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Shinya Aoki remains in DREAM LWGP and will fight Katsuhiko Nagata on June 15

Shinya Aoki
Shinya Aoki -- who sustained injuries during his recent unanimous decision win over Gesias "J.Z." Calvancante -- will remain in the DREAM 2008 Lightweight Grand Prix and fight Katsuhiko Nagata in the second round of the tournament.

However, the 154-pound tilt will take place at DREAM 4 on June 15 and not on May 11 at DREAM 3 along with the other match ups.

Calvancante was actually approached about advancing to the next round as a replacement for Aoki, but several published reports indicate that the American Top Team-trained fighter and promotion officials could not strike a deal.

With less than a week until showtime, it appears that DREAM opted instead to give Aoki time to heal from his injuries rather than plug-in another competitor.

In fact, Aoki was at a disadvantage because of the timing of his rematch with Calvancante -- their first encounter at DREAM 1 in March ended in a no contest because of illegal strikes.

And he took some serious punishment in the first round ... so much so that the bout appeared to be almost over. He weathered the storm, however, and went on to demonstrate the amazing Brazilian jiu-jitsu skills that have put him atop the world rankings in his category.

DREAM 3 will air on the HDNet Network LIVE from the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, at 3 a.m. ET. In addition to the quarterfinal lightweight tournament bouts, the event will also feature popular American fighters Nick Diaz and Jason "Mayhem" Miller (in separate bouts).

In addition to the Aoki-Nagata fight, DREAM 4 will showcase the second round of the 2008 middleweight tournament, as well as the heavyweight showdown between Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic’s and Jerome LeBanner.

0 recs  |  Comment 13 comments

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who cares…

by Jizzo on May 5, 2008 10:23 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Real MMA fans. This is good news.

by Toms Bombs on May 5, 2008 11:06 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Toms Bombs: U r dead right my friend. This is great news for true mma fans. Shinya Aoki is a top fighter in both the lightweight and welterweight divisions. I think his ju jitsu level is the closest to BJ Penn’s.

I would love to see a straight grappling match between Aoki and Penn.

Very Happy he is still in the Grand Prix because he is one of the marquee names of the tournament. The only bad thing is that now there is no chance of Nick Diaz’s DREAM fight being part of the Grand Prix (Not that I thought it was a realistic option ne way).

by john on May 6, 2008 9:22 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Good Morning F*ckers (In my best Dana White voice).
I am finally done all my midterms and I am feeling a lot less stressed out!

Its a great day, and I hope for some juicy mma news!

by john on May 6, 2008 9:39 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

sorry forgot i was a fake mma fan.

by Jizzo on May 5, 2008 11:11 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

well try to remember next time

by Metalnick on May 5, 2008 11:36 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

This guys looks like a pizza delivery man. He must be trying to pull of the Clark Kent look.

by PEZ on May 5, 2008 11:25 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

that whole fake injury in the 1st one is paying dividends.

by Amos on May 6, 2008 12:43 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Thank god I have HDNet. It shows more mma events than any other channel on tv, I just watched DREAM 1&2 last week without paying any money like ppv, Aoki is a tough motherf*cker, he’s the Japanese version of Nate Diaz(Nick Diaz’s lil brother).

by jerkoff on May 6, 2008 8:06 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

I hope Aoki shocks the world and wins. :-D He can take Nagata and the winner of the other bracket.

by El dirte on May 6, 2008 8:53 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

I guess I’m too stupid of a fan to enjoy Aoki’s fights. I still don’t understand why he got a NC in the first fight. If someone hits you with a clearly legal blow and you can’t continue, isn’t that called “losing the fight”?

Now all that controversy aside, I’ve seen Aoki fight 3 times, and he’s super boring to me. Yeah it’s neat to see him jump guard, but there’s little difference to me in the wrestlers people criticize for ‘lay n pray’, and a jiu jitsu guy who … some clever writer help me here… does the ‘choke and hope’? 15 submission attempts that fail while getting your face pounded in, even though you may outpoint your way to victory, is not fun to watch.

I AM NOT QUESTIONING the man’s skills. I’m just saying it’s not entertaining to watch him fight.

Commence insults now because I’m not enthralled with your favorite fighter.

by TeamPriapism on May 6, 2008 10:48 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

I actually find rainbow pants grappling skills very exciting. He is the closest man in the world to match Bjj Penn ju jitsu skills.

I would really enjoy a straight garppling match up between Aoki vs. Penn………. They are both very flexiable and can pull all kinds of subs out of their asses!

by john on May 6, 2008 11:11 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Caol Uno

by Smokes on May 6, 2008 11:07 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

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