Dream Deux Delivers Gators, Legends and Aoki-‘JZ’ Do-Over
Dream Deux Delivers
Apr 29, 2008
Yet again, we've been kept from catching Japanese upstart promotion
Dream live from the comfort of our living rooms, but with the
announcement of a broadcast agreement with HDNet and the promise of
tape-delay showings right around the corner, the time is now to get
squared up on Pride's offspring.
Lucky for you there's no better time than the present. Dream has both a lightweight grand prix in progress as well as a middleweight grand prix that starts with this very card.
Featuring old-school superstars like Kazushi Sakuraba (Pictures) and Masakatsu Funaki (Pictures) mixed in with next generation
talent such as Denis Kang
(Pictures) and Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza,
this card has a little something for every fight fan.
So make sure you've got that HDNet subscription laced up, and in the meantime, settle for another round of fistic prognostication courtesy of the man with Sherdog.com's highest negative e-mail percentage.
Sakuraba vs. Nakahara
The nostalgia train rolls into town anytime Kazushi Sakuraba (Pictures) defies medical logic and staves off the specter of retirement to make his way back into the ring.
The "Who the heck is this guy?" train is also likely to make an appearance when Andrews Nakahara joins Sakuraba in the ring with a ticket to the second round of the Dream middleweight grand prix up for grabs. For those of you still wondering who Nakahara (0-0) is, I'll save you a trip to Google and let you know that he's actually a converted Kyokushin karate practitioner, much like current UFC star Lyoto Machida (Pictures).
Unlike Machida, Nakahara doesn't have a background in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and isn't getting a willing sparring partner for his MMA debut.
Just about the last thing you can expect to see is Sakuraba (23-10-1, 2 NC) trading Brazilian kicks with Nakahara, as the former pound-for-pound superstar has always relied heavily on his single-leg takedown and idiot-savant style of grappling. That unconventional approach combined with a collection of wins over the Gracie clan entrenched Sakuraba as one of the sport's first true superstars.
Like every superstar, though, the ravages of time have all but laid waste to the fighter that once dominated the MMA landscape. While none of us will ever get to see Sakuraba rediscover his past form, he does have enough left in the tank to handle an opponent who likely won't know his foot from his fist the second this fight hits the ground. For all of Sakuraba's flamboyance, he knows what his bread and butter is. At this point, he can ill afford a poor showing against an opponent who was brought in to ensure we see MMA's Rainman make it through to the second round.
Nakahara's role in this production will become obvious in a hurry, and Sakuraba will cruise to a first-round submission win but not before engaging in his usual in-fight shenanigans. I have $20 that says he does go for a Brazilian kick at some point.
Funaki vs. Tamura
If you've ever been up until 5 a.m. going through your collection of Rings and Pancrase tapes, the good folks behind Dream had you in mind when they slotted old-school Japanese MMA legends Kiyoshi Tamura (Pictures) and Masakatsu Funaki (Pictures) against each other.
The Rings half of the equation, Tamura (31-14-1) came into his own under Akira Maeda (Pictures)'s original brainchild before moving onto the other major MMA purveyors on his side of the Pacific, Pride and K-1. While Tamura is living large post-Rings, his prime was all but spent by the time he reached the supposed big leagues and he has never developed into the sort of consistent middleweight force that he was expected to become.
On the other end of the spectrum is Pancrase franchise fighter Masakatsu Funaki (Pictures) (38-12-1), who is in the midst of attempting a comeback after nearly eight years away from the sport he had been a part of since its infancy.
Seeing Funaki without his trademark shin guards is enough to throw any fan off, but it did nothing to keep Kazushi Sakuraba (Pictures) from making Funaki's return unsuccessful. Watching that fight was enough to make anyone believe that the sport has left yet another one of its forebearers behind -- a notion that Tamura will drive home with ease. Funaki is simply too far past his best days to pose much of a threat to most any modern mixed martial artist.
Don't bank on Funaki hitting the vintage fisherman's suplex or landing one of those absurd kneebar transitions that stopped working about a decade ago. Tamura batters Funaki on the feet before pounding out a stoppage on the ground.
Let's just hope this doesn't lead to another round of Pancrase vs. Rings riots. We need to heal the community, people!
Lucky for you there's no better time than the present. Dream has both a lightweight grand prix in progress as well as a middleweight grand prix that starts with this very card.
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So make sure you've got that HDNet subscription laced up, and in the meantime, settle for another round of fistic prognostication courtesy of the man with Sherdog.com's highest negative e-mail percentage.
Seriously, I keep the plaque on my mantle.
Sakuraba vs. Nakahara
The nostalgia train rolls into town anytime Kazushi Sakuraba (Pictures) defies medical logic and staves off the specter of retirement to make his way back into the ring.
The "Who the heck is this guy?" train is also likely to make an appearance when Andrews Nakahara joins Sakuraba in the ring with a ticket to the second round of the Dream middleweight grand prix up for grabs. For those of you still wondering who Nakahara (0-0) is, I'll save you a trip to Google and let you know that he's actually a converted Kyokushin karate practitioner, much like current UFC star Lyoto Machida (Pictures).
Unlike Machida, Nakahara doesn't have a background in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and isn't getting a willing sparring partner for his MMA debut.
Just about the last thing you can expect to see is Sakuraba (23-10-1, 2 NC) trading Brazilian kicks with Nakahara, as the former pound-for-pound superstar has always relied heavily on his single-leg takedown and idiot-savant style of grappling. That unconventional approach combined with a collection of wins over the Gracie clan entrenched Sakuraba as one of the sport's first true superstars.
Like every superstar, though, the ravages of time have all but laid waste to the fighter that once dominated the MMA landscape. While none of us will ever get to see Sakuraba rediscover his past form, he does have enough left in the tank to handle an opponent who likely won't know his foot from his fist the second this fight hits the ground. For all of Sakuraba's flamboyance, he knows what his bread and butter is. At this point, he can ill afford a poor showing against an opponent who was brought in to ensure we see MMA's Rainman make it through to the second round.
Nakahara's role in this production will become obvious in a hurry, and Sakuraba will cruise to a first-round submission win but not before engaging in his usual in-fight shenanigans. I have $20 that says he does go for a Brazilian kick at some point.
Funaki vs. Tamura
If you've ever been up until 5 a.m. going through your collection of Rings and Pancrase tapes, the good folks behind Dream had you in mind when they slotted old-school Japanese MMA legends Kiyoshi Tamura (Pictures) and Masakatsu Funaki (Pictures) against each other.
The Rings half of the equation, Tamura (31-14-1) came into his own under Akira Maeda (Pictures)'s original brainchild before moving onto the other major MMA purveyors on his side of the Pacific, Pride and K-1. While Tamura is living large post-Rings, his prime was all but spent by the time he reached the supposed big leagues and he has never developed into the sort of consistent middleweight force that he was expected to become.
On the other end of the spectrum is Pancrase franchise fighter Masakatsu Funaki (Pictures) (38-12-1), who is in the midst of attempting a comeback after nearly eight years away from the sport he had been a part of since its infancy.
Seeing Funaki without his trademark shin guards is enough to throw any fan off, but it did nothing to keep Kazushi Sakuraba (Pictures) from making Funaki's return unsuccessful. Watching that fight was enough to make anyone believe that the sport has left yet another one of its forebearers behind -- a notion that Tamura will drive home with ease. Funaki is simply too far past his best days to pose much of a threat to most any modern mixed martial artist.
Don't bank on Funaki hitting the vintage fisherman's suplex or landing one of those absurd kneebar transitions that stopped working about a decade ago. Tamura batters Funaki on the feet before pounding out a stoppage on the ground.
Let's just hope this doesn't lead to another round of Pancrase vs. Rings riots. We need to heal the community, people!
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