Dream.16 Live Play-By-Play & Results

 

Michihiro Omigawa vs Cole “The Triangle” Escovedo

Round 1:
Omigawa opened the fight with left and right hooks, but ate a big knee. He took Escovedo down and moved to mount. Escovedo held on as Omigawa threw short punches to the head. Omigawa moved to side-control and locked on a guillotine choke from the side, but Escovedo escaped and wound up on top. Omigawa attempted an inverted armbar from the bottom on Escovedo’s left arm. Escovedo powered out and struck with his left hand.

A split second later, Omigawa locked on another inverted armbar, this time on Escovedo’s right arm, and Escovedo quickly tapped out. He appeared to be in great pain after the fight and may have suffered an elbow injury. Impressive submission win for Omigawa.

Winner: Michihiro Omigawa by Submission (Inverted Armbar) at 2:30 of round one. He improves to 12-8-1.

 

Joachim “Hellboy” Hansen vs Hideo Tokoro

Round 1:
Time was called almost immediately after a kick from Hansen strayed low. After a moment, the fight resumed and Tokoro landed a body kick. Hansen drilled him with another vicious kick to the groin and Tokoro collapsed to the mat. Time was called again and Hansen was given a Yellow Card. The fight eventually resumed and Tokoro landed a head kick. The pace picked up considerably as the fighters traded punches. Hansen landed a left hook and Tokoro fell.

Hansen moved straight to mount and landed punches, but Tokoro regained half-guard, then kicked Hansen off. Tokoro latched onto a leg and tried for a heel hook. Hansen countered with punches and locked on a top-side triangle choke. He punched from the top, then rolled to his back into a traditional triangle choke. Tokoro picked Hansen up and slammed him down. He could not escape the choke, however, and was forced to submit. Big win for Hansen.

Winner: Joachim Hansen by Submission (Triangle Choke) at 2:48 of round one. He improves to 20-10-1.

 

Kazuyuki Miyata vs “Lion” Takeshi Inoue

Round 1:
Inoue flashed out leg and body kicks early in the first round and Miyata answered with a leg kick of his own. Miyata missed with a lunging left hook and Inoue countered with two quick punches. He landed a knee to the body, but Miyata took him down. Inoue held on as Miyata stayed on top in his butterfly guard. Miyata tried to move to mount, but could not. He landed a nice left hand from the top and the referee stood the fighters up. Miyata landed a liver kick and followed up with a pair of huge German suplexes.

Inoue was unfazed, but Miyata took his back and worked for a rear-naked choke. Inoue defended well and eventually scrambled back to his feet. He threw a front kick and Miyata answered with a lead left hook. Two leg kicks scored for Inoue, but Miyata cracked him with a right hook and tried for a takedown. Inoue reversed and wound up on top. Miyata quickly worked back to his feet. Inoue landed body kicks and a left hook, but Miyata took his back. Miyata scored with a partial German suplex and the fighters returned to their feet.

Inoue caught a kick from Miyata and landed a leg kick. The fighters clinched and exchanged knees. Time was called after Miyata was kneed in the groin. After a lengthy break, the fight finally continued and the fighters traded leg kicks. Miyata took Inoue down and Inoue landed elbows to the shoulder from his back. Miyata could not pass Inoue’s guard and the referee returned the fight to the feet. Knees were exchanged in close and Inoue landed more leg kicks. He followed with a big knee as Miyata shot in for a takedown. Miyata took Inoue down before the bell.

Round 2:
Miyata opened round two with a lead left hook and a lunging jab. Inoue fired back with a leg kick and two knees in close. Miyata backed him into a corner and scored a takedown. Little transpired as Miyata landed a handful of short punches from the top. A knee to the body and weak hammerfists landed for Miyata and the fighters were moved to the centre of the ring. Inoue scrambled to his feet and Miyata landed another left hook.

Miyata clinched and tried for a throw. Inoue defended, but landed a knee that strayed low. Time was again called to give Miyata time to recover and Inoue was penalised with a Yellow Card. This time, the fight resumed quickly and Inoue landed kicks and quick punches. Both fighters landed stiff jabs and Inoue stuffed a takedown. Miyata took Inoue’s back, but Inoue spun free. A one-two and knees landed for Inoue and he finally landed a nice combination just before the round ended.

Winner: Kazuyuki Miyata by Unanimous Decision after two rounds. He improves to 10-7-0.

 

“The Endless Fighter” Mitsuhiro Ishida vs “Wicky” Akiyo Nishiura

Round 1:
Nishiura looked to strike quickly early on, but Ishida took him down against the ropes. Ishida picked Nishiura up and tried to slam him down, but Nishiura blocked most of the impact. Ishida took his back and landed knees to the thigh as Nishiura got back to his feet. He slammed Nishiura down again and worked for an arm-triangle choke, but Nishiura reversed and landed a barrage of punches as the fighters stood. He followed with a big knee and sprawled out of an Ishida takedown attempt.

Ishida managed to score a partial takedown in the corner and landed knees to the body. Nishiura landed another knee to the face and Ishida dove for a double-leg takedown. Nishiura stayed on his feet in the corner and fought off trip and throw attempts. Ishida briefly got Nishiura down and took his back. Nishiura stood and the referee separated the fighters. Nishiura missed with one of his trademark lunging right hooks. Ishida ducked under and took him down. Ishida tried for a modified arm-triangle choke, but Nishiura was in no danger.

Ishida switched to punches from the top. He went for another arm-triangle choke and Nishiura used the opportunity to sweep. Ishida scrambled and the fighters stood. He took Nishiura’s back and landed knees to the thigh. Ishida hopped on Nishiura’s back and looked for a rear-naked choke, then abandoned it and took Nishiura down very briefly. The fighters were again separated and Ishida scored a takedown. Nishiura tried to reverse and landed elbows to Ishida’s back. He scrambled to his feet and Ishida maintained back control until the bell. Good round for Ishida.

Round 2:
Nishiura missed with a jumping switch knee to begin the second and final round and Ishida soon shot in for a takedown. He got Nishiura down against the ropes and landed a knee. Nishiura countered with more elbows to the shoulder blades. The fighters were stood up as Ishida worked for an arm-triangle choke, but he promptly took Nishiura’s back while standing. Ishida landed knees to the thigh and tripped Nishiura to the mat. Nishiura stood and was immediately taken down again.

In the corner of the ring, Ishida passed Nishiura’s guard and moved straight to mount. The referee moved the fight to the centre of the ring and Nishiura regained half-guard. Ishida tried to cartwheel into mount, but Nishiura scrambled and landed a knee. Ishida stood and took Nishiura’s back in the corner. He tripped Nishiura down to his knees, but the referee stood the fighters up. Nishiura landed a big knee and punches that bloodied Ishida’s nose. Ishida held onto Nishiura’s leg and took him down in the corner before the final bell.

Winner: Mitsuhiro Ishida by Split Decision after two rounds. He improves to 20-6-1.

 

Yusuke Kawaguchi vs James “The Colossus” Thompson

Round 1:
Kawaguchi rushed forward immediately with punches and landed a right hand, then clinched. He put Thompson in the corner and kneed his left thigh. Thompson backed him off and more punches were exchanged. Thompson landed knees to the body, but they had little effect. Kawaguchi scored with overhand lefts and rights in close and Thompson answered with more knees. Thompson clinched and looked for a takedown, but Kawaguchi easily defended. Two hard right hands landed for Kawaguchi and he swarmed a stunned Thompson with a lengthy series of punches, but Thompson stayed on his feet.

Another combination landed for Kawaguchi and Thompson clinched. Kawaguchi reversed and put Thompson in the corner. The referee separated the fighters within seconds and cleaned blood away from Kawaguchi’s nose. Kawaguchi threw a flurry of punches and backed Thompson up. Thompson countered with weak knees to the body. Kawaguchi backed away and dropped Thompson with a pair of looping rights. He followed with hammerfists, but Thompson worked back to his feet; eating more punches along the way. Kawaguchi punched his way into a clinch in the corner. Thompson backed off and was tagged by two solid combinations of punches.

Thompson backed all the way across the ring and Kawaguchi landed a one-two. Thompson tried for a takedown and got it. From Kawaguchi’s half-guard, Thompson threw short right hands and mixed in weak hammerfists. He peppered Kawaguchi with more strikes until Kawaguchi got back to his feet. Thompson attempted another single-leg takedown, but Kawaguchi defended. A big one-two landed for Kawaguchi and Thompson took him down. Thompson struck from the top and landed a nice elbow to the body. He moved to mount late in the round, but Kawaguchi defended until the bell. Despite the late rally, the first round appeared to be Kawaguchi’s.

Round 2:
The fighters clinched early in the second round and exchanged short knees and punches as both appeared to be fatigued. Kawaguchi backed away and landed leg kicks. Thompson answered with two knees and latched onto Kawaguchi’s leg. He took him down and struck from the top in Kawaguchi’s half-guard. Thompson moved to mount in the corner of the ring and the referee moved the fight to the centre. Thompson attempted an arm-triangle choke, then returned to mount.

Short right hands to the head and body scored for Thompson as he maintained mount and prevented Kawaguchi from rolling out. Kawaguchi tried to strike from his back, but spent most of his time blocking Thompson’s punches. Thompson again looked for an arm-triangle choke, but quickly abandoned it and returned to weak punches. Thompson postured up and landed sloppy hammerfists that resembled Mongolian Chops. The round ended. Thompson’s rally in the latter half of the fight could have been enough to steal the win.

Winner: Yusuke Kawaguchi by Split Decision after two rounds. He improves to 12-2-0.

 

Capped off by a surprisingly competitive main event that saw Gegard “The Dreamcatcher” Mousasi capture the DREAM Light Heavyweight Championship, Dream.16 was an entertaining event featuring impressive submissions and a devastating knockout. Rivals Hiroyuki “Streetfight Bancho” Takaya and Michihiro Omigawa both took one step closer to the DREAM Featherweight Championship, but it remains to be seen who will challenge Bibiano “The Flash” Fernandes first.