Sakuraba-Manhoef, Jacare-Mayhem Announced
With a little over three weeks to go until Dream 4, its promoters
officially announced the four quarterfinal fights for their
middleweight grand prix on Friday. In a press conference at
Kazushi Sakuraba
(Pictures)'s Laughter7 dojo in Tokyo,
Japan, Dream event producer Keiichi Sasahara revealed the bouts
that were voted on by the fans.
Once again taking center stage in his unprecedented fourteenth main event for Pride, Hero's and now for Dream, it will be Sakuraba himself who squares off against dangerous Dutchman Melvin Manhoef (Pictures). Fans had originally voted for the long awaited dream bout between Sakuraba and Kiyoshi Tamura (Pictures), but the U-File Camp fighter withdrew from the tournament due to a dislocated finger.
Taking Tamura's place will be Manhoef, who qualified for the final eight with a first round TKO over Dae Won Kim (Pictures) in his May 11 reserve match. After enjoying a couple of favorable matchups in his stint with Hero's, the explosive Manhoef will be step back up in the type of competition "The Gracie Hunter" faced during patches of his Pride career.
The second quarterfinal on the June 15 card will be contested between Armenian all-rounder Gegard Mousasi (Pictures) and Korean judoka Dong Sik Yoon (Pictures). Mousasi is coming off a surprise first round submission win over jiu-jitsu black belt Denis Kang (Pictures), while Yoon took a unanimous decision over fellow judo player Shungo Oyama (Pictures).
Both fighters are currently in top form, with Mousasi winning seven of his last eight straight fights inside the distance, including victories over Cuban judoka Hector Lombard (Pictures), French kickboxer Gregory Bouchelaghem (Pictures) and Brazilian muay Thai specialist Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos. Yoon has been a winner in his last four bouts, finishing three with his patented armbar.
Ronaldo "Jacaré" Souza, the 2005 ADCC world submission grappling champion in the under 87kg (192 lbs) division, will take on Jason "Mayhem" Miller, who is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu brown belt under Marc Laimon. The Brazilian "alligator" dominated debutant Ian Murphy (Pictures) en route for an easy first round submission, while "Mayhem" thrashed pro-wrestler Katsuyori Shibata (Pictures) to book his place in the quarterfinals.
The fourth and last battle is a rematch between Croatian striker Zelg Galesic (Pictures) and Japanese kickboxer Taiei Kin (Pictures). Both fighters previously met at the final Hero's event in Korea last October, but the contest ended in an anti-climatic doctor's stoppage after a mere thirty-six seconds when Galesic cut Kin's eyelid with his toenail. Now they are going at it again in what promises to be a stand-up battle.
In addition, the fourth and final quarterfinal fight for Dream's lightweight grand prix was formalized for June 15, between grappling prodigy Shinya Aoki (Pictures) and Olympic wrestler Katsuhiko Nagata (Pictures).
The final round of the 155-pound tournament will take place on July 21 at the Castle Hall in Osaka, while the finals of its middleweight counterpart will be waged at the Saitama Super Arena on September 23.
Once again taking center stage in his unprecedented fourteenth main event for Pride, Hero's and now for Dream, it will be Sakuraba himself who squares off against dangerous Dutchman Melvin Manhoef (Pictures). Fans had originally voted for the long awaited dream bout between Sakuraba and Kiyoshi Tamura (Pictures), but the U-File Camp fighter withdrew from the tournament due to a dislocated finger.
Taking Tamura's place will be Manhoef, who qualified for the final eight with a first round TKO over Dae Won Kim (Pictures) in his May 11 reserve match. After enjoying a couple of favorable matchups in his stint with Hero's, the explosive Manhoef will be step back up in the type of competition "The Gracie Hunter" faced during patches of his Pride career.
The second quarterfinal on the June 15 card will be contested between Armenian all-rounder Gegard Mousasi (Pictures) and Korean judoka Dong Sik Yoon (Pictures). Mousasi is coming off a surprise first round submission win over jiu-jitsu black belt Denis Kang (Pictures), while Yoon took a unanimous decision over fellow judo player Shungo Oyama (Pictures).
Both fighters are currently in top form, with Mousasi winning seven of his last eight straight fights inside the distance, including victories over Cuban judoka Hector Lombard (Pictures), French kickboxer Gregory Bouchelaghem (Pictures) and Brazilian muay Thai specialist Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos. Yoon has been a winner in his last four bouts, finishing three with his patented armbar.
Ronaldo "Jacaré" Souza, the 2005 ADCC world submission grappling champion in the under 87kg (192 lbs) division, will take on Jason "Mayhem" Miller, who is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu brown belt under Marc Laimon. The Brazilian "alligator" dominated debutant Ian Murphy (Pictures) en route for an easy first round submission, while "Mayhem" thrashed pro-wrestler Katsuyori Shibata (Pictures) to book his place in the quarterfinals.
The fourth and last battle is a rematch between Croatian striker Zelg Galesic (Pictures) and Japanese kickboxer Taiei Kin (Pictures). Both fighters previously met at the final Hero's event in Korea last October, but the contest ended in an anti-climatic doctor's stoppage after a mere thirty-six seconds when Galesic cut Kin's eyelid with his toenail. Now they are going at it again in what promises to be a stand-up battle.
In addition, the fourth and final quarterfinal fight for Dream's lightweight grand prix was formalized for June 15, between grappling prodigy Shinya Aoki (Pictures) and Olympic wrestler Katsuhiko Nagata (Pictures).
The final round of the 155-pound tournament will take place on July 21 at the Castle Hall in Osaka, while the finals of its middleweight counterpart will be waged at the Saitama Super Arena on September 23.
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