Zelg Galesic

(Now that's what a commitment to deadpan looks like. Props: Kamipro.com)

Dream’s great experiment inside a cage is now less than a week away, and though they’re inching closer they still haven’t finalized the complete lineup.  The most recent addition is Japanese legend Kazushi Sakuraba taking on Croatian striker Zelg Galesic.  Galesic was originally slated to face Melvin Manhoef who, like a couple other participants who appeared on the promotional poster, has since pulled out.  Instead, Sakuraba will go directly from fighting a pro boxer with no idea that leg kicks actually hurt, to fighting a guy who has what it takes to give him another Manhoef-style beating like the one that probably should have heralded the end of his career.  So basically, if there’s anything you’ve been wanting to say to Sakuraba, you better go ahead and say it now while you still have the chance.

Meanwhile, Alistair Overeem will head to Japan fresh off his assault on Tony Sylvester at Ultimate Glory 11 this weekend, and still there’s no word on who he’ll be facing when he steps in the white cage on Sunday.  Since the odds of Dream booking a top-ten heavyweight on less than a week’s notice aren’t all that great, it’s probably safe to say that Overeem will be getting his second squash match in as many weekends.  Maybe the reason he’s avoiding the U.S. isn’t fear of drug tests.  Maybe he just likes beating up on guys who are nowhere near his skill-level and getting paid for it.  Not having to pee in a cup at the end of the night, that’s just a bonus.

The current line-up for Dream.12, courtesy of Nightmare of Battle, is looking like this:

Gegard Mousasi vs. Melvin Manhoef

Zelg Galesic vs. Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza

The conclusion of Dream.6's middleweight Grand Prix, plus more, after the jump.

Props: MMA Scraps

Armenian-Dutch fighter Gegard Mousasi put in a career-making performance at today's DREAM.6 in Saitama, Japan, earning quick stoppage victories over Melvin Manhoef and Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza to win the middleweight grand prix. In his first fight of the night, Mousasi easily dominated Manhoef, quickly scoring a trip-takedown, then securing the mount and clamping on a triangle choke when Manhoef reversed the position. Manhoef attempted to slam out of it, but was forced to tap at the 1:28 mark. Meanwhile on the other side of the bracket, Souza enjoyed a similarly brief win over Croatian Zelg Galesic. After getting a double-leg takedown, Souza passed from guard to mount and snatched an armbar when Galesic tried to buck.

Both men moved into the GP finals relatively fresh — not that they needed to be. When Mousasi and Souza finally met in the last fight of the night, it seemed like Mousasi was in over his head, as Souza first slammed him then began to drop punches from half-guard. But Souza made the fatal error of standing up, and Mousasi caught him with a Hail Mary upkick that knocked Jacare out cold as he began to dive in for a punch.

DREAM.6's non-tourney featured matches went pretty much as expected, with the stars beating up on the cans. Shinya Aoki returned to his flamboyantly winning ways, hopping on the back of WEC castoff Todd Moore and finishing him at the 1:10 mark with a neck crank. Jimmy Ambriz should be applauded for lasting over two minutes with Sergei Kharitonov, who battered The Titan with vicious strikes until Ambriz was forced to tap on the ground. After abusing him for most of the first round, Yoshihiro Akiyama submitted karate practitioner Masanori Tonooka (1-2), who, let's just say, is no Lyoto Machida.

The only real surprise (and disappointment) was how the heavyweight feature between Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic and Alistair Overeem played out.