Reminder: DREAM 17 Goes Down this Saturday

With all the buzz surrounding UFC 135, you might have forgotten that DREAM 17 transpires Saturday, and features a pretty stacked card to boot. Japanese legend Kasushi Sakuraba returns to action for the first time since nearly having his ear torn off by Marius Zaromskis, taking on undefeated submission specialist Yan Cabral. Sakuraba is currently riding a three-fight losing streak including the aforementioned loss to Zaromskis as well as a submission loss to Jason “Mayhem” Miller at Dream 16 and a unanimous decision loss to Ralek Gracie back at Dream 14. “The Gracie Hunter” is in desperate need of a win here to avoid falling into Ken Shamrock territory, though some critics out there feel he already has.

Also on the card, Shinya Aoki takes on Rob McCullough in a lightweight bout. Aoki has technically gone 5-0 fight win streak since his loss to Gilbert Melendez at Strikeforce: Nashville; this is of course excluding his embarrassing knockout loss to Yuichiro “Jienotsu” Nagashima in a mixed rules match at Dynamite!! 2010. But hey, if Sherdog doesn’t count it, then it never happened. McCullough on the other hand recently had a two fight win streak snapped by the heavy hands of Patricky Friere back at Bellator 36.

With all the buzz surrounding UFC 135, you might have forgotten that DREAM 17 transpires Saturday, and features a pretty stacked card to boot. Japanese legend Kasushi Sakuraba returns to action for the first time since nearly having his ear torn off by Marius Zaromskis, taking on undefeated submission specialist Yan Cabral. Sakuraba is currently riding a three-fight losing streak including the aforementioned loss to Zaromskis as well as a submission loss to Jason “Mayhem” Miller at Dream 16 and a unanimous decision loss to Ralek Gracie back at Dream 14. “The Gracie Hunter” is in desperate need of a win here to avoid falling into Ken Shamrock territory, though some critics out there feel he already has.

Also on the card, Shinya Aoki takes on Rob McCullough in a lightweight bout. Aoki has technically gone 5-0 fight win streak since his loss to Gilbert Melendez at Strikeforce: Nashville; this is of course excluding his embarrassing knockout loss to Yuichiro “Jienotsu” Nagashima in a mixed rules match at Dynamite!! 2010. But hey, if Sherdog doesn’t count it, then it never happened. McCullough on the other hand recently had a two fight win streak snapped by the heavy hands of Patricky Friere back at Bellator 36.

DREAM 17 also features the promotional debuts of UFC vets Antonio Banuelos, Gerald Harris, Willamy Freire, and Kazuhiro Nakamura. UFC veteran Caol Uno and inaugural DREAM lightweight champion Bibiano Fernandes will also be on the card, taking on Takeshi Inoue and Takafumi Otsuka, respectively.

And if that lineup hasn’t yet convinced you, Pride veteran Joachim Hansen will be taking on Tatsuya Kawajiri in a rematch of their 2006 Shooto welterweight title fight that ended just 8 seconds in due to an illegal groin strike by Hansen. With all these intriguing match-ups, DREAM 17 is looking to be one of the most promising outings for Japanese MMA in quite some time. Check out the new “fight order announcement” trailer below…


(Props: DREAM)

Hiroyuki Takaya Tops Bibiano Fernandes in Dynamite 2010 Main Event

Filed under: DREAM, News, JapanDream has a new featherweight champion, as Japan’s Hiroyuki Takaya took the belt from former champ Bibiano Fernandes in an impressive unanimous decision victory at Dynamite 2010.

Fernandes simply never appeared to be on …

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Dream has a new featherweight champion, as Japan’s Hiroyuki Takaya took the belt from former champ Bibiano Fernandes in an impressive unanimous decision victory at Dynamite 2010.

Fernandes simply never appeared to be on his game, looking so tentative in the stand-up that he was warned by the referee in the first round that he needed to pick up the pace, and failing to put Takaya in any kind of danger on the ground. By the time the end of the 20-minute battle came, Takaya was raining punches down on Fernandes on the ground, and there was no question who would get the judges’ decision.

‘Dynamite 2010!!’ Quick Results + Videos

(Alistair Overeem vs. Todd Duffee. Fight starts at the 3:41 mark and ends 19 seconds later. Good night Ireeeene.)
Full results from today’s New Year’s Eve event in Saitama, Japan, are after the jump, along with a few must-see videos courtesy of ZP…

(Alistair Overeem vs. Todd Duffee. Fight starts at the 3:41 mark and ends 19 seconds later. Good night Ireeeene.)

Full results from today’s New Year’s Eve event in Saitama, Japan, are after the jump, along with a few must-see videos courtesy of ZP420MMA. Note: Bob Sapp apparently backed out of his IGF slap-fight-rules bout with Shinichi Suzukawa at the last minute.

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K-1 Dynamite! New Year’s Eve Show Taking Shape and May Include At Least Two Title Fights

Although the promotion has only "officially" announced one of the match-ups for its annual New Year’s Eve extravaganza, the December 31 K-1 Dynamite! show, in Saitama, Japan, which may include at least two title fights, is looking pretty goo…

Although the promotion has only "officially" announced one of the match-ups for its annual New Year’s Eve extravaganza, the December 31 K-1 Dynamite! show, in Saitama, Japan, which may include at least two title fights, is looking pretty good so far.

K-1 announced today that DREAM featherweight champion Bibiano Fernandes will rematch Hiroyuki Takaya on the card and that it will be a five-round affair that will see the Brazilian defend his belt for the second time.

According to a Tatame story, Sengoku fetherweight champion Marlon Sandro is in negotiations to put his belt on the line against Japanese standout Hatsu Hioki at the event as well. Sandro says he has verbally agreed to the bout and is awaiting the contract to make it official.

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Ralek Gracie Says Dream Still Hasn’t Paid Him For Fight in May

Filed under: DREAM, News, JapanYou can add Ralek Gracie’s name to the growing list of fighters who are upset with Japan’s Dream organization, and his complaint against his former employers is all too familiar.

Gracie (3-0) told MMA Fighting’s Ariel He…

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You can add Ralek Gracie‘s name to the growing list of fighters who are upset with Japan’s Dream organization, and his complaint against his former employers is all too familiar.

Gracie (3-0) told MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani on Monday afternoon’s edition of “The MMA Hour” that the FEG-backed promotion has not paid him a single penny of what he’s owed for his win over Japanese legend Kazushi Sakuraba at Dream.14 on May 29. And after waiting patiently for more than four months for the check to arrive, Gracie is through keeping quiet about it.

“I fought [Sakuraba] on May 29 and under my contract I was supposed to be paid 30 days after my fight, in full, and I haven’t been paid yet,” Gracie said. “The Dream organization puts on a wonderful show. They’re, in my opinion, the top show in terms of production, but on the back end, as far as handling the finances, they haven’t really taken care of me in a way that I expected and a way I feel is honorable and a way they should.”

BJ Penn Brings in a Ringer to Help Him Train for Frankie Edgar Rematch

(Video courtesy BJPenn.com)
Continuing his tradition of hosting a variety of top-tier fighters to help him prepare for his upcoming fights, BJ Penn has brought in a secret weapon to bolster his training camp for his August 28 rematch with Franki…

(Video courtesy BJPenn.com)

Continuing his tradition of hosting a variety of top-tier fighters to help him prepare for his upcoming fights, BJ Penn has brought in a secret weapon to bolster his training camp for his August 28 rematch with Frankie Edgar: DREAM featherweight champion Bibiano Fernandes.

Although he fights a weight class below Penn, Fernandes is the perfect fighter to mimic Edgar and is very similar in stature and style to "The Answer," with the only real difference being Bibiano’s superior jiu-jitsu base. 8-2 with losses to Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto and Urijah Faber, "The Flash" has not lost since 2007. His most recent win came in his first title defense via split decision over Joachim "Hellboy" Hansen at DREAM 13 in March.

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