DREAM 8

Hayato Sakurai KO’s Shinya Aoki in round 1 of DREAM welterweight grand prix

by

Shinya Aoki had a very tough, albeit short, night in Nagoya, Japan; twenty-seven seconds short, to be exact. The WAMMA Lightweight Champion took on seasoned veteran, Hayato “Mach” Sakurai in one of four welterweight tournament bouts that took place Sunday, April 5th, at DREAM 8.

Aoki, dressed in a new pair of black and gold spats, looked all business coming into the fight and seemed to take the advantage just as the bout started with Sakurai shooting in. Aoki was able to get underneath Sakurai’s shot and get the fight to the ground where Aoki is considered a master.

It is damn near impossible to think about a submission though when you have a knee hitting you in the face. In fact any thinking that may have been going on in Aoki’s mind was soon stopped as the colorful Japanese submission artist went unconscious after Sakurai’s knee and punches made contact with his head.

Read more

DREAM 8 results and round by round summary

by

PRO MMA (promma.info) provided live round by round results and updates throughout early Sunday morning, April 5th, for DREAM 8 which took place in Nagoya, Japan.

The event featured eight fighters competing in the first round of a welterweight (75.9kg/166.9lbs) tournament, one featherweight tournament match, and five non-tournament bouts.

Hayato “Mach” Sakurai, Jason High, Marius Zaromskis, and Andre Galvao were the winners in the first round of the welterweight tournament. “D.J. Taiki” won the featherweight tournament bout and Jeff Monson defeated the Russian, Sergei Kharitonov in the heavyweight non-tournament bout.

Read more

DREAM 8 weigh in results and preview

by

DREAM 8 will take place Sunday, April 5, at Nippon Gaishi Hall in Nagoya, Japan. The event will feature eight fighters competing in the first round of a welterweight (75.9kg/166.9lbs) tournament, one featherweight tournament match, and five non-tournament bouts.

Headlining the card as part of the welterweight tournament will be fan favorite, Shinya Aoki, taking on one of the sport’s legends, Hayato “Mach” Sakurai. Also part of the welterweight grand prix will be Xtreme Couture’s John Alessio taking on two-time world BJJ champion, Andre Galvao.

Read more

The DREAM of a Ninja: Murilo Rua to fight on April 5th

by

Pride FC veteran and former Elite XC Middleweight Champion, Murilo “Ninja” Rua (16-9-1) will reportedly be fighting on the upcoming DREAM 8 card on April 5th in Nagoya, Japan.

“Ninja’s” last bout was at Elite XC: Heat and was broadcast live on CBS in October ’08. His opponent was Benji Radach. “Ninja” ended up losing the bout by TKO due to punches in round two. Also appearing on the card was the infamous Kimbo Slice vs. Seth Petruzelli fight.

Incidentally, “Ninja’s” last bout with Elite XC was the last time they ever aired on network television and a little over two weeks later the promotion ceased operations.

Read more

Shinya Aoki returns a month early

by

One of Japan’s top MMA promotions, DREAM, has announced current number 1 ranked lightweight Shinya Aoki (19-3) will return to fight March 8th on their DREAM 7 card. Originally slated to return at the April 5th DREAM event, now Aoki will fight on both the March 8th and April 5th cards.

Aoki will be taking part in one of two superfights on the card that also features a Featherweight Grand Prix tournament. His opponent is American fighter David Gardner (16-10) from Detroit, Michigan. Gardner’s last fight was in November were he won a split decision over Kenneth Alexander. Although Gardner is not that well known, he has fought Brian Cobb who made his UFC debut at UFC 95. Gardner lost the fight to Cobb by unanimous decision but he does hold wins over UFC vets Doug Evans and Rich Clementi.

Read more