1. Gesias "JZ" Cavalcante vs. Shinya Aoki in a Lightweight Grand Prix bout. Here it is, folks. THE BIG REMATCH. JZ and Aoki first fought on March 15th at DREAM.1, and due to either acting or severe pain, the fight was a no contest following some elbows to the back by JZ. In typical Japan fashion, no one had any idea what would happen to the seedings in the Lightweight Grand Prix for like a month even though DREAM said they'd decide in a week, but when the first matchups for the Middleweight Grand Prix were released, this rematch was announced as well. The winner of this will advance to the May 11th DREAM.3 show (the second round of the Grand Prix) and face Katsuhiko Nagata. I wonder how Nagata feels about that. They're basically saying "hey, we think you suck SO bad that either one of these guys would be able to beat your ass in 2 weeks following a fight with a top 5 lightweight." Actually, he probably doesn't care- the only chance he'll ever have at beating one of these guys is if they're fighting on 2 weeks notice. Plus, he's affiliated with New Japan, so, uh, FIGHTING SPIRIT and shit like that. This fight should be interesting, especially after Aoki experienced what JZ had to offer in the first fight, which for its admittedly short duration, was controlled completely by him. I think for Aoki to win, he'll have to be virtually the same kind of fighter who beat Akira Kikuchi when they fought for the first time- just wrap himself around JZ like a boa constrictor where he can't be active. JZ Is a very explosive athlete with vicious ground and pound, so for Aoki to negate that, he will have lock JZ up in his guard and through other methods. If he lets JZ explode around the ring and do what he wants, it'll be rough.

Aoki is wearing his AWESOME pants, of course, which also kind of reveal his popularity in Japan. I know from being there live for Yarennoka! that he's somewhat of a cult hero, but he might actually be crossing over into the mainstream a little bit. He has sponsor iron-ons all over them from New Balance, Under Armour, and a bunch of Japanese companies. DREAM will need him to develop into a star so they have to be pulling for him here. We have a staredown and it's apparent that Aoki is a pretty damn big dude for 154 pounds. He looks like he weighs about 48 pounds, but his arms and legs being so long sort of throw you off. He's somewhere around 6 feet tall, and he was the Middleweight (167 pounds) champion of Shooto. JZ is a total tank; compact and muscular like running back Maurice Jones-Drew of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Quite frankly, he's a BEAST.

Anyways, the bell rings and it's time to go. JZ goes for a takedown and Aoki wraps himself around him, sort of pulling guard while he's in the air. It's quite a sight to see a man standing up and another man holding on to him. Aoki elects to stand up out of it and clinches JZ into the ropes, who takes him down but is immediatley swept with Aoki on his back, but JZ sweeps him as well and is now in Aoki's guard. Aoki pulls rubber guard and is doing a very good job of locking JZ up so he can't explode, which is how he will win this fight if he does. JZ stands up out of the rubber guard and looks to ground and pound, but Aoki's upkicks and his long legs keep him somewhat at bay. Aoki grabs JZ's leg and falls back for a heel hook, but he doesn't get it. He tries again and is somewhat close, but JZ fights out with some nasty heel kicks to Aoki's head. JZ explodes out of the hold with some ground and pound to the head, and it's some MEAN stuff. Aoki covers his head to defend, but JZ is finding ways in. Aoki NEEDS to get up if he wants to survive and he DOES. WARRIOR SPIRIT. They clinch in the corner, and Aoki looks for a single but JZ is just too strong. Aoki decides to take his back, and then JUMPS UP ON HIM and gets back mount STANDING like he did against Kikuchi. Even though I've seen him do this before it's STILL funny. He looks for the hooks in a standing rear naked choke, but JZ fights him off. He looks helpless here, with Aoki just all over him with no way to get him off. Aoki starts to lay in some shots to the head and body that really just seem to piss JZ off, and he looks for the choke again. He's squeezing REALLY hard so he has to be careful not to gas here. JZ is STILL standing up with another man wrapped around him. And it's STILL funny to watch. Aoki again looks for the choke and JZ sinks to the mat, but still no hooks. This has to be a helpless feeling. Another man is mounted on your back and you have no way out, because no ref will break a fight in this position, and Aoki has really sort of ran the clock, to steal a football term. There's only 2 minutes remaining in this round, which Aoki has for sure won. The ref breaks them from the corner and resets them in the center, with Aoki still maintaining back mount. They show Katsuhiko Nagata sitting next to YUJI, who looks AMUSED. JZ FINALLY gets out and stands up out the guard, looking to ground and pound, but Aoki's long legs again come in to play, keeping him away. Aoki has JZ's hand, and is pulling him toward him to deliver these nice upkicks to the head. Aoki is a WEIRD fighter but that is why he is so AWESOME. JZ just can't get into Aoki's guard here. Round ends, for sure going to Aoki.

Second and final round starts and JZ has to do some serious damage or finish to win this. Aoki pulls guard about 30 seconds in, then goes to the rubber guard, locking JZ up. He gets out but almost gets his arm caught in an OMOPLATA. Back to the feet. Aoki does a flying guard pull and again goes to the rubber guard, perhaps looking for his famous GOGOPLATA. JZ tries to power out but again get his arm stuck, but he frees himself. Aoki is back in the crab and the ref stands them up. 2 minutes left. Aoki tries to pull guard again but misses and another standup. Ref looks like he's close to giving a yellow card. Aoki is back on the ground, scooting toward JZ and using his long legs to stay active. JZ dives back into the guard and Aoki again goes to the rubber guard. Aoki catches him with a DEEP omoplata as 1 minute is left, and if Aoki can turn he will win this. JZ flips over with an AWESOME escape but it's far too late as he tries some desperation ground and pound until the bell rings. Easily Aoki's fight here, and the judges agree. Aoki takes the unanimous decision and moves on to the second round of the Lightweight Grand Prix in 2 weeks. He celebrates like he just won a billion dollars and eventually starts to cry. He is the hero of dorks everywhere.

2. Minowaman vs. Taiei Kin in a Middleweight Grand Prix bout. I don't feel like watching this, because neither guy will do anything in this tournament. They were 2 guys, they had a fight. They did some stuff. Kin won the decision and advances to the second round of the Middleweight Grand Prix.

3. Dong-Sik Yoon vs. Shungo Oyama in a Middleweight Grand Prix bout. TOURNAMENT DARK HORSE ALERT FOR DONG-SIK YOON. Yoon has actually emerged from the ashes of being thrown to the wolves while in PRIDE (his debut was against Sakuraba, and his third and fourth fights were against #1 light heavyweight Quinton Jackson and one of the greatest middleweight fighters of all-time, Murilo Bustamate) and used those experiences to turn himself into a REALLY interesting prospect. After starting 0-4, he was basically regarded by most people as a can (even though not many cans go to decisions with Quinton Jackson), and he appeared to be being fed to a devastating striker in Melvin Manhoef that would blow his world up at Dynamite!! USA in Los Angeles back in June. Instead, to the shock of just about everyone, Yoon not only survived against Manhoef, but BEAT HIM. Yoon showed that he could take a shot like a CHAMP in that fight, as Manhoef destroyed him standing, swelling his eye shut. But Yoon has HEART like a Nogueira or something, because he came back and WON that fucking fight and became an instant HERO to anyone who saw it. Since then, he has become somewhat of a mascot to MMA fans, and even gotten his own stupid nickname "THE DONGER." Yoon has since gone on a run in K-1, submitting all four of his opponents with the same hold: THE DONGBAR (or, to normal people, the armbar). I think he is one to watch in this tournament not just because of his skills, but because of who he is. He's had an explosion in popularity, especially in Korea, and even in Japan where Koreans are about as well liked as the homeless are in America. He's the guy everybody loves to root for because they've all watched him transform into an actual MMA fighter, so FEG will likely protect him to the best of their ability in the matchmaking. For instance, here he drew Shungo Oyama, who I like to refer to as SUPERCAN. SUPERCAN may seem a little unfair, because he has beaten some good fighters (Renzo Gracie, Carlos Newton), but he will forever be the dude who got KOed by Sean O'Haire and the dude who Wanderlei Silva killed in 10 seconds. So he's a can who can actually win sometimes, making him SUPERCAN. I digress.

First of all, Yoon has the absolute best theme in the history of themes. The man actually walks to the ring to the sounds of "When Doves Cry" by PRINCE. AWESOME. Those hand claps strike fear in the heart of all. Anyway, they're going to fight. Bell rings and said fight begins. Some circling, and Yoon lands a low kick right to Oyama's knee brace. More circling and Yoon throws an overhand right, then scores a takedown shortly afterwards. IS IT TIME FOR THE DONGBAR? I hope so. Yoon throws a few nice shots in Oyama's guard, but isn't looking to actively pass. Oyama tries a triangle about three times and Yoon escapes easily, then just sort of holds him for awhile. Yoon passes to half guard, but goes back to full guard in order to throw shots or something. Not much going on here. Finally, Yoon looks for side control and gets it. Oyama gets back to half guard, and Yoon tries to pass back into side control, and actually lands the mount. Ref resets them in the center, and they show Akiyama who is BOOED again. I don't think it's a good idea to make it look like Yoon and Akiyama are BOYS. 5 minutes into the round and the Donger ain't doing too much in the mount. Oyama is trying to escape, but Yoon is doing a good job holding position. UH OH YOON TRIES TO TRANSITION TO THE DONGBAR BUT BLOCKED. Oyama lands in Yoon's guard and he better do SOMETHING because this is Yoon's round big time. Oyama stands up out of the guard and throws some "HEY!!!" kicks to the leg, but the ref stands Yoon back up. THEN THE VIDEO FREEZES. This video is fueling my silent rage. AND WE'RE BACK. About 2 minutes left now and they're on the feet. They circle and Yoon is landing some nice punches, then takes Oyama down. 40 seconds left. Looks like the Donger just wants to advance to the second round. First round tournament syndrome in this fight. Round ends, goes to Yoon easily.

Second round starts and Yoon hits a HUGE right that puts Oyama on his ass, but he instantly does a REVERSE KIP UP and lands back on the feet. Yoon throws some leg kicks and this fight is now officially boring me because Oyama can't do shit and Yoon just doesn't want to lose. Yoon looks for another takedown and gets it and it appears he is going to TRAVIS WIUFF this fight. Ref resets them and they unfortunately stop the clock to do so. They sort of roll around and Yoon takes his back, then gets mount. 2 minutes left. I am more tempted to skip forward than I have EVER been in my life. In fact, I will. Dong-Sik Yoon is your winner by unanimous decision and he advances to the second round of the Middleweight Grand Prix.

4. Zelg Galesic vs. Magomed Sultanakhmedov in a Middleweight Grand Prix bout. This one might be interesting. Sultanakhmedov (and his ridiculous last name) is considered to be quite a prospect, having decimated a lot of lower level guys and training with a pretty good camp in Russia (basically the old Russian Top Team, but renamed Club Volk Han, who is the head trainer). Galesic, as anyone who follows him should know by now, is most famous for training with Mirko Cro Cop in Croatia and his overall lack of ground game. Here we go. Magomed is billed as 35-1. Well. Galesic looks gigantic compared to Magomed, like his dad or something.

Bell rings and we're off. Galesic immediatley presses the action with a wild punching flurry, and Magomed quickly grabs a clinch like a good little sambo fighter. Magomed gets the takedown and Galesic sweeps him immediatley, with Magomed holding a guillotine that Galesic escapes. Magomed holds Galesic in his guard, locking his wrists, and then tries a sloppy armbar. Magomed sweeps him, and Galesic transitions into an armbar of his own and it's DEEP. Magomed stands up, looking to slam Galesic to break the arm lock, but it's extended too far already. Magomed taps and Galesic is your winner at 1:40 of the first round. Either Galesic has improved greatly on the ground, or Sultanakhmedov is really total garbage. Galesic moves on to the second round of the Middleweight Grand Prix.

5. Ronaldo Jacaré vs. Ian Murphy in a Middleweight Grand Prix bout. TOURNAMENT DARK HORSE ALERT. I'm talking, of course, about Jacaré. Jacaré is probably one of the 5 best grapplers alive and is making the transition to MMA. Unlike his compatriots, however, Jacaré has gone about this the right way. He has slowly made the change, fighting (and winning) mostly on Jungle Fight cards in his native Brazil, gaining valuable experience and confidence. He has shown himself to be an explosive athlete, as well as someone with ground and pound to be utterly terrified of. He also recentley began training with Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas, so his striking is constantly improving. His opponent was to be Frank Trigg, but since this is Japan and crazy stuff is to be expected, it was never going to happen and MMA rookie Ian Murphy (a wrestler) is now up for sacrifice.

Bell rings and we're off. Jacaré throws a jab and then charges for a flying knee, which misses, but he manages to TRANSITION IN MID-AIR to an armbar and begins to work for it. Jacaré pulls Murphy back into his guard and looks to get back up. Murphy manages a takedown, but Jacaré stands up and throws some BRUTAL knees to the head (sup Wanderlei Silva) and Murphy gets up like OH DAMN and Jacaré takes him to the mat. Jacaré looks for an armbar and it's getting CLOSE. Murphy manages to survive and Jacaré takes his back and starts to pound his brain. Murphy attempts to stand but Jacaré is ALL OVER HIM and brings him back down. Jacaré flattens out Murphy and starts to pound some more. Someone should just throw in the towel for Murphy, poor guy is getting smothered. Jacaré throws some more shots from back mount and starts to look for a choke. Murphy attempts to pop up, and Jacaré IMMEDIATLEY grabs a rear naked choke and puts him away. Jacaré straight BEASTED on this dude, and then he does his AWESOME gator walk ("Jacaré" means alligator in Portuguese) and gator chomp. Somewhere, Auburn kicker Wes Byrum is thrilled. Jacaré is your winner at 3:30 of the first round and moves on to the second round of the Middleweight Grand Prix.

6. Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Masakatsu Funaki in a Middleweight Grand Prix bout. A Tamura win here is CRUCIAL for DREAM, as they are planning the long-awaited Sakuraba vs. Tamura GRUDGE MATCH for the second round of this tournament. Tamura has ducked Sakuraba for years, because, well, he's a total asshole that used to kick the shit out of him in training back in their UWFi days, where Tamura was a megastar. I saw the build-up for this tournament on the Internet, and the way Tamura was portrayed was just total money. He's a DICK. They showed him against Takada in the UWFi and then beating the shit out of him in PRIDE, then against Tokoro at Dynamite!! where he totally punked him which caused AKIRA MAEDA of all people to be pissed off at his dickishness. Funaki, also a legend from his days in Pancrase and pro-wrestling work, recentley made his return to competition at Dynamite!! (against Sakuraba, SEE THE BOOKING HERE!?) after a 7 year layoff. He looked like shit and has utterly nothing left but a good physique and a Ric Flair tan. Oh, and a Nike sponsorship. Tamura should roll here, but he's such an ass I wouldn't put it past him to lose this intentionally in order to not fight Sakuraba. Tamura's entrace theme is still the same after all these years and it's STILL AWESOME. Funaki looks like he knows he's screwed, but hey, dude is probably getting paid a ton of cash for this and he deserves some money after all he's done for fighting in Japan. Tamura STARES DOWN Funaki like a total dick after bowing to the crowd, like "I don't give a FUCK that you're a legend I am going to kill you."

Bell rings and HERE WE GO (Mike Goldberg style). They circle and Tamura connects with a jab and his patented low kick. Funaki eats another leg kick, and then another. They clinch, and Funaki lands a kick when they break. They begin to exchange and Funaki actually lands a NICE right hand, but Tamura counters a with a SHITSTORM of rights and a knee, dropping Funaki to the mat. Tamura pounces and pounds the living SHIT out of him Shogun vs. Arona style and HE IS YOUR WINNER AT :57 OF THE 1ST ROUND. Tamura walks over to the CARCASS of Funaki and looks at him like "eh, that has to suck," continuing his TAMURA BEING TAMURA behavior. Then they show Akiyama in the crowd and they boo his ass. Tamura advances to the second round of the Middleweight Grand Prix.

7. Denis Kang vs. Gegard Mousasi in a Middleweight Grand Prix bout. TOURNAMENT DARK HORSE ALERT for Gegard Mousasi. Mousasi is a seriously talented prospect at 185 out of Armenia (that trains with FEDOR) PRIDE seemingly found out of nowhere for their Welterweight Grand Prix back in 2006. Mousasi was eventually eliminated by Akihiro Gono (who now fights at 170 for the UFC), but has taken his game to a whole new level since. He has brutalized guys like Damir Mirenic and Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos for Hardcore Championship Fighting, and recently destroyed some guy at an M-1 show. Mousasi is a straight up FINISHER, as only 1 of his 24 fights have ever went to decision. His opponent, Denis Kang, is regarded highly by many but I struggle to see why. Kang is undoubtedly talented, but very spotty. Save a run in the aforementioned 2006 PRIDE Welterweight GP, his career is not exactly notable, and he is coming off a brutal knockout loss to Yoshihiro Akiyama back in October of 2007. FEG should really want a Kang win here, as he's a pretty big star in Korea, and that is traditionally their second-biggest market by far. Ironically, Kang comes out to Cyborg's old PRIDE music. FORESHADOWING? WE SHALL SEE. They show Akiyama in the crowd drinking from a juicebox. What a heel.

Bell rings and we're off. Kang presses the action with punches, knocking Mousasi back, and then takes him down after a brief exchange. Kang looks to pass from half guard to side control, but Mousasi locks his right leg. Kang attempts to pass again as he looks for a kimura on Mousasi's right arm, but it doesn't appear close. Kang FINALLY gets side control and is getting closer with the kimura, but Mousasi is throwing these annoying knees to Kang's head as he looks for it. Kang finally gives up on the kimura and stands up out of Mousasi's guard. Mousasi throws some AWESOME Renzo Gracie-esque upkicks, one catching Kang right in the face. Kang goes into Mousasi's guard again, and Mousasi IMMEDIATLEY catches him in a TRIANGLE OF DEATH. Mousasi pulls down the head and that's IT. Kang looks pretty shitty for a BJJ black belt to walk right into that. I wonder if THIS will finally get people to stop rating Kang in their top 5. Mousasi is your winner at 3:10 of the first round and moves on to the second round of the Middleweight Grand Prix. WATCH THIS DUDE.

8. Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Andrews Nakahara in a Middleweight Grand Prix bout. Ah, the annual "feed Sakuraba some dork in the first round of the tournament so he advances to the second round" fight. I LOVE these. Usually he beats guys that actually turn into good fighters, but he fights them in their first pro bout (think Dong-Sik Yoon) and Andrews Nakahara is no different. He's a pretty badass karate dude from Brazil (go nuts if you're crazy enough to compare him with KARATE MASTER Lyoto Machida of the UFC), but I mean, come on now. It's his first MMA fight and he's going against the IQ WRESTLER who still usually beats guys that's he supposed to. I predict the best part of this will be Sakuraba's entrance AND OH BOY HERE IT IS. LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THE IQ RESULAH, KAZUSHI SAKURABA! It's the classic three men dressed as Saku one, and this time they all actually have on the same shorts, gloves, and weird knee tape stuff. It's still weird to see Sakuraba in board shorts, sort of how it's still weird to see Royce Gracie in his board shorts. The referee actually CHECKS ALL THREE MEN for foreign objects and they all three enter the ring. This is great. I can just see Armando Garcia's head exploding right now. The Saku 3 unmask and this time it's the one on the far left. Time to fight.

Bell rings and they're off. Sakuraba starts with some low kicks, and Nakahara throws a kick with some nice snap on it that misses. They circle and Saku shoots for his famous single but Nakahara shows GREAT takedown defense and avoids the ground entirely. WOW. Maybe this guy can fight a little already. Sakuraba still has a body lock, but the ref breaks them and we restart. Sakuraba throws a body kick and Nakahara counters and KICKS A FIELD GOAL with Sakuraba's balls. They show the replay and man, this isn't just a field goal, it's like a 60 yarder. Jesus CHRIST that had to hurt. Sakuraba is given time to recover; let's see if he's stupid and restarts quickly or takes his time. HE'S TAKING HIS TIME. THE IQ WRESTLER, EVERYONE! Sakuraba gives the OK after about 2 minutes and we start again. Saku shoots for the single again but Nakahara defends. Nakahara connects with a high kick, but it was more of a slap with the bottom of the foot than anything, but damn. Sakuraba backs up and he realizes hey this guy can actually do something. Nakahara throws another high kick but Saku blocks it with his hands, then hits a body kick. Sakuraba connects again with the low kick, and Nakahara looks tenative. Circling with not much happening, then Nakahara lands 2 very nice leg kicks, which are his ticket to victory if he wants to win. Sakuraba clinches, but Nakahara again avoids being taken down immediatley. Nakahara throws some nice knees to the thigh while in the clinch, but the ref breaks them. Nakahara AGAIN with the leg kick. This guy is pretty decent. Saku throws a leg kick of his own, which Nakahara counters with a big right, but Sakuraba drops down to his ass and grabs a leg, finally getting the takedown. Nakahara fights like HELL to stand up, and he uses the corner to do so. Saku has a wizzer that he's not letting go of anytime soon, and Nakahara goes down again. Nakahara has these really skinny legs that he uses to, like, block Sakuraba from entering his guard, and he gets back up. Sakuraba gets another takedown and is in Nakahara's guard, and tries for a heelhook but can't get it. He lands back on Nakahara and has instant side control, so he's that much closer for his FINISHER the kimura. Saku lays in some light shots to the body of Nakahara, who rolls and gives up his back. Saku has his hands in prime position for a rear naked choke, but can't get the hooks in, so he just TWISTS HIS NECK Mark Kerr style for the NECKCRANK win. Sakuraba is your winner at 8:20 of the first round and moves on to the second round of the Middleweight Grand Prix. His opponent should be Tamura and that is BUYS. Nakahara has nothing to be discouraged by, because all things considered, he did very well for his first ever MMA fight. With some more ground training (which I hear isn't hard to come by in Brazil), he could turn into a solid prospect.

This was a pretty good show, though two of the fights utterly bored me. I'd expect those to be chopped up when aired on HDNet, because who really cares, you know? Aoki is really on his way to becoming a star in Japan, and Sakuraba vs. Tamura appears to be set for the second round of the GP. The Lightweight GP 2nd Round in 2 weeks should be a fantastic show, and I'll be back to cover that. Here's the lineup:

DREAM.3 Lightweight Grand Prix 2nd Round (5/11/08) - Saitama, Japan
(Saitama Super Arena)
Lightweight Grand Prix 2nd Round: Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Luis Buscapé
Lightweight Grand Prix 2nd Round: Joachim Hansen vs. Eddie Alvarez
Lightweight Grand Prix 2nd Round: Mitsuhiro Ishida vs. Caol Uno
Lightweight Grand Prix 2nd Round: Shinya Aoki vs. Katsuhiko Nagata
Middleweight Grand Prix 1st Round: Melvin Manhoef vs. Ralek Gracie
Jason Miller vs. Katsuyori Shibata
Aleksander Emelianenko vs. TBA
Vitor Ribeiro vs. TBA

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