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Jake O'Brien Misses Weigh-In for DREAM.15
July 9, 2010 at 3:41 AM |
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Filed under: DREAM, News, Japan
 DREAM Lightweight Champion Shinya Aoki and challenger Tatsuya Kawajiri both passed the weigh-ins today at an even 70 kg (154.3 lbs) ahead of tomorrow's DREAM.15, to be held at Saitama Super Arena in Japan.
The pair had an interesting back-and-forth when asked about seeing each other weigh-in the day before their fight.
"I don't really like to take a look at men's bodies, so I didn't really look at him. He said he'll surprise the fans. I'll make sure ours will be a shocking fight," Kawajiri said.
Aoki was noticeably more relaxed than the tense, hostile fighter we saw yesterday. "I like both men and women. His body is a nice body, and if we both fight with men's spirit, we can have a fight that everyone wants to see."
Jake O'Brien, who is set to face former DREAM and Strikeforce champion Gegard Mousasi, was notably absent from the weigh-ins as he was still cutting weight. O'Brien is set to weigh-in later today. |
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Gegard Mousasi: I Didn't Know a Lot About Takedowns
July 8, 2010 at 4:13 PM |
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Filed under: DREAM, News, interview, Japan
 Gegard Mousasi racked up 15 consecutive victories before running into Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal in April. In that fight, Mousasi was taken down repeatedly and stuck under a smothering top game that sapped him of any offense. He lost his Strikeforce belt and it looked like we found Mousasi's weakness.
At DREAM.15 on July 10, Mousasi will face Jake O'Brien in a four-man tournament for the DREAM light heavyweight title. O'Brien is a wrestler who is famous for a smothering top game that saps you of any offense.
The former Strikeforce and DREAM champion spoke to the press on Thursday about an opponent made to beat him, fighting his weaknesses and his goals for more belts. |
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So What Ever Became of Fedor Emelianenko's WAMMA Belt, Anyway?
July 8, 2010 at 4:13 PM |
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Filed under: Strikeforce
 It's the question that few of us have bothered to ask, probably because even fewer of us bothered to care, but what's the status of Fedor Emelianenko's WAMMA heavyweight title after his submission loss to Fabricio Werdum?
I know, I know. Somehow, what with Brock Lesnar winning a dramatic comeback victory and the heavyweight ranks getting shaken up like a snow globe in the hands of a petulant child over the last few weeks, it doesn't seem all that important.
That said, is Werdum now the WAMMA champ? Did Fedor FedEx him the belt? And if so, will he wear it with the same sense of pride that Fedor did? I did a little asking around in order to find answers to these and other almost relevant questions, and what I discovered was that the fans aren't the only ones who haven't given the issue much thought. |
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Shinya Aoki Fighting Anything and Everything
July 8, 2010 at 4:13 PM |
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Filed under: DREAM, interview, Japan
 Shinya Aoki has not allowed me to take a decent photo of him in over a year. Every time I ask him for a photo he covers his face. I have never had any problems with him and we used to have a good working relationship. It wasn't just me though, it was all foreign press. I have often wondered what caused this dramatic change in attitude.
Watching the signing ceremony for his title fight against Tatsuya Kawajiri at DREAM.15, I noticed that he was doing the same thing with the Japanese media. On Thursday, a member of the Japanese press commented on it.
"At the signing ceremony you had the aura that it was difficult for us to get close to you..."
Aoki commented without looking up.
"Well I don't feel any different now." |
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Chuck Liddell's Retirement Struggle Understandable, but Won't Get Easier
July 8, 2010 at 1:17 PM |
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Filed under: UFC
 If there's anybody who should understand what Chuck Liddell is going through these days, it's Dana White. The UFC president said this weekend that the 40 year-old Liddell remains undecided about retirement, and apparently attending all these live MMA events as a spectator isn't exactly helping him let it go.
"He told me tonight the show open messed him up, watching [UFC 116] open," White said. "This guy's in this longer than me. He's been around forever and loves the sport. All I'm hoping is that he makes the right decision."
Reading those words, your heart has to break a little for the former champion. Imagine him sitting there on fight night -- the music blaring through the arena, the UFC highlight reel bringing the crowd to a boil, the entire cocktail of emotions he used to live for -- only now he's watching from the outside, struggling to stay in his seat. |
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Keiichi Sasahara Explains Alistair Overeem's Absence
July 8, 2010 at 10:23 AM |
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Filed under: DREAM, News, Japan
 DREAM Executive Producer Keiichi Sasahara met with the press Thursday to attempt to clarify the on-again-off-again situation regarding Alistair Overeem's participation at DREAM.15. Well clarify is probably the wrong word.
"Towards the end of the negotiations, because of reasons that I am not able to tell you, although the two fighters agreed to fight, it happened that these fighters could not fight. It's not because of money, but if the reasons are something that I cannot tell you then you might be able to guess what they would be. Because of that, we are not able to have these two fighters fight."
Ricco Rodriguez was at no point mentioned by Sasahara as Overeem's opponent. Instead former UFC Heavyweight Champion Andrei Arlovski was planned.
Sasahara's full statement after the break. |
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With UFC 119 on the hunt for star power, it's the Nogueira brothers to the rescue.
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After co-authoring one of the most memorable matches of 2010, the "Korean Zombie" is back.
