"KID" Yamamoto vs. Joe Warren at DREAM.9
by Chris Nelson on Apr 10, 2009 12:07 AM EDT
in MMA News
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Yes, really. One of the greatest featherweights of our time against a 1-0 wrestling convert.
Here are the pairings for the second round of DREAM's Featherweight Grand Prix:
Norifumi "KID" Yamamoto (17-1) vs. Joe Warren (1-0)
Masakazu Imanari (16-6-1) vs. Bibiano Fernandes (4-2)
Yoshiro Maeda (24-6-2) vs. Hiroyuki Takaya (10-6-1)
Hideo Tokoro (21-16-1) vs. Abel Cullum (14-2)
Apparently Daiki "DJ.Taiki" Hata's eye was too injured and Hideo Tokoro will take his place.
[UPDATE] A different take from smoogy in the comments:
This is actually the right booking to make. Unlike any of the other competitors, there is a strong angle here: Yamamoto and Warren were both hopefuls for the 2008 Olympics, Yamamoto in Freestyle Wrestling and Warren in Greco-Roman. Warren was actually one of the favorites after winning the 2006 World Championships, but he got busted for pot; meanwhile, Yamamoto was knocked out of Japanese qualifiers by injury.
For the hardcore fans, I think it represents an interesting style choice, because what if Warren can out-muscle Kid up close and control him? It certainly isn’t a tune-up fight for Kid, who hasn’t fought in 15 months.
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Hey if he wants to enter the tourney he has to understand he has to face the big boys. Blame Warren for having the balls to do it with no pro fights.
If you want to be upset at something it should be about how Dream is always trying to get Americans out of their tourneys early with their match ups. Also there was that whole not letting Alvarez fight in the finals (against a guy who wasn’t going to hit him) because his eye was a little swollen
by EazyEismydad on Apr 10, 2009 12:47 AM EDT up reply actions
Dude, I wouldn’t have let Alvarez fight in the finals and I had money on him to win the tournament.
http://www.sackmikegoldberg.com
Aoki isn’t hitting anyone in the face. He could see through it, thats all he would need for that fight.
by EazyEismydad on Apr 10, 2009 2:08 AM EDT up reply actions
Actually
I have no problem with this since it’s a tourney. The #1 seed should face chumps in round one.
It’s just that when I commented it hadn’t been edited to show that this was part of the tourney. My fault for not figuring that out on my own, i suppose.
by Phantom Of Krankor on Apr 10, 2009 2:17 AM EDT up reply actions
FAIL.
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better. -Samuel Beckett
by Scott C. Broussard on Apr 10, 2009 12:16 AM EDT reply actions
YAMAMOTO IS FIGHTING
I don’t care if they got a kid from the Make a Wish Foundation. KID!!!
by Derek Suboticki on Apr 10, 2009 12:46 AM EDT up reply actions
Don't get me wrong...
I’m still really interested to see this fight, and Warren’s still a warm body. I’m just sad he’s being fed to the wolves after one win.
The other matchups are great. Imanari-Fernandes and Tokoro-Cullum should be wild.
Everyone thought Warren was being fed to the wolves when he was matched with Beebe in the first round. I remember people remarking, “Wow….DREAM must really want Beebe to do good if he’s getting the easy matchup…etcetcetc.”
I think this is the right matchup to make. Warren/KID makes sense, especially with KID coming off of knee surgery? Come on.
I picked Warren over Beebe. Layoff or not, I can’t pick him over Kid.
But that’s why they fight ‘em, as they say. I’m looking forward to it.
by Chris Nelson on Apr 10, 2009 1:59 AM EDT up reply actions
“How to Build Prospects and Put Together Competitive Matchups” – Collectively written by the Dream booking team
http://www.sackmikegoldberg.com
It makes sense, sort of.
Tournaments in other sports use seeding and I don’t see why MMA should be any different. Bellator recently did the same thing by not matching up Masvidal and Alvarez, the two tournament favorites, in the first round.
I can’t prove something that doesn’t exist. If you want to link me to information about their seedings, more power to you.
http://www.sackmikegoldberg.com
Just because they don’t publish numbers doesn’t mean they aren’t using at least some kind of system to help the big namers meet up in the later rounds. Otherwise Maeda, Imanari and Beebe would have had opponents with much better odds/rankings in the first round.
The fact that the second round fights all have a ranking gap of about 30 hints at some kind of system in place.
by George Lucas on Apr 10, 2009 2:56 AM EDT up reply actions
Well that or them just booking the rounds how they see fit as they go. It’s not like they put out a bracket for these things so why would they need to use seedings? Tournaments in other sports give you the entire bracket first, you know who will fight who in future rounds, Dream just announces the next round of fights according to how they book them for that show. You don’t need seeding if you aren’t going to use a bracket because without brackets it is just standard matchmaking.
Look at your example of the Bellator tournament, they moved Masvidal and Alvarez to opposite sides of the bracket to keep them from meeting up early, if that was in Dream they wouldn’t of needed to move anyone or change any fights because they don’t have any brackets to start with.
If they have a system (which I highly doubt) it just matched up Aoki and Sakurai in the first round of their WW GP. So it kind of fails at making sure ‘big namers’ meet up in the later rounds.
Aoki is the exception. They did the same thing in the LWGP by putting him up against JZ in the first round. Still, all of the other favorites for that tournament (Hansen, Kawajiri, Ishida) got first round match ups against much lower ranked opponents.
That’s not really happening in the WWGP, simply for the fact that there was no one with a good ranking in the tournament.
by George Lucas on Apr 10, 2009 5:37 AM EDT up reply actions
If by “system” you mean “get our popular fighters into the next round,” then yes, they have a system. But there’s no proper seeding going on here.
http://www.sackmikegoldberg.com
by Mike Fagan on Apr 10, 2009 10:49 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
I’d have less of a problem looking at it that way if Kid fought Warren in the first round.
by Chris Nelson on Apr 10, 2009 12:21 AM EDT up reply actions
Kid got a bye in the first round.
Plus he hasn’t fought anyone in over a year and his last fight was against a bantamweight…
by George Lucas on Apr 10, 2009 12:22 AM EDT up reply actions
That’s what I’m saying – Kid was already given the advantage of skipping the first round, where it would have been understandable to fight someone like Warren. I see your point and I can’t begrudge DREAM for doing this, but Warren is such a good prospect. At least an L on his record to Yamamoto can’t really be held against him.
by Chris Nelson on Apr 10, 2009 12:25 AM EDT up reply actions
It’s consistent matchmaking.
Going by the fightmatrix rankings, the fights are:
7 vs. 37
16 vs. 43
19 (would have been 13) vs. 52
and the yamamoto fight would be something like
1-5 vs. 39
(Kid isn’t ranked there because of his long layoff)
basically all of the favorites are getting matched up against people ranked much lower for this round.
by George Lucas on Apr 10, 2009 12:31 AM EDT up reply actions
Rankings aren’t predictive, they’re just indicative of past accomplishments. In this case, Imanari may be ranked higher than Fernandes, but I’m going to be surprised if he’s listed as a favorite by any sports handicapping/betting sites for that one (and if he is, I’m jumping all over it).
Past accomplishment tends to correlate strongly with future success.
by George Lucas on Apr 10, 2009 5:38 AM EDT up reply actions
Wha-?
Bolts from the Blue // "Game over." - Jamal Williams
Bloody Elbow // "Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit upon his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats." - H.L. Mencken
by Richard Wade on Apr 10, 2009 3:29 PM EDT up reply actions
Why did Kid get a bye in the first round anyway? Was he injured or something? You’d think they’d want a headliner in the tournament as much as possible to draw ratings.
Good on em. I got no problems with a fight like this. Tough fight for Warren though. It gives him an opportunity to test himself against the best and gives Kid a chance to prove why he is so highly respected. I’d have preferred it in the first round, but hey, Warren beat Beebe so its expected he would come up against a tougher fighter in round 2.
if kid wins the tourney, that lessens his chances of leaving dream for the US right?
in that case, i hope he loses in the final. haha.
HEIWA DREAM.9
May 26, 2009
Saitama Super Arena
Saitama, Japan
70kg: Gesias “JZ” Cavalcante (14-2-1) vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri (23-5-2)
84kg: Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza (10-2) vs. TBA
93kg: Paulo Filho (16-1) vs. TBA
Featherweight GP Quarterfinals
Norifumi “KID” Yamamoto (17-1) vs. Joe Warren (1-0)
Masakazu Imanari (16-6-1) vs. Bibiano Fernandes (4-2)
Yoshiro Maeda (24-6-2) vs. Hiroyuki Takaya (10-6-1)
Hideo Tokoro (21-16-1) vs. Abel Cullum (14-2)
Nah, Mousasi would crush him
Ralek Gracie vs. Filho
Gegard Mousasi vs. Vladimir Matyushenko
Ricardo Arona vs. Sokoudjou 2
Make it happen DREAM.
There are rumors that Mousasi and Soko will be fighting…
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better. -Samuel Beckett
by Scott C. Broussard on Apr 10, 2009 1:27 AM EDT up reply actions
There were, but Sokoudjou’s camp kind of squashed them.
by Chris Nelson on Apr 10, 2009 1:30 AM EDT up reply actions
Smart move – Soko needs someone to look good against.
by Derek Suboticki on Apr 10, 2009 1:40 AM EDT up reply actions
Come on Matyushenko is going to have a better chance at a win than Filho, really? I guess you’ve really lost faith in Paulo
by EazyEismydad on Apr 10, 2009 2:11 AM EDT up reply actions
Vladdy’s a workhorse, I’d give him a better shot than Filho who is moving up a weight class and coming off the two worst performances of his career. I wanna have faith in Paulo but he needs to show he’s really got his shit together this time.
by Chris Nelson on Apr 10, 2009 2:15 AM EDT up reply actions
This is actually the right booking to make. Unlike any of the other competitors, there is a strong angle here: Yamamoto and Warren were both hopefuls for the 2008 Olympics, Yamamoto in Freestyle Wrestling and Warren in Greco-Roman. Warren was actually one of the favorites after winning the 2006 World Championships, but he got busted for pot; meanwhile, Yamamoto was knocked out of Japanese qualifiers by injury.
For the hardcore fans, I think it represents an interesting style choice, because what if Warren can out-muscle Kid up close and control him? It certainly isn’t a tune-up fight for Kid, who hasn’t fought in 15 months.
by smoogy on Apr 10, 2009 12:56 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs
It’s sort of a trap fight, Warren is a 1-0 fighter and Kid is Kid (and he is fighting in Japan on primetime network tv). We know that Warren is a lot better than just a 1-0 fighter but will the average guy tuning in? I mean this isn’t a Dos Santos vs Werum type trap(Dream can play up the amateur wrestling angle) but there is bound to be a lot of pressue on Dream’s big ace coming back to network tv and fighting a guy who is new to the sport. Kid (and Dream) has a lot to lose and very little to gain going into this fight.
You could say that about any fight in this tournament though. KID’s a significant favorite over most guys left so those would be dangerous fights. Bibiano presents the best challenge, so that’s a dangerous fight. A fight with Urijah Faber or Miguel Torres is a dangerous fight.
See what I’m getting at?
http://www.sackmikegoldberg.com
They’re definitely angling for Kid vs. Bibiano II in the finals.
by Chris Nelson on Apr 10, 2009 1:43 AM EDT up reply actions
I’m talking about dangerous in terms of reputation/drawing power. Losing to a 1-0 fighter is very different than losing to Faber or Torres. This is more dangerous than a lot of the others because Warren is a much better than the 1-0 record but has yet to prove it. Yes any loss for Kid is going to be an issue for Dream but you don’t want him losing to a guy that is new to the sport. Again I don’t think this is as dangerous in that sense as it would be if it was happening in the US (Werdum vs Dos Santos) but it’s not like Kid is going to get a jump (or much attention at all) for winning this one. If Warren can win it pretty much makes his MMA career.
Damn you, smoogy, you make a good case. I added this to the main post as a counterpoint to my WTF initial reaction.
by Chris Nelson on Apr 10, 2009 1:08 AM EDT up reply actions
I guess some people will argue that Warren being a 1-0 fighter means it is in fact a tune-up, but he seemed pretty well-adjusted vs. Beebe considering the circumstances, and his wrestling ability was clearly giving Chase fits. I think Yamamoto will probably beat him, but Warren could put up a good fight if he can keep his composure early.
What smoogy is saying is 100% correct.
Also, Warren JUST beat Beebe, a favorite in this tourney.
Why are people upset of a 1-0 fighter fighting KID?
This has GOLD as a storyline and will produce a great match up.
No one is getting an easy ride here. Imanari vs Fabiano could be a finals or semi-finals match, and the “home” fighter is getting no special treatment here. Takaya vs Maeda will also instantly eliminate a Japanese fighter.
by MMASuPreMaCy on Apr 10, 2009 3:11 AM EDT up reply actions
This would be a strong angle if:
A. they competed in the same sport as amateurs
moreso if
B. they had met at some point on the mats.
As it stands, they are just two guys with amateur backgrounds. I don’t think that is really very compelling in a sport that features a ton of amateur wrestlers.
It’s really all they have to sell the fight on so I figure that Dream will push that angle pretty hard.
This isn’t two NCAA champs who can’t throw a punch. They were both considered Olympic-calibre wrestlers in their respective sports. Battle of would-be Olympic stars = a strong angle in Japan, especially when of them carries the Yamamoto name
Some would call it one amazing wrestler that can throw a punch and one that cannot.
by Derek Suboticki on Apr 10, 2009 7:00 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
What are the other fights that were big events because they were a battle of people who failed to make an Olympic team? This isn’t Yoshida v. Garner/
They will push Warren’s wrestling, you are right. There is nothing else to talk about. No one will care about him. The draw will be Yamamoto fighting ANYONE.
KID/Warren is definitely the most logical pairing, which is something I had said before.
Definitely gonna drive the Olympic angel.
Good to see Tokoro in, but damn does he get a hard matchup.
There’s an Olympic angel? Is she pretty?
by Derek Suboticki on Apr 10, 2009 1:59 AM EDT up reply actions
You and spelling.
I will play my game beneath the spin light.
Absurd Meridian
by Eugene Schelfaut on Apr 10, 2009 2:01 AM EDT up reply actions
Play to your strengths, that’s what I say
by Derek Suboticki on Apr 10, 2009 2:52 AM EDT up reply actions
I hear what Smoogy is saying
But this still leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
"I see him beating Anderson Silva. I see him picking him apart. Him at a 131 years old...(trails off)." - Tito on Belfort at Affliction:DOR
It isn’t an FEG tournament unless Tokoro has multiple chances to win it all.
by ilostmydog on Apr 10, 2009 4:27 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs
Hahaha.
"I see him beating Anderson Silva. I see him picking him apart. Him at a 131 years old...(trails off)." - Tito on Belfort at Affliction:DOR
by Rundownloser on Apr 10, 2009 12:36 PM EDT up reply actions
DREAM EP Sasahara said that besides the GP fights, four superdreadnought fights and two normal fights will take place at DREAM.9. Superdreadnought is some kind of battleship. He said that even people who haven’t watched MMA before can enjoy themselves.
That is an awfully sexual robot. I especially like the taint cannon.
by Derek Suboticki on Apr 10, 2009 7:01 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
gotta love a guy with 1 pro fight on record taking on a KO’er like Yamamoto.
Gatti. Dekkers. Pele. Aoki. Kang. Vanderlei.
http://theworldsoldestsport.blogspot.com/
by theworldsoldestsport on Apr 10, 2009 1:04 PM EDT reply actions
Wand vs. 0-0 Judo Medalist
Brad Ziegler had a scoreless inning streak. Brad Ziegler had not met BJ Upton.
I forgot about that one
PRIDE was fucking goofy sometimes.
by Derek Suboticki on Apr 10, 2009 7:02 PM EDT up reply actions
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