DREAM 11 and the magic grappling pants

I’d really like to see Shinya Aoki and his magic grappling pants in the UFC. I’m not saying he could beat BJ Penn but he could certainly make things interesting in the lightweight division. Aoki vs. Frankie Edgar or Joe “Daddy” Stevenson or Diego Sanchez or Clay Guida or Roger Huerta would all be interesting match-ups.

I bring this up after watching Aoki (22-4) pull a surprise submission out of those pants to beat Joachim Hansen (19-8-1) in the waning seconds of their DREAM lightweight title bout today in Japan.

The Japanese fighter is a pure grappler who smartly neutralized Jansen’s powerful striking by getting the fight to the ground and working from top position. Aoki overcame a couple of ill-placed upkicks – one to the groin, another to the side of the head when his knees were grounded – as well as a slick armbar attempt by Hansen from his back to work some subs of his own, including a guillotine choke attempt from the mount and a killer armbar that forced the tap.

So will we see Aoki in the octagon? During the DREAM 11 pre-fight press conference, Aoki was asked about the possibility:

“I am interested in fighting in a cage since a lot of the major promotions hold their fights in the cage nowadays. I am aware that some people raise the question about my viability in the cage. It upsets me whenever I hear them say that I will not succeed fighting in the cage under a different set of rules. I think I will not be beaten by anyone. It is often said that UFC is the pre-eminent force in the MMA world with the best fighters and BJ Penn is number one. It does not anger me, but it makes me want to challenge the assertion. I acknowledge their major league status, financial power, the caliber of their fighters, but I do not consider them the number one. I think I am the better fighter and capable of beating their fighters.”

As for the rest of the DREAM 11 results, Brazilian submission ace Bibiano Fernandes lived up to the hype by claiming the promotion’s featherweight grand prix title. He earned a slit decision over Hiroyuki Takaya in the final that saw the pair work submissions in the early going before ending the fight standing toe-to-toe and firing strikes. In the semi-finals, Fernandes stunned Joe Warren with a fight-ending armbar that resulted in controversy as Warren claimed he didn’t tap (a replay clearly shows he did tap). Takaya had beaten Hideo Tokoro by second-round TKO to advance.

Also worth noting, Japanese legend Kazushi Sakuraba submitted boxer and MMA first-timer Rubin Williams via kimura; Tatsuya Kawajiri ground-and-pounded Melchor Manibusan; in the Super Hulk semi-finals, Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou ground-and-pounded Bob Sapp into the loser’s circle (no, Sapp didn’t cry; see the video) and Ikuhisa Minowa overcame a 127-pound weight disadvantage to submit Hong Man Choi by leg lock.