Filed under: DREAM, JapanComing in on late notice, Rich Clementi was unable to make weight ahead of his DREAM Fight for Japan bout with lightweight champion Shinya Aoki. The UFC veteran came in 7 ounces overweight and drawn out and as he made his way o…
Coming in on late notice, Rich Clementi was unable to make weight ahead of his DREAM Fight for Japan bout with lightweight champion Shinya Aoki. The UFC veteran came in 7 ounces overweight and drawn out and as he made his way out of the room in order to lose the required weight.
All other fighters on DREAM’s first event for the year where on weight including participants in the Bantamweight Japan Grand Prix.
Full weigh-in results are after the break.
DREAM “Fight for Japan” – May 29, 2011 at Saitama Super Arena, Japan
Shinya Aoki (69.8 kg/153.8 lbs) vs. Rich Clementi (70.2 kg/154.7 lbs)
Katsunori Kikuno (70 kg/154.3 lbs) vs. Daisuke Nakamura (69.6 kg/153.4 lbs)
Caol Uno (65 kg/143.3 lbs) vs. Akiyo Nishiura (64.8 kg/142.8 lbs)
“Lion” Takeshi Inoue (65 kg/143.3 lbs) vs. Koichiro Matsumoto (64.9 kg/143 lbs)
Joachim Hansen (65 kg/143.3 lbs) vs. Mitsuhiro Ishida (64.9 kg/143 lbs)
Bantamweight Grand Prix Quarterfinals:
Hideo Tokoro (61 kg/134.4 lbs) vs. Yoshiro Maeda (60.5 kg/133.4 lbs)
Masakazu Imanari (60.8 kg/134 lbs) vs. Keisuke Fujiwara (61 kg/134.4 lbs)
Kenji Osawa (60.5 kg/133.4 lbs) vs. Takafumi Otsuka (60.7 kg/133.8 lbs)
Yusaku Nakamura (60.2 kg/132.7 lbs) vs. Atsushi Yamamoto (60.7 kg/133.8 lbs)
Filed under: DREAM, JapanFew will be able to see it, but DREAM returns from an almost six-month hiatus on Sunday with it’s “Fight for Japan” charity event at the Saitama Super Arena in Japan.
With Japan recovering from the March 11 earthquake and DREA…
Few will be able to see it, but DREAM returns from an almost six-month hiatus on Sunday with it’s “Fight for Japan” charity event at the Saitama Super Arena in Japan.
With Japan recovering from the March 11 earthquake and DREAM having financial issues, the event will take place in front of only 7,000 spectators, will be on a two-day tape-delayed PPV in Japan and will be broadcast on a five-day tape delay in North America on HDNet.
After the break, predictions for the first major Japanese MMA event of 2011 featuring DREAM lightweight champion Shinya Aoki taking on longtime UFC veteran Rich Clementi and the opening rounds of the bantamweight tournament.
What: DREAM “Fight for Japan”
When: May 29, 2011. The event will be broadcast on HDNet on Fri, June 3rd 10 pm ET.
Where: Saitama Super Arena, Saitama, Japan Shinya Aoki vs. Rich Clementi
Injury and DREAM’s current dire financial state led to a steady stream of cancelled opponents for lightweight champion Shinya Aoki but after 4 candidates, the job eventually went to Rich Clementi.
Clementi has slipped somewhat in recent years, going 7-7 since his last win in the UFC in May 2008 with back-to-back losses to Gray Maynard and Gleison Tibau seeing the 60-fight veteran lose his UFC contract.
The memory of Aoki’s humiliating loss to Yuichiro “Jienotsu” Nagashima was somewhat erased with his impressive domination of Lyle Beerbohm in Strikeforce and the submission specialist should put on a similar performance here against Clementi. The 12 days notice for the American won’t help his cause. A first-round rear-naked choke seems likely. Pick: Aoki Joachim Hansen vs. Mitsuhiro Ishida
Longtime lightweight veterans of the Japanese circuit, Joachim Hansen and Mitsuhiro Ishida both dropped to featherweight in 2010 but they have had varying results: Hansen has fought a much higher quality of fighter, going 2-2 but Ishida has been flawless with two tireless decision wins.
The real difference is in how easily the former lightweights have cut the ten pounds. Ishida has not missed a step at featherweight and as always, has had a bottomless gas tank. Hansen on the other hand has had be drawn out, running low on cardio and suffered the first KO loss of his career against current champ Hiroyuki Takaya.
I’m still not convinced that Hansen is able to fight at 100 percent at a featherweight and Ishida will test his gas tank to the limit. The former DREAM lightweight champion drops a close and entertaining decision to Ishida. Pick: Ishida
“Lion” Takeshi Inoue vs. Koichiro Matsumoto
The former Shooto champion “Lion” Takeshi and reigning Deep featherweight champion Koichiro Matsumoto are similar fighters, both being rangy strikers with heavy hands supported by excellent low kicks, but Lion is the better and more experienced fighter of the two. This superb bit of matchmaking should lead to an interesting fight, but Lion’s experience should get him across the line. Look for multiple knockdowns and a dramatic comeback in classic “Lion” style. Pick: Inoue
Caol Uno vs. “Wicky” Akiyo Nishiura
One of the legends of the Japanese MMA scene, Caol Uno, is on the verge of retiring and given his record over the past few years, it may not be a bad thing. The former Shooto ace and long-time UFC veteran has gone 1-4-1 in his last six outings as a lightweight (although two decisions during his recent UFC run were questioned by some), and his drop to featherweight was spoiled in humiliating fashion by the chain suplexes of Kazuyuki Miyata.
Unfortunately for Uno, he is just the kind of opponent that “Wicky” Akiyo enjoys. The hard hitting “Lion” Takeshi teammate has had problem with wrestlers (although Matt Hume has been correcting this issue for the past year) but seems to be unsubmittable and as his dramatic knockout of Hideo Tokoro showed, he has incredible one punch power.
Uno may be able to avoid the hands of Wicky for at least one round but he doesn’t have the strength and wrestling ability to keep the striker on his back for the full duration of the bout. Uno gets caught with a crushing uppercut and I have a feeling we may see him retire post-fight. Pick: Nishiura Katsunori Kikuno vs. Daisuke Nakamura
Karate practitioner and reigning Deep lightweight champion Katsunori Kikuno is believed by many to be the next generation of Japanese fighter but criminally underrated armbar king Daisuke Nakamura shouldn’t be considered just a stepping stone for the rising star.
Kikuno’s remarkable strength and trademark crescent kick should lead to a knockout victory but Nakamura’s low kicks, jabs and movement on the feet and chain submissions on the mat will make it interesting. Pick: Kikuno
Bantamweight Grand Prix Quarterfinals: Masakazu Imanari vs. Keisuke Fujiwara
Deep bantamweight champ Imanari’s leg locking style was largely developed due the unusual no closed guard rule in ZST and Fujiwara, being the current bantamaweight champion promotion, may be able avoid the constant stream of leg attacks.
Fujiwara has knockout power in his hands and is difficult to submit while Imanari has incredible submissions and is difficult to knockout as he flops to his back whenever pressed too hard on the feet. The potential for a snoozer is high here and a decision seems likely. It’s Imanari’s fight to lose but Fujiwara does have the upset in him. Pick: Imanari
Kenji Osawa vs. Takafumi Otsuka
Former Deep champion Takafumi Otsuka’s career could easily look very different.
The Hiroyuki Abe student started his career with two losses but recovered to build an unremarkable record of 11-7- 1. Of the five losses that have come since his initial rough start though, four of those were very controversial decisions and he would most likely be in the UFC right now if the coin had have been flipped in his favor. This fortune is a product of his style: an athletic and strong wrestler, Otsuka has next to no finishing ability.
WEC veteran Kenji Osawa has a similar style but Otsuka is better in every aspect of the game. It’s bound to be a long, back and forth positional battle but Otsuka takes the decision. Pick: Otsuka
Hideo Tokoro vs. Yoshiro Maeda
Tokoro and Maeda are unusual fighters in that they are supremely talented but their records and careers show a different story.
Tokoro’s penchant for entertainment and submission over safety and position has led to him winning only just over half of his bouts in his 51-fight career while Maeda has the ability to push anyone to the limit, as his incredible WEC title match with Miguel Torres showed, but sometimes he just implodes and loses in truely dramatic fashion.
It’s very difficult to predict an outcome in this excellent bit of match making but Maeda is more consistent (I never, ever thought I would say that) and he has much more power on the feet. A potential fight of the night candidate that Maeda takes by TKO. Pick: Maeda
Yusaku Nakamura vs. Atsushi Yamamoto
Late replacement Yusaku Nakamura won’t be known by the vast majority of fans, only fighting three professional bouts on regional events and Norifumi “KID” Yamamoto student Atsuhi Yamamoto has been away from the ring for almost one and half years.
Nakamura has rare power for a bantamweight, possessing legitimate one-punch power in his hands but he is still too raw for a tournament of this level. Yamamoto’s wrestling and boxing logically leads him to take a dominant decision but for some reason I wouldn’t be surprised if Nakamura scores a surprise knockout. Pick: Yamamoto
Bantamweight Grand Prix Semifinals:
If my predictions prove to be correct, we should have Imanari vs. Otsuka and Maeda vs. Yamamoto for our semifinals.
Masakazu Imanari actually lost his last fight, a decision to Hiroshi “Iron” Nakamura. Nakamura is a physically strong wrestler who is difficult to submit and wont go away and Takafumi Otsuka’s wrestling is better than Nakamura’s and he is slicker on the feet. Otsuka takes another decision as long as his mind is solid, his history of losing focus late in a bout is troubling against ruthless submission artist like Imanari.
As always it is impossible to predict a Maeda bout but I like Yamamoto to take a decision over Maeda. Atsushi Yamamoto has better wrestling and is solid on the feet but note hugely powerful. Although Maeda is beautiful to watch and powerful, his history of imploding worries me. Yamamoto grinds Maeda down in a tough decision.
Filed under: DREAM, News, JapanStrikeforce veteran Darren Uyenoyama has been forced out of his May 29 DREAM bantamweight grand prix bout with Atsushi Yamamoto due to a metacarpal fracture in his right hand.
Strikeforce veteran Darren Uyenoyama has been forced out of his May 29 DREAM bantamweight grand prix bout with Atsushi Yamamoto due to a metacarpal fracture in his right hand.
DREAM Keiichi Sasahara delivered the news of Uyenoyama’s withdrawal on Wednesday, stating that the San Francisco-based grappler first injured his hand in his September 2009 demolition of then-Shooto champion Shuichiro Katsumura. The hand was thought to be healed but Uyenoyama re-fractured the bone during a training session on Monday.
Coming in on four days notice will be Seichi Ikemoto pupil and DREAM newcomer Yusaku Nakamura. The Osaka-based striker racked up an 8-1 record in the amateur ranks before turning pro in 2010 and since then Nakamura has gone undefeated in his professional career. His fists have scored him three consecutive knockouts thus far, his most recent a second-round stoppage of the much more experienced Isao Terada at Deep 50.
DREAM “Fight for Japan” – May 29, 2011 at Saitama Super Arena, Japan
Shinya Aoki vs. Rich Clementi
Joachim Hansen vs. Mitsuhiro Ishida
“Lion” Takeshi Inoue vs. Koichiro Matsumoto
Caol Uno vs. Akiyo Nishiura
Katsunori Kikuno vs. Daisuke Nakamura
Bantamweight Grand Prix Quarterfinals:
Masakazu Imanari vs. Keisuke Fujiwara
Hideo Tokoro vs. Yoshiro Maeda
Kenji Osawa vs. Takafumi Otsuka
Yusaku Nakamura vs. Atsushi Yamamoto
Bantamweight Grand Prix Semifinals:
Masakazu Imanari/Keisuke Fujiwara vs Hideo Tokoro/Yoshiro Maeda
Kenji Osawa/Takafumi Otsuka vs. Yusaku Nakamura/Atsushi Yamamoto
Filed under: DREAM, UFC, Strikeforce, FanHouse Exclusive, Bellator, News, Sports Business and MediaTo hear Mike Garrow tell it, starting a new channel is something like giving birth. It takes time, there are brief moments of pain and others of terror, …
To hear Mike Garrow tell it, starting a new channel is something like giving birth. It takes time, there are brief moments of pain and others of terror, but behind it all is a genuine labor of love. After a two-year process of planning and execution, Garrow’s project, a 24-hour combat sports channel called Fight Now TV, will launch on Tuesday morning on Cablevision systems in the New York, tri-state area.
While Fight Now TV is dedicated to more than just mixed martial arts — boxing, grappling and kickboxing will also be featured, among others sports — MMA is expected to be a major component of programming. Among the channel’s minority owners is UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture.
According to Garrow, the company has signed deals with several promotions in the U.S. and around the world to air events. Fight Now TV will launch two franchises. One, “American Made MMA,” will showcase regional promotions like Ring of Fire and Extreme Challenge. Another, “Global Impact MMA,” will turn the spotlight on international offerings, like BAMMA and Cage Warriors. It also has obtained rights to historical events, and can offer retrospectives on current stars. For example, they might show current UFC welterweight champ George St-Pierre’s last fight before joining the UFC, or Quinton “Rampage” Jackson years before he became a superstar.
The channel also plans to cover the world’s top promotions like the UFC, Strikeforce, Bellator and DREAM, in news programs, with original interviews, and taking fans behind the scenes. All in all, it’s an extremely ambitious plan for a channel that took just over two years from thought to launch.
“I want people to understand we’re trying to put our best foot forward,” Garrow told MMA Fighting in a recent interview. “There are going to be growing pains, but we will grow. Look at ESPN. When they first launched, it was with darts and softball and strongman competitions. I’m a fan, too. I want this to be as strong as we can possibly make it. If people are supportive and value it, I look forward to serving those fans for a long time.”
For Garrow, it’s his second shot at a virtually identical goal. He was the creative vision behind The Fight Network, a Canadian combat sports channel that once hoped to penetrate the U.S. market. But the two sides later split over differences, and the Fight Network’s growth eventually stalled. Garrow politely declines to talk about the situation due to ongoing litigation between the sides, but Couture — who previously worked with him at the Canadian channel — said The Fight Network’s loss is Fight Now TV’s gain.
“I think The Fight Network existed because it was Mike Garrow’s vision and his dream,” Couture said. “And when they did what they did to him, that dream and vision went somewhere else. You’re seeing it come back with Fight Now TV. He’s the guy who had all the pieces. He still has the original napkin he wrote the idea down on when he first came up with it. He has the passion to connect the dots and make this happen.”
While Fight Now TV will initially launch only on Cablevision — ironic given that New York and Connecticut are two of the few remaining states that have yet to sanction MMA — Garrow hopes to aggressively expand around the country in rapid fashion, saying they are likely to be announcing other deals quite soon.
“Like anything, we want to get it in as many homes as possible,” he said. “We’re realistic in our approach. We’ve got our internal projections. I can’t get into specific numbers but I’m pretty confident large pockets of the U.S. will be experiencing Fight Now TV by at least the middle of the summer.”
While the channel has no existing business deal with UFC and Strikeforce parent company Zuffa, there is hope that Couture’s involvement might help forge a relationship. Couture acknowledges the potential importance of such a development and says simply, “I expect we’ll be able to do it.”
Garrow, meanwhile, notes that with a 24-hour, 7-day a week existence, the channel will be able to offer major coverage of major events with analysis, features and interviews. MMAJunkie.com’s daily radio show will also be simulcast Monday through Friday, giving fans access to many major fighters and insiders. A weekend show, Fight Central hosted by JT McCarthy, will break down major fights and events. Couture will also provide expert analysis.
With 52 weeks a year in a sport that has no off-season, Garrow believes there will always be great fights to be found. Somewhere around the world, someone will be fighting, and Fight Now TV will be on the lookout for it. What SPEED is to auto sports, Fight Now TV wants to be to combat sports.
Right now though, things are still in a controlled state of chaotic anticipation. There is much to be done before the switch is flipped and Fight Now TV goes live at 11 am eastern on Tuesday. Garrow half-jokingly says that he randomly wakes up at 2:30 in the morning on most nights as the channel makes final preparations.
“Overall, our mission is to create an outlet for combative sports, not just MMA,” Couture said. “For example, there’s a huge grappling movement, not just nationally but internationally with things like Abu Dhabi, NAGA, and U.S. Pankration. And there’s always a void for amateur wrestling, no place to find or watch these dual meets. There is a ton of stuff in the combative sports genre, and we can provide that kind of programming to fans. There is a ton of opportunity and need for this kind of channel.”
Cole Escovedo may best be known as the first WEC featherweight champion. But at Dream 13, Escovedo unleashed a devastating blow to the head of Yoshiro Maeda in a bantamweight bout to be remembered.The bout goes normally and Escovedo utilizes the head k…
Cole Escovedo may best be known as the first WEC featherweight champion. But at Dream 13, Escovedo unleashed a devastating blow to the head of Yoshiro Maeda in a bantamweight bout to be remembered.
The bout goes normally and Escovedo utilizes the head kicks early on. But, with less then eight minutes left (For those of you who don’t know, Dream utilizes a 10-minute first-round unlike the UFC), Escovedo unleashes one head kick that Maeda couldn’t handle that night.
If you blinked, you definitely missed the connection of Escovedo’s foot and Maeda’s head.
Maeda quickly dropped to the mat, and it was lights out from there. Maeda afterwards looked like he could barely stand, and leaves one to wonder if he actually knew where he was and what his name was.
Maeda would go on and lose his next bout against Kenji Osawa via split decision. But since that, he has won his last two bouts against Takafumi Otsuka and Masanori Kanehara. Maeda is now scheduled to fight in a week against Hideo Tokoro at Dream 17.
Escovedo went on from this bout and lost his next two fights to up-and-coming UFC bantamweight fighter, Michael McDonald and Michihiro Omigawa. Escovedo, though, is currently coming off of a win against Steven Siler and faces Renan Barao at UFC 130 this Saturday for his first bout, inside the Octagon.
This bout at Dream 13 produced one great knockout and a huge victory for the former WEC champ.
Few will be able to see it, but DREAM returns from an almost six-month hiatus on Sunday with it’s “Fight for Japan” charity event at the Saitama Super Arena in Japan.
Strikeforce veteran Darren Uyenoyama has been forced out of his May 29 DREAM bantamweight grand prix bout with Atsushi Yamamoto due to a metacarpal fracture in his right hand.
To hear Mike Garrow tell it, starting a new channel is something like giving birth. It takes time, there are brief moments of pain and others of terror, but behind it all is a genuine labor of love. After a two-year process of planning and execution, Garrow’s project, a 24-hour combat sports channel called Fight Now TV, will launch on Tuesday morning on Cablevision systems in the New York, tri-state area.