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.

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.

DREAM.6 post fight thoughts

DREAM.6 took place on Tuesday and I think everyone agrees that it didn’t live up to expectations. The tournament went down without a hitch though, but the rest of the fights left a sour taste in the mouths of most fans. Then to add to all of this, the ratings were something like half of what the DREAM people expected them to be, meaning this could be the end of high quality Japanese MMA. In my opinion anyway, MMA won’t be the same without the crazy Japanese woman screaming the fighters names out as they enter the ring on the giant ramp. It won’t be the same without the 10 minute first round (which I think all MMA should have) or the PRIDE/DREAM scoring system which I think works better in MMA then the 10 point must system ever will. Anyway enough mourning; onto the fights:

Mousasi wins the Grand Prix
Gegard Mousasi won a tournament that lasted less then five minutes total with a triangle choke over Melvin Manhoef and an upkick knockout over Ronaldo Jacare. Earlier in the night Jacare eliminated Galesic with an armbar in a little over a minute but in the final he shows he’s still got a bit of work to do. I’m sure he’ll be back better, but he seems to have a very suspect chin and could struggle against guys he can’t take down who can strike.
I had a bitch after the last DREAM event that the best fighter doesn’t usually win the tournaments, well that can’t be said about this one. Mousasi beat Denis Kang who was probably the favourite before it started in the first round, Yoon Dong-sik in the quarter finals, then the two guys who a lot of people picked to be in the final in Melvin Manhoef and Jacare in just over one and two minutes respectively. Mousasi is definately a top ten middleweight after this. He’s had a good run since he was eliminated by Akhiro Gono in the second PRIDE Bushido Welterweight (Middleweight) Grand Prix and with these four impressive wins in under a year he has definately proved he’s one of the better guys in the World. I’m not saying he’s going to challenge Anderson Silva or anything, but I’d definately like to see him fight someone like Trigg or Misaki if he were to fight in the USA and if the UFC signs him after DREAM goes under I’d be all for that as well. Oh yeah before I forget, who did I pick to win the tournament again?

Overeem “Golota’s” Cro Cop
The reference might be lost on some of you hardcore MMA fans but in the mid 90s there were two fights between former Undisputed Heavyweight Champion Riddick Bowe and up and comer Andrew Golota. In both fights Golota beat the dog shit out of Bowe, and then both times got himself disqualified for low blows when Bowe was basically ready to go. The same thing happened here.
Overeem is a fucking monster at 240lbs and he monstered Cro Cop. He beat him standing up and he battered him on the ground. The referee was disgraceful as he repeatedly stood the fighters up and gave Mirko a chance to win. The fight shouldn’t have been stood up at all. Mirko was cut over both eyes and taking a beating so Overeem starts kneeing him in the balls. He only got called for two of them, but there was at least one other clear nut shot and half a dozen border line at best shots that I saw. In my opinion Overeem should have been disqualified because he was warned and then went right back to doing it again. The fight was ruled a no contest and I (as well as probably everyone) was left thinking ‘well that sucked.’ It always sucks when the matchup of the night ends like that. I’d like to see them fight again but I’d also like to see Cro Cop retire because he hasn’t got it anymore.

Kharitonov vs some guy after Mighty Mo pulled out
The other match I was looking forward to was Sergei Kharitonov vs K-1 veteran Mighty Mo. Mighty Mo apparently got injured in training and pulled out at the last minute which was totally lame. Sergei then faced some guy I hadn’t heard of and beat him up.

Japanese fights
Probably the best non tournament fight of the night was Hayato Sakurai and Kuniyoshi Hironaka. Sakurai worked him over and won a unanimous decision. Sakurai looked good, but he really should be fighting lightweights. There was a noticeable size difference between the two of them and against someone who knows how to throw a punch he could be in trouble again. With KJ Noons out of EliteXC’s lightweight title picture, a fight between these two could be very interesting.
Funaki submitted The Punk with a heel hook a lot quicker then I expected but I got it right nonetheless. The Punk was stupid enough to wear shoes against a leg lock master and got punished for it.
Shinya Aoki won by rear naked neck crank.

All in all, the card didnt live up to expectations and I hope DREAM doesn’t go under before they put on another show. Maybe a show with Fedor on it for New Years Eve will be the thing they need to bring themselves out of trouble. Fedor was there and said he will be fighting in Japan on New Years Eve. Hopefully after this freakshow match (and I doubt it’ll be anything less and DILLIGAF) he’ll fight Arlovski (who’s been added to the EliteEX show next weekend against Roy Nelson) or Barnett.

DREAM.6 this week

The long awaited conclusion to the DREAM Middleweight Grand Prix takes place this week (on Tuesday or Wednesday, whenever the 23rd is) and they’ve got some big names on the card. The return of PRIDE 2004 GP Semi Finalist Sergei Kharitonov who takes on K-1 star Mighty Mo as well as a highly anticipated matchup between Mirko Cro Cop and Alistair Overeem; not to mention the tournament semi finals and final! Then throw in fights with Japanese stars Hayato Sakurai, Shinya Aoki and a good matchup between PRIDE Bushido star Ikuhisa ‘The Punk’ Minowa, fresh off a win over UFC legend Don Frye, and Pancrase Legend Masakatsu Funaki and this is a very solid card. Let’s hope this isn’t DREAM’s last hurrah as the death of quality Japanese MMA would make things a little boring.

The Tournament
The four finalists in this tournament are Ronaldo Jacare, Gegard Mousasi, Melvin Manhoef and Zelg Galesic. A lot of people think Jacare is a shoe-in to take this title, not me. Pure submission guys tend to struggle in one night tournaments against quality opposition. My pick for this tournament is Mousasi because he’s the most well-rounded of all of the finalists.
I think he’ll submit Manhoef and then out point a weary Jacare in the final. Should Jacare have an easy nights work with Galesic (which I don’t think he will) then he should win this tournament. Galesic is a dangerous guy and I think he’ll take a lot out of the submission wrestling legend and Mousasi will be too fresh for him. There is a possibility that Mousasi is stupid enough to trade with Manhoef and get knocked out, in which case Jacare will rape him in the final no matter what condition he’s in.
Jacare is the best fighter out of these four and he would probably win the whole thing if he faced Manhoef in the first round and let Galesic and Mousasi kick the shit out of each other, but the draw favours Mousasi should he fight smart against Manhoef and put him on his back. So I think Jacare will win a gruelling battle on points against Galesic, Mousasi will submit Manhoef early and then out point Jacare in the final. There is also the possibility that the winner of the alternate bout between Yoon Dong-sik and Andrews Nakahara (Dong-sik should win this one) could win this tournament should someone get injured like last time.

Mirko Cro Cop vs Alistair Overeem
The saying goes ‘be careful what you wish for’ and that fits this scenario 100%. Overeem has been calling out Cro Cop for a long time. Cro Cop has fighting porrly for a good 18 months. The way Overeem has constantly called him out makes me think that Cro Cop will be taking this very seriously. I really think Cro Cop is going to brutalise Overeem and knock him out sometime during the first 10 minute period. Cro Cop is the bigger and stronger man and while Overeem may be the better technical striker, I think Cro Cop will simply overpower him. I’m really looking forward to this fight.

Sergei Kharitonov vs Mighty Mo
Kharitonov is an excellent boxer with great ground skills and wicked ground and pound. Mighty Mo is (was?) a world class kick boxer with little MMA experience. While Mighty Mo definately has the edge standing up, Kharitonov will dismantle him with ease when this fight hits the ground. We’ve seen Kharitonov in this situation before at PRIDE Critical Countdown 2004 when he faced future three time K-1 Grand Prix winner Semmy Schilt. Kharitonov took him down and beat him up until the fight was stopped. In Mighty Mo, Kharitonov faces a lesser kick boxer with a lot less MMA experience. This should be a cake walk for Kharitonov and I think he’ll win by either ground and pound or via submission within five minutes.

Ikuhisa Minowa vs Masakatsu Funaki
Its hard to figure out what Funaki has left. The two guys he’s fought in his comeback have both been better then Minowa (those two being Kiyoshi Tamura and Kazushi Sakuraba), but he’s been beaten up in both of those fights. Both guys are very good at submitting weaker foes, especially Minowa who really seems to be a gatekeeper in modern MMA. If you don’t know how to defend a submission, in particular a leglock, ‘The Punk’ will likely catch you in one. I’m picking Funaki in this fight because I think his recent outings have been more due to his opposition and I think he’s got enough left in the tank to make ‘The Punk’ tap out. This ending could be nasty as neither guy likes to submit, and I couldn’t imagine either wanting to tap out to the other guy. Expect a broken arm, leg or someone to go out as the way this fight ends.

Kuniyoshi Hironaka vs Hayato Salurai
 Recent UFC fighter Hironaka takes on Japanese legend Hayato Sakurai in another interesting all-Japanese battle. Hironaka has God awful stand-up and I think thats where Sakurai will win this fight. Sakurai is very well rounded for the type of fighter that he is and as long as he doesn’t have one of his extremely off nights that he’s famous for I think he’ll knock Kuniyoshi out. I mean if Jonathon Goulet is beating you on the feet then you know your stand-up is below par.

Shinya Aoki returns
Apparently Aoki is on the card as well against some no name American. I can’t imagine he’d be given a hard fight in his return.

DREAM.4 and EliteXC Results

DREAM.4 Results

Shinya Aoki vs Katsuhiko Nagata
I didn’t even realise a gogoplata from the mount was possible. Aoki has to be the most creative fighter I’ve seen since Kazushi Sakuraba. With this win Aoki becomes the 2nd fighter to finish two MMA fights by gogoplata and the first one to finish one from the mount. I agree with Adam Morgan of fiveouncesofpain.com that this finish should be renamed ‘the Aokiplata’ out of respect to his creativity. If you get the opportunity to see this fight, it’s a must watch. Aoki is definately one of my favourite fighters to watch in any MMA organisation and is my pick to win the DREAM lightweight Grand Prix.

Gegard Mousasi vs Dong Sik Yoon
Mousasi looked very impressive en route to a unanimous decision win. He has excellent wrestling and grappling abilities for a striker, avoiding the takedown numerous times and also passing Dong’s guard. Yoon almost pulled off his trademark ‘Dong-bar’ (what he calls a straight arm bar) and it even looked like Mousasi tapped before escaping the submission attempt but if he did tap I don’t think he would have stopped tapping and then suddenly escaped. Mousasi is my pick to win the DREAM Middleweight Grand Prix although I think Jacare will submit him if the fight hits the mat.

Zelg Galesic vs Taiei Kin
Not much to say about this fight because of the freak ending. Kin broke his arm after being taken down by Galesic after about a minute of fighting. This fight appears to be cursed after the freak cut from the first fight last year in K-1. I’m not sure what to think of Galesic, but I don’t think he’ll reach the final two.

Ronaldo Jacare vs Jason ‘Mayhem’ Miller
This was the most entertaining fight of the card, with Jacare winning a decision after 15 minutes of top level grappling. Jacare locked in two heel hooks that would have forced most sane men to tap out, unfortunately for him Mayhem is one of the most insane fighters I’ve ever seen and all he did was smile and put his thumbs up. Mayhem came back strong in the final round but his guillotine choke attempt cost him any chance at winning. I think Jacare will make the final two as long as he doesn’t run into Mousasi in the semi finals. His stand-up is a little suspect and Mousasi’s takedown defence should keep the fight standing.

Melvin Manhoef vs Kazushi Sakuraba
Unfortunately I picked this fight correctly and Melvin Manhoef destroyed Sakuraba in little over a minute. Sakuraba is one of my favoutite fighters ever and it was sad to see him take a beating like that. That referee should be shot for letting him take the punishment he did, the fight should have been stopped after the high kick. Sakuraba is a legend of the sport and this defeat doesn’t tarnish his legacy, although he really should retire. He physically can’t do what he used to after years of fighting larger men. Mousasi I feel will be in trouble if Mousasi gets his wish and they fight in the first round of the Final.

EliteXC: Return of the King
KJ Noons looked extremely impressive, destroying Yves Edwards in about 30 seconds. The final flurry was something to witness, he looked like a normal ground and pounder in fast forward. Nick Diaz looked alright, although not making weight by 9lbs took any shine off his performance. Tony Bonello was completely in over his head against Ninja Rua.

Prediction Results
I had a good weekend, scoring 5/6 out of the fights I thought were worth picking (I got all of the others right, they were pretty one sided though) and getting four out of those five with the correct outcome. The only fight I got wrong was the EliteXC main event, and I underrated Noons’ boxing ability.