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4/9 K-1 WorldMax - World Champtionship Tournament Final 16
2008-03-19 16:03:00
K-1 will hold their tournament final 16 in Hiroshima April 9. If you are in the area, this is a good one. How often do you get to see fighters like this outside of Tokyo and Osaka?Not only that, but some high profile fighters will be eliminated, as Buakaw fights Albert Kraus and Andy Souwer fights Mike Zambidis.Personally, I am not a fan of the Youth Tournament thing they are doing, because I think Hiroya is way over exposed. Especially considering he didnt even win the one day tournament they held during Dynamite! Still, the fights are on occations competitive and exciting.World Championship Tournament FINAL 16 : K-1 Rules / 3Min. 3R Ext.1RMasato vs. Virgil KalakodaBuakaw Por. Pramuk vs. Albert KrausAndy Souwer vs. Mike ZambidisYoshihiro Sato vs. GORISaro ?The Sicilian Don? Presti vs. Warren StevelmansChi Bin Lim vs. Yasuhiro KidoK-1 World Youth fightHIROYA vs. Tsukasa FujiOpening fights:Yuya Yamamoto vs, Marfio ?The Warrior Tiger? CanolettiShota Takiya vs. Vitalij Lisnyak
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3/19 MMA Headlines
2008-03-19 12:25:00
Its been a little out of controll lately, with all the news around Sengoku and DREAM in addition to everything else. I have therefore deceided that I will post just some headlines of that is happening in Japan.-It is rumored that CroCop will face Sergei Kharitonov in DREAM 4. The arena for DREAM 4 is not yet set, but it is between a Korean venue and Yokohama Arena. Date is the middle of June.http://www.bloodyelbow.com/story/200 8/3/18/214345/017-Gryphon has posted that Sengoku might be getting closer to a deal with Fuji TV. This would be a huge deal, if it were to come true. Initially, Sengoku will be the theme for their martial arts programme SRS March 21.http://d.hatena.ne.jp/gryphonjapan/200 80318/p3-Old news, but HDNet is reportedly close to a deal with DREAM. This would be a big deal for both DREAM and HDNet. The US is the biggest MMA market right now, and DREAM needs reconition and viewers. A deal with HDNet would be very good for them financially. It would a huge deal for HDNet...
More About: News , Headlines

4/29 DREAM 2 - Participants
2008-03-18 14:18:00
DREAM has announced (it was actually done at the DREAM event on Saturday) 7 participants for the Middleweight tournament. It is more a field designed to please the Japanese audience than the hard-core MMA fan, from what I can see. But still, it should be an exciting event and these are only half of the tournament participants.After the dissapointing TBS results for the first event, I am sure they will have some Super-Fights that will draw more viewers.The fighters announced for the Middleweight tournament:Kazushi Sakuraba 23-10-1 (2 NC)Yoon Dong Sik 3-4-0Yoshihiro Akiyama 10-1-0 (2 NC)Shungo Oyama 7-10-0Taiei Kin 2-2-0Masakatsu Funaki 38-12-1Ikuhisa Minowa ?Minowaman? 39-27-8Rumored:Kiyoshi Tamura 27-14-0Denis Kang 29-9-1I am putting in the rumored fighters, because the are, as NOB has pointed out, featured on the poster.Also, just in case you are wondering, DREAM has said they will make an announcement this week with regards to the Lightweight tournament and the controversy surroun...
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3/28 Shooto - Back to Our Roots 8 - Fights
2008-03-18 14:09:00
Shooto has added 2 more fights to their Back to Our Roots 8 card. It looks like a very good card, only disappointment is that "Lion" Takeshi Inoue is no longer listed as a participant and I can only assume he is taken off the card. The 2 new fights added today are:Mamoru Yamaguchi 19-4-3 vs. 6-2-0 Masaaki SugawaraJunji Ito 2-1-0 vs. 1-4-1 Hayato SatoIt will be very interesting to see what Sugawara can do against the much more experienced Mamoru.The complete card looks like this:Main Event: Lightweight Title Match:Akitoshi Tamura 11-5-2 vs. 12-7-2 Hideki KadowakiMasakatsu Ueda 7-0-1 vs. 5-0-1 Koetsu OkazakiBaret Yoshida 5-5-1 vs. 14-3-1 Hatsu HiokiMamoru Yamaguchi 19-4-3 vs. 6-2-0 Masaaki SugawaraTetsu Suzuki 5-5-3 vs. 6-3-1 Hiroyuki TanakaTenkei Fujimiya 7-2-2 vs. Hiroshi NakamuraJunji Ito 2-1-0 vs. 1-4-1 Hayato SatoRookie Lightweight Tournament:Kenichiro Marui vs. Hiroshige Tanaka
More About: Fights , Shooto

5/18 Sengoku - Fighters Confirmed
2008-03-18 14:01:00
Sengoku has announced the first 4 fighters for their 2nd event. It will be very interesting to see Roger Gracie and I hope they are able to secure a worthy opponent for him.Also on the card, Pancrase veteran Satoru Kitaoka. The very experienced Grabaka fighter Yuki Sasaki and the fighter most famous for kissing Heath Herring, Yoshihiro Nakao.It is time for Sengoku to build on their first event, I thought it was a pretty good event so lets hope the second one is even better! With these fighters it has potential, just have to see how they match up.Roger Gracie 1-0-0Satoru Kitaoka 19-8-9Yuki Sasaki 21-13-1Yoshihiro ?Kiss? Nakao 6-1-0It is also worth noting that Sengoku has cut their VIP ticket price in half, also the RRS seats are 5,000 yen cheaper. I dont know why this is, I thought their attendence last time was pretty good...
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3/16 Shooto GIG Central Vol.14 - RESULTS
2008-03-17 13:42:00
With everything DREAM related going on, its easy to forget that Shooto held an event both Saturday and Sunday. The Saturday event in Osaka had better fighters, but still some interesting rookie tournament fights in this. Yoshitaro Niimi vs. Hirosumi Sugiura ?C-Bozu? DRAWYutaka Ueda Def. Takahiro Kajita by decision 3-0 Kenichi Hattori Def. Koichi Taguchi by arm-bar, Round 1 2:30Takesuke Kume Def. Yoshifumi by TKO, Round 1 3:38Kenya Kato Def. Tomohiko Yoshida by decision 3-0 Rookie Tournament:Flyweight: Run Def. Gou Sato by decision 3-0Featherweight: Ito ?? Def. George ?Kawamata? Joestar by decision 3-0
More About: Results , Central

DREAM - Planning CroCop vs. Fedor
2008-03-17 13:33:00
The producers for DREAM has announced their dream for this years Dynimite show. The main event? Mirko Crocop vs. Fedor Emelianenko.I know many people are expecting Fedor to sign with the UFC, but these negotiations have not gone well in the past. It will be interesting to see, but one thing is for sure, DREAM has thrown their name into the mix.Source:http://sportsnavi.yahoo.co.jp/ fight/other/headlines/etc/20080317-000000 23-spnavi_ot-fight.html
More About: Planning , Dream

3/15 Shooto Gig West 9 - RESULTS
2008-03-16 12:43:00
It is easy to forget with everything DREAM related going on, but Shooto had their "Gig West 9" in Osaka yesterday. On the card was a couple of interesting fights, the main event was between Shinji Sasaki and Paolo Milano, bot with very good records. Also on the card was the undefeated "Kodo" against Akira Kibe.Shinji Sasaki Def. Paolo Milano by rear-naked choke, Round 2 0:59Junya Kudou ?Kodo? Def. Akira Kibe by TKO, Round 1 1:38Rookie Tournament fights:Welterweight: Hibiki Tamura Def. Gipsy Taro by decision 2-0 Welterweight: Hiroshi Sugimoto Def. Yasuaki Kishimoto by decision 2-0Light-Heavy: Aberu Tanaka Def. Fujikawa ?? by TKO, Round 1 2:00
More About: Results

3/15 DREAM - Pictures
2008-03-16 09:09:00
DREAM 023Originally uploaded by japanmma Minowa was wondering where he was... DREAM 025Originally uploaded by japanmma Then he realized this was DREAM's first ever fight, and he was all business. The fight was, as expected, very quick.DREAM 030Originally uploaded by japanmma Monma entering the ring for his fight against crowd favorite Sakurai "Mach"DREAM 032Originally uploaded by japanmma Hayato "Mach" Sakurai making his way to the ring.DREAM 036Originally uploaded by japanmma "Mach" and Monma as the fight starts. As you can see, the disadvantage with the bigger organizations is the distance to the ring. It is very hard to get good action shots... As a consequence, there will be few good ones.DREAM 049Originally uploaded by japanmma Then it was time for my personal favorite. Hellboy was facing a very strong opponent in Boku. I have read an interview that Hansen was almost KOed. Just to put the record straight, he was never close to being KOed in this fight, and from where I was sit...
More About: Pictures , Dream , Shinya Aoki , Joachim Hansen

3/15 DREAM - MAJOR SPOILER result
2008-03-15 14:09:00
Ok, I am home frome DREAM 1. For some reason I dont feel satisfied...It was a very good production. I think the reason I am not satisfied in the main event...I dont want to see it end like that... Aoki got a few elbows to the neck and couldn't continue. I think both these fighters will go through to the next round. There is no reasoning behind this, but the way it ended, its hard to justify anything else.Hellboy won, so did Alvarez. The second round will be amazing!!10- Shinya Aoki vs. Gesias "J.Z." Calvancante NO CONTEST9- Tatsuya Kawajiri Def. Kultar ?Black Mamba? Gil by Decision 3-08- Eddie Alvarez Def. Andre "Dida" Amade TKO, 6:477- (SF) Mirko ?Crocop? Filipovic Def. Tatsuya Mizuno6- Mitsuhiro Ishida Def. Bu Kyung Jung by decision 3-05- Katsuhiko Nagata Def. Artur Oumakhanov by decision 3-04- Luiz Firmino "Buscape" Def. Kazuyuki Miyata by front choke Round 1, 7:373- Joachim Hansen Def. Koutetsu Boku by decision 3-02- (SF) Hayato "Mach" Sakurai Def. Hidetaka Monma By TKO, Round ...
More About: Spoiler , Dream , Major

3/15 DREAM - Warm-Up
2008-03-15 01:44:00
I am just about to leave for the event, what better way to warm up than a JZ vs. Aoki promo video.Who do you think will win? I am cheering for Aoki in this one, but this is going to be a very exciting fight.Here are some Hellboy highlights as well.
More About: Dream , Shinya Aoki

DREAM - What about Caol Uno?
2008-03-14 15:41:00
Caol Uno has been rumored to have broken with FEG after they teamed up with DSE. This seems to be wrong. Caol has spoken today and said the reason he is not competing this time is the broken jaw he suffered in his last fight against "Dida". He would like to join the tournament from the next round (May 11), if possible. As we know, there is one spot open. Is this for Caol?I this gives the DREAM promoters an option with the last fighter to go through to the next round. I always had a feeling that it would go to the loser of the JZ vs. Aoki fight, but now they have Uno as well.Source:http://www.gbring.com/sokuho/ news/2008_03/0314_dream_02.htm
More About: Dream , Caol Uno

3/15 DREAM - Card Complete (Minowaman's opponent announced)
2008-03-14 15:24:00
Finally today Minowaman got his opponent. It is the Korean former professional baseball player Lee Gwan, I have to say I am a little dissapointed... I expected a real opponent this time... I guess he needs to get back on winning track though.That completes the card for tomorrow, and I am very excited about this card!10- Shinya Aoki 12-2-0 vs. 14-1-1 Gesias "J.Z." Calvancante9- Tatsuya Kawajiri 20-4-2 vs. 9-6-0 Kultar ?Black Mamba? Gil8- Andre "Dida" Amade 6-2-1 vs. 12-1-0 Eddie Alvarez7- (SF) Mirko ?Crocop? Filipovic 22-6-2 vs. 3-2-0 Tatsuya Mizuno6- Mitsuhiro Ishida 15-3-1 vs. 0-1-0 Bu Kyung Jung5- Artur Oumakhanov 7-2-0 vs. 3-2-0 Katsuhiko Nagata4- Kazuyuki Miyata 5-6-0 vs. 11-3-0 Luiz Firmino "Buscape"3- Koutetsu Boku 13-4-1 vs. 16-6-1 Joachim Hansen2- (SF) Hayato "Mach" Sakurai 31-7-2 vs. 14-7-3 Hidetaka Monma1- (SF) Minowaman 38-27-8 vs. Lee Gwan This is what they are fighting for:Source:http://www.kamipro.com/news/?i d=1205485566http://sportsnavi.yahoo.co.jp /fight/other/headlin...
More About: Card , Dream , Complete

3/15 DREAM - Fight Order Announced
2008-03-13 15:44:00
DREAM has announced the fight order for Saturday's event. It was expected that the main event would be between Aoki and JZ, but I thought they might slip CroCop in there, they didn't.I am surprised that Oumakhanov vs. Nagata is so high up though... I think the Hansen vs. Boku fight will be better...Anyway, I think there will be some upsets in this first round. I think Eddie Alvarez will take out Dida . Also, Boku and Miyata are underestimated. I think Hellboy will win, but it is not an easy fight (as I have seen in some discussions).In the superfight, look out for Monma, another fighter I think is underestimated.This will be an awesome event, I can't wait!! Just to make it clear, I will be at the event so NO PLAY-BY-PLAY this time, sorry.10- Shinya Aoki 12-2-0 vs. 14-1-1 Gesias "J.Z." Calvancante9- Tatsuya Kawajiri 20-4-2 vs. 9-6-0 Kultar ?Black Mamba? Gil8- Andre "Dida" Amade 6-2-1 vs. 12-1-0 Eddie Alvarez7- (SF) Mirko ?Crocop? Filipovic 22-6-2 vs. 3-2-0 Tatsuya Mizuno6- Mitsuhir...
More About: Fight , Dream , Order

Mark Hunt to fight in DREAM
2008-03-12 14:17:00
Mark Hunt has had an interview with Rogue Magazine. In it he explains why he is taking the K-1 fight with Schilt and where his future is. Seems the K-1 fight is a once of return to K-1, after that there will be MMA fights. Since K-1 and DREAM are closely related, DREAM will be his likely home. When asked about his first MMA fight, his answer was May 8. There is no DREAM event on that date... But there is one May 11. We have to wait and see what happens. Either way, Mark Hunt is on his way back to MMA!Read the complete interview here:http://www.roguemag.com/index.php?op tion=com_content&task=view&id=231 &Itemid=86
More About: Fight , Dream , Mark

4/5 Cage Force 06 - Fights confirmed
2008-03-12 13:10:00
Finally, Cage Force has published their fights for the bantamweight tournament. There was also a surprise main event on this card. As we know, Artur Oumakhanov will compete in the DREAM tournament this year. Because of that, he has returned his Cage Force belt. There will be a fight for the vacant title on April 5.The card looks awesome and I think this will be a very good event.Main event: Cage Force Lightweight Title FightTomonari Kanomata 11-2-3 vs. 8-2-0 Mizuto HirotaFeatherweight tournament fights: Yuji Hoshino 13-7-7 vs. 10-3-0 Antonio Carvalho Adrian Pang 13-5-1 vs. 9-5-0 Armando Sanchez Bantamweight tournament fights:Ryota 2-0-0 vs. 8-6-0 Taiyo NakaharaDaichi Fujiwara 6-1-1 vs. Katsuya ToidaMasahiro Oishi 17-9-7 vs. 12-4-0 Paul Mc VeighNon-tournament fights:Bantamweight: Naoya Uematsu 14-7-2 vs. 6-1-0 James DoolanLightweight: Wataru Miki 12-7-2 vs. 9-2-1 Yoshihiro KoyamaPreliminary fights:Featherweight: Tomoyuki Miyaji 2-0-0 vs. Nobutaka HiyoshiLightweight: Junichi Ota vs. Na...
More About: Fights

3/15 DREAM - Mirko has opponent, DREAM has rules
2008-03-11 08:36:00
Mirko's opponent for his return to Japan is Tatsuya Mizuno. Mizuno is a Pancrase fighter in a very thin Pancrase Heavyweight division. The best fighter he has fought to date is Assuerio Silva, he lost by TKO in round 2. None of his fights to date has gone the distance, and I am willing to bet that this one won't go the distance either.Also, DREAM has announced that they will have 10 minutes first round, followed by 5 min. second round.-No kicking a downed opponent, which means, soccer-kicks are not allowed.-In case of No Contest, the fighter who can continue will go through to the next round, if neither fighter is able to contine the promoter will chose a fighter to go through.-In case of injury, the fighter who can continue will go through to the next round, if neither fighter is able to contine the promoter will chose a fighter to go through.Weight divisions:Light weight under 70kgWelter weight under 76kgMiddle weight under 84kgLight-heavy weight under 93kgHeavy weight Over 93.1...
More About: Rules , Dream

3/23 Shooto - Hiroshima
2008-03-10 01:53:00
March 23 Shooto will hold an event in Hiroshima . Again, think the main purpose is to complete the Rookie Tournament fight, there are also a few amateur fights.Takeshi Okada 4-3-1 vs. 1-3-1 Nobuhiro “Mike” HayakawaShooto Rookie Tournament:Ono 虎眼 賢良 vs. Makoto AkazawaJun Nakazoe vs. Kentaro WatanabeGrappling fight:Toshihiko Sugimoto vs. Masahiro AiharaAmateur Shooto:Raita Koike vs. Daisuke HaraShou Nishida vs. Shingo MakitaNoriyuki Takei vs. Yamato Okada

3/21 Shooto - Kitazawa Townhall
2008-03-09 13:08:00
For this event, there are more losses than wins on the card... Still I want to take you back to 2003 Katsuhisa Akasaki stepped into the ring against a debutant Nat McIntyre. At the time Akasaki's record was 0-10-1. Before the night was over, Akasaki had secured his first win. Nat McIntyre has not lost since (I would like to see him back here!). The 21st, Akasaki is facing Matsufuji from Fukuoka (his record isnt much better...). I always cheer for fighters from Fukuoka, its where I studied Japanese. If you go to this event, cheer for these guys, they both deserve it.This card I am actually more excited about the rookie tournament than the main-card, but this will be an event where some fighters will get an hard earned victory. Kenichi Sawada 3-7-2 vs. 2-2-0 Katsuya MurofushiYuji Inoue 3-3-1 vs. 5-6-2 Kyotaro NakaoShinichi Hanawa 3-6-1 vs. 1-3-0 Joji ShimadaKatsuhisa Akasaki 2-13-1 vs. 1-4-0 Hiroharu MatsufujiShooto Rookie Tournament:KG Shinto vs. Kazuya SatomotoYouichiro Sato vs. Is...

3/28 Shooto - Back to Our Roots 8
2008-03-09 12:19:00
I have a lot of Shooto cards to catch up on... Truth is that there are SO many of them this month. This will one of the big ones. Shooto has a lot of passionate fans and they have a lot of great fighters, this event we will see more than a few of them in action.The main event will be for the Lightweight title. As has been discussed earlier, rumor is that Antonio Carvalho gave up this title shot to fight in the Cage Force tournament. The title fight has gone to Hideki Kadowaki. Kadowaki will not be an easy opponent for Tamura thought, in his last fight he choked out Rumina Sato and he is very strong on the ground. Other names to take note of Baret Yoshida (returning after almost 5 years), Hatsu Hioki, Koetsu Okazaki (let's see if he can finish Ueda, all his fights seem to go the distance), Masakatsu Ueda and "Lion" Takeshi.There are more fights to be announced, this will be a very good event!Main Event:Akitoshi Tamura 11-5-2 vs. 12-7-2 Hideki KadowakiMasakatsu Ueda 7-0-1 vs. 5-0-1 K...
More About: Back , Roots

2/22 DEEP Impact 34 - More Pictures
2008-03-08 23:28:00
Here are a few more pictures from DEEP 34, thanks to Cliff. IMG_3432Originally uploaded by japanmma Yoshiyuki Nakanishi Def. Shunsuke Inoue in a fight that really got the crowd going. The heavyweights showed a lot of heart in this fight.IMG_3668Originally uploaded by japanmma The fight between Toshiaki Kitada and Isao Terada ended in a draw.IMG_3688Originally uploaded by japanmma Of course there were ring girls. I like the DEEP production, but the ring girls are not as good as Pancrase IMO. Also, they don't pose after the event, something that makes it harder to get good shots.IMG_3728Originally uploaded by japanmma IMG_3991Originally uploaded by japanmma Ryuta Sakurai and Riki Fukuda in what was fight of the night.IMG_3992Originally uploaded by japanmma IMG_4078Originally uploaded by japanmma Daijiro Matsui defeated Ryo, but I think he was lucky to win this... It was a decision that could have gone either way.IMG_4325Originally uploaded by japanmma Some times life can be painful, ...
More About: Pictures , Deep , Deep Impact

5/3 Shooto - Road to 20th Anniversary
2008-03-08 11:57:00
Shooto has announced what promises to be a very good event. Probably their main event for the year. In 2007, the best card Shooto put up (IMO) was Back to Our Roots 6. Let's hope this event will be as good. Considering the Back to Our Roots 8 card, this looks like it will be a good Shooto year.Currently, only 2 fights are announced. It is also known that Shooto star Rumina Sato will fight in this event. The main event will be the welterweight title fight between Takashi Nakakura and Ganjo Tentsuku.Confirmed:Takashi Nakakura 9-2-1 vs. 9-2-2 Ganjo TentsukuRyuichi Miki 6-2-2 vs. 14-3-5 Yasuhiro UrushitaniParticipating:Rumina Sato 24-11-2
More About: Anniversary , Road , Shooto

3/29 ClubDEEP and DEEP Megaton GP
2008-03-08 02:06:00
On March 29 DEEP will hold 2 events in Shinjuku Face. First out is ClubDEEP. This is mainly a grappling event, but there are a few MMA fights on the card. The main event is most likely Ryan Bow versus Naoki Matsushita, just this fight should justify the enterance fee. Ryan Bow is always exciting to watch and I think he should win this.CLUB DEEP Doors Open 13?30?Start 14?00Han Su Fan (?) Vs.. 6-5-2 LUIZRyan Bow 16-8-1 Vs. 9-9-8 Naoki MatsushitaGrappling Rule:Seiichi Ikemoto Vs. Kosuke UmedaAtsuhiro Tsuboi Vs. Tomoya Miyashita?POWER OF DREAM?Hirotaka Miyakawa VS Ippo WatanukiYuki Inoue VS Yoshitomo WatanabeJin Kitasaki Vs KanetaroKosei Kubota Vs. Taruhika KuboTetsuya Yoshioka Vs. Kenji ShiotaParticipatingGuy Delameau (?)??????Sadao KondoIn the evening, they will hold the Megaton tournament. DEEP has been promoting the heck out of this one. I am sure it will be entertaining, though I suspect the skills on display will be more strength related than technique. These fight should be MMA r...
More About: Deep

3/15 DREAM- CroCop's Opponent Deceided?
2008-03-07 12:57:00
Has CroCop's opponent been deceided? Bloody Elbow are refering to NOKAUT, who refers to CroCop's blog. The guy they are saying will be the opponent when CroCop returns to Japan is Yoshihiro Nakao. Nakao's MMA highlight has to be his win over Don Frye.What he will be remembered for though, is the kiss.Heath Herring's New Year's Eve KissUploaded by UrbanXExpect a tough stare-down for this one.
More About: Dream

3/15 DREAM Confirms fights?
2008-03-07 07:51:00
It is confrimed, Sakurai will fight Monma in a welterweight fight March 15. It looks as if this event will have 11 fights.Welterweight Superfight:Hayato "Mach" Sakurai 31-7-2 vs. 14-7-3 Hidetaka MonmaAlso 3 more fight in the Lightweight GP are confirmed:Mitsuhiro Ishida 15-3-1 vs. 0-1-0 Bu Kyung JungArtur Oumakhanov 7-2-0 vs. 3-2-0 Katsuhiko NagataAndre "Dida " Amade 6-2-1 vs. 12-1-0 Eddie AlvarezThis means that there is one more fight yet to be announced in the Lightweight tournament.Previously Announced:Shinya Aoki 12-2-0 vs. 14-1-1 Gesias "J.Z." CalvancanteTatsuya Kawajiri 20-4-2 vs. 9-6-0 Kultar ?Black Mamba? GilKazuyuki Miyata 5-6-0 vs. 11-3-0 Luiz Firmino "Buscape"Koutetsu Boku 13-4-1 vs. 16-6-1 Joachim HansenParticipating:Minowaman 38-27-8Mirko ?Crocop? Filipovic 22-6-2Source:http://sportsnavi.yahoo.co.j p/fight/other/headlines/etc/20080307-0000 0014-spnavi-fight.html
More About: Fights , Dream

3/15 DREAM - Adds Fight?
2008-03-06 13:10:00
Hayato "Mach " Sakurai has put on his blog that he it due to fight Hidetaka Monma in the DREAM light weight tournament. Monma got the the semi-final of the Cage Force welterweight tournament last year, where he lost to Dan Hardy. This would be a good fight, but can't really see Monma winning this. The post on Sakurai's blog seems to be taken down.Not sure if this will be a lightweight tournament fight, Monma is normally a welterweight. It looks as though this will be a 77kg fight.Rumored:Hayato "Mach" Sakurai 31-7-2 vs. 14-7-3 Hidetaka MonmaAndre "Dida" Amade 6-2-1 vs. 12-1-0 Eddie AlvarezAnnounced:Shinya Aoki 12-2-0 vs. 14-1-1 Gesias "J.Z." CalvancanteTatsuya Kawajiri 20-4-2 vs. 9-6-0 Kultar ?Black Mamba? GilKazuyuki Miyata 5-6-0 vs. 11-3-0 Luiz Firmino "Buscape"Koutetsu Boku 13-4-1 vs. 16-6-1 Joachim HansenAlso Participating:Mitsuhiro Ishida 15-3-1Caol Uno 24-10-4Gilbert Melendez 13-1-0Bu Kyung Jung 0-1-0Source:http://d.hatena.ne.jp/gryphon japan/20080306/p1
More About: Fight , Dream

5/18 Sengoku - Randleman and Gracie signed
2008-03-05 13:08:00
Sengoku just announced at their first event that they have signed Kevin Randleman and Roger Gracie for their next event to be held 5/18.
More About: Signed

3/5 Sengoku - LIVE UPDATE
2008-03-05 11:33:00
The day of the big event! Sengoku will start their assault on the Japanese MMAmarket. They have a good card, and I think there can be some upsets. I was hoping to get a chance to give you guys a live update.Work put a stop to that, but I will be able to follow the rest of the fights live. The card should be familiar by now.Currently fight:Takanori Gomi 27-3-0 vs. 16-7-0 Duane Ludwig Round 1: Next fights:Hidehiko Yoshida 7-5-1 vs. 20-5-0 Josh Barnett Fights completed:Kazuo Misaki Def. Siyar Bahadurzada by guillotine choke, Round 2My pick for fight of the night, let's see if it delivers.Round 2: Siyar's right hand is dangerous. The fight is starting to look like Misaki vs. Akiyama, they are trading punches. Siyar takes it to the ground and gets a guillotine choke. Siyar taps. Round 1: Siyar hit Misaki with a punch, but should not be any damage. Misaki takes the fight to the ground. And goes for a kimura, Soyar defends well but looks like it is a matter of time. Siyar escapes. Siyar i...
More About: Live , Update

DREAM - Pawel Nastula joining?
2008-03-03 14:05:00
Polish Pride veteral, Pawel Nastula, has in an interview with Polish TV said that his contract with the UFC is about to run out. What will he do after that? Looks like he too is on his way to DREAM (again thanks to Coyote).Its starting to look more and more like Pride.
More About: Dream

3/5 Sengoku - Preparations underway
2008-03-03 13:55:00
The big event this week in Japan, no doubt the Sengoku event. This is the start of a very exciting month for Japanese MMA.The main event will be between Hidehiko Yoshida and Josh Barnett . Yoshida has appearantly spent his time trying out a new outfit for the event. Currently under testing is a uniform consisting of a Judo top and thights. (thank you Coyote for the tip).Barnett has been interviewed by MMA Weekly and says he is looking forward to fighting Yoshida, who he has trained with in the past.The fights on this card:Hidehiko Yoshida 7-5-1 vs. 20-5-0 Josh BarnettTakanori Gomi 27-3-0 vs. 16-7-0 Duane LudwigKazuo Misaki 18-8-2 (1NC) vs. 13-1-1 Siyar BahadurzadaKazuyuki Fujita 14-6-0 vs. Peter "Rolling Thunder" GrahamMakoto Takimoto 4-3-0 vs. 15-10-0 Evangelista "Cyborg" SantosRyo Kawamura 7-1-2 vs. 4-0-0 Antonio Braga NetoFabricio Monteiro 16-6-0 vs. 34-9-1 Nick Thompson