Archive for the 'Liveblog' Category

I am feeling awfully rough and for God knows what reason I got up to watch Sengoku at 8am. Live results shall go here.

1. Satoru Kitaoka vs. Ian Schaffa

Kitaoka won by armbar within a minute or two. Nothing else to say. Schaffa looked rubbish.

2. Mike Pyle vs. Dan Hornbuckle

God, the battle has already started before they enter the ring. They are duking it out to see who can have the worst fucking entrance music possible.

Pyle won via triangle in the first round.

Our very own BILL THOMPSON rates Hornbuckle as a prospect but he got outworked in every aspect of the game here pretty much. DH looks to have a good takedown but Pyle’s boxing looked pretty slick and his jiu-jitsu was far superior. Nice finish to the fight. I’ve just checked and Hornbuckle was 15-1 coming into that fight which surprises me.

3. Eiji Mitsuoka vs. Kwang Hee Lee

TURN THE MUSIC OFF. If HDNet was carrying this show they’d have to dub their own tunes not out of copyright fear but just to try and retain some credibility. I like Mitsuoka though so I shall persevere.

Also, whilst we’re not talking Scott Ferrall levels of ring announcer, the microphone guy is pretty terrible. No idea why Japanese companies would be so keen to appoint a random yank.

Another first round finish. Mitsuoka won by rear naked choke. I believe there was some hype surrounding Lee coming into this fight but he didn’t show anything of note. Eiji took him down after coming off slightly poorer when standing and controlled it from there. Lee struggled to keep him from passing to side but once he did he soon took the back and IT WAS ALL OVER to quote Goldberg.

4. Yuki Sasaki vs. Jorge Santiago

Not long until RandleMAN now…

Good first round. Sasaki looked a little scared of the much bigger Jorge when standing. he eventually decided to just run at him and hold him hopefully which led to a takedown. He got the back, secured the body triangle and his arm underneath Jorge’s chin. I’ve no idea how he didn’t finish the fight. They stood up again and Jorge looked better but still rather sloppy.

Whilst I didn’t expect him to be steamrolled, I picked Jorge to win this fight but he’s losing two rounds to nil at the moment. Sasaki is controlling it with his submission game and again I’ve no idea how he hasn’t finished the fight yet. He had a nice arm triangle and was about to sink in an armbar just at the bell went for the end of the round.

I take it all back. Well, almost. Santiago finished with a sweet armbar in the start of the third. Sasaki had his chances and only has himself to blame really. Sunglasses for everyone!

5. Yoshihiro Nakao vs. Big Jim York

I just want your extra time and your…

KISS!

I shall forever associate Tom Jones with people kissing Heath Herring from now on.

I think Nakao is one of those things that only people in Japan understand. He is absolutely HORRID though and I don’t want to see him fight ever again. He’s shaking his arse and generally running away from combat in this. I fear another two rounds of the same. I don’t care who wins or loses, please just finigh the fight someone.

Hey, they listened to me. Nakao came out, went for the takedown and used the punch to the face technique to knock down York as he was blocking it. Obligatory hammerfists follow and the ref stops it. RANDLEMAN IS NEXT! He will not let me down like last fight.

Intermission. Crowd is announced as 9,268.

6. Kevin Randleman vs. Ryo Kawamura

This is the sort of fight that I should hate because it’s a dominating LHW taking on an under-experieced native middlweight but I’ll let them off if it means a nice win for Rand.

Odd first round. KR won it but he never really looked finishing or anyting close despite having some prety dominating positions in the corner. Just a display in not losing really from Kawamura who isn’t offering any offence.

Rounds two and three are pretty similar in the sense that Kawamura lost his fear and started to believe he could actually win the fight. There were times when he was actually stalking Randleman which was a slightly bizarre sight given the size difference. He had much better stand up generally and some nice high kicks although nothing too damaging. This was mixed in with various takedowns from the Randle which will probably win him the fight.

Yep, unanimous decision. Kawamura looked much better in losing here than he did in winning at the first Sengoku. KR was not at his best but he is still a better man than you or I.

Interesting post-fight speech where he says he thinks he should have lost the fight and that Kawamura deserves a rematch. He starts chanting “ONE MORE TIME”. The crowd seemed so reluctant to join in with the chanting but eventually they were too polite and gave in.

7. Roger Gracie vs. Yuki Kondo

To the surprise of nobody, Roger submitted Yuki in the first round. His grappling game is scary despite the fact that he pretty much doesn’t use ground and pound at all. Very impressive display although against a hugely undersized opponent.

Looks like they might run Roger-Yoshida at some point judging by the post mtch festivities. Bunch of flowers means IT’S ON MOTHERFUCKER.

8. Josh Barnett vs. Jeff Monson

Pretty dull fight to be fair with both men looking reluctant to exchange. Possibly because they made a point of saying how good friends they are. You could say they shouldn’t have agreed to fight if it was going to be an issue but there you go.

Barnett has won the first with low kicks and takedown defence. Monson hasn’t really done anything though.

I was just in the middle of saying how unless the referee breaks it up that Monson will stay on top forever as he is so hard to shift, when Barnett casually jumped back to his feet. More active round but I would sat Barnett edged it and is currently 2-0 up in that sense.

Third round is more of the same. Josh is winning the stand up and negating what little offence is being offered by Monson. This is more like sparring than an actual fight and the fans doen’t seem impressed although obviously they’re not booing the shit out of it. Monson is a hard guy to finish and Barnett showed improved kicks and knees but there’s no need to go out of your way to see this. Which is a good way to summise the whole card actually.

Barnett win the unanimous decision.

The show has just got underway which means the first fight should be starting in about half an hour knowing Japan and their elaborate opening ceremonies.

This page will be constantly updated.

There is an official Total MMA DREAM chat on AIM if anyone wishes to join. The room is called ‘ countingsheep’.

Enjoy!

Takeshi Yamazaki vs. Shoji Maruyama

Good first round that really picked up towards the end. Yamazaki looked like he had finished it with an armbar, and Shoji even looked like he had rolled further into it but somehow escaped. Bas commented that he won’t be drinking with his left hand tonight. Definitely Yamazaki’s round as he largely controlled top poisition although Shoji was active and landed a particularly good knee to the body when standing.

Enjotyable second round but a little frustrating if you’re a Shoji fan. It looked like he winded Yamazaki with the knee in the first and it seemed as though he may be able to take advantage as the fight went on. However he was just too reckless and missed his opportunities to capitalise and ended up on bottom too often. Good action from both guys though. This show is one for one so far.

Yamazaki gets the unanimous decision and the dubious honour of being the lamb to be slaughtered by KID.

Middleweight GP: Jason Miller vs. Katsuyori Shibata

This type of fight is a perfect argument for an international sanctioning body to prevent such horrible mismatches. Miller knew immedaitely that he was in a different league to Shibata and proceeded to emabarass him and advertise his own unique brand of ‘Mayhem’ for around seven minutes or however long it lasted. Shibata should not be fighting and was basically paid to take a beating here.

Miller landed several dangerous knees to the face of Shibata and I wouldn’t be surprised if he had a broken cheekbone or somesuch. Yuji Shamada is an embarassment to refereeing. Miller starts rambling in Japanese afterwards and the Japanese crowd don’t seem very impressed. Also - Bas is being typically excellent on commentary.

I’d be surprised if Mayhem-Sakuraba isn’t made before the end of the year.

Middleweight GP: Melvin Manhoef vs. Kim Dae Won

Talking of fights that look like an argument for international regulation. This could also be nasty but I have a soft spot for Melvin so will tolerate it.

Can I just re-iterate my love for Manhoef. He comes out to the battle cry from the film 300 which is cool, if a little cliche. Then you have the motivational speech where the Golden Glory coach screams at him which is always a touching moment. Finally he walks to the ring on a LEASH just ot prove he is a bad apple and would gladly kill you despite the engaging smile on his face.

Wow, this was actually surprisingly competitive. Dae Won stunned him standing and took the fight to the ground early on. I thought we were on for a huge upset as Manhoef was audibly breathing very heavily and just holding for dear life. Somehow he got to top position though and landed a brutal knee to the back of Dae Won’s head that effectively knocked him out in an instant. He landed the obligatory hammerfists and as Dae Won is Korean and not Japanese the refereee doesn’t stand there and watch him die for ten minutes and mercifully ends it straight away.

Melvin excuses his performance by explaining that he only fought Bonjasky TWO WEEKS ago, which is a pretty incredible experience to recover from in such a short period. Apparently Tamura is likely out of the tournament due to finger injuries / money issues so expect to see Manhoef back soon.

Daisuke Nakamura vs. Jung Bu-Kyung

I can totally see Jung turning into an internet fan cult hero. Going into this fight he’s easily the best guy in MMA who doesn’t have a win to his name and he’s just so eager to throw on submission attempts that it’s impossible not to like him.

Entertaining first round that Nakamura gradually asserted his control over as it progressed. Jung is too keen and goes for the back at every opportunity and it cost him position a few times. Nakamura throws a really good straight left hand and it is connecting quite often.

Talking of a left hand, he feints with it in the second and immediately follows with a straight right that KOs Jung. That followed a great armbar exchange with the Korean showing exemplary defence. Really good fight though and this is an incredibly enjoyable card so far apart from the murder of Shibata. Jung remains without a win but he’s a winner in all out hearts. Or something.

DREAM Welterweight contender’s match: Nick Diaz vs. Katsuya Inoue

The reason we’re all here… DIAZ! Bas is rocking out the Inoue’s entrance music (R.A.T.M.).

Diaz is the strongest! Forget Judo.

He dominated the entire fight and late in the round Inoue’s corner threwthe towel in despute him not being dropped. Classic display of boxing from Diaz with him throwing body shots let and right, although they were all thrown with him typical lack of power. Where has the force that KOed Robbie Lawler gone? He also got caught a few too many times himself (like in the Mike Aina fight) but he has too good a chin to be worried by Inoue’s shots and it appeared as though it was only his lack of respect for his opponent that meant he wasn’t defending.

I can’t wait for Diaz-Sakurai later in the year for the DREAM title. It will be good to see Nick get some gold round his waist.

INTERMISSION

Lightweight GP: Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Luiz Buscape

We’re back and that was a very dominant first round from Kawajiri. More exciting than his last fight but still not thrilling. A good exhibition of ground and pound skills though. My bet is looking good so far.

Sama again in the second. Easy victory for Kawajiri and I finally in a bet! Assuming the judges don’t rub us both. If they do I will forever boycott DREAM from now on.

Hooray! It was unanimous!

Lightweight GP: Joachim Hansen vs. Eddie Alvarez

Eddie Alvarez won a decision. Everyone go and watch this fight.

Marc: Another FOTYC from the Norwegian warrior

Lightweight GP: Kaoru Uno vs. Mitsuhiro Ishida

Uno nails Ishida with big right hook, then busts his nose open with an uppercut. Very solid takedown defense showed by Uno thus far. Ishida finally hits a takedown….doesn’t last long on the mat though.

R2 CRAZY EXCHANGE, UNO CHOKES OUT ISHIDA!!UNO CHOKES OUT ISHIDA!!!!

GOOD NIGHT!