May 29 is the date for DREAM 14 and the much anticipated Light Heavyweight Grand Prix but it now seems the tournament is being scratched due to disinterest. ...

Strikeforce welterweight champion “Diablo” Nick Diaz (21-8) and Japanese veteran “Mach” Hayato Sakurai (35-10-2) will matchup in a non-title welterweight bout at DREAM.15 north of Tokyo May 30, according to GracieFighter.com. While Diaz is at the pinnacle of his career coming off a victory of DREAM's titular welterweight champion “Whitemare” Marius Zaromskis (11-3), Sakurai is  at a low point after losing by stoppage to Akihiro Gono (30-14-7) and Zaromsikis in his last two fights. MMA Junkie reports that DREAM considered a rematch between Diaz and Zaromskis for the DREAM belt, but opted for Diaz to fight Sakurai instead because Sakurai is a Japanese fan favorite. ...

Former WEC middleweight champion "Ely" Paulo Filho (16-1) tapped "Marvelous" Melvin Manhoef (22-6-1) in an armbar at 2:36 of round one and lightweight "Tobikan Judan" Shinya Aoki (18-4) won a unanimous decision over "Shaolin" vitor Ribeiro (20-2) at DREAM.10 in Saitama, north of Tokyo, Monday.

Lithuanian "Whitemare" Marius Zaromskis (12-2) upset "Mach" Hayato Sakurai (32-9-3) and Jason High (7-2) both with fight-ending head kicks to win the Welterweight Grand Prix.

Returning to Japan after an odd stint in the WEC and returning to MMA after nine months off, Filho was rusty and lucky to exploit the chink that has resulted in three of Manhoef's six losses: the armbar.
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DREAM added Fighters.com's fifth-ranked middleweight Yoshihiro Akiyama (11-1) Thursday to their event in Saitama, north of Tokyo, 23 September. The zainichi judoka has been given a choice between three unnamed opponents, according to Japanese website SportsNav. Akiyama returned from a seven-month layoff 21 July in Osaka to tap puroresu star Katsuyori Shibata (2-5). Also added Thursday, welterweight "Mach" Hayato Sakurai (32-8-2) will fight UFC vet Kuniyoshi Hironaka (12-5), not Nick Diaz (18-7) as originally planned. Sakurai tapped in a guillotine to Frenchman David Baron (16-2) in Tokyo 3 May, subsequently earning Baron a UFC contract. Hironaka followed his 1-3 stint in the Octagon with a TKO of Motoki Miyazawa (4-1) in his DREAM debut in Osaka. Former UFC welterweight "K-Taro" Keita Nakamura (14-3-2) will face Adriano Martins (9-3). Nakamura ended his three-fight UFC run with a split decision loss to Robert Emerson (8-6) in Las Vegas 2 February, going 0-3 in the Octagon. Brazilian Martins was kayoed by Roni Torres (13-1) in Amazonas in Brazil's Amazon rainforest 7 April. ...

Nick Diaz (17-7) will not fight “Mach” Hayato Sakurai (32-8-2) for DREAM’s new welterweight title 21 July, according to Cesar Gracie (0-1), Diaz’s manager and trainer. EliteXC signed Diaz to a two-year deal in 2007 and has decided to pull Diaz from the DREAM title fight due to “contractual obligations”. Diaz said, ”I 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 TKO’d Muhsin Corbbrey (8-3) in round three at EliteXC’s Honolulu event earlier this month. At that same event a scuffle ensued between Diaz and EliteXC 160-Pound Champion “KJ” Karl James Noons (7-2), the last man to defeat Diaz. ...

While most of the MMA world tuned-in to Las Vegas for UFC 84 last weekend, three of Japan's noblest promotions put on shows in Osaka, Tokyo, and Sapporo respectively. Pancrase Results Pancrase held its fourth iteration of its 2008 Shining tour in Azelea Taisho Hall in Osaka Sunday. In the main,  event, "13" Daisuke Hanazawa (9-9-5) scored his first "w" of 2008 with a two-round UD over Takefumi Hanai (2-4-2), Hanai's third consecutive loss. Featherweight Soyu Tanabe (4-3-1) knocked out Pancrase regular Kenji Takeshige (4-7-1) at 3:44 of the first round. Middleweight Masahiro Toryu (5-3-3) denied Shuji Morikawa (0-2-1) his first "W" by submitting him in a guillotine choke at 3:36 of round one. In other fights, Kenji Shimada (4-2) knocked out Takashi Hasegawa (3-6-3) at 1:58 of round one. "Strasser" Kiichi Kunimoto (5-2) won a two-round UD over "Yuushi Edaori" Yu Shiori (5-1). Isao Hirose (2-0) also scored a decision unanimously over "Punch" Nobuhiro Yamauchi (4-3). ...

Fighters.com's seventh-ranked lightweight "Mach" Hayato Sakurai (32-8-2) succumbed to a guillotine choke submission in the arms of former European Shooto king David Baron (15-2) in Tokyo Saturday. Baron sank the death blow as "Mach" shot for a takedown.  The final tap touched the mat at 4:50 of the first round. The "L" is Sakurai's first since getting KO'd by third-ranked "The Fireball Kid" Takanori Gomi (28-3) in 2005. Baron hasn't lost since 2006, ironically to Gomi by rear naked choke submission. The Shooto Tradition event also featured a 154-pound title fight between Takashi Nakakura (10-2-1) and Ganjo Tentsuku (9-3-2). It was a hard-fought slog for both Japanese warriors, but the judges saw the fight 30-28, 30-29, 20-39 for Nakakura. "Ironman" Akitoshi Tamura (12-6-2) ended a 143-pound war with Shooto vet "Moon Wolf" Rumina Sato (24-12-2) at 2:37 of round three with a north/south choke submission. "Savant" Trenell Young (9-7), recently of the IFL, upset "Lion" Takeshi Inoue (14-3) by two-round UD scored 19-18 all around. Fighters.com will post an interview with Young about his surprising Shooto debut this week. 123-pound Yasuhiro Urushitani (14-3-6) and Ryuichi Miki (6-2-3) fought to a majority draw, Urushitani's second consecutive draw, and third draw in his last four fights. Top 155-pound contender Yusuke Endo (11-2-1) submitted debuting vince Ortiz (0-1) in 3:34 of round one. Frenchman Bendy Casimir (14-4-2) won a unanimous decision over "Torao Supernova" Shinji Sasaki (6-2) in another 155-pound contest. Hayate Usui (9-6-1) won a majority decision over Sakae Kasuya (3-3-3). "Shinpei" Noboru Tahara (4-2) cut Katsuya Murofushi (3-3), causing a stoppage by TKO :46 of round two. ...

Lightweight should really have a top twenty because the division is stacked with talent across promotions and across the world. 1. "JZ" Gesias Calvancanti (14-1-1) "JZ" has brushed Andre Amade, Vitor Ribeiro, and Nam Phan off his shoulders with stoppages since a MD over Caol Uno in '06, part of 13 straight without a loss.  He needs a win over Aoki to cement his Fighters.com top ranking. 2. "Tobikan Judan" Shinya Aoki (14-2) Aoki has nine straight wins, including MMA's first gogoplata stoppage over Joachim Hansen. Inability to put away tough debuting judoka Bu Kyng Jung keeps him from first place. 3. "The Fireball Kid" Takanori Gomi (28-3) Gomi avenged a 2006 blip to Marcus Aurelio with a stoppage on NYE the same year followed by a stoppage of Ishida.  A year-long layoff keeps Gomi from ichi-ban, but he returned last month with a stoppage of Duane Ludwig. 4. "The Prodigy" B.J. Penn (12-4-1) "The Prodigy's" return to lightweight quickly resulted in UFC gold with two second-round stoppages over Joe Stevenson and Jens Pulver. 5. "Endless Fighter" Mitsuhiro Ishida (16-3-1) After a stoppage by Gomi, "Endless Warrior" returned strong in a decision over Melendez to add to his '06 decision over Marcus Aurelio. 6. "El Niño" Gilbert Melendez (14-1) "El Niño" blew out versus Ishida last NYE, but proved his worth with decisions over Tatsuya Kawajiri and Clay Guida.  Melendez benefits from action on both continents. 7. "Mach" Hayato Sakurai (32-7-2) "Mach" has murdered lesser competition the last two years, but guarded the lightweight gate from tough up-and-comers Hidehiko Hasegawa, Mac Danzig, and Luciano Azevedo.  Sakurai missed DREAM's Grand Prix, but needs to get back to top fighters. 8. "The Muscle Shark" Sean Sherk (31-2-1) "The Muscle Shark" has been on the shelf for nearly a year since decisions over Franca and Florian.  He was the UFC's first lightweight titlist since the division was reinstated and challenges Penn for title he was stripped of. 9. "KenFlo" Kenny Florian (9-3) Florian is a finisher since losing a UFC title challenge to Sherk by UD. "KenFlo" is ready for a second run at the title. 10. Hermes Franca (18-6) Despite a year suspension, Franca has been busy the last two years with stoppages of Spencer Fisher, Nathan Diaz, and new WEC champ Jamie Varner.  He's only dropped a UD to Sherk. ...

"Mach" Hayato Sakurai (32-7-2) will fight former European Shooto Champion David Baron (13-2) of France 5 May at Shooto's Tokyo event. Sakurai himself is a former Shooto World Champion and comes off a mauling of Hidetaka Monma (14-8-3) at DREAM.1 last month. Baron fought last December, submitting Niek Tromp (4-2-2) by guillotine choke in the first round. The fighters share a common opponent from their past. Former PRIDE Lightweight Champion "The Fireball Kid" Takanori Gomi (28-3) iced Sakurai in the first round of 2005 PRIDE fight. Gomi tapped Baron by rear naked choke eight-months later, also in PRIDE. ...

Saturday's DREAM.1 at Saitama Super Arena was the whole Japanese MMA shabang from tip to toe. The K-1/former-PRIDE collaboration featured mismatches of size and skill, world-class MMA, late stoppages, carnival theatrics, a tournament format, and the banshee herself, Lenne Hardt, introducing it all. The card featured the opening round of DREAM's lightweight grand prix in which Eddie Alvarez (13-1), "Buscape" Luiz Firmino (12-3), "Hellboy" Joachim Hansen (17-6-1), "Endless Fighter" Mitsuhiro Ishida (16-3-1), "Crusher" Tatsuya Kawajiri (21-4-2), and Katsuhiko Nagata (4-2) all advanced to the next round. The tournaments seventh and most anticipated match-up betwen "Tobikan Judan" Shinya Aoki (14-2) and "JZ" Gesias Calvancante (14-1-1) ended in a No Contest. In non-tournament bouts, "Mach" Hayato Sakurai (32-7-2) and "Cro Cop" Mirko Filipovic both won first round TKOs and "The Punk" Ikuhisa Minowa won a first round submission. Ishida and Korean judoka Bu Kyung Jung (0-2) fought the most competitive bout with Ishida squeezing a unanimous decision over the MMA rookie. The Japanese wrestler, Ishida, whirled around Jung for the first two minutes, peppering leg kicks into the Korean's thighs.  On Jung's lunging clinch attempt, Ishida slammed him to the mat. On the mat, inside Jung's tightly closed guard, Ishida heaved him into the air and slammed him again before raising back to his feet. Jung followed and lunged to clinch again, but Ishida ducked.  Jung slammed face first into the corner, Ishida pouncing atop him. From a full guard body lock, Jung transitioned into an armbar as the Japanese fighter tried to yank free.  It was close, and Jung took the opportunity to kick the struggling wrestler in the face before Ishida broke free.  Another powerful Ishida slam countered Jung's near miss. As the ground game went on, Ishida's spurts of G'n'P became more effective as the Korean filed through submissions, but the ref stood them anyway. Backed into a corner, Ishida threw a clumsy left roundhouse kick Jung blocked as Ishida slipped.  This time it was Jung who pounced, locking Ishida's head beneath his armpit for another tight neck crank submission attempt. Again, Ishida popped free, both fighters slick with sweat by that point, and worked an effective ground'n'pound until the ref stood the fighters. This time it was Ishida who lunged for a single leg takedown and Jung pulled guard, then slipped a slick armbar on the wrestler.  Again, the "Endless Fighter" slipped free and hammered on the judoka to the first round bell. The second round began as the first, with Ishida avoiding a head-on collision by circling.  Ishida shot for the same single leg takedown that got him in trouble near the end of round one and Jung again pulled guard and sucked up arms at angles looking for submissions.  Ishida countered by grinding fists into Jung's face until the ref stood them up. Ishida made it a trilogy with a third identical takedown and Jung responded as he had to the first two.  Both fighters exchanged leather while Jung worked his high guard into a weak triangle choke, but wasn't able to lock his leg beneath his knee. The bout ended with both exhausted fighters pitty-patting each other on the mat. An argument could be made to give the judoka the win, but the judges saw Ishida's aggressive ground'n'pound as the deal breaker and awarded him a unanimous decision. In another exciting tournament fight, at the bell Alvarez and "Dida" Andre Amade (6-3-1) stormed to the center of the ring throwing leather.  The American shot a single leg and stood-up with the ankle he had snatched.  He swept Dida's other foot from beneath him and dumped the BJJ black belt on his back. The ref stood Dida and he immediately resumed throwing haymakers, catching Alvarez square on the chin with two big left hooks, then dropping him with a third as the American retreated. But on the mat Alvarez's superior wrestling positioned him for a two-minute vicious ground'n'pound onslaught that lead to the TKO stoppage at 6:47 of round one.  Dida was simply overpowered and out-positioned. Tattooed Norwegian Hansen resembled a snow leopard feasting on Kotetsu Boku (13-5-1) of Krazy Bee.  Since becoming the first MMA fighter to tap in a gogoplata in 2006, the former kickboxer Hansen has been all out on the mat.  He took Boku to the ground and paired an octopus-like submission game with brutal ground'n'pound for the entire 15 minutes.  The decision was unanimous for Hansen. "Buscape" of Brazilian Top Team found a rear naked choke on undersized Kazuyuki Miyata (5-7) at 7:37 of round one. In a mild upset, Nagata took a unanimous decision over the Russian Artur Oumakhanov (7-3). Kawajiri earned the sixth spot in round two of DREAM's lightweight grand prix with a unanimous decision over surprisingly durable "Black Mamba" Kultar Gill (9-7) of Canada. The tournament's most hyped match-up fizzled when Aoki took an errant elbow to the back of the head from Calvancanti after much ado about nothing.  There's been no clarification about a rematch or whether either fighter will advance in the tournament. Hidetaka Monma (14-8-3) was never in his fight with Sakurai, but evidently the ref was unaware of the mismatch.  From the top position, Sakurai pounded Monma in the head 20-seconds longer than necessary before the referee called a stoppage at 4:12 of round one. I'm hereby dividing the MMA universe into two halves.  Those, like me, who're disgusted to witness "Cro Cop" as a characterture of himself matched up against veritable heads-on-a-tee like Tatsuya Mizuno (3-3) and those who lust to see the former PRIDE OWGP champ served-up such heads for entertainment, not sport.  "Cro Cop", in an awkward performance, TKO'd Mizuno at :56 of round one. And in the last of the three rings that made-up non tournament action at DREAM.1, Minowaman swung from half mount into a kneebar to submit overweight Korean Bum Chang Kang (1-2) at 1:25 of round one. DREAM.2 follows on 29 April with the first round a a middleweight grand prix. ...

UFC President Dana White announced via letter to Croatian sports website Javno Thursday that he has terminated heavyweight Mirko Filipovic's contract pursuant to a clause that allows renegotiation after Cro Cop lost two consecutive fights. At the same time in Tokyo, Cro Cop shocked a press conference announcing the creation of a new Japanese mixed martial arts promotion called Dream. "I'm very excited to be here again," Cro Cop said.  "I'm so excited to be part of this." Cro Cop scored a single victory in the cage while disappointing twice, in a vicious knockout to Gabriel Gonzaga and a grueling tussle with Cheick Kongo. Cro Cop indicated he preferred fighting in a ring, but hoped to return to the Octagon one day. White welcomes him whenever he's ready. The 33-year old explained, "I left because I couldn't wait any longer.  I asked for a fight earlier, as early as March 1; but, I was offered May, or even later.  I asked for a rematch with Gonzaga in Zagreb; but, he lost to [Fabricio] Werdum, so that fell through.  And I'm in shape, I gained muscle mass, I'm 105 kilograms and I want to fight." Cro Cop's departure from PRIDE to the UFC in December 2006 was exciting, most predicting a virtual coronation as UFC Heavyweight Champion. Cro Cop, however, was unprepared for the Brazilian Gonzaga and uninspired versus the Frenchman Kongo, leaving a bitter taste in the mouths of White, Cro Cop, and MMA fans. Cro Cop admitted, "The last two years I've been in some kind of mental blockade.  I was empty before fights, depressed, I hated myself.  I'm sorry to have disappointed my English fans who welcomed me like a king." Dream will be a homecoming of sorts, returning Cro Cop to his comfort zone. The promotion is a collaboration between ex-K-1 and PRIDE executives.  Norifumi Yamamoto, Shinya Aoki, Hayato Sakurai, Gesias Calvancante, and Royce Gracie have all joined Filipovic at Dream. The Saitama Super Arena will host the first fight card March 15 when Calvancante and Aoki will finally showdown and Cro Cop will return versus an unnamed opponent. ...