Sakurai Stuns Aoki, Monson and Shaolin Score Wins at DREAM.8
(Hayato Sakurai vs. Shinya Aoki. Listen for the Japanese version of Frank Trigg calling the action at the 1:20-1:27 mark of the video.)
The opening round of DREAM's 2009 welterweight grand prix went down today at DREAM.8 in Nagoya, Japan, with Hayato Sakurai and Andre Galvao establishing themselves as early favorites to go all the way. In the evening's main event, Sakurai was able to defeat Shinya Aoki for the second time in his career, reversing position after a slick takedown from Aoki, then unleashing a brutal series of knees to the head and punches that forced a stop to the action just 27 seconds into the fight. Aoki, who didn't bother putting on weight for the match, hopefully learned that he's better off at lightweight.
Elsewhere in the welterweight GP, Andre Galvao looked impressive yet again, taking out UFC/WEC vet John Alessio by armbar at 7:34 of the first round; the powerful jiu-jitsu ace increases his record to 3-0, with all wins by armbar. Jason High was able to bounce back to the W column with a quick choke-out of Yuya Shirai, while Marius Zaromskis edged out Seichi Ikemoto by decision after a 15-minute slugfest.
In the non-tournament bouts, Jeff Monson won for the third time in three weeks (!), using his significant grappling advantage over Sergei Kharitonov to sink in a north-south choke early in the first round. Vitor "Shaolin" Ribeiro was also victorious in his return to competition, controlling Katsuhiko Nagata for most of the first round of their match until a series of knee-strikes from Ribeiro opened up a nasty gash on Nagata's head; doctors immediately went in to check the wound, and decided to stop the fight. And in a minor upset, Riki Fukuda — a late replacement for Dong Sik Yoon — was able to score a very close decision over Murilo Rua after a 15-minute standup battle.
Full results and more videos after the jump...
Welterweight GP Opening Round
Hayato Sakurai def. Shinya Aoki via TKO, 0:27 of round 1
Jason High def. Yuya Shirai via submission (rear-naked choke), 0:59 of round 1
Marius Zaromskis def. Seichi Ikemoto via unanimous decision
Andre Galvao def. John Alessio via submission (armbar), 7:34 of round 1
Daiki Hata def. Hideo Tokoro via unanimous decision [featherweight GP opening-round bout]
Jeff Monson def. Sergei Kharitonov via submission (north-south choke), 1:42 of round 1
Riki Fukuda def. Murilo "Ninja" Rua via unanimous decision
Vitor Ribeiro def. Katsuhiko Nagata via TKO (cut stoppage), 7:58 of round 1
Andrews Nakahara def. Shungo Oyama via TKO, 2:00 of round 1
Katsutori Shibata def. Ikuhisa Minowa via unanimous decision
(Jeff Monson vs. Sergei Kharitonov)
(Andre Galvao vs. John Alessio)
(Vitor Ribeiro vs. Katsuhiko Nagata)
Tags: DREAM, DREAM.8, Hayato Sakurai, Japan, Jeff Monson, Mach, MMA, Shinya Aoki, Vitor Ribeiro
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Comments
Richard Tucker Says:
This just in: Aoki Vows to File Suit With the Nagoya Athletic Commission, Claims Sakurai "Felt Greasaru"
Marcer Says:
Well damn. That's 3 awesome new pairs of tights we won't get to see in this tournament now.
HillBilly Says:
Someone tell Aoki that in
the UFC knees to the head of downed opponents are illegal and because it's an octagon you can't really get tied up in a corner that totally restricts lateral movement.
Then he can come to the USA and entertain us all with his nutty butt-scooting antics.
FAS Says:
Dude, Monson is top-ten again. Time to update the rankings...
Anonymous Says:
Nitpicky assholish observation: Commentary & language is in Korean, not Japanese (Korean Frank Trigg?)
PG-13 Says:
Aoki is one of my top 3 favorite japanese fighters. Mach isn't. But i know when to admit you can't get by on BJJ for that long. I always knew he wasn't the best or second best lightweight. I'm glad that happened for 2 reasons. 1) It validates the mixed in mma. 2) Knees to the head of a downed opponent is real fighting.
Not including this fight... Mach is already one of the best fighters ever.
Michael W. Says:
This just in...WAMMA is in negotiations to make Sakurai their Welterweight champion.
BM2 Says:
You didn't put enough emphasis on Ikemoto vs Zaromskis, it was the sleeper hit of the card. Seriously.
FLYING DOUBLE PUNCH
FLYING DOUBLE INVISIBLE BASEBALL BAT PUNCH
MOONSAULT DOUBLE STOMP
CAPS LOCK HAL Says:
JUNIE BROWNING WOULD HAVE WHOOPED ALL THEIR ASSES HAD HE BEEN ON THIS CARD. HE WOULD HAVE WENT THROUGH THEM LIKE A FREAKIN ROCKET, AND BEEN NOTHING BUT UNSTOPPABLE. IT WOULD HAVE BEEN LIKE A WILD HUNGRY DOG ON A STACK OF RAW MEAT.
GetUpAndKill Says:
Uh ho ho ho ho ho....
Yeah, wayyyy out powered by Sakurai.
BIG John Mac Says:
That Monson fight shows that Jap refs are worse than US refs! Dream needs to hire me for all their fights
MMA FAN Says:
i would love to see monson beat the shit out of lesnar
Kimbo is Crap Says:
was that big country roy nelson in there with monson?? hahha i didnt know they were boys, they just fought eachother (and nelson got robbed the decision).
Cosmin Says:
Winner: Bitor "Shaorin" Ribeiro!
Ha.
I never understood why the V is replaced by a B. Seems like an F would be a much closer sound. They have plenty of F sounds in Japanese, and Fitor sounds almost exactly like Vitor.
Anonymous Says:
Actually all F sounds in Japanese are actually H sounds and V sounds are B sounds. The more you know! *bing*
Poo Flinger Says:
I just love watching Aoki get hit in the face.
Oops! Says:
i guess Ikahisa Minowa needs to either retire of shame or fight som big fat slob in a no weight contest freakshow to get back on track.
Lysol Says:
Monson top 10 again? You're either high or Jeff Monson, possibly both.
Monson is one of my favorite fighters, but let's be real and look at his past five victories: He beat Jimmy Ambriz and Ricco Rodriguez, where a victory over the Titan at this point is like beating the Kansas City Chiefs and he looked unimpressive against Ricco. Big Country got robbed against Monson, so that "victory" shouldn't have any effect on the Top 10 rankings. Sergei Maslobojev only had four fights under his belt, and was 2-2, no less, and Kharitonov has only fought twice since PRIDE went down, most recently in September of last year against none other than Jimmy Ambriz. When Monson beats someone, then yeah, put him back in the Top 10, but until then, oh well.
RaginAsian Says:
The big question here is, will this hurt Aoki's lightweight ranking on MMAweekly.com and make BJ number one again? Because everyone knows it's all about rankings.
WhaT? Says:
*sigh* Seeing knees to the head of a grounded opponent is like a breath of fresh air.
norremo Says:
Who is the YAMMA lightweight champ now? What a joke.
Aoki wouldn't stand a chance in the UFC. CP please get off his nuts, he lost again and he's not that good.
Anonymous Says:
wow aoki got owned, i am not a fan, but i felt bad. when he loses he does so in convincing fasion
Danal White Says:
>Seeing knees to the head of a grounded opponent is like a breath >of fresh air.
So what do you call a soccer kick to the head?
Pure oxygen?
But I agree with the sentiment.
Of course, the fairy princess at AOL Fanhouse thinks that getting kneed in the face a few times means you have a weak chin.
krezylobstah Says:
Anonymous actually IT IS in Japanese :)
ryguyflyguy Says:
good for sakurai,
but does anyone know where i can see wrestlemania stream live tonight?
LAS Says:
Too bad the shitty camerawork rendered the finish of Aoki/Sakurai barely intelligible. Hopefully, HDNet will have some better angles.
And wow at Jeff Monson, that's an impressive win. Looks like I was totally full of shit in calling him to get destroyed.
CAPS LOCK HAL Says:
JUNIE BROWNING WOULD HAVE WHOOPED ALL THEIR ASSES HAD HE BEEN ON THIS CARD. HE WOULD HAVE WENT THROUGH THEM LIKE A FREAKIN ROCKET, AND BEEN NOTHING BUT UNSTOPPABLE. IT WOULD HAVE BEEN LIKE A WILD HUNGRY DOG ON A STACK OF RAW MEAT..................
Wandering Wade Says:
Time for Aoki to take some striking lessons. Imanari should also follow suit.
Chri534 Says:
I'm glad to see Mazzagatti is back to work in the Monson fight. I never actually saw his face in the fight, but that impeccable handling of illegal strikes is unmistakable.
BackbaconBilly Says:
Nice to see Aoki get his ass whooped, maybe he won't feel so invinsible using only bjj from now on. The big surprise for me was how easy Monson took out Sergei, damn I gotta give him props Sergei looked worse than CAPS LOCK HAL with his Junie prediction's.
CAPS LOCK HAL Says:
YOUR AN ASSHOLE..............
betterontop Says:
You mean, you're, not your.
JUINE BROWNING Says:
CUT IT OUT DUDE. IM NOT THAT GOOD.
Jubbie Says:
I'm all for getting Aoki to start some striking lessons. However, where in that fight was his problem even really striking? He flipped a charging Mach into a takedown. He then got reversed while trying to pass and got owned by knees to the face. It was just a beautiful transition on Mach's part from butterfly guard to knee and punch battery.
Anonymous Says:
anybody else get the feeling that the caps lock guy is joking?
Payday Says:
Richard Tucker just won comment of the week...fuckin' hilarious!
Jonny5 Says:
help me out guys, which statement is more accurate? "Shinya Aoki BJ Penned himself in moving up to WW", or "Sakurai sure GSP'ed Aoki for moving up a weight class"??
Nak Muay Says:
This was the worst fucking MMA event i've seen all year and the worst Dream to date. The Japanese need to pull their heads out of their asses. I couldn't take another moment of that shit fest after the Monson fight. Kharitonov does not give a fuck any more, dude needs to hang it up.
I didn't think it was possible for Ninja to look any worse, but he sure proved me wrong last night. I thought his missed kicks were feints to draw Fukada in closer, but then I realized his striking has deteriorated to point he can't even mount a good offense. He still throws his chin out during exchanges and wasn't going for takedowns, even though he looked 1,000 times better on the ground. Good win for Fukada, I honestly hope Ninja never fights again. Also, is there any truth to Ninja's brain aneurysm rumor?
Shaolin controlled the fight and there were so many times his opponent was open for sub's, but he could only get a TKO from a cut? He has fallen hard as well.
I'll cleanse my palate with the Aoki v. Mach fight later.
The D Says:
^^ maybe you should go and get laid instead
CAPS LOCK HAL Says:
IF EVERYBODY IS READY FOR WWE WRESTLEMANIA 25, "GIMME A HELL YEAH".
Anonymous Says:
ribiero was a bit too happy to have just won by cut...
Anonymous Says:
Bah it's in Japanese now. The original clips were all ripped from some Korean feed. Now the Japanese Trigg is available.
anonymoose Says:
GHAHAHAHAHA richard tucker for comment of the month haha
Anonymous Says:
yeah that caps lock guy is fucking around
CAPS LOCK HAL Says:
GIMME A HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL YEAH...................
LAS Says:
Caps Lock Hal is the new TUF Guy.
CAPS LOCK HAL Says:
Sorry, i have a small dick and junie browning out peices of broken glass up my asshole and made me say those things.
CAPS LOCK HAL Says:
THE UNDERTAKER IS 17-0 AT WRESTLEMANIA. HE NEEDS TO FIGHT IN MMA, AND SHOW YOU BOYS HOW IT SHOULD BE DONE. 17-0, WOW THATS REALLY BADASS TO HAVE A RECORD LIKE THAT. GIMME A HELL YEAH.......................CAUSE STONE COLD SAID SO..................
Mikey Says:
Japanese Frank Trigg
Not Funny, whoever wrote this needs to kill themselves immediately