» Fighter: Daisuke Nakamura

MMA legend and Japanese hero “Gracie Hunter” Kazushi Sakuraba (21-13-1) has been drafted to sure-up DREAM.11 in Yokohama October 6, DREAM announced Saturday.  No opponent was named for Saku’.

Read More About Japanese Hero Sakuraba Added to DREAM.11, WEC Title Challenger Chase Beebe Added to DREAM.12…

Lightweight “Crusher” Tatsuya Kawajiri (25-5-2) and “Barracuda” Melchor Manibusan (1-1) will matchup at DREAM 11 in Yokohama October 6, DREAM announced Friday.

Also, “Beast” Bob Sapp (10-5-1) was officially announced as the replacement for injured “Dreamcatcher” Gegard Mousasi (22-2-1) versus “African Assassin” Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (6-4) in the Super Hulk tournament and “JZ” Gesias Cavalcante (12-2-1) was officially withdrawn due to injury from his matchup versus Daisuke Nakamura (18-9).  Both moves had been expected.

Read More About “Crusher” Kawajiri, “Beast” Bob Sapp Added to DREAM 11…

“King Mo” Muhammed Lawal (4-0) TKO’d late replacement “Smashing Machine” Mark Kerr (14-11) in 25 seconds at M-1 Global Breakthrough in Kansas City Friday night, sending Kerr’s mouthpiece zipping across the mat at the end of a right hook while Kerr lie flat on his stomach.

Lawal had crouched low out of his corner; and, Kerr threw a low kick. Lawal caught Kerr’s low kick and dumped Kerr on his stomach, beginning the onslaught of punches that ended the fight.

For Lawal, the “W” is Pyrrhic as the talented light heavyweight wastes time versus opponents, like Kerr, who don’t develop his talent.

Read More About Mo Lawal Sends Mark Kerr’s Mouthpiece Flying in TKO at M-1 Global Breakthrough…

K-1 kickboxers “Hightower” Semmy Schilt (25-15-1) and “Mighty Mo” Siala Siliga (2-0) will face off in a heavyweight MMA match at Dynamite!! 31 December in Saitama, the FEG announced Tuesday.

Also added to the card is a bout between Hideo Tokoro (17-13-1) and Daisuke Nakamura (15-8).

Schilt last fought Nandor Guelmino (1-1) in January, and won via first-round KO.

“Mighty Mo” last fought in June 2007, defeating “Warpath” Ruben Villareal (13-13-3) via TKO at 1:33 of round one.

Tokoro lost his most recent fight via unanimous decision to Atsushi Yamamoto (12-5-1) at DREAM.6 in September.

Nakamura is on a seven-fight win streak, most recently submitting Carlos Valeri (0-2) via flying arbar at M-1 Challenge 8 in October.

Bulgarian wrestler Jordan Radev (13-3), whose UFC career consisted of getting knocked out in 33 seconds by “Massacre” Andrew McFedries (7-3) and losing a UD to “Boogieman” Dean Lister (11-5), will fight Japanese middleweight Yuya Shirai (12-6) as a member of Team World at M-1 Challenge in Korea 29 August.

Welterweight Jake Ellenberger (18-4) will return after a successful Team USA debut in July to face Korean Doo Won Seo (1-2) on the card.

Lightweight Daisuke Nakamura (16-9) returns to Team Japan versus Berlgian “Moreno” Wim Deputter (18-2) while welterweight Hidehiko Hasegawa (13-10-6) debuts versus American Top Team’s Norman Paraisy (4-0).

Russian Roman Zentsov (17-12) will headline the event in a rematch versus Korean Sang Soo Lee (8-4).

Read More About Ex-UFC Middleweight Radev Turns Up at M-1 Challenge…

In a stunning cyclone of events, DREAM Lightweight Tournament reserve fighter “Hellboy” Joachim Hansen (19-7-1) captured the DREAM Lightweight Championship in Osaka Sunday night.

Hansen was originally eliminated from the tournament at DREAM.3 11 May after dropping a decision to Eddie Alvarez (15-1), but was drafted into the final after slapping an armbar on “Black Mamba” Kultar Gill (10-8) at 2:33 of round one in the tournament’s reserve fight Sunday.

Ironically, Hansen replaced Alvarez after Alvarez knocked out “Crusher” Tatsuya Kawajiri (22-5-2) at 7:35 of round one in a thrilling slugfest.  A right hook, right uppercut combo floored “Crusher” and Alvarez pounded the Japanese fighter out, but sustained a cut over his right eye in the action that would prevent him from fighting for the title.

Tournament favorite “Tobikan Judan” Shinya Aoki (17-3) contorted himself into the final versus Hansen in a unanimous decision over “Uno Shoten” Caol Uno (25-11-4), throwing everything in the “Judan” book at Uno: armbar, triangle choke, heel hook, rear naked choke, gogoplata, etc.  Though Aoki wasn’t able to stop Uno, he dominated for the decision.

The final was set: Aoki v Hansen; and, in most people’s minds, already settled in favor of the Japanese favorite.

Read More About “Hellboy” Ruins Aoki’s DREAM, Akiyama Has Something Up His Sleeve…

Most noted for renting his cranium as a target to a comeback-bound “Cro Cop” Mirko Filipovic (23-6-2) at DREAM.1 last March, Japanese any weight Tatsuya Mizuno (4-3) tasted the the sweet side of a knockout Thursday night in Tokyo at M-1 Challenge 5.

Mizuno dispatched Yoshiyuki Nakanishi (3-1) at 4:13 of round one in the main event.

American Jake Ellenberger (18-4) bounced back from a UD loss in Portland 20 June to win a UD over Frenchman “Paco” Farouk Lakebir (2-1) in Ellenberger’s Japan debut.

Countryman and former TUF contestant Mike Dolce (3-5) was TKO’d at 41 seconds of round two by middleweight “Psycho” Karl Amoussou (7-1-1) of France.

It was Dolce’s first action since season seven of TUF.

Read More About Mizuno Kayos Nakanishi, Ellenberger Wins Decision…

Sunday at DREAM.3 in Tokyo, Eddie Alvarez (14-1), “Crusher” Tatsuya Kawajiri (22-4-2), and “Uno Shoten” Caol Uno (25-10-4) advanced to the DREAM.5 semi-finals of the Lightweight Grand Prix.

Fighters.com’s tenth-ranked middleweight “Mayhem” Jason Miller (21-5) and Nick Diaz (16-7) also picked up wins.

“Mayhem” easily pounded out Masakatsu Funaki-trained Katsuyori Shibata (2-4) in 6:57 to add himself and a bit of respectability to the Middleweight Grand Prix to be continued at DREAM.4.

In the Lightweight GP’s biggest upset, Uno was too slick for Fighters.com’s fifth-ranked lightweight “Endless Fighter” Mitsuhiro Ishida (16-4-1) on his feet, then, surprisingly, on the mat.

“Uno Shoten” wrapped Ishida up in a rear naked choke during a scramble on the ground, ending the “Endless Fighter” at 1:39 of the second round.

Alvarez won an exciting unanimous decision over “Hellboy” Joachim Hansen in an upset predicted by Fighters.com.

Kawajiri advanced to DREAM.5 in the expected “W” over “Buscape” Luiz Firmino (12-4), but wasn’t able to stop the tough Brazilian.

Some fighters get rusty after a prolonged absence.  “Mean for no reason” (as labeled by “Punk” Josh Thomson (14-2)) Diaz was pissed after six months of inactivity.  He unloaded on welterweight King of Pancrase Katsuya Inoue (16-6-3) for nearly seven minutes, causing Inoue’s corner to throw in the towel.

Diaz earned a DREAM welterweight title shot with the dominating “W”.

Welterweight Daisuke Nakamura (14-9) served Korean judoka Bu Kyung Jung (0-3) his first stoppage loss with a knockout at 1:05 of round two.

“Marvelous” Melvin Manhoef (21-4-1) TKO’d another Korean judoka, Dae Won Kim (4-4), at 4:08 of round one.

Lightweight Takeshi Yamazaki (14-7-2) won a unanimous decision over Shoji Maruyama (6-3-1).

Fighters.com tenth-ranked heavyweight Aleksander Emelianenko (13-3) beat Brazilian Silvao Santos (1-1) into the fetal position in the first round at M-1 Challenge in St. Petersburg Thursday.

Emelianenko’s teammates Amar Suloev (24-7) and Roman Zentsov (17-12) also scored wins for the home team, while Japanese fighters “Andre” Yuta Watanabe (8-1-3) and Ken Hamamura (14-4-4) picked-up victories on foreign soil.

In the same kind of Finkelsteinian matchmaking that has kept “The Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko (27-1) from meaningful MMA for over two-and-a-half years, li’l brother Aleks was paired with Santos whose only other professional MMA appearance ended in a split decision victory over that notorious gatekeeper to top ten contention, Edson Conterraneo (3-1).

Note my sarcasm.

The big Brazilian circled Russia’s finest before a shot stuffed and swept by Aleks into a textbook uchi mata makikomi toss landing Emelianenko in Santos’s half-guard.

Strong Santos stood out of Emelianenko’s half-mount, but into a near standing guillotine the Russian wrenched like a neck crank.

Emelianenko muscled Santos into a corner, released the choke, and hopped into a flying knee that effectively ended the fight.

Santos shot forward for a desperate single-leg lunge, but Emelianenko sprawled and pummeled the Brazilian with a series of rights as the referee dove to Santos’s rescue.

Emelianenko’s middleweight Red Devil Sport Club stablemate, Suloev, bounced back from a second round TKO to Chael Sonnen (20-9-1) last July to TKO Jacek Buczko (11-4), who hadn’t fought in two-and-a-half years, in the first round.

Heavyweight Zentsov also rebounded from an ‘07 stoppage loss to deal undersized Daniel Tabera (9-1-2) of Spain his first “L” in a two-round decision.

DEEP middleweight vet Watanabe dealt Ansar Chalangov (7-4) his fourth consecutive defeat in a first-round rear naked choke.  It was Watanabe’s first fight out of country.

Welterweight Hamamura also ventured out of the “Land of the Rising Sun” for the first time to TKO Russia’s Islam Karimov (5-4-1) in the second round.

The event also saw Akhmet Sultanov (2-0) submit multi-promotion veteran Katsuhisa Fuji (8-14-1) in a first-round armbar.

Besiki Gerenava (5-0) won a decision over Pancrase vet Yuji Sakuragi (9-10-1).

U-File Camp’s Daisuke Nakamura (13-9) decisioned Juri Ivlev (4-3).

Victor Nemkov (1-0) debuted with a triangle choke submission of fellow rookie Christian Bombay (0-1).

Team Scandinavia’s Jarno Nurminen (2-1) forced Ji Hoon Kim’s (1-6) corner to throw in the towel in the first round.

Heavyweight Fin Toni Valtonen (15-7) submitted South Korean Seung Hyun Choi (0-2) in a rear naked choke in the first round.

Hyun Gyu Lim (2-1-1) knocked out Brazil’s Lucio Linhares (7-3) in the first round.

Lightweight Janne Tulirinta (7-2) TKO’d Doo Won Seo (1-2) in round two.

Finally, lightweight Niko Puhakka (11-6) of Finland submitted Jong Man Kim (3-5-2) in a triangle choke in round one.