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by Shawn Ennis, MMATorch Senior Columnist Well, here we are. It's way too early in the morning to be doing anything outside of sleeping, but if I'm going to be awake, at least there's fights to watch. So sit back, relax, and let's see what happens as the latest offering from DREAM unfolds. (I should point out that I won't be doing much commentary about the in-between-fights happenings. I didn't get up at 3:30 because these events are notoriously slow-paced outside of the fights, so I wanted to build up some slack on the ol' DVR. That having been said, let's do this.
FIRST FIGHT: SEICHI IKEMOTO vs. TAREC SAFFIEDINE (Welterweight GP Reserve Fight)
ROUND ONE
Ikemoto comes out and misses a double axehandle to start, and Saffiedine clinches against the ropes, landing some knees to the legs and midsection. They're separated rather quickly and move back to the middle of the ring. Nice leg kick by Tarec, and another. Tarec looks to be loadking up for a big shot, and Ikemoto comes after him, initiating a clinch. Tarec lands some knees to the leg, and looks for a clinch takedown, but Ikemoto resists. They exchange some big knees to the body, and they're separated again. High kick misses for Ikemoto, and Tarec lands another leg kick. They exchange a flurry of punches, and Tarec punctuates with another leg kick. Ikemoto shoots and is thwarted, with Tarec initiating another clinch. They land more knees to the legs. Tarec lands a body shot as they separate, and Ikemoto looks for a double lunging punch, which is goofy-looking. He then misses a spinning backfist. Leg kick by Ikemoto, and Tarec lands a soft head kick before slipping and going down. He looks to pull guard from the ground, but Ikemoto lands some downward shots first. Tarec pulls him down and tries to get his guard higher, perhaps looking for a triangle. Ikemoto stands back up, landing some more downward shots. He gets back into the guard and starts to pass. Ikemoto in the half guard. Tarec tries to sweep, but he's outmuscled by Ikemoto. He's persistent, and they work their way back to the feet in the clinch. Tarec looks for a takedown but Ikemoto resists, and they're separated. Leg kick by Ikemoto, and Tarec lands a right hand. Ikemoto looks for another double lunging punch, and misses a high kick. Tarec lands a big left hand and a knee, then grabs the clinch again. He seems to be tired, and they're separated. Uppercut lands for Tarec, and another combination followed by a leg kick. Flying knee misses for him. Tarec lands a leg kick and another nice left-right combo as the round ends. They don't score these fights by rounds, but I'd give Saffiedine the edge thus far.
ROUND TWO
Front kick by Tarec, and Ikemoto lands a couple of leg kicks. Right hand misses for Tarec, but he lands a nice leg kick. Leg kick-front kick combo by Ikemoto, and another couple of leg kicks. Tarec lands a nice one-two combo, and another leg kick and a high kick. Nice right hand by Tarec as well. Tarec lands another big left hand, and a right hook. Leg kick by Treac, and another. Ikemoto lands a nice shot, and Tarec lands two straight overhand rights. Knee to the body by Ikemoto may have landed a bit low, but the fight continues. Ikemoto shoots, but Tarec reverses and gets on top in the half guard. He looks to pass and does so into side control. Tarec seems content to mostly hold Ikemoto down, but then he lands a couple of punches followed by a knee to the head. He moves into mount, and Ikemoto knocks him off with his legs, trying to secure a leglock, then he moves into Tarec's guard. He tries to posture up but he's held close. The round ends in that position. I've got Saffiedine winning this one.
RESULT: Saffiedine by unanimous decision.
STAR RATING: (**) Not a whole lot to it outside of some stick-and-move for the most part.
RAMIFICATIONS: Saffiedine takes the reserve spot in the tournament and will fight in the finals should someone get injured today.
SECOND FIGHT: HAYATO "MACH" SAKURAI vs. MARIUS ZAROMZKIS (Welterweight GP Semi-Final)
ROUND ONE
Jumping kick misses for Zaromskis immediately, and Sakurai lands some big combinations. Zaromskis lands a right hand and a leg kick, and Sakurai lands a big leg kick of his own. Zaromskis lands a big left hand and misses a leg kick, than lands a big right hand. He lands another left and misses a flying knee. He's got Sakurai hurt, and Sakurai clinches. They're separated, and Zaromskis lands a kick. Left hand lands for Sakurai, and a big right hand. Clinch by Sakurai, and Zaromskis lands a knee to separate. Nice straight right by Sakurai backs Zaromskis up, and Sakurai scores a takedown. The ref moves them to the center and restarts the action with Sakurai in the half guard. Zaromskis works his way to the feet rather easily and goes back to work. He misses a flying knee, and Sakurai lands a right hand. They throw some big combinations looking for the big shot, and Sakurai lands a nice right hand. More big shots by both men with Sakurai getting the better of the exchange. Sakurai is cut around the eye, and the ref stops the fight to look at the cut. The fight restarts, and they circle. Leg kick misses for Sakurai, and he hits a left hook. Zaromskis lands a head kick that puts Sakurai down, and he pounces, landing punches on the ground until the ref steps in. Nice upset victory for Zaromskis.
RESULT: Zaromskis by TKO in round one.
STAR RATING: (***+) Non-stop action throughout the fight leading to a decisive finish.
RAMIFICATIONS: Zaromskis scores the upset and moves to the final, where he'll be relatively fresh going in. Sakurai is denied yet another title.
THIRD FIGHT: ANDRE GALVAO vs. JASON HIGH (Welterweight GP Semi-Final)
ROUND ONE
Nice body kick to start for High, and Galvao lands a high kick. High shoots, perhaps unwisely against the superior ground fighter, and Galvao almost reverses. High tries to work from the half guard, but Galvao has got him locked up with a firm hold in the leg. High looks a bit lost as he tries to move out of this position. He rolls and looks to land some hammerfists, eventually standing back up but coming close to giving up his back. Galvao has a hold of him from behind but does not advance the position, and the ref separates them on the feet. Body kick by Galvao, and High lands a big left hand that floors Galvao. High follows him down, and Galvao turtles up and looks for a toehold. Galvao continues to work it, and he turns into a kneebar. High attempts to push him off, and the hold is not quite tight enough to end the fight. High pulls Galvao's legs apart and pulls his leg out. Nice escape by High. He doesn't get a rest though, as Galvao moves into his half guard and immediately looks to pass. High tries to sweep, but he gives up his back and Galvao gets the body triangle, working for a rear naked choke. Galvao lands some shots from behind, and High tries unsuccessfully to escape. Galvao snakes the arm in for the choke, but High defends and pulls the arm off. He's still got three minutes to survive, and Galvao moves into mount. High rolls and give up his back again, looking for wrist control. Body triangle again by Galvao, and he moves back into mount. Galvao has half an arm triangle, but he looks to land punches to the body instead of cinching it. High rolls and eats some punches, then gives up his back again. Galvao looks for another rear naked choke but doesn't get the arm under the chin. High rolls again and Galvao has mount. Galvao lands one nice shot as High rolls again. Galvao almost grabs an armbar as the round ends, and Galvao certainly has the advantage thus far.
ROUND TWO
Nice knee by High hurts Galvao, and he moves into Galvao's guard for some reason. He comes to his senses and stands back up, and Galvao is compelled to do likewise. Nice combination lands for High, and both men are tired. Leg kick by High. Body kick by High, and he lands a big combination punctuated by an uppercut. Galvao has no answer for High on the feet. Left hand by High, and Galvao shoots but is thwarted. Galvao lands a right hand, and he blocks a high kick. Left hand by Galvao, and he slips on a high kick attempt. High backs up and Galvao stands. Overhand right is blocked by Galvao. Left hand by High, but he doesn't capitalize. Leg kick for High, and a nice body kick. High has got to do something with not much time left. Another big kick to the body, and the fight ends. Tough fight to score, as High definitely landed more and better shots, but Galvao came closer to finishing. With the nebulous scoring system, it's tough to predict as well. I'd probably give it to Galvao, but I wouldn't fight a High nod.
RESULT: High by split decision.
STAR RATING: (***) Pretty entertaining fight all the way through, and High gave a clinic in submission defense against a very impressive grappler.
RAMIFICATIONS: High moves to the final in another upset, while Galvao goes back to the drawing board after his fourth pro fight.
FOURTH FIGHT: ANDRE DIDA vs. KATSUNORI KIKUNO (Lightweight)
ROUND ONE
Overhand right misses for Dida, and Kikuno lands a right of his own. Leg kick by Kikuno and Dida lands a big right hand that puts Kikuno down. He stands back up and is in a goofy praying mantis kind of stance, kind of reminiscent of a Muay Thai stance. He's also got a weird kind of crazy smile on. Dida circles him, not sure what to do to advance the fight. Uppercut misses for Dida, and Kikuno lands a body kick. The action stalls again, and the ref sends them to their corners and warns them to pick up the pace. They come back out, and Kikuno lands a nice combination followed by a body kick. Kikuno nails a takedown and goes right to mount. Dida rolls and Kikuno pounds him out from the back mount. Boy, once he decided to do something, Kikuno looked pretty good.
RESULT: Kikuno by TKO in round one.
STAR RATING: (**+) You can skip everything up to when the referee separates them, and you wouldn't miss anything. Nice finish by the DEEP lightweight champion, though.
RAMIFICATIONS: Hard to say what anything actually means around these parts. This makes DEEP champs 1-1 on the night, with welterweight champion Ikemoto taking the loss in the first fight.
FIFTH FIGHT: "MARVELOUS" MELVIN MANHOEF vs. PAULO FILHO (Middleweight)
Filho actually looks pretty good coming into the fight here – better than he's looked in a while.
ROUND ONE
Manhoef makes no bones about his style, and he stalks Filho to start. Filho shoots, but Manhoef resists. He starts winging crazy punches, not landing much. Filho misses another takedown, and Manhoef lands an uppercut and some nasty shots to the dome. Filho escapes and tries to take it down again, but Manhoef backs up and alnds some more big punches. Filho goes down and Manhoef follows, but he's unable to finish, so he stands back up. High kick by Manhoef. Uppercut lands for Manhoef, and Filho clinches, then takes it to the ground and lands in the mount. He rolls for the armbar and Manhoef almost defends but he ends up succumbing to the submission. Very impressive comeback by Filho.
RESULT: Filho by submission in round one.
STAR RATING: (***+) Non-stop action from start to finish, with a really nice comeback by Filho. I'd almost say comeback of the year if it weren't so relatively easy to submit the Dutchman.
RAMIFICATIONS: It's not out of the realm of possibility that Filho will get a title shot at the winner of Miller-Souza III. In fact, I'd almost be surprised if he didn't. As for Manhoef, he'll always have an opportunity to fight somewhere with his exciting style, but he could be great if he just spent some time with submission defense. It's been the same story for a long time with Manhoef.
SIXTH FIGHT: DONG SIK YOON vs. JESSE "JT MONEY" TAYLOR (Middleweight)
ROUND ONE
Taylor shoots immediately but Yoon defends. Taylor is persistent and he takes it down, getting into side control. Taylor takes his back and looks for a rear naked choke. Yoon grabs the ropes to try and turn out of this position, but no admonishing from the ref. Yoon calls for timeout and he's saying he's done. Looks like some sort of injury to the leg or ankle.
RESULT: Taylor by TKO (Injury) in round one.
STAR RATING: (*) Not the fault of either man, but it was just short and not much happened due to the quick injury.
RAMIFICATIONS: Taylor looked pretty good for what it was worth (not much), and it should be enough to get him a return trip to DREAM. Yoon always has a home in the Japanese promotions, so he won't have trouble getting another fight.
SEVENTH FIGHT: SHINYA AOKI vs. VITOR "SHAOLIN" RIBEIRO (Lightweight)
ROUND ONE
Aoki lands a couple of body kicks off the bat. He's wearing some great red and white striped tights today. Right hand lands for Ribeiro. Low kick by Aoki, and another right by Ribeiro. Aoki still working the kicks to the legs and body. Ribeiro can't seem to find his range on the punches yet against the taller Aoki. He looks to close the distance, but Aoki keeps him at bay with more kicks. Ribeiro moves in and Aoki grabs a Thai clinch briefly before the separate gain. Aoki lands some nice body kicks, and he's getting some more velocity on those. They clinch in the corner, and Aoki separates with a nice left hand. Straight right hand misses for Ribeiro. More body kicks by Aoki. Ribeiro catches a kick finally and lands a punch on Aoki, but it's not enough to put him down. There's not much going on here outside of Aoki's kicks. Left hand by Ribeiro countered with a kick by Aoki. The ref stops the action briefly and admonishes them to get it going. Body kick by Aoki, and another. Ribeiro catches this and looks for the takedown. Aoki stops it and goes back to the kicks. Ribeiro shoots for another takedown and is stopped again. Aoki lands a punch as Ribeiro backs off. Aoki ducks an overhand right and lands another body kick. Ribeiro misses another overhand right, and Aoki lands a knee from the Thai clinch. They separate and look at each other as the round ends. Aoki has the edge in the first round, but it won't take much to steal the fight if Ribeiro can get some offense in.
ROUND TWO
Ribeiro looks for a jab and a right hand to start out. He's going to need to show some urgency here. Aoki misses a jumping knee and takes Ribeiro's back while standing. Ribeiro escapes and looks for a takedown, but Aoki resists. He complains of a headbutt to the chin and the action resumes. Body kick by Aoki. Thai clinch by Aoki and he lands a couple of knees. They separate and Aoki lands another kick. Ribeiro shoots and takes Aoki down, taking a knee to the head in the process. Aoki pulls Ribeiro close, looking like he's trying to stall. The ref moves them to the middle of the ring. Aoki working the rubber guard briefly before pulling the guard closed. Ribeiro lands some shots from inside the guard. Aoki working the rubber guard, perhaps looking for a gogoplata, but Ribeiro gets out of that and lands a few more shots. The action continues like that until the fight ends shortly thereafter. This will be interesting, because there was not much going on for the entire fight, but Ribeiro clearly worked more to end the fight than Aoki, who was content to try and pick Ribeiro apart with kicks that were not very damaging.
RESULT: Aoki by unanimous decision.
STAR RATING: (*+) I was not enthralled by this fight. Aoki just kept Ribeiro at a distance the whole time, peppering him with kicks. Usually if someone takes a bunch of kicks for 15 minutes, they've got red marks on the midsection or legs, but Ribeiro looked fine. This was not a great fight.
RAMIFICATIONS: Aoki will probably get another shot at Lightweight Champ Joachim Hansen, but the crowd was also not enthralled with his performance, as he is booed a bit during his post-fight speech. That's pretty much the only thing that comes of this fight. It's tough to take much away from Ribeiro here, as he tried to engage but couldn't get the takedown for a lot of the fight, and he was largely just neutralized.
EIGHTH FIGHT: JASON HIGH vs. MARIUS ZAROMSKIS (Welterweight)
Zaromskis comes out with a jumping knee, and High avoids and grabs the clinch. He works for the takedown and gets it. High working from the full guard. Zaromskis pushes him off, and they stand. High grabs a guillotine and pulls guard, but the grip slips and he loses it. Zaromskis works from the full guard for a second, but they get back to the feet. Low kick by Zaromskis, and High counters with a punch. He catches a high kick, and they separate. Zaromskis comes in and lands a head kick followed by a right hand that knocks High out cold, and the fight is over.
RESULT: Zaromskis by KO in round one.
STAR RATING: (***+) That is what we call a decisive finish. High was out immediately after the kick. It caught him perfectly on the chin/neck. He's still on the ground.
RAMIFICATIONS: Zaromskis becomes the first Lithuanian fighter to win a title in Japan, as he becomes the first DREAM Welterweight Champion.
This was a solid event, with Zaromskis getting a bit of a coming out party. He looked fantastic in both of his fights, leaving no doubt in either case. I imagine his next opponent will be wary of the high kick, though. If you can seek out the two Zaromskis fights, go for it. High-Galvao and Manhoef-Filho were good as well. Outside of those, though, it was just okay.
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