DREAM 15 Domination
July 10, 2010 - Saitama Super Arena, Japan - On yet another boiling summer day, most of the 14 fighters making up DREAM.15 did their all to entertain the fans. There were some close strategically battles, and some utter dominations. I can’t recall seeing a card that had not 1 but 2 fights end with the loser not even having a change to throw a serious punch at their opponent. It happened tonight though, and it was jaw dropping to witness.
To open up the event Hidehiko Yoshida’s prot?g? was the first to come to the ring. Determined to do his recently retired teacher proud, Kazuhiro Nakamura faced off against fellow judoka, Karl Amoussou. Despite his judo background, the Frenchman has very explosive stand up, and he made good use of it until Nakamura managed to take the fight to the ground. Nakamura showed some great ground-and-pound, and controlled Karl on the ground with it for several minutes. It was eventually stood up by the referee, and Karl was presented with a yellow card for excessive holding not long before the bell rang signaling the end of the round. The fight commenced in round 2 with some brief exchanges on the feet before Nakamura shot for a single leg. Karl grabbed the ropes twice to avoid being taken down, yet the Japanese judoka succeeded anyway. Karl was much more aggressive with submission attempts off his back this time, however Nakamura managed to defend them all. For his part though, he wasn’t doing much from the top position so he too was yellow carded. That fired them both up, and vicious stand up followed until the end of the round. All 3 judges decided Kazuhiro Nakamura had done enough to deserve the victory.
The next fight was the first for the occasional cosplayer, DJ.taiki, since making the move to the Maruwa Gym Yokohama. His opponent, T-BLOOD’s Mitsuhiro Ishida was making his debut at featherweight. Both fighters were coming off of losses, and I expect each was under extreme self-imposed pressure to perform well. As the opening bell rang, Ishida extended his hand to tap DJ’s. He received a kick to the stomach rather than the show of mutual respect he was expecting. He wasted no time in changing gears though, immediately hitting DJ with a right, dumping him to the mat, and passing to side position. Ishida calmly placed DJ in a crucifix and pounded away, before spinning into an armbar. Things were looking extremely grim for the Japanese desert maker, but he scrambled out of the submission and out of danger. He may well have been out of immediate danger, but he was still in deep trouble. He spent less than 30 seconds of the remainder of the round not defending submissions, being hit or trying to get to his feet. It took Ishida just 6 seconds to put DJ back on the canvas in round 2, and both were more liberal with strikes on the mat. The desperation shown by both fights to have the fight carry out where they want was impressive. Ishida was simply ruthless though. All 3 judges awarded him the decision.
The second Yoshida Dojo representative walked to the ring with a look of pure violence in his eyes. Michihiro Omigawa was back in Saitama Super Arena, where he knocked out favorite Hiroyuki Takaya at DYNAMITE!! 2009. The young Korean, Jung Sam Young was here to try and stop Omigawa’s winning streak. As the opened up on their feet, Omigawa landed some solid strikes, all the while making his opponent look like he was shadow boxing by skillful use of head movement and speed. Just 90 seconds in the Korean found himself rocked, and falling to the mat. Omigawa jumped on top pound him out, and eventually sank in a guillotine choke. He didn’t tap, but he ate several knees while defending it. Just as everyone was starting to feel sorry for the Korean, he spun into an armbar, and managed to get to his feet. He said on Thursday that he was confident of finishing the fight if it stayed on the feet, but Omigawa was so aggressive there that Jung jumped on him and pulled guard. It wasn’t the best move to make in hindsight, and Omigawa managed to place him in a mounted guillotine, forcing him to tap out.
The always exciting Melvin Manhoef had himself pumped to levels beyond even his best. He danced and snarled his way to the ring looking like the Disney character Tasmanian Devil. His opponent, Japanese Light-Heavyweight hopeful, Tatsuya Mizuno. This was the first of the 2 Light-Heavyweight Title Qualification matches. Melvin opened as usual: Aggressive, explosive, pitiless. He let go with a flurry that had Mizuno crumple to the mat. Oddly enough, he then jumped into his guard and proceeded to spend the next few minutes defending submissions. Eventually Manhoef powered to his feet, but only long enough for Mizuno to scream, come at him firing, and knocking him down in the corner. The Japanese fighter rained down the blows before calmly putting Melvin in a kimura, and cranking. Melvin was forced to tap out. Tatsuya Mizuno broke down in tears with happiness at the result.
After failing to make weight, Jake O’Brien began his fight with the presentation of a yellow card. He weighed in 3kgs over the limit even after being given several hours extra to lose the weight. He faces previous dream tournament champion, Gegard Mousasi. Gegard agreed to carry on with the fight despite Jake’s failure to pass the agreed upon terms, and I’m sure he is glad he did. He won the fight without throwing a single punch or kick, in a mere 32 seconds. Jake shot in for a double-leg, and Gegard coolly positioned his arms in the guillotine position, and closed the hold. Jake tapped almost immediately. With this win Gegard qualified for the Light-Heavyweight Title Match with Tatsuya Mizuno.
A very resolute J.Z. Calvin came to Japan for this fight with the sole intension of breaking his recent bad run. Katsunori Kikuno felt he was ready for the challenge, and that his karate would give him the advantage. There was very little feeling out in this bout. Everyone knows when dealing with Kikuno to watch out for the crescent kick. J.Z. did a good job of this for the most part, in large due to utilizing the clinch, and knees on the way in and out. The opening round was very even overall. Both scored with big blows cutting the other, both score and defending takedowns. Between rounds J.Z. looked to be the more tired of them. In the second, J.Z. took it to the ground early, and kept it there. H managed to get full mount, and then lock in a body triangle in when Kikuno gave his back. For about 4 minutes Kikuno could do little but defend, and it wasn’t until the final 3 seconds that he managed to shake J.Z. off. He shot to his feet and landed a knee, just as the bell rang. For the first time of the night, the judges weren’t in agreement. J.Z. did manage to win his first fight in DREAM, and he did it with a majority decision.
Finally, the title match we have been waiting more than a year for. Reining Lightweight Champion, Shinya Aoki is taking on the challenger, Tatsya Kawajiri. For the second time tonight, the fight ended without a punch thrown. As soon as Kawajiri came within distance, Aoki took him to the ground and slapped him into a heel hold. Kawajiri rolled, and rolled. He was grimacing the whole time and in clear pain. He tried to kick Aoki off with some swift boots to the face, but Aoki remained psychotically calm and just applied more pressure. Eventually, after repeated escape attempts, and in more pain than he could bear, Kawajiri tapped out to an Achilles hold.. As they were bracing his leg to transfer him backstage, the Champion announced to the crowd that he was engaged and planned to marry.
In other news announced during the event, Caol Uno announced his return to the DREAM ring. He said he was bitterly disappointed that he couldn’t reach his goals while fighting overseas, and that he wanted one more chance. He said his next fight could very well be the last in his career. He also told the crowd that his next fight would be at featherweight. Additionally, DREAM.16 was announced. It will take place on September 25, 2010 in Nihon Gaishi Hall (formally known as Rainbow Hall) in Nagoya, Japan. Gegard Mousasi will be fighting for his second DREAM tournament belt there against Tatsuya Mizuno. Aoki mentioned in his post-fight speech that he too would like to be on the card.
Make sure to catch this card soon, if you have not already. And keep checking back here for updates on the DREAM.16 card and information leading up to the event.
16 July 2010
Also in the news
- 27 July 2010
STRIKEFORCE Challengers Kaufman Defends Title
EVERETT, WASH. (July 23, 2010) — Fast-rising heavyweight prospect Shane Del Rosario kept his perfect record in tact with a first round knockout over Lolohea Mahe in the main event of Friday’ STRIKEFORCE Challengers MMA event on SHOWTIME® from the Comcast Arena at Everett in Everett, Wash. In the co-main event, undefeated Sarah Kaufman defended her STRIKEFORCE Women’s Welterweight World Championship with a thrilling third round knockout of challenger Roxanne Modafferi. Read more
- 23 July 2010
Alicante host City of the 2010 ISKA Amateur World Championships
Alicante the beautiful Spanish city on the Costa Blanca will host the ISKA Amateur World Championships at the splendid Centro De Tecnificacion Arena. Martial Artists young and old from around the globe will compete in several disciplines on the mats including Semi-Contact, Light-Contact, Kata/Forms and Ring-sports Full Contact/Low Kick Kickboxing and Oriental Rules (Modified Thai). Over 40 countries are expected to attend. Read more
- 15 July 2010
K-1 MAX cold-blooded Sato-machine
TOKYO, Japan - July 5th at the Yoyogi Olympic Stadium #1, Japan's top MAX fighters gathered to battle for fortune and glory! No time for love, Doctor Jones. They're here to make MAX history! The event itself is host to two tournaments - three bouts of the elimination tournament for the -70 kilo MAX World Top 16 (the rest to take place in an event scheduled to take place in Europe in the Fall) and a one day tournament to decide the first -63 kilo MAX Japan champion. Read more
- More ISKA news
