Caol Uno upsets Ishida with the choke!

DREAM announced that "JZ" Calvancanti will in fact rematch Shinya Aoki at DREAM.2 on April 29th from Saitama Arena in Saitama, Japan, and the winner will move on in the Lightweight Grand Prix against Katsuhiko Nagata. A no-contest was ruled in their last matchup at DREAM.1 with Calvancanti landing elbows to the neck and spine during an attempted takedown.

I don't think Aoki really stands much of a chance in the matchup. The little that we saw in the DREAM.1 bout was enough to give fans who were really hoping to put money or pick Aoki a chance to see what Aoki offers. He looked much smaller than Calvancante, wasn't able to get close to a takedown, and he still has a huge disadvantage against most fighters in the striking game. His only real chance is to get "JZ" to the floor, which seems like an impossibility.

Also on the DREAM.2 will be Denis Kang vs. Gegard Mousasi. It should be a good battle between power strikers, but Mousasi has been facing lesser competition than Kang has in the past. Nonetheless, Mousasi has the power to flatline Kang like Akiyama accomplished back in October. Akiyama and Minowa are also rumored to be fighting on the card as well. Masakatsu Funaki will take on Kiyoshi Tamura, and Kazushi Sakuraba will fight Andrews Nakahara.

DREAM.3 Lightweight Second Round matchups

Joachim Hansen vs. Eddie Alvarez

This is a superfight if I've ever seen one. Joachim absolutely crushed Kotetsu Boku in the preliminary round. Although it went to decision, Hansen was dominating on the ground and in the standup. Boku had some flurries, but Hansen clearly outclassed him. Hansen has an all-around great skillset with submissions and knee strikes. He has multiple ways to end the fight, and it should be a good matchup for Alvarez.

Alvarez has strong wrestling and great hands. He's got some devastating ground and pound that put Andre Dida out of the tournament, and he could turn it on again against Hansen. Hansen isn't exactly susceptible to the TKO though, in fact, he has never lost via TKO. The matchup has the makings of a war.

Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Luis "Buscape" Firmino

This oughta be a decent battle, but Kawajiri holds a win over Firmino at Bushido 8 back in 2005. I imagine it may go the same way with Kawajiri using his crushing ways to keep Firmino on his back for most of the fight. Firmino has some submission skills, but Kawajiri is too smart to get caught. His power will likely allow him to power out of most attempts.

Mitsuhiro Ishida vs. Caol Uno

Ishida has been on a tear as of late. His wrestling has been phenomenal lately, and he took a big win over Gilbert Melendez on New Year's Eve by taking the back at will for most of the first round. Uno will have his hands full.

This weekend could mark the inaugural event for a promotion that seeks to resurrect PRIDE back into the mixed martial arts scene. DREAM will take place on Saturday from Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, and it will feature one of the most stacked lightweight Grand Prix cards in recent memory. With nearly five or six top 10 lightweight fighters in the mix, the Grand Prix could climax into some big name superbouts later in the year. Shinya Aoki will be looking to prove his lackluster performance Bu Kyung Jung was only a fluke, but he’ll be taking on the devastating Gesias “JZ” Calvancante. Other action features Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Kultar Gill, Joachim Hansen vs. Kotetsu Boku, Andre “Dida” Amade vs. Eddie Alvarez, Mitsuhiro Ishida vs. Bu Kyung Jung, Hayato Sakurai vs. Hidetaka Monma, and the return of Mirko “CroCop” Filipovic to Japan as he will face Tatsuya Mizuno. It should be a fantastic event for hardcore fans everywhere.

Shinya Aoki vs. Gesias “JZ” Calvancante

This battle is a classic matchup of grappler vs. striker, but with the added danger of Calvancante actually having a great jiu-jitsu base to backup his quick and devastating striking. Aoki’s biggest threat is off his back. His flexibility, jiu-jitsu skills, and overall transitional game are unbelievably effective. He used techniques that are tough to escape, but he is susceptible to the crushing ways of a powerful puncher.

That’s where Calvancante may have the edge. He has an uncanny ability of staying out of the guard and crushing opponents, almost Fedor-esque. When he is in guard, he’s crushing and powerful. To supplement his striking skills, he does possess great jiu-jitsu skills. He also trains out of American Top Team, a camp that features a huge number of talented fighters for Calvancante to use to his advantage.

Gesias Calvancante has been a beast in his last few bouts. Before pulling out of the first scheduled fight with Aoki at Yarennoka, Calvancante went on a tear in the K-1 HERO’s tournament on September 17th of last year. He absolutely blasted Vitor Ribeiro in :35 seconds, arguably a top 5 lightweight, and submitted Chute Box striker Andre “Dida” Amade in the final. His striking is unmatched in this matchup, and he has enough awareness and skill to avoid the submission. I’ll take Calvancante by TKO/KO in round 2.

Leland’s Prediction: Gesias “JZ” Calvancante via TKO/KO, Round 2

Andre “Dida” Amade vs. Eddie Alvarez

The single pick’em fight on the card features the upcoming puncher Andre “Dida” Amade vs. the former BodogFIGHT and new EliteXC fighter Eddie Alvarez. This could vie for the fight of the night at DREAM, and it should give us a solid barometer for where each fighter stands in the world.

Dida is fairly green on the MMA scene. He’s 6-2-1 with his most recent bout being a losing effort to Gesias Calvancante at the HERO’S Middleweight Tournament final. Dida was still able to defeat Caol Uno and Artur Oumakhanov in the preliminary rounds to make the final as well as defeating Hiroyuki Takaya at Hero’s 8. He has some solid power in his hands, good striking, and the Chute Box Muay Thai/Brazilian jiu-jitsu base that could prove dangerous to Alvarez’s wrestling.

Alvarez also has some big power in his hands, but he also has some wrestling skills on the ground that usually work to help him ground and pound opponents. He shouldn’t be a danger in the submission game, so this fight will likely be a technical striking war between both fighters. In that case, I’m almost inclined to pick Dida over Alvarez due to his Muay Thai skills and big punch striking. Alvarez has a very good shot though, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he won. I’ll take Dida for my pick though.

Leland’s Prediction: Andre Dida via TKO/KO, Round 1

Main Event: Fedor Emelianenko vs. Hong Man Choi

I'll be brief with this matchup. Fedor is arguably the best pound for pound fighter in the world. People have recently criticized his strength of opponents as a reason to demote him to #2 or #3 in the world, but he still has an unbelievable combination of skills that can easily defeat nearly all MMA fighters within his weight class with ease. His transitional game is the most overlooked aspect of his skillset that I believe will continue to put him above even fighters such as Josh Barnett or Randy Couture. With that said, Fedor should easily defeat Choi with in the first round by submission.

Choi exhibits an immense size and weight, towering over 7 foot tall and at around 350 pounds. He is primarily a K-1 striker, and during this bout, the use of knees will be disallowed due to the height discrepancy. This hurts Choi's chances, but had they been used, Choi's slowness would have still been his ultimate weakness. Choi's last performance against Jerome Le Banner was terrible, and if it was any indication as to how he would perform in this bout, Fedor should have no problems.

Shin'ya Aoki vs. Bu-Kyung Jung

Originally, this bout was to feature K-1 HERO's Middleweight tourney champion Gesias “JZ” Calvancanti, but he suffered a torn ligament and had to pull out. A huge disappointment. Now, the rubber guard master that is Aoki will take on Bu-Kyung Jung, a 2000 silver medalist Judoka.

Without going in-depth, Aoki should easily defeat the judoka. Although Jung will have some excellent throwing skills and abilities in the clinch, Aoki's submission game is nearly unmatched in the weight class. He went from potential defeat to a win fairly quickly in this matchup.

Hayato “Mach” Sakurai vs. Hidehiko Hasegawa

The first of the matchups that should be interesting is veteran Hayato Sakurai vs. DEEP champion Hidehiko Hasegawa. A battle of opposite styles, Hasegawa will be looking to get Sakurai to the ground for a submission or do enough damage to squeak out a decision win. Sakurai will undoubtedly be seeking the knockout.

Hasegawa has had problems recently. He dropped a battle at DEEP 31 to Dong Hyun Kim, but then rematched him at DEEP 32, which ended in a controversial draw that many people felt Kim won. Either way, Hasegawa hasn't had impressive streaks of greatness. He's dropped a number of decisions to mid-tier competition, and hasn't defeated any opponents that were overly impressive in their careers.

Sakurai, on the other hand, has fought some of the best competition out there. In his last fight, he dominated recent TUF winner Mac Danzig and knocked him out cold in the second round of their PRIDE battle. He defeated Joachim Hansen, Jens Pulver, and won a hard fought decision over Shin'ya Aoki. With 7 wins in his last 8 fights, look for Sakurai to continue his dominance. Sakurai should be able to TKO Hasegawa sometime after the midpoint of this fight.

Kazuo Misaki vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama

Akiyama has recently been allowed back into the MMA scene in Japan after the “lotion” incident against Sakuraba that landed him on suspension indefinitely. In his comeback fight against a tough Denis Kang, Akiyama showed something that many fans didn't think he could do. He knocked out Kang with a vicious uppercut that completely incapacitated Kang and stunned the crowd. Regardless of the greasing incident, Akiyama does have some great judo skills in the clinch, and obviously has the ability to knock his opponent out. Does he actually have the technical striking skills or was it just a lucky punch? It's not known yet, but this should be another test to see if Akiyama will approach top 5 status.

Misaki has fought some of the best in the business. He defeated Kang in a close split decision, beat Dan Henderson and Phil Baroni, submitted Ed Herman, and has went through much of his career avoiding being knocked out. He's never been defeated by a punch, and has only lost once by TKO due to his arm being broken. Akiyama has stated in the press that Misaki is a much better fighter than him, and he believes it is a honor to battle him, but the fact is, Misaki isn't a finisher and Akiyama is.

Misaki will have range on Akiyama, but Akiyama's clinch skills should be able to work against Misaki. Misaki hasn't had success in defending against the clinch in some of his losses. It will definitely depend on what level Akiyama's takedown game is at. I think Akiyama has more of a skillset that can do a bit more to edge out Misaki via decision.

Gilbert Melendez vs. Mitsuhiro Ishida

A matchup that has provided some anticipation to US fans that have seen Melendez fight in Strikeforce. Melendez has an excellent wrestling and takedown skillset that is accompanied by a solid striking game. Melendez's claim to the top 5 ranking has to do with his win over Tatsuya Kawajiri at PRIDE Shockwave 2006. He also recently defeated a tough veteran in Tetsuji Kato while nursing a broken hand. This may all sound impressive, but Ishida will be a tough test for the Cesar Gracie student.

Ishida Is 15-3-1 with 11 of his wins by decision. He doesn't have tremendous knockout power or a dangerous submission game, but he does have great wrestling technique and a solid takedown defense that has frustrated opponents in the past. Melendez still has an edge in the striking, and he has a rock solid chin in case he gets surprised. Even if this fight doesn't go to the floor, Melendez should be able to defeat Ishida in the standup game. Ishida will most likely look for top control, and Melendez has a great training team that is proficient in jiu-jitsu and wrestling to counter anything Ishida can do on top. Melendez via TKO, third round.

Makoto Takimoto vs. Murilo Bustamante

Takimoto shouldn't be a significant problem for Bustamante. Bustamante hasn't beaten upper-echelon competition, but he has fought some of the best in the business and taken them the distance. He did beat Matt Lindland at UFC 37, Minowa at Bushido 9, and recently beat Dong Sik Yoon at Bushido 13, and Ryuta Sakurai for a second time at DEEP 29. He has some significant power in his hands, and a good submission grappling background in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He should make his Brazilian Top Team camp proud in this battle. Bustamante by decision.

Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Luiz Azeredo

This fight could be a big problem for Azeredo as he doesn't exhibit enough striking defense or offense to stop Kawajiri's “crushing” power. Although Azeredo has avoided being knocked out by some great standup fighters, he still has a susceptible chin. Kawajiri should have a power advantage, striking advantage, and can nullify the submission attempts with his excellent wrestling. Kawajiri should take this one by pure power and striking ability, first or second round.

Mike Russow vs. Roman Zentsov

Russow is coming out of Chicago, Illinois with a 6-1 record. His only loss was to Kharitonov in his only fight that has been a significant test of his ability. He's primarily a submission fighter who will be looking to hit the floor against Zentsov, a standup fighter.

Zentsov has weaknesses in his game and is far from perfect. He's had some great wins in his career and some horrible losses as well. He has a much better striking game than Russow, but Russow will have more weight, size, and grappling ability. Many of picking Zentsov, but I'll pick the Chicago native from my home state via submission.

Say what you will about the former Dream Stage Entertainment group organizing this event, it simply cannot be denied that the Yarennoka card is shaping up to be one of the better mixed martial arts cards of the year. Although PRIDE was scandalized with ties to the Yakuza crime syndicate, the fight cards didn't lack any luster for many of the fantastic cards they put out for the fans to see. This is no exception to that philosophy. The card is shaping up to look like this:

Fedor Emelianenko vs. TBA
Gesias "JZ" Calvancanti vs. Shinya Aoki
Hidehiko Hasegawa vs. Hayato "Mach" Sakurai
Gilbert Melendez vs. Mitsuhiro Ishida

The newly announced Gilbert Melendez fight was confirmed by TAGG Radio as they are a main sponsor of the Strikeforce veteran. Melendez is one of the few fighters who has the ability to go overseas to prove his stance in the Lightweight World Rankings. The advantages of having a non-exclusive contract and being in a Lightweight division that has fighters around the world within its rankings is great for him. He doesn't have to sit outside the UFC fighting no-names, much like any Welterweight fighter outside the UFC experiences, ie. Jake Shields. The UFC doesn't have every single lightweight within the realm of the rankings under contract.

We've analyzed the Calvancanti vs. Aoki and Hasegawa vs. Sakurai matchups in past articles, we'll look at the Melendez vs. Ishida matchup next. Gilbert Melendez is currently undefeated with a 13-0 record. He trains out of the Cesar Gracie Academy with fighters like Shields and the Diaz brothers. Some may say his record shouldn't indicate a top 3 ranking in the world, but he has some great wins over Hiroyuki Takaya, Clay Guida, Rumina Sato, and his more recent big win over top 5 lightweight Tatsuya Kawajiri. Melendez has a strong style of striking and explosive takedowns. In his most recent fight against Shooto veteran Tetsuji Kato, he broke his hand in the first round of the fight yet continued to use it to a limited capacity to ward off Kato and get the decision win. He's tough, mobile, quick, and has the transition game to be dangerous on the floor. His striking is probably the more exciting part of his skills because he throws strikes with a good amount of power, and can still set up explosive shoots that will easily make opponents struggle to react.

Mitsuhiro Ishida is another PRIDE lightweight who was put on the waiting block with the Zuffa purchase of PRIDE. He hasn't fought since New Year's Eve of 2006 in which he succumbed to strikes in the first round to Takanori Gomi. Ishida is a fighter that continually wins by decision and cannot finish his opponents. He's currently 14-3-1 with 10 decision victories in his 14 wins, not exactly the finishing type. When he has finished opponents, it has been by TKO strikes on the ground. His most notable win is over Marcus Aurelio in PRIDE and Takashi Nakakura in Shooto. To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure if Ishida can deal with Melendez's skillset. He's had some wars in his career, specifically with Vitor Ribeiro in which he lost by decision, but nonetheless impressive considering Ribeiro's ju-jitsu skills on the mat. I don't think it will be enough to avoid the strikes from Melendez, but hopefully Gilbert's hand is 100% because Ishida can take a shot. Nonetheless, it should be a great fight to an already decent card for New Year's Eve.

Who's left?

Of the rumored names, Kazuo Misaki, Joachim Hansen, Luiz Azeredo, and Ricardo Arona are left. Arona has pretty much denied being a part of the card as he is taking some time off. Misaki and Azeredo seem like good high probability choices to be appearing on the card and Hansen wouldn't back down from an offer unless he plans on taking some time off as well. There are many other names out there floating, so we could see another good matchup soon.

Final thoughts

Overall, the card is shaping up to be very good. Although some people are throwing the card out the window due to its backing by former DSE employees, a fight card is a fight card and this one looks good, especially in the lightweight world picture. Don't hate, just enjoy the fights. Although the U.S. fan base won't be able to see it, you should at least be aware of it as we loom closer to New Year's Eve.