DREAM: Olympia Dream.4 Results
by Robert Sargent
Following up on the success of Dream.3, the DREAM promotion put on another incredible show at Olympia Dream.4, with Melvin Manhoef, Gegard Mousasi, Zelg Galesić and Ronalo Souza all advancing in the DREAM Middleweight Grand Prix.
In the opening bout, Shinya Aoki used an incredible Gogoplata submission from mount position to defeat Katsuhiko Nagata and move on in the DREAM Lightweight Grand Prix.
DREAM Middleweight Grand Prix Bouts
"Marvellous" Melvin Manhoef vs "The Gracie Hunter" Kazushi Sakuraba
As expected, this fight ended quickly. Sakuraba was unable to take the fight to the ground and was quickly knocked out by a series of brutal strikes from the dangerous striker, Manhoef.The fighters cautiously circled each other for the first 50 seconds, with neither wanting to make a crucial mistake. Seconds later, Manhoef connected with a head kick and a punch that dropped Sakuraba. More punches from Manhoef connected as Sakuraba hung through the ropes. Manhoef grabbed Sakuraba's leg and dragged him back into the ring, unleashing more punches, then a series of hammerfist strikes that forced the referee to stop the fight. An extremely impressive victory for Manhoef.
Winner: Melvin Manhoef by KO (Hammerfists) at 1:30 of round one. He improves to 22-4-1 and advances in the DREAM Middleweight Grand Prix.
Ronaldo "Jacaré" Souza vs Jason "Mayhem" Miller
Though most of the offence in this fight was done by Souza, Miller did an excellent job of defending the numerous submission attempts that he faced, but dropped a clear-cut decision to Souza in the end.After an early clinch, Souza managed to get Miller to the ground, but Miller reversed position and the fight quickly returned to the feet. The fighters clinched again and Souza scored another takedown. Souza landed strikes from half-guard and moved to side-control, then mount. Miller quickly reversed position, but Souza locked on a heel hook. Miller, eccentric as always, smiled and gave a thumbs up to the referee. Back on the feet, Miller landed a pair of solid punches and the two clinched in the corner. Souza scored another takedown and moved to side-control. Miller again managed to reverse, but nearly found himself in a triangle choke. Souza locked on another tight heel hook, but Miller somehow perservered.
From half-guard, Souza landed some weak strikes, then took Miller's back. Souza locked on a body triangle and looked for a rear naked choke. Souza moved to mount and briefly locked on a side choke, then landed punches from the top. Souza again took Miller's back and Miller stood up. Souza fell forward and looked for an armbar, then punished Miller's face with punches. Miller squirmed free and dropped a pair of big punches of his own, then moved to half-guard. In the final minute, Miller worked from top position, then landed a pair of knees to the head, but made an error by trying to lock Souza, one of the top three submission grapplers in the world, in a guillotine. Souza easily escaped and dominated round one.
Miller came out swinging in round two, but was stopped by a kick from Souza and the fighters briefly clinched. Souza rolled for a kneebar, but Miller escaped and got back to his feet, then nearly fell out of the ring during a takedown attempt. Miller's superior striking was evident, as he landed punches at will, but Souza clinched and tried for another takedown. Miller continued to win the striking battles, but failed to land any significant punches to hurt Souza. After exchanging strikes, Souza scored another takedown and moved to mount. Souza tried unsuccessfully for a choke before the bell, but did enough to win the fight.
Winner: Ronaldo Souza by Unanimous Decision after two rounds. He improves to 9-1-0 and advances in the DREAM Middleweight Grand Prix.
Zelg "Benkei" Galesić vs Taiei Kin
After their first bout had ended prematurely due to a freak cut to the eyelid of Kin from a Galesić high kick, this fight didn't fare much better, as Kin suffered a broken arm when his elbow bent backwards the wrong way as he tried to defend a takedown early in round one.The fighters immediately clinched against the ropes and both landed knees to the legs. After a period of inactivity, the referee restarted the fight in the middle of the ring. Galesić landed a quick combination, then went for a takedown on Kin, who stuck his arm out to block. Galesić got the takedown and Kin's arm folded backwards at the elbow underneath him. He immediately pointed to his clearly broken arm and the fight was stopped.
After the fight, both fighters were all smiles, as both saw the irony in the situation, having a second fight end under freak circumstances. Galesić promised Kin another rematch, to which Kin heartily grinned. An unfortunate end to the fight, but excellent sportsmanship from both.
Winner: Zelg Galesić by TKO (Broken Arm) at 1:04 of round one. He improves to 9-3-0 and advances in the DREAM Middleweight Grand Prix.
Gegard Mousasi vs Dong Sik Yoon
Mousasi was in full control for the entire duration, save for a period near the end of round one where he had to use some tricks to escape the famous "Dongbar" by Yoon, and Mousasi came away with the clear decision victory.Yoon traded strikes with Mousasi early on, then scored a takedown, but Mousasi quickly reversed and took Yoon's back. Mousasi proceeded to punish Yoon's taped left leg with knee strikes for the next minute. Mousasi countered a takedown attempt from Yoon with knees to the head, then landed a knee to the body seconds later. Kicks to the leg of Yoon clearly had an effect, as Yoon began to favour the left leg. Mousasi got Yoon down again and took his back, then moved to mount. Back on the feet, Mousasi continued to target the lead leg of Yoon and defended Yoon's takedown attempts.
Mousasi landed a knee and took Yoon's back again, then landed punches from top position. The fight returned to the feet and Mousasi landed a pair of knees that dropped Yoon. Yoon held on as Mousasi landed strikes from the top. Mousasi moved to side-control and landed punches and knees to the head and body. Yoon managed to get free and took Mousasi's back, then latched onto an arm and looked for his famous "Dongbar." Mousasi maintained the grip between his hands until 30 seconds remained in the round, when Yoon broke the grip. Mousasi had to roll to escape, but managed to hold on and landed knees to the body until the bell.
The second round was all Mousasi, as he took Yoon's back on the ground in the opening 30 seconds and maintained the position for the remainder of the round. Alternating between a body triangle and locking in both hooks, Mousasi trapped Yoon for the entire round, peppering his head with punches and other strikes as Yoon offered little to no resistance. The round was about as one-sided as possible, and Mousasi emerged with a decision victory.
Winner: Gegard Mousasi by Unanimous Decision after two rounds. He improves to 22-2-1 and advances in the DREAM Middleweight Grand Prix.
Non-Tournament Bouts
Hideo Tokoro vs Darren "Bone Crusher" Uyenoyama
Just as at Dream.3, the featherweights again stole the show with this bout, as the fight went back and forth for 15 minutes and saw both fighters in danger of being stopped on more than one occasion.Uyenoyama opened up with some lightning-fast kicks, but could not connect with anything solid. Tokoro landed a hard knee to the chin that dropped Uyenoyama, and Tokoro dove in with a flying knee attempt as Uyenoyama tried to get up. Uyenoyama tried for a takedown, but Tokoro countered with a Kimura, then a triangle choke and finally an omoplata. Uyenoyama rolled and escaped, but Tokoro locked on an armbar. Uyenoyama again escaped and landed strikes from Tokoro's guard. Uyenoyama continued to land strikes as Tokoro looked for submissions. Uyenoyama stood up and landed a diving punch that rocked Tokoro, then followed it up with more punches and knees, but Tokoro held on.
Tokoro scored a takedown and looked for another submission, but Uyenoyama evaded and landed more strikes from half-guard. Uyenoyama tried for another diving punch, and both fighters stood up. Tokoro hurt Uyenoyama with a series of hard punches that pushed Uyenoyama off of the ropes multiple times. Tokoro scored a scoop takedown and landed strikes from Uyenoyama's guard. Both fighters stood and Tokoro landed a vicious knee to the liver that dropped Uyenoyama. Tokoro followed it up with strikes on the ground, but could not do enough to finish Uyenoyama. The fighters exchanged punches on the ground for the final minute, with Tokoro landing knees to the head before the bell.
Uyenoyama scored a takedown early in round two and Tokoro drilled him with an upkick. Back on the feet, both fighters landed kicks and Tokoro scored a takedown. Tokoro trapped both of Uyenoyama's arms and looked for submissions, but Uyenoyama got back to his feet and landed a hard kick to the head of Tokoro, knocking him off-balance. Tokoro replied with a knee and rolled for a takedown. Uyenoyama landed strikes from the top as Tokoro looked for more submissions. Tokoro got back to his feet with 40 seconds left and immediately began swinging wildly with punches. Tokoro rolled and tried for an armbar, but the bell rang and the fight went to the judges, with Tokoro taking the win.
Prior to the fight, Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto, the top Japanese featherweight and one of the best fighters in the world at either the featherweight or lightweight level, announced that he would be competing at Dream.5, likely against the undefeated Joseph Benavidez.
Winner: Hideo Tokoro by Unanimous Decision after two rounds. He improves to 20-13-1.
Ralek Gracie vs Alavutdin Gadzhiyev
While the 22-year-old member of the famed Gracie family clearly needs to work diligently on his striking, his ground game was as good as expected and he finished the fight quickly after it went to the ground.Gracie's flat-footed fighting stance almost appeared to be a joke, in that it seemed as if he had never thrown a strike in his life, but he managed to use an effective front kick to keep Gadzhiyev at a distance in the opening minute. Gadzhiyev countered a takedown attempt by reversing position, but Gracie quickly got back to his feet. Gracie finally managed to take Gadzhiyev down and moved quickly from side-control to mount. From there, it was a formality, as Gracie locked on an armbar seconds later and forced Gadzhiyev to submit.
Winner: Ralek Gracie by Submission (Armbar) at 3:14 of round one. He improves to 2-0-0.
Alistair "Demolition Man" Overeem vs Tae Hyun Lee
Despite giving up 70 pounds to the giant Lee, Overeem made short work of his overmatched opponent, knocking him out early in the first round.Overeem landed a stiff jab and a series of leg kicks, but appeared to injure himself throwing the final kick to Lee's leg. Lee came forward with punches and Overeem clinched, landing knees and punches to the body. Overeem came forward with a one-two punch combo, punctuated by a knee to the jaw, and Lee fell to the mat, unconscious.
After the fight, Overeem called out Cro Cop, which could potentially set up one of the greatest heavyweight striking battles in many years.
Winner: Alistair Overeem by KO (Punches & Knee) at 0:35 of round one. He improves to 27-11-0.
DREAM Lightweight Grand Prix
Shinya "Tobikan Judan" Aoki vs Katsuhiko Nagata
After being the first competitor to secure a victory in PRIDE with the Gogoplata submission at PRIDE Shockwave 2006, Aoki outdid himself by defeating Nagata with a Gogoplata from the mount position, a nearly impossible feat that requires extreme dexterity in the legs.Aoki scored a takedown 30 seconds into the fight and never looked back. Nagata managed to get back to his feet, but it wasn't long before Aoki put him down a second time. Aoki moved to mount position, methodically taking his time as he pondered which submission he wished to end the fight with. Nagata defended an attempted triangle choke from mount, so Aoki began landing strikes from the top position. Aoki tried unsuccessfully for a guillotine from the top, then moved the fight to the middle of the ring. While still in full mount, Aoki brought his leg up from the side, placed his calf underneath the chin of Nagata and locked in a Gogoplata by pulling Nagata's neck forward.
Nagata, unable to breathe, tapped out and Aoki emerged victorious with one of the most incredible submissions in mixed martial arts history. With the extremely unique win, Aoki solidifies his spot as the top lightweight submission grappler in MMA today, and possibly the top submission fighter in the entire sport.
Winner: Shinya Aoki by Submission (Gogoplata From Mount) at 5:12 of round one. He improves to 16-2-0, 1 NC and advances in the DREAM Lightweight Grand Prix.
With the quarter-finals of the Lightweight and Middleweight Grand Prixs now complete, DREAM will look to put on two more great shows, at Dream.5 and Dream.6, as the tournaments come to a close and the first DREAM champions are crowned.
