The Weekly Wrap: July 11 - July 16

The Weekly Wrap walks readers through the last seven days in MMA, recapping and putting into context the week's top story, important news and notable quotes.

Top Story

Though the title lacks the currency it once did, Shinya Aoki demonstrated that he remains the best Japanese lightweight in the sport on July 10 by tapping Tatsuya Kawajiri within the first round in the Dream 15 headliner at the Saitama Super Arena.

Much of the coverage of the victory centered on what it meant, as Aoki was shut out stateside against Gilbert Melendez yet proved so dominant in a home ring against Kawajiri, the only other Japanese in the Top 10 lightweight rankings -- a category at one point fully populated by Japan-based fighters. Dream played off of this dynamic, airing clips of Aoki shedding tears after losing to Melendez to set the stage for the fight.

The bout felt like the most relevant possible Japanese MMA match right now, as it came at the end of a long build dating back to both fighters’ winning campaigns in the waning days of Pride Fighting Championships. Aoki said the win symbolized the end of Pride. The late night, tape-delayed broadcast of the fight on Tokyo Broadcasting System scored a 2.8 percent share rating, according to NightmareofBattle.com. It was the second-highest number a non-primetime Dream event has scored since its inception in March 2008. It aired live in North America on HDNet.

Kawajiri reportedly suffered a broken left ankle after Aoki, wearing traditional fight shorts instead of the leggings for which he was famous, dove for a single-leg takedown, hugged the leg as he dropped in to half guard and calmly cranked an Achilles lock for about a minute until he secured the tapout. Aoki announced he was getting married after the fight and requested a spot on Deep’s 10th anniversary card in October. Aoki also said he wants to rematch Melendez in Japan, though his statement seemed to be misinterpreted into his claiming he would be fighting Melendez at the next Dream event on Sept. 25. Melendez’s manager told Sherdog.com the date would be impossible because the Strikeforce lightweight champion is mending a broken hand and expects the birth of his first daughter around the end of July. Dream producer Keichi Sasahara joked that the promotion will “drag” Melendez to Japan for the rematch.

Dream parent company Fighting Entertainment Group also seemed to view the fight as a watershed event, announcing later in the week it had come to an agreement with a Chinese investment bank PUJI Capital to pump some $200 million U.S. in capital into the organization to help bolster the organization's profile in other Southeast Asian markets like China, where the Ultimate Fighting Championships and World Wrestling Entertainment are making inroads. FEG President Sadaharu Tanikawa said at a press conference that the fruits of the investment won't be realized until next year, but that is positions Japan to return to the center of the MMA universe, and positioned an Aoki win in a rematch against Melendez as symbolic of that effort. Tanikawa stipulated that Dream is not looking to gain a foothold in the United States. PUJI will take on marketing and expansion of Dream but will not have much of a presence in the organization's day-to-day operation.

Dream 15 witnessed the return of another lightweight who’s made his bones in Japan, as Gesias "JZ" Cavalcante -- who recently signed with Strikeforce -- took a split decision over karateka Katsunori Kikuno mostly by threatening from top position and back mount. It was the first win in three years for Cavalcante, who has battled several injuries. Dropping out of the Dream lightweight ranks was Mitsuhiro Ishida, who cut to featherweight and took a unanimous decision over Daiki Hata.

Dream also launched a four-man tournament to crown its first light heavyweight champion. Unheralded Tatsuya Mizuno, who trained for the fight under Matt Hume, took a blitz of punches from Melvin Manhoef but cranked a kimura for the submission, while Gegard Mousasi made short work of Jake O'Brien with a guillotine choke in 31 seconds. Mousasi and Mizuno will meet to crown a champion at Dream 16.

O’Brien had extreme difficulty making weight for the fight, cutting from 226 -- more than 20 pounds over -- to 212. Mousasi fought O’Brien at a catchweight and received 10 percent of the UFC veteran’s purse for the infraction. Mousasi at one point was offered Ricco Rodriguez, who had flown to Japan expecting to face Alistair Overeem. However, Overeem did not accept the fight, saying he was not interested after Dream pulled an initial offer for a title bout.

Also picking up wins at Dream 15 were Michihiro Omigawa (first-round guillotine choke submission over Young Sam Jung) and Kazuhiro Nakamura (unanimous decision over Karl Amoussou).