Shibata upset “Minowaman” Ikuhisa Minowa (40-28-8) in a two-round unanimous decision at DREAM.8 in Nagoya April 5.

Kashin was knocked out by a Taiei Kin (2-3) head kick at K-1 – Premium 2006 Dynamite!! in Osaka on New Year’s Eve 2006.

DREAM.12 will be broadcast on HDNet in North America.

The UFC seemed intent that sixth-ranked “Thunder” Yushin Okami (21-4-1) miss his de facto UFC top contender challenge of Silva, marketing Cote versus “Cachorrao” Ricardo Almeida (9-3) in Las Vegas 5 July as an eliminator fight even before Okami pulled up lame with a broken hand.

Cote won by split decision.

Okami, who holds a DQ “W” over Silva from 2006, dropped a rank for August on the ascension of fourth-ranked EliteXC Middleweight Champion “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler (16-4).

In Stockton, east of San Francisco, 26 July, Lawler erased the ellipsis left at the end of his May No Contest with “Hands of Steel” Scott Smith (13-5) and etched in a exclamatory second-round TKO over Smith.

To make the scattering of middleweights across promotions more frustrating, the entire top three – Silva, second-ranked “Ace” Rich Franklin (23-3), and third-ranked “Ely” Paulo Filho (16-0) – are throwing their hats into 205-pound bull ring.

Filho, who announced in February that he intends to move to 205-pounds, will rematch Chael Sonnen (20-9-1) in Hollywood, north of Miami, 10 September.

Perhaps Filho’s announcement was amidst his mysterious malaise, for which he’s been successfully treated; but, the WEC will shit-can their middleweight division before the end of 2008 and Filho, who signed with the WEC to avoid a confrontation with his pal Silva, will have to make a decision about which UFC weight class to compete in: the middleweight division Silva rules or the light heavyweight division Silva’s getting his kicks in.

Fifth-ranked Yoshihiro Akiyama (11-1) returned from an eight-month holiday to tap woefully mismatched Katsuyori Shibata (2-5) in Osaka 21 July.

Sixth-ranked “Twinkle Toes” Frank Trigg (16-6) will return from a nine-month holiday to fight Olympic judoka Makoto Takimoto (4-4) at Sengoku in Saitama, north of Tokyo, 24 August.

Trigg’s deal with Sengoku could lead to a rematch versus eighth-ranked “Grabaka Hitman” Kazuo Misaki (20-8-2), but not before Misaki makes his North American debut versus a yet-to-be-named opponent at Strikeforce 19 September in Los Angeles.

Ninth-ranked “Jacare” Ronaldo Souza (9-1) has drawn legit kickboxer “Benkei” Zelg Galesic (9-3) in DREAM’s Middleweight GP, to be fought in Saitama 23 September.

“Mayhem” Jason Miller (21-6) holds steady at tenth without any announced or rumoured bouts.

August Middleweight Rankings

1. “Spider” Anderson Silva (22-4)

“Spider” fights like he’s hacked the matrix, making top-tier opponents look like they’re clumsily swatting at a web. In March he choked out former PRIDE champ Hendo’. His two-year record has both volume and quality with a “W” next to each challenger.

2. “Ace” Rich Franklin (22-3)

Despite two stoppages to Silva, Franklin is still the best of the rest, even according to Silva himself. “Ace” finessed from a Travis Lutter armbar to pick the TUF champ apart in April and outwrestled notoriously powerful Okami for a decision last year.

3. “Ely” Paulo Filho (16-0)

Filho’s perfect rap sheet lists solid foes, but only an ’06 KO of Misaki among top-tenners. Chael Sonnen gave him hell in a controversial stoppage, but Filho missed the March rematch. A strong comeback in the September rematch will solidify Filho’s ranking.

4. “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler (16-4)

“Ruthless” rides a five-fight “W” streak since being choked out by Miller in ’06, including a KO of Trigg and stoppages of solid fighters Scott Smith, Murilo Rua, and Joey Villasenor.

5. Yoshihiro Akiyama (11-1)

The Zainichi judoka ran the gauntlet of weight-mismatched spectacles before bursting into 185-pound contention with a KO of Denis Kang. Akiyama drew Misaki on NYE, but the the result was a NC. He choked out Katsuyori Shibata in his July comeback.

6. “Thunder” Yushin Okami (22-4)

Okami has been most active among the top ten in the last two years and comes off a knockout of former UFC champ Evan Tanner.  His only UFC loss was to Franklin, but could’ve conceivably been a “W” had he went after “Ace” before the final two minutes.

7. “Twinkle Toes” Frank Trigg (16-6)

With all Trigg does, you may have missed his comeback at middleweight the last two years, starting with a TKO of Miller and a UD over Misaki. Lawler iced him at Icon, but he’s returned with a quick stoppage of Edwin Dewees. He’s my division wildcard to watch.

8. “Grabaka Hitman” Kazuo Misaki (20-8-2)

Misaki has made successful hits on Denis Kang and Hendo’, but also dropped decisions to Trigg and Hendo’ and a stoppage to Filho. Regardless, he’s won and lost among the division’s best, and may have added a “W” versus Akiyama if PRIDE rules ruled K-1.

9. “Jacare” Ronaldo Souza (9-1)

“Jacare” finally fulfilled the hype surrounding the BJJ world champion by overwhelming Miller on the way to a UD in June, but besides “Mayhem” his record needs bolstered with better opponents.

10. “Mayhem” Jason Miller (20-5)

Always entertaining “Mayhem” has thrown in a stoppage over Lawler and a stoppage by Trigg into a mixed bag of competition the last two years.

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.

Aoki quickly pressed his advantage and put Hansen on the mat, running through his repertoire of locks and chokes.  Hansen defended and worked into top position inside Aoki’s guard.

Pow!  Hansen tore into Aoki with punches from the top and a big left stunned the “Tobikan Judan”.  Hansen quickly finished off the helpless favorite with strikes at 4:19 of round one to win DREAM’s first Lightweight Championship.

Akiyama Has Something Up His Sleeve

Yoshihiro Akiyama (11-1) returned from an eight-month stint on the DL to choke out Katsuyori Shibata (2-5) with the sleeve of his gi at 6:34 of round one.

Shibata held his own for the first half of the round as he exchanged with the heavily-favoured Akiyama.

However, once the fighters went to the mat, Akiyama was able to get on top, get into mount, and put Shibata to sleep.

Overeem Taps Hunt

“Demolition Man” Alistair Overeem (28-11) accepted the challenge from Kiwi kickboxer Mark Hunt (5-4) on three-days’ notice and gave little notice to Hunt before tapping him in a keylock at 1:11 of round one.

It was Hunt who took Overeem to the mat to begin the fight; but, Overeem used the position to his advantage.

Hironaka Wins DREAM Debut

Fresh from a poor showing in the Octagon, Kuniyoshi Hironaka (12-5) stopped a two-fight losing streak with a solid straight that gashed  Motoki Miyazawa‘s (4-1) left eye.

The fight had been a fairly even stand-up war; but, the cut prompted a doctor stoppage in favor of Hironaka at 8:57 of round one.

Other Fights

Featherweight Joseph Benavidez (8-0) remained undefeated after tapping “Kodo” Junya Kudo (6-2-2) in a guillotine choke at 2:42 of round one.

Welterweight Daisuke Nakamura (15-9) followed a straight right to Andy Ologun (1-1) into a takdown and slick armbar to tap Ologun at 3:41 of round one.

Though issued a yellow card for low blows, featherweight Hideo Tokoro (22-13-1) won a unanimous decison over Takeshi Yamazaki (14-8-2).

Yoshihiro Akiyama (10-1; 2 NC) v Katsuyori Shibata (2-4)

“Hellboy” Joachim Hansen (17-7-1) v “Black Mamba” Kultar Gill (9-7)

Kuniyoshi Hironaka (11-5) v Motoki Miyazawa (4-0)

Mark Hunt (5-3) is also slated to fight, but no opponent has been named.

Fighters.com’s fourth-ranked middleweight Akiyama has not fought since New Year’s Eve, when he faced eighth-ranked “Grabaka Hitman” Kazuo Misaki (20-8-2; 1 NC).  Akiyama was KO’d by an illegal soccer kick, ending the fight in a No Contest.

Shibata lost his last four fights, to Ralek Gracie  (2-0), “Gracie Hunter” Kazushi Sakuraba (24-11-1; 2 NC), Min Suk Heo (2-5), and most recently to tenth-ranked “Mayhem” Jason Miller (21-6) at DREAM.3 in May.

Hansen, a PRIDE and Shooto veteran from Norway, is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Eddie Alvarez (14-1) at DREAM.3.

Gill, from Canada, last fought at DREAM.1 in March where he lost to “Crusher” Tatsuya Kawajiri (22-4-2) in a unanimous decision.

Hironaka hopes to recover from a two-fight losing streak, both second-round TKOs in the UFC by “Pitbull” Thiago Alves (15-3) in September and Jonathan Goulet (22-9; 1 NC) in April, although that fight earned him a $75K “Fight of the Night” bonus.

Miyazawa has won all four of his fights at the Greatest Common Multiple events.

PRIDE veteran Hunt was submitted in his last two fights, in 2006, via first-round kimura, first by Fighters.com’s sixth-ranked heavyweight “Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko (27-1), then to fifth-ranked “Babyface Assassin” Josh Barnett (22-5).

In April, second-ranked “Ace” Rick Franklin (23-3) finessed out of an armbar executed by TUF champ “Serial Killer” Travis Lutter (9-5) to pick apart the Texan in two rounds, but Franklin has no where to go after two stoppages to Silva.

As mentioned in 3 May’s Bushido Sheet, Franklin was offered a main event versus tenth-ranked “Hollywood” Dan Henderson (22-7) at UFC 85, but turned down the fight.

Franklin continues to consider interesting match-ups at 205-pounds.

Hendo’ dropped a rank in May after his 2006 UD over eighth-ranked “Grabaka Hitman” Kazuo Misaki (19-8-2) fell from his two-year record leaving “Hollywood” without a win at 185-pounds in two years.

His March stoppage to Silva leaves him with few good match-ups but for Franklin.  At this point, Hendo’ just needs a win in the Octagon.

The trail on the “Hitman” Misaki has gone cold since his March submission of Siyar Bahadurzada (13-2-1) at Sengoku.

Third-ranked “Ely” Paulo Filho (16-0) is recovering from a substance abuse problem in Brazil.

He’s scheduled for a rematch with Chael Sonnen (20-9-1) to defend his WEC title, but don’t hold your breath for a Silva versus Filho title unification bout.

Filho and Silva are friends and refuse to fight each other; and, Filho plans to move to 205-pounds win, lose, or draw to Sonnen.

Fourth-ranked Yoshihiro Akiyama‘s (10-1) run at the DREAM Middleweight Grand Prix championship ended before it began when he re-injured a nasal bone fracture in training, causing him to withdraw.

Fifth-ranked “Thunder” Yushin Okami (22-4) remains the most likely candidate to take a swat at “Spider”, but no official word yet.

Sixth-ranked “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler (15-4) may be the face of the division when his EliteXC title defense versus “Hands of Stone” Scott Smith (13-4) is broadcast on national television across North America at the end of May.

Ninth-ranked “Mayhem” Jason Miller (21-5) debuted before the Nipponese in May with a first-round TKO of Katsuyori Shibata (2-4), but the “W” does little to propel him forward in the division.

May Middleweight Rankings

1. “Spider” Anderson Silva (21-4)

“Spider” fights like he’s hacked the matrix, making top-tier opponents look like they’re clumsily swatting at a web. In March he choked out former PRIDE champ Hendo’. His two-year record has both volume and quality with a “W” next to each challenger.

2. “Ace” Rich Franklin (23-3)

Despite two stoppages to Silva, Franklin is still the best of the rest, even according to Silva himself. “Ace” finessed from a Travis Lutter armbar to pick the TUF champ apart in April and outwrestled notoriously powerful Okami for a decision last July.

3. “Ely” Paulo Filho (16-0)

Filho’s perfect rap sheet lists solid foes, but only an ’06 KO of Misaki among top-tenners. Chael Sonnen gave him hell in a controversial stoppage, but Filho missed the March rematch. A strong comeback and top-ten challenge will solidify Filho’s ranking.

4. Yoshihiro Akiyama (10-1)

The Zainichi judoka ran the K-1 gauntlet of weight-mismatched spectacles before bursting into 185-pound contention with a KO of Denis Kang. Akiyama drew Misaki on NYE, but the end was deemed illegal and the result a NC. He also needs a strong comeback.

5. “Thunder” Yushin Okami (22-4)

Okami has been most active among the top ten in the last two years and comes off a knockout of former UFC champ Evan Tanner.  His only UFC loss was to Franklin, but could’ve conceivably been a “W” had he went after “Ace” before the final two minutes.

6. “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler (15-4)

“Ruthless” rides a four-fight “W” streak since being choked out by Miller in ’06, including a KO of Trigg and stoppages of solid fighters Murilo Rua and Joey Villasenor. Upcoming versus Scott Smith won’t prove much unless he loses.

7. “Twinkle Toes” Frank Trigg (16-6)

With all Trigg does, you may have missed his comeback at middleweight the last two years, starting with a TKO of Miller and a UD over Misaki. Lawler iced him at Icon, but he’s returned with a quick stoppage of Edwin Dewees. He’s my division wildcard to watch.

8. “Grabaka Hitman” Kazuo Misaki (19-8-2)

Misaki has made successful hits on Denis Kang and Hendo’, but also dropped decisions to Trigg and Hendo’ and a stoppage to Filho. Regardless, he’s won and lost among the division’s best, and may have added a “W” versus Akiyama if PRIDE rules ruled K-1.

9. “Mayhem” Jason Miller (21-5)

Always entertaining “Mayhem” has thrown in a stoppage over Lawler and a stoppage by Trigg into a mixed bag of competition the last two years.

10. “Hollywood” Dan Henderson (22-7)

“Hollywood” served Silva his first losing round in two years, but couldn’t follow-up in round two.  Yo-yoing between weight classes has resulted in a mixed record for the last PRIDE champion in two weight classes.  If he wants 185, he’ll have to commit.

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).