by:  Jack Bratcher

It is a holiday in Japan today, signaling the end of summer and the beginning of fall. It is also the night of DREAM 6 featuring the finals of a middleweight grand prix. Yes, I am up at 2:10 am CST bringing you the results and recap fight-by-fight, so stay tuned night owls.

reserve match
Andrews Nakahara (183.7) vs. Yoon Dong Sik (184.8)
Rd.1 – Yoon is in a gi. Nakahara with leg kick, head kick, and another leg kick. Yoon looks for a takedown. Right hand by Yoon. Takedown by Yoon. Nakahara goes for a gogoplata but Yoon escapes. Full mount by Yoon. Yoon goes for a choke using the sleeve of his gi but to no avail. Yoon trying to soften up Nakahara with strikes but Nakahara escapes and is back on his feet. Ref stands up Yoon. Leg kick by Nakahara, followed by a round kick. Yoon tries to shoot in but Nakahara sprawls and throws numerous big knees to Yoon’s head as the bell sounds.
Rd.2 – Nakahara quickly drops Yoon with punches. Yoon tries to cover up but continues to eat punches until the ref stops it just thirty seconds into round two. Andrews Nakahara defeats Yoon Dong Sik by TKO in round 2.

Melvin Manhoef (184.8) vs. Gegard Mousasi (184.6)
Melvin Manhoef is being led to the ring wearing a dog collar and a chain.
Rd.1 – Mousasi shoots and gets Manhoef to the ground and takes his back. Manhoef spins and ends up in Mousasi’s triangle. Manhoef picks Mousasi up very high and slams him very hard however it only tightens the triangle and Melvin Manhoef taps out at 1:28 of round 1. Gegard Mousasi defeats Melvin Manhoef by triangle submission in round 1.

Zelg Galesic (184.6) vs. Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza (184.4)
Rd.1 – Jacare slams Galesic quickly. Jacare passes to side mount. He holds one of Galesic’s arms with one arm as he pounds Galesic’s face with his other arm. Jacare mounts Galesic but gets flipped over. As Galesic flips his opponent, Jacare catches him immediately in an armbar, pulls it tight, and Galesic is forced to tap. Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza defeats Zelg Galesic by armbar submission in round 1.

Adriano Martins (154) vs. Keita Nakamura (154)
Rd.1 – Big left hand by Martins drops Nakamura. They are back up. Martins lands a left then right. Nakamura takes Martins down and is in Martins’ half guard. Martins has Nakamura in full guard now. Nakamura with some ground and pound. Martins throws a punch from his back and cuts Nakamura. Ref stands them up and look at Nakamura’s cut. Right hand by Nakamura and again. Left hand by Nakamura followd by two rights. Martins swings and swings but can’t land a punch on Nakamura. Nakamura lands two rights then a left and another left. Two more rights. Nakamura isn’t even known for his striking is what’s funny and he is winning the standup easily.
Rd.2 – Nakamura with two rights then a left. Two more rights by Nakamura then gets a takedown but Martins bounces right up. Nakamura is eating Martins up with right jabs. Martins has no answer for Nakamura’s striking. A big right rocks Martin’s head back. Keita Nakamura defeats Adriano Martins by split decision. How any judge could call that fight for Martins is beyond me. That was about as clear cut a win as I have ever seen.

Fedor Emelianenko is in the house!

Jimmy Ambriz (290.4) vs. Sergei Kharitonov (253)
Ambriz took this fight on seventy-two hours notice.
Rd.1 – Ambriz eats a right then another that knocks him down. Ambriz bounces right up. Kharitonov gets a yellow card for holding the ropes. Big left hand by Kharitonov. Body shots by Kharitonov. Ambriz’s standup looks horrible. He looks lost and can’t defend any punches. Finally, Ambriz drops to his knees and taps out due to strikes. Sergei Kharitonov defeats Jimmy Ambriz by TKO in round 1.

The camera pans to Fedor after the fight to get his impression of his fellow Russian’s victory. Stoic as always, Fedor moves not a muscle, not even to blink his eyes. Is he bored? No, he’s CY-BORED.

Even though it is now 4:04 am, your friendly neighborhood DREAM-keeper has had two cups of coffee. So never fear…we shall make it to the end! Hardcore MMA baby!

Hideo Tokoro (138.4) vs. Atsushi Yamamoto (138.2)
Rd.1 – Big left, then right by Yamamoto drops Tokoro. Yamamoto gets on top and Tokoro has recovered and is looking for submissions. Both back up. Stiff left jab by Yamamoto. Big right by Tokoro. Tokoro jumps guard. Back to their feet. Rightt hand followed by a left, then a right by Tokoro. Left leg kick by Tokoro trips Yamamoto. Fast hands rock Tokoro and now his nose is bleeding. Yamamoto pressing in. Combo punches by Yamamoto, then a big left. Tokoro does a somersault kick that grazes Yamamoto. Tokoro ends up on his back with Yamamoto in his guard.
Rd.2 – Yamamoto dancing around. Tokoro swinging and connects with a right. Tokoro with another somersault kick that hits Yamamoto and lands with him in his guard. Ref stands them up to check Tokoro’s nosebleed. Yamamoto gets a takedown. Tokoro looking for a submission. They stand up. Left hand by Yamamoto, then a takedown followed by ground and pound. Tokoro goes for an armbar. Yamamoto pounds Tokoro’s head while Tokoro still holds the arm trying for the armbar for about a minute as finally the bell sounds. Yamamoto does push ups after the fight to show the judges and crowd his energy. Atsushi Yamamoto defeats Hideo Tokoro by unanimous decision.

Masakatsu Funaki (198) vs. Ikuhisa Minowa (193.4)
Rd.1 – For some reason Minowa is wearing shoes. Minowa gets a takedown. Finaki
goes for a heel hook and gets it! Minowa should not have worn shoes against someone like Finaki. Masakatsu Funaki defeats Ikuhisa Minowa by heel hook submission. It is the first win for Finaki since 1999. He was out of MMA action for about seven years. He is 39 years old.

They just announced that Fedor Emelianenko could possibly face on New Year’s eve here in Japan, the winner of Mirko Filipovic and Alistair Overeem who will fight in the co-main event tonight.

Kuniyoshi Hironaka (167) vs. Hayato “Mach” Sakurai (167.2)
Rd.1 – Hironaka with the takedown. They are back up. Sakurai lands a big left then a front kick, then another big leg kick. Front kick by Hironaka. Combination punches from Sakurai. Left hand by Hironaka. Big leg kick by Sakurai. Hironaka’s legs look hurt from the leg kicks of Sakurai. Sakurai slips and Hironaka gets on top. Hironaka gets an official warning for kicking a downed opponent in the head. Body shot by Sakurai followed by another one. Leg kick by Sakurai. Sakurai working the legs, the body, and the head over and over.
Rd.2 – Takedown by Hironaka. Back to their feet. Big left, then big right by Sakurai. Sakurai cracks Hironaka with a huge leg kick and then another. Takedown by Sakurai. They stand up. Head kick by Sakurai then a left hand. Head kick by Hironaka. Right straight hand by Sakurai, and again. Left hand Hironaka. Sakurai starts landing numerous combos. Two knees to Hironaka’s head while holding the plum. A big punch drops Hironaka. With little time left, Sakurai jumps on Hironaka to try and finish before the bell. He’s punching away as the bell sounds. Great finish by Saurai. Hayato “Mach” Sakurai defeats Kuniyoshi Hironaka by unanimous decision. It is Sakurai’s 33rd victory.

Yoshihiro Akiyama (184.8) vs. Masanori Tonooka (184.1)
Rd.1 – Akiyama gets Tonooka to the ground. Akiyama has Tonooka in the crucifix position and landing punches to his face ala Matt Hughes. Full mount by Akiyama. Looking for an armbar. Back to their feet. Akiyama with a hard trip takedown. Full mount by Akiyama. Looking for armbar and he gets it. Tapout. Yoshihiro Akiyama defeats Masanori Tonooka by armbar submission in round 1. To Tonooka’s credit, it was only his third pro fight.

Shinya Aoki (153.8) vs. Todd Moore (153.6)
Rd.1 – Aoki takes Moore’s back while standing. He locks in a neck crank and sits down in the corner so Moore can not move. He cranks it hard and Moore is forced to tapout. Shinya Aoki defeats Todd Moore by neck crank submission in round 1.

Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic (225.9 pounds) vs. Alistair Overeem (241.8)
Rd.1 – Left hand by Overeem. Overeem throws CroCop to the ground with one hand. Overeem doing some ground and pound and Crocop is bleeding. Overeem still on top in CroCop’s guard. Ref stands them up to look at CroCop’s cut. He is ok. Back to the ground. CroCop trying to hold on as much as possible. Ref lets them stand up. Left high kick by CroCop and Overeem catches it ans sweeps CroCop’s back leg knocking him to the ground.. Overeem with some big sledgehammer shots. Ref stands them up and CroCop gets a yellow card for inaction. Big knee by Overeem. CroCop complaining of a low knee but Overeem keeps going. CroCop takes a seat as his groin is hurt. He is given time to recover. He can continue but his eyes don’t look good. Overeem looks confident. Big knee by Overeem and the blood is bothering CroCop. Another knee to the groin and Overeem gets a yellow card. I don’t see CroCop continuing now. CroCop remains in the ring for about ten minutes much of the time in a turtle position with his head in his hands. The camera flashes to Fedor and he starts laughing at the situation. The fight is ruled a “no contest” when Mirko “CroCop” Filipovic cannot continue due to groin strikes.
I cannot explain to you how disappointing this is. I waited all night for this fight. This was the most anticipated fight of the night for myself and this just sucks! Overeem was basically manhandling CroCop and I’m confident he would have destroyed him. CroCop had nothing for him. I just hope it is Overeem who gets to fight Fedor on New Year’s eve.

MIDDLEWEIGHT GRAND PRIX FINALE:
Gegard Mousasi vs. Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza

Rd.1 – Jacare shoots in, picks up Mousasi and slams him hard on his back. Jacare rears back with a big punch, he lunges in, Mousasi throws one upkick that misses, he throws one more, boom, connects Jacare right on the chin! Jacare falls face down on the mat! He is out cold! Gegard Mousasi is the Dream Middleweight Grand Prix Champion! Gegard Mousasi defeats Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza by upkick KO. What an incredible finish! That just made up for the CroCop/Overeem disaster.

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