Fedor Emelianenko's win highlights entertaining year-end show from DREAM

Night-owls received a treat last night in the form of DREAM New Year! 2011, a memorable lineup featuring a mixture of professional wrestling, kickboxing, and of course Mixed Martial Arts offerings. The card was a tremendous throwback to PRIDE days of old, especially with a main event involving Fedor Emelianenko’s return to New Year’s Eve in Japan after a four-year absence from what was once an annual appearance.

Emelianenko came away with a convincing victory, holding off a few basic grappling attempts by opponent Satoshi Ishii before dropping the Olympic Gold Medalist judoka with a series of rights to seal the win. The showing marked the popular Russian’s second straight instance of success, building off a November win over Jeff Monson.

A More Detailed Look at DREAM New Year! 2011 Action

Other notable competitors who came away with their hands raised included Megumi Fujii, Tatsuya Kawajiri, Hayato “Mach” Sakurai, and Shinya Aoki. Also worth mentioning, Bibiano Fernandes emerged as the last man standing in DREAM’s bantamweight tournament, beating both Rodolfo Marques Diniz in semifinal action and Antonio Banuelos in the final.

Here is a complete list of outcomes from last night’s show:

Yusup Saadulaev def. Hideo Tokoro via KO Round 1 (Slam)
Antonio Banuelos def. Masakazu Imanari via Split Decision - Bantamweight Grand Prix Semifinal
Bibiano Fernandes def. Rodolfo Marques Diniz via Unanimous Decision – Bantamweight Grand Prix Semifinal
Hayato Sakurai def. Ryo Chonan via Unanimous Decision
Tatsuya Kawajiri def. Kazuyuki Miyata via Submission Round 2 (Arm-Triangle Choke)
Megumi Fujii def. Karla Benitez via Submission Round 1 (Armbar)
Bibiano Fernandes def. Antonio Banuelos via TKO Round 1 (Punches) – Bantamweight Grand Prix Final
Hiroyuki Takaya def. Takeshi Inoue via Unanimous Decision
Shinya Aoki def. Satoru Kitaoka via Unanimous Decision
Fedor Emelianenko def. Satoshi Ishii via KO Round 1 (Punches)