Kazushi Sakuraba

(Overeem vs. Thompson. Props to DreamCageFights. And special props to Michael Schiavello for predicting that this fight wouldn't last long. How the hell did he see that one coming?!?)

- Alistair Overeem def. James Thompson via submission (guillotine choke), 0:33 of round 1
- Eddie Alvarez def. Katsunori Kikuno via submission (arm-triangle choke), 3:42 of round 2 
- Marius Zaromskis def. Myeon Ho Bae via KO (head kick), 0:19 of round 1 
- Kazushi Sakuraba def. Zelg Galesic via submission (kneebar), 1:40 of round 1 
- Katsuyori Shibata def. Tokimitsu Ishizawa via TKO, 4:52 of round 1 
- Dong Sik Yoon def. Tarec Saffiedine via split decision 
- Yoshiro Maeda def. Chase Beebe via submission (rear-naked choke), 3:36 of round 1 
- Kuniyoshi Hironaka def. Won Sik Park via TKO (eye injury), 5:00 of round 1
- Tomoya Miyashita def. Keisuke Fujiwara via unanimous decision

More fight videos after the jump...

(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:

("...moooooooorrrrrrrre brreeeeeaaaaaaasssssst miiiiiiiiilllllllk...")

Props to Fightlinker for unearthing this absolutely amazing baby picture of Brock Lesnar, proving once and for all that Lesnar arrived in this world enormous, ornery, and ready to consume everything in his path. (Not pictured: The tiny pacifier tattoo on his chest.) Check out that Krang-esque head-shape; my God, his poor mother. More awesome pics of MMA fighters as youngsters after the jump...

Fighting for a living is a lot like teasing a really mean dog: you can’t do it forever without something bad happening to you.  Even the great ones get to a point where their drive becomes sluggish and their bellies are too full for them to stay hungry, and that’s usually when a particularly bad beating takes what remaining fire they have and douses it with the fury of a God pissing on your dreams.  It doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll quit right then, even if they should, but it does mean that they’ll never be the same again.  Here now, in chronological order, are the most notorious breaking points in MMA history.

IGOR ZINOVIEV vs. FRANK SHAMROCK at UFC 16, 3/13/98

It’s hard to say that Igor Zinoviev was really on his way to being a legend of the sport, because he got stopped almost before he really got started.  The former Soviet Army commando was one of the first fighters in the early days of MMA to beat a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt when he TKO’d Mario Sperry, and he took out Enson Inoue the next year.  All this came after years of fighting underground brawls in Brooklyn warehouses following the fall of the Soviet Union, so his toughness was never in question.

When he joined the UFC the future was, as they say, wide open.  Then he came up against Frank Shamrock, who wasted no time in scooping him up and slamming him down so viciously that it shattered his collarbone and knocked him out cold.  It was Zinoviev's first career loss, and he would never fight again after that.  We’re not saying the devastating finish served as the catalyst for Shamrock’s out of control ego over the next 10+ years, but we’re not saying it helped, either.

...because without costumes and choreographed dance routines, it's just two guys beating the hell out of each other. Booooooring!

(Future UFC champion/part-time Michael Jackson impersonator Anderson Silva won't stop 'til he gets enough at PRIDE 22.)

("Keaton always said, 'I don't believe in God, but I'm afraid of him.' Well I believe in God, and the only thing that scares me is Diego Sanchez.")