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MMA: "DREAM 18" & "GLORY 4: Tokyo" Heavyweight Tournament Recap
Never say that the Japanese don't revere their traditions. In case you've not paid any attention to the MMA and Kickboxing scene in Japan for awhile, here's what's happened: Fields Entertainment Group, the parent company for both DREAM and K-1, went under. DREAM reverted to ownership of FEG's parent company, Real Entertainment Company, Ltd., while the K-1 properties were sold off and eventually owned by EMCOM Entertainment. Sengoku, DREAM's main partner/rival for the last few years, also became financially unstable and went under. M-1 Global went back to Russia. Antonio Inoki went to the Pakistan Peace Festival this year instead of again staging his own festival. Rising to fill their spots, however, are a couple of companies. ONE Fighting Championships started a year and a half ago and is now recognized as the largest MMA promotion in Asia. For the Kickboxing side, the fight organization formerly known as Golden Glory (Alistair Overeem's former team) combined with It's Showtime and retained production crews from both Showtime and it's own United Glory production series to create the new Glory Sports International. The two promotions are running tonight under the DREAM banner to present tonight's show, and both companies largely retain many of the popular fighters from DREAM, Sengoku and K-1. ONE FC has contracted with GLORY to provide MMA fighters under GLORY-promoted shows. Tonight's MMA fights will be officially promoted as "DREAM 18: Special 2012 New Year's Eve", while the Kickboxing will be promoted as "GLORY 4: Tokyo". ONE FC's next official show is "ONE Fighting Championships: Return of Warriors" on February 2, 2013. Caught up with me yet? Good! Tonight's show will present a slightly new tradition, if everything I've read holds true. The show will actually start off with eight MMA fights, including a Women's Featherweight match, then move into the GLORY 4 portion of the program featuring a 16-man GLORY Grand Slam Kickboxing tournament. We'll provide a blow-by-blow recap of the MMA fights, and for the kickboxing we'll provide the results of the tournament as they roll in. Also new this year will be that neither Tokyo Broadcast System in Japan, nor AXS TV (formerly HDNet) in the US will carry the show live. Instead, the Japanese broadcast will be presented by SkyPerfect, and the show will be presented on tape delay by CBS Sports Network, "GLORY 4: Tokyo" will air at 10 PM ET on Monday New Year's Eve, and "DREAM 18" will air at 10 PM ET on Tuesday New Year's Day. But, are you going to REALLY wait that long to get your news? OF COURSE NOT, that's why you're here, that's why I'm here. See you at 2 AM ET! Meanwhile, check out the GLORY 4: Tokyo Weigh-In Results.
DREAM 18: Special 2012 New Year's Eve" Card WE ARE LIVE! Once again at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. And we even have an English-language broadcast team, although it's not Michael Schiavello, Frank Trigg & Hans "the Translator" Thompson, we're getting Mauro Ranallo, Frank Shamrock & "the Professor" Stephen Quadros! SCORE!! And THANK GOD, we're not getting the hour-long procession to start the show, we're going right to the fights! As a reminder, fights are three 5-minute rounds, and the scoring is judged on the entire fight, not round-by-round. Men's Lightweight: "Ill" Will Brooks is one of the newest members of America's Top Team. Round 1: Brooks comes out kicking, and Kitaoka isn't afraid to kick back. Kitaoka looks like he's literally sticking out his jaw, mouth wide open, inviting an attack, and Brooks kicks him right in the jw, takes him down and goes for a submission. Kitaoka gets the best of it and goes for a knee lock, Brooks gets on his back, pushes off, and eventually get back to their feet, 3:30 left. Brooks puts Kitaoka on the ropes, in the corner, Kitaoka throws a wild left that whiffs, but gets him some room. Brooks puts Kitaoka on the ropes, tags him with a right, then steps in and throws Kitaoka to the ground with a belly-to-belly German suplex! Kitaoka rolls through it, snags Brooks' left leg, they're back on their feet, Brooks leaps off of his right leg and delivers a knee to the head! Kitaoka still holding the left, gets Brooks into the red corner, 2:00 left. Brooks throws the knee again, Kitaoka goes own to his knees and Brooks works him onto his back inside open guard, Kitaoka with an overhook on the left arm. Kitaoka is looking to set up a Guillotine with Brooks trying to set up his own submission. 1:00 left, Brooks starts swinging away, Kitaoka lets him go and we're back on our feet in the middle. Kitaoka throws a wild right, Brooks ducks under it, nearly eats a reverse elbow as Kitaoka swings back the other way, but Brooks stabs him with a right to take him down. Brooks goes down to the ground and gets caught in an Achilles Lock, but he gets out of it, grinds into Kitaoka on the mat and lays there for the last remaining seconds. I think Brooks wins the round. Round 2: brooks come sout and tags Kitaoka again, putting him on the ropes, Kitaoka pulls guard, Brooks goes with him into the guard, and Kitaoka working for an armbar, Brooks puls out, Kitaoka throws a couple of upkicks and Brooks backs off, we're back on our feet, 3:55 left. Kitaoka is circling the ring, throws a wild left overhand, Brooks counters him with a straight right down the pipe! Kitaoka with another wild backfist that misses, he then drops down and goes for a foot lock, Brooks looks comfortable in the hold as he spins around and starts hammerfisting Kitaoka in the face, 2:00 left. Kitaoka works into a heel hooks, Brooks not panicking, planting his foot in Kitaoka's face and kickign him right in the eye socket, the nose, anyplace he can land! Kitaoka is not letting this go, so Brooks just keeps pounding him until the referee breaks the action, because Kitaoka's finger has slipped out of his glove. 2:10 left as we restart, and more kicks to the face from Brooks, but Kitaoka refuses to let go of the heel hook! Brooks is able to sit up, leans over and throws rights into the face, Kitaoka is bleeding and now he's working for a finish! Kitaoka lets go, rolls over on his stomach, and Brooks goes to town, ground and pound cross-face punches from over the back and IT IS ALL OVER!! OFFICIAL DECISION: Will Brooks d. Satoru Kitaoka @ 3:46 of Round 1 by TKO (Punches). I hope to see more of Will Brooks in 2013, he put on a clinic and showed a lot of poise for such a young fighter. Women's Featherweight: Maroes Coenen is the former Strikeforce Women's Middleweight champion, and now one of the featured fighters of Invicta Fighting Championships. Fiono Muxlow is an up-and-coming fighter from Australia. This fight will only have two five-minute rounds. Round 1: Muxlow taking a southpaw stance as Coenen start laying in the kicks early, then opening up with the straight rights. Coenen goes for a spinning back fist and misses, but follow up with a right that connects. Muxlow content throwing low leg kicks, Coenen advances, clinche and starts teeing offs with knees, an uppercut, back to the clinch and more knees, 3:30 left. Muxlow trying to get some control by pushing Coenen into the corner, but Coenen grinds her down by overhooking both arms, gets her face-down on the ground and throws knees into the face (legal in DREAM). Muxlow desperately grabs a leg but Coenen sits up and starts throwing hammer shots into the side of her head, 2:35 left. GLORY's stream cut out on me, but when we come back I find out that it's over. Bummer! OFFICIAL DECISION: Marloes Coenen d. Fiona Muxlow at 3:29 of Round 1 by Submission (Armbar).
Men's Welterweight: Round 1: Joining this match late as my stream starts back up, 2:30 left in the round. Baroni has Sakurai in the corner, going for a leg. Sakurai pulls guard and Baroni goes down inside his guard. Sakurai is trying to isolate Baroni's right arm, and is opening up with punches into the face. Baroni trades punches to the face, both men breathing heavy as we go into the last minute. We're largely at a standoff here, but when Sakurai starts throwing kicks, Baroni stands up. 15 seconds left, both men teeing off, Sakurai puts Baroni on the ropes, landing a lot of body shots, clinches the body but the bell sounds. Hard to judge who won this one, but I might give it to Sakurai for the damage he did. Round 2: Baroni rushes in at the start of the bell, goes for a double-leg takedown, but Sakurai stays stiff, wraps his arms around the body, and puts Baroni on the ropes, attempting to throw knees into the body. Referee warns htem to start fighting more, Baroni reverses positions, throws a knee, Sakurai with a Judo throw, gains full mount on the ground, Baroni trying a hip escape but eats a right hand for his trouble, 4:00 left. Sakurai is put into full guard, but easily passes into side control and throws punches to the face. Baroni gives up his back but quickly gets to his feet. Baroni tries for a takedown, Sakurai stuffs it, puts him on the ropes, knee to the body and an uppercut. Baroni breaks clean, throws a right hand into the body, Sakurai trades a leg kick, Baroni with another body shot, puts Sakurai into the corner, drops levels and Sakurai goes with him. Referee pauses the action to re-position them away from the ropes, 2:43 left in the round as we restart. Baroni on his knees, tees off with hammerfists, Sakurai trade as good as he gets from the bottom. Sakurai has his feet on Baroni's hips, tied up the arms, barnoi is grounded out, 2:00 left. Baroni trying to pass into half-guard, gets stopped a few times bu eventually he does get his right leg over Sakurai's and grinds his body down, 1:00 left. Baroni continuing to work away, tries to pass to side control and Sakurai regains control with a butterfly guard. Both men start teeing off until the bell, it was Sakurai's round again in my opinion. Round 3: Both men come together, lots of punches thrown, then grappling, but we stop the action to fix Sakurai's glove. 4:35 left, back to fighting and it's Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots time! baroni tells Sakurai to bring it on, they do! Sakurai with a clinch of the head, throws a knee, Baroni counters with a HEAVY right that staggers Sakurai, he goes down to his knees, Baroni over the top and throws knees to the head. Get back up, Baroni whiffs on a huge overhand right, Sakurai pops him with a counter right, 3:30 left. Sakurai with a left jab, Baroni with a right, drops down and shoots for a takedown, Sakurai stops it with a headlock, takes Baroni to the ground, knee to the head cuts Baroni open, Baroni giving up his back as Sakurai throws a knee to hte body, Baroni trying to escape, they trade counters but Baroni ends up on top in Sakurai's half-butterfly guard, 2:30 left. Baroni throwing right hands and forearms, throws the left leg over Sakurai's right to advance to half guard, 2:00 left. Baroni tenatively throwing elbows andpunchesinto the ribs, Sakurai tries a hip escape, Baroni grounds hi down, Sakurai ties up the arms and referee decides to stand them up with 90 seconds left. Both men collide, Baroni with a right uppercut and a left hook, Sakurai eats it, throws a straight left down the pipe, both men staggering and we're once again teeing off! 1:00 left, Baroni fakes a right and drops levels, Sakurai sprawls, stands up up on the ropes, Thai clinch, knee to the body. Sakurai eats a knee from Baroni, they break, 30 seconds left. Sakurai with a 1-2 combination, Baroni striking back, Sakurai closes the distance, Baroni pops him in the face a few times, they break, back together for more strikes, Sakurai connecting with lefts and rights, he's finishing this fight strong and to the bell! OFFICIAL DECISION:Hayato Sakurai d. Phil Baroni by Unanimous Decision. Really good boxing match, but Baroni's striking looked weaker, judges go the right decision here.
Men's Middlweight: Manhoef enters the arena with an epic dance line. Manhoef initially came in a little overweight, but was allowed to re-weigh, made weight, and doesn't give upany of his purse. Round 1: Both men are cautious to open up the round, Manhoef getting back up a little. 4:20, they start teeing off immediately, Kang gets Manhoef on the ropes, Manhoef CLOBBERS him with a knee to the body, Kang goes down, Manhoef finishes him off with a strike to the head and Kang is KNOCKED OUT~! OFFICIAL DECISION: Melvin Manhoef d. Dennis Kang at 0:50 of Round 1 by TKO (Knees and Punches). HOLY SHIT! that was epic!
Men's Bantamweight: Round 1: Both men taking their time throwing kicks and strikes, Fernandes slips on a kick but gets back up, quickly goes after Maeda, takes him down with a sweep, takes the back for a Rear Naked Choke attempt. Maeda scrambles and escapes, Fernandes back on him going for a Triangle Choke. Maeda tries to fight, gets to his feet and tries to pull out, throwing hammerfists into Fernandes' face, but Fernandes has it locks in and Madea passes out on his feet! OFFICIAL DECISION: Bibiano Fernandes d. Yoshiro Maeda @ 1:46 of Round 1 by Technical Submission (Triangle Choke). Fast action, I almost couldn't keep up with it. Great job by Fernandes of simply not giving up on his attack strategy.
INTERMISSION: We're taking a 30-minute or so break in the action. Hakushi Sakuraba, "the pride & soul of Japanese martial arts" according to Mauro Ranallo, comes out, wearing his original PRIDE mask, and greets the crowd. Glory Sports International's founder and chairman, Pierre Andurand, comes to the ring and thanks the crowd for for coming out tonight. "We are here to do our best to revive martial arts in Japan, and hope to bring more events in kickboxing and mixed martial arts in the coming years." The fans applause at this announcement. "Today is the last day of 2012, but the first day of the new era in martial arts in Japan, and hopefully the rest of the world. I hope you enjoy the rest of the show today, and if I don't get to speak to you, have a happy new year!" Sakuraba addresses the crowd again, but we don't get a translation.
Men's Lightweight: Round 1: Aoki opens up with a pair of head kicks to back up McKee into the corner, then drops for a single-leg takedown, McKee stands him back up but Aoki has his legs wrapped around him. McKee shakes him off, reverses position in the corner and holds a leg up to get some distance between himself and Aoki, 4:00 left. Aoki tries to throw him, McKee stays steady on his feet, but Aoki takes his back standing up, leverages his weight to throw McKee on the ground, and he attempts to scramble and fails as Aoki has him on his back, 3;30 left. Aoki transitions into a front face lock, delivers a knee to the head, but McKee picks up Aoki and slams him to the ground, landing inside full guard, 2:50 left. Aoki holding on with a headlock, wrapping his legs around McKee. Referee pauses them for a moment as he drags them out of the corner and restarts in position, 2:36 left. Aoki attempting to gain butterfly guard, McKee grabs his arms, stands sup, Aoki throws an upkick and referee calls for a break, 1;45 left. McKee fires off a side kick right in the chest, Aoki advances and blasts McKee with a knee to the chest, drops down for a takedown attempt, McKee sprawls and puts Aoki in the corner, 1:30 left. Aoki pushing out against McKee and causing him to slide out, McKee re-positions and explodes with a knee to the chest. Aoki turns position around and has McKee in the corner, 1:00 left. Aoki tries for a slam, McKee stands up and has a Guillotine applied. Aoki steps over a knee and pulls McKee down in the corner, 30 seconds, McKee is content to hold him in the Guillotine and work his legs around and grinds this out to the bell. Round 2: Aoki explodes with a kick, McKee throws a pair of side kicks, Aoki steps back from them, but then advances and throws a right jab right into the face, Aoki clocked him solid, McKee grabs his eye, leans into the ropes and starts tapping out!! Aoki jumps on his back and tries to punch McKee through the ropes, but the referee steps in and stops it. Bizarre ending! OFFICIAL DECISION:Shinya Aoki d. Antonio McKee at 0:24 of Round 2 by Submission (PUNCH INNA FACE~!). Apparently in a pre-fight interview, McKee actually stated that he'd fight until he got punched in the face, and then he'd quit! SERIOUSLY? Unbelievable! Men's Featherweight: Round 1: Karakyanyan throws a right fifteen seconds into the fight and immediately drops Takaya, pulls guard on the mat and is trying to keep Karakyanyan down. Karakyanyan stacks him up and throws body shots, 4:00 left. Karakyanyan teeing off, Takaya tries to close up the guard, Karakyanyan throws more hammerfists, stands up, controls the feet, comes back in and blasts Takaya with a right. Takaya scrambles to his feet, 3:30 left, Karakyanyan puts him on the ropes and they clinch, Karakyanyan delivering rights and knees to the body. They separate, Karakyanyan tags Takaya with a left, misses with a right, jabs with the left and finishes up with a low kick, 2:50 left. Karakyanyan and Takaya tee off, Karakyanyan steps back and holds his eye, complains of an eye poke, referee doesn't look like he's going to stop. Karakyanyan throws a nice low kick, Takaya throws a right, tees off, Karakyanyan throws a right, body kick, closes the distance and puts Takaya in the corner, 2:00 left. Karakyanyan throwing knees to the legs and midsection. Takaya tries to escape, Karakyanyan puts him back in the corner, 90 seconds to go as Karakyanyan throws more knees, but referee does break them up and puts them in the corner, 1:20 left. They trade low kicks, then jabs, Karakyanyan with a left hook to the body, Takaya throws a left to th head, Karakyanyan counters with an overhand right to the jaw. Takaya clinches and puts Karakyanyan on the ropes, Karakyanyan throws a pair of knees into the body, clinches himself and is tearing up Takaya with knees into the ribs. Takaya forces him into the corner, 30 seconds left, but Karakyanyan works his way out with knees to the body. Karakyanyan with a kick to the knee, another knee, then a high left kick, Karakyanyan with an uppercut, he tees off, and then sweeps Takaya to the ground as the bell sounds! Round 2: Takaya start throwing quick jabs, Karakyanyan responds with kicks, closes the gap, clinches and puts hi in the corner and blasts him with more knees. Takaya tries to respond with his own knees, but they're just glancing blows across the hips. Takaya trying to move out of the corner, 4:00 left, Karakyanyan keeps him in place and referee takes them back ot to the middle. They immediately start trading punches again, Karakyanyan moves back in and puts Takaya on the ropes, ties upt he arms, throws more knees into the body, works him into the corner, 3:24 left. Takaya trying to respond with knees, they don't even touch, and the refree breaks them up again, 3:05 left. Back in the middle, Takaya rips off a couple of punches, clinches, puts Karakyanyan on the ropes, finally delivers knees, they move into the corner and Karakyanyan reverses positions, hits an uppercut and a knee, 2:35 left. Karakyanyan tries to drop levels, Takaya sprawls and stops him with a knee on the head. Karakyanyan stands back up and puts Takaya in the corner. Karakyanyan is trying to pull him out by the hips, Takaya throws a leg out to stop him. 2:00 left, they move out of the corner, Karakyanyan tries with a short flying knee, Takaya knocks him flat with a right and Karakyanyan slips to the mat, but Takaya has an opening and goes down into the full guard, trying to throw hammerfists. Karakyanyan closes up the guard and grabs the head to limit his moves, 1:20 left. Karakyanyan throws up a leg, tries for an upkick as Takaya tries to adjust, Takaya back into the guard and then is able to step over to the right to take half guard, 30 seconds left. Karakyanyan working hard from the bottom, throwing hammerfists. Takaya tries to reposition and ends up back inside full guard, 10 seconds, Karakyanyan transitions to butterfly guard, then back to full guard as both men try to pepper each other with punches until the bell sounds. Round 3: Karakyanyan opens up with a low body kick, then another, then a front kick right into the face, follows up with a left hook! Takaya closes the gap and puts him on the ropes, Karakyanyan gets out, three punch combo, a pair of front kicks. Takaya advances with a pair of front kicks, Karakyanyan grabs a food and throws him to the ground, 4:00 left. Karakyanyan stacking him up in the corner, steps over to the left for half guard, blocked, goes to the right. Referee drags them out of the corner at 3:39 to restart in position. Karakyanyan with a shoulder strike on the mat and stretches Takaya out, inches up on the body and has full mount. Takaya wiggling his legs and is able to scramble for half guard, Karakyanyan throws knees into the body, 3:00 left. Karakyanyan trying to free his left leg to advance position, but Takaya is blocking it, but is able to eventually leap into side control, and Karakyanyan opens up with big knees to the ribs and head while holding the head and arms. Takaya is able to scramble and secure half guard again, 2:00 left, then re-secures full guard. Not that it's doing much good, Karakyanyan is still blasting him with knees, grabs the waist, inches him into the red corner and throws strikes into Takaya's thighs, then grinds a shoulder into the body. Takaya trying to get to his feet, 1:00 left, Karakyanyan keeping him stuffed into the corner, then the ropes. Takaya eventually gets all the way to his feet, hits a few punches to the ribs, but Karakyanyan pulls Takaya's legs out from under him and tucks his head. Takaya gets to his feet, tries to escape, Karakyanyan keeps a grip on the body, closes the gap, throws more knees, 20 seconds left. Takaya wildly getting out of the way, gets distances, puts Karakyanyan into the corner but Karakyanyan blasts him with more knees until the final bell sounds. OFFICIAL DECISION:Georgi Karakyanyan d. Hiroyuki Takaya by Split Decision. OK, which judge thought that Takaya won that fight? Even Karakyanyan was visibly shocked at that announcement, and rightfully so! Still, he picks up a great win here.
Men's Featherweight: Round 1: Both men bounce about throwing jabs until Kawajiri takes down Omigawa with a double-leg takedown, but Omigawa quickly grabs a leg and tries for a leg lock. Kawajiri pulls out of it, attains top control with a half guard, 4:00 left. Omigawa throwing a lot of strike attempts from the bottom and regains full guard, Kawajiri throwing lefts, then hammerfists, 3:30 left. Kawajiri tries to pass to half guard, but Omigawa attempts a Guillotine and Kawajiri quickly abandons that plan. The referee is content to let them scramble for the next two-plus minutes, Omigawa attempting escapes and getting in the butterfly guard, and Kawajiri actively throwing punches to the body and head. 1:00 left, Kawajiri has worked Omigawa towards the corner and starts opening up with hammerfists, Omigawa has alregely been unable to control him. Kawajiri stacks him up and throws down bomb, Omigawa able to get in an upkick for some separation, but Kawajiri comes right back and smacks him one more time in the face before the bell. Round 2: Omigawa tries to tee off, but Kawajiri responds with lot of kicks, including a headkick that just barely sails over Omigawa's head. Omigawa drops his hands for a second, which is enough for Kawajiri to go for a takedown and secure it, and both men sramble as Kawajiri attempts to pass into side control, but only gets half guard, 3:00 left. Nearly 90 seconds passes with no advancement in action, Kawajiri attempting to pass to side control, Omigawa holding him in place with a leg. Kawajiri eventually opens up with punches tothe body and head, is able to step into side control then smooth belly into full mount. Kawajiri hooks the legs in from underneath, setting up for an Arm Triangle Choke, 20 seconds left, he's got it in, Omigawa has never been submitted, and it's not happening here as the bells ounds and Omigawa survives! At the end a question of whether or not Omigawa tapped at the every end, his arms looked limp, referee reached in to check if Omigawa's arm was limped, but he smacked it away and then hit Kawajiri in the ribs. Round 3: Omigawa closes the gap and has Kawajiri in a Guillotine, but Kawajiri grabs the legs and takes him down, trying for an armbar from the top and going for side control to his left, Omigara regains full guard, 4:00 left, and Kawajiri appears content to try to grind out a win here, largely much the same action as in the last round. 2:20 left, Kawajiri is able to step into side control, applies a head crank, steps over to full mount and is looking for the Arm Triangle again, 2:00 left. Kawajiri steps over to his left to try to finish this, Omigawa scrambles, gets back half guard, and Kawajiri has to abandon it! Kawajiri slides back up until full mount, works for the triangle again, steps over but Omigawa again re-applies the half guard and limits Kawajiri from fully applying it, Omigawa able to get his right arm up nex tto his head to get some relief, 1:00 left. 20 seconds left, he gives it up and starts throwing head strikes, Omigawa tries a hip escape but can't get any room to move, and when the final bell sounds both men are flat on their back sucking wind! OFFICIAL DECISION:Tatsuya Kawajiri d. Michihiro Omigawa by Unanimous Decision. A great technical fight, but it was all Kawajiri. Heavyweight Kickboxing Exhibition: One final bout before the next intermission, featuring a shortened set of three two-minute rounds. The veteran LeBanner mostly dominated Pettas, and put him away near the end of the third round with a leg sweep to knock him down, then a right hook to send him to the mat for a Knockout win.
GLORY 4: TOKYO 212 Grand Slam Heavyweight Tournament Middleweight Superfight: Jason "Tyson" Wilnis (18-1-2, 84 kg/185 lbs.) d. "the Knockout Artist" Toshio Matsumoto (38-9-6, 84.8 kg/187 lbs.) by Unanimous Decision. This bout took place between the tournament quarterfinal and semi-final bouts. Flyweight Superfight: Mutsuki Ebata (16-1-1, 52.9 kg/116.5 lbs) d. Sang Jae Kim (52.5 kg/116 lbs.) by Unanimous Decision. This bout took place between the tournament semi-final and final bouts. Welterewight Superfight: Robin van Roosmalen (37-14-3, 69.9 kg/154 lbs.) vs. Yuichiro "Jienotsu" Nagashima (17-5-0, 69.9kg/154 lbs.). This bout took place between the tournament semi-final and final bouts.
"GLORY 4: Tokyo" 2012 Grand Slam Heavyweight Tournament Results
We'll be filling in the brackets for tonight's Kickboxing portion of the show, making notes if anything exceptional happens. Of note: the tournament includes a Brazilian fighter named Anderson "Barddock" Silva, he is not the same person as UFC Middleweight champion nderson "the Spider" da Silva. Tournament chart courtesy of Wikipedia. Mourad Bouzidi d. Peter Aerts: Aerts, the #5 seed in the tournament, faced former student Bouzidi. Coming into the fight Bouzidi said that he had trouble sleeping due to this match-up. Aerts largely dominated the first round with heavy kicks, but when he through a straight left at Bouzidi's head, he injured his hand. Bouzidi then through a pair of left kicks to the head, which Aerts instinctively blocked with his injured hand. Aerts won the round 10-9 with all five judges, but as soon as the round ended he went to his corner and pulled off his glove, fight doctor stopped the fight due to Aerts breaking his left hand. Daniel Ghita d. Mourad Bouzidi: At the end of Round 1, Ghita won via split decision. In an ironic twist, Bouzidi threw a wild right hand and his forearm cracked against Ghita's head. Bouzidi withdrew his arm and backed up towards the ropes to block an incoming left kick to the body which hit the arm. Bouzidi leaned over the ropes and staggered backwards before the referee tried to catch him from falling to the mat. Bouzidi broke his arm and was unable to continue in the tournament. Daniel Ghita d. Jamal Ben Saddik: Saddik, the #16 seed, had upset the #6 seed Errol Zimmerman, and then #4 seed Remy Bonjasky. Unfortunately his night would end with the only blow of the fight, as Daniel Ghita throws the first and only kick right into Saddik's solar plexus. Saddik backed off, held his ribs, and then collapsed to his knees near his corner. Semmy Schilt d. Daniel Ghita: It only took Schilt, the #1 seed, less than three minutes into the first round to throw a knockout kick across the head of #3 seed Daniel Ghita, win the tournament championship and the $400,000 prize. It was, none the less, a fantastic ending to a great tournament and a great night of action. It was certainly better than last year's mess of MMA, kickboxing, pro wrestling, no-shows and no-payoffs. Let's hope that GLORY Sports International can keep promoting successful cards like this one. While the show still took nearly eight hours to run, it didn't feel like it was a drag at any point and the action was exciting all night long. comments powered by Disqus |
Killa Kev will be burning the midnight oil as AngryMarks.com provides LIVE coverage of DREAM 18 MMA from Japan starting at 2AM ET Monday morning. This year DREAM will partner with Glory Sports International (the former Golden Glory promotion) and ONE Fighting Championships to bring you a stacked card of 8 MMA fights, two Kickboxing fights and a one-night, 16-man Heavyweight Grand Slam Kickboxing tournament! If you're brave enough, join us in the 
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