Hello, Japan! DREAM's "Super Hulk" Tournament Stirs Feelings of PRIDE
by Chris Nelson on Apr 30, 2009 1:00 PM EDT
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When I went to sleep last night, I was fairly certain we'd already heard all the big news that was going to come out of Japan this week. Many offices and businesses have closed down for the Golden Week holidays, and besides, what could possibly top Wednesday's Fedor-Aoki Sambo spectacle? Then I woke up this morning and DREAM Event Producer Keiichi Sasahara shattered my brain.
- With a middleweight championship bout, a lightweight title eliminator and the second round of a loaded Featherweight Grand Prix, DREAM.9 was already going to be big. But today, things got huge. What Sasahara had originally referred to as a "Superdreadnought GP" has been re-christened the "Super Hulk Tournament" - Marvel Comics surely has a cease-and-desist in the mail already - and will feature opening round bouts such as Jose Canseco (0-0) vs. Hong Man Choi (1-2) and Bob Sapp (10-3-1) vs. Ikuhisa Minowa (41-30-8). Originally thought to face one another in a lightheavyweight bout, Gegard Mousasi (24-2-1) and Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (5-4) will now take on K-1 fighters Mark Hunt (5-5) and Jan "The Giant" Nortje (2-5), respectively. The tournament bouts will have modified rules (shorter rounds, no knee strikes to grounded opponents' heads) and the semifinals and finals of the tournament will not take place on the same show, which leads me to believe the Super Hulk champ will be crowned on a ridiculously stacked New Year's Eve Dynamite!! card.
These matchups hearken back to the days of PRIDE FC (when Japanese MMA piggybacked off the puroresu craze of the 90s) and, along with the attention-grabbing lead-in of Daisuke Naito, are almost guaranteed to draw some much-needed extra eyes to May 26's primetime broadcast on TBS. What's more, Sasahara says today's announcement isn't all - he's still got a trump card to play. But what could trump this?
UPDATE: Minutes after I posted this, HDNet Fights CEO Andrew Simon made the no-brainer announcement that DREAM.9 will air live in North America. The past two DREAM events had been aired on tape delay.
Here's how the DREAM.9 card currently stands:
HEIWA DREAM.9
May 26, 2009
Saitama Super Arena
Saitama, JapanDREAM Middleweight Title Bout
Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza (10-2) vs. Jason "Mayhem" Miller (22-6)DREAM Lightweight Title Eliminator Bout
Gesias "JZ" Cavalcante (14-2-1) vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri (23-5-2)Featherweight GP Quarterfinal Bouts
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)Super Hulk Tournament 1st Round Bouts
Ikuhisa "Minowaman" Minowa (41-30-8) vs. Bob Sapp (10-3-1)
Jan "The Giant" Nortje (2-5) vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (5-4)
Gegard Mousasi (24-2-1) vs. Mark Hunt (5-5)
Hong Man Choi (1-2) vs. Jose Canseco (0-0)Rumored Participants
Paulo Filho (16-1)
Melvin Manhoef (23-5-1)
- K-1 opened up a fan poll this week to help determine the retiring Masato's next-to-last opponent at the K-1 MAX Final 8 in July. (The "Silver Wolf's" final bout will be on New Year's Eve against the winner of this year's MAX tournament.) It features some legit candidates like Takanori Gomi and Juichiro Nagashima, as well as far-fetched options like Oscar De La Hoya, Akebono and Mirko "Cro Cop." Nightmare Of Battle has translated the options here in case you care to vote, though the poll is mostly for show and probably won't have much influence in FEG's decision making. Regardless of the outcome of his Shooto bout with Takashi Nakakura on May 10th, I'm personally hoping for Gomi.
- Yoshihiro Akiyama announced a new addition to Team Cloud on his blog today: DEEP light heavyweight Yusuke Sakashita (5-1). The 6-foot, 33-year-old Sakashita formerly trained with PUREBRED Kyoto, and the only blemish on his record stems from a 2005 bout with Poai Suganuma. Akiyama has said that he hopes that his own newfound association with the UFC will lead to more Team Cloud members getting a shot at the big stage.
- A source at HDNet tells me that top featherweight prospect Shigeki Osawa's (1-0) bout with Kota Ishibashi (0-3) will not be part of the live broadcast for Sengoku VIII this Saturday. It's one of two dark matches that will take place before the opening ceremony; the other is the Pancrase vs. ZST matchup of Hirotoshi Saito (2-1-1) vs. Yoshitaka Abe (2-2-1). Nonetheless, the FWGP quarterfinals are going to be fantastic, and we're hoping to have a good sized crowd joining the BE Night Crew for this weekend's liveblog (Saturday @ 3AM ET).
- Speaking of Sengoku on the air, Nightmare Of Battle reports that World Victory Road has climbed aboard Japanese network Samurai TV with SENGOKU Gaiden, a new hour-long show featuring exclusively Sengoku content. It's the promotion's second program currently airing in Japan, alongside the excellent half-hour SENGOKU-G (Gold) which airs Sunday nights on TV Tokyo.
- Korean heavyweight Mu Bae Choi (8-3) is the latest addition to the massive June 6th "Pancrase Changing" card, which now stands at 16 fights and growing; he'll face PRIDE veteran Katsuhisa Fujii (9-16-1). Choi is coming off of an upset TKO win over undefeated prospect Dave "Pee Wee" Herman at Sengoku No Ran 2009, while "Shamoji" is 1-7 in his last eight fights, stretching back to 2004. Choi's Team Tackle stablemate Hyung Kwang Kim (2-3) will also be in action, drawing a tough opponent in Koji Oishi (17-8-6), who last month battled Sengoku lightweight Maximo Blanco to a draw. (Sportsnavi)
- Cage Force has issued a press release detailing the aborted Kuniyoshi Hironaka vs. Marcus Donahue main event of their April 25th show. Apparently, Donahue was scheduled to arrive in Japan on the 23rd, but flight scheduling problems delayed his arrival until the 24th. When he arrived, he weighed in at 77kg, more than 6kg over the lightweight limit of 70.3kg. (Hironaka weighed in at 70.1kg.) Cage Force allowed Donahue to weigh in the following day at their standard fight day re-weigh-ins, but Donahue had only cut to 74.2kg by 3:30 PM. The parties attempted to negotiate a new bout at welterweight (72.7kg), but Donahue informed officials that he could not cut anymore weight, and the attending doctor conveyed the opinion that further cutting could be dangerous. So there's the official explanation; mind you, there have been rumors in the past about Greatest Common Multiple's shoddy communication with foreign fighters, and even word that Kate Martinez (who headlined the evening's Valkyrie card) had trouble making weight. Still, the question remains: who is Team Alpha Male's Marcus Donahue?
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I love the smell of unimpeded PED use in the morning. Smells like PRIDE.
by Derek Suboticki on Apr 30, 2009 8:29 PM EDT up reply actions
Canseco vs Choi?
I can’t wait for this fight! Canseco is crazy and must have a death wish. The first time he eats a leg kick or jab from Choi, I look forward to seeing the look in his eyes as he realizes he is in for a rough night. Props to him for having the balls of stepping in the ring, but what is he thinking?
by I don't wear mma t-shirts on Apr 30, 2009 1:15 PM EDT reply actions
WINN!!!1
Mike Goldberg: "You know Joe, When Matt and his brother Mark Hughes were growing up, they would pound each other behind the barn."
by xFenixKnightx on Apr 30, 2009 1:30 PM EDT up reply actions
This article made my brain dribble out my ear
Canseco since he quit the roids has lost his mojo. HMC by KO.
Keep firing Assholes!
Akiyama is the Japanese word for Sexify.
This is in Japan. Look for Canseco to have muscles coming out of muscles. He’ll be 10x the size of Mark Coleman in his prime. LOL
Follow my analysis of all things MMA on BloodyElbow.com
by Leland Roling on Apr 30, 2009 1:27 PM EDT up reply actions
I love Japan.
If HMC loses to Canseco he’ll have to retire
This is the most insane damn thing I’ve seen all year. I might have to stay up for this one.
Keep firing Assholes!
Akiyama is the Japanese word for Sexify.
Hunt could brain damage Mousasi
This is terrible booking right there. The guy is moving up from MW and he’s going to fight one of the hardest hitting heavyweights there is.
Really dreadful.
Wanderlei Silva was never the same after the Hunt loss. I hope Gegard protects himself.
"the spirit of your average dumbass with more overblown rhetoric" OR "the self-appointed savior of MMA"
Mousasi isn’t a fool. He’s a very smart guy, and if he took this fight I’m sure he feels like he can win. Mark Hunt hasn’t looked great since his year and a half (?) lay off. I think Mousasi can win this fight.
What I’m surprised about is Sokoudjou. I know his management rejected the fight with Mousasi because they wanted to building Sokoudjou back up…but then they throw him into a Super Heavyweight Grand Prix? Seems kind of weird to me.
Well, Mousasi has stated he’s regained his speed with the added weight, so I imagine he’ll try to stay around where he’s at for this bout. He’ll be outweighed. Hunt’s best chance is to take him down. Hunt’s crutch will be Mousasi’s speed. Decent matchup IMO.
Follow my analysis of all things MMA on BloodyElbow.com
by Leland Roling on Apr 30, 2009 2:31 PM EDT up reply actions
Maybe they figure that because Soko is one of only a couple of legit mixed martial artists in the tourney that he has the chance for a couple of highlight reel stoppages. Not reasoning I agree with, but you can see what they might be thinking.
"I'm AJB and I endorse this nut-puncher."
yup
Soko should be able to batter Jan the Hammer standing and throw him down to the ground at will. I don’t think Soko’s people are afraid of Mousasi, they just wanted their guy to get a tune up fight in.
"the spirit of your average dumbass with more overblown rhetoric" OR "the self-appointed savior of MMA"
Mark Hunt...
I’ve never realized how bad his record is, but maybe it was just cause he has wins over crocop and wandy. Anyone else noticed the Suicidal Tendencies font on the “SUPER”? fucking sweet.
I don’t think his record is bad at all. Look at who he’s lost to…Fedor, Barnett, Overeem…that’s three top 10 Heavyweights right there…Yoshida (Olympic gold(?) medalist) in his MMA debut, and Melvin Manhoef.
Plus, 2001 K-1 WGP winner?
Mark Hunt is awesome.
He's not THAT awesome...
I mean, I like Hunt but he’s not a “great” mixed martial artist.
Contributing Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
http://CurseOfRonKarkovice.blogspot.com/
by Brent Brookhouse on Apr 30, 2009 2:03 PM EDT up reply actions
Hunt has fallen off the horse. He has severe weight problems all the time, and that’s been attributed to lack of motivation to train for these bouts. He just seems to be cruising by and making money.
Follow my analysis of all things MMA on BloodyElbow.com
by Leland Roling on Apr 30, 2009 2:32 PM EDT up reply actions
Yeah, I didn’t mean awesome as in “P4P king of the world”.
Just that I can’t think of a boring fight he’s been in, and he’s almost always fought top competition. Just sayin’.
In that case...
I agree…
Contributing Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
http://CurseOfRonKarkovice.blogspot.com/
by Brent Brookhouse on Apr 30, 2009 5:07 PM EDT up reply actions
That time off really did no good for Hunt
He looked good in his loss to Fedor, he should have kept active after that. Part of me wants them to throw Mark a can so he can smash them in epic fashion.
And he's beaten a guy whose
record is 0-5. Record no es bueno para nada! just his 2 wins that i noted :)
by poundnground on Apr 30, 2009 3:09 PM EDT up reply actions
Don’t forget his other epic victories:
- Yosuke Nishijima – got taken into the third round by a debuting pro boxer who probably weighs ~100 lbs less than Hunt
- TK – nearly lost on several occasions to an 80-year old man who blocks punches with his face
- Dan Bobish – won on account of Bobish getting really tired after hitting Mark a lot.
Says you.
They need to revive the causal fans to watch MMA again and they have a fantastic card still with the FW GP, MW Title fight, and #1 LW Contender match. It is still an excellent card that DREAM is putting on. The Super Hulk Tourney is just an addition to the great matches DREAM.9 was already putting on.
by MMASuPreMaCy on Apr 30, 2009 3:21 PM EDT up reply actions
It’s a short term solution. Kind of like bring in midgets to a dying territory in the old Pro Wrestling days. It is building upon a freak show, which always gets old. The same matchmaking style helped MMA get big for a few years in Japan. However, once the novelty of it wore off, the fans left.
This isn’t going to help DREAM in the long run.
by AlwaysRelaxing on Apr 30, 2009 3:40 PM EDT up reply actions 2 recs
DREAM needs to worry about now, since the future may not exist if they ratings keep going lower.
I know it sucks, but they have to do what they can to appease the hardcore fans which they are doing AND the casual fans.
by MMASuPreMaCy on Apr 30, 2009 4:08 PM EDT up reply actions
More like Epic win.
It’s like eating a giant chocolate cake. Sure, it’s fattening but who the fuck cares, it’s so delicious.
A giant chocolate cake filled with steroids.
by Derek Suboticki on Apr 30, 2009 8:31 PM EDT up reply actions
In terms of sport, yeah, the Super Hulk Tourny is atrocious. That said, there no way I’m gonna miss this liveblog.
"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 30, 2009 3:59 PM EDT up reply actions
Why so serious?
If you can’t sit back and enjoy the occasional freakshow, then you need to extract the stick from ass immediately.
Sure, the Super Hulk tournament has no implications on global MMA rankings, but who cares? It is going to be the most hilarious thing to hit MMA since DEEP’s Megaton grand prix. I just hope they can get someone to show up to his fight wearing bib overalls. If we get really lucky, maybe Hong Man will show up in his Ssireum diaper.
If the UFC put on this tournament, the comments in this section would be drastically different. And not one’s of praise, but of bashing Dana White for putting on such a spectacle.
After reading this and then reading the words of Sengoku’s Takahiro Kokuho it makes me wonder which promotion in Japan will be more successful in the long run.
"Pride had great competition during its time, but K-1 and Dream lean toward garnering television ratings and entertaining the masses," Sengoku representative Takahiro Kokuho said. "For us, Sengoku is a competition. We want it to be real sport. We want to find out who really is the strongest, so we search the world over for new prospects, so we do not end up relying on fighters who are just big names or are names that are past their prime."
Yeah, no doubt Sengoku is working on a more legitimate, sustainable model for an MMA organization. On the whole, I’ve enjoyed their first half-dozen events way more than DREAM’s. That said, I cannot wait for this show. Does that make me a bad person? :-/
by Chris Nelson on Apr 30, 2009 4:00 PM EDT up reply actions
Sengoku wins in my book.
"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 30, 2009 4:00 PM EDT up reply actions
K-1 Heros lived side by side with PRIDE, so I don’t see why DREAM and Sengoku can’t do the same here. It’s just different flavors of the same product. Personally, I like variety.
by MMASuPreMaCy on Apr 30, 2009 4:11 PM EDT up reply actions
its war to the death
there can be only one!
"the spirit of your average dumbass with more overblown rhetoric" OR "the self-appointed savior of MMA"
I meant to say that I prefer Sengoku. This stuff with DREAM is hilarious and I’ll watch it, but it does make me a little sad that Mousasi, Soko, et. al aren’t getting real fights.
"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 30, 2009 4:22 PM EDT up reply actions
This stuff with DREAM is hilarious and I’ll watch it, but it does make me a little sad that Mousasi, Soko, et. al aren’t getting real fights.
I feel the same.
agreed
I’ll never forgive PRIDE for destroying Sakuraba by having him constantly fight above his weight. If DREAM destroys Mousasi the same way I’ll be really bummed.
Big Nog’s bout with Sapp I’m sure took some years off his career.
"the spirit of your average dumbass with more overblown rhetoric" OR "the self-appointed savior of MMA"
At the same time, you can’t completely blame Pride for what happened with Sakuraba. Sakuraba was a big enough star and had enough pull that if he wanted them to start a division at a more suitable weight class for him, it would have been done. Instead he was content to stay in Pride and accept fights against much bigger fighters.
The only difference is that Mousasi is actually moving up to the higher weight classes, while Sakuraba wasn’t. Plus, Sakuraba’s legacy is partly due to doing all those things.
by MMASuPreMaCy on Apr 30, 2009 7:28 PM EDT up reply actions
Yeah....
There were 2 weight classes in PRIDE for the most part. heavy and 205. Without Saku fighting bigger guys there is no legacy
Contributing Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
http://CurseOfRonKarkovice.blogspot.com/
by Brent Brookhouse on Apr 30, 2009 8:07 PM EDT up reply actions
Same thing, but they both provided VERY different types of shows.
by MMASuPreMaCy on Apr 30, 2009 7:28 PM EDT up reply actions
Haha, Thanks. My buddy posts on here and I always wondered why he spends 80% of his time on here. Anyway, we have made the famous “Don’t say that Rashad” line an inside joke here at work. Great site guys.
by Don't say that Rashad on Apr 30, 2009 5:16 PM EDT up reply actions
Is today like Japan’s version of April Fool’s day, or what. Like it comes at the end of the month instead of the beginning???
If this is true, it’s stupid as hell, because I can only imagine that the bigger fighters will win probably every match (with the exception of Minowa/Sapp maybe, Sapp sucks lately). But… I would still love to see it. THIS IS AWESOME (If it’s not Japanese April Fool’s Day)
Disagree. Smaller fights could sweet, aside from Choi/Consenco. Sokoudjou, Mousasi, and Minowa could all way.
Night Crew?!?!
Did someway say Night Crew? Awwwwwwww yeah!
I hope HMC can get back to his pre-tumor skill level. He was not the can that so many make him out to be back then. It’ll be nice to see Canseco get destroyed, though.
Super Hulk sounds like a good way to spend an early morning.
I want those shirts badly.
"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 30, 2009 8:22 PM EDT up reply actions
Imagine Canseco manages to roid enough to hug out a decision.
Canseco v Mousasi would be sweet justice for his crime of not going away.
I dislike Matt Hughes.
I love Canseco for one reason
Exposing steroid use in baseball. Everyone – every one – thought he was full of shit. Not so much anymore.
by Derek Suboticki on Apr 30, 2009 8:32 PM EDT up reply actions
Hes still a dirtbag. Baseball still sucks. He should have gone away a long time ago. Does he seriously think HMC won’t be tougher than Danny Partiridge?
I dislike Matt Hughes.
Go away why?
You don’t like the guy so he should go find a rock and crawl under it?
Canseco exposed baseball’s dirty little secret that they wanted to keep quiet.
They all new that the big home run chase with McGwire and Sosa was a joke because they were both dirty, but baseball looked the other way because they were still recovering from fans being pissed about the World Series getting canceled some years back.
So everyone in “America’s” pastime turned a blind eye because people were coming back to the ballpark to see Barry Bonds and McGwire blast a homer. Now both of those guys are a cancer in the baseball community while all the managers and baseball management who were around then and let the shit go on are given a pass because now they’re doing something about it.
If it weren’t for Canseco they’d still be doing nothing. That being said I think he’ll drop out of this when his senses come around.
by SHATNER1234 on Apr 30, 2009 10:13 PM EDT up reply actions
I appreciate his whistle blowing, but if there is one person on this planet willing to endure physical pain and humiliation for money, it’s Jose Canseco.
by Derek Suboticki on Apr 30, 2009 10:22 PM EDT up reply actions
THIS is professional
Nicely done. Rec’d.
by Derek Suboticki on May 1, 2009 12:02 AM EDT up reply actions
haha, I wish I could take credit
http://pursuingholiness.com/2006/09/demotivators/
I hope this isn’t considered fighter bashing now.
by Chris Nelson on May 1, 2009 12:20 AM EDT up reply actions
According to Sportsnavi
Sasahara says that Canseco
“destroyed the sparring partner with marvelous strength”
http://sportsnavi.yahoo.co.jp/fight/other/headlines/etc/20090501-00000000-spnavi_ot-fight.html
This has the making of the best/worst thing to be on TV since Man Vs Beast.
I dislike Matt Hughes.
by MonkeyCHops on Apr 30, 2009 11:28 PM EDT up reply actions
That sumo/orangutan tug of war scared the shit out of me. Motherfucker bent his arm and sent 500 lb dude flying.
by Derek Suboticki on May 1, 2009 12:04 AM EDT up reply actions
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