Dream 12 - Birth of the White Cage

This event almost immediately followed UFC 104 and was a refreshing change of pace, comparatively. There were very few big names on the card, but all the competitions were very spirited.There was also excitement brought on by the anticipation of the "White Cage", along with a round system more familiar to US fans. As with the previous Dream event, I've limited my thoughts to the last "main" card.

1. Kazushi Sakuraba defeats Zelg Galesic via Submission

I'm beginning to see a current trend for how Sakuraba's matches play out. First, there are takedown attempts until he gets his takedown. Then he absorbs a ridiculous amount of punishment (while the ref barely flinches) and gets the submission win, against his 0-1, ex-pro Soccer player opponent. I kid about "The Gracie Hunter", but I still give him all the respect for trying to entertain the crowd as best he can, with what little he has left. His transitions to each submission were quite smooth and he really was going for broke, as exemplified by the look on Galesic's face when he tapped.
Zelg really couldn't have fought much better once he had Sakuraba turtled up, short of moving into a position less prone for submissions. But then that would have meant given up the positional advantage, offensively.

2. Marius Zaromskis defeats Myeon Ho Bae via KO

"The Whitemare" started off the bout channeling Caol Uno and quickly transitioned pre-UFC, CroCop.
Ho Bae even had his arm up when Marius threw his high kick so you can image the impact if he took it full on. I think Zaromskis is ready for a stiffer test like Nick Diaz or "Mayhem" Miller. Heck, put that silly Dream WW belt on the line too!


3. Eddie Alvarez defeats Katsunori Kikuno via Submission

By far, this was the best match on the card, pairing and action wise.
Alvarez is universally ranked in the top 10 of LW's and Kikuno is a tough Kyokushin product, with a good record and currently holds the DEEP LW belt. I liked the pairing stylistically, in terms of the fighters standup skills. Both guys like to trade but with very different styles. Kikuno prefers traditional Karate stances and strikes while Alvarez stands and trades more like a MMA boxer. In the end, it was Alvarez's ground skills that made the difference. Standing, I felt Alvarez only had a small advantage throughout the match and he hit a major setback when he got caught in that standing neck crank/crucifix. He rebounded in Round 2 when Kikuno's ground weaknesses were exploited.
Even though he could use a ton of improvement on the ground, I'd still like to see Kikuno go up against so strong contenders. His unique stance and patented Crescent kick make for an exciting and interesting match with any opponent willing to trade hands with him.


4. Alistair Overeem defeats James Thompson via Submission

Easy payday for both fighters - I just have a question of whether Overeem's guillotine is that good or is James Thompson that bad?


For an MMA event that reminds me of a Cirque de Solei event, I was quite impressed by the energy and excitement I felt by watching it. Dream is getting a little bit closer to being credible as a sport, at least for US fans with the use of the cage and similar match structures.
I just hope they never get rid of the fantastic introductions and the Screaming Lady.

Next up, winding back the clock for MFC 22.

~S