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DREAM 5 Results: Hansen Wins Lightweight Grand Prix

Kris Karkoski — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 14:17:04 +0000

Joachim Hansen def. Shinya Aoki via TKO – Round 1, 4:19*
DREAM Lightweight Championship
Alistair Overeem def. Mark Hunt via submission – Round 1, 1:11
Yoshihiro Akiyama def. Katsuyori Shibata via submission – Round 1, 6:34
Hideo Tokoro def. Takeshi Yamazaki via unanimous decision
Kuniyoshi Hironaka def. Motoki Miyazawa via TKO (cut) – Round 1, 8:57
Joseph Benavidez def. Junya Kudo via submission – Round 1, 2:42
Joachim Hansen def. Kultar Gill via submission – Round 1, 2:33
Lightweight Grand Prix Reserve Bout
Eddie Alvarez def. Tatsuya Kawajiri via TKO – Round 1, 7:35
Lightweight Grand Prix Semifinal
Shinya Aoki def. Caol Uno via unanimous decision
Lightweight Grand Prix Semifinal
Daisuke Nakamura def. Andy Ologun via submission – Round 1, 3:41

* Alvarez was unable to continue in the tournament due to a cut and was replaced by Hansen.

Quick Hits: Fedor To Fight Twice More In 2008, Rampage To Resume Training, Kampmann To Undergo Surgery, and More

Kris Karkoski — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 13:00:42 +0000

Fedor Emelianenko’s manager, Vadim Finkelstein, has announced that the top-ranked heavyweight plans on fighting two more times in 2008. The first bout will be at an October Affliction-promoted event and the second will come in December at a New Year’s Eve event in Japan.
UFC veteran Joe Jordan will take on Ryan Ford in the main event of MFC 17 on July 25th for the promotion’s middleweight title. Jordan replaces Drew Fickett, who was pulled from the bout due to breach of contract.
Former UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson suffered no serious damage in his unanimous decision loss to Forrest Griffin at UFC 86 and is set to return to the gym to resume training on Monday.
Ranked lightweight Takanori Gomi will likely face DEEP lightweight champion Pang Sung Hwan at Sengoku 4 on August 24th in Japan.
Affliction has announced that it has signed Edwin Dewees to a multi-fight contract. Filling in forÂ Vernon White, who was recently suspended due to a failed drug test, Dewees will debut against Antonio Rogerio Nogueria at Affliction “Banned” on July 19th.
Hermes Franca has been cleared for his July 19th UFC bout against Frankie Edgar pending the results of a mandatory pre-fight drug test.
ICON Middleweight Champion Kala â€œKoloheâ€ Hose will fight Rolando Dominique at an August 2nd event at the Blaisdell Arena in Hawaii. The fight will be a non-title bout contested at a catchweight of 180-pounds.
UFC middleweight Martin Kampann, who is 4-0 inside the octagon, will undergo another surgery on his knee but is expected to be able to return to the cage in October or November.
Portland, Oregon may host UFC 91 in November.
The Nevada State Athletic Commission has released official gate figures for The Ultimate Fighter 7 Finale and UFC 86. The Ultimate Fighter 7 Finale had a live gate of $495,350 and a paid attendance of 1,853. UFC 86 had a live gate of $3,350,730 and a paid attendance of 9,630. The closed circuit broadcast of UFC 86 brought in an additional $33,650.
Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante will meet Travis Galbraith on the Showtime card of EliteXC Saturday Night Fights 2.
Female MMA promotion Smackgirl has postponed a July 24th event until September likely due to financial problems.
Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Katsuyori Shibata, Joachim Hansen vs. Kultar Gill, and Mark Hunt vs. a to-be-announced opponent have been added to the July 21st DREAM 5 fight card.

Mirko “Cro Cop” Withdraws From DREAM 5, To Undergo Surgery

Kris Karkoski — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 18:00:29 +0000

Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic has been forced off the July 21st DREAM 5 card due to elbow and knee injuries, according to his official blog:

Unfortunately I have some bad newsâ€“ I won’t be fighting at DREAM 5 at all. I was about to face Jerome LeBanner but he decided to fight in K1 against Schilt. Mighty Mo was the alternative and I accepted this challenge, but unfortunately Mighty Mo pulled off from the fight. I was ready to face Mo, but maybe this scenario wasn’t that bad for me at all and I’ll tell you why.

I’ve been having problems with my right elbow for years and the injury got even worse over last 6 months. I’m already receiving a proper treatment but the recovery won’t happen over night. The second problem is a knee injury, something that troubles me for quite a while. I had difficulties using my kicks and over last few weeks I focused more on boxing and grappling. I really wanted to fight on July 21 and I was even ignoring doctor’s suggestions, but now I’ve rached the point from which I can’t continue with my normal training regiment due to my injuries.

“Cro Cop”, a PRIDE and UFC veteran, will undergo minor arthroscopic surgery on his knee and is expected to resume training in 2-3 weeks in preparation for a September 23rd bout.

Nick Diaz Removed From DREAM 5 Title Fight, May Fight Noons On CBS In July

Kris Karkoski — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 14:53:25 +0000

Nick Diaz has been removed by EliteXC from his scheduled bout against Hayato â€œMachâ€ Sakurai at DREAM 5 due to “contractual obligations” according to GracieFighter.com.

Diaz was to fight Sakurai for the promotion’s welterweight title at the event, which takes place on July 21st in Osaka, Japan.

â€œI was happy to be fighting Sakurai and hoping to get back there to Japan where they have you fight in a ring and there seems to be more respect for the art of MMA. I hope they will still have me back soon to fight him (Sakurai) for the belt,” Diaz told GracieFighter.com.

According to MMAJunkie.com, EliteXC officials want Diaz to fight on July 26th on it’s second “Saturday Night Fights” card on CBS and are considering hosting the event in Diaz’s hometown of Stockton, California.

He is expected to rematch KJ Noons for the EliteXC lightweight title in the main event bout.

In the co-main event EliteXC middleweight champion Robbie Lawler will take on Scott Smite in a rematch for the title. Jake Shields, Antonio Silva, Shayna Baszler, and Wilson Reis are also expected to fight at the event.

For more EliteXC rumors check out the MMAFrenzy.com rumors section.

“Cro Cop” Withdraws From DREAM 4 Grappling Match Against Gracie

Kris Karkoski — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 16:00:05 +0000

Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic has withdrawn from a scheduled grappling match against Ralek Gracie at DREAM 4 due to undisclosed injuries.

A former PRIDE and UFC fighter, “Cro Cop” was to face Gracie in a two round submission bout at the June 15th event in Japan.

Despite withdrawing from the bout due to injuries, which are rumored to be minor, Filipovic is still expected to face kickboxer Jerome LeBanner at DREAM 5 on July 21st.

DREAM 5 also includes the finals of the first-ever DREAM lightweight grand prix, a welterweight title bout between Nick Diaz and Hayato Sakurai, Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto versus Joseph Benavidez, and several middleweight tournament bouts.

Diaz To Face Sakurai For Welterweight Title At DREAM 5

Kris Karkoski — Tue, 13 May 2008 15:15:01 +0000

Popular former-UFC fighter Nick Diaz will clash with Hayato “Mach” Sakurai for the first-ever DREAM welterweight championship at DREAM 5 on July 21st in Osaka, Japan.

Diaz (16-7) defeated Katsuya Inoue via technical knockout at DREAM 3 this past Saturday in a welterweight championship eliminator. The bout remained close throughout much of the opening frame but Diaz poured on the punishment late to force Inoue’s corner to throw in the towel. He is 4-1 with 1 no contest, a gogoplata victory over Takanori Gomi that was later ruled a no contest following a positive drug test, in his last 6 bouts.

Sakurai (32-8-2) had won five straight fights, including a win over Ultimate Fighter 6 winner Mac Danzig and a victory in the DREAM lightweight grand prix opening round, before losing to David Baron at a Shooto event earlier this month. “Mach” is 9-2 in his last 11 bouts including victories over Jens Pulver, Shinya Aoki, and Joachim Hansen.