K-1 Dynamite! 2009: Dream vs. WVR

[CPT]

Surprised we don't have a thread on this event yet. It's gonna be pretty big.

If you haven't been following the story, WVR/Sengoku couldn't get a TV deal (or something like that) for their NYE event, so they are doing a big copromotion with Dream and K-1, and a lot of fights are going down as Dream vs. WVR. In typical Japanese fashion, the card is not complete yet, but a few more fights were added yesterday, and they are badass.

The full card is as follows:

* Masato vs. Andy Souwer (K-1)
* Satoshi Ishii vs. Hidehiko Yoshida (MMA)
* Shinya Aoki vs. Mizuto Hirota (MMA)
* Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Kazunori Yokota (MMA)
* Masanori Kanehara vs. Norofumi "Kid" Yamamoto (MMA)
* Akihiro Gono vs. Hayato "Mach" Sakurai (MMA)
* Hiroshi Izumi vs. Katsuyori Shibata (MMA)
* Marlon Sandro vs. Hideo Tokoro (MMA)
* Michihiro Omigawa vs. Hiroyuki Takaya (MMA)
* Kazuyuki Fujita vs. Alistair Overeem (MMA)
* Yosuke Nishijima vs. Ray Sefo (K-1)
* Ikuhisa Minowa vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (MMA/"Super Hulk" finale)
* Hiroya vs. Japan Masaaki Noiri (K-1 KOSHIEN semifinal)
* Katsuki Ishida vs. Shota Shimada (K-1 KOSHIEN semifinal)
* Tsukasa Fuji vs. Ryuya Kusakabe (K-1 KOSHIEN semifinal reserve)

Melvin Manhoef vs. Kazuo Misaki is probably going to be added, and maybe 2-3 more fights.

Oh, I forgot to mention the best part.....I'm going!

[CPT]

Come on, no interest in this?

Someone at least pretend to be jealous.

[Posey H8er]

Overeem was supposed to fight Andrei Arlovski but instead chose to fight Fujita. Interesting...

[CPT]

Overeem was supposed to fight Andrei Arlovski but instead chose to fight Fujita. Interesting...

Yeah. That would have been an awesome fight. I think that's a really interesting matchup. Hopefully they set it up in the future in either Dream or Strikeforce.

I guess since he just fought two K-1 bouts 3 weeks ago, getting KO'd (kinda) in one, it makes sense for him to take a fight with a lesser opponent. But as a fan, it kinda sucks.

Mousasi vs. Gary Goodridge has been added as well, and apparently it will be an MMA fight, even though it had previously been reported as a K-1 rules bout. Joke of a fight, but it's not like it's a co-main event. It will be fun to see Mousasi dismantle him.

[Posey H8er]

Just woke up to see Overeem land a knee from hell. Fujita is in bad shape, getting taken off in a stretcher.

Mousasi vs. Gary Goodridge up now, I think Aoki vs. Hirota will be next.

[Posey H8er]

Aoki is a boss with submissions. That was a nasty arm break.

Penn vs Aoki would be great.

[jTF2]

omfg, that is the most stacked card since late pride days... can't wait to dl them all

[jTF2]

omfg, 1/3 of the fights were early stoppages imo.

dissapointed in their kickboxing matches 2 months ago and now this crap. the hell with K-1

[Posey H8er]

Totally classless.

[Deelow_23]

Submission of the year!

[damo[23]]

Is it just me, that while they get alot of "top" fighters, that Dream/K1/Strikeforce some times have a horrible habbit of creating incredibly one sided match ups?

[Cammo101]

I'd love to see Aoki fight Penn. Not because I think Aoki can challenge him, but because I would love to see him get knocked unconscious.

[damo[23]]

I would to cammo, I wasn't the biggest Aoki fan before that, but I just hate people showing a lack of class in sports.

Also it would shut people up about Aoki / Penn when Aoki fails to take Penn down for the 29th time and then Penn jabs his face into a pulp.

[kdawg32086]

Even if Aoki did manage to get the takedown, I think Penn would still dominate him on the ground. I'd say Penn's jiu jitsu is on a higher level.

[REDDzone]

I read on other forums where people think Aoki could actually beat Penn. I think that's such a crazy viewpoint.

And that isn't to discredit Aoki, I think he is a very talented fighter and obviously a creative submission artist. With that said, BJ would be such a horrible matchup for him.

BJ is so hard to take down, and is obviously light years better on his feet than Aoki, add in the fact that BJ doesn't get submitted, and you got a pretty one sided beating for Shinya IMO.

[jTF2]

Penn/Aoki would go same as Sakurai/Aoki x100

[Nemesis21]

I just saw the youtube video of Aoki vs Hirota, that was nasty.


I've read Jake Rossen, MMA blogger say that Aoki will not beat Penn if they fight.


Bring Aoki to UFC, I want to see BJ beat the best at 155. He pretty much cleaned out 155 in UFC so far.

[cowboyronnie]

I think there are 5-10 guys in the UFC, maybe more, who would smash Aoki. I have insane respect for his ability to finish fights, it's awesome. But the speed and power and ferocity of a lot of UFC LWs would overwhelm him. The wrestling base and focus on power in American-based MMA is a terrible match-up for him. Yeah, 10 guys, I'd bet.

I want to see against Kawajiri next. He could prove me totally wrong with a win there, against a style he'd see otu of the U.S. basically. And there's a rivalry, I believe. I don't understand how he's managed to avoid both Ishida and Crusher.

[CPT]

I think there are 5-10 guys in the UFC, maybe more, who would smash Aoki. I have insane respect for his ability to finish fights, it's awesome. But the speed and power and ferocity of a lot of UFC LWs would overwhelm him. The wrestling base and focus on power in American-based MMA is a terrible match-up for him. Yeah, 10 guys, I'd bet.

I want to see against Kawajiri next. He could prove me totally wrong with a win there, against a style he'd see otu of the U.S. basically. And there's a rivalry, I believe. I don't understand how he's managed to avoid both Ishida and Crusher.

Agreed.

I mean, Penn would so obviously ruin him that I'm not even sure why people talk about it.

The real discussion is whether or not guys like Sanchez, Sherk, Maynard, Edgar, Griffin, Stevenson, Guida, Miller, and others could beat him. I think a good number of them could, but they are all behind him in most rankings you see. A fight with Kawajiri wouldn't settle the argument either way, but it would shed some light on how Aoki would do against a guy with that kind of style. I think the fight with Sakurai showed what will happen against bigger, more powerful fighters. People will say that was at 170, but I think there are LWs in the UFC who step into the cage as big or bigger than Sakurai was that night.

In Aoki's defence, everyone he fights has to know that he is looking to take them down and sub them (and sometimes he doesn't even need a conventional takedown to do it), yet he is still able to do what he wants to do. He did it to Eddie Alvarez, who has more of an "American style," even though his is based more on standup. Aoki just might be so good in that one area that it makes up for his deficiencies elsewhere. I also think he would have a pretty good chance at beating Kenny Florian, who is considered by most to be a top 3-5 LW worldwide.

His next fight will either be Melendez in Strikeforce or Kawajiri in Dream, so he'll be getting a real test either way.

[cowboyronnie]

It's a weird situation where Aoki, IMO, is a top 3-5 LW who also would get beaten by 10 or so LWs. He gets his ranking cos he finishes 3 out of every 4 fights, and yet I can't imagine how he would catch many of that group of UFCers CPT mentions. Those guys would pound him out. Sanchez sure as **** beats him.

Ignoring Ws and Ls, he's a rare LW who finishes fights.

In Aoki's defence, everyone he fights has to know that he is looking to take them down and sub them (and sometimes he doesn't even need a conventional takedown to do it), yet he is still able to do what he wants to do.

No question. He first came to attention in htat Pride bout 3.5 years ago, and was a sensation. But you had to think that the gig would be up real quick. Guys just wouldn't go to the ground with him. From then on, before every fight you'd be thinking, 'he can't do it again'. And he would. He'd nail some exotic submission and move onto the next fight where you'd have to doubt him again. It was nuts.

He's awesome. I'm get giddy thinking about his run of subs. I'm like a little girl over here.