Ok, so the good news is that DREAM isn’t actually dead. The bad news is that it is a far cry from what it used to be. It was announced today that the organization will return with another New Year’s Eve show this year AND THERE ISN’T ONE FREAK SHOW FIGHT SCHEDULED ON THE CARD.
“Glory Sports International (GSI), owner and operator of the Glory World Series…will be responsible for presenting ‘DREAM 18 – Special NYE 2012’, a New Year’s Eve MMA mega-event taking place at the Saitama Super Arena on December 31,” a press release reads.
The press release also says that the card will have ten MMA bouts and three kickboxing ones. Featherweight champion Hiroyuki Takaya, Tatsuya Kawajiri and lightweight contender Satoru Kitaoka are the only three fighters confirmed for the event. Great fighters all, sure, but we had better see a Giant Silva or Zulu Jr. thrown into the mix before things are done or we will be incredibly disappointed. Does Minowaman have anything scheduled these days?
(Oh, well hello there.)
Ok, so the good news is that DREAM isn’t actually dead. The bad news is that it is a far cry from what it used to be. It was announced today that the organization will return with another New Year’s Eve show this year AND THERE ISN’T ONE FREAK SHOW FIGHT SCHEDULED ON THE CARD.
“Glory Sports International (GSI), owner and operator of the Glory World Series…will be responsible for presenting ‘DREAM 18 – Special NYE 2012’, a New Year’s Eve MMA mega-event taking place at the Saitama Super Arena on December 31,” a press release reads.
The press release also says that the card will have ten MMA bouts and three kickboxing ones. Featherweight champion Hiroyuki Takaya, Tatsuya Kawajiri and lightweight contender Satoru Kitaoka are the only three fighters confirmed for the event. Great fighters all, sure, but we had better see a Giant Silva or Zulu Jr. thrown into the mix before things are done or we will be incredibly disappointed. Does Minowaman have anything scheduled?
Two more quick items – If Glory Sports International, which is tied to the Golden Glory team and management, is now helping run/promote DREAM, Alistair Overeem now has even less of a chance of getting the money owed to him by K-1. Also, from what we know about the NYE event, it is far from “mega,” at least by historical Japanese New Year’s MMA standards.
Back in the day there used to be two huge promotions vying for Japanese viewership and dollars every New Year’s Eve. Alas, the past few years have been hard times for Japanese MMA.
What does it take for a person not to eagerly anticipate the next time one of his favorite fighters competes? When that fighter should have retired years ago due to the damage he’s endured over the years. That’s the way I’ve feel each time Kazushi Sakuraba gets a new match — not with excitement, but with genuine concern for his well-being. The legendary “Gracie Hunter” may be the best MMA fighter the warrior-nation of Japan has ever produced, but he’s lost four fights in a row, hasn’t won a bout since 2009, and has suffered enough beatings for 12 lifetimes. (This guy knows what I’m talking about.)
What makes Saku’s situation worse is that so many of his early losses were the result of savage abuse at the hands of much larger opponents (Wanderlei Silva, Mirko Cro Cop, Ricardo Arona, etc.), leaving him completely broken down at the age of 42. Sakuraba competed just once in 2011 — getting choked out at Dream 17 by unheralded Brazilian prospect Yan Cabral — and has yet to fight this year, while venturing back into pro wrestling just to stay active.
It is now being reported that Sakuraba will return to the ring at Dream’s next event, for a welterweight match against Shinya Aoki. If there’s a silver lining to rolling out Saku for another pay day, it’s that Aoki is foremost a grappler like Sakuraba, so it’s possible that we could see a technical wrestling and Jiu Jitsu match with minimal blunt strikes hitting the legend. Also, Bloody Elbow’s Anton Tabuena is reporting that the fight, now signed according to him, could be Sakuraba’s final MMA appearance.
(Kazushi Sakuraba during his PRIDE glory days in 2005.)
What does it take for a person not to eagerly anticipate the next time one of his favorite fighters competes? When that fighter should have retired years ago due to the damage he’s endured over the years. That’s the way I’ve feel each time Kazushi Sakuraba gets a new match — not with excitement, but with genuine concern for his well-being. The legendary “Gracie Hunter” may be the best MMA fighter the warrior-nation of Japan has ever produced, but he’s lost four fights in a row, hasn’t won a bout since 2009, and has suffered enough beatings for 12 lifetimes. (This guy knows what I’m talking about.)
What makes Saku’s situation worse is that so many of his early losses were the result of savage abuse at the hands of much larger opponents (Wanderlei Silva, Mirko Cro Cop, Ricardo Arona, etc.), leaving him completely broken down at the age of 42. Sakuraba competed just once in 2011 — getting choked out at Dream 17 by unheralded Brazilian prospect Yan Cabral — and has yet to fight this year, while venturing back into pro wrestling just to stay active.
It is now being reported that Sakuraba will return to the ring at Dream’s next event, for a welterweight match against Shinya Aoki. If there’s a silver lining to rolling out Saku for another pay day, it’s that Aoki is foremost a grappler like Sakuraba, so it’s possible that we could see a technical wrestling and Jiu Jitsu match with minimal blunt strikes hitting the legend. Also, Bloody Elbow’s Anton Tabuena is reporting that the fight, now signed according to him, could be Sakuraba’s final MMA appearance.
Aoki is coming off of a TKO loss to Eddie Alvarez at Bellator 66 last month, but before that he was on a seven-fight win streak and is still considered a top fighter in the sport. Here’s hoping that Sakuraba makes it out of the Aoki fight without any new concussions.
And, just so as not to be a total Debbie Downer, enjoy some prime-form Sakuraba in the highlight video below:
Genki “Neo-Samurai” Sudo pulled a “slow” one on New York in 2010 and forever left the memory of his unique artistry—YouTube ensures it—on the busy streets of that officially anti-MMA state. The legendary Japanese fig…
Genki “Neo-Samurai” Sudo pulled a “slow” one on New York in 2010 and forever left the memory of his unique artistry—YouTube ensures it—on the busy streets of that officially anti-MMA state.
The legendary Japanese fighter and Renaissance man brought his World Order music and dance troupe to the Big Apple. Dressed in Western-style business suits they entered select pedestrian locations and strutted in slow (and intermittently, quick) robotic motions to their own music. (It’s anybody’s guess if their concerted action was a veiled “legalize MMA” campaign.)
With Sudo leading and singing, the group jogged, strode, swung like inverted pendulums and executed other calisthenics in deliberate, Japanese-technology precision.
Always maintaining their blank facial expressions, they moved measuredly in rhythm, step-by-step. They alternated between synchronization and moving in opposite directions.
Almost every movement was simple and impressively exact, constrained and painstakingly choreographed.
Their minimalist dance steps contrasted to the casual movements of the passersby who at times paused to look and regale themselves, to take pictures or videos.
The rest casually walked by with nary a glance. It’s business, and life, as usual.
It doesn’t matter to Genki Sudo and World Order who among the crowd in close proximity chose to watch and appreciate—or otherwise.
They all danced as one and for everyone.
In tune to Sudo’s personal slogan: “We are all one.”
A brief biographical sketch of the athlete and artist
Born on March 8, 1978, Genki Sudo became a national junior champion in Greco-Roman wrestling in Japan.
After graduating from Takushoku Junior College in 1998, Sudo studied in the United States, at the Santa Monica University Art College. In Los Angeles, he practiced Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu at the Beverly Hills Jiu-Jitsu Club.
Sudo’s first professional MMA fight in 1998 resulted in a decision win over Tiki Ghosen, and the last was a triangle-choke victory over Damacio Page in 2006.
In between, the Neo-Samurai recorded wins over Nate Marquardt (submission by armbar), Royler Gracie (KO by punches) and Ole Laursen (decision). He fought in the UFC thrice, submitting Leigh Remedios and Mike Brown and losing to Duane Ludwig by decision.
Sudo was also famous for his elaborate and theatrical ring entrances, which were veritable exhibits of performance art in themselves.
His signature moves were turning his back on his opponent in the standup (as some kind of bait), quick ground transitions, flying triangle and the spinning backfist.
A practicing Buddhist, Sudo is also an accomplished writer (authored eight books), musician, actor and, yes, dancer.
Genki Sudo’s ball-point pen portrait above is courtesy of artist Brad Utterstrom. You can see more of his art at his website MMA Artwork and Portraits by Bradu, and tweet him at @therealbradu.
ONE Fighting Championship’s third event was billed as War of the Lions, and it certainly lived up to its moniker with exciting bouts, quick knockouts and brilliant submissions. In the wake of the success of the event, we grade the fighters involv…
ONE Fighting Championship’s third event was billed as War of the Lions, and it certainly lived up to its moniker with exciting bouts, quick knockouts and brilliant submissions. In the wake of the success of the event, we grade the fighters involved and look forward to what their next fight in ONE FC could be.
Zorobel Moreira (B+) defeats Felipe Enomoto(C) (Armbar, 1:04 of round 3)
Moreira, the head Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) instructor at Evolve MMA, demonstrated his striking skills in the first two rounds with an array of vicious leg kicks. Enomoto seemed to be wary of trading with Moreira, and the damage to his leg was evident when he crumbled after yet another leg kick but was able to hang on. When Moreira chose to take the fight to the ground, he displayed his BJJ prowess with a beautiful transition from the mount position to an arm-bar and Enomoto has no choice but to tap.
Tatsuya Kawajiri (A-) defeats Donald Sanchez (D) (triangle choke, 3:32 of round 1)
Donald Sanchez was billed as a wrestling, but it was Kawajiri who had the edge there as he took Sanchez down and worked the top position until he locked in a triangle choke and left the match more or less unscathed.
What’s Next: Tatsuya Kawajiri VS Zorobel Moreira.
Kawajiri is currently a featherweight, but there is nobody else for Zorobel Moreira to fight in the promotion, and Kawajiri has to fancy his chances. Moving up in weight could create a size and strength disadvantage, but the Moreira is not the kind of fighter to seize that advantage and the stock Kawajiri might even be able to muscle him around. This should be to crown the first ONE FC lightweight champion.
Ole Laursen (B-) defeats Eduard Folayang (B) (split decision)
This is a back-and-forth affair with Ole starting off strong and being able to take Eduard to the canvas several times. They traded dominant positions several times and had many good exchanges over the three rounds. All three rounds were extremely tight. We went to the Judges scorecard and Laursen, who looked worse than Folayang, prevented an upset by split decision.
What’s Next: Ole Laursen vs Eduard Folayang
This fight was an exciting extravaganza, and it was close the entire way. Clearly there were sections of the crowd who thought Folayang won and voiced their displeasure after the result. In the post-fight interview, Laursen was open to a rematch and the amount of action the first bout provided, seems like a easy call.
For the majority of the three rounds, Monteiro used his superior strength and clinch work to grind Shirai against the cage, with a few punches and knees thrown in to stop the referee from quickly separating them. Shirai demonstrated cleaner boxing techniques but kept getting into clinch range with Monteiro who was more than happy to clinch.
What’s Next: Fabricio Monteiro VS Yoshiyuki Yoshida
Yoshiyuki Yoshida brings vast experience to the cage and was victorious the previous time he was in ONE FC, defeating Phil Baroni. He provides a stiff test for the Brazilian and is another big name for him to potentially add to his list.
Melvin Manhoef and Yoshiyuki Nakanishi ruled a no-contest
They trade shots for awhile with none of them finding its target, thankfully for Nakanishi as Manhoef is famous for his powerful punches. Midway through the first round, the referee stops the fight as both the fighters had cuts on their legs. Manhoef’s cut is incredibly nasty as it goes from the knee to just above the foot and is at least a few centimeters thick. The referee makes the unpopular decision of calling off the fight after the doctor’s advice.
What’s Next: Melvin Manhoef VS Yoshiyuki Nakanishi
Clearly there is unfinished business, and it is very likely that their next fights will be against each other, though that fight might occur in a different promotion, possibly in Japan.
In this past Saturday’s ONE Fighting Championship (ONE FC) event held in Singapore, DREAM standouts Tatsuya Kawajiri and Masakau Imanari fought in Southeast Asia for the first time in both their careers. Both made quick work of their oppone…
In this past Saturday’s ONE Fighting Championship (ONE FC) event held in Singapore, DREAM standouts Tatsuya Kawajiri and Masakau Imanari fought in Southeast Asia for the first time in both their careers. Both made quick work of their opponent, with both victories coming by first round submission, Kawajiri by Triangle Choke and Imanari by his signature leglock.
Despite being veterans of major promotions like Dream and Strikeforce, both Japanese veterans received surprisingly muted responses as they entered the cage. This is a strange roundabout from the vocal crowd who nearly tore the roof down when local fighters Nicole Chua and Quek Kim Hock won their respective fights. Even lesser known names like Zorobel Moreira and Eddie Ng received louder cheers.
I don’t get it. Here we have two of the best fighters not under the Zuffa umbrella fighting courtesy of a deal with Dream, and yet the crowd doesn’t seem overly excited. It is especially disappointing for Tatusya Kawajiri, who has fought in front of crowds triple the size of the Singapore audience in Pride and Strikeforce and headlined title fights in Dream.
It is expected for local fighters to get louder cheers, and Eddie Ng, Zorobel Moreira and several others train out of Singapore so are considered local favourites as well. It could also be that Tatsuya Kawajiri’s grinding ground and pound style is not the most exciting and crowd pleasing. But their countrymen like Yuya Shirai and Yoshiyuki Nakanishi got louder cheers despite being less popular in Japan, and even Richie Whitson whose most notable for appearing on a reality television show got a louder pop.
Full credit goes to both of them, as that did not seem to deter them in their bouts.
Before most of the world’s greatest fighters called the UFC home, there was Pride—a Japanese promotion that mixed the best of pro wrestling glitz with some of the most brutal fighting the world had ever seen.And before both Pride and the UFC, the…
Before most of the world’s greatest fighters called the UFC home, there was Pride—a Japanese promotion that mixed the best of pro wrestling glitz with some of the most brutal fighting the world had ever seen.
And before both Pride and the UFC, there were Shooto and Pancrase—early fighting leagues that sprang from the innovative minds of professional wrestlers who wanted to see what wrestling would be like if the bouts weren’t predetermined.
There have been dozens of valiant and courageous fighters from Japan over the years, but despite the sport’s success there, just a handful of truly world class warriors emerged. For your consideration, I present the 10 best Japanese fighters to ever grace the cage or ring with their presence.
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