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.

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

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

Early in the bout, Miller connected with a kick to the top of Souza’s head while his opponent was on the ground, opening up a cut that would ultimately force the bout to come to a premature conclusion. The kick was deemed unintentional, but when the bout was eventually halted the fight was declared a no contest.

In other DREAM 9 action upsets were plentiful, as Joe Warren topped Norifumi “Kid Yamamoto by split decision in the second round of the featherweight grand prix, Gesias “JZ” Cavalcante suffered a unanimous decision loss to Tatsuya Kawajiri in a lightweight title eliminator, and Bob Sapp was submitted by Ikuhisa Minowa just over one-minute into their Super Hulk tournament matchup.

The official results for DREAM 9 were:

• Jason “Mayhem” Miller vs. Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza — No Contest#
  DREAM Middleweight Championship (vacant)
• Joe Warren def. Norifumi “Kid Yamamoto via split decision^
• Bibiano Fernandes def. Masakazu Iminari via unanimous decision^
• Hiroyuki Takaya def. Yoshiro Maeda via TKO (strikes) — Round 1, 9:40^
• Hideo Tokoro def. Abel Cullum via submission (rear naked choke) — Round 2, 1:37^
• Tatsuya Kawajiri def. Gesias “JZ” Cavalcante via unanimous decision+
• Gegard Mousasi def. Mark Hunt via submission (arm bar) — Round 1, 1:19*
• Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou def. Jan Nortje via TKO (strikes) — Round 1, 2:29*
• Hong Man Choi def. Jose Canseco via submission (strikes) — Round 1, 1:17*
• Ikuhisa Minowa def. Bob Sapp via submission (heel hook) — Round 1, 1:14*

* Super Hulk Tournament First Round
+ Lightweight Title Eliminator
^ Featherweight Grand Prix Second Round
# Cut stoppage from unintentional illegal kick by Miller to downed Souza

Shinya Aoki

The majority of the field for the DREAM featherweight tournament quarterfinals was set on Sunday at DREAM 7 as six 145-pound fighters advanced into the second round of the grand prix. Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto was granted a first-round bye, while the eighth and final tournament slot will be filled by the winner of a DREAM 8 fight between Hideo Tokoro and Daika Hata.

Masakazu Iminari, Hiroyuki Takaya, Yoshiro Maeda, Abel Cullum, Joe Warren, and Bibiano Fernandes advanced on Sunday while notables Chase Beebe and Micah Miller failed to make it into the second-round. Tatsuya Kawajiri, Shinya Aoki, and Mitsuhiro Ishida picked up non-tournament victories.

FEATHERWEIGHT TOURNAMENT (Opening Round)

• Masakazu Iminari def. Atsushi Yamamoto via split decision
• Hiroyuki Takaya def. Jong Won Kim via TKO (strikes) — Round 2, 0:40
• Yoshiro Maeda def. Micah Miller via unanimous decision
• Abel Cullum def. Akiyo Nishiura via unanimous decision
• Joe Warren def. Chase Beebe via TKO (cut) — Round 1, 10:00
• Bibiano Fernandes def. Takafumi Otsuka via unanimous decision

NON-TOURNAMENT BOUTS

• Tatsuya Kawajiri def. Ross Ebanez via submission (rear naked choke) — Round 1, 4:03
• Shinya Aoki def. David Gardner via submission (rear naked choke) — Round 1, 5:58
• Mitsuhiro Ishida def. Daisuke Nakamura via unanimous decision

Josh Koscheck

• Welterweight Nick Thompson has signed with Strikeforce.
• After undergoing a knee surgery following his UFC 92 loss to CB Dollaway, UFC middleweight Mike Massenzio will soon undergo neck surgery to repair several bulging discs that are causing stingers. He’ll be sidelined for six months to recover from the surgeries.
• A heavyweight boxing match featuring Tim Sylvia and Ray Mercer will headline Adrenaline MMA’s third event, which will take place on May 30th in Atlantic City.
• Sengoku Seventh Battle will air live on HDNet while DREAM 7 will be broadcast on the network on tape delay.
• Following his UFC 95 unanimous decision win over Troy Mandaloniz (which earned “Rude Boy” his release from the promotion), Paul Kelly will drop to the 155-pound lightweight division.
• Rory Markham fought (and ultimately lost) to Dan Hardy in the UFC 95 co-main event with a collapsed lung.
• Tickets for UFC Fight Night 18, which takes place on April 1st at the Sommet Center in Nashville, Tennessee and is headlined by Carlos Condit vs. Martin Kampmann, start at just $20 with floor seats maxing out at a mere $200.
• Following his loss to newcomer Paulo Thiago at UFC 95, Josh Koscheck will return to action at UFC 98 in May.
• Bellator Fighting Championship this week announced the signings of lightweight Daniel Morales, welterweights Omar De La Cruz and Jorge Ortiz, and featherweights Estevan Payan and Luis Palomino. The promotion also announced that its April 3rd event will take place at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida and will feature the first round of featherweight, lightweight, and middleweight tournaments.
• Georges St-Pierre’s camp filed an official response to the NSAC this week concerning allegations of intentional greasing during his UFC 94 win over BJ Penn.
• UFC lightweight Joe Lauzon will be sidelined a minimum of twelve months to recover from a knee surgery he’ll undergo next week.
• UFC veteran Din Thomas has signed a three-fight contract with Affliction.
• Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Ross Ebanez has been added to DREAM 7 on March 7th.
• Todd Duffee vs. Mustapha Al-Turk has been added to rumored lineup for UFC 99.

• WAMMA heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko has canceled a scheduled US press tour to begin training for his bout against Andrei Arlovski on January 24th at Affliction: Day of Reckoning.
• The UFC has released light heavyweight knockout artist Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou.
• A rumored rematch between Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic and Alistair Overeem has been scrapped from K-1 DYNAMITE!! 2008 on New Years Eve.

News and Notes

• The UFC has struck a deal with broadcaster Pro Sieben to return to German television ahead of an anticipated event in the country in mid-2009.
• Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell have not yet signed for their rumored headlining bout at UFC 99 in Germany and neither fighter is “thrilled” about the potential matchup, according to Franklin McNeil on ESPN’s MMA Live, which can be viewed below.
• Former UFC heavyweight contender Fabricio Werdum’s hopes to fight for Affliction were dashed this week as the promotion declined to sign the recently released fighter, according to Franklin McNeil on ESPN’s MMA Live, which can be viewed below.
• 43-year-old veteran Mike Van Arsdale has begun training for a potential comeback.
• Welterweight prospect Lyman Good has signed with ESPN Deportes-broadcast Bellator Fighting Championships.
• Antonio Silva has been booked to fight Yoshihiro Nakao on January 4th at Sengoku 7 despite being suspended by the CSAC.
• Incorrect facts aside, Kimbo Slice has been named a “2008 Turkey of the Year” by SI: “Big, mean, bearded street fighter, an Internet You Tube sensation, gets a crack at a title in a hugely hyped mixed martial arts bout after only three pro fights, faces a last-minute replacement and — of course — has his big, mean, bearded head handed to him 14 seconds later. Snorrrrre.”
• DREAM middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi will face Musashi and Tatsuya Kawajiri will take on Kozo Takeda in K-1 kickboxing rules bouts at K-1 DYNAMITE!! 2008.
• Light heavyweight Steve Steinbeiss and middleweight Nissen Osterneck will both make the jump from the WEC to the UFC.
• Heavyweight Cain Velasquez will return to action following a recent knee surgery in February, according to ESPN’s MMA Live, which can be viewed below.
• Disgraced heavyweight Kimbo Slice will likely make an appearance at a K-1 event on December 6th in Japan and is expected to announce that he’ll begin competing for the promotion in March.
• Thales Leites says he’d accept a fight against Demian Maia: “I’d accept a fight, I’m a professional. Demian is a great fighter and has been doing a great job in UFC. It’s possible that they put this fight, because the belt is with a Brazilian guy and we’re growing, so they can put this fight to take one of the Brazilians from the top.”

Links

• UFC.com takes a look at Quinton “Rampage” Jackson’s seven defining moments.

Videos

MMA Live Episode 29:

Michael Bisping talks Rashad Evans, MMA media, The Ultimate Fighter, and more:

Quinton Jackson talks UFC 92 Wanderlei Silva rematch:

Trailer for UFC 92: The Ultimate 2008:

Fedor Emelianenko teaching striking:

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