DREAM Unveils White Cage, Lightweight Matchups for DREAM.12
by Chris Nelson on Sep 29, 2009 10:23 AM EDT
in News
33 comments
Last week, DREAM posted a slick promo video to its YouTube channel which confirmed, after months of hinting and speculation, that October 25th's DREAM.12 will be contested in a six-sided cage. However, the actual structure wasn't visible in the clip.
At a press conference in Tokyo today, the promotion revealed a mock-up of "the white cage," along with plans to change DREAM's bout structure from one ten-minute and one five-minute round to the more standard three five-minute rounds (for this event only, thankfully). Since a boxing ring has been the norm in Japanese MMA for decades, DREAM is wading into all of this cautiously - for the time being, the cage is only expected to be used for one show per year.
Also announced were two bouts sure to have a direct impact on the DREAM lightweight division.
In a match first hinted at a few weeks back, Bellator's 155-pound champion Eddie Alvarez (18-2) will take on DEEP lightweight ace Katsunori Kikuno (12-1-1). The Kyokushin karate disciple Kikuno will enter the bout on a nine-fight win streak, most recently dispatching of Andre "Dida" Amade in his DREAM debut. Alvarez reeled off three straight wins in Bellator following his New Year's Eve submission loss to Shina Aoki.
One of Japan's hottest lightweight prospects, Korean Won Sik Park (7-1-1), will be put to the test as his faces recently-crowned Cage Force lightweight champ Kuniyoshi Hironaka (15-6). Following a disappointing UFC run at 170 pounds, Hironaka has gone 4-1, including three straight wins since his move to lightweight. Park - or "Parky," as he's been dubbed in Japan - hasn't tasted defeat since his first pro fight in 2006 and has three first round stoppage wins in DEEP this year. You can check out most of his fights on his YouTube channel.
October 6, 2009
Yokohama Arena
Joachim Hansen (19-7-1 / champion) vs. Shinya Aoki (21-4)
2009 Featherweight Grand Prix Semifinals
Bibiano Fernandes (5-2) vs. Joe Warren (2-0)
Hiroyuki Takaya (11-6-1) vs. Hideo Tokoro (22-16-1)
2009 Featherweight Grand Prix Final
Fernandes/Warren vs. Takaya/Tokoro
2009 Featherweight Grand Prix Reserve Bout
Kazuyuki Miyata (7-7) vs. Daiki "DJ.taiki" Hata (11-5-3)
Super Hulk Tournament Semifinals
Hong Man Choi (2-2) vs. Ikuhisa Minowa (42-30-8)
Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (6-4) vs. Bob Sapp (10-5-1)
Lightweight: Tatsuya Kawajiri (24-5-2) vs. Melchor Manibusan (2-3)
Lightweight: Daisuke Nakamura (20-10) vs. TBA*
* JZ Cavalcante withdrew with a knee injury.
* * * * * * * * * *
DREAM.12
October 25, 2009
Osaka Castle Hall
Osaka, Japan
Announced Participants
Paulo Filho (18-1)
Kiyoshi Tamura (33-13-2)
Andrews Nakahara (2-1)
Alistair Overeem (29-11, 1 NC)
Yoshiro Maeda (25-7-2)
Marius Zaromskis (12-3)
Murilo "Ninja" Rua (17-10-1)
Myeon Ho Bae (8-4)
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probably been discussed before, but i’m curious how the white will effect visibility for the spectators, and the cameras outside the cage.
by woooburn on Sep 29, 2009 10:28 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Was thinking the same
Gonna be lots of reflections and bright spots from camera flashes going on.
"Why am I here? Why does my mind have wings? Why do blue midgets hit me with fish?!" - The Tick
by mythbuster on Sep 29, 2009 11:32 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I really didn’t believe they’d actually make the fence itself white. Seems like kind of a bad idea.
by JRN on Sep 29, 2009 2:14 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
yeah, they could do it bare metal/silver (rather than painted), and just keep everything else white. we’ll see.
by woooburn on Sep 29, 2009 3:20 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I hope someone bleeds all over it. I love when beautiful things are destroyed.
by szucconi on Sep 29, 2009 10:33 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs
I'm very happy to see them moving to the cage.
I think boxing ring style is very unaccommodating to MMA fighting.
by Razreshat on Sep 29, 2009 10:39 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
The cage will only be used once a year they say
by Discman2 on Sep 29, 2009 10:42 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I am a firm believer that all MMA bouts should take place in a cage and not a ring. The cage itself can be be used as an assett to a fighter, and there is no getting caught in ropes, sliding underneath the bottom rope to get out of danger, or even falling out of the ring. However, I noticed that this cage has sharp corners, which I wonder if it will allow fighters to really trap their opponent against it.
by chrisbboy82 on Sep 29, 2009 11:06 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
My biggest gripe about the ring is how fighters use it to escape from submissions (particularly standing guillotines).
by Steve4192 on Sep 29, 2009 11:08 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I think there is a place for both
its like clay courts and grass courts in tennis. different aspects of the game are highlighted in the different arenas. Also dealing with different/difficult locations is the essence of strategy.
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by Kid Nate on Sep 29, 2009 1:21 PM EDT up reply actions 5 recs
I would agree with you if the ropes weren’t such an consistent and unnecessary hindrance.
"I see him beating Anderson Silva. I see him picking him apart. Him at a 131 years old...(trails off)." - Tito Ortiz on Vitor Belfort at Affliction:DOR
by Rundownloser on Sep 29, 2009 2:49 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Just sticking with tennis, you can say the same thing about dead patches of grass on grass courts, and sliding around on clay courts.
I like the cage better, but I don’t think it’s necessary for mma in rings to completely disappear.
by Phildo on Sep 29, 2009 4:00 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
3 things to think about
1) the corners make a huge difference by allowing strikers to corner evasive opponents
2) the floor surface in the Octagon is often criticized for being much much slicker than the surface of the ring in other promotions
3) the cage gives top grapplers a huge advantage if used correctly by effectively cutting off half of the options of the man on the bottom.
it took me years to appreciate the ring but I think its a valid arena for MMA fights and I like the soccer kick/no elbows change as well.
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by Kid Nate on Sep 29, 2009 6:49 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I don’t know about jumping back and forth from ring to cage. Obviously, the ring is the apparatus of choice in Japan. I would hope there’s more behind this move than just trying to gain a few fans more accustomed to the cage. It just seems like it might be a difficult situation for some of the competitors.
by Cannon Jacques on Sep 29, 2009 11:04 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
The cage works fine for Greatest Common Multiple in Japan, and a lot of the DREAM fighters have cage experience. It shouldn’t be a big deal.
by Steve4192 on Sep 29, 2009 11:06 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I don’t think it will be a huge deal. I just like consistency. It makes things a little easier sort out, at least for me.
by Cannon Jacques on Sep 29, 2009 11:08 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
It works fine for GCM, but it isn’t about it “working”. It’s about fan appeal. GCM only has a niche fanbase in Japan, it isn’t a huge mainstream audience. This will be the first attempt to bring it to a mass audience in Japan.
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"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
by Leland Roling on Sep 29, 2009 11:25 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I can’t wait to see someone get their head pinned up against the base of the fence and kneed into oblivion Mach-Aoki style (or McGee-Gabriel style for you old schoolers).
by Steve4192 on Sep 29, 2009 11:04 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
along with plans to change DREAM’s bout structure from one ten-minute and one five-minute round to the more standard three five-minute rounds (for this event only, thankfully).
Boo this man! Unified rules for everyone! 3-5’s and cage on every event. I like to be comfortable.
Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
by Brent Brookhouse on Sep 29, 2009 11:05 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs
agreed… unified isn’t perfect, but it’s the best thing going right now.
as long as japanese fighters use a ring and different rules, they are going to have a harder time stepping up to UFC/WEC/Strikeforce.
by GregS123 on Sep 29, 2009 11:11 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
yeah,
as i said in Sup’s thread, I hope they continue with the unified rules so we can have you know.. uniformity? haha.
the different time limits, the cage/ring, plus several other rules really adds several problems to the people who wants to make the jump to fighting with unified rules..
also, i think the “once a year” line is just so that they have security, in case the show bombs. I expect that if the show is a success, we’ll be seeing cages more often.
by Anton Tabuena on Sep 29, 2009 11:24 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
why hasn't anyone pointed out
how sweet that cage looks!
i guess it’s just an artist rendering. but it looks effing awesome.
by GregS123 on Sep 29, 2009 11:13 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
not enough xyience and mickeys for my tastes
by woooburn on Sep 29, 2009 12:04 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
They should just have Kawajiri fight Nakamura.
Also War Joe Warren!
by DirtyML on Sep 29, 2009 11:15 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Totally forgot about this, but...
Kikuno-Alvarez and Parky-Hironaka would be the “DEEP x DREAM” fights that Saeki mentioned a while back.
by Chris Nelson on Sep 29, 2009 12:24 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
as much as I'll hate to see it
I think Alvarez is going to paste Kikuno. He was lucky to escape Dida with his head still on his shoulders.
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by Kid Nate on Sep 29, 2009 1:23 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Dida had nothing for Kikuno.
I don’t know if he still had the Buakaw K-1 fight in his head or what, but Dida didn’t do anything in that fight aside from catching Kikuno with one hard glancing shot.
I expect the Alvarez match to look completely different. We’ll see if Kikuno’s sprawl is good enough to stay up against a solid wrestler like Eddie, and whether Eddie will come with his usual aggressive style against such an obvious counter-striker.
by Chris Nelson on Sep 29, 2009 1:40 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I wish this was permanent and that Sengoku (SRC) would follow. I hate MMA in a boxing ring.
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 Sep 29, 2009 1:39 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
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