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Note: I wrote most of this a couple of weeks back but didn't get a chance to finish, thought I'd go ahead and post since I figure alot of our readers are technique nerds too.

DREAM.12 featured Bellator champ (and #3 ranked lightweight in the world on the USAT/SBN Consensus MMA Rankings) Eddie Alvarez, a fighter who epitomizes the combination of boxing and wrestling that has become a mainstay of MMA. His opponent was the fast-rising Katsunori Kikuno whose success with Kyokushin karate, an eccentric Sanchin dachi stance and use of crescent kicks have made him a cult favorite with those of us who are fascinated with the successful use of "traditional martial art" styles that were long believed to be of extremely limited effectiveness in MMA.

But instead of the clash of contrasting striking styles fans had expected, the fight was decided in the grappling phase of the game. Sure Alvarez scored repeatedly with hard hooks, but he won the fight with an arm triangle and nearly lost it in the first round when he was caught in a rare standing crucifix.

I've done a judo chop on the crucifix neck crank before (not to be confused with the various crucifix positions of jiu jitsu or the position in which Matt Hughes finished B.J. Penn at UFC 63) but that was an instance when it was used on the ground, rather than standing as in Kikuno vs Alvarez.

Many fans watching assumed that Alvarez was in no danger as Kikuno held him in the hold. Alvarez, too, underestimated the danger of the hold, until it was released. Ray Hui scooped me with a write-up he did of the move last week and he wrote up Alvarez' comments at the post fight press conference:

"I originally thought that they were just going to break it, so I kind of just relaxed in there, but the ref just let it go and he kept cranking my neck," Alvarez told the press after the fight. "It didn't feel like it was a move that you would give up to. I just felt uncomfortable. That's all."

However upon release, Alvarez was in obvious discomfort and outright ran away from Kikuno for a momentary breather.

"And I didn't realize until I got out of it that it was stopping my blood flow to my brain I guess and it messed up my footing."

Let's look at some animated gifs in the full entry.

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By Daniel Herbertson at Sherdog.com

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Yesterday, I focused on the memorable comeback win by Eddie Alvarez over Katsunori Kikuno after surviving a deep standing crucifix at DREAM 12. While the battle between the two lightweight champions was easily one of the better bouts on the card, the event also featured a number of talents in the Japanese mixed martial arts scene that we'll likely be seeing in the North American scene very soon.

In the headlining bout, Alistair "Megareem" Overeem, as I like to name him, easily steamrolled the "Mega Punk" James Thompson as he caught him in a standing guillotine choke, the same choke that he defeated Tony Sylvester with at Ultimate Glory on October 17th. While Overeem's opponent quality is on the low end of the spectrum in his more recent mixed martial arts contests, it's apparent that these bouts are serving as a means to pushing Overeem's image to the Japanese fans as well as giving him easy paychecks for his increased popularity and drawing power.

Many fans continue to complain about Overeem's inability to defend his Strikeforce heavyweight championship stateside, but as Michael David Smith so obviously pointed out -- Overeem's recent forays in the MMA ring are simply tune-up bouts for the K-1 World Grand Prix. Any MMA fan who follows the sport and understands the differences between K-1 and MMA can easily solve the puzzle and come to the same conclusion that MDS talks about in his article, but surprisingly enough... there was enough outcry over the Strikeforce heavyweight belt that the article actually needed to be written.

Overeem is scheduled to battle Ewerton Teixiera in the opening bout at the K-1 World Grand Prix Final on December 5th, and if he manages to make it to the World Grand Prix Final and win -- he'll be one of the most sought after fighters in Japan. Strikeforce may need to head to Japan in order to reap the benefits of Overeem's popularity.

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While everybody has been heavily enthralled in the controversy surrounding UFC 104's main event, a hidden gem of an event in Japan completely revived my demeanor after the somewhat lackluster UFC 104 card. DREAM 12 took place a couple of hours after UFC 104 on early Sunday morning on HDNet, and while the event didn't feature a spectacular array of great fights-- it did produce a treasure that any MMA fan should appreciate.

The lightweight tilt between Japanese Kyokushin karate fighter and DEEP Lightweight champion Katsunori Kikuno and Bellator Lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez was a true war between two very different fighters from different continents. It not only featured a cookie cutter skill-set in Alvarez's wrestling and boxing versus Kikuno's precision karate, Sanchin dachi stance, and unique kicking ability, but it also gave fans the ultimate opportunity to see why both fighters should be sought out by fans when they appear on an event's card.

The opening round went very unexpectedly for Alvarez as he was immediately caught in a standing crucifix by Kikuno. The position relied on Kikuno's double underhooks and Eddie's neck underneath Kikuno's armpit to apply pressure downward on his neck. As you can imagine, this is a fairly effective way to make breathing difficult and crank Alvarez's neck. Kikuno held the choke with little emotion on his face for a couple of minutes, and the surprisingly frantic panic in Alvarez's escape attempts showed that Eddie was in some real trouble early.

Once Alvarez escaped the hold, he evaded any exchanges with Kikuno while struggling to bring his chin up from his chest. The length of the hold made it difficult for Alvarez's head to rebound from the position it had been in for over two minutes, but Kikuno was unable to capitalize on Alvarez' momentary weakness. Alvarez eventually relaxed his shoulders and neck and returned to his striking form, although he was visibly gassed from the ordeal.

The rest of the round highlighted the Sanchin dachi "zombie" stance and free hand style from Kikuno. He lurked within striking distance of Alvarez with a stoic demeanor and a fleet-footed offensive of kicks to Alvarez's gut. It was easily a winning round for Kikuno, and Eddie's gas tank had suffered greatly from the opening crucifix hold. Things did not look good.

Eddie Alvarez vs. Katsunori Kikuno after the jump...

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The Event:

• Live Results and Commentary -- Kid Nate

• Mauricio "Shogun" Rua Picks Lyoto Machida Apart to Lose UFC Light Heavyweight Title -- Luke Thomas

• Joe Stevenson Elbows Spencer Fisher Into a Second Round Finish -- Luke Thomas

• Anthony Johnson KOs Yoshiyuki Yoshida In Dominating Performance -- Luke Thomas

• Josh Neer Fails to Stop Takedown Onslaught From Gleison Tibau -- Luke Thomas

• Ryan Bader Takes a Decision Over Eric Schafer -- Luke Thomas

• Pat Barry TKO's Antoni Hardonk in Two -- Luke Thomas

• UFC 104 bonuses and awards for ‘Machida vs Shogun’ PPV fights -- Jesse Holland

• Machida survives Rua, Velasquez dominates at UFC 104 -- Sergio Non

Multimedia:

• UFC 104 post-fight press conference video live

• UFC 104 Pictures -- Sherdog
• UFC 104 in Pictures -- UK Sun

• Bloody Elbow Betting Game: UFC 104 Results

• Cain Velasquez wants the heavyweight belt after big win over Ben Rothwell (Video)

• Chael Sonnen talks ‘best performance ever’ against Yushin Okami (Video)

• FightMetric statistics deconstruct UFC 104 controversial decision for ‘Machida vs Shogun’ (Pic)

• UFC 104 Video: Final Words From LA -- Ariel Helwani

• Joe Stevenson Says Spencer Fisher Felt 'Slippery' (Video) -- Ariel Helwani
  

Post-Fight Analysis:

• Post Fight Analysis - Random Thoughts -- Brent Brookhouse

• Results recap from last night and post-fight discussion for ‘Machida vs Shogun’ -- MMA Mania

• UFC 104 Hangover -- Zak Woods

• Did Shogun Rua Solve The Lyoto Machida Puzzle In Defeat At UFC 104? -- Kelvin Hunt

• A Kickboxing Look at Machida vs. Shogun -- Dave Walsh

• Rua-Machida a matter of legwork -- Sergio Non

• Velasquez makes case for title shot -- Dave Meltzer

The Machida vs Shogun Fall-Out:

• Mauricio "Shogun" Rua is Robbed by the CSAC Judges, Champion Lyoto Machida Gets Off Lucky -- Kid Nate

• It was a Close and Controversial Decision, Not a Robbery -- Anton Tabuena

• Outrage in Shogun-Machida Decision Unwarranted in Razor-Close Fight -- Mike Chiappatta
  

• A Thought on the Need to "Truly Beat the Champion" -- Brent Brookhouse

• Mauricio "Shogun" Rua Promised Immediate Rematch After UFC 104 Decision Loss to Lyoto Machida -- Kid Nate

• Dana White: Lyoto Machida vs Mauricio ‘Shogun’ rematch to happen ‘as fast as we can’-- MMA Mania

• UFC 104 Main Event Judges Made the Right Call -- Nick Becker

• Machida vs. Rua may be a Blessing in Disguise for the UFC -- Zak Woods

• One Fan's Second Watching of Machida-Rua: By The Numbers -- MMA For Real

• Shogun Rua Should Be #1 Light Heavyweight In The World -- Kelvin Hunt

• Lyoto Machida-Shogun Rua Rematch Buys Time for UFC Light Heavyweights -- Michael David Smith

• Rua-Machida close decision has fans looking for blood -- Steve Cofield

• ‘Shogun’ has no one to blame but himself -- Kevin Iole

The Other Fights:

• Re: Velasquez/Rothwell: Whose Mercy in Mixed Martial Arts? -- Luke Thomas

• Yushin Okami reflects on ‘utter defeat’ at the hands of Chael Sonnen -- Akimitsu Kuwabara

• Anthony Johnson knocks out Yoshiyuki Yoshida, loses more than $60,000 -- MMA Mania

• A Look at Ryan Bader -- Zach Krantz

• Was the Velasquez/Rothwell Stoppage too Early? -- Zach Krantz

DREAM.12:

• Live Results and Commentary -- Chris Nelson

• Is Marius Zaromskis the new Mirko Cro Cop? -- Anton Tabuena

• Alistair Overeem wants to fight Fedor in April 2010 -- Akimitsu Kuwabara

• Eddie Alvarez Wins at Dream.12, Bellator Champ Keeps Getting Better -- Michael David Smith

• For Alistair Overeem, MMA Squash Matches Are K-1 Tune-Ups -- Michael David Smith
  

DREAM will become the first major Japanese MMA promotion to utilize a cage tonight in Osaka. Poster via DREAM Official.

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Join us here at BloodyElbow.com tonight as DREAM unveils their "white cage" in Osaka, Japan. Our coverage begins with the start of the HDNet broadcast at 2AM Eastern / 11PM Pacific (right after UFC 104).

The main event of the evening will see Strikeforce heavyweight champ Alistair Overeem taking on Pride veteran James "The Colossus" Thompson, who tipped the scales at 277 pounds yesterday. In the co-main event, the lightweight aces of DEEP and Bellator collide, as Kyokushin karate disciple Katsunori Kikuno faces his stiffest test to date in Philadelphia's Eddie Alvarez. The undercard features the returning Zelg Galesic taking on Kazushi Sakuraba, and DREAM welterweight champion Marius Zaromskis in a non-title bout with Korea's Myeon Ho Bae.

Quick Results
Alistair Overeem def. James Thompson via submission (guillotine choke) R1
Eddie Alvarez def. Katsunori Kikuno via submission (arm-triangle choke) R2
Marius Zaromskis def. Myeon Ho Bae via KO (head kick) R1
Kazushi Sakuraba def. Zelg Galesic via submission (kneebar) R1
Katsuyori Shibata def. Tokimitsu Ishizawa via TKO (punches) R1
Dong-Sik Yoon def. Tarec Saffiedine via split decision
Yoshiro Maeda def. Chase Beebe via submission (rear-naked choke) R1
Kuniyoshi Hironaka def. Won Sik "Parky" Park via TKO (eye injury) end of R1
Tomoya Miyashita def. Keisuke Fujiwara via unanimous decision

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DEEP lightweight ace Katsunori Kikuno and Bellator champ Eddie Alvarez square off in the white cage tomorrow in Osaka. Photo via DREAM.

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The weigh-ins for DREAM.12 just wrapped up in Osaka and nearly all fighters made weight - the lone exception being Korean lightweight "Parky," a.k.a. Won-Sik Park, who's been given one hour to shed an extra kilogram and make the 70kg (154 lbs) limit.

Event producer Keiichi Sasahara was in attendance and discussed the white cage:

It will not be metal, it’ll be some advanced material for durability that is also used for tuna and yellow tail cultivation... He says that it’s impact absorbability [sic] is excellent.

Apparently the guy in charge of some net manufacturer was a PRIDE fan by chance so they stopped all other work to work on the net of the white cage. The color of the net is beige.

More photos (via DREAM) in the extended entry.

Make sure to join us tomorrow at 2 AM Eastern, right after UFC 104, for live discussion and play-by-play.

#9 - Heavyweight
James Thompson (126kg / 277.8 lbs)
vs. Alistair Overeem (115kg / 253.5 lbs)

#8 - Lightweight - 70kg
Katsunori Kikuno (70kg / 154.3 lbs)
vs. Eddie Alvarez (69.8kg / 153.9 lbs)

#7 - Welterweight - 76kg
Myeon Ho Bae (75.8kg / 167.1 lbs)
vs. Marius Zaromskis (76kg / 167.6 lbs)

#6 - Middleweight - 84kg
Zelg Galesic (85kg / 187.4 lbs)
vs. Kazushi Sakuraba (84kg / 185.2 lbs)

#5 - Middleweight - 84kg
Tokimitsu Ishizawa (84kg / 185.2 lbs)
vs. Katsuyori Shibata (83.3kg / 183.6 lbs)

#4 - Middleweight - 84kg
Tarec Saffiedine (83kg / 183 lbs)
vs. Dong-Sik Yoon (84kg / 185.2 lbs)

#3 - Featherweight - 63kg
Chase Beebe (63kg / 138.9 lbs)
vs. Yoshiro Maeda (62.8kg / 138.5 lbs)

#2 - Lightweight - 70kg
Won Sik "Parky" Park (71kg / 156.5 lbs - re-weighing)
vs. Kuniyoshi Hironaka (70kg / 154.3 lbs)

#1 - Featherweight - 63kg
Tomoya Miyashita (63kg / 138.9 lbs)
vs. Keisuke Fujiwara (62.8 / 138.5 lbs)

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Troubled Brazilian star Paulo Filho failed to arrive in Japan on Thursday, prompting DREAM to secure a last-minute replacement. Photo via Combat Lifestyle.

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Ed Soares, who represents Filho, today confirmed to MMAjunkie.com... that the fighter won't compete on the card but declined to go into details. However, he wanted to reassure fans that Filho "is OK."

The latest chapter in the strange tale of Paulo Filho was written today, as the former WEC middleweight champion failed to show up on schedule in Japan ahead of his Sunday bout with Dong Sik Yoon.

Brazilian site Tatame spoke to Filho's mother:

One of the stars of Dream 12, Brazilian son Paulão, who was set to face Korean native Dong Sik Yoon this Sunday, is off the event. According to Japanese sites, Paulão had not yet left for Japan and had not been in contact with the organization. According to the fighter's mother, Adenilda Fragoso, the athlete could not obtain a visa to embark for Japan and had cancelled the fight.

At a Friday afternoon press conference, DREAM frontman Keiichi Sasahara told reporters that the promotion had yet to hear from Filho or his manager, Ed Soares, but that a replacement fighter was standing by and would be announced tomorrow. Polish site MMA Rocks is reporting that Filho's replacement will be Team Quest's Tarec Saffiedine, who previously stepped in on short notice to face Seichi Ikemoto in DREAM.10's WWGP reserve match.

In other DREAM.12 news, James Thompson is in Japan and has been confirmed as Alistair Overeem's opponent.

[UPDATE] by Nick Thomas - Betting odds are up:

HW: Alistair Overeem (30-11, 1 NC) -1800 vs. James Thompson (14-10) +900

MW: Zelg Galesic (9-4) -165 vs. Kazushi Sakuraba (25-12-1) +135

MW: Katsuyori Shibata (3-6-1) -250 vs. Tokimitsu Ishizawa (1-4-1) +190

WW: Marius Zaromskis (12-3) -500 vs. Myeon Ho Bae (8-4) +300

FW: Keisuke Fujiwara (7-1-3) vs. Tomoya Miyashita (11-5-5)

MW: Tarec Saffiedine (7-1) vs. Yoon Dong-Sik (4-7)

FW: Chase Beebe (12-5) -145 vs. Yoshiro Maeda (25-7-2) +115

LW: Eddie Alvarez (18-2) -500 vs. Katsunori Kikuno (12-1-1) +300

LW: Kuniyoshi Hironaka (15-6) -325 vs. Won Sik Park (7-1-1) +250
 

It's a great time to be a mixed martial arts fan, and Saturday's UFC 104 will only be the tip of the iceberg for fans this weekend. DREAM 12 will air LIVE at 2 AM EST on HDNet from Osaka Castle Hall in Osaka, Japan. The major difference between past DREAM events and this event is the inclusion of a "White Cage" that will be used for the first time in a major Japanese MMA promotion. While it's unknown whether the masses of Japanese mixed martial arts fans will be drawn to the use of a cage, it's nonetheless an intriguing card with big names and a different concept.

Drawing off the newly produced popularity of Alistair Overeem in the archipelago of Japan, DREAM has put together a main event bout between current K-1 World Grand Prix participant and PRIDE veteran Alistair "The Demolition Man" Overeem (30-11) and former PRIDE veteran James Thompson (14-10) as a match-up that will surely draw a little intrigue from fans overseas. While the bout has yet to be confirmed by DREAM officially, MMA Fanhouse is stating that the bout will likely happen.

There isn't any mystery as to why this bout is happening. Thompson was tabbed for this fight for the simple reason that he isn't a dangerous opponent at all for Overeem. Overeem's schedule still relies on him to be healthy for the K-1 World Grand Prix Final on December 5th, and Thompson is about as unlikely to actually hurt "Megareem" as he is to actually win the fight. Thompson's novelty popularity from his PRIDE days helps minimally, but Overeem's popularity has skyrocketed since his drubbing of Badr Hari and near win against K-1 champion Remy Bonjasky. Most fans will tune in to see Overeem manhandle Thompson, and that's exactly what they'll get.

In a much more intriguing match-up for fans, Bellator lightweight champion and past contender to Shinya Aoki's WAMMA lightweight crown Eddie Alvarez (18-2) will battle Japanese Kyokushin karate practicioner and DEEP lightweight champion Katsunori Kikuno (12-1-2). Alvarez enters the contest following a three-fight win streak in the Bellator lightweight tournament and DREAM lightweight tournament upset victories over Joachim Hansen and Tatsuya Kawajiri. He eventually lost to Shinya Aoki at Dynamite!! 2008, but he still remains one of the best lightweights in the world outside of the UFC. Kikuno is coming off a quick victory over Andre "Dida" Amade at DREAM 10 after knocking out Koichiro Matsumoto in the DEEP Lightweight tournament to win the Lightweight crown.

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Kazushi Sakuraba, Katsuyori Shibata, Keisuke Fujiwara and Tomoya Miyashita in the ring at Sakuraba's Laughter7 gym. Photo via DREAM.

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UPDATED 1:37 PM ET - Michael David Smith says Alistair Overeem will face James Thompson at DREAM.12.

Though only two weeks removed from his DREAM.11 win over boxer Rubin Williams, 40-year-old Japanese MMA legend Kazushi Sakuraba hosted a press conference today at his Laughter7 gym to announce that he will replace an injured Melvin Manhoef against Zelg Galesic at DREAM.12 on October 25th. The fight will, of course, be contested inside DREAM's "white cage," marking the "IQ Wrestler's" first cage bout since 1997. Galesic spent 2006 in England's now-defunct Cage Rage, holding the promotion's UK Middleweight Title.

Katsuyori Shibata will look to follow up on his DREAM.8 decisioning of Ikuhisa Minowa as he clashes with fellow pro wrestler Kendo Kashin, aka Tokimitsu Ishizawa.

Also added to the show in Osaka: a non-title match between DREAM Welterweight Champion Marius Zaromskis and Korea's Myeon Ho Bae, and a nice featherweight scrap featuring ZST champ Keisuke Fujiwara and DEEP standout Tomoya Miyashita.

DREAM.12
October 25, 2009
Osaka Castle Hall
Osaka, Japan

HW: Alistair Overeem (30-11, 1 NC) vs. James Thompson (14-10)
MW: Kazushi Sakuraba (25-12-1, 2 NC) vs. Zelg Galesic (9-4)
LW: Katsunori Kikuno (12-1-1) vs. Eddie Alvarez (18-2)
LW: Kuniyoshi Hironaka (15-6) vs. Won Sik "Parky" Park (7-1-1)
FW: Yoshiro Maeda (25-7-2) vs. Chase Beebe (12-4)
WW: Marius Zaromskis (12-3) vs. Myeon Ho Bae (8-4)
MW: Katsuyori Shibata (3-6-1) vs. Tokimitsu Ishizawa (1-4-1)
MW: Paulo Filho (18-1) vs. Dong Sik Yoon (4-7)
FW: Keisuke Fujiwara (7-1-3) vs. Tomoya Miyashita (12-5-6)

DREAM.12 coverage

Paulo Filho's grinding decision win over Alex Schoenauer last month managed to elicit boos from even a partisan Brazilian crowd. Can the fallen former WEC champ dispatch of Korean judoka Dong Sik Yoon more efficiently at DREAM.12?

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During a Katsunori Kikuno public workout at Alliance-Square Gym today (video below), DREAM announced a pair of middleweight bouts for its "white cage" show on October 25th in Osaka.

First up is FEG standby Melvin Manhoef (23-6-1), who'll make a typically quick turnaround to take on the returning Zelg Galesic (9-4). Manhoef was just eliminated from the K-1 2009 World Grand Prix by Remy Bonjasky at the end of September and has fought a total of six times already in 2009 (after "retiring" late last year, no less). Galesic hasn't fought since September of '08 - when he was armbarred by "Jacare" in the DREAM MWGP semifinals - thanks to myriad injuries and health problems. Neither man lacks cage experience, having both competed for now-defunct UK promotion Cage Rage in the past.

Also on the slate: Paulo Filho's (18-1) strange odyssey continues as he faces Korean judoka Dong Sik Yoon (4-7). Since his infamous loss to Chael Sonnen last November, Filho has made quick work of Manhoef at DREAM.10 and cage-humped Alex Schoenauer to a unanimous decision victory at last month's Bitetti Combat show. Yoon is just 1-3 in DREAM after losing his last three straight, most recently injuring his foot one minute into his DREAM.10 match with Jesse Taylor. The former WEC middleweight champ will have a distinct advantage when it comes to the fighting surface, having contested four bouts inside a cage to Yoon's zero.

* * * * *

Not to be left out, Sengoku also added a pair of matchups to its November 7th card in Tokyo today.

In the promotion's burgeoning heavyweight division, "Big" Jim York (11-3) will look to rebound from his submission loss to Antonio Silva when he runs up against 25-year-old prospect Dave "Pee-Wee" Herman (15-1). The formerly home-trained Herman demonstrated his notoriously bad cardio in his last Sengoku bout, which saw him blown up by Korean heavyweight Mu Bae Choi in the second round. Since then, he's notched an impressive TKO win in Bellator, and last month dispatched of Don Frye in under a minute down in Texas.

Meanwhile, in the lightweight set, the rumored title eliminator between Eiji Mitsuoka (16-6-2) and Kazunori Yokota (10-2-3) has been officially announced. The winner of this one is likely to be new champion Mizuto Hirota's first opponent at Sengoku Raiden Championship on New Year's Eve.

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