Dream 6 on Sept 23 (Final Card Announced)

Post #1 » by **CPT** » Tue Jul 22, 2008 6:50 pm

I know this event is still 2 months away, but I thought I would start a thread on it now, so hopefully we get some discussion going, unlike the last one.

This event will feature the semi-finals and finals of the Dream MW GP, which will crown the Dream MW Champion, and it is supposed to feature a fight between Nick Diaz and Hayato Mach Sakurai to crown the Dream WW Champion.

MW GP Participants
Melvin Manhoef
Zelg "Benkei" Galesic
Ronaldo "Jacare"
Gegard Mousasi

Hopefully they open the matchups to voting like they did for the last round of this tournament. I would like to see any matchups that make a Jacare vs. Mousasi final possible. I'll bet Mayhem Miller ends up in the alternate fight, perhaps against Sakuraba, Kang, or Akiyama (though he wasn't in the tournament).

Some other big names rumoured to fight on the card include Mirko Cro Cop (maybe we'll finally see that fight against Jerome LeBanner....or that weird grappling match with Ralek Gracie), Kid Yamamoto, and Yoshihiro Akiyama (I heard something about a fight with Tamura).

If all goes right, this could be their best card yet.

Strange that there's no talk of Dream 7 yet though.

Post #2 » by **kdawg32086** » Tue Jul 22, 2008 9:20 pm

With the quality of the guys fighting here in the US on the rise, it's just hard to get excited about Dream. When they changed over from Pride, they lost Henderson, Rampage, Coleman, Wanderlei, etc to the UFC and those were their most exciting guys IMO. Even Cro Cop is using Dream as a way to boost his rep to come back to the UFC.

It seems like the only thing they've really got going for them is the lightweight division. But even in that division, I think BJ Penn could probably take everyone that they've got. I'm not trying to bash Dream, but they really need get some of the top guys, if anyone in the western hemisphere is gonna take them seriously.

Post #3 » by **CPT** » Tue Jul 22, 2008 10:10 pm

While it's true that their overall talent level is probably lower than the UFC, and even Affliction, but I like that their talent is concentrated in the lighter divisions. They are missing top guys, but they actually have a pretty deep talent pool.

I agree that BJ Penn could probably beat anyone in their LW division (some would be very close though), but they have about 5-6 guys who are as good or better as anyone left in the UFC's LW class. And it's not like the UFC LW division is weak, either. Affliction's LW division doesn't even exist.

They also have some guys at FW and BW that can fight. They aren't as well known here, coming from Deep and Shooto, but Japan has always done an excellent job with the lighter weight classes, and Dream is no exception.

I also enjoy their MW division. It doesn't have any top 5 guys, maybe not even top 10, but there are a bunch of talented guys there having entertaining fights without the shadow of Anderson Silva hanging over them. Guys like Akiyama, Dong-Sik Yoon, Kang, Mayhem Miller, Mousasi, Galesic, Manhoef, and Jacare make up a pretty solid division.

Their HW division is kind of weak, but still better than EliteXC with CroCop, Overeem, Hunt, Kharitonov (in theory), and a bunch of K-1 guys looking to get some MMA fights like LeBanner and Schilt. I'm not sure they even have a LHW division, but the UFC has that division handled, so I don't really miss it.

I think they are the #2 promotion behind the UFC, because Affliction threw everything they had at this first show, so they may not have the legs to keep things interesting show after show. If Dream can ever work something out with World Victory Road/Sengoku, then things could get really interesting. I wouldn't be surprised to see Fedor fight for Dream on NYE either.

Even if you put them behind UFC, Affliction, and even EliteXC/Strikeforce, I think they offer a legit alternative to what is being offered by the big MMA companies in North America.

Susan · Post #4 » by **Susan** » Wed Jul 23, 2008 12:42 am

The thing that I'm mainly hoping for is co-promotion between DREAM and Affliction/M-1. Hopefully CroCop gets healthy and fights a few cans so he can get his confidence back up. I bet they could throw a sick HW GP if they combined.

But for DREAM 6 I hope they have Mayhem fight Sak in the alternate fight.

Susan · Post #5 » by **Susan** » Sun Jul 27, 2008 9:39 pm

Looks like they're fighting Cro Cop vs Overeem.

Post #6 » by **CPT** » Mon Jul 28, 2008 3:30 am

Nice. There's been a bit of smack talk going on between them, so it will be nice to see them in the ring.

That is, of course, if Cro Cop actually makes it to the fight.

Cammo101 · Post #7 » by **Cammo101** » Mon Jul 28, 2008 3:36 am

Sakurai will take Nick Diaz to the woodshed. Looks like a solid card, especially if Overeem and Cro Cop is on there.

SpReEfOrAlL · Post #8 » by **SpReEfOrAlL** » Mon Jul 28, 2008 11:53 am

Cammo101 wrote:Sakurai will take Nick Diaz to the woodshed. Looks like a solid card, especially if Overeem and Cro Cop is on there.

I wouldn't be too sure about that . . . I like Nick in this fight.

I also don't tend to agree with the notion that the cream LWs would dominate the UFC lightweights. I have felt that the eastern hemisphere LWs are severely overrated. And one dimensional guys like Aoki would get worked nicely by the wrestlers who have decent stand up in the UFC. Guys like Guida, Griffin, Edgar, Maynard etc. etc. And of course, I don't think any of them, outside of JZ, have anything for BJ what so ever.

Cammo101 · Post #9 » by **Cammo101** » Mon Jul 28, 2008 5:50 pm

SpReEfOrAlL wrote:
Cammo101 wrote:Sakurai will take Nick Diaz to the woodshed. Looks like a solid card, especially if Overeem and Cro Cop is on there.

I wouldn't be too sure about that . . . I like Nick in this fight.

I also don't tend to agree with the notion that the cream LWs would dominate the UFC lightweights. I have felt that the eastern hemisphere LWs are severely overrated. And one dimensional guys like Aoki would get worked nicely by the wrestlers who have decent stand up in the UFC. Guys like Guida, Griffin, Edgar, Maynard etc. etc. And of course, I don't think any of them, outside of JZ, have anything for BJ what so ever.

Agreed. Guys like Sherk, Florian, or Huerta would do much better than people expect against the Dream 155's.

Post #10 » by **Chach** » Tue Jul 29, 2008 4:18 am

I think part of the problem might be cultural. The Japanese seem to REALLY enjoy those odd match-ups like striker versus grappler. And matches like Fedor versus Semmy Schlitt, who has like 10 inches on Fedor. So when you see a fight like Aoki versus Alvarez, we may see it as a mis-match type of match but the Japanese love it. In America, I think the well roundedness is more stressed because the heyday of guys like Matt Hughes being a star at Wrestling but lacking a proficiency in other aspects has passed by. I still enjoy watching DREAM because of that aspect and being in Japan, I think they lessen the impact that the UFC will have on say Affliction and EliteXC.

I thought CroCop was having knee surgery or something and was going to be out for awhile. That Diaz fight looks like it could be a good one. I'm rooting for Miller to fight in the alternative fight because one of my friends used to train with him so I like the dude. mahalo
~Chach~

SpReEfOrAlL · Post #11 » by **SpReEfOrAlL** » Tue Jul 29, 2008 12:04 pm

Cro Cop is having some sort of medical work done. But i dont think anyone knows exactly what it is lol. I hope he fights Overeem though, at worst all he needs to do is last 3 minutes and Overeem will gas and be done. At best, Cro Cop gets all "Cro Cop" on him and Overeem wakes in the hospital 3 hours later wondering what the hell happened.

Post #12 » by **CPT** » Tue Jul 29, 2008 4:38 pm

Cammo101 wrote:
SpReEfOrAlL wrote:
Cammo101 wrote:Sakurai will take Nick Diaz to the woodshed. Looks like a solid card, especially if Overeem and Cro Cop is on there.

I wouldn't be too sure about that . . . I like Nick in this fight.

I also don't tend to agree with the notion that the cream LWs would dominate the UFC lightweights. I have felt that the eastern hemisphere LWs are severely overrated. And one dimensional guys like Aoki would get worked nicely by the wrestlers who have decent stand up in the UFC. Guys like Guida, Griffin, Edgar, Maynard etc. etc. And of course, I don't think any of them, outside of JZ, have anything for BJ what so ever.

Agreed. Guys like Sherk, Florian, or Huerta would do much better than people expect against the Dream 155's.

Some guys would likely have some success, and some may not. I would love to see what would happen though. Aoki really does have to become more well rounded, but even as he is now, almost strictly a grappler, he managed to beat JZ, so I don't think he'd be overwhelmed by the likes of Guida or Edgar.

Sherk would definitely be a threat to anyone in Japan, as would any of the strong wrestlers stateside. Some of it could even come down to where the fight took place. I'm not sure how all those guys would do in a ring with no elbows, and conversely, who knows what would happen to a guy like Aoki if he has nowhere to roll to and someone is raining elbows on his face.

It's hard to speculate on who is really better, when most of these guys haven't fought any common opponents, let alone each other. I'd love to see it happen one day though.

Sherk vs. JZ
Florian vs. Aoki
Griffin vs. Kawajiri
Huerta vs. Hansen
Guida vs. Alvarez
Edgar vs. Ishida

The list could go on and on.

Post #13 » by **CPT** » Sat Sep 20, 2008 3:46 am

With this going down in a few days, I figure it's time to bump this thread back up and actually talk about the event.

Here is the final card, and the order of the fights.

OLYMPIA DREAM.6 Middleweight GP 2008 Final Round
Date: September 23rd, 2008
Place: Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan

Middleweight GP Final Fight:
12. Mousasi/Manhoef vs. Jacare/Galesic

Single Fights:
11. HW: Mirko CroCop vs. Alistair Overeem
10. LW: Shinya Aoki vs. Todd Moore
9. MW: Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Masanori Tonooka
8. WW: Hayato “Mach” Sakurai vs. Kuniyoshi Hironaka
7. MW: Minowaman vs. Masakatsu Funaki
6. FW: Hideo Tokoro vs. Atsushi Yamamoto
5. HW: Sergey Kharitonov vs. Mighty Mo
4. LW: Ktaro Nakamura vs. Adriano Martins

Middleweight GP Semifinal Fights:
3. Ronaldo Jacare vs. Zelg “Benkei” Galesic
2. Gegard Mousasi vs. Melvin Manhoef

Middleweight GP Reserve Fight:
1. Yoon Dong Sik vs. Andrews Nakahara

Post #14 » by **CPT** » Mon Sep 22, 2008 8:39 pm

I guess nobody cares about this show, but if anyone does, it's on tonight at 3 am EST on HDNet. Repeats are tomorrow at 4, and Saturday at 6(:30?).

My picks:
1. Donger
2. Mousasi
3. Jacare
4. KTaro
5. Kharitonov
6. Tokoro
7. Minowaman
8. Mach
9. Akiyama
10. Aoki
11. CroCop
12. Mousasi

jTF2 · Post #15 » by **jTF2** » Mon Sep 22, 2008 9:27 pm

i'll be dl'ing it

cowboyronnie · Post #16 » by **cowboyronnie** » Mon Sep 22, 2008 9:53 pm

Catering way too much to Japanese K1/pro wrestling/MMA fans. Funaki, Mighty Mo, Tokoro, Minowa...

Post #17 » by **CPT** » Mon Sep 22, 2008 10:07 pm

A Japanese MMA promotion owned by K-1 catering to Japanese K-1/pro-wrestling/MMA fans?

HOW DARE THEY!!!

cowboyronnie · Post #18 » by **cowboyronnie** » Mon Sep 22, 2008 10:54 pm

CPT wrote:I guess nobody cares about this show

Post #19 » by **CPT** » Wed Sep 24, 2008 1:24 am

Anyone see the fights?

I won't post spoilers, though you probably won't look in the thread if you are avoiding results, but go to MMA Core for the vids. Just google it.

Fight quality wasn't the greatest, and the show felt like it dragged on a bit (and I was only watching the fight vids), but worth checking out.

Here's hoping for a Dream 7.

cowboyronnie · Post #20 » by **cowboyronnie** » Thu Sep 25, 2008 3:07 am

Yeah, some great fights in the tourney. All of them. What character on Galesic and Jacare, esp Galesic. Him and Forrest are battling out for coolest in the sport. If Randy didn't keep flying squirrels as **** DOMESTIC PETS, he could contend. But he does. Cos he's ignorant. So Galesic and Forrest.

Thing is, the MW division in Dream is now exhausted. Who is Musasi going to fight? Kang, Manhoef and Jacare were by far the most fearsome. He finished them each, in the first **** round and within a total of like 5 minutes. I'd love if they could grab someone from EliteXC, the best stock of MWs in the world, and bring one of them over to take him on.

Oh man, that CroCop fight was sad. Not pathetic-sad. But sad to see CroCop so dominated like that. He's a shell of himself, even carrying a fair amount of body fat. Alistair was just destroying him. Overeem vs Fedor could actually be really interesting. I guess, though, Fedor's judo will be able to nullify a lot of Overeem's clinch game. The height, still, on a guy who's not simply an uncoordinated oger, could be cool.