DREAM came to the Nippon Gaishi Hall in Nagoya, Japan tonight with a ten-fight card at Dream.16. The event was headlined by the finals of the 2010 DREAM Light Heavyweight Grand Prix when former Strikeforce and DREAM champion Gegard “The Dreamcatcher” Mousasi faced Tatsuya Mizuno.
In other featured bouts, Japanese legend Kazushi Sakuraba took on Jason “Mayhem” Miller, while DREAM Lightweight Champion Shinya “Tobikan Judan” Aoki battled Marcus “Maximus” Aurelio. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for all of the fights on the DREAM card in Nagoya.
DREAM Light Heavyweight Grand Prix Final
Gegard “The Dreamcatcher” Mousasi vs Tatsuya Mizuno
Round 1:
Mizuno landed a nice combination and a body kick to open the fight, then followed with another quick flurry. A leg kick landed for Mizuno and he missed with a spinning backfist. Mousasi scored with kicks to the leg and body, but Mizuno kept the pressure on with more leg kicks of his own. Mousasi landed a straight right and threw Mizuno to the ground. He postured up in half-guard and landed punches, but Mizuno regained butterfly guard. Mizuno looked for a heel hook and nearly got back to his feet, but Mousasi pushed him back down.
Mizuno locked on an armbar from his back and Mousasi escaped. He struck from the top in side-control and isolated Mizuno’s arms. Mizuno rolled and Mousasi took his back. Mizuno stood and secured a Kimura as Mousasi dragged him back to the mat. Mizuno could not wrench Mousasi’s arm behind his back and released the hold. Mousasi scored with punches from the top. Three big right hands landed for Mousasi and the fight was moved to the middle of the ring. Mizuno rolled and Mousasi took his back.
Mousasi tried to set up a rear-naked choke, but Mizuno defended well and escaped back to a partial guard. Mousasi landed punches and moved to mount, then followed with more punches and took Mizuno’s back. Mizuno scrambled out and wound up on top. Mousasi swept and returned to Mizuno’s half-guard. He landed right hands and secured a rear-naked choke as Mizuno rolled to his side. Finally, Mizuno was forced to submit. Good performance from both fighters.
Winner: Gegard Mousasi by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 6:10 of round one. He improves to 30-3-1 and becomes the DREAM Light Heavyweight Champion.
Jason “Mayhem” Miller vs Kazushi “The Gracie Hunter” Sakuraba
Round 1:
Miller just missed with a pair of one-two combinations and ate a right hand from Sakuraba. Miller tried for a knee and the fighters traded punches. Miller sprawled out of a takedown and Sakuraba flopped to his back. He grabbed onto Miller’s leg and looked to set up a heel hook. Miller defended and postured up. He rained down punches and locked on an arm-triangle choke. Sakuraba had nowhere to go and was forced to submit for only the second time in his career.
Winner: Jason Miller by Submission (Arm-Triangle Choke) at 2:09 of round one. He improves to 24-7-0, 1 NC.
Non-Title Bout
Shinya “Tobikan Judan” Aoki vs Marcus “Maximus” Aurelio
Round 1:
Aoki threw kicks to the upper body early on and Aurelio countered with left hooks. Aurelio defended a takedown attempt with a right hand, but Aoki clinched a second time. He took Aurelio down, but Aurelio kicked him off and stood up. He backed Aoki into a corner and Aoki briefly looked to set up a standing Brabo Choke. He let it go and took Aurelio down again. Aoki threw short punches from the top in a partial mount. He used a leg triangle to trap Aurelio’s legs, but Aurelio threw punches from his back.
Aoki continued to strike from the top to the head and body of Aurelio. He landed hammerfists and Aurelio answered with some of his own. Aoki cut Aurelio beside the right eye with hammerfists and stayed busy with more short strikes. Aurelio could not move due to the leg triangle around his upper thighs, but he did manage to land more hammerfists from his back. Aoki finally tried to pass to full mount and he made it to side-control.
A big knee to the kidney landed for Aoki and he moved to mount. Aoki once again locked on the leg triangle around Aurelio’s upper thighs and the fighters exchanged more hammerfist strikes. The fighters were stood up and Aurelio was given a Yellow Card. Aurelio sprawled out of a takedown and briefly took Aoki’s back, then transitioned into an armbar. Aoki escaped and landed a nice right hand from Aurelio’s guard. Aoki moved to half-guard and looked to set up an arm-triangle choke. He landed a knee to the body before the bell.
Round 2:
Aoki threw a body kick and ducked under a right hand counter to begin the second round. He clinched and put Aurelio in the corner. Aurelio tried for a weak guillotine choke as Aoki took him down, but let it go and Aoki postured up. He seemed to be looking for a Brabo Choke, but let it go and landed two quick punches instead. The fight was moved to the centre of the ring and Aoki passed to mount. Yet again, he secured a leg triangle around Aurelio’s thighs.
Aurelio threw hammerfists from the bottom while Aoki postured up and landed punches. More hammerfists landed for both fighters and Aoki opened up a bigger cut near Aurelio’s right eye. Aoki threw hammerfists, short punches and even palm strikes, but a bloodied Aurelio defended and fired back with more hammerfists from his back. Aoki postured up and rained down a flurry, but he could not secure a submission before the final bell.
Winner: Shinya Aoki by Unanimous Decision after two rounds. He improves to 25-5-0, 1 NC.
Satoshi Ishii vs Ikuhisa “Minowaman” Minowa
Round 1:
Minowa opened the fight with a leg kick and landed a looping one-two. Ishii clinched and took Minowa down. He moved to side-control, then to North-South position. Minowa scrambled and got back to his feet. Ishii landed a knee in close and just missed with two big punches. The fighters were separated and Ishii clinched again. He put Minowa in the corner and tripped him to the mat. Ishii worked from the top in Minowa’s half-guard, then tried for a Kimura. Minowa escaped and stood.
Minowa landed a big right hand, but Ishii was unfazed and took him down. He moved to side-control, then took Minowa’s back as Minowa battled back to his feet. Minowa dropped down for a kneebar and transitioned into a heel hook, but Ishii spun out and took his back again. Minowa fell to his back and Ishii landed elbows to the body from side-control. Minowa defended well and got back to a kneeling position, but Ishii peppered him with short punches as the fighters got back to their feet.
Ishii backed Minowa into a corner and tripped him back down again. The fight was moved to the centre of the ring and Ishii threw hammerfists from the top while looking to set up a shoulder lock on Minowa’s right arm. Minowa rolled and escaped to his feet. Ishii closed the distance and Minowa landed knees to the body. The fighters were separated again and Minowa ducked under two left hooks. Ishii clinched and another stalemate followed. The fighters cautiously circled in the final seconds.
Round 2:
Ishii landed a lunging right hand and took Minowa down early in the second round. Minowa tried to roll out, but Ishii kept him in place and threw short strikes from the top in side-control. Minowa worked back to his feet, but Ishii took his back and pressed him into a corner. The fighters were separated and Ishii countered a combination with a leg kick. The fighters exchanged punches and Ishii clinched once more.
Ishii put Minowa in the corner and tripped him to the mat. He once again landed in side-control and tried to set up a Kimura. Ishii let the hold go and moved straight to mount. Minowa rolled over and Ishii punched the sides of his head. More short punches landed for Ishii and he prevented Minowa from standing up. Ishii moved to North-South and landed elbows to the body. He locked on an arm-triangle choke in the final seconds, but Minowa survived until the bell.
Winner: Satoshi Ishii by Unanimous Decision after two rounds. He improves to 2-1-0.
Hiroyuki “Streetfight Bancho” Takaya vs Chase “The Rage” Beebe
Round 1:
Beebe opened the fight with a one-two and Takaya quickly responded with a leg kick. Another lunging two-punch combination landed for Beebe and he followed with a knee in close. Takaya landed another leg kick and Beebe just missed with a knee. Punches scored for both fighters and Takaya floored Beebe with a left hook. He followed with more punches on the ground that knocked Beebe out. Impressive win for Takaya.
Winner: Hiroyuki Takaya by KO (Punches) at 1:45 of round one. He improves to 14-8-1.
(Photo Credit: DREAM)