DREAM 12: Eddie Alvarez vs. Katsunori Kikuno and Kuniyoshi Hironaka vs. Won Sik Park booked for Oct. 25
by Akimitsu Kuwabara on Sep 29, 2009 5:38 PM EDT
15 comments
At the press conference DREAM held to officially unveil the blueprint of the new hexagonal cage, two lightweight contests were also announced for DREAM 12, which will take place on Oct. 25 at Osaka Castle Hall in Osaka, Japan.
Bellator lightweight champion and consensus top 10-ranked 155-pound standout, Eddie Alvarez (18-2), will square off with DEEP lightweight champion, Katsunori Kikuno (12-1-1). Newly minted Cage Force lightweight champion, Kuniyoshi Hironaka (15-6), is also set to take on South Korean prospect, Won Sik Park (7-1-1).
Alvarez last fought for DREAM on the New Year's Eve show, sustaining a submission loss against Shinya Aoki. Quickly bouncing back from the second loss of his career, he entered the lightweight tourney in the inaugural season of Bellator Fighting Championship. As an overwhelming favorite, he dismantled Greg Loughran, Eric Reynolds, and Toby Imada -- all three victories via submission -- to capture the lightweight crown.
Katsunori Kikuno, a Kyokushin karateka and Tsuyoshi Kohsaka protege, parlayed his success in Japan's DEEP promotion to an emphatic DREAM debut. At DREAM 10, he defeated Chute Boxe prospect, Andres Amade, via first-round technical knockout.
UFC veteran Kuniyoshi Hironaka has recently captured the lightweight title in Cage Force. Competing for the title that was vacated by the newly minted Sengoku champion, Mizuto Hirota, Hironaka rose to the occasion, capturing the first pro title of his career.
Park, a South Korean prospect, has cut his teeth in Japan's DEEP and MARS. Since losing his pro debut, he has been riding an eight-fight undefeated streak.
DREAM 12 will feature another South Korean prospect, Myeon Ho Bae (8-4). He will join a star-studded cast of fighters scheduled for the card, including Alistair Overeem, Marius Zaromskis, Paulo Filho, Yoshiro Maeda, Murilo Rua and Kiyoshi Tamura.
Stay tuned to MMA mania for further information regarding the historic DREAM 12 fight card.
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Not a rhetorical question – Am I the only one getting a little impatient with Alvarez? Since losing to Aoki, he won the Bellator tourney, without fighting any too high class fellows. Of course, had Masvidal kept his end of the bargain, he would have had the chance. But this? I have to imagine there is a better match up available. There are just so many other matches I’d prefer to see him in. Maybe the next one…
by Amos on Sep 29, 2009 6:27 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
If you dont know anything about his opponent, why bitch? YOu obviously have NO idea who Kikuno is, or you would never make that statement. As a Philly native, and Eddie’s biggest fan on this site, this match up worries me. Kikuno is LEGIT!!! The guy is very explosive. Not any easy fight for eddie at all!
Cant wait to see my boy back in action!
by john G on Sep 29, 2009 9:59 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
ya for sure john I agree with you Kikuno is for sure legit he has good hands and has a good chance of getting a ko or tko but Eddie is a hog so I think he will pull out the win, I do want to see Alvarez in the UFC too like the guy above but I think his doing good improving his already great skills in lower promotions though he has faced good opposition I think its good he doesnt go to the UFC to early becouse that usally doesnt work out for good fighters getting thrown in to the deep pool to early ounce he’s a little more expirienced I think he will eventually move to the UFC and make quite an impact I think he will be a ufc champ in like 3-4 years I really think hes way better than the other prospect lightweights outside the ufc like, Thompson, Gilbert, etc.
by Nor Cal Mexican on Sep 29, 2009 10:55 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I completely agree Nor Cal! why should Eddie Rush? their are numerous world class lightweights that he can fight outside of the UFC. only top fighters that have to be in the UFC are Light heavyweights, and Welterweights because the UFC has a monopoly on those divisions. There is really NO rush for Eddie at all to come to the UFC. No doubt that he eventually will mak the UFC his home, BUT NOT RIGHT NOW!!!! I dont even want him in the Ufc right now. Before he goes to the UFC, I need to see him fight (first):
Rematch with Hellboy
Rematch with Aoki
Thompson
El Nino (who looked much impoved against Ishida)
Kikuno
Gomi
JZ
I kind of want to see him fight Mach at a catchweight!
Relax boys, he will be in the UFC in no time! No doubt about it!
by john G on Sep 30, 2009 8:35 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
UFC fight that I would love to see:
Eddie Alvarez vs. Frankie Edgar!
by john G on Sep 30, 2009 9:05 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I have seen him fight…it was just a question. A “no” would have sufficed, but thanks for the hissy memories of high school girls….only kidding man, but I have seen him fight. All I am saying in my, oh so humble opinion, is that with the momentum Alvarez has generated over the past year or two, I’d like to see him fight a fellow top lightweight. Perhaps I’m wrong about kikuno, as a handful of people seem to suggest, but I suppose we shall see.
by Amos on Sep 30, 2009 3:12 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I didnt mean to come at you like that man. Appologies! but you have to admit, that a lot of people on this site bash fighters that they have never really seen fight and that drives me insane. The minority of this site knows Japanese mma. There are countless awesome fighters that compete in Japan, who people dont know of because Dana hasnt marketed them!
I always keep it real. I have NO PROBLEMS saying: “’I dont know anything about that fighter, so I cant comment on this situation”, I say it all the time! There are thousands of good mma fighters in this world. No fans can know them all. There is no shame in not seeing a fighter compete, admitting it, and defering to bloggers who have seen the guy fight….Thats the beauty of this site!
by john G on Sep 30, 2009 9:03 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Possible upsets here. Don’t sleep on Kiku, best crescent kick in the biz.
by NameNotRequired on Sep 29, 2009 6:40 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Eddie Alvarez better had signed with the UFC in 2010 – he’s fighting cans when he really should be having 3-round wars with guys like Penn, Sanchez et al.
by jayshogun on Sep 29, 2009 6:41 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
not now but wait a couple years big things are cumming for this kid
by Nor Cal Mexican on Sep 29, 2009 11:10 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
First time I watched Kikuno fight I thought he was a joke. Boy was I wrong, the guy is explosive. Can’t let his stance and evil grin fool you, the guy is tough and can throw some bombs. I might even have to pick him to win in this fight, I don’t want to count him out.
by Belisarius on Sep 29, 2009 6:50 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
i would eddie in ufc aswell he would add something to the LW division that it is lacking and that is a LW with Knock out power
by nelson on Sep 29, 2009 9:31 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
I love how history forgets how fights actually go. Here it is reported that Alvarez “dismantled” Greg Loughran whereas what actually happened was that Loughran dropped Alvarez early and forced Eddie to clinch and then Eddie managed a guillotine choke from the wrestling scramble. Hardly a “dismantling”!
I would love to see Eddie in the UFC to be honest. I think he’s one of the most exciting fighters out there and he would go on a tear in the UFC particularly given that the 155 div seems to suit wrestlers who prefer to strike…
by Neil on Sep 30, 2009 8:14 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
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