Category — DREAM

A couple of weeks back Japanese star Shinya Aoki talked about pitting his magic grappling pants against UFC lightweight champ BJ Penn. Well, now it seems the DREAM lightweight champ has set his sites significantly lower – on the Strikeforce lightweight division, in fact. The promotion’s CEO, Scott Coker, has confirmed to Sherdog that Aoki could make his Strikeforce debut in early 2010, possibly against lightweight champ Josh Thompson or interim champ Gilbert Melendez. Or maybe they could award Aoki a whole new lightweight title, like the magic grappling pants interim lightweight belt.

Aoki won the DREAM belt at October’s Dream 11 with a second-round armbar against Joachim Hansen. He’s also slated to face Tatsuya Kawajiri at K-1 Dynamite on New Year’s Eve in Saitama, Japan.

Strikeforce and DREAM have a talent-sharing arrangement. Last week it was announced that DREAM welterweight champion Marius Zaromskis had signed with Strikeforce and could bring his headhunting to December 19’s Strikeforce: Evolution event.

Last week I wrote briefly about 2009 DREAM Welterweight Grand Prix champ Marius Zaromskis, who has a nasty habit of head-kicking opponents into unconsciousness. Now Strikeforce has smartly snapped up Zaromskis (13-3) and signed him to a multi-fight agreement, according to MMA Mania.

The 29-year-old Lithuanian has won five straight fights and nine of his last 10, including head-kick knockouts of Jason High and Hayoto Sakurai in the same night to win the Grand Prix crown and Myeon Ho Bae at DREAM 12 just last week. All three knockouts came in the first round.

Now all Strikeforce has to do is find some welterweights to take him on considering the promotion’s 170-pound class is a little light on talent at the moment, especially with Jake Shields moving up to challenge Jason “Mayhem” Miller for the vacant middleweight title at November 7’s Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers event.

Tracked down a video of DREAM welterweight champion Marius Zaromskis‘ first-round head kick KO of Ho Bae Myeon at DREAM 12 on Sunday. Impressive stuff. Oh, and if you’re wide-eyed about the backflip guard pass Zaromskis attempts during the pre-fight highlight reel, it was against Seichi Ikemoto at DREAM 8 and I’ve included it below, as well. Who has the presence of mind – or lack of presence of mind considering that move is insane – to try something so risky?

And also from DREAM 12, here’s Bellator FC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez against DEEP lightweight champ Katsunori Kikuno, whose upright/arms-out Frankenstein stance can give fighters problems.

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

With UFC 104: Machida vs. Shogun grabbing all the attention it’s easy to forget there’s another MMA event going on this weekend worth watching. Sunday will see Strikeforce heavyweight champ Alistair Overeem, Bellator FC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez, DREAM welterweight champ Marius Zaromskis, the legendary Kazushi Sakuraba and former WEC bantamweight champ Chase Beebe all slated for action at DREAM 12 in Osaka, Japan. PRIDE FC vet and former WEC middleweight champ Paulo Filho was expected to be on the card but has withdrawn because of visa issues (according Tatame).

This will be the first DREAM event to be held inside a cage (six-sided, I believe). If I’m not mistaken, the event will air on HDNet beginning at 2 a.m. Sunday morning, or roughly an hour after UFC 104 ends, which means you could make an MMA all-nighter of it.

Here’s the full DREAM 12 lineup:

* Alistair Overeem vs. James Thompson
* Zelg Galesic vs. Kazushi Sakuraba
* Tokimitsu Ishizawa vs. Katsuyori Shibata
* Marius Zaromskis vs. Myeon Ho Bae (non-title fight)
* Keisuke Fujiwara vs. Tomoya Miyashita
* Tarec Saffiedine vs. Yoon Dong Sik
* Chase Beebe vs. Yoshiro Maeda
* Eddie Alvarez vs. Katsunori Kikuno
* Kuniyoshi Hironaka vs. Won Sik Park

Speaking of spectacle, Fighting and Entertainment Group, the parent company of K-1 and DREAM, has announced plans for Dynamite 2009 on New Year’s Eve. No match-ups have been announced, but there are some names being floated about, including Tatsuya Kawajiri, Shinya Aoki, Kazushi Sakuraba, Hayato Sakurai, Alistair Overeem, Tim Sylvia, Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto and the DREAM Super Hulk final between Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou and Ikuhisa Minowa.

Middleweights Melvin Manhoef and Paulo Filho have signed on to October 25’s DREAM 12, which will be contested inside a six-sided cage instead of a ring.

Manhoef (23-6-1) takes on Zelg Galesic (9-4) and Filho (18-1) meets Dong Sik Yoon (4-7).

Manhoef, who recently suffered a K-1 unanimous-decision loss to Remy Bonjasky, has gone 1-2 in his last three MMA fights, including submission losses to both Gegard Mousasi and Filho.

Filho, the former WEC middleweight champion, is coming off a submission victory over Manhoef at DREAM 10 and a decision win over Alex Schoenauer at Bitetti Combat.

Also on the card are Eddie Alvarez vs. Katsunori Kikuno and Kuniyoshi Hironaka vs. Won Sik Park in lightweight action and Chase Beebe vs. Yoshiro Maeda in a featherweight tilt. Alistair Overeem is also expected to be on the card although that hasn’t been confirmed.

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.

MMA legend Kazushi Sakuraba (24-12-1) has been added to October 6’s DREAM 11 card, although no opponent for “The Gracie Hunter” has yet been named. The 40-year-old is a 27-time PRIDE FC veteran who has fought the likes of Vitor Belfort, Mirko “Cro Cop” Filiovic, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Kimo Leopoldo, Carlos Newton, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Kevin Randleman, Ken Shamrock and Wanderlei Silva. He also has wins over Renzo, Royce, Royler and Ryan Gracie.

In addition to the featherweight Grand Prix semi-finals and finals, DREAM 11 will include the Super Hulk Grand Prix semi-finals with Hong Man Choi vs. Ikuhisa Minowa and Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou vs. Bob Sapp.

The main event will feature DREAM lightweight champ Joachim Hansen vs. WAMMA lightweight champ Shinya Aoki.

What the hell is going on with Alistair Overeem?! He hasn’t defended his Strikeforce heavyweight belt since he kneed Paul Buentello into the ground to capture it in November 2007.

He has fought since then, though, including three DREAM bouts, one bout in Holland against Gary Goodridge and a bar brawl with his brother in which he broke his hand. That injury prevented him from fighting Brett Rogers at Strikeforce in June and Fabricio Werdum in August.

And now that he’s all healed up, what is he doing? Going off to compete in a couple of kickboxing event, according to Five Ounces of Pain. He will face fellow Dutchman Peter Aerts at the K-1 World Grand Prix Final 16 on September 26 for a chance to qualify for December’s championship. Overeem is also expected to fight Mighty Mo, Siala-Mou Siligia, during a separate kickboxing event set for Amsterdam on October 17.

So what about the Strikeforce heavyweight title? We know Fedor Emelianenko will challenge for it and that Strikeforce wants to build up to that bout by having Fedor fight at least one warm-up against Rogers. But we need to see Overeem in action, the belt on the line. It’s been way too long. Why not threaten to strip Overeem of the title to force him to fight on the same card as Fedor-Rogers against Werdum? That would be a helluva card.