-1 vs. 15-6-0 Kuniyoshi Hironaka
Feather: Keisuke Fujiwara 7-1-3 vs. 12-5-6 Tomoya Miyashita

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10/25 DREAM 12 - Sakuraba vs. Galesic Announced!

FEG have announced that Kazushi Sakuraba will step in for an injured Melvin Manhoef to take on Zelg Galesic in the upcoming DREAM 12.

Returning is the DREAM champion, Marius Zaromskis in a non-title fight he is taking on Korean Myeon Ho Bae.

The very popular pro-wrestler Katsuyori Shibata is taking on Tokimitsu Ishizawa, who is returning to the ring for the first time since 2006. This should be a war of the veterans, and I am sure the Japanese crowd will be excited about this one.

Also added to this event is ZST fighter Keisuke Fujiwara agaist DEEP fighter Tomoya Miyashita.

Changed:
Middle: Kazushi Sakuraba 25-12-1 vs. 9-4-0 Zelg Galesic

Added:
Feather: Keisuke Fujiwara 7-1-3 vs. 12-5-6 Tomoya Miyashita
Welter: Myeon Ho Bae 8-4-0 vs. 12-3-0 Marius Zaromskis
Middle: Katsuyori Shibata 3-6-1 vs. 1-4-1 Tokimitsu Ishizawa

The other fights on this card so far:
Light: Katsunori Kikuno 12-1-2 vs. 18-2-0 Eddie Alvarez
Light: "Parky" Won Sik Park 7-1-1 vs. 15-6-0 Kuniyoshi Hironaka
Middle: Yoon Dong Sik 4-7-0 vs. 18-1-0 Paulo Filho
Feather: Yoshiro Maeda 25-7-2 vs. 12-5-0 Chase Beebe
Heavy: Alistair Overeem 30-11-0 vs. TBA

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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

Read more...

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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12/31 Dynamite - Mousasi/Kawajiri Fighting K-1 Rule

I am a bit confused about the fights added today, 2 of the biggest DREAM profiles are fighting K-1 rules...

It was announced earlier this week that Gegard Mousasi will participate in next years ADCC championships. Since that announcement was made, I figured he will be focusing on his grappling... Today it is announced that he will take on the Japanese star Musashi in a K-1 rules fight on NYE.

As if that wasnt enough... Kawajiri is also fighting K-1 rules... He is taking on Kozo Takeda.

This will be something that should draw a crowd, and Mousasi is a good kick-boxer... Either way, I am sure some fans will be disappointed also...

Added:
Gegard Mousasi vs. Musashi
Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Kozo Takeda

Previously announced:
Kazushi Sakuraba 24-11-1 vs. 32-13-2 Kiyoshi Tamura
Joachim Hansen 19-7-1 vs. 14-2-1 "JZ" Gesias Cavalcante

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

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FEG Dynamite Press Conference

I just got back from the press conference. Not a lot of surprises, and no match ups are ready, but some fighters were presented.

This is of course the biggest day on the calendar for any MMA fan in Japan, and this year should be very good.

The only foreign fighter present was Joachim Hansen, who also took the opportunity to promote Simeon Thoresen's fight on Thursday.

Joachim brought what everyone there wanted, the belt.



Of the Japanese fighters, the question is really who was not there...

Anyway, here is the list of who were present:
Joachim Hansen
Hayato "Mach" Sakurai
Yuichi Nakanishi (DEEP Middleweight champ)
Musashi
Kazushi Sakuraba
Shinya Aoki
Tatsuya Kawajiri
Mitsuhiro Ishida
Masakazu Imanari
Atsushi Yamamoto
Takeshi Yamazaki
Minowaman
Seichi Ikemoto (DEEP Welterweight Champ)
Kiyoshi Tamura
Yoshihiro Sato
Yasuhiro Kido
Kuniyoshi Hironaka

Yoshihiro Sato wanted a re-match with Masato, Tanigawa (K-1 event producer) said that it would be a fight he would like to see, but no promises could be made at the time.


FEG is negotiating with Fedor. Mirko Crocop and Hong Man Choi are also considered as participants.

Both Aoki and Sakuraba were jokingly challenged Akiyama.




Musashi had been celebrating his birthday, and admited that he was still a bit drunk. He seemed to enjoy center stage with Sakuraba.




Other than Crocop, Fedor and Hong Man Choi, they also mentioned "Kid", Masato, Funaki and Mousasi. Add Badr Hari to that (I feel he was confirmed at DREAM 6).

As I said, this will be a huge event. It is said to contain 15-20 fights both MMA and K-1 rule.

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6/15 DREAM 4 - Live Results ***SPOILER***

For those counting down, 6 hours to go! I am not planning a play-by-play today, but will be giving a live result service.

The weigh-in results, posted in a Sherdog discussion thread with no source, but it looks ligit (DREAM weigh-ins are normally closed):

MW: Kazushi Sakuraba (83.6 kg) vs. Melvin Manhoef (84 kg)
MW: Ronaldo Jacare (83.9 kg) vs. Jason Miller (84 kg)
MW: Kin Taiei (84 kg) vs. Zelg Galesic (83.8 kg)
MW: Yoon Dong Sik (83.9 kg) vs. Gegard Mousasi (83.8 kg)
FW: Hideo Tokoro (62.9 kg) vs. Darren Uyenoyama (62.6 kg)
HW: Gadzhiev Alavutdin (89.5 kg) vs. Ralek Gracie (96 kg)
HW: Alistair Overeem (108.8 kg) vs. Lee Tae Hyun (126.7 kg)
LW: Shinya Aoki (69.7 kg) vs. Katsuhiko Nagata (69.8 kg)

I had a feeling Alavutdin would be giving up a lot of weight, and this seems to confirm it. This time he has to be careful not to get mounted... Think it would be much harder to get out of this time.

Here are the fights coming up:

Lightweight Tournament:
1. Shinya Aoki Def. Katsuhiko Nagata by mounted gogopalata Round 1 (?)
Total domination by Aoki!

Non-Tournament Fights:
2. Alistair Overeem Def. Tae Hyun Lee by KO (Right hook) Round 1 0:35

This next one I am really looking forward to. It will be quick.
3. Ralek Gracie Def. Alavutdin Gadzhiyev by arm-bar Round 1
Alavutdin needs to work on his guard/ground game.

4. Hideo Tokoro Def. Darren Uyenoyama by Decision 3-0
AWESOME fight!!! This will be fight of the night.

They are drawing the LW tournament semi's in the intermission. I am confused as they asked the fans to vote for the match-ups... Either way, we will get the match-up tonight!

Matcu-ups are:
Eddie Alvarez vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri
Shinya Aoki vs. Caol Uno

BTW, I got my wish! This is how I voted!

5. Gegard Mousasi Def. Dong Sik Yoon by decision 3-0
First round was awesome! Both fighters looked like they had their chances, Dong should maybe have finished it, but Mousasi did well in defending himself.

6. Zelg "Benkei" Galesic Def. Taiei Kin by TKO injury to right armduring take down (dislocated elbow)
Again disappointing, 2nd time Taiei Kin got injured against Galesic.

7. Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza Def. Jason "Mayhem" Miller by Decision 3-0
Both these fighter would have won some fans on this performance. I have a feeling "Mayhem" is really getting a lot of fans here!

8. Melvin Manhoef Def. Kazushi Sakuraba by TKO Round 1

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DREAM 4 - Warm-Up

Some of the fighters competing on Sunday presented here:

DREAM 4 PROMO



The Middleweight Tournament Fighters:

Kazushi Sakuraba:
Highlight (any doubt he is one of the biggest names in the sport ever?)
vs. Yurij Kiselov
vs. Andrews Nakahara
vs. Carlos Newton
vs. Ebenezer Fontes Braga
vs. Kevin Randleman (last 2 min.)

Melvin Manhoef:
vs. Kim Dea Won
vs. Fabio Silva
vs. Bernard Ackah
vs. Bob Schreiber
vs. Mika Ilmen
vs. Ian Freeman
vs. Shungo Oyama
vs. Yoshiki Takahashi

Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza:
Highlights
vs. Ian Murphy
vs. Alexsander Shamelenko
vs. Jorge Patino
vs. Haim Gozali
vs. Victor Babkin

Jason "Mayhem" Miller:
vs. Katsuyori Shibata
vs. Lodune Sincaid
vs. Sean Taylor
vs. Mark Moreno
vs. Falaniko Vitale

Zelg "Benkei" Galesic:
Highlights
Another Highlight, try to ignore sound quality
vs. Taiei Kin
vs. Magomed Sultanakhmedov
vs. John Flemming
vs. Michael Holmes

Taiei Kin:
vs. Ikuhisa Minowa
vs. Kiyoshi Tamura
vs. Yusuke Fujimoto (K-1)
vs. Sentoryu (K-1)

Gegard Mousasi:
vs. Damir Mirenic
vs. Steve Mensing
vs. Hidetada Irie
vs. Tsuyoshi Kurihara
vs. Stefan Klever
vs. Denis Kang

Dong Sik Yoon:
vs. Zelg Galesic
vs. Melvin Manhoef
vs. Fabio Silva


Some of The Non-Tournament Fighters on the card:

Hideo Tokoro Highlights:




Alavutdin Gadzhiyev vs. Hikaru Sato - A MUST WATCH BEFORE TOMORROW!
- You can see why I am excited about seeing Alavutdin make his DREAM debut. I think Ralek Gracie will prove a better opponent though.



Alavutdin Gadzhiyev vs. Yuji Hisamatsu



Darren Uyenoyama:
vs. Ramba Somdet
vs. Anthony Figueroa

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6/15 DREAM 4 - Fight Order Announced

No big surprise that Sakuraba vs. Manhoef is the main event, it is the one the Japanese fans are looking forward too and I don't think they are alone this time! It will be very interesting to see how Sakuraba approaches that task.

I am a bit surprised that, again, Shinya Aoki is in the opening fight. Either way, lots to look forward to in this event. I will be giving the results live on Sunday, but no plans for a Play-by-Play this time.

Middleweight Tournament:
8. Kazushi Sakuraba 24-10-1 vs. 21-4-1 Melvin Manhoef
7. Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza 8-1-0 vs. 21-5-0 Jason "Mayhem" Miller
6. Zelg "Benkei" Galesic 8-3-0 vs. 3-2-0 Taiei Kin
5. Gegard Mousasi 21-2-1 vs. 4-4-0 Dong Sik Yoon

4. Hideo Tokoro 19-13-1 vs. 4-1-0 Darren Uyenoyama
3. Alavutdin Gadzhiyev 7-1-0 vs. 1-0-0 Ralek Gracie
2. Alistair Overeem 26-11-0 vs. 1-1-0 Tae Hyun Lee

Lightweight Tournament:
1. Shinya Aoki 15-2-0 vs. 4-2-0 Katsuhiko Nagata

Read more...

6/15 DREAM 4 - Fight added

FEG has managed to save the situation a bit. They have had 2 fighters withdraw this week and have been lucky in that the 2 remaining fighters have agreed to face eachother.

Ralek Gracie will take on Gadzhiev Alavutdin, in a fight added to the DREAM 4 card today. Gracie was meant to fight CroCop in a special rules grappling match, and Gadzhiev Alavutdin was fighting Cacareko. Unfortunately both these fights were cancelled and now they are fighting each other. It should be an interesting fight, Gadzhiev Alavutdin has been very good in his Pancrase fights and I am really looking forward to him getting his DREAM debut.

I will give live result update from this, but since most of you hopefully are able to catch the HDNet or SkyPerfect broadcast, I am not planning a play-by-play.

The card:
Alavutdin Gadzhiyev 7-1-0 vs. 1-0-0 Ralek Gracie
Hideo Tokoro 19-13-1 vs. 4-1-0 Darren Uyenoyama
Alistair Overeem 26-11-0 vs. 1-1-0 Tae Hyun Lee

Lightweight Tournament:
Shinya Aoki 15-2-0 vs. 4-2-0 Katsuhiko Nagata

Middleweight Tournament:
Kazushi Sakuraba 24-10-1 vs. 21-4-1 Melvin Manhoef
Gegard Mousasi 21-2-1 vs. 4-4-0 Dong Sik Yoon
Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza 8-1-0 vs. 21-5-0 Jason "Mayhem" Miller
Zelg "Benkei" Galesic 8-3-0 vs. 3-2-0 Taiei Kin

Read more...

6/15 DREAM 4 - CroCop Grappling Fight Official

Well, it is official, Crocop will fight a grappling fight against Ralek Gracie. Will this be a highlight in this event? Probably not, will it be good practice for Crocop? Most definately. Then I guess the question is if people want to pay to watch... I have a feeling the Japanese fans will be happy to and the average UFC fan would probably not.

Also added to the card is the fight between Hideo Tokoro and Darren Uyenoyama who holds a win agaist Rambaa Somdet in his last fight in Japan.

Added:
Grappling Fight:
Mirko "CroCop" Filipovic vs. Ralek Gracie

Featherweight Fight:
Hideo Tokoro 19-13-1 vs. 4-1-0 Darren Uyenoyama

Priviously announced:
Middleweight Tournament:
Kazushi Sakuraba 24-10-1 vs. 21-4-1 Melvin Manhoef
Gegard Mousasi 21-2-1 vs. 4-4-0 Dong Sik Yoon
Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza 8-1-0 vs. 21-5-0 Jason "Mayhem" Miller
Zelg "Benkei" Galesic 8-3-0 vs. 3-2-0 Taiei Kin

Lightweight Tournament:
Shinya Aoki 15-2-0 vs. 4-2-0 Katsuhiko Nagata

Read more...

6/15 DREAM 4 Middleweight Tournament Fights Announced

DREAM have announced the match-ups for the 2nd round in the middleweight tournament. As I expected, Manhoef made it in. There are some very interesting fights in this round, I am really looking forward to Mayhem vs. Jacare.

Middleweight Tournament:
Kazushi Sakuraba 24-10-1 vs. 21-4-1 Melvin Manhoef
Gegard Mousasi 21-2-1 vs. 4-4-0 Dong Sik Yoon
Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza 8-1-0 vs. 21-5-0 Jason "Mayhem" Miller
Zelg "Benkei" Galesic 8-3-0 vs. 3-2-0 Taiei Kin

Lightweight Tournament:
Shinya Aoki 15-2-0 vs. 4-2-0 Katsuhiko Nagata

Read more...

4/29 DREAM 2 - Fight Order Announced

Well, its official. Frank Trigg is out of the DREAM tournament, his replacement is Ian Murphy. I have to admitt that Ian Murphy is a new name to me, according to NoB he is an amature wrestler.

It will be interesting to she how he does in this event.

Other than that, I am disapointed... This card looks very average... There are a few interesting fights in there (and a couple of awesome fights), but the card is thin. For the price they are charging, I would expect more. Either way, the tournament will be exciting. You can see that there is 1 fight missing in the middleweight tournament, that will be fought in DREAM 3.

Another surprice, Aoki vs. JZ has gone from being the main event in DREAM 1 to being the opening fight in DREAM 2.... I bet that has never happened before!

This is the fight order:
8. MW Tournament: Kazushi Sakuraba 23-10-1 vs. Andrews Nakahara
7. MW Tournament: Denis Kang 29-9-1 vs. 20-2-1 Gegard Mousasi
6. MW Tournament: Kiyoshi Tamura 28-14-0 vs. 38-12-1 Masakatsu Funaki
5. MW Tournament: Ronaldo Jacare vs. Ian Murphy
4. MW Tournament: Magomed Sultanakhmadov 4-1-0 vs. 7-3-0 Zelg “Benkei” Galesic
3. MW Tournament: Yoon Dong Sik 3-4-0 vs. 7-10-0 Shungo Oyama
2. MW Tournament: Ikuhisa Minowa 39-27-8 vs. 2-2-0 Taiei Kin
1. LW Tournament: Shinya Aoki 14-2-0 vs. 14-1-1 JZ Calvan

MW= Middleweight
LW=Lightweight

Read more...

4/29 DREAM 2 - Fights Announced

DREAM has announced their first fights for the Middleweight tournament. I thought Sakuraba was out, but looks like they pulled him back in... He is facing Andrews Nakahara, a Brazilian Karate specialist.

Kazushi Sakuraba 23-10-1 vs. Andrews Nakahara
Kiyoshi Tamura 28-14-0 vs. 38-12-1 Masakatsu Funaki
Denis Kang 29-9-1 vs. 20-2-1 Gegard Mousasi

http://www.dreamofficial.com/news/detail.php?id=1206599249
http://www.dreamofficial.com/

Read more...

4/29 DREAM 2 - Participants

DREAM has announced (it was actually done at the DREAM event on Saturday) 7 participants for the Middleweight tournament. It is more a field designed to please the Japanese audience than the hard-core MMA fan, from what I can see. But still, it should be an exciting event and these are only half of the tournament participants.

After the dissapointing TBS results for the first event, I am sure they will have some Super-Fights that will draw more viewers.

The fighters announced for the Middleweight tournament:
Kazushi Sakuraba 23-10-1 (2 NC)
Yoon Dong Sik 3-4-0
Yoshihiro Akiyama 10-1-0 (2 NC)
Shungo Oyama 7-10-0
Taiei Kin 2-2-0
Masakatsu Funaki 38-12-1
Ikuhisa Minowa “Minowaman” 39-27-8

Rumored:
Kiyoshi Tamura 27-14-0
Denis Kang 29-9-1

I am putting in the rumored fighters, because the are, as NOB has pointed out, featured on the poster.

Also, just in case you are wondering, DREAM has said they will make an announcement this week with regards to the Lightweight tournament and the controversy surrounding the Aoki vs. JZ decision.

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