DREAM 2 Middleweight Grand Prix 4/29 - Fight Forum - MMA - UFC - Boxing - K1

Rumbin · 03-12-2008, 06:17 PM

Sherdog says that Melvin Manhoef will not participate in the Middleweight Grand Prix since he is headlining a K-1 card against Peter Aerts 2 days before the event. Karl Amoussou, Arman Gambaryan, and Zelg Galesic are virtually confirmed to be in the tournament and Mamed Khalidov and Gegard Mousasi are pretty likely to join the field.

so I guess the field looks something like this:
Yoshihiro Akiyama
Kazuo Misaki
Denis Kang
Kazushi Sakuraba
Dong-Sik Yoon
Gegard Mousasi
Ikuhisa Minowa
Taiei Kin
Zelg Galesic
Shungo Oyama
Mamed Khalidov
Karl Amoussou
Katsuyori Shibata
Arman Gambaryan

I am legit PISSED that Melvin wont be in this. Like LEGIT angry.

Also Mark Hunt has said that he will be fighting in May for DREAM*s.

UPDATED CARD

TOURNAMENT BOUTS
Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Andrews Nakahara
Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Masakatsu Funaki
Denis Kang vs. Gegard Mousasi
Minowaman vs. Taiei Kin
Zelg Galesic vs. Magomed Sultanakhmadov
Dong-Sik Yoon vs. Shungo Oyama

NON-TOURNAMENT BOUTS
Lightweight Grand Prix 1st Round: Gesias Cavalcante vs. Shinya Aoki
Nick Diaz vs. TBA (probably Marcelo Garcia)

This Diaz stuff is really interesting and the rumors have been running rampant all week. Card is looking dope, even thou the GP leaves alot to be desired.

BCguy · 03-12-2008, 09:03 PM

I hope Saku doesn't die.

AikaImmortal · 03-12-2008, 10:49 PM

Mark Hunt was previously agreed to fight Semmy Schlit in a K-1 rules show so I am not too sure. I see Manhoef being big enough of a draw to get a first round bye, as much as I may not like the idea.

Mouth For War · 03-12-2008, 10:51 PM

dammit how can us Canadians watch these events haha

Hemdoz · 03-12-2008, 11:14 PM

Man going with Denis all the way.

Mulla · 03-13-2008, 08:21 AM

My early pick is Akiyama, one of the most underrated fighters imo.

Rumbin · 03-13-2008, 09:25 AM

Mulla is spot on. Akiyama is SOOOOOO morbidly underrated. Anyone remember the tournament HERO*s had in with Manhoef vs Akiyama in the finals? I should go back and rewatch that because Manhoef was such a HUGE favorite and Akiyama locked in this gorgeous armbar to finish him in under 2 minutes.

I am alot more excited for the LWGP but this should deliver. Especially with MARK HUNT on the card

Gygax · 03-22-2008, 08:57 AM

The publicity ploys in Dream will continue it seems.

Kazushi Sakuraba appears to want no part of the Middleweight tournament. While we all know this is probably for the best as some of these guys would be legit threat to the long term health of Sak, this would be a large blow to the tourney as far as ratings draws in Japan go. The ratings for the lightweight tourney were reportedly dismal so they need to pick it up for this one. And having their legend Sak in the tournament would be a huge help. The fact that Kaz Misaki signed with Strikeforce and will likely no be participating in the tourney does not help either.

According to Jordan Breen...

Quote:

Sakuraba Set for April, Uncertain for GP

Despite some reports that have listed MMA icon Kazushi Sakuraba as an official participant in Dream's forthcoming 185-pound grand prix, it is necessary to note that while "The Gracie Hunter" will fight on the April 29 card, he is not yet official for the tournament.

Sakuraba appeared in the ring at the inaugural March 15 Dream card alongside Yoshihiro Akiyama, Shungo Oyama, Taiei Kin, Ikuhisa Minowa, Dong Sik Yoon and Masakatsu Funaki, who all announced their participation in the Dream middleweight tournament. However, Sakuraba did not commit to the field.

Sakuraba told the crowd in attendance that although he would fight on the April 29 card, he had suffered a scab that wouldn't stop bleeding and thus he could not participate in the tournament. Although his statement was largely interpreted as a joke in true Sakuraba fashion, Dream event producer Keiichi Sasahara later confirmed that "The IQ Wrestler" was not yet part of the tournament.

"Sakuraba is the flagship fighter of our middleweight tournament, so we will continue talking to him," Sasahara said after the first Dream event. "Sakuraba has shown disinterest in competing in the tournament, but we will continue negotiating with him to try and encourage him to compete."

T-Bone · 03-22-2008, 01:42 PM

Where's JZ? I guess elbows to the back are not allowed in Dream ??

Rumbin · 03-22-2008, 02:00 PM

I have next to zero interest in this tourny if SAKU and Manhoef arent involved. Most of these guys are C level talent at best, hopefully Akiyama will cruise and fight Kang (if he is involved, which seems doubtful) in the finals.

The-Iceman-Chuck-Liddell · 03-22-2008, 11:19 PM

Is Tatsuya fighting on this one?

GeorgeXVX · 03-23-2008, 02:12 PM

Kang posted on a message board last week he will compete and win the dream mw tourny

Grrr · 03-23-2008, 09:17 PM

Yoon Dong-sik beat Manhoef last year pretty handily even after taking some hard shots to the face. The Dong-bar could be the tourney upset. I think Manhoef is over-rated with no ground game.
The match-ups I'm interested in are Akiyama-Kang rematch and Akiyama-Yoon, two very different types of middle-weights. And finally, Minowaman will actually be fighting in his own weight-class instead of taking on 400 pounders.

takeAnap · 03-24-2008, 09:43 PM

I think Denis Kang will take this one.

Kurtis636 · 03-26-2008, 02:48 PM

Hopefully this will result in a Kang vs. Akiyama rematch. Those two guys need to be fighting in the UFC, in my opinion.

Gygax · 03-27-2008, 09:49 AM

Sakuraba is in the Middleweight Tournament. He was one of three first round fights announced today. But instead of matching him with long time rival and rumored opponent Kiyoshi Tamura, they are giving him a Brazilian Kyokushin Karate master making his MMA debut, Andrew Nakahara. here's the story from one of the premiere Japanese MMA blogs, Nightmare of Battle.

Quote:

Three fights for the upcoming first round of the DREAM Middleweight GP have been announced. In one fight Kazushi Sakuraba will face Brazilian born Kyokushin Karate fighter Andrews Nakahara. In the second two legends will collide as Kiyoshi Tamura takes on Masakatsu Funaki. In the last announced fight Pride veterans Denis Kang and Gegard Mousasi will meet.

Andrews Nakahara is a very good Kyokushin Karate fighter and is only 24 years old, but I don’t think he has ever fought in an MMA fight before. He is 183 cm tall and weighs 80 kg. Here is his Kyokushin Karate tournament history from Kyokushin4Life:

* All American Open Karate Championships 2007 (IKO-1) - 2nd Place
* All American Open Karate Championships 2006 (IKO-1) - 1st Place
* All American Open Karate Championships 2005 (IKO-1) - 2nd Place
* All American Open Karate Championships 2004 (IKO-1) - 7th Place
* 3rd World Weight Category Championships 2005 (IKO-1) - 1st Place
* 6th South American Karate Tournament 2004 (IKO-1) - 1st Place (MW)
* Brazilian Open 2004 (IKO-1) - 2nd Place
* South American Open 2005 (IKO-1) - 1st Place

OLYMPIA DREAM.2 Middleweight GP 2008 1st Round
Date: April 29th, 2008
Place: Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan

Middleweight GP 1st Round:
Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Andrews Nakahara
Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Masakatsu Funaki
Denis Kang vs. Gegard Mousasi

Middleweight GP Participants:
Yoon Dong Sik
Yoshihiro Akiyama
Shungo Oyama
Kin Taiei
Minowaman

Possible GP Participants:
Dae Won Kim
Mamed Khalidov
Daniel Acacio
Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza

Possible Participants:
Marcelo Garcia

Rumbin · 04-18-2008, 11:18 AM

Post 1 updated with more tourny bouts!

Drewplata · 04-18-2008, 11:53 AM

I hope Kang gets a second shot at Akiyama! If he does, and wins, it should silence some of his critics.

Sorry for the repeat of a prior post! I guess you can say I agree!

Also- WAR Minowaman LOL. (Please note my first, only and final use of WAR)

Rumbin · 04-18-2008, 02:15 PM

Trigg had this to say on the UG:
"Sorry guys. I'm not fighting for dreams. We were talking to them a while back but they moved to slow to get the deal done. Jacare and I both tran at xtreme couture in. Las vegas and if we ever fought it would be in the finals. Sorry you guys were misinformed."

Gygax · 04-18-2008, 02:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rumbin

Trigg had this to say on the UG:
"Sorry guys. I'm not fighting for dreams. We were talking to them a while back but they moved to slow to get the deal done. Jacare and I both tran at xtreme couture in. Las vegas and if we ever fought it would be in the finals. Sorry you guys were misinformed."

He also confirmed on TAGG radio that he and Jacare were never interested in fighting each other unless they both made the finals due to their training together. His fight if it had been confirmed would have been against someone other than Jacare.