Dream.9: Featherweight Grand Prix 2009 Quarter-Finals & Superman Tournament Round One Yokohama Arena, Kanagawa, Japan May 26th, 2009 HDNet (5:00AM EST) Middleweight Championship: Jason Miller vs. Ronaldo Souza Non-tournament bouts: 155 Lbs: Gesias Cavalcante vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri Open-weight tournament bouts: Ikuhisa "Minowaman" Minowa vs. Bob Sapp Jan Nortje vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou Mark Hunt vs. Gegard Mousasi Jose Canseco vs. Hong Man Choi Featherweight tournament bouts: Masakazu Imanari vs. Bibiano Fernandes Yoshihiro Maeda vs. Hiroyuki Takaya Norifumi Yamamoto vs. Joe Warren Hideo Tokoro vs. Abel Cullum
Re: Dream.9: Featherweight GP 2009 Quarter-Finals/Super Hulk Tournament R1 (May 26th) Notes on the event: -- The second round of Dream's Featherweight Grand Prix features one of Japan's biggest mixed martial arts stars in Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto, who was granted an automatic berth in the second round. Yamamoto faces inexperienced American fighter Joe Warren (1-0), who debuted at Dream.7, defeating Chase Bebbe by TKO (cut) at the end of the first round of their fight. Like Fedor Emelianenko, Yamamoto (17-1) has only lost once in his career, with that loss coming due to a cut in the early moments of a first round fight with Stephen Palling. Much like Sengoku's lightweight tournament was designed to showcase Takanori Gomi, Dream's featherweight tournament is very much a showcase for Yamamoto--meaning the pressure is on the 32-year old from Kawasaki to succeed. Yamamoto hasn't fought since the beginning of 2008 due to a partial tear of his right anterior cruciate ligament. -- Japanese promoters are known for publicity stunts, such as featuring complete mixed martial arts amateurs in bouts with seasoned fighters. Dream's "super hulk" open-weight tournament is an unapologetic freak show. Former professional baseball player and snitch Jose Canseco (0-0) is rumoured to be competing in the tournament along with seven experienced fighters. Canseco has a brief amateur boxing career and claims to be a black belt in Taekwondo, Muay-Thai kickboxing, and Kung-Fu; he'd better be, considering he's matched up in the first round against towering K-1 kickboxer Hong Man Choi (1-2). At 7'2" and 330-lbs., Hong is the biggest mixed martial artist in the world and holds a kickboxing victory over six-time world champion Semmy Schilt. Odds are this bout won't happen, but Canseco has been on a desperate campaign for money and attention for the last few years, so anything is possible. -- The other "super hulk" matches include very reputable MMA fighters. Highly regarded Armenian-Dutch MMA star Gegard Mousasi, winner of Dream's inaugural middleweight tournament in 2008, faces Kiwi kickboxer and former K-1 World Champion Mark Hunt. 375-lbs. brawler Bob "The Beast" Sapp returns to MMA to face Japanese middleweight Ikuhisa "Minowaman" Minowa. Sapp is expected to have a weight advantage of close to 200-lbs. in the fight, but 26 of Minowa's 41 victories have come via submission, and the technique advantage is heavily in favour of the small catch wrestler from Hashima. Finally, towering South African fighter Jan Nortje faces former UFC light heavyweight Sokoudjou to fill out the opening round of the tournament. -- Dream's vacant middleweight title, once held by Gegard Mousasi (who has since moved up a weight class to light heavyweight), will be on the line when Jason "Mayhem" Miller and Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza clash in the only title fight on the card. Miller and Souza have fought once before in Dream's middleweight tournament of 2008, with Souza coming away with a decision victory. Since the tournament Miller has fought in Hawaii, defeating Kala Hose for the ICON/Kingdom MMA Middleweight Title, while Jacare hasn't returned to action since losing in the finals of the tournament to Mousasi. Miller has been busy recently filming a new television series for MTV, Bully Beatdown, which he hosts. -- The other non-tournament bout on the card is a highly anticipated lightweight scrap between Tatsuya "Crusher" Kawajiri and Geisas "JZ Calvan" Cavalcante. Kawajiri (23-5-2) has fought some of the best lightweights in the world, including Eddie Alvarez, Gilbert Melendez, Joachim Hansen, Takanori Gomi, Vitor Ribeiro, and Caol Uno, and is a former Shooto Lightweight Champion. Cavalcante (14-2-1-1) is a former K-1 HEROS Middleweight Grand Prix Champion who is coming off a pair of exciting fights in which he drew and lost to Dream Lightweight Champion Shinya Aoki.
Re: Dream.9: Featherweight GP 2009 Quarter-Finals/Super Hulk Tournament R1 (May 26th) [video=youtube;tH5B47r9zBg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tH5B47r9zBg[/video]
Re: Dream.9: Featherweight GP 2009 Quarter-Finals/Super Hulk Tournament R1 (May 26th) HDNet has agreed to broadcast this event live (3:00 or 4:00AM EST). Get some coffee bubbling if you want to see this one.
Re: Dream.9: Featherweight GP 2009 Quarter-Finals/Super Hulk Tournament R1 (May 26th) IMO best to go to bed and wake up early for it... it's what I'll be doing and since I don't get HDNet, I'll be surfing for a feed.
Re: Dream.9: Featherweight GP 2009 Quarter-Finals/Super Hulk Tournament R1 (May 26th) HDNet is going to broadcast this at 5AM EST.
Re: Dream.9: Featherweight GP 2009 Quarter-Finals/Super Hulk Tournament R1 (May 26th) I'm not going to watch it live lol.
Re: Dream.9: Featherweight GP 2009 Quarter-Finals/Super Hulk Tournament R1 (May 26th) So anyone that didn't think that Canseco was just going to take a dive (that is, anyone who thinks he will go through with it--I think he won't and a replacement will just so happen to be ready to go in his place), he has supposedly decided to brush up on martial arts recently. Supposedly he called Frank Trigg a few days ago to ask for some training and was shut down. Don't leave it to the last minute or anything, Jose.
Re: Dream.9: Featherweight GP 2009 Quarter-Finals/Super Hulk Tournament R1 (May 26th) Joe Warren has some big plans: http://www.bloodyelbow.com/
Re: Dream.9: Featherweight GP 2009 Quarter-Finals/Super Hulk Tournament R1 (May 26th) Featherweight grand prix quarterfinals: Norifumi Yamamoto (137) vs. Joe Warren (138) Masakazu Imanari (138) vs. Bibiano Fernandes (138) Yoshiro Maeda (138) vs. Hiroyuki Takaya (138) Abel Cullum (138) vs. Hideo Tokoro (138) “Super Hulk” Open weight quarterfinals: Ikuhisa Minowa (196) vs. Bob Sapp (319) Jan Nortje (352) vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (224) Gegard Mousasi (218) vs. Mark Hunt (286) Hong Man Choi (330) vs. Jose Canseco (253) DREAM middleweight title: Ronaldo Souza (184) vs. Jason Miller (185) Non-tournament bout: Gesias Calvancante (154) vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri (154)
Re: Dream.9: Featherweight GP 2009 Quarter-Finals/Super Hulk Tournament R1 (May 26th) Wow @ Jan Nortje weighing 350-lbs., that is massive. Sok should be running circles around him.
Re: Dream.9: Featherweight GP 2009 Quarter-Finals/Super Hulk Tournament R1 (May 26th) 350 lbs. Holy fuck. Sok has an opponent that might actually gas before him!
Re: Dream.9: Featherweight GP 2009 Quarter-Finals/Super Hulk Tournament R1 (May 26th) That is my boy!
Re: Dream.9: Featherweight GP 2009 Quarter-Finals/Super Hulk Tournament R1 (May 26th) Results: Minowaman d. Bob Sapp, Achilles Lock, R1 Hong Man Choi d. Jose Canseco, Tap Out (punches), R1 [note: Canseco basically took a dive] Sokoudjou d. Jan Nortje, TKO (punches), R1 [note: Sok wouldn't stop, a brawl nearly ensued] Gegard Mousasi d. Mark Hunt, Kimura, R1 Tatsuya Kawajiri d. JZ Calvan, Unanimous Decision Hideo Tokoro d. Abel Cullum, RNC, R2 Hiroyuki Takaya d. Yoshiro Maeda, TKO (punches), R1 Bibiano Fernandes d. Masakazu Imanari, Unanimous Decision Joe Warren d. Kid Yamamoto, Split Decision [note: upset of the year!] Jason Miller/Jacare - no contest (illegal kick causing a cut)
