WVR had been scheduled to hold a press conference concerning the event, and a forth coming TV deal for the promotion this week, however that press conference was canceled, starting rumors that the NYE show was in danger of being canceled. Since that time, however, BloodyElbow has confirmed with multiple sources that the event has been scrapped.

FEG held a press conference today announcing Andy Souwer as the final opponent for retiring K-1 legend Masato, at the “Dynamite!!” New Years Eve event, which remains the fight card’s only confirmed bout. During the conference they claimed that they had not had any talks with WVR, and otherwise skirted the topic. Other bouts rumored for the event include Super Hulk Tournament Finale of Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou vs. Ikuhisa Minowa, and a lightweight title defense by Shinya Aoki against Tatsuya Kawajiri.

Last year’s Dynamite!!2008 obtained lower than expected ratings, and the possibility of two New Years Eve MMA events both drawing heavily this year was not likely. The only fight that had thus been scheduled for the Sengoku show could certainly help bolster the numbers for Dynamite!!2009 if the two companies do, in fact, combine efforts this year. That bout would be the MMA debut of 2008 Olympic gold medal winning Judoka, Satosho Iishi against fellow Judoka, and MMA veteran, Hidehiko Yoshida.

The bout capped off the promotion’s first CBS-televised event, which took place at the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois just outside Chicago.

Rogers opened up a gash on Fedor’s nose with his first punch of the fight, but Emelianenko recovered to batter Rogers with punches throughout the round and also attempted several submissions, but was unable to earn the stoppage in the first.

The pair clinched to start the second but separated and squared off in the center of the cage, where Fedor dropped Rogers with an overhand right and forced the referee, “Big” John McCarthy, to intervene after several follow-up punches on the ground.

Fedor improves to 31-1 with the victory, extending his winning streak to 27-straight, while Rogers falls to 10-1 after suffering the first loss of his career.

After the bout, both Emelianenko and Rogers said they were open to a rematch, though both will almost certainly take on other opponents first. Fabricio Werdum, who won a hard-fought decision over Antonio Silva earlier on the card, and Strikeforce champ Alistair Overeem could be next in line for Fedor, while Silva is among the possibilities for Rogers’ next fight.

Shields Tops “Mayhem” To Win Middleweight Title

In the evening’s co-headliner, Jake Shields was crowned Strikeforce’s middleweight champion with a unanimous decision victory over Jason “Mayhem” Miller.

Though Miller appeared closest to ending the fight, securing a tight rear naked choke in the third that he was forced to give up when the bell sounded, Shields was dominant on the ground in earning the victory, taking Miller’s back and getting to mount nearly at will.

Shields, who jumps to 24-4-1 with his 13th-straight win, captures the title which was vacated by Cung Le earlier this year and appears poised to fight the winner of a December 19 matchup between Le and Scott Smith, made official during Saturday’s event, in his first title defense next year.

Miller drops to 22-7 after the loss, his second in his past three fights.

Mousasi, Werdum Earn Main Card Wins

Once-feared striker Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou appeared improved in his non-title matchup with Strikeforce light heavyweight champ Gegard Mousasi, but in the end it was an outcome”The African Assassin” has become all too familiar with over the last two years, as Mousasi finished a tired Sokoudjou with punches in the second.

In a matchup of heavyweight contenders making their Strikeforce debuts, former UFC contender Fabricio Werdum took out former EliteXC champ Antonio Silva, who returned to the United States after serving a one-year steroid suspension while fighting in Japan.

Coenen Sets Up “Cyborg” Fight With Win; Curran Snaps Losing Streak

On the “Fedor vs. Rogers” preliminary card, Marloes Coenen quickly submitted Roxanne Modafferi to likely earn a title shot against champ Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos early next year, while Jeff Curran snapped his four-fight losing streak when opponent Dustin Neace was forced to quit due to a rib injury in the opening round.

The official results for Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers were:

MAIN CARD

• Fedor Emelianenko def. Brett Rogers via TKO (strikes) — Round 2, 1:48
• Jake Shields def. Jason “Mayhem” Miller via unanimous decision (48-47, 49-46, 49-46)
  Strikeforce Middleweight Championship
• Gegard Mousasi def. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou via TKO (strikes) — Round 2, 3:43
• Fabricio Werdum def. Antonio Silva via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

PRELIMINARY CARD

• Marloes Coenen def. Roxanne Modafferi via submission (armbar) — Round 1, 1:05
• Jeff Curran def. Dustin Neace via submission (injury) — Round 1, 1:39
• Shamar Bailey def. John Kolosci via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-27)
• Nate Moore def. Louis Taylor via submission (strikes) — Round 2, 3:24
• Christian Uflacker def. Jonatas Novaes via unanimous decision (29-26, 30-25, 30-25)

Note: A scheduled fight between Deray Davis and Mark Miller was scratched due to time constraints.

Top-ranked heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko tipped the scale at 232 pounds, while his main event opponent, Brett Rogers, came in 32 pounds heavier at 264 pounds.

The event’s official weigh-in results were:

MAIN CARD

• 265: Fedor Emelianenko (232) vs. Brett Rogers (264)
• 185: Jason “Mayhem” Miller (184) vs. Jake Shields (184.5)
  Strikeforce Middleweight Championship (vacant)
• 205: Gegard Mousasi (205) vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (204)
• 265: Antonio Silva (263) vs. Fabricio Werdum (242)

PRELIMINARY CARD

• 145: Marloes Coenen (145) vs. Roxanne Modafferi (140)
• 170: Deray Davis (170.5) vs. Mark Miller (171)
• 135: Jeff Curran (145) vs. Dustin Neace (150.5)
• 170: Shamar Bailey (170) vs. John Kolosci (171)
• 185: Nate Moore (184) vs. Louis Taylor (185.5)
• 155: Jonatas Novaes (155.5) vs. Christian Uflacker (156)

Don’t forget, MMAFrenzy.com will be providing live “Fedor vs. Rogers” results tomorrow beginning at 7pm ET, with main card coverage of the event getting underway at 9pm.

One of the expected K-1 bouts is a farewell fight for two-time champion Masato, in a third contest with Andy Souwer, an opponent he has never defeated.

Among the expected MMA contests rumored for the event are a Dream lightweight title bout between recently crowned champion Shinya Aoki, and the also popular Tatsuya Kawajiri, and the championship bout of the “Super Hulk Tournament” between Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou and Ikuhisa Minowa.

Other rumored participants at the New Years Eve event are Jerome Le Banner, Alistair Overeem, Kazushi Sakuraba, Hayato “Mach” Sakurai, Tim Sylvia, Kiyoshi Tamura, Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto, and Badr Hari.

Pictured: Saitama Super Arena

The contest is a rebooking of a scheduled Dream 11 bout which was called off due to Mousasi suffering a shoulder injury in an exhibition grappling match against Fedor Emelianenko.

Mousasi won the Strikeforce light heavyweight title in his last fight by defeating Renato “Babalu” Sobral on August 15 via first round knockout. He has put together a 26-2 MMA record including wins over Ronaldo Souza, Mark Hunt, Denis Kang, Hector Lombard, and Melvin Manhoef.

Sokoudjou recently defeated Bob Sapp, who replaced Mousasi, at Dream 11 in the second round of the Dream Super Hulk Tournament. He has a 7-4 MMA career including a 1-2 stint in the UFC, where he lost to Lyoto Machida and Luiz Arthur Cane.

Pictured: Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou

Mousasi won the Strikeforce light heavyweight title in his last fight by defeating Renato “Babalu” Sobral on August 15 via first round knockout. He was then scheduled to take part in the Dream SuperHulk tournament last night at Dream 11, but was forced to withdraw due to an injury suffered in his exhibition fight against Fedor Emelianenko at “M-1 Breakthrough”.

Rumored opponents for the bout are Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, who would have been Mousasi’s opponent at Dream 11, and former WEC middleweight champion Paulo Filho. A bout between Mousasi and Filho would be easy to promote since both fighters have already had unpleasant comments about one another in the media. Among those comments was a claim by Mousasi, in and interview with fighters.com, that Filho was using steroids.

Update: October 7, 2009 at 11:36 pm by Justin

MMAJunkie has spoken with Strikeforce executive Mike Afromowitz who confirmed Mousasi’s participation in the event, but said the bout would not be a title fight.

Pictured: Gegard Mousasi

In other notable action at the Yokohama Arena in Kanagawa, Japan, Shinya Aoki became DREAM’s lightweight champ by submitting title-holder Joachim Hansen in the closing seconds of their co-headlining matchup, veteran Kazushi Sakuraba easily submitted newcomer Rubin Williams, and Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou and Ikuhisa Minowa advanced to the Super Hulk tournament finale.

The complete results for DREAM 11 were:

• Bibiano Fernandes vs. Hiroyuki Takaya via split decision
  2009 Featherweight Grand Prix Final
• Shinya Aoki def. Joachim Hansen (c) via submission (armbar) — Round 1
  DREAM Lightweight Championship
• Kazushi Sakuraba def. Rubin Williams via submission (kimura) — Round 1
• Tatsuya Kawajiri def. Melchor Manibusan via TKO (strikes) — Round 1
• Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou def. Bob Sapp via TKO (strikes) — Round 1^
• Ikuhisa Minowa def. Hong Man Choi via submission (heel hook) — Round 2^
• Bibiano Fernandes def. Joe Warren via technical submission (armbar) — Round 1*
• Hiroyuki Takaya def. Hideo Tokoro via TKO (strikes) — Round 2*
• Kazuyuki Miyata def. Daiki “DJ.taiki” Hata via unanimous decision+

^ Super Hulk Tournament Semifinal
* 2009 Featherweight Grand Prix Semifinal
+ 2009 Featherweight Grand Prix Reserve Bout

Pictured: Bibiano Fernandes

Headliners Joachim Hansen, the promotion’s lightweight champ, and challenger Shinya Aoki were both on weight for their main event matchup, as were featherweights Bibiano Fernandes, Joe Warren, Hiroyuki Takaya, and Hideo Tokoro, who will all be in action on Tuesday in the conclusion of DREAM’s 2009 featherweight grand prix.

The official weigh-in results for DREAM 11 were:

• Joachim Hansen (c) (150.4) vs. Shinya Aoki (153.9)
  DREAM Lightweight Championship
• Kazushi Sakuraba (184) vs. Rubin Williams (181.9)
• Tatsuya Kawajiri (154.1) vs. Melchor Manibusan (152.6)
• Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (220.5) vs. Bob Sapp (341.7)^
• Hong Man Choi (319.7) vs. Ikuhisa Minowa (193)^
• Bibiano Fernandes (138) vs. Joe Warren (138)*
• Hiroyuki Takaya (138.9) vs. Hideo Tokoro (138.5)*
• Kazuyuki Miyata (138.5) vs. Daiki “DJ.taiki” Hata (138.5)+

^ Super Hulk Tournament Semifinal
* 2009 Featherweight Grand Prix Semifinal
+ 2009 Featherweight Grand Prix Reserve Bout

Pictured: Joachim Hansen

After it was reported yesterday that Gegard Mousasi was forced to pull out of his upcoming “Super Hulk Tournament” bout with Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, there was some discussion as to who might fill his place. In a move that will likely surprise almost no one, Dream officials have decided to bring Bob Sapp back into the tournament as Mousasi’s replacement, according to a report from MMAWeekly.

Sapp is being brought back into the tournament after a submission loss to Ikuhisa Minowa, in the first round of the tournament. He as last in action against Bobby Lashley in June, where he suffered defeat via submission due to strikes.

Sokoudjou comes into the bout off of his victory over Jan Nortje in the opening round of the tournament. Prior to competing in the Super Hulk tournament Sokoudjou had suffered back to back defeats at the hands of Luiz Cane, and Renato Sobral.

The current card for DREAM 11 features:

• Joachim Hansen (c) vs. Shinya Aoki
  DREAM Lightweight Championship
• Featherweight grand prix final
• Gesias “JZ” Cavalcante vs. Daisuke Nakamura
• Bibiano Fernandes vs. Joe Warren*
• Hiroyuki Takaya vs. Hideo Tokoro*
• Kazuyuki Miyata vs. Daiki Hata#
• Hong Man Choi vs. Ikuhisa Minowa^
• Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou vs. Bob Sapp^

* Featherweight grand prix semifinal
# Featherweight grand prix reserve bout
^ “Super Hulk” semifinal

Pictured: Bob Sapp

Mousasi, the Strikeforce light heavyweight champion and former DREAM middleweight title-holder, was submitted by Fedor with an armbar in the August 28 exhibition at M-1: Breakthrough.

Hong Man Choi and Ikuhisa Minowa will meet in the other “Super Hulk” semifinal bout at DREAM 11, while a replacement opponent will soon be announced for Sokoudjou.

The promotion also announced on Wednesday that lightweights Gesias “JZ” Cavalcante (14-3-1) and Daisuke Nakamura (20-10) would meet at the event, which will be televised in North America on HDNet.

The current card for DREAM 11 features:

• Joachim Hansen (c) vs. Shinya Aoki
  DREAM Lightweight Championship
• Featherweight grand prix final
• Gesias “JZ” Cavalcante vs. Daisuke Nakamura
• Bibiano Fernandes vs. Joe Warren*
• Hiroyuki Takaya vs. Hideo Tokoro*
• Kazuyuki Miyata vs. Daiki Hata#
• Hong Man Choi vs. Ikuhisa Minowa^
• Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou vs. TBA^

* Featherweight grand prix semifinal
# Featherweight grand prix reserve bout
^ “Super Hulk” semifinal