DREAM.9 Public Press Conference
(PRESS RELEASE) -- The man from TBS stood looked at the crowd and
shouted "This is going to be bigger than Dynamite!" The
slightly-built TV executive was trumpeting the bigger-than-life
DREAM.9 Featherweight Grand Prix 2009 Second Round, which his
network will broadcast live on Tuesday, May 26. "Dynamite!",
meanwhile, is a Japanese New Year's Eve fightsport extravaganza
that is quite probably the most spectacular in the world. But
surveying the 20 fighters on the stage and the legions of fans
cramming tiny Shinjuku Station Square for this raucous public press
conference, it was easy to believe the TBS man.
The marquee attraction for tomorrow's martial arts event is the DREAM Featherweight Grand Prix 2nd Round -- a quartet of elimination bouts in DREAM's 63kg/139lbs GP Tournament. The Yokohama Arena will also host four "Super Hulk" David vs Goliath battles; a Lightweight contest featuring Brazilian MMA star JZ Calvan; and, in the Main Event, a DREAM Middleweight title match between Ronaldo Jacare and Jason "Mayhem" Miller.
It was no surprise that the crowd's loudest cheer erupted when homegrown hero "Kid" Yamamoto took to the stage. Yamamoto, who has not fought since New Year's Eve 2007, got a bye in the Featherweight GP's first round. Tomorrow, he will meet American wrestler Joe Warren.
On Sunday Yamamoto told the media how hard it had been watching DREAM events for the last year while recovering from a training injury. He said he was very ready, and appeared both confident and fit today.
"This is my first fight in more than one year, and I can't wait! I've been training hard, and I honestly think I'm stronger now than ever. My only impression of Joe Warren is that I'm better!"
Warren told the press he'd also trained hard, both on punching and groundwork, and was aiming for a KO. The youthful 32 year-old was all smiles at Shinjuku today.
"How you doing?" he shouted. "me, I'm violently focused and intense, and I'm here for one reason -- the world championship belt! I'm honored to have the opportunity to beat a great champion like Kid Yamamoto tomorrow!"
Also in the Lightweight tournament: Brazilian jiujitsu master Bibiano Fernandes will meet Masakazu Imanari of Japan.
"I'm happy to have another chance in DREAM, I'll give it my all!" promised Fernandes.
"I will show a great fight" replied Imanari.
Japanese grappler Hideo Tokoro will step in against American ground fighter Abel Cullum, who showed up wearing a cowboy hat and draped in the New Mexico flag.
"I'm glad to be back in Japan," said the ebullient American, "I love the energy, I love the crowd, and I love your love for the sport! I want to show you my energy and my love for the sport -- I'll fight with all my heart, and I'll fight for you all!"
"Actually, I was defeated in the opening round, so really I have nothing to lose tomorrow," offered a subdued Tokoro. "I hope to show everyone that I deserve to fight in the second round!"
Also in the Featherweight GP, Yoshiro Maeda of Japan will meet compatriot Hiroyuki Takaya.
"What I say I'm going to do and what I'm going to do are the same," said Maeda, "and tomorrow won't be a decision, I'll finish him."
Takaya: "It's going to be a hot fight, and very interesting."
Tomorrow's four Featherweight GP winners advance to the September semifinals.
Plenty of crowd volume today for the eight fellows participating in DREAM's new open weight Super Hulk tournament.
Bruiser Bob Sapp of the United States will bring a whopping 56kg/123lbs weight advantage to the ring for his bout with Japanese pro-wrestler Minowaman.
"Bob Sapp is probably the most powerful guy whom I have ever fought," said Minowaman in his press interview. "Bob is a beast, and I have to be careful when he unleashes his power!" Minowaman revealed that he'd taken an unorthodox approach to preparation: "Playing badminton is a part of my secret training, as badminton skills help me to develop more detail than precise skills in fighting."
"Minowaman is an exciting fighter," Sapp told reporters. "He's brave, and he fights smart. He's good at grappling, so I'll focus on not giving him a chance to grapple!"
Sapp knows how to make an entrance, and this afternoon wowed the crowd with his physique -- the big guy has chiseled away some 15kg/33lbs over the last year. After de rigueur menacing laughter, Sapp bellowed, "Tomorrow, the beast will defeat Minowaman by knockout!"
"I don't have a lot to say," replied Minowaman. "I'm just going to beat Bob Sapp!"
Wildly heterogeneous are Korean titan Hong-Man Choi and six-time Major League Baseball All Star Jose Canseco. These two will face off in a match that has garnered plenty of media interest stateside.
"I'm going to hit a grand slam" clichéd the affable Cuban. "Choi's the biggest man I've ever seen, and I'm not going to lie, I am scared -- this guy is humongous. I'm basically a 45 year old, the oldest guy here by far, and with the least experience, so it's going to be quite a challenge. But I had quite a few challenges in my baseball career, and I always did well! I think I'm good at kicking, so hopefully I can do well tomorrow!"
Said Hong-Man Choi: "I'm nervous as I haven't fought for awhile. But my condition is good, so I think I will be able to show a good fight. I watched video of Jose Canseco when he was a major leaguer. I didn't mean to do research on him as a fighter, I just like baseball, so I watched to enjoy baseball. If he's good at kicking, I will fight back with punching."
Also strikingly dissimilar K-1 veteran Jan "The Giant" Nortje and Cameroon judoka Sokoudjou.
"I'm here to win the whole tournament," said Nortje, "so that means I have to knock him out, so come and see me knock him out tomorrow!"
"Maybe in a different world, but not in this world," was Sokoudjou's dry reply.
With a mere 31kg/68lbs weight differential and 8cm/3" of height going the other way, boxers Mark Hunt of New Zealand and Gegard Mousasi of Holland represent -- on the Super Hulk card anyway -- relatively similar physical specimens.
"Good morning! How are you?" Hunt called out in Japanese. "It's great to be here, and I'm looking forward to a great fight!"
"Tomorrow, I'm going to do my best to do an exciting fight!" was what Mousasi had to say.
Because weight means less and height means next to nothing when a fight goes to the ground, no small amount of tactical speculation surrounds the Super Hulk tournament. Whatever their shapes or sizes, the four men who win tomorrow will advance to the Super Hulk semifinals in September, with the two men victorious there going head-to-head at "Dynamite!" on New Year's Eve.
Topping off tomorrow's card in fine style, the Main Event is a title fight. When Mousasi moved up a weight class he had to leave his DREAM Middleweight belt behind. DREAM.9 will crown a new Middleweight Champion, with Brazilian Ronaldo Jacare and American barbarian Jason "Mayhem" Miller battling for the honor. This is a rematch between the pair, Jacare won by decision last June.
Miller told the media he figures he lost last time because he fought with guts, not brains. This time, he said he intends to fight with both guts and brains. Yesterday, the flamboyant fighter surprised and amused reporters with Japanese phrases ("Hello! Nothing hurts! I am very strong! Thank you!"). At today's press conference, after stripping down to a pair of Red Diesel boxers, Miller fired some Nihongo at the crowd: "Yokohama Arena! Watch it! I will win!"
"Jason will not win," countered a cool Jacare in Portuguese. "He's a great fighter, but I practiced under different trainers for each element of MMA and boxing, and I'm perfectly ready."
And finally, a highly-anticipated Superfight in the Lightweight class will see Tatsuya Kawajiri of Japan take on popular Brazilian JZ. Calvan.
A bit of a psych-out from Kawajiri when the pair met center stage, the Japanese fighter refusing to shake hands with his opponent.
"Of course I respect him, he's a great fighter" explained Kawajiri. "But until the fight ends tomorrow, I'm not going to be friendly with him."
"For me it's okay, everyone has a different mind" said Calvan. "He said that after the fight he'll respect me? Well I'm going to make him respect me! Tomorrow I'll show the warrior spirit, and the power of love!"
The Olympia DREAM.9 Featherweight Grand Prix 2009 2nd Round kicks off at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, May 26 at the Yokohama Arena. It will be broadcast live in Japan on TBS and SkyPerfect; and in the United States on HDNet. For delay-broadcast information in other areas, contact local providers. Visit the K-1 Official Website (www.k-1.co.jp/k-1gp) for comprehensive coverage of this and all FEG productions.
The marquee attraction for tomorrow's martial arts event is the DREAM Featherweight Grand Prix 2nd Round -- a quartet of elimination bouts in DREAM's 63kg/139lbs GP Tournament. The Yokohama Arena will also host four "Super Hulk" David vs Goliath battles; a Lightweight contest featuring Brazilian MMA star JZ Calvan; and, in the Main Event, a DREAM Middleweight title match between Ronaldo Jacare and Jason "Mayhem" Miller.
It was no surprise that the crowd's loudest cheer erupted when homegrown hero "Kid" Yamamoto took to the stage. Yamamoto, who has not fought since New Year's Eve 2007, got a bye in the Featherweight GP's first round. Tomorrow, he will meet American wrestler Joe Warren.
On Sunday Yamamoto told the media how hard it had been watching DREAM events for the last year while recovering from a training injury. He said he was very ready, and appeared both confident and fit today.
"This is my first fight in more than one year, and I can't wait! I've been training hard, and I honestly think I'm stronger now than ever. My only impression of Joe Warren is that I'm better!"
Warren told the press he'd also trained hard, both on punching and groundwork, and was aiming for a KO. The youthful 32 year-old was all smiles at Shinjuku today.
"How you doing?" he shouted. "me, I'm violently focused and intense, and I'm here for one reason -- the world championship belt! I'm honored to have the opportunity to beat a great champion like Kid Yamamoto tomorrow!"
Also in the Lightweight tournament: Brazilian jiujitsu master Bibiano Fernandes will meet Masakazu Imanari of Japan.
"I'm happy to have another chance in DREAM, I'll give it my all!" promised Fernandes.
"I will show a great fight" replied Imanari.
Japanese grappler Hideo Tokoro will step in against American ground fighter Abel Cullum, who showed up wearing a cowboy hat and draped in the New Mexico flag.
"I'm glad to be back in Japan," said the ebullient American, "I love the energy, I love the crowd, and I love your love for the sport! I want to show you my energy and my love for the sport -- I'll fight with all my heart, and I'll fight for you all!"
"Actually, I was defeated in the opening round, so really I have nothing to lose tomorrow," offered a subdued Tokoro. "I hope to show everyone that I deserve to fight in the second round!"
Also in the Featherweight GP, Yoshiro Maeda of Japan will meet compatriot Hiroyuki Takaya.
"What I say I'm going to do and what I'm going to do are the same," said Maeda, "and tomorrow won't be a decision, I'll finish him."
Takaya: "It's going to be a hot fight, and very interesting."
Tomorrow's four Featherweight GP winners advance to the September semifinals.
Plenty of crowd volume today for the eight fellows participating in DREAM's new open weight Super Hulk tournament.
Bruiser Bob Sapp of the United States will bring a whopping 56kg/123lbs weight advantage to the ring for his bout with Japanese pro-wrestler Minowaman.
"Bob Sapp is probably the most powerful guy whom I have ever fought," said Minowaman in his press interview. "Bob is a beast, and I have to be careful when he unleashes his power!" Minowaman revealed that he'd taken an unorthodox approach to preparation: "Playing badminton is a part of my secret training, as badminton skills help me to develop more detail than precise skills in fighting."
"Minowaman is an exciting fighter," Sapp told reporters. "He's brave, and he fights smart. He's good at grappling, so I'll focus on not giving him a chance to grapple!"
Sapp knows how to make an entrance, and this afternoon wowed the crowd with his physique -- the big guy has chiseled away some 15kg/33lbs over the last year. After de rigueur menacing laughter, Sapp bellowed, "Tomorrow, the beast will defeat Minowaman by knockout!"
"I don't have a lot to say," replied Minowaman. "I'm just going to beat Bob Sapp!"
Wildly heterogeneous are Korean titan Hong-Man Choi and six-time Major League Baseball All Star Jose Canseco. These two will face off in a match that has garnered plenty of media interest stateside.
"I'm going to hit a grand slam" clichéd the affable Cuban. "Choi's the biggest man I've ever seen, and I'm not going to lie, I am scared -- this guy is humongous. I'm basically a 45 year old, the oldest guy here by far, and with the least experience, so it's going to be quite a challenge. But I had quite a few challenges in my baseball career, and I always did well! I think I'm good at kicking, so hopefully I can do well tomorrow!"
Said Hong-Man Choi: "I'm nervous as I haven't fought for awhile. But my condition is good, so I think I will be able to show a good fight. I watched video of Jose Canseco when he was a major leaguer. I didn't mean to do research on him as a fighter, I just like baseball, so I watched to enjoy baseball. If he's good at kicking, I will fight back with punching."
Also strikingly dissimilar K-1 veteran Jan "The Giant" Nortje and Cameroon judoka Sokoudjou.
"I'm here to win the whole tournament," said Nortje, "so that means I have to knock him out, so come and see me knock him out tomorrow!"
"Maybe in a different world, but not in this world," was Sokoudjou's dry reply.
With a mere 31kg/68lbs weight differential and 8cm/3" of height going the other way, boxers Mark Hunt of New Zealand and Gegard Mousasi of Holland represent -- on the Super Hulk card anyway -- relatively similar physical specimens.
"Good morning! How are you?" Hunt called out in Japanese. "It's great to be here, and I'm looking forward to a great fight!"
"Tomorrow, I'm going to do my best to do an exciting fight!" was what Mousasi had to say.
Because weight means less and height means next to nothing when a fight goes to the ground, no small amount of tactical speculation surrounds the Super Hulk tournament. Whatever their shapes or sizes, the four men who win tomorrow will advance to the Super Hulk semifinals in September, with the two men victorious there going head-to-head at "Dynamite!" on New Year's Eve.
Topping off tomorrow's card in fine style, the Main Event is a title fight. When Mousasi moved up a weight class he had to leave his DREAM Middleweight belt behind. DREAM.9 will crown a new Middleweight Champion, with Brazilian Ronaldo Jacare and American barbarian Jason "Mayhem" Miller battling for the honor. This is a rematch between the pair, Jacare won by decision last June.
Miller told the media he figures he lost last time because he fought with guts, not brains. This time, he said he intends to fight with both guts and brains. Yesterday, the flamboyant fighter surprised and amused reporters with Japanese phrases ("Hello! Nothing hurts! I am very strong! Thank you!"). At today's press conference, after stripping down to a pair of Red Diesel boxers, Miller fired some Nihongo at the crowd: "Yokohama Arena! Watch it! I will win!"
"Jason will not win," countered a cool Jacare in Portuguese. "He's a great fighter, but I practiced under different trainers for each element of MMA and boxing, and I'm perfectly ready."
And finally, a highly-anticipated Superfight in the Lightweight class will see Tatsuya Kawajiri of Japan take on popular Brazilian JZ. Calvan.
A bit of a psych-out from Kawajiri when the pair met center stage, the Japanese fighter refusing to shake hands with his opponent.
"Of course I respect him, he's a great fighter" explained Kawajiri. "But until the fight ends tomorrow, I'm not going to be friendly with him."
"For me it's okay, everyone has a different mind" said Calvan. "He said that after the fight he'll respect me? Well I'm going to make him respect me! Tomorrow I'll show the warrior spirit, and the power of love!"
The Olympia DREAM.9 Featherweight Grand Prix 2009 2nd Round kicks off at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, May 26 at the Yokohama Arena. It will be broadcast live in Japan on TBS and SkyPerfect; and in the United States on HDNet. For delay-broadcast information in other areas, contact local providers. Visit the K-1 Official Website (www.k-1.co.jp/k-1gp) for comprehensive coverage of this and all FEG productions.
