DREAM.5 QUICK RESULTS

Daisuke Nakamura def. Andy Ologun via Submission (Armbar), R1 - 3:41

DREAM LWGP Semi-Finals
Shinya Aoki def. Caol Uno via Decision (Unanimous)
Eddie Alvarez def. Tatsuya Kawajiri via TKO (Punches), R1 - 7:35

DREAM LWGP Reserve Bout
Joachim Hansen def. Kultar Gill via Submission (Armbar), R1 - 2:33

Joseph Benavidez def. Junya Kudo via Submission (Guillotine Choke), R1 - 2:42

Kuniyoshi Hironaka def. Motoki Miyazawa via TKO (Cut), R1 - 8:57

Hideo Tokoro def. Takeshi Yamazaki via Decision (Unanimous)
Tokoro was issued a yellow card in Round 1 for twice kicking Yamazaki in the groin. A portion of Tokoro's purse will be withheld.

Yoshihiro Akiyama def. Katsuyori Shibata via Technical Submission (Gi Choke), R1 - 6:34

Alistair Overeem def. Mark Hunt via Submission (Keylock), R1 - 1:11

Eddie Alvarez was unable to continue to the LWGP finals due to an eye injury sustained in the Kawajiri fight.

Joachim Hansen def. Shinya Aoki via TKO (Punches), R1 - 4:19
Joachim "Hellboy" Hansen wins the DREAM 2008 Light Weight Grand Prix and becomes the first-ever DREAM Light Weight Champion. He announced after the fight that he would like his first title defense to be against Eddie Alvarez.

The losing LWGP semifinalists were awarded ¥1,000,000 (about $9,400).
Aoki received ¥3,000,000 ($28,000), and Hansen ¥10,000,000 ($94,000).
(These bonuses are in addition to their fight purses.)

Full play-by-play, results and videos in the extended entry.

- - - - - - - - - -

BloodyElbow.com will be bringing you live results and discussion of the DREAM.5 event taking place tonight in Osaka, Japan. The telecast starts at 2:00 AM EST / 11:00 PM PDT on HDNet and is scheduled for four hours. If you can manage to stay awake, be sure to make your way back here to add your comments on the final round of the DREAM Light Weight Grand Prix and/or gently chide the semi-conscious ramblings of Kenny Rice.

Less than 5 minutes now! It can't go quickly enough, this All-For-Nots stuff on HDNet is tough to watch. Of course with fighter intros and everything it could be past 2:30 before we see our first fight.

Bas and Kenny are actually in Japan! This is a very good thing. It's been apparent on the past few DREAM cards that they were watching on a feed. Kenny cops a Mike Goldberg line and says Eddie Alvarez is "on a meteoric rise!" Talking to Ron Kruck, Alvarez says DREAM has kept him away from the Japanese fighters but they have no choice now. Some huge pyro goes off behind the announce desk and Bas ducks like he thinks it's gunshots.

Fighter introduction time. Katsuyori Shibata gets a big pop from the crowd, but his opponent Akiyama gets a bigger one. Or were they boos? That is one smug looking dude. Aoki is jazzed, jogging in place and pointing out to the crowd. Uno's got a big smile. The music stops blaring and Bas says it's "back to the good old times" - I dunno about that, but it's always good to hear ex-PRIDE announcer lady Lenne Hardt.

Daisuke Nakamura vs. Andy Ologun

Nakamura's got some swinging brass stuff playing for his walk, very weird. Ologun looks serious and Nakamura kind of nervous. On paper, this should be a first round submission for the Japanese specialist, but I'm getting a weird vibe.

Round 1: Leg kicks to start things off by kickboxer Ologun, but Daisuke's wearing the Pancrase style boots. Shoot and a leglock attempt from Nakamura but Ologun escapes nicely and lands a couple shots on his way out. Back on the feet, Nakamura clinches with Ologun and jumps guard like a demonic monkey. Ologun stays on his feet, sprawling, but Nakamura lands in a perfect position to isolate Ologun's right arm, tucks his shoulder and stretches it out face-down. Weird feeling unwarranted - Ologun taps.

Daisuke Nakamura def. Andy Ologun via Submission (Armbar), R1 - 3:41

DREAM LWGP Semi-Finals

Shinya Aoki vs. Caol Uno

Folks are loving the "Baka Survivor." Aoki rocking the gi and taking his time on his way down the ramp as per usual. Stops for a drink of water and spits it into the air pro wrestling style. No word yet on tonight's choice of grappling pants. Uno's music starts out sounding like Braveheart and morphs into a weird mash-up of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" with... cowbell? Uno's clearly emotional as he prays before entering the ring. He lays down on the canvas and stares at the ceiling for five seconds or so before the lights come up. Aoki's got red, white and blue pants with tons of gi patches sewn in.

Round 1: Some tentative feeling-out in the first moments. Aoki finally lunges with a high kick but Uno avoids. More feinting. Aoki comes in with a flying knee, ties up with Uno at the ropes and wrestles him down. Uno reverses but Aoki's controlling his wrists. Big cheer of "A-o-ki!" from the crowd. The ref restarts it in the center. Aoki's still got Uno's hands and almost cinches up a triangle, but Uno stands up and escapes. Now Uno's standing but Aoki's got his left leg wrapped up. Why is Uno wearing shoes? Aoki takes him down and works for a toe hold. Uno escapes.Aoki still has the leg! But Uno's rolling out of everything, and Aoki is giving it everything he has. They're back to the feet but Aoki scrambles and take's Uno's back. Now both with their backs to the ground. Halfway point - this is the 10-minute round and it's looking like it could be a long one for Uno. Aoki throwing peppering shots from the back. Now the ref steps in to fix Aoki's glove, which has slipped off partially from all the grabbing. They restart, still on the ground, now Aoki up high on the back, controlling Uno's head with his left arm. Now he full takes the back with a body triangle sunk in, working for a crossface or RNC. Uno trying to throw some elbows to Aoki's knee and liver, but it's not doing much. Out of nowhere, Aoki takes Uno's right arm and slaps on a lightning quick triangle. Uno's hanging in there but it is deep. Uno stands up as Aoki works for an armbar on the free arm. Uno breaks it! Impressive escape, it looked to be the end. Now Aoki upkicks at the standing Uno as the round runs out. Total positional domination by Aoki, but great heart from Uno.

Round 2: Now the five-minute round. Aoki takes Uno down after about :30 and soon has his back again. Uno's looking tired, not throwing much back at Aoki now. Uno tying up Aoki's hands so he can't look for the choke. A couple solid punches from Uno. Now Uno on his back with Aoki laying on his side, still with the body triangle sunk in. Finally Aoki gets to the top, hips still glued to Uno's. Aoki is putting on a clinic. He takes Uno's back once more with a minute left and this looks over. Uno rolls and takes Aoki's guard, postures up and connects with one nice punch but can't muster much more. Aoki ties him up, looking for a gogoplata, but Uno defends and the round expires. Should be a unanimous decision for the grappler.

Bloody Elbow scores the fight for Shinya Aoki.

Shinya Aoki def. Caol Uno via Decision (Unanimous)
Aoki is the first finalist in the DREAM 2008 Light Weight Grand Prix.

Eddie Alvarez vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri

Alvarez looks ready and it sounds like the Philly boy's been embraced by at least some of the Japanese fans after his outstanding tourney showings. Now Crusher gets the whole place going. Great staredown between the two before we begin.

Round 1: Alvarez counters some leg kicks from Kawajiri with snappy one-two combos. Now he shoots but the Japanese fighters sprawls and ties up with Alvarez against the ropes. Ref Yuji Shimada restarts it. Kawajiri fires off a hard right. More combos from Alvarez, but Kawajiri makes him pay with rights when he comes inside. Accurate right leg kicks being thrown by Alvarez, who's stayinig outside the Crusher's range. Kawajiri clocks Eddie with a left, but the American responds with a flurry that floors his opponent. Alvarez pounces but Kawajiri is surviving. Back on the feet, small exchanges but nothing hard. They've stopped to check a cut on Alvarez' left eye. It's in close to the eye, the docs are looking close. Uh oh. They might be looking for a reason to stop this. But they restart it. Kawajiri drops Alvarez with the hardest punch of the match so far, pounces and starts to smother. Kawajiri moves the mount but Alvarez escapes! They're both throwing wildly on the feet - Kawajiri goes down, now Alvarez is on his knees! Alvarez may have busted Kawajiri's nose. Now Eddie jacks him with uppercut-hook combos that put Kawajiri flat on his back, and Alvarez walks away raising his hands as if to say it's over. But it's not! The ref won't call it. Alvarez pounces and lands five or six more shots before Kawajiri rolls to his knees. Eddie takes his back, throws a couple more hard rights and now Shimada has to step in. He could have saved Kawajiri the trouble. Great show from Alvarez, but how much will he have left for Aoki later?

Eddie Alvarez def. Tatsuya Kawajiri via TKO (Punches), R1 - 7:35
Alvarez advances to face Shinya Aoki in the finals of the DREAM 2008 Light Weight Grand Prix.

DREAM LWGP Reserve Bout
Joachim "Hellboy" Hansen vs. "Black Mamba" Kultar Gill

Round 1: Hansen shoots immediately but Mamba clinches up and starts throwing long-distance knees with his lanky legs. They tie up with Hansen's back to the post. More knees inside from Gill. They're restarted in the center. Gill is looking much more crisp than he had in recent bouts. Hellboy's bulldogging him and jumps to the ground looking for an armbar, but the Mamba defends. Now Hansen looking for a triangle, nothing doing, so he switches to Gill's left arm instead and extends, facing the ground. It's a wrap.

Joachim Hansen def. Kultar Gill via Submission (Armbar), R1 - 2:33

The always respectful Hellboy thanks Japanese MMA fans and reveals that his boxing coach's mother is "fighting for her life right now."

Joseph Benavidez vs. Junya "KODO" Kudo

They show Urijah Faber on the big screen. In a video intro, Faber says of his training partner Benavidez: "People are gonna be watching and say, 'Who's this freak? This strange animal.'" Now the California Kid is in the corner during the intros, filming everything with a digital camera.

Round 1: Kudo strikes first with a glancing left, then pulls guard. Benavidez postures up and breaks it, now scrambling into a north-south choke and Benavidez throws some knees to the head. Back to the feet, exchanging knees in the clinch. Benavidez throws a right kick, it's caught, but it allows him to come inside on Kudo and slam him to the ground with one arm. Scrambling, now Benavidez takes his back. He sinks in a guillotine choke, Kudo tries to scramble out. But he fails and winds up on his back! Benavidez has the choke in tight and is squeezing with serious power. Kodo's legs are flailing and he finally chooses to tap. Benavidez is still undefeated, running his record to 8-0.

Joseph Benavidez def. Junya Kudo via Submission (Guillotine Choke), R1 - 2:42

This show is kicking UFC and Affliction's asses right now. Benavidez on the mic says that it's been his goal since he started fighting MMA to come to Japan and he'd like to stay with DREAM and be featherweight champ someday. The fans are very receptive once it passes through the translator, and plenty want to slap hands with Benavidez on his way back to the locker room.

Motoki Miyazawa vs. Kuniyoshi Hironaka

Hironaka could really use a win here to establish himself as a serious WW competitor in Japan again. He lost 3 of his 4 fights in the UFC before being dropped from his contract, though those losses were to John Fitch, Thiago Alves and Jonathan Goulet. (Hey, he did beat Forrest Petz...) It shouldn't be a huge problem though - Miyazawa is 4-0, but mostly against low-level competition in Greatest Common Multiple.

Round 1: Hironaka taking some time to size up the southpaw, then wades in and ties it up at the corner. Miyazawa jumps into standing guard, but relents after 20 seconds or so. They stall out in the corner and it's restarted. Miyazawa jumps guard again, and pulls Hironaka to the floor this time. Nice rubber guard by Motoki. Hironaka stacks him up in the corner now but almost eats an upkick. Hironaka trying to punch through the ropes, this might get restarted. And it does. Miyazawa closing the distance again, now points towards his eye and looks at the ref. Not sure what that was. Hironaka looks tentative and can't find his range at the moment. Now he's landing more on his combos. Miyazawa looked good at first but now has curiously stopped pushing his pace and is letting Hironaka back him up. Miyazawa is cut very near to his left eye. Hironaka still landing, now with a little more confidence though he's streaming blood from his left nostril. A flurry from Hironaka backs Motoki against the post and Hironaka cracks him with a right straight that opens another cut near Miyazawa's left eye. The docs are looking it over in the corner. And they call it.

Kuniyoshi Hironaka def. Motoki Miyazawa via TKO (Cut), R1

Looks like intermission time as Kenny implores us to check out all the great MMA that HDNet has brought us in the first half of 2008. Now the sound cuts out. How will I know what's going on in these SportFight highlights?? Oh hey, there's an MFC card this Friday.

Urijah joins the announce team for a chat. He's sporting a WEC shirt and sounds proud of his teammate Benavidez' big win. On the topic of Hunt vs. Overeem, Bas predicts Overeem by guillotine. Faber dances around the topic of competition for a minute and says he'd love to fight in Japan were it not for "politics," then finally mentions KID by name. Faber's hyping Benavidez , says he could beat Yamamoto. (The two were supposed to fight tonight before KID got injured.)

Hideo Tokoro vs. Takeshi Yamazaki

DEEP standout Yamazaki enters to an upbeat jazz number that even prompts Bas to say "that was a weird intro song." This should be a great one.

Round 1: Snappy right leg kicks and solid left hands over the top from Yamazaki. About a minute in, Tokoro lands an accidental kick to the groin. Yamasaki takes a knee, now back in his corner momentarily and he's ready to roll. Tokoro tries for a trip but Yamazaki takes him down. Tokoro grabbing for arms. Now Yamazaki stacks him up, Tokoro upkicking and looking for a triangle. Yamazaki has side control, cradling Tokoro and stalling the action. Back to the feet, Yamazaki has a guillotine briefly, shooting some knees up, and they break. They're boxing again and Tokoro uncorks with a right straight that turns Yamazaki around and drops him to his knees. Tokoro follows him down, takes his back, now they stand up with Tokoro controlling his opponent's left arm. Yamazaki escapes, ties Tokoro up in the corner but the ref restarts them quickly. Tokoro deals Yamazaki another low blow, this one's way harder and lands square. It didn't look intentional but Bas says it was. Takeshi wincing in pain, trying to recoup. Tokoro is issued a yellow card. They restart after a couple minutes. Tokoro landing hard shots to Yamazaki's grill, then clinches and throws a knee right up the middle. Yamazaki drops to his knees and takes Tokoro with him, stacking him up amidst the ropes. Tokoro uses the ropes to his advantage, rolls out and grabs the right leg. Almost sunk in a kneebar but Yamazaki was able to pull free. 3:00 left and with Yamazaki back on top, things are stalling out. Tokoro controlling Yamazaki's right wrist and throwing right hammerfists of his own from the bottom. Yamazaki showing great submission defense, neutralizing every triangle attempt by Tokoro.

Round 2: Tokoro blasts Yamazaki with a series of precise right high kicks and left jabs. Yamazaki ties it up and recovers for a bit before the ref breaks it up. Yamazaki looking worn and a little desperate with a flying knee and Superman punch. Tokoro controlling Yamazaki's left arm in the corner, now the ref restarts them once more. Yamazaki snatches a kick from Tokoro and trips him to the ground after a hop around the ring. With 1:00 remaining, Yamazaki is maintaining position, but basically just blanketing from the guard and side. Tokoro can't find anything from the bottom, but he's staying much more active. Time runs out, both fighters look exhausted.

Bloody Elbow scores the fight for Hideo Tokoro

Hideo Tokoro def. Takeshi Yamazaki via Decision (Unanimous)

Tokoro tosses his shirt, perhaps accidentally, to Bas Rutten.

Eddie Alvarez is out of the Light Weight Grand Prix Final! Holy crap. The cut didn't look too bad, but apparently it's enough to keep him out of the fight with Aoki. Alvarez will fittingly be replaced by Joachim Hansen. The last time Hansen and Aoki met (New Year's Eve 2006 in PRIDE), Aoki gogoplata'd Hellboy in less than 3 minutes.

Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Katsuyori Shibata

Akiyama makes his typical melodramatic entrance to "Time To Say Goodbye" from Phantom of the Opera. The ever-polite Japanese crowd boos him mercilessly with thumbs pointed downwards as he kneels to them from the top of the ramp.

Round 1: Akiyama is fighting in full gi, Akiyama just in pro wrestling style trunks with his ankles wrapped. Nothing much doing in the two minutes. Feints and low kicks from both men, Akiyama landing his more sharply. The booth informs Bas that Shibata was wearing a t-shirt that read "Funaki." Now almost four minutes gone and Akiyama keeps tugging at his gi sleeves. Shibata is moving in occasionally but seems hesitant to engage his more experienced opponent. Shibata ducks a mean-looking right high kick from Akiyama, but Akiyama takes the wrestler down as he finishes the rotation. Shibata tries for the armbar but Akiyama's not having it, shakes him off. Akiyama passes to full mount. He's got his left forearm over Shibata's throat and his right arm behind the head, grabbing his own sleeve. The ref takes a closer look, realizes Shibata is out cold and shoves Akiyama off as Shibata's head slumps to the canvas.

Yoshihiro Akiyama def. Katsuyori Shibata via Technical Submission (Choke), R1

A highly emotional Eddie Alvarez comes to the ring after the fight and it's announced to the crowd that he won't compete in the finals. His right eye really is nearly swollen shut; he shouldn't be fighting. Choking back tears and being cheered on by the fans, Alvarez says he wouldn't want anyone other than Hansen replacing him in the finals. He challenges the winner of Aoki/Hansen and promises the Japanese fans he'll be back to fight for them again. A backflip off the turnbuckle and Alvarez has to be an official star in Japan now.

Mark Hunt vs. Alistair Overeem

No knees on the ground for this one, due to a weight differential of more than 15kg.

Round 1: After some leg kicks from Hunt, Overeem tries to come in and gets swatted down by Hunt. The New Zealander is in Overeem's guard now. Overeem rolls left, looking for a kimura. Now Alastair escapes from the bottom, loops his leg over Hunt's head and is trying to extend Hunt's right arm. He does! Hunt taps! Fantastic win from Overeem on less than a week's notice, extending "The Demolition Man's" win streak to three, his longest since 2004.

Alistair Overeem def. Mark Hunt via Submission (Keylock), R1

DREAM LWGP Finals
Shinya Aoki vs. Joachim "Hellboy" Hansen

In PRIDE fashion, the Norwegian and Japanese national anthems are played before the championship bout. Hansen has a cut on the nose, right between the eyes. Aoki's switched to black and yellow bumblebee grappling pants, same colors as the hometown Osaka Tigers.

Round 1: Hansen swings and misses with a right uppercut as Aoki changes levels and takes him down. Now upkicks from Hansen as Aoki looks to pass guard. Shots from the bottom by Hansen with Aoki riding in half-guard. Aoki gets back to his feet and avoids an upkick to the head, but takes one to the groin. Looks like he'll be fine, he's taking a knee to recover. They shake hands in the center of the ring and they're back at it. Aoki pulls guard, then rubber guard, tying up Hansen's right arm. Hansen's back up and frees himself, then sends a couple of hard shots straight down through Aoki's full guard. Hansen dives in with a crushing left-handed Superman punch that turns Aoki on his side. Aoki's out cold! The ref doesn't see it at first and Hansen unloads with more shots that wake the Tokiban Judan back up. Aoki looks like he's trying to tap in slow motion as the ref calls it off.

Joachim Hansen def. Shinya Aoki via TKO (Punches), R1
Joachim Hansen wins the DREAM 2008 Light Weight Grand Prix and becomes the first ever DREAM Light Weight Champion.

Aoki comes to and is absolutely crushed, sobbing his corner. Eddie Alvarez leaps up on his chair and then into the ring to celebrate with Hansen, who is overjoyed. On the mic, Hellboy tells the Japanese fans that he wants his first title defense to be against Alvarez, who climbs back into the ring and embraces Hansen again.

Uno joins the other semifinalists in the ring, and he and Alvarez are awarded big-ass novelty checks for ¥1,000,000 (about $9,400). Aoki receives ¥3,000,000 ($28,000), and Hansen ¥10,000,000 ($94,000).