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Sakuraba vs. Zaromskis Welterweight Title Fight Slated for Dynamite!! 2010

("That’s what I thought, bitch!" Photo courtesy of the Kazushi Sakuraba – Laughter 7 Facebook page)
As first reported by MMA Junkie, Japanese MMA legend Kazushi Sakuraba will return to action on New Year’s Eve at Dynamite!! 2010, where he’l…

("That’s what I thought, bitch!" Photo courtesy of the Kazushi Sakuraba – Laughter 7 Facebook page)

As first reported by MMA Junkie, Japanese MMA legend Kazushi Sakuraba will return to action on New Year’s Eve at Dynamite!! 2010, where he’ll challenge Marius Zaromskis for DREAM’s welterweight title. Though the 41-year-old vet has generally competed as a middleweight, he’ll be dropping to the lighter division following back-to-back losses against Ralek Gracie and Jason Miller.

The match will also serve as a comeback attempt for Zaromskis, who’s coming off of a disastrous Strikeforce run this year which saw him suffer first-round knockouts against Nick Diaz and Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos, then eye-poke his way into a six-second no-contest against Waachim Spiritwolf last month. Zaromskis went 4-0 under the DREAM banner in 2009, with three of those wins coming via head-kick knockout.

As of now, the only other fights booked for this year’s Dynamite!! card are a featherweight title fight between Bibiano Fernandes and Hiroyuki Takaya, and a lightweight feature between Josh Thomson and Tatsuya Kawajiri. Shinya Aoki, Melvin Manhoef, and Gegard Mousasi are also reported for the event, but their fights haven’t been finalized. But hey, the show’s not for another three weeks. Plenty of time.

Ah, Sweet Irony: Akiyama Implies Bisping May Have Been Greased Up

(Akiyama vs. Sakuraba is a cautionary example of why it’s best to wait until *after* the fight to make an impassioned plea to the referee. If only Palhares had seen this. VidProps: YouTube/AkiyamaYoshihiro2)
Well, this is a switch: Not only is …

Well, this is a switch: Not only is a Greg Jackson-trained fighter accusing someone else of potentially greasing his body during a fight but it’s none other than Yoshihiro Akiyama, who you may remember was himself outed as one of the greasiest MFers in the game following a 2006 fight against Kazushi Sakuraba at K-1 Dynamite!! The video of that fiasco can be seen at top. Nevertheless, Akiyama told MMAFighting.com foreign correspondent Daniel Herbertson upon returning home this week that the reason he didn’t try harder to take Michael Bisping down at UFC 120 was that the Brit felt suspiciously slimy to the touch.

"I only went for one takedown but Bisping’s body was really slippery,” Akiyama said. Then, apparently even setting off the alarms on his own irony indicator, quipped: “Even if I do say so myself … "

Look, nobody wants to get into another GreaseGate debacle here, so unless Akiyama wants to pursue this further we’re willing to chalk it up as a harmless pot-calling-the-kettle-black-type situation and move on with our lives. Also, not that we think Bisping would necessarily be above bending the rules (See: Him possibly purposely injuring Matt Hamill during “TUF 3”), we’re kind of wary of accusing another Wolfslair fighter of cheating, lest he threaten our testiculars via angry Facebook post.

Gotta say though, if anybody knows what a greased-up fighter feels like, it’d be Akiyama.

Mousasi: ‘My Next Fight Could Be Against Ishii on New Year’s Eve or Cavalcante for the Strikeforce Title’

(Video courtesy YouTube/Middleeasy) Remember when Gegard Mousasi was on a 15-fight win streak, was knocking and tapping fools out left, right and center and everyone was calling him the next Fedor? That was awesome.
Then King Mo came along, laid …

(Video courtesy YouTube/Middleeasy)

Remember when Gegard Mousasi was on a 15-fight win streak, was knocking and tapping fools out left, right and center and everyone was calling him the next Fedor? That was awesome.

Then King Mo came along, laid Mousasi on his back and peppered him with more non-committal shots to the face than Jenna Jameson took in her heyday for the majority of their 25-minute fight.

While he isn’t necessarily a better fighter, Mo, who is regarded by anyone who has spoken at length with him about the sport as an MMA savant, executed the perfect game plan to beat Mousasi. In his next fight against Rafael Cavalcante...not so much.

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…

Filed under: DREAM, News, Japan

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.”

Dream 16 Aftermath: If You Really Need to See Proof That Kazushi Sakuraba Shouldn’t Be Fighting, Here It Is …

(Fight starts at 4:15, though all the good stuff is before that. Vids Props: YouTube/ZombieProphet420) Leading up to his fight with Kazushi Sakuraba at Dream 16, Jason “Mayhem” Miller said he wanted to be the first person to submit …

(Fight starts at 4:15, though all the good stuff is before that. Vids Props: YouTube/ZombieProphet420)

Leading up to his fight with Kazushi Sakuraba at Dream 16, Jason “Mayhem” Miller said he wanted to be the first person to submit the Japanese legend since Kimo did it during a possibly worked fight back in 1996. Well, Miller gets his wish here, though at this point beating Sakuraba seems to be the same level of accomplishment as going to the grocery store and coming back with everything on your list. The only way it’s not going to happen is if something goes horribly wrong.

We’re told that Saku’s entrance video before this bout is an homage to a popular cartoon in Japan. Don’t know about all that. In the states, we just call that shit creepy. The whole scene – complete with fellow old-school fighting phenom Tsuyoshi Kohsaka on the “drums” – is almost bizarre enough to distract from the sad reality of what’s become of Sakuraba as he continues to fight well into his golden years. Almost, but not quite.

As a little pick-me-up, after the jump watch Chase Beebe get knocked out by Hiroyuki Takaya.

Jason ‘Mayhem’ Miller Submits Sakuraba at Dream 16

Filed under: DREAMJason “Mayhem” Miller said before the fight that he wanted to submit the Japanese legend Kazushi Sakuraba at Dream 16. He did just that.

Miller dominated the past-his-prime Sakuraba, beating him up with punches before finishing him w…

Filed under: DREAM

Jason “Mayhem” Miller said before the fight that he wanted to submit the Japanese legend Kazushi Sakuraba at Dream 16. He did just that.

Miller dominated the past-his-prime Sakuraba, beating him up with punches before finishing him with an arm-triangle choke. It was the first time Sakuraba had tapped out since his first MMA fight, in 1996.

“This has been my dream my whole life,” Miller said afterward. “And I say to everyone, believe in yourself because you can live the dream.”