Dream 11 - Tourneys,Tune-Ups and Triumphs

Note: This event took place 10/6/09.

For the sake of my sanity and your eyesight, I'm going to go through just the last 4 matches of the card. I will however, give the results of the two tournament brackets matches that had occurred first.

Featherweight
Kazuyuki Miyata defeats Daika Hata via Decision (Reserve bout)
Bibiano Fernanddes defeats Joe Warren via Submission
Hiroyuki Takaya defeats Hideo Tokoro via TKO

Super Hulk
Ikuhisa Minowa defeats Hong Man Choi via Submission
Rameau Sokoudjou defeats Bob Sapp via TKO


Ok, down to the final four.


1. Tatsuya Kawajiri defeats Melchor Manibusan

Clearly, this was a gimme match for Kawajiri. He will most likely get the winner of Aoki/Hansen match going on later on this card.
Melchor posed no threat to "Crusher" whatsoever and frankly, this match made no sense for either fighter. The man's record was 2-3 before this match.
I love the Japanese and their "warm up" matches.


2. Kazushi Sakuraba defeats Rubin Williams via Submission

Speaking of matches that make no sense, the most beloved Japanese MMA fighter of all time beats an ex-boxer in his debut MMA match. I got the sense that both guys thought this was more a sparring match. We didn't really see any techniques besides the Kimura that ended everything. Both the strikes and takedowns were sloppy and I don't think Williams even threw any strikes.
Although, there's not many more veterans or experienced fighters that Sakuraba can face and beat, I'd rather not see him in these ridiculous lopsided matches with non-MMA fighters that are trying to transition over or just looking for a paycheck.
"The Gracie Hunter" deserves better, even in the twilight of his career.


3. Shinya Aoki defeats Joachim Hansen via Submission

Wow.
What a complete 180 from the last two matches.
This could have been a fantastical match in ADCC because of the little, inconsequential striking that took place. It had shades of Maia/McDonald and Sakuraba/Newton in terms of the levels of grappling we saw from both guys.
Although we could have went without Aoki hollywooding it for about 20 minutes when he took that nut shot, he definitely redeemed himself with the last second armbar to finish the match. He very much stuck to his game plan the whole time and didn't miss a beat. Sloppy takedowns or not, he went for them and got them. He shrewdly went for dominant positions first, before attempting any submissions and took his time doing it.
Hansen was trying to match Aoki on the ground and he was holding his own. He's as much an offensive grappler as Aoki. While a little less talented in that area, he makes up for this with having superior striking, which he did not get to utilize due to Aoki's effective game plan or Hansen's ineffectiveness in getting taken down.
Finally, that one mistake of going for the knee strike cost "Hellboy" the championship belt, but I commend him on his efforts regardless. Who's up for a 4th match between them?

4. Bibiano Fernandes defeats Hiroyuki Takaya via Decision

This was a close one and I saw it going either way.
I couldn't place my finger on it until about midway through the match, but Bibiano's fighting style is very similar to Hermes Franca's. It's a combination of the crazy, monkey-haymaker style punches and sloppy takedown and submission attempts. Another thing that reminded me of Hermes was his size. I know he doesn't train down at ATT but he must be getting pointers from someone down there because his weight cutting skills are either spectacular or he never plans on fighting in the US.
Takaya fought a good fight and connected to Fernandes' face with some rather good, hard shots. Too bad they proved ineffective and his lack of ground skills cost him the decision victory.
I'm now waiting for a rematch of champions, "KID" vs. "The Flash".


I'll try not to skip bouts that are televised next time. I'm just worried that if I try to come up with relevant and comical analogies about what strategies that Minowaman and Judo Thierry implemented in the Super Hulk tournament, it would just drain me of brain power that I plan on using for my bicep workout later today.

Later

~S