DREAM: Olympia Dream.2 Results & Recap
by Robert Sargent
The opening round of the inaugural DREAM Middleweight Grand Prix was almost overshadowed by the lightweight rematch between Shinya Aoki and Gesias Calvancante, but Gegard Mousasi made a huge impact by submitting Denis Kang.
Victorious against Calvancante, Aoki will move on to the second round of the DREAM Lightweight Grand Prix at Heiwa Dream.3, in just two weeks, and will face Katsuhiko Nagata.
DREAM Lightweight Grand Prix Bout
Shinya "Tobikan Judan" Aoki vs Gesias "JZ Calvan" Calvancante
After their original bout was first postponed due to injury, and then resulted in a No Contest at Heiwa Dream.1, the score was finally settled as Aoki used his Jiu-Jitsu and grappling prowess to negate Calvancante's offence, en route to a Unanimous Decision victory.Aoki used his famous rubber guard to keep Calvancante at bay in the first round, repeatedly looking for armbars and other submissions. Calvancante escaped from the submissions, then kicked his way out of a leg submission attempt near the middle of round one. Aoki turtled and Calvancante took his back, landing a number of solid punches to Aoki's face. As the referee seemed poised to stop the fight, Aoki managed to survive the onslaught and got back to his feet. For much of the remainder of the round, Aoki looked for rear naked chokes while maintaining control over Calvancante's back as both fighters stood. Calvancante eventually escaped and held guard until the round ended.
The second round consisted mostly of Aoki fighting off of his back, using his legs to keep Calvancante from using any diving punches. Aoki continued to work for armbar attempts once Calvancante entered his guard. Calvancante battled through the submission attempts until late in the round, where Aoki used an omoplata shoulder lock to quickly transition into an armbar. Calvancante seemed to be in trouble, but managed to think quickly and narrowly escape before the end of the round.
In the end, Aoki's ability to nullify Calvancante's offence, while continuously working for submissions, was enough for the judges, who awarded Aoki with the decision victory.
Winner: Shinya Aoki by Unanimous Decision after two rounds. He improves to 15-2-0, 1 NC.
DREAM Middleweight Grand Prix Bouts
Gegard Mousasi vs Denis "Super Korean" Kang
Badly needing to rebound after his shocking knockout loss to Yoshihiro Akiyama last year, Kang came out aggressively in this fight, but fell into a triangle choke and was forced to submit, ending his Grand Prix ambitions.Early on, Kang was in complete control, first dominating in striking and then taking Mousasi down. Kang worked for a Kimura, and seemed to have Mousasi in serious trouble, but Mousasi managed to survive and escape. Not long after, Kang moved to pass Mousasi's guard, landing a hammerfist strike in the process, but Mousasi quickly trapped Kang's head and extended arm in a tight triangle choke. Kang held on for a few seconds, but was forced to submit. With Kang now out of the tournament, Mousasi is one of the favourites to emerge victorious in the end.
Winner: Gegard Mousasi by Submission (Triangle Choke) at 3:10 of round one. He improves to 21-2-1.
"The Gracie Hunter" Kazushi Sakuraba vs Andrews Nakahara
In one of the bizarre fights of the night, Sakuraba, one of the most legendary fighters in Japan's history, took on Nakahara, who was making his MMA debut.Nakahara did a surprisingly good job of scrambling back to his feet following the repeated takedowns from Sakuraba, who controlled position on the ground for most of the opening minutes. Nakahara threw a lightning-fast kick in the middle of the first round that grazed Sakuraba's head, but Sakuraba was not fazed. Following a few minutes of Sakuraba toying with his inexperienced opponent, he took Nakahara down and moved to side-control. After Nakahara turtled to avoid punching, Sakuraba took his back and locked on a neck crank that forced Nakahara to submit.
Winner: Kazushi Sakuraba by Submission (Neck Crank) at 8:20 of round one. He improves to 24-10-1, 2 NC.
Kiyoshi Tamura vs Masakatsu Funaki
This battle of Japanese MMA pioneers didn't last long, as Funaki fell to 0-2 since his comeback last year following a seven-year retirement.Tamura landed an early hook that stunned Funaki on the feet. Sensing that his opponent was in trouble, Tamura took Funaki down and landed a series of punches that knocked Funaki out and forced the referee to intervene.
Winner: Kiyoshi Tamura by TKO (Punches) at 0:57 of round one. He improves to 32-13-2.
Ronaldo "Jacaré" Souza vs Ian Murphy
Souza, a favourite to potentially win the tournament, made short work of the debuting Murphy, who was overwhelmed and outclassed from the start.Souza attempted a flying knee early in the fight that narrowly missed, then followed it up by an armbar attempt not long after. After another armbar attempt, Souza took Murphy's back and landed a series of punches, then locked on a rear naked choke and forced Murphy to submit.
Winner: Ronaldo Souza by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 3:38 of round one. He improves to 8-1-0.
Zelg "Benkei" Galesić vs Magomed Sultanakhmedov
Galesić dominated Sultanakhmedov in this short battle, quickly submitting him after taking him down.Following an early takedown, Galesić took mount very briefly before Sultanakhmedov reversed. However, the second that Sultanakhmedov reversed, Galesić locked on a tight armbar. Sultanakhmedov tried to stand up to escape, but could not and was forced to submit.
Winner: Zelg Galesić by Submission (Armbar) at 1:40 of round one. He improves to 8-3-0.
Dong Sik Yoon vs Shungo Oyama
After beginning his career 0-4 in PRIDE against some of the best fighters in the world, Dong continued his improbable career comeback with his fourth straight victory, scoring a clear-cut Unanimous Decision win against Oyama.Dong scored takedowns throughout the fight, taking mount in both rounds and preventing Oyama from doing anything. Oyama was forced to defend strikes and submission attempts from bell to bell, while Dong transitioned at will. While Dong was unable to score his fourth straight win via "Dongbar" (armbar), he did make it four wins in a row.
Winner: Dong Sik Yoon by Unanimous Decision after two rounds. He improves to 4-4-0.
Taiei Kin vs Ikuhisa "The Punk" Minowa
Minowa, a wildcard whose flashy and highly unorthodoxed style was certain to bring entertainment to the tournament, saw his Grand Prix run come to a close in the first round as he lost a hard-fought decision to Kin.Kin was able to defend Minowa's numerous takedown attempts throughout the fight while slowing Minowa with stiff leg kicks. Minowa tried to counter by striking back in round two, but he was badly fatigued from the repeated failed takedown attempts, and his lead leg had taken a beating from the kicks. He could not do enough to come back, despite continuing to swing wildly in the final minute, and Kin walked away with the victory.
Winner: Taiei Kin by Unanimous Decision after two rounds. He improves to 3-2-0.
While the loss of Yoshihiro Akiyama, due to injury, was a significant blow to the tournament, the second round has many intriguing matchups, and feared striker Melvin Manhoef will be joining the Grand Prix at Dream.4 in the final quarter-final bout. At this point, it's still anyone's tournament to win, or lose.
