(Aoki’s magic tights couldn’t protect him from a fight-ending elbow strike. Photo courtesy of MMAWeekly.)

Dream’s debut event went down earlier today in Japan and showcased some soild action and an annoying “no contest.” To the surprise of no one, Cro Cop rocked Tatsuya Mizuno, ending the fight by a KO just 56 ticks into the match. Mizuno was drilled repeatedly by Cro Cop’s punches and couldn’t recover to survive the onslaught.

MMA Weekly has a choice quote from Cro Cop:

“A lot of fighters refuse to fight me these days, but he had courage and he accepted,” said Filipovic afterward from center ring. “For my next fight, I will need a stronger opponent, so anyone is welcome.”

Well, if you need a stronger opponent, anyone is not welcome. Let’s just get him a worthy adversary next time.

In the Lightweight Grand Prix fight many of us were eyeing, Gesias “J.Z.” Calvancante and Shinya Aoki‘s fight was ruled a “no contest” which always blows. J.Z. caught Aoki with an elbow to the back – which is illegal – and the ref stopped the action. Aoki was given ample time to recover, but couldn’t continue. “J.Z.” reportedly did some weird arm-raising prayer routine in his corner while waiting for Aoki to bounce back. When the fight was called by the ringside doc, both fighters apologized to the fans.

In other notable fights, Mitsuhiro Ishida beat Jung Kyung by decision in a fight that had many complaining for lack of actual fighting. “Dida” Amade and mouthy Eddie Alvarez saw Alvarez overpower and pound away, giving the Philly native the win.

Tatsuya Kawajiri outagressed Kultar “The Black Mamba” Gill for a decision win, and Ikuhisa “Minowaman” Minowa kneebarred Lee Gwan into a submission at 1:25 of the first. The tournament winners will fight in May to see who goes to the finials in July.

Full Results:

– Shinya Aoki vs. “J.Z.” Calvancante – No Contest (Illegal Elbow)
– Tatsuya Kawajiri over Kultar “The Black Mamba” Gill via Unanimous Decision
– Eddie Alvarez over Andre “Dida” Amade via TKO, 6:47, Round 1
– Cro Cop over Tatsuya Mizuno via TKO (Strikes), 0:56, Round 1
– Mitsuhiro Ishida over Jung Bu Kyung via Unanimous Decision
– Katsuhiko Nagata over Artur Oumakhanov via Unanimous Decision
– Luiz Firmino over Kazuyuki Miyata via Submission (Rear Naked Choke), 7:37, Round 1
– Joachim Hansen over Koutetsu Boku via Unanimous Decision
– Hayato Sakurai over Hidetaka Monma via TKO (Strikes), 4:12, Round 1
– Ikuhisa Minowa over Lee Gwan via Submission (Kneebar), 1:25, Round 1

We’ll have Dream videos up for ya soon.