No surprises at DREAM 12

I’m reluctant to write anything about Alistair Overeem that doesn’t directly relate to him defending his Strikeforce heavyweight belt, so I’ll keep this brief. While I was still feeling stunned by Mauricio “Shogun” Rua getting robbed at UFC 104, Overeem was making short work of James Thompson at DREAM 12 in Osaka, Japan.

Overeem slapped on a guillotine choke from standing very early in the first round to end the fight and improve his record to 6-0 since winning the Strikeforce strap, although none of those fights have come in Strkeforce. BTW, I love the side-by-side comparison of Overeem circa 2006 weighing 95 kg (209.5 pounds) and the neckless Overeem of today weighing 115 kg (253.5 pounds) that’s in the video below. There’s no way to put on that much weight and remain that sculpted without a little help.

Bellator FC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez survived a tough opening frame against DEEP lightweight champ Katsunori Kikuno to end things in the second round via arm-triangle choke. Also picking up victories were DREAM welterweight champion Marius Zaromskis, who scored a head-kick KO of Ho Bae Myeon in a non-title fight; Yoshiro Maeda, a former WEC fighter, submitted former WEC bantamweight champ Chase Beebe; and the legendary Kazushi Sakuraba (26-12-1) absorbed a ton of punishment while holding onto a nasty leg-lock and finally submitting Zelg “Little Cro Cop” Galesic via kneebar in the first round.

On final observation: I like the new six-sided cage DREAM is using, especially that it’s white, making the fights crisper and clearer and easier to follow.

The full results included:

* Alistair Overeem def. James Thomson via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1
* Eddie Alvarez def. Katsunori Kikuno via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 2
* Marius Zaromskis def. Myeon Ho Bae via KO (head kick) – Round 1
* Kazushi Sakuraba def. Zelg Galesic via submission (kneebar) – Round 1
* Katsuyori Shibata def. Tokimitsu Ishizawa by TKO (punches) – Round 1
* Yoon Dong Sik def. Tarec Saffiedine via split decision
* Yoshiro Maeda def. Chase Beebe via submission (rear naked choke) – Round 1
* Kuniyoshi Hironaka def. “Parky” Won Sik Park via TKO (corner’s stoppage) – Round 1
* Tomoya Miyashita def. Keisuke Fujiwara via unanimous decision