DREAM 8: Ninja debuts; Kharitonov returns against Monson
by Jesse Holland on Mar 26, 2009 2:11 PM EDT
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Japan’s Fighting & Entertainment Group (FEG) today announced during a press conference the lineup for the promotion’s upcoming Welterweight Grand Prix commencing at DREAM 8 on April 5 at the Nippon Gaishi Hall in Nagoya, Japan, as reported by our good friends over at Nightmare of Battle.
Featuring only eight fighters across two events, the 2009 Welterweight Grand Prix will conclude on July 20 at DREAM 10.
The event will air stateside on April 10 at 10 p.m. EST on HDNet.
Headlining the event will be Japanese mainstay Hayato Sakurai (34-8-2) as he battles the first-ever World Alliance Mixed Martial Arts (WAMMA) lightweight champion and submissions guru Shinya Aoki (20-3).
The two were on a collision course at last year’s Lightweight Grand Prix, until original opponent Eddie Alvarez got hurt and Aoki ran into finals alternate Joachim Hansen.
"Hellboy" would go on to upset the heavily-favored Aoki and bring home the belt.
The "Tobikan Judan" would rebound from that loss — just the third of his career — and submit Todd Moore via neck crank at DREAM 6 in September before finally getting a crack at Alvarez by year’s end, winning via heel hook early in round one.
After following that up with a submission victory over David Gardner in the first round of their contest at DREAM 7 on March 8, Aoki will pack on a few pounds and join Sakurai in a quest for welterweight supremacy.
"Mach" — who holds a unanimous decision win over Aoki from their days in Shooto — has gone up against some of the most talented fights in the sport, from lightweight all the way up to middleweight.
In addition to Aoki, he’s competed against UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva, Matt Hughes, Jake Shields, Joachim Hansen, Takanori Gomi, Frank Trigg, Jens Pulver and Caol Uno among countless others.
If that weren’t enough, DREAM fans will also be treated to the much-anticipated return of Russian gladiator Sergei Kharitonov. The 16-3 ‘Kharit-top’ was the last man to beat the surging Alistair Overeem when he knocked him out at K-1 Heroes back in 2007.
The Russian made his DREAM debut a memorable one when he smashed Jimmy Ambriz at DREAM 6 last September.
Facing him is UFC veteran Jeff Monson, who recently phoned it in against Roy "Big Country" Nelson at "March Badness," stealing a controversial unanimous decision victory over his corpulent foe.
"The Snowman" (28-8) is a dangerous submissions specialist despite going the distance in his last two fights.
In his first trip to Japan since the demise of PRIDE, Murilo Rua will make his debut for DREAM against Korea's Dong Sik Yoon (4-6) after Strikeforce reportedly opted to pass on his acquired EliteXC contract.
"Ninja" (16-9-1) hasn’t competed since a TKO loss to Benji Radach at "Heat" last October for the now-defunct organization.
Also in action are featherweights Hideo Tokoro and Daiki Hata, who will conclude the opening round of the 2009 Featherweight Grand Prix that was held at DREAM 7.
"DJ.taiki" needed the extra month to recover from a recent eye injury, thus pushing his bout with Tokoro to April 5.
Here is the current DREAM 8 event card:
Main card:
Sergei Kharitonov (16-3) vs. Jeff Monson (28-8)
Ikuhisa Minowa (41-29-8) vs. Katsuyori Shibata (2-6-1)
Andrews Nakahara (1-1) vs. Shungo Oyama (7-11)
Murilo Rua (16-9-1) vs. Dong Sik Yoon (4-6)Welterweight Grand Prix:
Shinya Aoki (20-3) vs. Hayato Sakurai (34-8-2)
Andre Galvao (2-0) vs. John Alessio (24-12)
Yuya Shirai (15-7) vs. Jason High (6-1)
Marius Zaromskis (8-2) vs. Seichi Ikemoto (18-14-5)Featherweight Grand Prix:
Hideo Tokoro (21-15-1) vs. Daiki Hata (9-5-3)
Stay tuned for more updates as they become available. In the meantime, get up to speed on all things DREAM by clicking here.
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The Dream posters really are the coolest things in the world.
by RyGuy on Mar 26, 2009 2:14 PM EDT reply actions
Very Lackluster WW tournament if I am being honest! I am very disappointed. THey could have filled this with better fighters. I am mad that the rumored participation of Marcelo Garcia didnt materialize. Of Course Mach, vs. Aoki will be great, but i got to go with Mach in this one. Im actually pretty sure that Sakurai will easily win this one, and I am a big fan of Aoki…but its a bad match up for Rainbow pants. He should stick to LIghtweight.
Ninja vs. Pork fried rice should be a good one. Yoon put up a great fight against Rampage back in Pride.
my main man SErgie is going to smash Monson. I am curious to see if the rumores of Sergie bulking up to 265 lbs are true.
Its really gay that they didnt match up Jits specialists Galvao n Aoki in the 1st round!
by john on Mar 26, 2009 2:34 PM EDT up reply actions
My main beef with the WW tourny is that they have thier two biggest names fighting in the opening round. That in my eyes is stupid. You should try to build up to that fight. And if one of the fighters were to lose in the tourny before facing each other, Aoki vs Mach could HEADLINE a DREAM event.
Also, I’m letting it be known now that I got Dong Sik Yoon in the upset over Ninja.
by ViolentMike on Mar 26, 2009 2:54 PM EDT up reply actions
exactly! Mach vs. Aoki should have been the final. The smart thing to have done would have been to book Galvao vs. Aoki in the 1st round. I think that would provide one of the stiffest jits matches in the history of mma. NOw, this fight wont happen because I am calling Mach over Aoki RIGHT NOW!!!!
Yoon over Ninja is a great pick.
by john on Mar 26, 2009 2:57 PM EDT up reply actions
I am very interested to see what the odds to that fight will be… Vegas would HAVE to make Ninja the favorite.
by ViolentMike on Mar 26, 2009 3:43 PM EDT up reply actions
fuckin right john IM HELL GLAD to see sergei back in action and hes goin to whoop monsons ass. aoki and mach isnt a good matchup for the opening round that fight would be so much better if it was the finals of the tourney. and ninja just isnt ninja anymore and i wont be surprised at all if he loses. but besides that the ww tourney looks like crap without the aoki, mach and galvao. allesio is decent but i would have liked to see jay hieron in the tourney
by Jared on Mar 26, 2009 5:10 PM EDT up reply actions
Yeah! Ninja sux biggie! Just because he’s Shogun’s bro, they overrate him, F that! can’t even get past Radach, though I like radach’s striking!
by Syd[a.k.a. "The Martial Fartist"] on Mar 26, 2009 6:26 PM EDT up reply actions
John – what happened to Marcelo? That means galvao wins the tourney easy. Seriously, sengoku tourney and FW tourney are way better than this. Also Nakahara = future machida, you heard it here first. Sergei TKO, Minowaman Leglock, Aoki sub, finally Tokoro-DJ =fotn.
by NameNotRequired on Mar 26, 2009 9:32 PM EDT up reply actions
NNR: I have no idea. I heard a ton about Marcelino entering this tournament and I was looking forward to it. what a shame!
by john on Mar 27, 2009 11:15 AM EDT up reply actions
I was expecting so much more from DREAM. I’ll reserve judgement till I see the event, but it doesn’t look very exciting. I mean, this is Aoki or Mach’s tourny to win. IMO, whoever wins that fight, will win the tournament, unless something drastic happens. I will take Aoki by decision, since I dont think he’ll be able to submit Mach, but I also think he will throw everything at him and Mach wont have a chance to get off.
So far, DREAM built up a great rep with their LW and MW tourneys, but the FW and WW are sucking it up.
by Synyster on Mar 26, 2009 2:58 PM EDT up reply actions
AS one of DREAM’s biggest supporters on this site…I will have to agree that these tournaments are not up to par with last years.
Jacre should have been on this card as well as Mousasi. Its also a shame that Glesic got hurt and had to pull out. dREAM ratings have been suffering, and I thought they would have put on a better card to help boost the ratings. This is probably their worst card so far.
They should have Booked: MOusassi vs. Mayhem
ninja vs. Glesic
Jacre vs. Dong Sik Yoon!
by john on Mar 26, 2009 3:04 PM EDT up reply actions
Mousasi won’t be fighting at middleweight any more. He says he’s bulking up for a run at heavyweight, so a fight against Mayhem is out… especially since Miller will be fighting in Kingdom MMA at the end of the month against Kala Hose.
by badvibes on Mar 26, 2009 3:23 PM EDT up reply actions
Yeah WTF is up with Mousasi??? Hes been saying Affliction LHW so maybe we’ll see him in July, but damn thats a long ways away.
With as many fights as he had last year, I expected Mousasi to dominate this year as well, and even had my name advertising his pwn-age of 2009. But you cant dominate a year without fighting so…
On Ninja vs Gelesic, that would’ve been a good fight. However, Ninja hasn’t impressed me as of late, but neither has Gelesic. I’d take Zelg by TKO..
But damn DREAM! Pick up the pace or you will become like Sengoku!
by Synyster on Mar 26, 2009 5:55 PM EDT up reply actions
Speaking of FEG, the odds for the K-1 event are listed on BetUs, but not all the fights. The fights are now listed on BoDog, but not the odds. HOWEVER, there are discrepencies.
Me and BoDog are under the impression that Erol Zimmerman is fighting Peter Aerts. However, on BetUs, they say my main man Badr Hari is fighting Z.
Me and BetUs are under he impression that Manhoeff is figthing Chalid Die Faust. However, Bodog says Melvin is fighting Maeda.
Me and Betus are under the impression that Ruslan Karaev is fighting Saki. But Bodog says Saki is fighting Tyrone Spong (whom I do not know).
So to me it looks like half of the HW tournament is out due to injury or something. Losing Die Faust and Karaev for them other two fighters is a drop in quality (as far as I know, admittedly rather new to K-1). At least Badr will be back in action. Maybe???
Does anyone know the current status of this card??? Its only like a day and a half a way
by ViolentMike on Mar 26, 2009 6:46 PM EDT up reply actions
jesus VM, talk about an uncoordinated mess! they better get their shiit together by showtime!
by brendan on Mar 26, 2009 6:57 PM EDT up reply actions
badvibes: I am aware that mOusassi is moving up in weight. HOwever, You can fight out of your weight class in Japan, so this fight could have easily been booked. I would have really liked to see Mayhem vs. Moussasi, but I forgot that he was fighting Kala “We Dont love them hose”!
MOusassi is fighting Sokoudjou at dream 9!
by john on Mar 27, 2009 11:17 AM EDT up reply actions
Yea, Mania posted this poster a while ago. It’s a simple poster but still unique.
by MikeD on Mar 26, 2009 2:42 PM EDT up reply actions
I think this poster is cooler than the the “Led Zeppelin” one.
by El Mexicutioner, formerly The Mexicutioner on Mar 26, 2009 2:32 PM EDT reply actions
Now that I sit here and think about it I really wish Aoki would change his fighting attire.
by rydinlow on Mar 26, 2009 2:39 PM EDT reply actions
Monson vs Kharitonov should be good, Kharitonov looked out of shape and not as sharp in his last fight against a can, Monson is fresh off a “win” over Nelson, so I hope its a good match. Yoon’s record is deceiving, he has wins over both Manhoef and Galesic, but losses to Mousasi, Rampage, Bustamante and Sakuraba (4 years ago Sakuraba, so somewhat decent Gracie Hunter). He’s also a pretty good judoka, so I won’t count him out against Ninja. Its too bad Jacare isn’t on the card, since he’s on the poster.
by Belisarius on Mar 26, 2009 2:45 PM EDT reply actions
I believe Sakuraba was his first fight – talk about jumping right into the deep end. In the USA, a fighter making his pro debut would never have been given the first 4 fights that Dong got. I’ll never forgot watching his win over Manhoeff. It was at the same event that Brock Lesnar made his MMA debut against that lil Judo guy and Brock took him down and beat alternating sides of his head with his fists.
by ViolentMike on Mar 26, 2009 3:48 PM EDT up reply actions
Aoki’s ground game is simply ridiculous. I’d love to see him against the top UFC lightweights.
by Jeremyjackson on Mar 26, 2009 2:56 PM EDT reply actions
It would have been great to see him matched up against fellow Jitsu Phenom, Andre Galvao, who’s jits is as good as Shinya’s if not better!
Big Aoki fan, but Sakurai is a bad match up for him. Machi will win this fight and Aoki will be eliminated from the tournament. What a shame!
by john on Mar 26, 2009 2:59 PM EDT up reply actions
this off topic but i think a good idea for ufc 102 would be an oregon vs ufc thing, would surly sell out.
1.Randy vs Nog,
2. Sonnen vs Okami,
3. Leben vs Religic,
4. Quarry vs Mcdonald,
5. Shultz vs Danzig,
6. Herman vs Loiseau,
7. Wilson vs Lytle,
8. Story vs Sell,
9. Mike Pierce vs Cummo,
10. Horwich vs Roshalt,
11. Jeffries vs Catone,
sound good?
by FEDORvsLESNAR on Mar 26, 2009 4:19 PM EDT reply actions
you posted that in almost every thread ive read today and yesterday.
its got some okay matches but alot of them are already happenening?
by Jared on Mar 26, 2009 5:13 PM EDT up reply actions
Herman/Loiseau and Quarry/McDonald are fightin eachother at UFC 97.. and i may sound a little harsh but i couldn’t care less about Oregon vs UFC if that were to happen they should do a Europe vs America card..
by RoB on Mar 26, 2009 6:05 PM EDT up reply actions
Winners all by ownage: Sergei Kharitonov, Dong Sik Yoon and Shinya Aoki.
by JonnyBoy on Mar 26, 2009 4:21 PM EDT reply actions
I actually want to see Dong vs. Ninja, Sergie vs. Monson, Aoki vs. Sakurai, and Tokoro vs. DJ Taiki. They are all good matches. This should have good fights. Also, those who talked about the FW tourny, I think that now that it is about to be down to the top 8, the fights are going to be way better. Look how good the LW tourny turned out to be and the first round of that was awful!
However, the match I am looking foward to the most next month is Kampmann vs. Condit. And that is coming from argueably the biggest MMA Weabo on the board!
by Bill Maher on Mar 26, 2009 4:38 PM EDT reply actions
a white kid who is irrationally obsessed with Japanese stuff
by Bill Maher on Mar 26, 2009 9:21 PM EDT up reply actions
anyone hear about the guy with no arms and legs whos ACTUALLY has a sanctioned amatateur fight coming up. this could be bad for the sport as this guy has no chance of winning because he can only wrestle, and wont be able to defend himself
by Jared on Mar 26, 2009 5:40 PM EDT reply actions
They should put him up against Pete Sell, just to give him a chance.
by Jeremyjackson on Mar 26, 2009 5:42 PM EDT up reply actions
Im really starting to like Dream they have been putting on some great shows. Better than WVR has been doing
by LatinoHeat13 on Mar 26, 2009 7:00 PM EDT reply actions
both are good imo. I thought after Pride was over, we would only see good mma in the UFC, but now we have Dream, Sengoku, and Strikeforce.
by Bill Maher on Mar 26, 2009 9:24 PM EDT up reply actions
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