Japan’s annual New Year’s Eve fight-stravaganza goes down late night tonight for American fans, and BloodyElbow.com will have live coverage beginning with the start of HDNet’s broadcast, tonight at 3:00 AM ET. (If you can’t stay up, HDNet will be re-airing the entire show at 8:00 PM, and then again at 10:00 PM on January 1st.)
This year’s installment of “Dynamite!!” will mark the first ever collaboration between K-1/DREAM parent company Fighting & Entertainment Group and rival promotion Sengoku Raiden Championship, with a card which features nine star-studded “DREAM vs. SRC” bouts.
In addition, Olympic gold medalist Satoshi Ishii will make his long-awaited MMA debut against fellow judoka Hidehiko Yoshida, and popular kickboxer Masato faces Andy Souwer (who’s beat the “Silver Wolf” twice before) in what is ostensibly Masato’s retirement fight.
As always, please, NO PRELIM SPOILERS in the comments.
The show is underway; full results after the jump.
Quick Results
Hidehiko Yoshida def. Satoshi Ishii via unanimous decision R3 5:00
Shinya Aoki def. Mizuto Hirota via technical submission (hammerlock) R1 1:17
Gegard Mousasi def. Gary Goodridge via TKO (punches) R1 1:34
Alistair Overeem def. Kazuyuki Fujita via KO (knee) R1 1:15
Masanori Kanehara def. “Kid” Yamamoto via unanimous decision R3 5:00
Tatsuya Kawajiri def. Kazunori Yokota via unanimous decision R3 5:00
Hideo Tokoro def. Jong Man Kim via unanimous decision R3 5:00
Melvin Manhoef def. Kazuo Misaki via TKO (punches) R1 1:49
Akihiro Gono def. Hayato “Mach” Sakurai via submission (armbar) R2 3:56
Michihiro Omigawa def. Hiroyuki Takaya via TKO (punches) R1 2:54
Hiroshi Izumi def. Katsuyori Shibata unanimous decision R3 5:00
Ikuhisa Minowa def. Sokoudjou via TKO (punches) R3 3:29
Main Event – K-1 Bout – 5R x 3 min. (+ 1R Ext.)
18: Masato def. Andy Souwer via unanimous decision (3-0) R5 3:00
SRC Cup – MMA Bout – Heavyweight – 3R x 5 min.
16: Hidehiko Yoshida (8-7-1) vs. Satoshi Ishii (debut)
R1: Early on, Ishii looking very tense, hunched over, in stark contrast to the relaxed and experienced Yoshida. Ishii falls to a knee after getting a big right hand laid on his chin by Yoshida! Yoshida is walking straight forward with no respect for Ishii, unloading uppercuts and knees from the clinch. Ishii’s bloodied and looks absolutely stunned at what’s transpired so far. Nonetheless, he bounces on his toes and pushes forward with 90 seconds left. Again, Yoshida clips Ishii with a big overhand right, then an uppercut. Yoshida’s hands are at his waist, just waiting for an opening from the bobbing and weaving Ishii. Yoshida 10-9.
R2: Ishii’s nose looks busted as he paces in his corner between rounds. Now the younger judoka ducks inside, clinches and lets loose with some punches and knees to the midsection of Yoshida. As Ishii gets brave and starts to move in, Yoshida backs him up with some stiff jabs. Ishii clinches up along the ropes, backs Yoshida into a post and yanks on a single-leg. Yoshida balances himself on the ropes and receives a warning, but stays vertical. Looks like Ishii is getting a little more relaxed, pushing forward with sloppy combinations which Yoshida mostly plays matador to. Clinching against the ropes, a knee from Ishii catches Yoshida squarely in the junk and the elder judo player falls to the ground, screaming in pain. The fight resumes after several minutes, and Ishii is docked a point. Ishii takes Yoshida down and passes to side control just as the bell rings. 10-9 Ishii, but 9-9 after the point deduction.
R3: The two clinch against the rops with Ishii trying for several trips, but nothing comes through and the ref restarts them. Ishii looks to clinch again, now sends some knees up the middle to Yoshida, who looks to be playing an entirely defensive game at this point. Ishii’s looking far looser now, but only throwing single punches, seeking a big KO. Two minutes left in the bout. Ishii strings together a few punches, and a big uppercut from Yoshida just misses. With 40 seconds left, Yoshida shoots his first single-leg of the bout and Ishii sprawls. Ishii gasps for air as he stands for the final time. 10-9 Ishii.
BloodyElbow.com scores the bout 28-28.
Hidehiko Yoshida (9-7-1) def. Satoshi Ishii (0-1) via unanimous decision (3-0) R3 5:00
DREAM vs. SRC Bout – 3R x 5 min.
17: LW – Shinya Aoki (22-4, 1 NC / DREAM LW Champion) vs. Mizuto Hirota (12-3-1 / SRC LW Champion)
R1: Aoki goes real low for a single-leg almost immediately and puts Hirota on his rear in the corner. Using his right hand to wrap Hirota’s own right arm behind his back, Aoki tries to tee off but can’t find enough distance. Hirota’s on his side with his arm wrenched behind him and Aoki in mount. Now Aoki turns Hirota onto his back and continues to wrench the arm. The ref steps in and… oh my god. The arm’s completely broken, laying at a disgusting, jagged angle on the mat even after Aoki lets go and walks away. Aoki stands over Hirota and puts a middle finger right in his face. Pure class, that Aoki.
Shinya Aoki (23-4, 1 NC) def. Mizuto Hirota (12-4-1) via technical submission (hammerlock) R1 1:17
DREAM 5-4 SRC
DREAM MMA Bout – Heavyweight – 3R x 5 min.
15: Gegard Mousasi (27-2-1) vs. Gary Goodridge (23-19-1)
R1: Easy double leg takedown for Mousasi early, and he immediately begins unloading on Goodridge. Gegard winds up on top, where Goodridge momentarily holds off the inevitable. Soon, though, Mousasi drops more punches on the veteran and the referee halts the action. Goodridge seems dismayed, but it was just as well.
Gegard Mousasi (28-2-1) def. Gary Goodridge (23-20-1) via TKO (punches) R1 1:34
DREAM vs. SRC Bouts – 3R x 5 min.
14: HW – Alistair Overeem (31-11, 1 NC) vs. Kazuyuki Fujita (15-8)
R1: Overeem takes center ring, Fujita circling around him. Alistair clinches a few times and knees Fujita in the head, but they don’t seem to faze “Iron Head.” Overeem feints, catches Fujita ducking and sends a massive left knee directly to the right side of the Japanese fighter’s face. It’s a wrap. Fujita seems to be having trouble moving or seeing, and is removed from the ring on a stretcher after a few minutes.
Alistair Overeem (32-11, 1 NC) def. Kazuyuki Fujita (15-9) via KO (knee) R1 1:15
DREAM 4-4 SRC
13: BW – Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto (17-2, 1 NC) vs. Masanori Kanehara (15-7-5)
R1: Both men come out firing, Kid knocking Kanehara to the mat first with a right hook. Now a lunging left straight sends the Sengoku champ backwards, and Kid connects with another hard right. Kanehara drops Kid with a straight right, but takes a kick to the groin as he rushes in. Kanehara recovers quickly and the action resumes. Kanehara dives for a double leg and Kid tries to grab a guillotine as both fighters tumble through the ropes. They’re stood back up, where Kid begins mixing it up with low kicks and punches to the midsection. Kanehara times a takedown perfectly with a Kid low kick and falls into Yamamoto’s open guard. Kanehara can’t do much from top as Kid wraps up his arms from beneath. 10-10.
R2: Kanehara tags Kid with a sharp right hand, wades out, then does it again, causing Yamamoto to crumble face-first into the canvas. Kanehara looks like he wants to soccer kick the head of his downed opponent, but it’s against the rules in these DREAM vs. SRC bouts. Instead, he follows Kid to the ground and works from half guard. Kanehara can’t free his right leg, but uses short punches and shoulder shrugs to punish Kid, who holds on for dear life until the frame ends. 10-9 Kanehara.
R3: As Kanehara moves in with straight rights, Kid is lobbing overhand lefts, looking for the home run shot. Kid sticking with his leg kicks, Kanehara with his jabs. Yamamoto’s face is pretty marked up, though a cut which opened near his eye early in the fight hasn’t caused any problems. One minute left, both men standing. Kid connects with a left that sends Kanehara into survival mode, but Kid is relentless, clinching and connecting with knees. Another big left from Kid staggers his man. Kanehara fires back, but Kid throws his arms up to say “bring it.” 10-9 Yamamoto.
BloodyElbow.com scores the bout 29-29.
Masanori Kanehara (16-7-5) def. Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto (17-3, 1 NC) via unanimous decision (3-0) R3 5:00
DREAM 3-4 SRC
12: LW – Tatsuya Kawajiri (25-5-2) vs. Kazunori Yokota (11-2-3)
R1: Yokota tries to clinch up early and Kawajiri throws him onto his back. An unorthodox escape move by Yokota lands the fighters in a wheelbarrow sort of position (Kawajiri holding Yokota’s legs and waist from behind, Yokota propping himself up on his hands) which Yokota eventually escapes from. Kawajiri scores another takedown, and Yokota attempts to escape the same way. This time Kawajiri is able to keep him on the ground, and now he moves to mount. Kawajiri sends several punches to the back of Yokota’s head, but the ref is late to move to the other side and it goes unwarned. With Kawajiri in full mount, the ref restarts them in the center. Kawajiri pressing his chin into the cheek of Yokota, and now Crusher’s warned for more punches to the back of the head. Yokota has his back taken with 20 seconds left but stays out of trouble. 10-9 Kawajiri.
R2: Powering through a double leg, Kawajiri puts Yokota on the ground, back against a ringpost, attempting to take mount. Yokota stands and ‘Jiri pops him with a few short uppercuts as he escapes. Yokota with a teep kick, then tags Kawajiri with a right hand as Tatsuya shoots in for another double. Kawajiri finishes the shot and briefly gets mount again, then the back. Yokota flips once more and now Kawajiri is in full mount, punching away. Again Yokota gives his back, and this time Kawajiri looks for a rear-naked choke. Yokota turns once more and Crusher transitions to an arm-triangle, but Yokota’s able to defend this as well before giving his back up yet again. More flip-flopping from Yokota, but Kawajiri maintains mount and rides out the round. 10-9 Kawajiri.
R3: Kawajiri catches Yokota as the Sengoku fighter rushes forward with a flailing combination, then puts him back in the familiar position on the ground, back against the post. They’re reset in the center, and Kawajiri gains a little ground by being awarded full mount. (He’d only been able to pass halfway due to the positioning in the corner.) With Yokota turned on his side, a visibly tiring Kawajiri attempts to seal the deal with hammerfists, but Yokota’s a tough customer. Finally, Kawajiri passes to Yokota’s right and locks up another arm-triangle, but Yokota bucks and nearly reverses! Not quite enough, though, and Kawajiri transitions from a choke to a nasty looking armbar. Yokota refuses to tap and the referee’s not stepping in! Both men grimace and cringe as Kawajiri attempts to get the tap in the final 20 seconds. Kawajiri extends a hand to Yokota after the fight, clearly having gained some respect for the underdog. 10-8 Kawajiri.
BloodyElbow.com scores the bout 30-26 Kawajiri.
Tatsuya Kawajiri (26-5-2) def. Kazunori Yokota (11-3-3) via unanimous decision (3-0) R3 5:00
DREAM 3-3 SRC
11: FW – Hideo Tokoro (25-21-1) vs. Jong Man Kim (21-10-3, 1 NC)
R1: Tokoro grabs a Thai plum and connects with a solid knee, but the follow-up inside thigh kick catches Kim low. The Korean fighter takes a minute to recover, and it’s back on. During an exchange, Kim sweeps the leg of Tokoro, but Hideo scrambles ably and avoids trouble. Tokoro goes inside with a lunging knee to the body and eats some solid punches for his trouble. Both fighters slinging leather, looking to connect with something major, but nothing finds the mark. With 90 seconds left, Tokoro jumps guard and locks up a triangle on Kim, then transitions to an armbar. Kim’s head and left arm are trapped between the legs of Tokoro, who lays on his back. Tokoro steps over and transitions to a standard armbar, but Kim somehow escapes. Fantastic first round. 10-9 Tokoro.
R2: Tokoro keeping Kim at bay with jabs and thigh kicks, but catches a left hand when he tries to get inside and clinch with the Korean. Kim’s only throwing single punches while Tokoro walks him down, feinting and jabbing. Kim’s right eye is almost completely swollen shut from the jabs of Tokoro. 10-9 Tokoro.
R3: More of the same from Tokoro in the first minute of the last frame, before Kim catches him with a pair of hooks and chases the Japanese fighter down to the mat. Kim takes his back and looks for the RNC, but Tokoro escapes! Tokoro on top, passes to the left of Kim and traps the arm. It looks like Tokoro will be able to finish, but Kim sweeps and extracts the arm! Great scramble. One minute left and both men are slugging away. Tokoro connects with a hard left and a pair of knees from the clinch, but Kim stays standing. Kim smiling now as Tokoro throws everything he’s got at the game last-minute replacement. Tokoro gets him down and takes mount just as the bout ends. 10-9 Tokoro.
BloodyElbow.com scores the bout 30-28 Tokoro.
Hideo Tokoro (26-21-1) def. Jong Man Kim (21-11-3, 1 NC) via unanimous decision (3-0) R3 5:00
DREAM 2-3 SRC
10: MW – Melvin Manhoef (23-6-1) vs. Kazuo Misaki (22-9-2, 1 NC)
R1: Both men twitch and feint for a minute before Manhoef sends a single jab down the pipe. Melvin explodes and lands a pair of hard lefts, the second of which puts Misaki on his rear. Misaki bounces off the ropes and snares one of Manhoef’s legs, but it’s too late – the fall caused the ref to step in and halt the bout prematurely. Misaki is still giving official Kenichi Serizawa an earful a minute after the bout ends.
Melvin Manhoef (24-6-1) def. Kazuo Misaki (22-10-2, 1 NC) via TKO (punches) R1 1:49
DREAM 1-3 SRC
09: WW – Hayato “Mach” Sakurai (35-9-2) vs. Akihiro Gono (30-15-7)
R1: Gono assuming a Muay Thai stance and flicking outside thigh kicks at Sakurai. Now Sakurai connects with a combination and pushes forward, but Gono ties up and recovers. Gono ducks a left hand from Sakurai, picks Mach up by the waist and slams him onto his back. Gono trying to pass to Sakurai’s left but stuck in half guard with 30 seconds on the clock. They ride it out. 10-10.
R2: Nice front kicks from Gono. Sakurai stumbles Gono with a short right. Gono catches a kick from Mach, and Sakurai flops to guard, where Gono immediately passes to his left. Gono steps over the left arm of Sakurai for the crucifix, transitions to an armbar and elicits the tap from Mach.
Akihiro Gono (31-15-7) def. Hayato “Mach” Sakurai (35-10-2) via submission (armbar) R2 3:56
DREAM 0-3 SRC
08: FW – Hiroyuki Takaya (12-7-1) vs. Michihiro Omigawa (8-8-1)
R1: Omigawa gets inside early and tries to trip Takaya in the corner, but Takaya stays upright. While Takaya tries to keep outside and slap away with leg kicks, Omigawa is keeping a frantic pace with his punches, landing left hooks and jabs at will. Omigawa’s really exploding on his punches and ducking everything Takaya sends his way. Takaya is felled with a brutal right cross to the chin and Omigawa pounces on his wounded foe. With Takaya turtling up and Omigawa raining down punches, the referee has no choice but to step in.
Michihiro Omigawa (9-8-1) def. Hiroyuki Takaya (12-8-1) via TKO (punches) R1 2:54
DREAM 0-2 SRC
07: LHW – Katsuyori Shibata (4-6-1) vs. Hiroshi Izumi (0-1)
R1: Slow start as both men are tentative on the feet, Shibata flicking a jab out to test the range and Izumi not threatening with much of anything. After two minutes of inactivity, the referee warns both fighters. Shibata flurries and connects with an uppercut, clinches and shoots some knees up the gut, but Izumi recovers. Shibata doing a good job of using his reach; when Izumi finally closes the distance and backs Shibata into a corner, he’s not able to do anything with it. 10-9 Shibata.
R2: Izumi seems content to stand on the outside and eat shots from Shibata, until the judoka backs him into a corner and opens up with a flurry. Not much power behind Izumi’s punches and Shibata emerges unscathed. Izumi ducks a wide left, grabs a waistlock and puts Shibata on his back against a ringpost. Izumi’s got full mount, but Shibata’s able to prop himself up and defend so that Izumi can’t land much. Shibata actually lands a few nice uppercuts from beneath before scrambling out and returning to his feet. Izumi stumbles backward as straight right from Shibata connects. Izumi’s the one moving forward now, but Shibata is beating him to the punch every time. 10-9 Shibata.
R3: Shibata chases Izumi down with a torrent of punches, but Izumi’s able to weather the storm and clinch up as Shibata tries to put him on the gound. Izumi still looking for a knockout punch, but he just doesn’t have the power and Shibata is picking him apart with jabs and knees. And just as I type that, Izumi finally lands a decent punch and puts Shibata in danger. He puts Shibata on the ground and mounts, then begins teeing off with some rather feeble hammerfists. The ref moves the action from the ropes to center ring and Izumi resumes work from mount. He’s throwing everything at Shibata now, but there’s not much pepper on his punches and Shibata’s covering up well. Fifteen seconds left and Izumi’s still trying to end this. He just can’t do it, though he did take the round. 10-9 Izumi.
BloodyElbow.com scores the bout 29-28 Shibata.
Hiroshi Izumi (1-1) def. Katsuyori Shibata (4-7-1) via unanimous decision (3-0) R3 5:00
DREAM 0-1 SRC
K-1 Koshien (Under 18) Tournament Final – 3R x 2 min. (+ 1R Ext.)
06: Masaaki Noiri def. Shota Shimada via unanimous decision (3-0) R3 2:00
K-1 Bout – Heavyweight – 3R x 3 min.
05: Yosuke Nishijima vs. Ray Sefo
R1: The boxer Nishijima chose to wear shoes for this fight, and therefore cannot kick. Sefo going to the legs of Nishijima early, backing him up with straights and coming inside with uppercuts. Nishijima on wobbly legs after a short left hook from Sefo, but he recovers when Sefo doesn’t come forward. Nishijima returns the favor with a clean left of his own as the round ends. 10-9 Sefo, and all three judges agree.
R2: Spinning back kick from Sefo connects to the midsection of Nishijima, who begins pouring it on and backing Sefo into a corner. Sefo ties up and they back out. Sefo clowning now, hands by his side, shaking his rump and trying to get Nishijima to bring the fight to him. Sefo knocked Nishijima down, but it was ruled a slip, so all three judges score it 10-10, but I’d say 10-9 Sefo again.
R3: Sefo clicks Nishijima with a right hand and this knockdown is indisputible. Nishijima pops back up, ref gives him the count and they restart. Nishijima with a nice left, but Sefo shakes it off and returns fire with a handsome side kick. With 60 seconds left, they stand toe-to-toe and fire away. Nishijima lunges in and eats a straight right, an uppercut, a jab, then an inside thigh kick. And it’s a wrap. Judges’ scores aren’t announced on the broadcast, but should be 10-8 Sefo.
Ray Sefo def. Yosuke Nishijima via unanimous decision (3-0) R3 3:00
Super Hulk Tournament Final – 3R x 5 min.
04: Ikuhisa Minowa (43-30-8) vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (7-5)
R1: Both men stand statuesque, sizing each other up for the opening minute. Minowa begins to circle but gets backed into a corner by Sokoudjou. 90 seconds in, still no strikes thrown. Soko finally slaps at the thigh of Minowa with a leg kick, and Minowa ties him up against the ropes. Sokoudjou trips Minowa, but Minowa escapes to the feet. He drops for a leg and Sokoudjou pounds but can’t extract the limb. Sokoudjou tries to hop away and yank the leg out, to no avail. Finally Sokoudjou goes down to guard and gets free. Sokoudjou drills Minowa with some hard shots and it looks like trouble for a moment as Minowa lands on his side on the mat, but the Speedo’d one recovers. Sokoudjou scurries to the back and works for a rear-naked choke, but Minowa defends. Soko switches to a crossface/neck crank, but again Minowa evades submission. Minowa drilling elbows to the right knee of Sokoudjou, which is heavily taped. The round runs out with Sokoudjou on Minowa’s back. 10-9 Sokoudjou.
R2: Nothing doing in the first 90 seconds again. Sokoudjou tags Minowa with an uppercut and the wrestler rushes in for a waistlock. Minowa pulls guard but eats more punches from Sokoudjou as he searches for a leg. They stand briefly, but Sokoudjou drops Minowa in the corner and presses him against the ringpost. Sokoudjou in the half guard of an inactive Minowa, and the ref stands them up and repositions them in center ring. Sokoudjou postures up to strike, trying to pass to the left side of Minowa, but can’t get his right leg free. Forty-five seconds left, Sokoudjou still trying to pass, sending hammerfists down. Sokoudjou stands over Minowa, who snares a kneebar just as the round ends. 10-9 Sokoudjou.
R3: One more time – both men stand toe-to-toe, staring at one another for the first minute of the round. The referee warns both men, then resume the staring even as he calls for action. Ninety seconds in, both fighters are issued yellow cards (10% purse deduction). Now two minutes into the final round and neither man has attempted any offense whatsoever. At 2:30, the referee issues a second yellow card to both men. More nothing. Sokoudjou connects with a spinning back kick to the gut of Minowa. With 90 seconds left, Minowa backs Sokoudjou against the ropes, flurries and connects with a shocking left hook. Sokoudjou is down! Referee Moritaka Oshiro steps in and waves it off! Looked a bit premature, but…
Ikuhisa Minowa (44-30-8) def. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (7-6) via TKO (punches) R3 3:29
K-1 Koshien (Under 18) Tournament Semifinal Bouts – 3R x 2 min.
03: SF #2 – Shota Shimada def. Katsuki Ishida via majority decision (2-0) R3 2:00
02: SF #1 – Masaaki Noiri def. Hiroya via unanimous decision (3-0) R3 2:00
01: Reserve – Tsukasa Fuji def. Ryuya Kusakabe via majority decision (2-0) R3 2:00
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