Dream 16 recap

The featherweights made Dream 16 a pretty solid event. That and the fact that my picks did pretty well. So without further ado....

Yusuke Kawaguchi def. James Thompson via Decision (split) Rd 2
Prediction: I've only come to expect the "Thompson Special": James comes out fast and hard in the opening minute of the fight, slows down, and gets KO'ed.
What happened: The one fight I expected to end early didn't. Thompson was wobbled several times during the fight due to some of the worst defense you'll ever see, but controlled a good portion of the fight. This wasn't enough for two of the judges, who awarded Kawaguchi the decision.
Thoughts: It was a close fight, but I thought Thompson won it. Apparently Japanese judges don't care about dominant positions (Thompson got full mount a few times in the fight). When the decision was announced Thompson threw up his arms and said, "What do I have to do?" He should already know you have to be Japanese to win decisions in Japan.
Next for Thompson: Watching more DVDs.

Mitsuhiro Ishida def. Akiyo Nishiura via Decision (split) Rd 2
Prediction: Much like Thompson, I can only expect the "Ishida Special": Ishida wrestles you to the ground and never lets go for 15 minutes. There's usually one moment where he gets hit and put in potential trouble, but it doesn't negate the dominance he asserted the rest of the fight.
What happened: Nishiura showed a lot of improvement in his ability to stay upright, as well as stand once he was taken down, but he still spent 85% of the fight dealing with Ishida's wrestling. And you know what that means.
Thoughts: Textbook Ishida here. I'm a fan, but the guy is one of the few Japanese guys that will lay n' pray if he can't assert much damage (this happens a lot). He did bust out some super awesome Kurt Angle double German suplex action though. I could go for more of that from him.
Next for Ishida: He's quietly working himself into the mix. I'd like to see him take on Norifumi Yamamoto or Kazuyuki Miyata, and see how he handles someone who can definitely outstrike him, and possibly prevent him from wrestling him to a decision.
Next for Nishiura: OR Nishiura can face Yamamoto. That would be fireworks.

Kazuyuki Miyata def. "Lion" Takeshi Inoue via Decision (unanimous) Rd 2
Prediction: Miyata would display enough striking to comfortable switch gears and frustrate Lion with his wrestling, winning a decision in the end.
What happened: I know my prediction was in the minority, but that's exactly what happened.
Thoughts: I was shaky on my choice of Miyata to take this match, but I had my reasons. Lion is a good striker with a decent ground game, but I didn't think he could take Miyata out standing or on the ground. Miyata's a juggernaut of a featherweight and I felt he could take Lion down at will, where his wrestling is more than good enough to negate Lion's ground game. As tough as Lion is, I could only see him losing via decision. Supporting my prediction was the fact that Lion just looked flat during the fight. I wouldn't be surprised if he was injured coming in. He's still a major featherweight player in Japan, so he should bounce back.
Next for Miyata: Kid Yamamoto or Mitsuhiro Ishida
Next for Inoue: Back to Shooto to work his way to a rematch with Hatsu Hioki.

Joachim Hansen def. Hideo Tokoro via Submission (triangle choke) Rd. 1
Prediction: Clearly a fight to help Hansen out of a 3-fight rut, Tokoro would have nothing for Hansen and get pounded out in the first.
What happened: It was a dominant performance for Hansen, but he decided to flex his submission skills instead. After locking in a topside triangle from the mount, he rolled it over, Tokoro surprisingly mustered up the power to slam him. The slam managed to break the hold, but Hansen immediately secured it even tighter, coaxing the tap.
Thoughts: I'm very glad to see Hansen back on the winning track. He might finally be used to the cut down to 145, and can get back to his old, brutal style. I'm a big fan of Tokoro as well, as he always comes to fight his heart out, but in this one a loss for him was the lesser of two evils. Two straight losses for Tokoro isn't good, but four straight losses for Hansen would be devastating.

Michihiro Omigawa def. Cole Escovedo via Submission (inverted armbar) rd 1
Prediction: Boldly predicted Omigawa by whatever he wants.
What happened: All Omigawa in this one. He decided to take the fight to the ground, where he was reversed and forced to go to guard. Escovedo didn't have much chance to mount offense, as Omigawa faked him out by working for a sneaky inverted armbar while controlling Cole's head. Needless to say, a tap followed closely.
Thoughts: Once again Omigawa proves why he's my favorite featherweight: he can take the fight to you everywhere. I'm sure the pain Escovedo felt was just as much a surprise to him as seeing him tap was to me. The armbar came out of nowhere, as Omigawa just looked to be adjusting his position. Keep the impressive wins coming.
Next for Omigawa: If Hiroyuki Takaya gets Bibiano Fernandez next, then Omigawa should get someone at the top of the heap as well. In reality they may want to try and put together a rematch with Marlon Sandro or Masanori Kanehara in Sengoku.

Hiroyuki Takaya def. Chase Beebe via Knockout (punches) Rd 1
Prediction: Beebe's superior wrestling would stifle Takaya's striking en route to a decision victory.
What happened: Beebe didn't get a chance to use that wrestling, as Takaya dropped him hard with a right hand and knocked him unconscious with follow up punches in 1:45.
Thoughts: Takaya's got dynamite in those hands! The guy is knocking out people left and right now, and is definitely in the elite of Japanese featherweights.
Next for Takaya: A title rematch with Bibiano Fernandez (which I hope he wins....I thought he narrowly edged Bibiano out in the first fight), although he really should be rematching the last man who beat him, Omiagawa, to prove who the real "center" of the Japanese featherweight division is.

Satoshi Ishii def. Ikuhisa Minowa via decision (unanimous) Rd 2
Prediction: Ishii would dominate Minowa with his judo, and Minowa's toughness would allow him to see the final bell.
What happened: See above.
Thoughts: Ishii's application of his judo and positional control in MMA is great to see. We just need to see him apply something else besides that as well. He dominated Minowa for the entire 15 minutes, but barely did any damage. Conversely, All Minowa has are his patented leglocks, and while those will work against lumbering oafs with limited skill, someone with the skills of Ishii won't fall for them. The fact that Ishii didn't outweigh him by a million pounds was no help either. This greatly limited Minowa's usual speed and stamina advantage, and it proved that Minowa can't hang with real (see: non-freakshow) heavyweights.
Next for Ishii: A real heavyweight hopefully. Actually, I'm not all that interested.
Next for Minowa: Bring on the next giant freakshow.

Shinya Aoki def. Marcus Aurelio via Decision (unanimous) Rd 2
Prediction: Aoki controls and out-grapples Aurelio to a decision.
What happened: See above.
Thoughts: I'm not sure why so many thought Aoki would sub Aurelio quickly. They seem to forget that Aurelio is a good BJJ black belt himself. I know Aoki is definitely the better of the two, but I give Aurelio enough credit to at least hang with him for a bit. Not much else to say, other than that Aoki's ground n pound looked better than it has in the past.
Next for Aoki: Hopefully a rematch with Gilbert Melendez in Japan....not that it will go any differently.

Jason Miller def. Kazushi Sakuraba via Submission (arm triangle choke) Rd 1
Prediction: A completely unnecessary match ends with Mayhem winning a dominant decision due to Saku's toughness.
What happened: Miller dropped some savage ground and pound early on in the fight (which of course Sakuraba just took without blinking), and easily slapped on an arm triangle. Sakuraba tapped quickly.
Thoughts: This was just sad to watch, but Miller said he'd be the first to (legitimately) sub Sakuraba, and that's exactly what he did. There was a time where I would have thought Sakuraba give Miller problems, but he's just so over the hill now. I cringed every time he took a shot from Miller, and was actually relieved when he locked in the choke. It almost seemed as though Sakuraba had never encountered an arm triangle because he barely tried to defend at all, and I hope that's the case, and not that his brain is so far gone he didn't think to react. Anyway, pointless match. Glad Saku didn't get pounded to burger meat though.
Next for Miller: I really want to see him fight Nick Diaz.
Next for Sakuraba: I hope to God it'll be retirement, but who am I kidding? He'll probably take several more fights, and I just hope they're against nobodies that he can beat.

Gegard Mousasi def. Tatsuya Mizuno via Submission (rear-naked choke) Rd 1
Prediction: Mousasi handles Mizuno, and wins however he sees fit.
What happened: It was more difficult than most thought, but after showing off some nice new wrestling skills Mousasi took Mizuno's back and quickly tapped him with the RNC.
Thoughts: I knew Mizuno would put up at least somewhat of a fight, as he's definitely not lacking in the heart department, but he really has nothing for Mousasi. He's still really developing as a fighter, and this loss shouldn't be viewed as a big setback for him.
Next for Mousasi: Maybe a rematch with Muhammad Lawal to determine who fights Rafael Cavalcante next.

Phew. And there you have it. Decent card, and hopefully Dream can muster up another and not go spiraling out of business. PEACE.