DREAM 8 just wrapped up in Nagoya with a shocker in Hayato "Mach" Sakurai using very little time to devastate Shinya Aoki's chances in the Welterweight field of the Grand Prix. Other bouts showed us some promising prospects in Andre Galvao, Jason High, and Marius Zaromskis while the non-tournament bouts had some surprises of their own.

Hayato "Mach" Sakurai def. Shinya Aoki via KO (Knees) at 0:27 of Round 1:  Wow! Sakurai basically loaded up his hands before the fight even began. Aoki stood no chance against the power of Sakurai, and he wasn't able to get a hold of him to make this a close quarters battle. Aoki ate some knees and some big right hands, knocked out cold.

This makes the tournament very interesting. Aoki was a grappler that could have given some of the other WW's some big problems, but now it becomes a question of whether Galvao will be the big favorite or will Sakurai's stock rise substantially.

Jason High def. Yuya Shirai via Technical Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 0:59 of Round 1: High was being labeled as a huge knockout threat, Manhoef-esque before this matchup began, and it ended up actually happening. High caught Shirai early with a stiff left overhand punch. Shirai, in a dazed state, tried to fend of High's wrestling ability, but he was subsequently choked out.

High has some buzz around him. He has some solid wrestling, great cardio from what I remember, Antonio McKee trains him, and he has some good power in those hands. Potentially an underdog in this tournament, although with Aoki out, Galvao becomes a bigger favorite.

Marius Zaromskis def. Seichi Ikemoto via Unanimous Decision: Amazing fight. Zaromskis put the leather to Ikemoto for a lot of this fight, but Ikemoto hung in there with some solid leg kicks. Most of the fight showcased the dynamic striking of Marius mixing big overhands, jabs, and kicks. At one point during the fight, Zaromskis used a backflip to try to pass guard and in the opening stanza, tried a spinning heel kick. 

Zaromskis is a solid threat in this tournament if he takes on a striker, but with someone like Galvao in the mix, or even Aoki, it's going to be a tough call. If Sakurai knocks off Aoki, Zaromskis has might be able to make the finals if DREAM screws up and matches them up in the next round.

Andre Galvao def. John Alessio via Submission (Armbar) at 7:34 of Round 1: Galvao did exactly what comes to him naturally... outperformed John Alessio on the floor. Alessio was being touted as a striker in this matchup, but he isn't good enough to hurt Galvao's very improved footwork and standup game. Galvao moved well, got the fight to the floor, and locked in a body triangle while viciously putting hammerfists to Alessio. It was only a matter of time. 

Galvao looked impressive in this win. His standup has improved, and his base jiu-jitsu is phenomenal. It'll be interesting to see who he gets in the next round. 

Daiki "DJ.taiki" Hata def. Hideo Tokoro via Unanimous Decision: Solid outing for DJ.taiki. Once again, Tokoro's aggressiveness and wildness was the storyline in this fight. He was relentless in his attacks on Hata, but in the end, Hata's striking ability was actually pretty impressive. He was able to land a lot of solid jabs during Tokoro's relentless counters and flurries, and Tokoro spent a lot of time on his back because of the shots. 

Tokoro needs to spend a little bit more time on his technical standup game. His wildness is exciting to watch, but he's certainly losing fights because of it. Hata is a nice addition to the FW GP second round, although he'll be in for a tough time against any of the remaining fighters in the GP.

Jeff Monson def. Sergei Kharitonov via Submission (North-South Choke) at 1:42 of Round 1: This was a bit amazing. Monson was able to get the takedown immediately, moves to side control, and sinks in the North-South choke. Monson's power is too much for Kharitonov, and Sergey taps after pounding on Monson's head from the bottom.

Sergei's Sambo was non-existent in trying to buck Monson or disrupt his submission attempts. Monson was fairly impressive with this win, and he even had Roy Nelson in his corner... surpisingly. Use the cash for a good lawyer, Jeff.

Riki Fukuda def. Murilo "Ninja" Rua via Unanimous Decision: One of the most solid bouts of the evening. Riki Fukuda was on a roller coaster in this fight. He came out strong, huge blows, and Ninja was actually showing a solid chin. Fukuda gassed a bit, Ninja took it to him a bit, but Fukuda staved off defeat and landed a hellish flurry at the end of round 2. Solid outing by Fukuda. 

Vitor "Shaolin" Ribeiro def. Katsuhiko Nagata via TKO (Cut): Ribeiro was very typical in this matchup. Even with the long layoff from the sport, his methodical BJJ isn't exactly a finishing attribute in the sport of MMA. He needs to learn to quickly transition to finish fights. He has the technical skill, I just wish he'd pick up the quickness.

Andrews Nakahara def. Shungo Oyama via TKO (Strikes) at 2:09 of Round 1: Oyama knocked himself a tad silly tring to roll for either a kneebar or heel hook, but Nakahara put a nice right hand on him to finish the job. Nakahara has the standup chops to be a threat, but he needs to continue the BJJ training to become a well-rounded fighter.

Katsuyori Shibata def. Ikuhisa Minowa via Unanimous Decision: Minowa didn't look so hot in this matchup. His only real attempt to defeat Shibata was a heel hook attempt that was technically pretty lackluster. Shibata nearly turned it into his own heel hook submission. 

Shibata had some pretty terrible takedown defense, but Minowa gassed in the second round, and Shibata took advantage. Surprising win considering Shibata's poor takedown defense and fairly green MMA skillset.

Overall Analysis

The tournament should be pretty intriguing. Zaromskis and High has some solid power in their hands along with Sakurai, but High has the wrestling advantage on both guys. He could be a dark horse in this tournament. Galvao will likely have the jiu-jitsu and strength to make his way to the final, and his improving standup only makes me believe in him more.

With these performances, I'm definitely more interesting in how the WW DREAM GP plans itself out in the future events. It's definitely a solid platform for both Zaromskis, High, and Galvao. 

Video of each fight after the jump (still posting...)

Sergei Kharitonov vs. Jeff Monson

Vitor "Shaolin" Ribeiro vs. Katsuhiko Nagata

Shungo Oyama vs. Andrews Nakahara

Shinya Aoki vs. Hayato "Mach" Sakurai

Jason High vs. Yuya Shirai

Galvao vs. Alessio

 
Ninja Rua vs. Riki Fukuda - MUST WATCH

Zaromskis vs. Ikemoto