Aoki submits Hansen in controversial rubber match

DREAM.11 took place yesterday and I’m still a tiny bit confused about what happened in the headlining fight. Part of that is because I’m yet to see the fight with English commentary but I’ve been reading that Aoki’s submission came in the dying seconds of the fight when I was sure that DREAM title fights were fought over the old PRIDE time limit with two (not one like in most DREAM fights) additional five minute rounds after the opening 10. Aoki’s submission came with what I thought was a few seconds remaining in the 2nd round, but most sites are reporting that Aoki pulled the fight out of the bag (I thought he was a mile in front) with little time left in the fight. The other confusing part of this fight for me is the controversy surrounding the upkicks. Again some English commentary would probably clear this all up for me, but I thought upkicks were legal in DREAM and that Aoki was knocked out. The reports being circulating are that Aoki was kicked in the groin (I missed it when I watched it this morning but it was 6am so I’ll have another look later), but considering he was only really bothered about the head injury I’m a little skeptical on this. Still if he was kicked in the groin before the head injury you can’t reward Hansen with a victory that he earned by capitilising on an illegal strike.

The fight itself was a good ground battle. I expected Hansen’s takedown defence to be a bit better but his ground game has always been good enough to beat most fighters so it’s an area he hasn’t needed to work on as much. Aoki’s flexibility is just uncanny and his unorthodox method of passing guard is hard for anyone to deal with. Hansen didn’t give himself as much of a chance as he could have as he never allowed himself to get in a position where his power advantage could be used but a lot of that was due to Aoki’s gameplan. There is talk of Aoki facing fellow Japanese fighter Tatsuya Kawajiri at Dynamite. If that fight takes place I think Kawajiri will knock Aoki into next week.

The Featherweight Grand Prix produced some fireworks and some more controversy. Bibiano shocked Joe Warren in the semi finals before narrowly defeating Hiroyuki Takaya by split decision in the final. It was good to see Fernandes win as he was thrown to the wolves early in his career (he fought Urijah Faber and Kid Yamamoto in his 2nd and 3rd fights respectively which are his only two losses) and he is a very talented fighter. Takaya could be the Japanese superstar of the lower weight divisions with his never say die attitude. His last three fights were all memorable wars (although the two yesterday aren’t nearly as good as the fight with Maeda). The all Japanese semi final between Hideo Tokoro and Takaya was a great fight, but I don’t think it was as good as everyone was making out. Takaya dominated most of the fight and except for that brief scare when Tokoro caught him with the flying knee and series of shots that briefly dropped him it was all one way traffic. The other semi final saw Bibiano Fernandes score a controversial “submission” win over Joe Warren. After a heavy takedown from Warren, Fernandes set up an armbar and straightened Warren’s arm out while facing the ground himself. Without the hold being on for less then five seconds, the referee stopped the contest. Sure the armbar was on tight, but Fernandes wasn’t in the best position to apply anymore leverage. If Warren isn’t in pain, then you have to let the fight go. I agree 100% with referee stoppages if the guy is stuck in there and his arm is continually being hyperextended but Warren wasn’t given the chance to defend it. The final was interesting in that Takaya was fighting where he wanted to fight, but Fernandes’ aggression and wild striking was scoring heavily while Takaya was unable to get anything off. With champions crowned in the four lower weight classes, it’ll be interesting to see if DREAM puts on a Grand Prix with one of the heavier weight divisions next year.

Also on the card, Sokoudjou and Minowaman both advanced to the final of the Super Hulk Tournament. Sokoudjou did as he pleased with Bob Sapp, destroying him once he got on top while Minowaman survived some scary moments in the opening frame to submit Hong Man Choi with a heel hook early in the 2nd round. The two will meet in the final which will probably be held at Dynamite. Kazushi Sakuraba and Tatsuya Kawajiri both scored dominating wins against overmatched opponents with Sakuraba submitting boxer Rubin Williams with a kimura and Kawajiri battering Melchor Manibusan to score a first round stoppage.

DREAM.11 Preview

DREAM.11 sees the conclusion of the Featherweight Grand Prix as well as the semi finals of the Super Hulk Tournament (minus an injured Gegard Mousasi). On top of that we see three of the biggest names in Japanese MMA competing in seperate bouts with the returns of Kazushi Sakuraba and Tatsuya Kawajiri plus Shinya Aoki does battle with Joachim Hansen for the third time for the DREAM Lightweight Championship in the headliner.

Featherweight Grand Prix
John Warren vs Bibiano Fernandes
In my opinion, whoever wins this bout will be the champion and I think Warren’s wrestling ability plus his freakish strength for this weight division will allow him to avoid Fernandes dangerous ground game. This fight looks good on paper but I think it’ll be frustrating to watch as Warren will use his stand-up advantage (which only exists because Fernandes has zero stand-up) to score a decision win.

Hideo Tokoro vs Hiroyuki Takaya
I’m surprised either man made it this far and it’s a shame that one of them gets a spot in the final in my opinion as the other two fighters left are (on paper) the superior fighters and should have had a chance to fight each other in the final. I’m leaning towards Takaya and this will probably be a fun fight to watch.

Super Hulk Semi Finals
Sokoudjou vs Bob Sapp
Unfortunately tournament favourite Gegard Mousasi is out with an injury but we get to watch Bob Sapp take another pumelling. Bar the ‘lucky’ punch, I don’t give Sapp much of a chance here, Sokoudjou is superior in every aspect except physical strength and punching power. Sapp will likely end up on his back and be finished with heavy ground and pound.

Hong Man Choi vs Minowaman
I’ve got no idea how this will go. Fedor had trouble getting Hong Man to the ground and he’s 50lb heavier then Minowa. But then again Choi is so slow that Minowa will likely be able to run around him all night. I’d say they hit the ground at some point and Minowa will get ahold of one of Hong Man’s monsterous legs and do some damage to it.

Non Tournament Fights
Kazushi Sakuraba vs Ruben Williams
MMA legend Sakuraba takes on professional boxer Ruben Williams (who I believe is making his MMA debut). One has to assume that Williams has zero ground game and Sakuraba will submit him quickly when the fight hits the floor. Even standing up Williams might have trouble on his feet if Sakuraba starts kicking his legs out but despite losing a few of his recent contests, Williams has dangerous hands and has a punchers chance in this fight (albeit an extremely small one). If one could take anything from the Tim Sylvia-Ray Mercer farce this year it’s that a pro boxer brings a dangerous skillset for any MMA fighter and shouldn’t be messed around with.

Tatsuya Kawajiri vs Melchor Manibusan
Kawajiri by death. This guy (according to Sherdog) has had five pro MMA fights and lost more then he’s one. Kawajiri is one of the more dangerous fighters out there because of his punching power and putting a novice in with him is crazy.

Joachim Hansen vs Shinya Aoki
(DREAM Lightweight Championship)
These two go at it again. Aoki submitted Hansen with a gogoplata back in PRIDE at Shockwave 2006 early in the first round before Hansen replaced Eddie Alvarez in the DREAM Lightweight tournament final at DREAM.5 against Aoki and shockingly pounded him out after four minutes. This time we get to see these two go at it without having a fight under their belts from earlier in the night and it’s a hard fight to pick. Aoki has the advantage in terms of ground skill and speed but Hansen is the better wrestler and striker as well as the stronger man physically. Hansen hasn’t fought since he defeated Aoki which was almost a year and a half ago which could also be a problem for Aoki as he was knocked out brutally by Hayato Sakurai earlier this year. I think this is a 50-50 fight but I’m backing Aoki. I think he’ll take control of this fight on the ground and outpoint Hansen in an entertaining battle.

DREAM.9/K-1 (Lodz) Results

 

Super Hulk Tournament Results

Minowaman submits Sapp
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! (sorry). Bob Sapp decided that he knew jiu jitsu after getting on top of Minowa early and instead of sitting in half guard and pounding Minowa’s face to mince meat, he tried to mount him. Minowa showed superb technique (well, superb compared to Sapp) and reversed him, got on top and sunk in a deep ankle lock for the quick submission victory. Watching Sapp tap out in pain is always fun, especially when the guy is half his size!

Hong Man batters overmatched Canseco
This fight didn’t go as expected as Canseco actually landed some shots, although he looked like he was impersonating the Karate Kid while he was at it. Then Canseco managed to blow his knee out and end up on the ground where Hong Man proceeded to pound him into submission. Glad it ended quickly and without much pain to Jose as it could have been a bad thing for MMA if he had of got seriously hurt.

Sokoudjou and Mousasi score quick wins
Both Sokoudjou and Mousasi were too much for their opponents. Sokoudjou got a takedown after about three attempts and mounted Jan Nortje with ease before pounding him until the referee stopped the fight, and then pounding him some more which resulted in a mini brawl between Nortje’s cornermen (mainly Ray Sefo) and Sokoudjou’s camp. Does anyone else smell a Sefo-Sokoudjou matchup down the road?
Mousasi surprisingly did what Fedor and Cro Cop and even Overeem had trouble doing in disposing of Mark Hunt very quickly with little trouble. He got an easy takedown and finished the fight quickly with a figure four arm lock. This tournament is Mousasi’s in my opinion and I don’t see any of the others giving him any trouble. Rumour has it that Mousasi will face Vitor Belfort at Affliction III in August first.

Featherweight Grand Prix 2nd Round Results

In one of the biggest upsets in recent times, one fight veteran Joe Warren upset Kid Yamamoto by split decision. Yamamoto, who was the heavy favourite to win the entire tournament, couldn’t stop Warren’s wrestling skills as he was taken down five times in the fight. Furthermore, Yamamoto couldn’t take advantage of the referee’s overzealous stand-ups or get anything working from his back. After a rally at the end of the opening 10 minute stanza, Warren controlled the entire five minute 2nd round and took a pretty comfortable decision (a split decision in Japan against a Japanese fighter who you didn’t completely batter means you won comfortably). In what was a lacklustre affair, Bibiano Fernandes outpointed Masakaszu Imanari over 15 boring minutes. Imanari repeatedly dropped to butt-scoot while Fernandes didn’t want to risk going into the Japanese grappling stars guard as he had the superior stand-up and wrestling (and probably jiu jitsu).
The other two fights in the grand prix stand out as fight of the year candidates. Hiroyuki Takaya survived a fierce ground and standing assault from Yoshiro Maeda before scoring a stunning one punch knockout with 20 seconds remaining in the first round. In the other match, Hideo Tokoro took full advantage of his 2nd chance in the tournament scoring a 2nd round submission win over Abel Cullum. After a ground battle of epic proportions which saw constant transitions and submission attempts from both men, Tokoro sunk in a rear naked choke early in the 2nd round to earn his place in the Finals.

Kawajiri dominates Calvancante

In a highly anticipated battle between two of the Lightweight divisions non UFC stars, Tatsuya Kawajiri dominated the middle and end portions of the fight with good stand-up skills and effective ground and pound to grind out a unanimous decision over Gesias ‘JZ Calvan’ Calvancante. After a good start by JZ in which he landed with several hard strikes, Kawajiri shot in for a takedown and had to battle out of a tight guillotine choke. Once free, Tatsuya started a pattern in which he dominated the stand-up, scored a takedown, espcaped a guillotine choke and dominated with punches from on top. JZ could do little back as his long layoff showed its effects as Kawajiri grinded out the decision.

Mayhem-Jacare ends prematurely

In the main event of the evening, the DREAM Middleweight title fight between Jason ‘Mayhem’ Miller and Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ De Souza ended in a no contest after an illegal kick from Mayhem left Jacare unable to continue.

K-1 Results
Last years Amsterdam qualifier runner-up Zabit Samedov earned a place in this years Final 16 (and I’d say a rematch with the man who beat him in Amsterdam last year, Errol Zimmerman) by winning the Qualifying event in Lodz, Poland on Sunday. Samedov defeated Sakalauskas and Raul Catinas on points to reach the final of the qualifier. His opponent, Sergei Lascenko, fought three times the previous day in the European Muay Thai Championships, then scored first round knockouts over Noel Cadet and Dimitri Bezus before succumbing via third round stoppage to Samedov.

DREAM.9 Preview

The stacked MMA week finishes Tuesday as the next installment of DREAM takes place and minus the last New Years Eve show this has to be the best of all DREAM shows so far. There’s a mixture of classic fights in the making, significant fights and just pure Japanese MMA freakshows on display which should make this event very entertaining. In a nutshell the card consists of the quarter finals of the Featherweight Grand Prix, a Lightweight Super Fight, a Middleweight title fight and four freakshow matches that are going to be watched for no other reason then curiosity.

Super Hulk Tournament Round one
The Super Hulk Tournament was announced a few weeks back and people are still shaking their heads at some of the matchups. Most notably is the matchup between baseball (yes, baseball) superstar Jose Canseco and the world’s largest professional fighter Hong Man Choi. Canseco has no fighting background and was knocked out in a celebrity boxing match by a man much smaller then him. This is the only fight on the card I’m not looking forward to as Canseco could be seriously hurt which would have major mainstream implications for the sport.

Bob Sapp returns to Japan to take on the Japanese journeyman Ikuhisa ‘The Punk’ Minowa who is now referred to as Minowaman. Sapp has about a 200lb weight advantage over the 190lb Minowa, but his lack of ground game could get him in a lot of trouble against the leg lock specialist. Minowa has submitted big men before, most notably Kimo Leopoldo in a PRIDE Bushido event a few years ago. I like Sapp in this fight, probably by quick and brutal knockout. In the same league as this bout is the one between gigantic journeyman Jan Nortje and Light Heavyweight fringe contender Sokoudjou. Sokoudjou needs this win or his career will basically be over. Nortje is most known for his knockout win over Bob Sapp at a Strikeforce event last year, but that win was one of only two in his MMA career. Sokoudjou will likely win this fight quickly by submission.

The interesting (in terms of skill vs skill) fight in this tournament and the one that will likely produce the eventual winner is the Gegard Mousasi vs Mar Hunt fight. Mousasi is last years DREAM Grand Prix winner in the Middleweight division after memorable upset wins over Denis Kang, Melvin Manhoef and Ronaldo Jacare. Hunt is a former K-1 World Grand Prix champion who has been fighting in MMA of late although with little recent success as he suffered an 18 second knockout loss to Melvin Manhoef at New Years Eve last year. Hunt on his game though will be a very stern test for Mousasi, especially considering the 90lb odd weight advantage he has. I’m picking Mousasi, his grappling should help him win a clear unanimous decision.

Featherweight Grand Prix Quarter Finals
Some very interesting fights in the 2nd round of this tournament. The return of Kid Yamamoto against one fight veteran Joe Warren being the exception. While I didn’t give Warren a chance against Beebe, I’m going to risk making the same mistake twice as Yamamoto is simply too good for a one fight veteran, Kid should win this fight quickly. The other fight I think will be one sided is the one between Yoshiro Maeda and Hiroyuki Takaya. Takaya is the weakest of the fighters in the eight and despite any size advantage, Maeda’s skills are exceptional and I can’t see him losing this one outside of the punchers chance that Takaya has.

The Fernandes-Imanari fight should is the most interesting as Fernandes is an exceptional BJJ player while Imanari is one of the stand-out Japanese ground fighters. Hopefully the fight hits the ground and we get an old school classic MMA ground fight and I’m picking Fernandes to win this one because although Imanari has never been submitted, I doubt he’s grappled someone in the elite class of Fernandes. The other fight in the tournament sees American Abel Cullum up against Japanese fighter Hideo Tokoro who despite his loss in the first round advances due to Daiki Hata’s inability to be in shape for this fight. Tokoro is a brave fighter who has fought many men larger then himself in his career which explains his average record. Cullum is a solid grappler who will likely win this fight over the allotted time.

Super Fights
 
Gesias Calvancante vs Tastuya Kawajiri
This is the fight I’m looking forward to the most on this card. Two of the world’s most exciting and skilled Lightweights battling for what will likely be the next shot at the DREAM Lightweight title after Aoki and Hansen battle again at DREAM.10. JZ Calvan hasn’t fought since the loss to Aoki at DREAM.2 last year. Kawajiri made the semi finals of the tournament last year before losing to Eddie Alvarez in what was fight of the year in my opinion. Calvancante is a very well dangerous fighter in all aspects of the game while Kawajiri throws some of the best punches in MMA and is dangerous against any man he fights because of this. I give the edge in the stand-up to Kawajiri, while JZ has a big advantage if he can get on top although that will be hard as Tatsuya has shown good takedown defence in the past. Both guys are big for the weight, although JZ is probably the bigger guy having fought in higher weight divisions in the past. I’m going with Kawajiri, although I’m not at all confident. I think he’ll win this over 15 exciting minutes in what will likely be a fight of the year candidate if someone doesn’t totally dominate.

Ronaldo Jacare vs Mayhem Miller
(DREAM Middleweight Championship)
The main event sees a rematch of last years DREAM.4 match between Jacare and Mayhem for the vacant Middleweight title that was vacated by Gegard Mousasi earlier this year. Jacare won last years contest in an exciting grappling match by unanimous decision before losing to Mousasi by knockout in the final of the tournament. Mayhem stands a serious chance in this fight if he can keep it standing but I’m picking Jacare to win the rematch, probably over the full distance as their last fight was.

DREAM announce crazy Open Weight Grand Prix

Only in Japan. DREAM.9 has scrapped the Mousasi-Sokoudjou fight and instead added the following four matchups which will be the first round of an open-weight grand prix:

Mark Hunt vs Gegard Mousasi
Minowaman vs Bob Sapp
Jan Nortje vs Sokoudjou
Hong Man Choi vs Jose Canseco

That is :
Former K-1 WGP champion and PRIDE Heavyweight contender Mark Hunt against DREAM Middleweight Champion (former) Gegard Mousasi.
JapaneseMiddleweight journeyman Ikuhisa ‘Minowaman’ ‘The Punk’ Minowa against freakshow Bob Sapp.
Freakshow defeater Jan Nortje vs Light Heavyweight contender Rameau Sokoudjou.
The world’s largest fighter and K-1 WGP quarter finalist Hong Man Choi against baseball star Jose Canseco.

These matches will take place ahead of the 2nd round of the Featherweight Grand Prix, the Lightweight super clash between Tatsuya Kawajiri and Gesias Calvancante and the fight for the vacant Middleweight title between Jason ‘Mayhem’ Miller and Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Sousa. So all in all, a typical high profile Japanese card.

First K-1 Events scheduled for 2009

The K-1 website is reporting that dates of the first K-1 Events for the New Year. On the 23rd February the Japan MAX Qualifying Tournament will take place at Yoyogi Stadium. Usually on the card is an eight man tournament with the winner of the tournament earning a spot in the K-1 MAX Final 16 in April. Also there will be a handful of super fights between top K-1 MAX fighters. Rumoured to be on the card so far is last years semi finalists Yoshihiro Sato, as well as quarter finalists Buakaw, Drago and Yasuhiro Kido. None of these guys will be in the tournament as they have a direct pass to the Final 16 for making the Final 8 last year, however a few candidates to compete in the tournament are also rumoured to be on the card. Andy Ologun, Andre Dida, TATSUJI, Kozo Takeda, Taishin Kohiruimaki, HAYATO and Yuya Yamamoto are 7 of the likely candidates mentioned on the K-1 site so far.

The other event featured on the website looks to be pretty good. There’s no implications as far as the Grand Prix goes, but the Yokohama event (which will be held March 28th) usually features a good number of quality super fights and with the rumoured fighters so far this year should be no different. The return of Semmy Schilt, Badr Hari (could likely be fighting Kimbo Slice if last years rumours are anything to go off), Jerome Le Banner, Hong Man Choi, Ruslan Karaev, Gokhan Saki, Junichi Sawayashiki and Ewerton Teixera are mentioned (without opponents so far) as the combatants for the March event. Out of those eight fighters, only four of them (Karaev, Saki, Teixera and Le Banner) have a guaranteed spot in the Final 16, so the other four could be getting some ring time in before competing on one of the Qualifying Events later in the year.

Here’s how the K-1 Final 16 is shaping up for 2009:
1- Remy Bonjasky
2- Gokhan Saki
3- Ewerton Teixera
4- Errol Zimmerman
5- Peter Aerts
6- Ruslan Karaev
7- Jerome Le Banner

8- (Not sure how this spot will be filled, Badr Hari would normally fill it but as part of his punishment for stomping Bonjasky he won’t this year. Either they’ll add in a 5th Qualifier or let the fans pick five spots).

9- Amsterdam Qualifying Event Winner (apparently will be held May 16th)
10- Qualifying Event Winner #2
11- Qualifying Event Winner #2
12- Qualifying Event Winner #3

13- Fan Pick #1
14- Fan Pick #2
15- Fan Pick #3
16- Fan Pick #4

I find it very unlikely that Schilt will get voted in so I think we’ll see him in Qualifying action this year as I doubt he’ll want to risk his spot in the Final 16 on his popularity. Badr Hari I’m unsure of. The fans might still love him but then again they might hate him a lot for the disrespect he showed the sport in December. I think he’ll likely fight in a Qualifier just in case as well. With Alistair Overeem’s win over Hari at the New Years Eve show (sorry for lack of coverage on that, time was a big issue in that and it’s a bit pointless me doing anything on it anymore), maybe he’ll want to try his luck in the K-1 WGP this year? Melvin Manhoef is another man who might also enter this year and one who has a good chance at getting voted in after highlight reel KO wins over Mark Hunt (MMA rules) and Paul Slowinski (K-1 Rules) in December. Hong Man Choi though I’m sure will get voted into the Final 16, as will Ray Sefo.

K-1 Dynamite Predictions

Fight #1 
Minowaman vs Errol Zimmerman
(DREAM Rules)
Prediction- Minowaman by submission  first 10 minutes
The same thing always happens when Minowaman fights K-1 fighters with no MMA experience, he wins by leg lock. Zimmerman will kill him if the fight stays standing too long but it won’t. This fight shouldn’t go five minutes.

Fights #2 and #3 are part of a tournament between guys I don’t know a thing about.

Fight #4
Artur Kyshenko vs Yoshihiro Sato
(K-1 Rules)
Prediction- Kyshenko by 3rd round KO
This could be fight of the night, but the edge has to go to this years K-1 MAX Finallist. Sato will be in the fight early but will be broken down and likely stopped.

Fight #5
Daisuke Nakamura vs Hideo Tokoro
(DREAM Rules)
Prediction- Nakamura by submission first 10 minutes
There’s a big size difference in this fight and while Tokoro is a good fighter, he won’t be any match for Nakamura especially considering he’s giving up roughly 20lbs. Nakamura by armbar some time in the 2nd half of the first round.

Fight #6
Andy Ologun vs Yukio Sakaguchi
(DREAM Rules)
Prediction- Sakaguchi by submission 10-15 minutes

Fight #7 is the Tournament Final

Intermission #1

 
Fight #8
Kinniku Mantaro vs Bob Sapp
(DREAM Rules)
Predition- Bob Sapp by Death
This has to be the strangest mismatch in MMA history. Bob Sapp isn’t just fighting some overmatched bum like usual, this time the bum is dressed up as an Anime character. A mate of mine who is a full blown geek told me if this was a cartoon Sapp could be in a whole world of trouble because apparently those guys know some serious shit, but in the real world Sapp crushes this guy with his 200lb weight advantage whenever he feels like it which knowing Sapp will be as soon as he feels like some pizza or gummycandy.

Fight #9
Mighty Mo vs Semmy Schilt
(DREAM Rules)
Prediction- Schilt by knockout first 10 minutes
Something that some of you newbies don’t know is that Schilt was an excellent fighter in PRIDE before he started kicking arse in K-1 and even won a few fights by submission. Mighty Mo is extremely outgunned in all areas of the fight here and will likely be dispatched quickly in the first round.

Fight #10
Hayato Sakurai vs Katsuyori Shibata
(DREAM Rules)
Prediction- Sakurai by knockout first 10 minutes

Fight #11
Tatsuya Kawajiri vs Kozo Takeda
(K-1 Rules)
Prediction- Takeda on points
Even though he has good stand-up for MMA fighters, Kawajiri won’t hang with a K-1 MAX veteran in his sport no matter how out of form he is. This one might not go the distance but I think it will.

Fight #12
Badr Hari vs Alistair Overeem
(K-1 Rules)
Prediction- Hari by 2nd round knockout
This is the same as the last fight. Overeem has good stand-up skills for MMA, but against a top K-1 striker he’s outgunned. These two will likely meet in MMA next year and the same thing applies but in favour of Overeem this time.

Intermission #2

Fight #13
Hong Man Choi vs Mirko Cro Cop
(DREAM Rules)
Prediction- Hong Man by knockout first 10 minutes
I’m sick of going to bat for Mirko and picking him only for him to fight like shit. Hong Man will likely cause him all sorts of problems when they trade standing up and I don’t see Cro Cop getting the takedown when Fedor had to resort to pulling guard. Hong Man will catch Mirko at some stage and with those small gloves he’ll do a lot of damage. 

Fight #14
Gegard Mousasi vs MUSASHI
(K-1 Rules)
Prediction- Musashi on points
Same theme again as some previous fights. Despite MUSASHI being as out of form as he is, I don’t think the smaller MMA fighter will trouble him too much in a K-1 rules match. MUSASHI should dominate the fight with his leg kicks en route to a wide points win.

Fight #15
Mark Hunt vs Melvin Manhoef
(DREAM Rules)
Prediction- Hunt by TKO first 10 minutes
Le Banner must have pulled out with an injury because he was set to fight Mark Huny. Both Hunt and Manhoef are excellent kickboxers who have fought in MMA before, but the big difference between the two is the monsterous size advantage Hunt will have. I think at some stage this fight will hit the floor with Hunt on top and he’ll ground and pound Manhoef out.

Fight #16
Eddie Alvarez vs Shinya Aoki
(DREAM Rules)
Prediction- Alvarez by TKO first 10 minutes
Great matchup between the two guys who should have fought for the DREAM title at the Lightweight Grand Prix, but Alvarez was forced out with an injury leading the way for alternate (a man Alvarez had already beaten) Joachim Hansen to come in and knock Aoki out. Alvarez’s big weakness is on the ground defending submissions which is where Aoki specialises but Aoki’s big weakness is where Alvarez specialises with his huge knockout power. I think Aoki will pull guard but at some stage get caught with some heavy punches and will need the referee to rescue him.

Fight #17
JZ Calvancante vs Joachin Hansen
(DREAM Lightweight title)
Prediction- Hansen on points
This fight could likely go either way but I think Hansen will come out victorious due to his better ground skills. Both guys are well rounded and I think JZ will have an advantage standing up and may even knock Hansen out, but I think he’ll have a lot of trouble defending the takedown especially as the fight gets older and Hansen will score enough of them to take the decision.

Fight #18
Kazushi Sakuraba vs Kiyoshi Tamura
(DREAM Rules)
Prediction- Sakuraba on points
An excellent main event for a Japanese card like this matching two Japanese legends against one another. This prediction is probably more out of me wanting Sakuraba to win then anything, but he does have a great chance. It’s a real 50-50 fight with Sakuraba having the better ground skills and Tamura having his damaging leg kicks. I think Sakuraba will get Tamura on his back and control the fight from there, winning comfortably on the cards in a competetive matchup.

Happy New Year to all my readers!

DREAM/K-1 Dynamite looking good

I recently read an article about the upcoming DREAM/K-1 New Years Show which will feature a mixture of K-1 rules and DREAM MMA rules matches. I was pleasantly surprised at how well this fight card is looking. The things I was worried about were 1) a lack of Fedor who was meant to headline and b) a lack of Cro Cop-Alastair Overeem rematch which I’m still not sure why it was scrapped (help someone?). Still, a few of the K-1 WGP competitors have backed up and a few of the lightweights have stepped up to make this a very interesting card and one I will definately cover. I’m not sure what the main event will be and I don’t care because this is a stacked card for the hardcore MMA fans. In no particular order, here are the fights of interest:

Semmy Schilt vs Mighty Mo (MMA)
Whether this was K-1 or DREAM rules, Schilt is going to tear him a new one. Still, it’ll be good to see where Schilt’s confidence level is after losing to Aerts in the Final 16 as well as how he looks in MMA after a few years of not really competing in the sport on a full time basis.

Mirko Cro Cop vs Hong Man Choi
Not sure what rules this fight is under (again help somebody?) but this will be interesting either way. Fedor had trouble getting Choi on his back so this will be a stand-up war whether forced or by force of habbit between a former K-1 runner up in Cro Cop and a man mountain who troubles everyone in Hong Man. With 4oz gloves on it’ll be interesting to see how Cro Cops chin holds up to someone like Hong Man.

Mark Hunt vs Jerome Le Banner (MMA Rules)
So I hear anyway. Both guys are very similar standing up but due to Hunt’s MMA experience he’ll have a huge advantage if he gets Le Banner on his back, especially with the weight advantage. If this is indeed MMA rules I expect Hunt to win by ground and pound.

Eddie Alvarez vs Shinya Aoki
MMA rules of course here for what should have been the DREAM lightweight grand prix final. This will be an interesting scrap with Alvarez having the huge edge in strength and standing up and Aoki having a huge advantage on the ground. The winner will likely get a shot at the winner of the JZ vs Joachim Hansen fight on the same card for the title should DREAM not go bankrupt next year.

Joachin Hansen vs Gesias ‘JZ’ Calvacante
Another great fight here. I expect this to be fight of the night with both guys liking to bang on their feet. I’m leaning towards JZ by close decision but it could go either way.

Kazuhsi Sakuraba vs Kiyoshi Tamura
A battle between Japanese MMA pioneers/legends. As long as one guy doesn’t get injured walking into the ring it should be an excellent fight. I think Tamura might go to work on Sakuraba’s dodgey knees with his leg kicks and may score a stoppage in this fight.

Artur Kyshenko vs Yoshihiro Sato (K-1 Rules)
I really don’t know much about either guy other then they’re both K-1 MAX super stars. If MAX is all it’s cracked up to be then this could be a war!

Gegard Mousasi vs MUSASHI (K-1 Rules)
Strange fight this one. MUSASHI is a bigger guy but he’s been in shit form lately and why they’re getting Mousasi to go up in weight and fight a Heavyweight K-1 fighter in K-1 rules is a mystery to anyone. Even their name’s are the same which will make things confusing.

Oh, a quick word on the site. Next year looks like a go for boxing rankings and maybe MMA rankings for the five main divisions. Also I will be writing a feature article at the start of each month based on whatever anyone wants me to write it on. January’s will be the end of year awards. I’m looking to do things in there like ’10 greatest fights of the 80s’ or ‘Best MMA fighters of the 90s’ etc where basically I’m given a topic and I’ll go and research it for a month by watching fight films etc and then do an article on it for all you guys to flame me over. If anyone has anything in particular for February’s edition then post it in this thread. First decent idea in will get their choice. Expect a UFC 92 Predictions article and recap, a K-1 predictions article and recap plus the end of year awards and Rankings up over the next two-three weeks.

Bonjasky becomes three time K-1 Champion

In what turned out to be a bizarre final match, Remy Bonjasky equalled Peter Aerts and Semmy Schilt by winning his third K-1 World Grand Prix title after his opponent in the final Badr Hari was disqualified for stomping Bonjasky in the head while he was on the ground. After Bonjasky had him down in the first round courtesy of a left hook, Hari used a single leg takedown before landing two punches and a blatantly obvious stomp that noticeably hurt Bonjasky. Time was given to Bonjasky to recover while Hari was awarded a yellow card however about five minutes later the referee took the microphone following the doctors examining Bonjasky in the ring and ruled that ‘Hari’s actions are completely against what K-1 is all about’ and gave Hari a red card, disqualifying the Moroccan bad boy. This marked the first time that a fighter have been disqualified in a K-1 World Grand Prix Final event. With the win, Bonjasky is just one World Grand Prix title win away from equalling ‘Mr Perfect’ Ernesto Hoost’s record of four K-1 World Grand Prix events.

Quarter Finals
Badr Hari TKO2 Peter Aerts
Hari raced out of the blocks and Aerts was never in the race. Aerts was down 30 seconds into the fight via a left hook-right hook combination but he recovered well and landed some nice low kicks towards the end of the round. Hari started fast again in the second round and dropped Aerts with a spinning back kick to the head followed by a jumping front kick to the head. Aerts again beat the count but was clearly hurt and staggering all over the ring. After Hari landed a few more blows the referee stepped in and saved the former three time champion from further punishment. While the stoppage was premature, Aerts wasn’t going to win that fight on that night. He looked every bit of his age and didn’t seem to have the reflexes to handle Hari’s firepower. As much as people  have probably said it in the past and he’s bounced back from it, I think Aerts should retire. Hari on the other hand looked like no one would deny him on this night.

Errol Zimmerman MD3 Ewerton Teixera
Wow, did not expect that sort of a fight from Teixera. Zimmerman looked slow and disinterested sort of expecting Teixera to just walk into one of his punches but Teixera mixed his attacks up well, landing good leg and body kicks as well as right hands that seemingly couldn’t miss in the first round. Zimmerman attacked more in the 2nd round, landing some brutal body kicks but Teixera seemed to have an answer for everything. In the third round when it seemed that Teixera was going to pull away and win on points, a right uppercut dropped the Brazilian karate master and stole the fight for Zimmerman, earning him a spot in the semi finals with Hari.

Gokhan Saki UD3 Ruslan Karaev
In what was av evenly fought battle, a knockdown in the 3rd round via a Gokhan Saki spinning backfist scored him the decision. The first round was very close with Saki landing his trademark leg kicks and Karaev scoring with short inside punches when he caught the Turk on the ropes. Karaev seemed to win the 2nd round by a comfortable margin as he backed Saki onto the ropes and blasted away with left hooks and body rips. Saki opened the third round with the knockdown which caught Karaev flush but left him more stunned then seriously hurt. Karaev knowing he needed to knock Saki out at this point became desperate, opening himself up to counter shots from Saki and giving him the only clear round in the fight. Saki won the fight with a unanimous decision, earning himself a semi final birth in his first K-1 WGP.

Remy Bonjasky TKO3 Jerome Le Banner
In what was a disappointing way to go out for the unlucky Frenchman, Le Banner had his right arm reinjured (Ernesto Hoost broke his arm in the 2002 Final to defeat Le Banner) by two Bonjasky roundhouse kicks to the body and the doctor ruled him unable to continue. While Bonjasky seemed to be taking over before the unfortunate injury, it would have been good to see Le Banner go out in a fight rather then on another injury. The first two rounds were slow with Bonjasky having as slight edge due to more activity. Bonjasky opened the third round strongly with kicks to Le Banners legs and midsection and after Le Banner turned away in pain from a body kick and a referee standing count, the doctor was called in to examine Le Banner. Despite Jerome’s protests, the fight was stopped because of the arm and Le Banner’s World Grand Prix again ends in disappointment.

Alternate Bouts
Ray Sefo UD3 Hong Man Choi
Sefo fought a brilliant fight, thats all that needs to be said really. He kept moving and didn’t let Choi get off with his punches and he mixed up his strikes very well which kept the big man guessing. There wasn’t one point in the fight when Hong Man looked like winning. I expect both guys will likely get voted into next years Final 16 so they won’t have to worry about going through any qualifiers.

Melvin Manhoef KO1 Paul Slowinski
Wow! I didn’t expect Manhoef to be able to bully a big heavyweight like Slowinski like that. He repeatedly backed him into the corners and landed with big punches. The first knockdown was via a right hand over the jab and the knock out came from a monster left hook. Whatever Manhoef decides to fight in next year it’ll be worth watching as the guy is pure entertainment.

Semi Finals
Badr Hari KO3 Errol Zimmerman
Fight of the night! Zimmerman knew he had to come out firing and he did and while Hari outscored him in the first round, ‘The Bonecrusher’ landed his fair share of solid blows back. With Hari outscoring Zimmerman early in the 2nd round, Zimmerman landed an absolute monster of a right hand that floored Hari heavily. Hari took the 8 count and went on the attack, backing Zimmerman up with jabs, low kicks and body shots. With about ten seconds remaining in the round, Hari beat Zimmerman to the punch and dropped him heavily with a right hand. Zimmerman beat the count but looked hurt and tired. Hari opened the third round with head snapping jabs before opening up with kicks to the body and legs. A right hand then dropped Zimmerman violently and he couldn’t beat the count. Hari headed to the Final to meet the winner of Gokhan Saki and Re,y Bonjasky.

Remy Bonjasky KO2 Gokhan Saki
Both guys were cautious in the first round and the round was fairly uneventful. Then out of nowhere in the 2nd round, Bonjasky lept in with a flying roundhouse kick to the body that caught Saki halfway up the ribcage. Saki was down in obvious pain and had no chance of beating the count. ‘The Flying Gentleman’ scored with one of his famous flying strikes to earn himself his third apperance in a K-1 WGP Final, having won his previous two.

The Final- Badr Hari vs Remy Bonjasky
Both guys fought in the quarter finals last year and went to war with Bonjasky taking a razor thin decision over Hari. However, the energy he used up in the fight left him unable to offer much resistance to Peter Aerts in the semi finals. Having both gone through their previous opponents inside the distance, the Final match seemed to be an even one with only Hari having been in any sort of trouble when he fought Zimmerman.
In complete contrast to last years match, both fighters opened slowly and circled. Both guys seemed to be finding their range in the first minute. Halfway through the round, Bonjasky caught Hari with a left hook on the ropes that stunned the K-1 Heavyweight Champion, a follow-up high kick was ducked and Hari fell to the deck from the effects of the hook. Hari beat the count with ease but the knockdown was a big edge for Bonjasky on the cards and he knew it, refusing to take any chances for the rest of the round. Hari came out firing in the 2nd round and was getting the better of the exchanges. Bonjasky landed a solid body kick but was countered with a right hand that forced him to give ground. Hari caught a kick in an exchange and took Bonjasky down where he punched and stomped Bonjasky earning his disqualification.
It’s hard to know what was going through Hari’s mind. I’m sure it was a spur of the moment thing and not a premeditated action. He had a lot of adrenaline flowing knowing he needed to hurt Bonjasky and probably just got carried away. It wasn’t anywhere near as bad as when Tyson bit Holyfield in  the infamous 1997 rematch. Still, Hari was rightfully disqualified and the fact that he didn’t really seem to care about what he did isn’t a good sign. I’m sure both guys will meet again in the future at some stage.

Final Thoughts
Overall I greatly enjoyed the event despite the bizarre ending. I’ve followed fight sports long enough to know that these sort of things happen. I can definately say I’ll be a K-1 fan for a long time to come. I’m already looking forward to next years K-1 series. With the Final 8 already guaranteed their spots in the Final 16 next year, the make-up of the other eight will be interesting. I doubt Semmy Schilt can get a fan voted spot because everyone hates him so he’ll likely have to qualify in one of the qualifying events. Then again, if he defeats Bonjasky or Aerts (the two guys I think are most likely to face him in the Super Heavyweight title fight) then who knows.

Predictions: K-1 World Grand Prix 2008 Final

We’re just 24 hours away from the K-1 World Grand Prix (K-1 WGP) Final and I have to say I’ve been counting down the days leading up to this event. Even though I’ve only been following K-1 for about four months, with Schilt out this year it makes the tournament seem very wide open which will only make the event the more exciting. With the big names all facing each other in the quarter finals (Aerts vs Hari and Bonjasky vs Le Banner) the chances for one of the up and comers to take their first crown increases as these four will likely use up a lot of energy to make sure they’re in the semi finals. It also increases the chance of one of the alternates getting a crack at becoming this years K-1 WGP champion. With this event being an eight man tournament, predicting it is a little tricky. I’m going to do detailed predictions of the quarter final bouts, then speculate on how I think the semis and final will go and then after I’ve played Nostradamus I’ll go over how I think the other possible outcomes will go in brief detail.

Quarter Finals
Peter Aerts vs Badr Hari
Prediction- Aerts on points (one extra round)
This is going to be a hard fight that will likely take a lot out of either man. Out of all the quarter final matchups this is the most evenly matched one. Both guys have the power to take the other man out and while Hari has an edge in speed, Aerts experience will make it difficult for Hari to tee off on him like he’ll want to and if he tries he’ll likely eat some hard shots from Aerts. The big edge Aerts has is his weight; he’s about 30lb heavier then Hari and that combined with his experience I think he’ll hurt Hari sometime in the 2nd round after a hardfought first round and then the fight will be his although I think he might have to go four rounds to get it. Expect fireworks early in this fight as Hari will want to make an early impression on his older opponent and he’ll likely do some damage to ‘the Lumberjack’ early in the fight. Aerts has seen his share of young challengers though and I don’t think Hari has anything he hasn’t seen before and I think he makes the semi finals again this year.

Ewerton Teixera vs Errol Zimmerman
Prediction- Zimmerman by 2nd round knockout
Teixera has the ability to make this fight interesting but I don’t think he’ll have an answer to the explosiveness that Zimmerman will bring early in the fight. This fight could very well end in the first round, but I think Teixera will show that he’s tough albeit outmatched in this fight. Zimmerman will start fast and hurt Teixera early, maybe even knocking him down once or twice before finishing him off in the 2nd round.

Ruslan Karaev vs Gokhan Saki
Prediction- Saki on points (one extra round)
This should also be a good fight. I think Karaev will explode early and hurt Saki in the first round, maybe even knock him down but Saki will stay in there with him and once he finds his range with his leg kicks he’ll keep Karaev very honest. The longer this fight goes the more likely Saki is to win it I feel and I’m not sure Karaev will be able to get him out of there early like he’ll want to. The fight will probably go three rounds and I think it’ll be a close affair and will go an extra round, where Saki should have the edge due to his superior conditioning and Karaevs badly damaged legs. Saki will pick Karaev apart in the extra round and take the round with ease eliminating Karaev from the Grand Prix.

Remy Bonjasky vs Jerome Le Banner
Prediction- Bonjasky on points
Le Banner will be dangerous early on but like with the previous fight I think the longer this fight goes on the better chance Bonjasky has. Remy is hard to hit and hard to hurt when he does get hit so I don’t think Le Banner will have much of an impact on him when he gets the fight where he wants it. Look for Bonjasky to throw right roundhouse kicks to the midsection as well as targeting Le Banner’s bad right knee which should slow the Frenchman up. Bonjasky should simply outbox Le Banner over the three rounds and take a comfortable decision leaving Le Banner still the best fighter never to win a K-1 WGP.

Alternate Bouts
Hong Man Choi vs Ray Sefo
Prediction- Choi on points
Sefo simply doesn’t have the speed to get inside the big mans reach. Badr Hari who is one of the quickest heavyweights in K-1 had trouble getting inside the big man without getting tagged and I don’t see Sefo having any success with it at all. If he can get the man monster on the ropes he’ll be able to unleash solid shots to his arms and misection but Hong Man can take a punch and I don’t think he’ll be bothered too much. I wouldn’t be surprised if Choi wins by stoppage but I think after his loss to Hari he’ll be tentative to let his hands go too much but will control the action to win a comfortable decision.

Melvin Manhoef vs Paul Slowinski
Prediction- Slowinski on points
This could be an interesting fight but I think size will play a big factor. Manhoef recently competed in the DREAM 185lb Grand Prix where he made the semi finals and the fact that he made that weight shows that he’s giving up a fair bit in weight to a guy like Slowinski who weighs around 230-240lbs. The weight will definately come into play I feel especially if Slowinski finds range with his thunderous leg kicks which will wear Manhoef down. Melvin is as tough as they come though even though he’s a smaller fighter and I think he’ll last the distance but will be beaten comfortably.

Semi Finals
Peter Aerts vs Errol Zimmerman
Prediction- Zimmerman on points (extra round)
If these two fought in the quarter finals I’d pick Aerts for sure, however Aerts will have a tough time with Hari and I think Zimmerman should get through Teixera with some ease which will leave him a lot fresher for Aerts. Zimmerman will be a hard man to deal with if you’re tired and with Aerts’ age I feel he’ll struggle in the 2nd and 3rd fights if he doesn’t take Hari out early. If the first two fights go as I think they will then I think Zimmerman will outwork Aerts in the third round after a close first two rounds before dominating the extra round and making the Final in his first appearance.

Gokhan Saki vs Remy Bonjasky
Prediction- Bonjasky by 2nd round knockout
I think this is Remy’s fight even if he goes has a life and death struggle with Le Banner and Saki wins easy. However, I doubt Saki will get through Karaev easily and won’t be in great shape come semi finals time. Bonjasky on the other hand is a cardio machine and will be dangerous all night (as long as no one kicks him in the junk) and will prove too strong for Saki especially when both guys have already fought once that night. Saki gives up too much ground when he fights and I think he’ll allow Bonjasky to unleash his flying knees and if Bonjasky is to knock someone out with one of his trademarks tomorrow night I think this is the fight he’ll do it in.

The Final
Errol Zimmerman vs Remy Bonjasky
Prediction- Bonjasky by 2nd round knockout
If this is the way the final turns out I don’t see ‘the Bonecrusher’ being able to handle Bonjasky. Bonjasky has been there and done it and while I think Zimmerman has plenty of promise and has the ability to beat anyone out there in this tournament, I don’t think he’ll handle Bonjasky after having to go through Hari or Aerts already that night. Bonjasky’s ‘virgin defence’ will prove too tight for Zimmerman to land his thunderous right hand or right kick and Bonjasky will counter effectively, chopping Zimmerman down before the third round.

Other Possibilities
a) Aerts beats Hari easily- I think he’ll win the lot if he takes Badr out early, there’s no one out there who I think will beat him in a straight fight and he should prove too experienced for Zimmerman in the semis. Bonjasky might pip him in the final but I don’t think anything but age will stop ‘Mr K-1′ this year.

b) Hari beats Aerts easily- Same as above, both guys rely on this fight going smoothly if they want to win the Grand Prix this year.

c) Teixera makes life difficult for Zimmerman or beats him- Then whoever wins between Aerts and Hari will make the Final.

d) Le Banner beats Bonjasky- He should make the Final, but with his bad knee and leg kick specialist Gokhan Saki likely waiting for him in the semis he might not. Either way (unless Teixera makes the Final) I don’t think Le Banner will be crowned champion. I’ll pick all of Aerts, Hari and Zimmerman to topple him if they fight him in both fighters’ third fight of the evening.

e) Karaev or Saki wins easy and Le Banner and Bonjasky go to war- Le Banner or Bonjasky should still go through, unless like I said Saki goes to work on Le Banner’s legs. Even then, Le Banner should prove too aggressive and experienced for Saki.

f) An alternate comes in- I don’t think Slowinski or Sefo have much of a chance at winning against one of the Final 8 unless it’s Teixera. Hong Man Choi on the other hand as a chance at making the Final should he face one of the newcomers in the semis (a reasonable chance of that happening with the top four guys facing each other) but I think he’ll likely be chopped down in the Final.

One Final Note
For some reason backyard brawler Kimbo Slice is commentating tomorrow night. Not sure what he has to put into the commentary other then to hype up the rumoured matchup with Badr Hari next year which considering what Petruzelli did to him at the last EliteXC, will be one of the biggest mismatches ever.

Enjoy the fights, I know I will.