DREAM came to the Yokohama Arena in Yokohama, Japan tonight for Dream.13. The event was headlined by a DREAM Featherweight Championship bout between reigning titleholder Bibiano “The Flash” Fernandes and former Lightweight champ Joachim “Hellboy” Hansen, who dropped down in weight to challenge for his second DREAM title.

In other action, former UFC Heavyweight Champion Josh “The Babyfaced Assassin” Barnett defeated Siala “Mighty Mo” Siliga in a bout marred by a foul. MMARising.com has live play-by-play from all seven fights.

 

DREAM Featherweight Championship

Bibiano “The Flash” Fernandes vs Joachim “Hellboy” Hansen

Round 1:
Fernandes opened with leg kicks and Hansen answered with one of his own. Fernandes shot in and threw Hansen to the mat, then stood over him. Hansen scrambled back to his feet and the fighters traded quick strikes. A clinch followed, but little transpired and the referee separated them. Both landed leg and body kicks and quick punches were exchanged. From a clinch, Fernandes scored a trip takedown and worked from half-guard.

Hansen scrambled back to his feet and the fighters traded punches. Time was called after an accidental low knee from Fernandes, but the fight resumed and Hansen scored with a hard leg kick. Both landed punches and Fernandes drilled Hansen with knee to the body. Single punches connected for both and Hansen targeted the body. Fernandes took Hansen down and stood over him. Hansen upkicked from the ground.

Once again, Hansen worked back to his feet and was hit with a big knee from Fernandes. Hansen connected with a quick combination that backed Fernandes up. A hard right hand from Fernandes landed just as Hansen threw a left cross. The fighters continued to throw punches and Fernandes landed knees in a clinch. More punches followed until the bell. Good round.

Round 2:
Fernandes scored a takedown early in the second round and looked briefly for a leg submission, but Hansen scrambled and stood up. He ate a knee from Fernandes on the way. Hansen landed a series of leg kicks and Fernandes fired back with a one-two. More kicks scored for Hansen, but he fell to the mat. Hansen upkicked from his back and got back to his feet. A big knee landed for Hansen and Fernandes countered with punches.

In a clinch, Hansen landed knees to the body until the referee separated the fighters. Quick punches and kicks were exchanged and Hansen scored with a big flurry in close. Hansen landed a knee to the body and Fernandes answered with quick punches in the corner. Fernandes scored a takedown and briefly struck from side-control, but the fight returned to the feet. Both landed strikes in the final 20 seconds. Very close fight.

Winner: Bibiano Fernandes by Split Decision after two rounds. He improves to 8-2-0 and remains the DREAM Featherweight Champion.

 

Josh “The Babyfaced Assassin” Barnett vs Siala “Mighty Mo” Siliga

Round 1:
Siliga landed a left hook as Barnett threw a body kick and he tagged Barnett with a solid right seconds later. Siliga dropped Barnett briefly with a left hook and Barnett clinched in the corner. The fighters traded knees to the body until the referee separated them. Barnett resumed kicking and Siliga looked to counter with punches. A kick strayed low and Siliga collapsed to the mat in obvious pain.

After an extremely long break, Siliga fought on and Barnett was given a Yellow Card. The fight resumed and Barnett came forward with punches and tried for a takedown. Siliga stuffed it and Barnett switched to kicks. The fighters clinched briefly and Barnett landed a knee to the body. He pressed Siliga up against the ropes and scored a slam takedown, then worked from side-control. Barnett secured a Kimura and Siliga tapped out, though he probably should not have continued after the low blow.

Winner: Josh Barnett by Submission (Kimura) at 4:41 of round one. He improves to 25-5-0.

 

“King” KJ Noons vs Andre “Dida” Amado

Round 1:
Amado’s first kick of the fight strayed low and time was called to allow Noons to recover. Action resumed and Amado landed leg kicks. He tagged Noons with a looping overhand right. Noons jabbed his way in and Amado answered with a jumping knee and a body kick. More jabs from Noons were countered by leg kicks from Amado. The fighters traded jabs and Noons looked to target the body with right hands.

More kicks scored for Amado and he just missed with a wild right hook. Noons punished the body again with hooks and straight punches and Amado replied with an uppercut and a one-two. Noons jabbed and scored to the body, but Amado threw a counter combination and a left hook. Noons answered with a hard left hook of his own. Noons landed more jabs and repeatedly punched the body. More punches followed for both fighters and Noons just missed with an uppercut.

Noons showed excellent head movement and avoided a wild overhand right. He punched his way forward and Amado landed a counter left hook. Both landed left hands at the same time and Noons resumed his relentless assault on Amado’s midsection. Amado landed a left hook and a knee. Noons countered with a one-two and more jabs. Noons dove in with a lunging left hook and the fighters traded in close. Noons landed more punches before the bell.

Round 2:
Amado rushed forward with a jumping switch knee that missed, but he followed with a stiff leg kick. Counter left hooks landed for Amado and Noons answered with one of his own. He backed Amado up with jabs and a liver punch, then strung together another combination as Amado’s nose began to bleed freely. Noons landed another punching flurry and backed Amado up.

Amado began taunting after a big combination from Noons. He continued to back up as Noons peppered him with punches and leg kicks. Amado missed with a looping haymaker and Noons landed punches at will. More punches landed for Noons, but he ate a solid counter right hook. Both fighters landed punches in the final seconds, but Amado spent more time backpedalling until the bell.

Winner: KJ Noons by Unanimous Decision after two rounds. He improves to 8-2-0.

 

Ryo “The Piranha” Chonan vs Andrews Nakahara

Round 1:
Chonan landed a nice overhand right to begin the fight and he backed Nakahara into the corner with a flurry. Chonan backed away and the fighters traded leg kicks. Nakahara kept his distance and threw body kicks, but Chonan tossed him to the mat. Chonan dove into Nakahara’s guard, but Nakahara locked on a triangle choke. Chonan stayed calm and worked his way free, then struck from the top. The fight was moved to the middle of the ring.

Nakahara looked for a Kimura from his back and then a guillotine choke, but Chonan stood up. Nakahara tried for upkicks and Chonan returned to Nakahara’s guard. Chonan postured up and threw punches from a standing position. He alternated between strikes to the face and body. Back in Nakahara’s guard, Chonan landed punches and then moved to half-guard. He isolated Nakahara’s arms in a crucifix and struck with his free hand.

Chonan moved to side-control briefly, but Nakahara managed to regain half-guard. Chonan was relentless with punches with his left hand, then stood and landed two punches. He returned to Nakahara’s guard and the referee stood the fighters up. He gave Nakahara a Yellow Card for inactivity. A stiff left hand and a right hook landed for Chonan. He continued to back Nakahara up with punches.

Time was called after a vicious but unintentional groin kick from Nakahara. Chonan immediately dropped against the ropes, in great pain. Chonan walked it off to recover. The fight resumed and Chonan connected with a one-two. He landed a hard leg kick before the end of the competitive first round.

Round 2:
Chonan continued to find a home for his lead left hook and Nakahara looked to counter with a flashy jumping switch kick. Quick punches partially landed for Chonan and he mixed in a leg kick. Nakahara answered with a stiff leg kick of his own and scored with a three-punch flurry. Right hands landed for both fighters simultaneously, and again seconds later. Nakahara stuffed a takedown and teed off with punches.

Both fighters were staggered as Chonan first hurt Nakahara with a knee and a one-two and Nakahara badly rocked Chonan with a lengthy flurry of punches. More power shots followed for Nakahara and he stunned Chonan with a knee. Chonan somehow survived and scored a big takedown. He moved to side-control and landed short punches, then moved to mount. The fight was moved to the middle of the ring and Chonan landed punches to the head and elbows to the shoulder until the bell. Great fight.

Winner: Ryo Chonan by Unanimous Decision after two rounds. He improves to 17-10-0.

 

Cole “The Triangle” Escovedo vs Yoshiro Maeda

Round 1:
The fighters exchanged kicks in the opening round and Maeda targeted the body. Quick one-twos landed for Maeda and he stunned Escovedo with an uppercut. Time was called after Maeda was poked in the eye. Action resumed and both fighters scored with punches and high kicks. Maeda rushed forward with wild punches that backed Escovedo into the corner, but Escovedo circled out.

Maeda landed two more shots to the body. He connected with two quick punches, but leaned forward after a leg kick from Escovedo. Maeda was absolutely destroyed by a left head kick and fell like a rock to the canvas. Escovedo dove in with a punch as the referee dragged him off of Maeda’s unconscious body. Maeda appeared to have a broken jaw, but eventually got up under his own power. Incredible knockout.

Winner: Cole Escovedo by KO (Head Kick) at 2:29 of round one. He improves to 16-4-0.

 

Katsunori Kikuno vs Kuniyoshi Hironaka

Round 1:
Kikuno opened up strong with a one-two, a liver kick and a three-punch flurry. Hironaka clinched, but a stalemate followed and the fighters were separated. Kikuno scored with punches and a kick, then backed away. Right hands landed for both fighters and Kikuno drilled Hironaka with another liver kick. Hironaka leaned forward into a one-two that dropped him unconscious to the mat. Very impressive win for Kikuno.

Winner: Katsunori Kikuno by KO (Punches) at 1:26 of round one. He improves to 13-2-2.

 

Ikuhisa “Minowaman” Minowa vs Jimmy “The Titan” Ambriz

Round 1:
Minowa shot right in for an early takedown, but wound up on the bottom and ate some punches from Ambriz. The much larger Ambriz moved to side-control and landed short punches, then took Minowa’s back. Minowa stood up and Ambriz slammed him down again. He continued to land punches until Minowa rolled over. Ambriz tried for an arm-triangle choke, but Minowa escaped.

Minowa gave up his back and Ambriz continued to punch the sides of his head. Minowa tried to get back to his feet, but Ambriz muscled him to the ground and peppered him with small punches. Again, Ambriz slammed Minowa to the ground as the perennial underdog stood. Hammerfists and punches followed for Ambriz. The fight was stood up and the referee gave Minowa a Yellow Card for inactivity.

Ambriz clinched against the ropes, but Minowa circled free. Minowa rocked Ambriz with a left hook and followed with a barrage of punches, but Ambriz held strong and fired back punches of his own. The crowd voiced their approval. Another left hook found the mark for Minowa and the fighters traded punches. Minowa took advantage of a fatigued Ambriz by picking his shots with leg kicks. Surprisingly good round.

Round 2:
Minowa opened the second round with a lead left hook and he pawed forward with more quick punches. Ambriz clinched and landed a knee. A pair of overhand rights tagged Ambriz, but he answered with a knee and scored a takedown. The fight was moved to the middle of the ring and Ambriz worked from half-guard. Ambriz moved straight to mount, but Minowa swept and landed punches from Ambriz’s half-guard. He latched onto Ambriz’s leg and transitioned from a kneebar to a toe hold and Ambriz tapped out.

Winner: Ikuhisa Minowa by Submission (Toe Hold) at 2:42 of round two. He improves to 45-30-8.

 

Despite the unfortunate low blow in the featured heavyweight tilt between Josh Barnett and Siala Siliga, Dream.13 was otherwise an excellent event and featured a pair of highlight-reel knockouts. Bibiano “The Flash” Fernandes narrowly retained his DREAM Featherweight Championship in the main event.