The Future of Fighting Blog

Friday, October 02, 2009
by Tomas Rios (trios@sherdog.com)

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The sport’s most anticipated rubber match, the semi-finals and final of a stacked featherweight tournament and the inclusion of Hong Man Choi and Bob Sapp highlight Dream 11 this Tuesday at the Yokohama Arena in Yokohama, Japan.

One can always expect the unusual avalanche of sideshow matchmaking from a Dream event, but the lightweight title bout between reigning champion Joachim Hansen and submission virtuoso Shinya Aoki should be enough to cleanse the palate of any fight snob. Backing up the all-star showdown are the final two rounds of the Dream featherweight grand prix, which features the ongoing Cinderella run of Joe Warren, Hiroyuki Takaya’s attempt to erase the bitter memory of his disappointing World Extreme Cagefighting stint and a pair of submission specialists in Bibiano Fernandes and Hideo Tokoro.

If the promise of such violent goodness does not reel you in, Ikuhisa Minowa will take on Choi in a match that defies any preconceived notions you may have of logic. Get in line for another round of fight analysis.

Dream Lightweight Championship
Joachim Hansen vs. Shinya Aoki

The Breakdown: The rubber match is a rarity in mixed martial arts, and perhaps the last place one would expect to find it is in the chaotic matchmaking web Dream has woven together. Nevertheless, a third bout between Aoki and Hansen, which will decide the future of the lightweight title Hansen currently holds, headlines its latest show.

Anyone with a working Internet connection and access to an MMA forum saw the clip of Aoki’s brilliant gogoplata on Hansen in their first match. However, Hansen learned his lesson in the rematch and scored an abruptly brutal technical knockout over Aoki after nearly getting ensnared in another gogoplata. Despite scoring that win on the mat, Hansen simply does not reside in the same rainbow-colored universe as Aoki when it comes to grappling and will have to rely heavily on his powerful strikes to make up the difference.

In both fights, Aoki took down Hansen with relative ease, using slick outside leg trips and textbook guard pulls. Hansen often made the mistake of loading up on unsightly lead rights that only made Aoki’s takedown attempts much easier to execute. Expecting Hansen to do anything but wing telegraphed power shots seems unrealistic, so Aoki will have the same openings for takedowns he has grown accustomed to seeing. Will Aoki will stay disciplined enough on the mat to keep himself safe from Hansen’s death-from-above ground-and-pound?

There are certain grappling techniques that are not supposed to work in MMA, and Aoki has proven that sort of hard-line thinking wrong time and time again by employing everything from the De La Riva open guard to a hyperactive spider guard. While that elite technical prowess can befuddle even the most talented of grapplers, it remains a risky way to make a living; Hansen has already proven he can punch his fists through the holes in Aoki’s defense. Aoki’s willingness to temper his game against a grappler of Hansen’s caliber will be key, as Aoki’s game is only effective when he keeps his opponents thinking defense; that allows him the time to work them into an inescapable string of submission attempts.

The X Factor: Watching Aoki work on the mat is akin to watching Deep Blue turn Garry Kasparov into a sputtering pile of brain cells — truly awe-inspiring and demands your utmost attention. Of course, Deep Blue never had to worry about Kasparov taking a baseball bat to its motherboard. That is the luxury Aoki does not enjoy, as he still reacts to getting hit as if strikes were illegal. The rematch between these two proved Hansen only needs a small opening to probe Aoki’s brain with his fists. If Aoki cannot put away Hansen early, he will only give him more time to turn the tables and bash him over the head.

* * *

The Bottom Line: Over the course of two matches, Hansen has managed all of five seconds worth of effective offense against Aoki. Granted, those five seconds sent Aoki to bed with no dinner, but that was more a strategic blunder on Aoki’s part than anything else. That same opportunity will not present itself to Hansen again, as he gets caught in a heel hook early in the first round and Aoki ascends to the top of the trans-Pacific heap.

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Stephen Martinez/Sherdog.com

Tatsuya Kawajiri has
learned much from his past.

Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Melchor Manibusan

The Breakdown: Someone in the Dream front office has a serious man crush on “Crusher.” Simply put, Kawajiri is better than Manibusan at everything. Manibusan has not fought in three years, holds a 2-3 record and has no business even entertaining the notion of taking this fight. Someone out there may try and convince us that Manibusan’s amateur wrestling credentials and submission background add an interesting wrinkle to this fight; those people are crazy.

Kawajiri is an excellent wrestler who can stuff takedowns as easily as he executes them. Even if Manibusan can ground Kawajiri, he does not have the game to finish him and will have to deal with Kawajiri’s ever-improving striking skills sooner or later.

The X Factor: No matter how obvious the outcome of a fight may appear, a variable usually exists that can throw everything out of whack. Not this time. Unless Manibusan has somehow spent the past three years recreating Rocky Balboa’s training camp for Ivan Drago and the Clubber Lang rematch, one can feel comfortable banking on Kawajiri.

* * *

The Bottom Line: In all honesty, these kinds of throw-away matches often yield less than inspiring results. If Kawajiri is not tuned in for a fight, we may get a boring lopsided decision instead a scintillating knockout. Either way, Kawajiri takes the win, Manibusan gets a paycheck and everyone walks away happy; that’s what it’s all about anyway. Seriously, check Dream’s rulebook.

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Daniel Herbertson/Sherdog.com

Joe Warren is no
ordinary MMA newcomer.

Dream Featherweight Grand Prix Semi-Final
Bibiano Fernandes vs. Joe Warren

The Breakdown: A super-prospect takes on one of the most underrated grapplers in the game, as Warren locks up with Fernandes in a match that pits Warren’s sterling wrestling game against Fernandes’ fearsome jiu-jitsu style. The real difference maker, however, may be Warren’s surprising boxing skills, which could give a mat-minded Fernandes fits. By the same token, Warren’s jiu-jitsu has never been tested, and Fernandes will have no qualms about pulling guard and trying to tie the American in knots. Can Warren defend that strategy? It makes for a fascinating question since he has already proven he knows so much more than any rookie should.

The X Factor: Natural talent can get you a long way in a developing sport, and Warren is testing the limits of that notion against some elite opposition. Taking a split decision over Norifumi Yamamoto in Japan was a testament to Warren’s moxie, but pure ability is mostly inapplicable when it comes to the technical intricacies of grappling. It will take some exceptionally disciplined strategy by Warren to keep his airway and arms out of harm’s way. Even then, one has to wonder if Warren grasps just how thin a line he will have to walk to keep his undefeated record intact.

* * *

The Bottom Line: Striking will be what turns this fight on its head, as Warren sprawls and brawls his way to a textbook decision win. Time spent on the mat will consist of Warren playing it conservative and taking the nearest exit, as Fernandes struggles to find a groove in between getting his chin checked by Warren’s fists. The clock will prove Fernandes’ greatest enemy, as Warren plays it to his favor en route to stamping his ticket to the final.

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Stephen Martinez/Sherdog.com

Takaya will make the finals.

Dream Featherweight Grand Prix Semi-Final
Hiroyuki Takaya vs. Hideo Tokoro

The Breakdown: You are not likely to ever see a fight with two more disparate fighters. Takaya’s biker gangster persona seems perfectly suited for his kickboxing style, while Tokoro’s janitor turned superstar story has warmed the hearts of millions; his submissions routinely remind opponents he is more than just a Lifetime movie of the week candidate. What Tokoro may lack is the ability to plant Takaya on his back long enough to grab hold of something and torque it, especially considering Takaya’s underrated submission defense and knack for translating his striking to the mat. Unless Tokoro can draw Takaya into a grappling match by hook or crook, his one-dimensional style will not do him any favors in this fight.

The X Factor: Takaya often makes the mistake of over-committing on his strikes and leaving himself vulnerable to takedowns. He also generates a world of power on his power shots, but that will not help him much if he whiffs and fails to recover his guard before Tokoro takes this fight somewhere from which he cannot escape.

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The Bottom Line: This fight will be defined by poor decision making on the part of Tokoro, as he repeats the same mistake he has made in the past and tries his luck on the feet against a superior striker. The end game will be predictable for us and painful for Tokoro, who ends up splayed out on the canvas while Takaya takes the second ticket to the final.

Every so often, tournaments work out. Let’s hope this one does. Takaya and Warren in the same ring seems like the only way anyone can justify watching Bob Sapp fight. As for the potential matchup itself, Warren would do well ditching his ambitions as a striker in favor of grounding-and-pounding Takaya for as long as it takes someone to hand him the grand prix title.

While Warren’s hands are exceptionally skilled at this point, he would be smart to play it safe against a more versatile and learned striker — especially when you consider Takaya’s guard game is not particularly sharp offensively. Plus, he lacks the skill needed to hold down a wrestler of Warren’s caliber.

Warren may lack the good sense to resist trading with Takaya, but he will eventually take him down and do what everyone in his corner hopes — notch a tidy ground-and-pound TKO. With that win, Warren will have gone from relative unknown to featherweight standard bearer in the time it takes an average person to plan a vacation.

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Trevor Williams/Sherdog.com

Minowa will win by submission.

Dream Super Hulk Tournament Semi-Final
Hong Man Choi vs. Ikuhisa Minowa

The Breakdown: The first semi-final bout of Dream’s Super Hulk tournament matches the sufficiently hulky Choi against the decidedly un-hulky Minowa. For the uninitiated, Choi is a big dude — really big, in fact — and that should make for something entertaining against Minowa’s somewhat mentally disturbed approach to fighting.

A self-styled giant killer, Minowa’s unpredictability relies on sleight of hand and the occasional display of submission brilliance, mixed in with moves better suited to the world of professional wrestling. Most of Choi’s skill comes from being built like South Korea’s answer to Shaquille O’Neal. That likely will not be enough to beat someone who has actual MMA training, regardless of how schizophrenic Minowa may seem.

The X Factor: If Minowa has enough crazy in him to try and tangle with Choi on the feet, it will not take long for Choi to prove that someone his size does not need much acceleration to create the force it takes to send someone to the hospital. If nothing else, this fight will be a great measuring stick for Minowa’s craziness.

* * *

The Bottom Line: If Minowa had the sense to try and tap out Bob Sapp, he should follow suit against Choi, who may be even less capable of defending a submission than his equally massive counterpart. Watch for some of Minowa’s usual opening bell lunacy before he shoots a single leg and attaches himself to one of Choi’s limbs. Once that happens, Minowa will have Choi tapping out in short order, giving way to another one of his instant classic post-fight promos.

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Stephen Martinez/Sherdog.com

Sokoudjou is a lock to win.

Dream Super Hulk Tournament Semi-Final
Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou vs. Bob Sapp

The Breakdown: After getting bounced out in the Super Hulk tournament’s opening round, Sapp gets a second chance thanks to Gegard Mousasi’s stateside move, but it comes against the prohibitive favorite. Considering Sokoudjou’s powerful striking and nasty arsenal of judo throws, Sapp’s certified ginormous frame does not seem like much of an asset. Most of Sapp’s offense comes from clubbing his opponents or lying on top and then clubbing them; that is not much of a strategy against a truly skilled opponent like Sokoudjou.

The X Factor: Throughout Sokoudjou’s career, conditioning has cost him multiple fights he was otherwise winning. While Sapp is hardly a supremely conditioned athlete, if Sokoudjou hits empty early, there is no telling how he will react to suddenly being outgunned against a man who can bench press him as a warm-up. Sokoudjou remains the favorite and with good reason, but his cardio has kept him from many a win, and it could just as easily keep him from a victory everyone has assumed was his.

* * * The Bottom Line: As easy as it is to imagine Sokoudjou turning into a sputtering mess after a few minutes of effort, it is even easier to imagine Sapp tapping out before Sokoudjou’s tank reads empty. An early judo trip and some ground-and-pound will be all it takes for Sokoudjou to give Sapp a second early exit from the tournament. Unfortunately, that will do nothing to stop Sapp from recording another Japanese pop album.

Thursday, March 05, 2009
by Jordan Breen (jbreen@sherdog.com)

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With his 117-second spanking of Leonard Garcia, divisional ruler Mike Thomas Brown not only retained his WEC featherweight title and 145-pound mantle, but he kicked off the month in style. Not just any old month, either.

The featherweight division has roared to prominence over the last two years. With that rise to combative consciousness, it seems everything is called the “biggest something-or-other in featherweight history.”

However, make no mistake, March ‘09 is more than certainly the biggest month ever for MMA’s most unnecessarily neglected division.

Brown set the tempo for the weeks to come, which will feature the starts of two splendid 16-man featherweight tournaments across the Pacific. Dream’s featherweight (which for unfortunate reasons, parent company Fighting and Entertainment Group believes is 139 pounds instead of 145 pounds) grand prix is the first of the two, with a bracket that opens Sunday at the Saitama Super Arena.

 

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Daniel Herbertson/Sherdog.com

Expect hot competition.

“Wicky Akiyo” Akiyo Nishiura vs. Abel Cullum

If you want raw, uncut, unbridled action on this card, here is your most likely bet.

Both “Wicky Akiyo” and Abel Cullum have aggressive offensive games but with particular liabilities that should make for 15 minutes of high-paced action in all positions. Nishiura relies on his striking, which is colorful, explosive and unorthodox, not terribly unlike his artwork that is displayed in his tattoos and his fight shorts, both of which he designs himself. The 21-year-old Cullum, while by no means a shoddy striker, is at his best on the ground, where he’s lithe and dynamic, great in the transition game and scrambles, and a great submission finisher.

The bout isn’t short on relevance, either, as both are in need of a breakout win into the spotlight. Nishiura was denied his moment in the limelight in December, when Yuji Hoshino edged him out in the Cage Force featherweight tournament final. Cullum fell short against hot prospect Wilson Reis in his first major, marquee moment, fighting for EliteXC’s featherweight crown last September. In what should be a crackling contest, both now have the opportunity to get that nagging, attention-grabbing victory.

Though it may be true in a basic way, it would be a simplification of matters to say that Wicky would prefer to stand and Cullum would prefer the bout on the ground. Cullum is longer, rangier and will be able to land kicks at distance, while Nishiura will have no qualms about getting on top and dishing out some ground-and-pound, where he can be rather effective.

The fight may hinge on the takedown department. Cullum is extremely slick and versatile on the floor but struggles to get it there on his own. He is more of a sweep-and-submit sort than a real top gamer. The weakest part of Nishiura’s game is his straight takedown defense, so he is obviously insulated in that Cullum offers no major threat to his own shortcomings. What’s more, Cullum’s aggressive submission offense will have to be constant to stay in control against Nishiura, as it’s unlikely that he’ll be able to simply catch him and submit him. As poor as his defensive wrestling may be, Nishiura’s ability to escape submissions and get back to his feet is truly fantastic. More than that, Nishiura actually has decent takedowns of his own, despite not exactly having figured out the intricacies of the sprawl quite yet.

This may be one of the few bouts where FEG’s non-conformity to more universal MMA rules may have influence. One of Nishiura’s biggest problems in most bouts under the 10-point must system is that as a flimsy wrestler, he’s liable to lose five-minute segments in which he gets stuck to the canvas. However, judging bouts on the whole, as is done in Dream, is beneficial to Nishiura. He nearly always lands the larger, more damaging blows on his opponents and seldom takes any real punishment on the ground once he’s taken down.

For Cullum to win, he would have to work expertly from range, landing jabs and kicks while dodging the wild, winging punches of Wicky Akiyo. If and when the bout hits the floor, Cullum will likely be the man on the bottom. He’ll have to do what Akitoshi Tamura did to Nishiura, constantly threatening with submissions, controlling the bout from his back and not allowing him any ability to ground-and-pound or step out of his guard and get back to his feet. While he’s a brilliant young talent, it’s hard for me to imagine Cullum being so perfect in both respects. Expect hot competition, up-and-down offense and a close Wicky Akiyo win on the scorecards.

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Stephen Martinez/Sherdog.com

Never bet for or
against Yoshiro Maeda.

Yoshiro Maeda vs. Micah Miller

While our evening features two “WEC veteran versus debuting grappling sport standout” bouts, thankfully, FEG saw fit to take at least two other WEC veterans and put them against each other in a legitimately interesting bout.

Maeda did much for his stature and image in his WEC bantamweight title challenge and “Fight of the Year” contender against Miguel Torres last June. His turnaround submission loss to Rani Yahya five months later, however, while much less viewed, showed his worst warts. We seldom think of MMA in terms of offensive and defensive separation the way we do in stick-and-ball sports, but Maeda provides an interesting case as to why we perhaps should. A brilliant offensive fighter, Maeda not only has an underrated offensive submission game but a high-flying, varied striking attack with considerable KO power.

However, his entire career has been marked by defensive instability, between walking into knockouts against Charles “Krazy Horse” Bennett and Daiki “DJ.taiki” Hata, to falling head first into submissions against Joe Pearson and Rani Yahya. It’s an unfortunate pairing of traits, which much like high-powered offensive teams in the NFL and NBA, will never offer championship-level stability but will always ensure that Maeda is a legitimate threat.

Miller is certainly not the high-octane threat Maeda is on the feet, but he has steadily improved his stand-up over the last two years, notwithstanding getting clipped by Josh Grispi and being a victim of a weak stoppage from Herb Dean. A slick and spindly submission stud, Miller’s real forte is still on the ground, where he’s adroit in all positions, with serious finishing skills. While his December bout against Jason Palacios may just seem like an average tune-up to the casual eye, Miller ripping off an impressive submission is indeed worthy of praise. Palacios is not only a very tough-but-unheralded fighter, he is also a fighter grapplers like Takuya Wada and Satoru Kitaoka couldn’t finish in bouts contested at welterweight. It would be wrong to size this bout up as striker-versus-grappler, but certainly Maeda will want to stand and bang. Though Miller can hold his own on the feet, his better chances are on the ground. It is always a tricky proposition to pick Maeda, or against him, given his flakiness and defensive liabilities. However, given Miller’s improved stand-up and reach advantage — two qualities that Maeda has struggled mightily with against lanky foes like Torres and Taiki — and the fact that Miller has the sort of slick, snap-second submissions that Maeda often finds himself getting trapped in, my figurative money rests with a Miller submission, although my literal money will never go anywhere near a Yoshiro Maeda bout.

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Jim Page/Sherdog.com

Imanari will make
his opponent limp.

Atsushi Yamamoto vs. Masakazu Imanari

It’s hardly the Yamamoto the world would wish for, but it’ll have to do until May, when Atsushi’s mentor, Norifumi Yamamoto, is back in the saddle and takes his place in this tournament.

While a considerable underdog against MMA’s foremost foot fetishist, the lesser known of the Krazy Bee Yamamotos is not terribly out of his depth here. While he is much better suited to the bantamweight division, Yamamoto began his career as a featherweight and is coming off a victory as a featherweight over Hideo Tokoro in September, where the former standout collegiate wrestler showed much improved striking and an overall tightening of his MMA game. In fact, one could certainly make the argument that being a better striker and a better technical wrestler than Imanari, Yamamoto should enjoy some advantages in this bout. Of course, this is why MMA is much more than a simple addition and aggregation of “advantages.”

Imanari will never be a fantastic striker or a dominating wrestler. As far as the stand-up goes, he’s content to just throw lunging kicks to the midsection of his opponents. In the wrestling department, he’s more than happy to fling himself at the legs of his foes. He is perhaps MMA’s quintessential wildcard in that he has a chance against any opponent in a reasonable weight range, based on the aggression, precision and mastery of his leglock arsenal. In an era where many fighters have been taught to pay no mind to leglocks because they “never work” and other similar foolishness, Imanari has made routine out of wrecking the feet, ankles, shins and knees of high-level grapplers. In fact, he’s the last man to knock off the featherweight division’s current ruler, Mike Thomas Brown, with a handy-dandy, nigh-indescribable kneelock in December 2005.

Anyone has a chance against Imanari. They’re almost certain to outstrike him, and when the bout hits the ground, they’ll likely be in top position, where they can rain down strikes. It is essentially MMA’s version of “The Running Man,” in which victory is yours if you can evade capture for 15 minutes. Yamamoto will land shots standing and will end up on top in this bout. If he can make it until the final horn, he probably wins.

However, it’s unlikely that he’s going to evade all of Imanari’s patented leg attacks. Even if he’s able to, he’s hardly out of the clear, as Imanari has shown recently in bouts such as against Robbie Olivier that he’s more than just a one-trick pony and instead a versatile submission threat. Two upsets in a row for Yamamoto isn’t beyond the pale, but it’s far more likely he spends the next week with a limp courtesy of the sport’s premier podomaniac.

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Jim Page/Sherdog.com

There’s little shame in
losing to Fernandes.

Takafumi Otsuka vs. Bibiano Fernandes

The evening’s most bittersweet bout is a pairing of two fighters who are criminally underrated and overlooked, making it all the more unfortunate that one of them must lose.

The 22-year-old Otsuka was an unheralded unknown with a sub-.500 record when he started showing up in Brazilian promotion Fury FC. Then, over the course of two years, he showed marked improvement through a seven-bout unbeaten streak that saw him challenge Rafael dos Anjos for the promotion’s lightweight crown. Otsuka, who should be campaigning as a bantamweight, arguably defeated the UFC employee. Not too shabby at all.

Much more was expected from Fernandes, who boasts five BJJ world titles and was one of the grappling world’s great talents, and despite racking up a 1-2 record (like Otsuka) in his first three bouts, he showed it. Of course, bouts two and three came against Urijah Faber, whom he was besting until he was stopped on a cut, and tournament favorite Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto, whom he went nip-and-tuck with for 15 minutes. You won’t fight a more sensational 3-2 fighter on the planet, believe me.

While Otsuka continues to show fight-to-fight improvement, he still lacks any great skills beyond toughness and physicality, or anything resembling a conscientious game plan. Worse yet, while Fernandes isn’t a hulking featherweight, he’ll still likely be the stronger of the two fighters. Unless Otsuka has miraculously matured into a diligent sprawl-and-brawl stylist in the last three months, he’s going to spend the bout glued to the bottom of the mat against Fernandes, and it will be a simple case of whether he can avoid a submission and make it to the final bell. That said, there’s little shame in losing to Fernandes, who will emerge as this tournament’s breakout talent.

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Stephen Martinez/Sherdog.com

This is MMA and
anything can happen.

Hiroyuki Takaya vs. Jong Won Kim

Debuting judoka versus quality, experienced MMA fighter. To be sure, this is MMA and anything can happen. On the other hand, it won’t.

However, for his own sake, here’s hoping Kim’s first bout of fisticuffs is less futile than his mentor Dong Sik Yoon’s.

Chase Beebe vs. Joe Warren

Debuting wrestler versus quality, experienced MMA fighter. To be sure, this is MMA and anything can happen. On the other hand, it won’t.

Despite Warren’s Greco-Roman world title and despite Beebe’s recent injury-slash-flakiness that nixed a slated bout with Mike Easton and now may land him in litigation with the UWC, the honest MMA fighter should win yet again, with little hope for a Mo Lawal replay. Hopefully, Warren, whose Olympic wrestling hopes were dashed after a second positive pot test, has realized why the star of this very tournament isn’t fighting until May, and the thrill of his MMA debut will be a suitable high for his Japanese vacation.

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Daniel Herbertson/Sherdog.com

Aoki gets a quick
and easy payday.

Shinya Aoki vs. David Gardner

After a staggering seven bouts in ‘08, sassy submission stalwart Shinya Aoki is looking for another prodigious year. Next month, he returns to the welterweight division for the start of Dream’s 168-pound grand prix, but first, he gets a quick and easy payday against journeyman American wrassler David Gardner as a peace offering from FEG for bullying him into their welterweight tournament bracket.

If you rearrange the letters in “Dave Gardner,” you can spell “ravaged nerd.” Meanwhile, “Shinya Aoki,” plus added punctuation, provides us with the illuminating anagram, “Kayo? Sin, hai!” which divines a stealthy tapout for the “Tobikan Judan.”

I’m in no position to tell Aoki what to do with his fight purse. However, with the move back up to welterweight, he has some room to binge, so I feel compelled to point out that “first-round sub” rearranged is “burritos funds.”

Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Ross Ebanez

Further proof that statistics can be either illuminating or idiotic: Tatsuya Kawajiri lasted 7:35 in his bout with Eddie Alvarez, while Ross Ebanez stuck around for 7:32. Numbers like that could make you believe that some sort of parity existed here. Of course, those numbers would be lying bastards.

In the spectrum of pointless bouts, Kawajiri-Ebanez is among the worst kind of uselessness. It isn’t particularly competitive, but it isn’t so horribly mismatched that it is morbidly comic or novel. Rather, it’s just a good fighter against a great fighter, and, proving that words can be just as deceptive as numbers, that’s not a particularly delicious recipe in this case, unfortunately.

The bout’s one redeeming aspect should offer at least some decent entertainment, as both will be more than willing to trade punches. Kawajiri has worked diligently on his technical striking, and it showed its rewards on New Year’s Eve when he assailed shopworn muay Thai king Kozo Takeda. Against the tough-but-untamed Ebanez, the “Crusher” should have the upper hand on the feet en route to a stoppage victory, unless he wants to dust off his circa 2004 style and speed things up with ground-and-pound.

Mitsuhiro Ishida vs. Daisuke Nakamura

Of all the evening’s superfights, here is the supernova, a legitimately exquisite lightweight bout that while not a do-or-die fight in the strictest of terms, has considerable stakes for its combatants.

After the biggest win of his career over Gilbert Melendez on New Year’s Eve 2007, Mitsuhiro Ishida had seemed to finally arrive in the consciousness of MMA fans as one of the sport’s top lightweights. However, that was quickly nixed five months later, when he was upset by wily vet Caol Uno, who was able to choke out Ishida, who had made his career in part out of dazzling submission escapes. While his September Strikeforce bout, where he put a highlight-reel armbar on Justin Wilcox, resuscitated his stature somewhat, Ishida has remained somewhat of an afterthought with the recent fervor over Shinya Aoki, the rise of Eddie Alvarez, the rapidly intensifying UFC 155-pound class and the unsung heroes of Sengoku’s lightweight division finally getting to shine.

Daisuke Nakamura hasn’t got his chance to shine yet. He’s been beaten just once in the last three years, and only by the outstanding Vitor “Shaolin” Ribeiro, who was only able to dislocate Nakamura’s elbow rather than make him tap. That three-year run includes 11 victories, including seven victories in ‘08 alone. To further the statistical angle, his last four bouts include two flying armbars. Nakamura has in all ways matured into a rock solid lightweight, who if not an elite fighter, may be one of the most thoroughly enjoyable fighters to watch in perhaps MMA’s most thoroughly enjoyable-to-watch division.

This delicious bit of matchmaking will ultimately hinge on Nakamura’s offense versus Ishida’s defense. Ishida, while he’s improved his stand-up, typically just uses his punches to segue into his dynamite single- and double-leg takedowns. Though Nakamura is still at his best on the mat, he holds the striking advantage in technique and certainly power. If he can’t keep the bout standing, which is entirely unlikely given the speed and fairly impregnable wrestling of Ishida, he’ll have to be at his most slick and dynamic on the ground. As mentioned, despite the Uno submission, Ishida has a highlight reel within his highlight reel of sensational submission escapes, such as his armbar evasions against Kenichiro Togashi and Cristiano Marcello. His high work rate in top position exposes him against fleet sub grapplers, which will be the fundamental fulcrum of the fight.

The safe bet is an Ishida decision in a high-paced and entertaining display of scrambling in which Ishida will constantly need to reassert his base against the aggressive grappling of Nakamura. However, if Nakamura is able to lock up a submission and knock off Ishida, don’t call it an upset. It would just be the coming-out party for a wildly entertaining and criminally overlooked fighter.

TOKYO — Despite last-minute absences, late replacements and the lack of certain marquee New Year’s Eve fighters, Fighting and Entertainment Group still delivered the goods Wednesday with its final card of the year, Dynamite.

Due to the last-minute withdrawal of Joachim Hansen, who had an unspecified head injury that prevented him from passing a preliminary medical check to fight Gesias Cavalcante, grappling sensation Shinya Aoki and former Bodog welterweight champ Eddie Alvarez took co-main event honors before a sold-out Saitama Super Arena.

Alvarez stuffed a double-leg early, and Aoki chased him around the ring while butt-scooting. Realizing that the ground was the absolute last place he wanted to be with Aoki, Alvarez continued to backpedal until referee Noguchi stood Aoki up.

Alvarez then delivered a middle kick, which Aoki caught and used to capture the back clinch. In response Alvarez whipped Aoki over his hip with a harai-goshi, landing on top in mount, but Aoki escaped immediately and put Alvarez in guard. The Japanese fighter then dove for Alvarez’s leg, taking the American to the mat.

As neither man had worked up a sweat yet, Aoki had the adequate grip to lock on the heel hook and put away yet another opponent by the submission of choice according to the Nippon Top Team playbook. Alvarez tapped out at 1:32 in the opening frame.

Despite an entertaining night of fights, the Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Kazushi Sakuraba main event brought the evening to an anticlimactic end as Tamura capped their 15-year feud with a safe but dominant unanimous decision.

Stuffing Sakuraba’s single-leg attempts in the opening moments, Tamura bullied his way into the IQ Wrestler’s guard to drop hammerfists and punches — much to the surprise of the 25,634 fans in attendance, who didn’t expect striking on the ground from this UWF throwback bout. Sakuraba attempted submissions from bottom, but Tamura shrugged them off to wear away at his one-time UWF Dojo junior with punches. Weary under the mounting damage, Sakuraba hung on and survived the 10-minute round.

The second period saw more of the same, prompting a double yellow card from referee Daisuke Noguchi, who warned both fighters for not fighting aggressively. Outside of slamming three hard low kicks that buckled Sakuraba’s legs, Tamura continued to punish from the top position in guard until a last-minute reversal from Sakuraba put him in top position. It was too little too late, however, as the previous 14 minutes clearly belonged to Tamura. As such, all three judges ruled the bout for Tamura.

Though a last-minute replacement, Dream middleweight grand prix semifinalist Melvin Manhoef shockingly and quickly put away Mark Hunt in brutal fashion. As Hunt jumped into action to throw punches, Manhoef backpedaled and planted a hard left-right hook counter square on the “Samoan Monster’s” jaw, knocking him stiff for the knockout at a mere 18 seconds into the first.

Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic took his time dispatching the “Techno Goliath,” Hong Man Choi, and backpedaled for the majority of the fight. Both Cro Cop and Choi received yellow cards for not fighting aggressively. However, a hard left low kick from Filipovic came shortly after the penalty and landed on Choi’s knee as he tried to check it. The blow sent the Korean crashing down, gripping his knee in pain, for the stoppage at 6:32.

Hayato Sakurai took a handy TKO over Katsuyori Shibata in a 7:01 beating that saw the pro-wrestling convert helplessly eat punches and knees off of his back for most of the bout. Sakurai ate a few punches early en route to getting Shibata to the ground, but once there, that’s where the fight stayed. Sakurai transitioned from side mount to full mount to knee on belly at will, dropping big punches and knees on a defenseless Shibata. Just beyond the halfway point, referee Moritaka Oshiro decided he’d seen enough, calling the bout to award Sakurai the TKO.

Three-time K-1 world grand prix champ Semmy Schilt bested Salia “Mighty Mo” Siliga in their MMA bout by way of submission. Mo surprised early, barreling the taller Schilt over to take the top position and drop big punches from guard. Schilt tried to control both Mo’s posture and his wrists, but Mo threw punches regardless, racking up the points as Schilt crept his legs up for submission attempts. Soon enough, though, Schilt’s efforts were rewarded as he triangled his legs on a tired Siliga for the tap at 5:31 in the opening frame.

Daniel Herbertson/Sherdog.com

Bob Sapp crushed Akihito
“Kinniku Mantaro” Tanaka.

Despite the cartoon exterior, what lay under the Kinniku Mantaro mask was a bona-fide Japanese wrestling stud in Akihito Tanaka, whom FEG has had under contract for four years. However, Tanaka’s four-year prep time proved ineffective against Bob Sapp’s fists. After controlling Sapp on the ground for most of the fight, Sapp eventually powered out and reversed position on Tanaka. Tanaka escaped to standing, but was soon eating punches. As he turned into the ropes to evade the barrage, referee Daisuke Noguchi stopped the bout at 5:22.

In the battle of fighters with famous brothers, Andy Ologun separated Yukio Sakaguchi from consciousness. Sakaguchi cinched an early triangle attempt, but Ologun punched his way free to guard, prompting the stand-up call. Sakaguchi then lunged with a wide right, but was countered by a big Ologun right uppercut, left hook combo, dropping the Japanese fighter. Ologun lunged to finish and planted a big left hand on Sakaguchi’s chin that caused referee Samio Kimura to save Sakaguchi at 3:52.

In the grappling highlight of the evening, Daisuke Nakamura proved too heavy a test for Hideo Tokoro, as the former 176-pounder was just as nimble and quick as his featherweight opponent. Though Tokoro has faced larger opponents in the past, the story of his giant-slaying career was not much different on New Year’s Eve 2008 as Nakamura overwhelmed Tokoro’s spirited efforts on the mat. Wrenching out armbar and kimura attempts between defending a lone Tokoro armbar attempt, it was only a matter of time until Nakamura had one of Tokoro’s arms fully extended. With Tokoro tangled in Nakamura’s legs and with no avenue of escape, referee Oshiro called the bout at 2:43 of the opening frame.

Starting off the evening, Ikuhisa Minowa dispatched MMA neophyte Errol Zimmerman with ease, taking him to the floor to lock a scream-inducing toehold for the tap at 1:01 in the first round.

In the kickboxing bouts, all of MMA’s representatives did their sport proud by thoroughly whipping on their K-1 counterparts. Tatsuya Kawajiri destroyed the thoroughly shop-worn Kozo Takeda with four knockdowns — one by a particularly brutal flying knee — while Alistair Overeem knocked out 2008 World Grand Prix finalist and Moroccan Bad Boy Badr Hari, putting an exclamation point on the evening’s MMA dominance. Also, Dream middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi blitzed an unsuspecting Musashi until the referee was forced to save the Japanese kickboxer from suffering a third knockdown while eating punishment against the ropes.

K-1 Koshien Under-18 Kickboxing Tournament Results:

Hiroya def. Koya Urabe — Unanimous Decision 3:00 R4 (extra round)
Hiroya def. Shota Shimada — Unanimous Decision 3:00 R3
Koya Urabe def. Ryuya Kusakabe — TKO (Doctor Stop) 2:21 R3
Taishi Hiratsuka def. Daizo Sasaki — KO (Punch) 1:00 R2

DREAM on Friday announced that it has added five fights to its DREAM.3 event, which is scheduled to take place on May 11 at the Saitama Super Arena. The second round of the DREAM Lightweight Grand Prix highlights the show, but significant individual bouts have been added as well.

Among them is a welterweight title elimination bout between Cesar Gracie fighter Nick Diaz and former welterweight King of Pancrase Katsuya Inoue. The winner will move on to face Hayato “Mach” Sakurai for the championship on July 21 at Dream.5.

Diaz hasn’t fought since losing due to a doctor’s stoppage to K.J. Noons at Elite XC: Renegade, while Inoue drew with Djamal Kurbanov at Pancrase: Shining 3.

In a bout that serves as the final addition to the first round of the Middleweight Grand Prix, Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran Jason “Mayhem” Miller makes his Japanese debut against Masakatsu Funaki pupil Katsuyori Shibata. Miller won a decision victory over Tim Kennedy at HDNet Fights: Reckless Abandon. Shibata was stopped by Min Suk Heo at K-1 Hero’s Korea 2007.

Dutch striker Melvin Manhoef faces off with Korean wrestler Dae Won Kim in a reserve fight for the Middleweight Grand Prix. The winner will step in if Kiyoshi Tamura is deemed unable to compete due to an injury he suffered in the opening round of the tournament or if another tournament fighter is unable to compete.

Manhoef’s latest MMA action was a stoppage victory over Yosuke Nishijima at K-1 Dynamite!! 2007, while Kim stopped Marcelo Garcia at K-1 Hero’s Korea 2007.

Korean judoka Bu Kung Jung takes on Pride veteran Daisuke Nakamura in a non-tournament bout. Jung suffered a decision loss to Mitsuhiro Ishida at DREAM.1, while Nakamura won a decision over Juri Ivlev at M-1 Challenge.

Also announced as participating on the show is DEEP veteran Takeshi Yamazaki, who scored a submission victory over Daikai Ozaki at Cage Force: Ex Eastern Bound.

Second round lightweight match-ups include, former Shooto welterweight champion Tatsuya Kawajiri facing off with Brazilian Top Team fighter Luis Buscape; Pride veteran Joachim Hansen taking on EliteXC veteran Eddie Alvarez; former Shooto Pacific Rim welterweight champion Mitsuhiro Ishida against K-1 Hero’s veteran Caol Uno; and 2000 Olympic silver medalist Katsuhiko Nagata tentatively scheduled to fight Shooto middleweight champion Shinya Aoki.

The Mark Cuban-owned HDNet network on Friday announced, via its Inside MMA television show, that it will begin airing DREAM events from Japan.

The new partnership starts with DREAM.1, which will air on Friday, May 2 at 10:30 p.m. ET. The event occurred earlier this year on March 15 and featured the opening round of the promotion’s Lightweight Grand Prix tournament.

On May 3, HDNet will air DREAM.2, which occurs Monday, April 29 in Saitama, Japan. DREAM.2 features the opening round of the promotion’s Middleweight Grand Prix tournament.

Though no definitive times were released, future DREAM events will air on the same day of the event in Japan or on a much shorter delay than the first two events.

The initial deal between HDNet and DREAM covers the promotion’s first six events.

News of the deal arrives on the heels of DREAM losing its primetime television slot on the Tokyo Broadcasting System in Japan. TBS will still are DREAM events, but it will be on a one-week delayed basis.

The DREAM events will, however, air on live pay-per-view television on SkyPerfectTV, including the April 29 event, according to a report on Sherdog.com. Although being pulled from primetime is a step backwards for the promotion, the live pay-per-view events will air unedited, unlike the edited prime time showings.

The partnership between HDNet and DREAM had been speculated for quite some time. As Andrew Simon told MMAWeekly earlier this month, “I think (DREAM) would be a fine addition to the great partners we currently have on HDNet. We are already partnered with Strikeforce, IFL, Sportfight, Maximum Fighting Championship, Ring of Combat, XFL and M1-Global.”

Dream parent company Fight Entertainment Group has given resolve to the debacle between Gesias Calvancante (Pictures) and Shinya Aoki (Pictures), announcing that the lightweights will rematch on April 29’s Dream card at Saitama Super Arena.

Aoki and Calvancante, who were originally slated to meet Dec. 31 at Yarennoka, finally faced one another in the main event of March 15’s debut Dream card. The bout, an opening round contest in Dream’s lightweight grand prix, ended amidst controversy when a series of elbows from Calvancante to the back and neck area of Aoki were deemed illegal, leaving the colorful grappler unable to continue.

The bout was ruled a no-contest, but given the tournament fight’s profile Dream event producer Keiichi Sasahara said immediately after that FEG would confer and decide how to proceed. Although FEG’s decision was somewhat delayed, as Sasahara said he wanted to announce the resolution no later than a week after the event, FEG has its lightweight tournament back on track.

The rematch will essentially be a “do over” and slotted as a first round match-up. The winner will have to fight twice in two weeks, with the quarterfinals of the lightweight tournament slated for May 11 at Saitama Super Arena. Along with this announcement, FEG announced the four quarterfinal match-ups for the May 11 bill.

The winner between Aoki and Calvancante will take on former Olympic Greco-Roman wrestling silver medal medalist Katsuhiko Nagata (Pictures), who defeated Russian Artur Oumakhanov (Pictures) via unanimous decision to advance last month.

Perhaps the two most sterling performers of the opening round — Joachim Hansen (Pictures) and Eddie Alvarez (Pictures) — will square off in the quarterfinal round. Hansen dominated Kotetsu Boku (Pictures) en route to a blowout decision victory, while Alvarez dispatched touted Chute Boxe product Andre “Dida” Amade from the mount late in the first stanza.

The next round will also see Tatsuya Kawajiri (Pictures) and Luiz “Buscape” Firmino rematch their July 2005 meeting, which saw the “Crusher” take over the latter stages of the bout with a salvo of stomps to earn a unanimous decision victory. Kawajiri outwrestled Kultar Gill (Pictures) in March to advance, while Firmino slickly submitted Kazuyuki Miyata (Pictures) in the first round.

In the final May 11 tournament match, Mitsuhiro Ishida (Pictures) will take on the returning Caol Uno (Pictures), whom FEG inserted into the tournament bracket. Sasahara revealed prior to the first Dream card that FEG had hoped to have the popular fighter-fashionista in the tournament, but Uno felt he had not fully healed from a broken jaw sustained against “Dida” last September. In the opening round, Ishida was victorious in a lackluster decision over Olympic judo silver medalist Bu Kyung Jung (Pictures).

Dream on Thursday announced some of the match-ups for the first round of its Middleweight Grand Prix set to start on April 29 at the Saitama Super Arena in Japan.Despite speculation that he would not be participating, legendary fighter Kazushi Sakuraba will return to action after back-to-back wins to face the relatively unknown Andrews Nakahara. In his last fight out, Sakuraba finished Masakatsu Funaki by kimura during the K-1 New Year’s Eve show to close out 2007.Former Pride middleweight, Denis Kang will face Gegard Mousasi in another first round match-up. Kang will be returning for the first time since suffering a knockout loss to Yoshihiro Akiyama. Mousasi is currently riding a seven-fight win streak, competing in multiple promotions including Bodog Fight and Hardcore Fighting Championships. The final bout announced pits Kiyoshi Tamura against Masakatsu Funaki. Tamura most recently defeated Hideo Tokoro at the K-1 New Year’s Eve show. As previously mentioned, Funaki lost to Sakuraba in his last fight, which was his first professional competition in over seven years. Other fighters expected to participate include Yoshihiro Akiyama, Dong-Sik Yoon, Taiei Kin, Shungo Oyama, and Ikuhisa Minowa.More bouts are expected to be announced soon. 

It has been reported to dreamfighters that Mirko Crocop will be facing Sergei Kharitonov in June at DREAM.4.

When asked, crocop stated that: ” I am not approaching these fights in Dream as practice for UFC comeback instead I am treating every fight seriously.”

Sources suggest that this fight will happen, and will be the fight crocop needs to be able to face fedor in a DREAM rematch.

Dream on Saturday not only held the first round of its Lightweight Grand Prix, but it also announced several of the participants for its Middleweight Grand Prix.Returning to the Saitama Super Arena on April 29, Dream’s middleweight tournament now officially includes among its participants: Kazushi Sakuraba, Yoshihiro Akiyama, Masakatsu Funaki, Dong-Sik Yoon, Taiei Kin, Shungo Oyama, and Ikuhisa Minowa.Sakuraba, interestingly enough, holds victories over Funaki, Yoon, and Minowa. He was also involved in a controversial match with Akiyama. Akiyama had initially won the bout with Sakuraba, but it was later ruled a no contest when it was revealed that Akiyama had illegally applied a lotion to his skin that made him slippery.Funaki’s loss to Sakuraba on Dec. 31, 2007, marked his return to active mixed martial arts competition after more than seven years of inactivity.Maintaining a 10-1 professional record with two no contests, Akiyama’s most recent bout was a no contest with Kazuo Misaki at the Dec. 31 Yarennoka event in Japan. Akiyama was knocked out by a Misaki soccer kick, which upon review was deemed an illegal blow because Akiyama was ruled to be a downed opponent at the time the kick landed.Yoon lost the first four bouts of his career, but has rebounded of late, putting together three straight victories against solid competition.A karate stylist, Kin has had a short career in MMA, with a 2-2 record. The first bout of his career was a loss to Akiyama. Reported by MMAWeekly.Oyama is a journeyman fighter that has constantly bounced back and forth between winning and losing in his career. His most recent performance was an impressive finish of Carlos Newton at a K-1 Hero’s event late last year.Another career journeyman, Minowa last competed on Saturday’s inaugural Dream event. He dispatched Kwan Bun Lee with a kneebar little more than a minute into the bout.Although neither was officially announced by Dream, No. 4 ranked middleweight Denis Kang and Japanese fighter Kiyoshi Tamura are both rumored to be part of the Middleweight Grand Prix field, as well.

TOKYO – Dreams do come true. Thousands of fans on Saturday will pack the Saitama Super Arena and millions more will watch on television across Japan as many of the world’s best mixed martial arts fighters meet in Fight Entertainment Group’s DREAM.1 Lightweight Grand Prix 2008 first round.

The card features seven qualification bouts in the DREAM Lightweight (70 kg/154 lbs) class, along with a trio of Superfights. This is the inaugural DREAM production, but such is the talent that it is already being hailed as one of the world’s finest mixed martial arts tournaments. On the eve of the event, the 20 participating fighters gathered at Tokyo’s Hotel East 21 to share their thoughts with local and international media.

The evening’s Main Event is a tournament matchup that will feature last year’s Hero’s middleweight champion, Gesias “J.Z.” Calvancante of Brazil, and Japanese judoka Shinya Aoki. Widely regarded as the man to beat in the DREAM Lightweight class, Calvancante was his usual confident self at the pre-fight press conference.

“I’m back and glad to be here in this tournament, which I think will be one of the best in the world,” he said emphatically. “I’m happy to fight Aoki, and I want to show how to make a dream come true.”

“I’m honored to be here and I believe this fight will exceed all expectations,” responded Aoki. “Whatever defense J.Z. uses, I am confident I can finish him.”

Perhaps the most widely anticipated bout on the card features Croatian mixed martial arts superstar Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic; who will take on Japanese fighter Tatsuya Mizuno.

“It has been a while since I fought in Saitama, I think they are the best audience in the world,” proclaimed Filipovic. “I admire the attitude and courage of my opponent, who accepted this challenge on short notice. I watched some of his fight videos last night, and I’m sure he will do his best to put on a great performance.”

Mizuno was straight to the point, saying, “I will give 120%, I will do more than my best.”

In other single-bout match-ups, it will be Hayato “Mach” Sakurai of Japan facing compatriot Hidetaka Monma, and Ikuhisa Minowa of Japan against Kwan Bun Lee of South Korea.

Apart from Calvancante vs. Aoki, there will be six other tournaments bouts, with winners advancing toward his year’s DREAM Lightweight Championship.
The first will see the aggressive Norwegian Shooto fighter Joachim Hansen stepping in against Japanese striker Koutetsu Boku.

“I’m very excited to be a part of this,” said Hansen. “I trained hard and will do a good fight for everybody.”

“Tomorrow I will give 100%.”

Next up, Kazuyuki Miyata of Japan will take on the agile and quick Brazilian jiu-jitsu fighter Luiz “Buscape” Firmino, who stated, “I trained hard, DREAM will be one of the best shows in the world and I want to be the champion.”

Miyata responded, “I will show what I can do in the ring.”

Wrestler Katsuhiko Nagata of Japan, a silver medalist at the Sydney Olympics, will be going for gold here against Artur Oumakhanov, a tough customer who is also a member of the Russian Special Forces.

“It is about survival, I know Artur is skilled but I will be more aggressive,” said Nagata.

“In this fight,” stated Oumakhanov, “I will make a great show!”

Japanese fighter Mitsuhiro Ishida is regarded by many as one of the favorites in the DREAM Lightweight Grand Prix. He will face Korean judoka Bu Kyung Jung, who made his mixed martial arts debut last year.

Said Ishida, “I will make sure we have a heated contest.”

“I trained hard and I intend to put on a good fight,” responded Jung.

Andre “Dida” Amade of Brazil is an elite fighter. Challenging him tomorrow will be formidable American striker Eddie Alvarez.

“I feel like a family member here in Japan, and I want to prove I deserve to be here by doing a knockout,” said Dida. “I want to stay on my feet and get the KO.”

“As always, I promise the fans a high-paced, violent and very aggressive fight,” stated Alvarez.

Success-driven Japanese fighter Tatsuya Kawajiri will meet the dynamic Kultar “Black Mamba” Gill of India.

“Tomorrow is a very important day for MMA in Japan,” said Kawajiri. “It is a new beginning and a writing of history, so I want to have a great result at this great time.”

“In this weight class, this is one of the best tournaments in the world,” Gill said in return. “I will make an exciting fight; all my fights are exciting. I will win on the ground, win standing and win wrestling.”

The seven victorious tournament bout fighters will re-converge in Saitama in May for the right to fight for the first-ever DREAM championship belt at the DREAM Lightweight Grand Prix Final this July in Osaka.

The DREAM.1 Lightweight Grand Prix 2008 first round starts at 3 p.m. on Saturday, March 15 at the Saitama Super Arena. It will be broadcast live in Japan on the TBS national network.